What's your oldest book?

Del.Monte

Inspired by CUCINA.

Cucina's thread got me thinking about the oldest books that I own and here's the first.

"Rambles in Search of Wild Flowers and How to Distinguish Them" by Margaret Plues - a 2nd edition copy published in 1864 with 18 hand-coloured plates. Later editions had printed plates.

It was given to my Grandmother by her Grandmother in 1911 and left to me in 1988. It's a precious item - rarely opened - and fragile so that the accompanying internal picture is lifted off the internet rather than taken by me. The book still contains actual pressed flowers placed in it by my Grandmother when she was 11 or 12.





It's currently the oldest book in my possession, but at one time I had a copy of notorious "Memoirs of the different rebellions in Ireland" (1802) by Sir Richard Musgrave. Printed just three years after the 1798 Rebellion it had history dripping from the pages and contained the name of several family members caught up in the rebellion. It cost me about €400, but I eventually sold it back to the dealer where I bought it as I didn't feel that I could look after it properly.

I'll post some more of my books shortly, but in the meantime somebody else stick up details of your oldest books - please!

Rosahane

I have all five volumes of "Holtzapffel's Turning & Mechanical Manipulation" the first volume of which was published in 1843.

A pretty rare set, which belonged to my father and was gifted to him by the late Piers Dennis, grandson of the original owner, Colonel Meade Dennis of Fortgranite, who was a friend of Marconi and who was a pioneer of radio and had the first amateur radio station in the world in Fortgranite. He also was instrumental in the invention of echo sounders and was also a noted chemist and physicist. My father met him a number of times and, and on one occasion was with him when he contacted the Queen Mary in mid Atlantic, probably on her maiden voyage, and spoke with his daughter who was onboard.

Del.Monte

Very interesting but sounds like they mightn't be bed time reading.

More use for hand to hand combat.

nokiatom

Found this at home in a press

Del.Monte

nokiatom wrote: »

Found this at home in a press

Ha, beats mine by twenty years!

Del.Monte

Here's another ancient survivor that I picked up at a fete at my old school (Aravon) in Bray back in 1970. As a bird book it's a curiosity rather than a useful tool and it even includes two now long extinct birds (the Great Auk and Passenger Pigeon). It's a first edition, published in 1861, and was in its present decrepit condition when I purchased it.



It's main interest now is in the various scribbles and drawings it contains as it was the property of the Hollywood movie director Rex Ingrams (aka R M Hitchcock) when he was a student at St.Columba's College, Rathfarnham in 1909 - see insert. Various of his fellow students have written in and drawn on the book and the owner has written in it himself that he will crack someone's skull for doing so!




A delightful, politically incorrect advert for Brooke's 'Monkey Brand' soap adorns the back cover. The past is truly a foreign country!

Del.Monte

Another from the vault - "The Natural History of Selborne" by the Rev.Gilbert White - is what is known as a standard work that should be in the collection of any naturalist worthy of the name. First published as far back as 1789 - the same year as the French Revolution - my copy is a mere infant at only 156 years old!

I have dipped into it over the years, but have usually read more recent editions as a copy like mine is too delicate to stand up to serious reading.

Del.Monte

Another classic from my Grandmother's collection - "The Woman and the Car" (1909) by Dorothy Levitt. The author was something of a pioneer and packed a lot into her short life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Levitt



My Grandmother never took up driving despite having the book from the 7/9/1916 - it probably would have been frowned upon as unbecoming by her Grandmother!

nokiatom

North West Passage Volumes 1 and 2 first editions

Del.Monte

I may have spent my way through two inheritances in my lifetime - so far - but at least I have held on to those things that matter!

"Kitten Tales" published in 1956 - a couple of years before I was born was one of my earliest books and has been dragged around with me during numerous house moves.



Come on, let's have some more contributions.

danpatjoe

I have a very old, large leather bound book called 'Paynes Universal Geography System', it is Volume 1 - Asia.

It was printed by Zachariah Jackson of No.5 New Buildings, Sackville Street, Dublin in 1794. It has quite a few copperplate etchings, one of which is hand tinted. The binding is tight, but the leather cover has some minor damage and has started to fray at the base of the spine.

Interestingly, there is a long list of subscribers at the beginning - comprising of, I would imagine, a large amount of very well to do people of the time (quite a few Lords etc.)

Regards - Dan

Harry Palmr

I have something from about 1890 have to look it up but not sure where it is - it's a novel

Del.Monte

Last one for the time being, and another that was my Grandmother's and later my Mother's. Probably my favourite children's book of all - first published in the USA in 1905 and never reprinted. Wonderful illustrations and simple stories.

akeady

Probably this little book from 1746 is my oldest -



It's volume 3 of the "Miscellaneous Works in Verse and Prose of the Late Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq."

I mainly got it to see what the good Mr Addison had to say about ancient coins ("medals") which are one of the topics he covers:



ATB,
Aidan.

4068ac1elhodqr

139yrs (1878). Heavy pitting on early pages, lots (100 or so) good illustrations further on.