When I was 10 years old, in 1964, I found a box of old books in my (now deceased)
grandmother's attic. I pulled them out, one by one, catologing the titles and copyrights and was enthralled by the lot. My grandmother, a teacher most of her life, was enthralled by someone paying attention and allowed me to remove several to keep for myself. Of course, being 10 years old I kept the oldest, shown in the image, titled:
"Letters Of Mr Pope and Several Eminent Persons from the year 1705 to 1735"
printed in 1735 in London.
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744) is generally regarded as the greatest English poet of the early eighteenth century.He was living when this book was printed. Pope's works were once considered part of the mental furniture of the well-educated person. One edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations includes no less than 212 quotations from Pope. Some, familiar even to those who may not know their source, are "A little learning is a dang'rous thing" (from the Essay on Criticism); "To err is human, to forgive, divine" (ibid.); "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread" (ibid); and "The proper study of mankind is man" (Essay on Man).
A wonderful shot Peter. I love the way you've arranged other old books to prop open the subject book. The lighting and color are just perfect. Thanks for the short history lesson, it was quite interesting. That's a very old book, even in 1964 it was quite old. Old books are great, they are a window into the past. They have a qaulity that a CD or DVD will never have. Can't image a library full of CD's or DVD's will ever smell like a library full of books. A great take on the WA.
-Nick
Peter, this is just wonderful. The sentiment, the photography work. Thanks for letting us peek into your world. I concur with Strd--a finalist for sure.
Jane
Edited by ironabike on Sep 11, 2006 at 10:30 AM GMT
MarjB wrote:
This is marvelous. You have captured the richness of colors and textures so very well that to me it conveys this as a rmuch-loved treasure.
Marjorie
Thank you Marjorie..........it is and it's nice to be able to convey that a bit in an image!
Peter
nlamendo wrote:
A wonderful shot Peter. I love the way you've arranged other old books to prop open the subject book. The lighting and color are just perfect. Thanks for the short history lesson, it was quite interesting. That's a very old book, even in 1964 it was quite old. Old books are great, they are a window into the past. They have a qaulity that a CD or DVD will never have. Can't image a library full of CD's or DVD's will ever smell like a library full of books. A great take on the WA.
-Nick
Thanks for looking and reading Nick. The 'subjct' book was actually difficult to prop as i don't want to harm the cover. books this old can't be opened flat or pushed in any way without harm!
Thanks for the comments!
Peter
Strad wrote:
Nice one.Peter!! applause: Undoubtedly a finalist. The lighting and the general atmosphere are just perfcet. Great work as usual.
All the best,
Endre
Thanks so much Endre. 'Not too sure about the finalist bit (I've been confused about that lately) but I did work hard on the atmosphere.....a nice Sunday afternoon project!
Thanks
regards
Peter
Tom.....glad to share the 'walk in the past' history lesson, i felt it was significant to the meaning of the image.
Appreciate the comments as always
Peter
Jane..(Ironabike)..thanks for the comments........we're all peeking into each other's worlds here in the WA, that seems to be part of the fun!
Thanks.....always appreciated'
Phil......er....peter
Edited by canandaigua ph on Sep 11, 2006 at 11:00 PM GMT
Peter (aka Phil), I really like your entry. Old books have a character that does not exist in anything else. I once had the opportunity to buy an entire law library that the Circuit Judge for the county in which I lived at the time wanted to move in order to use the space for something else. Many of the books had wonderful leather covers. While I was trying to figure out where to store them, the judge left office, and his successor had other plans for them.
Jane, Clayton, Robert....thanks very much for the comments!
This is an interesting week in our WA.........plenty of very finely crafted images to be sure
good luck to you all
peter
Peter, this remarkable and fascinating entry contains more literary interest than any other extant. I wish you good luck to complement your photographic skills.
Undoubtedly a finalist. The lighting and the general atmosphere are just perfcet. Great work as usual.
I really like your entry. Old books have a character that does not exist in anything else. I once had the opportunity to buy an entire law library that the Circuit Judge for the county in which I lived at the time wanted to move in order to use the space for something else. Many of the books had wonderful leather covers. While I was trying to figure out where to store them, the judge left office, and his successor had other plans for them. 