LaFrance

How lovely that yesterday while finding a lovely Lavender Farm filled with thoughts of Provence, I found a wonderful book containing glipses of Provence and other regions of France.



While visiting one of my favorite old and rare bookstores, I came upon this magnificent book filled with beautiful images of France from the 1920's.



This large book is filled with beautiful color plates mounted on gray tinted heavier paper. There are photographs of people and places in different regions of France.



The name of the book is Les Merveilles De La France le Payes, les Monuments, les Habitants



This beautiful maroon hardcover measures 7 3/4 inches by 9 3/4 inches tall. 444 pages. The book contains eighteen chapters, each chapter begins with a beautiful full color plate of the region. The last chapter is about Paris.



Illustrated beautifully with 18 full color plates, which are mounted on heavy tinted paper. All the plates are in the book.



The book is in wonderful condition, with the exception of the first page with tissue is free from the binding. Otherwise the gold-leaf is lovely and the book has been lovingly worn. Written in French, the author takes you on a tour through the history of France and it's geography.



In publisher's heavy maroon buckram-covered boards; sound hinges and joints; corners and edges lightly shelf-worn; hinges sturdy and good although there is a taped separation between the front inside page. Covers are decorated and titled in bright gilded script and ornamental flourishes.



I have created a custom bookplate for this treasure and listed it on my etsy shop, For The Love of Old Books.



France Illustrated, History. The book was published in 1920's in France by Hachette & Co.

The Concord Museum

Sitting between Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s home is the Concord Museum.



You cannot help but let your imagination go wild, as you glance up through the boughs of an old fruit tree.

One day while photographing Emerson’s home, I glanced over at the Museum and couldn’t help but notice the grand old fruit tree sitting in front of the building.



I walked across the street and looked at the beautiful old tree from every angle.



Such beautiful old trees. I wondered if Louisa May might have sat beneath this very tree while babysitting Emerson’s children.



I became curious about this majestic building, and the ivy covered brick facing which frames the gorgeous old green front door.



I thought, was this the passage that Louisa May took when going to Emerson’s home?



Inside the museum you will find the most amazing exhibits. Yet, what about this handsome old building outside.

"In 1886 Mr. Cummings E. Davis moved into the Reuben_Brown_House" house with his unique collection of antiques and would exhibit his collection of local American furniture and other items for a price. During Mr. Cummings feeble years The Concord Antiquarian Society safeguarded his items and became possessor of the house. The Antiquarian Society utilized the house to display their collection of artifacts from American Revolution until 1930 when the Antiquarian Society moved their collection to the present Concord Museum in fear the Reuben Brown House might burn down and destroy there priceless artifacts."



Then while rummaging through one of my favorite old book shops the other day, I came across this little obscure little book called the Handbook Concord Antiquarian Society, Concord, Massachusetts 1932.



When I opened up the book I read:

"In 1930 the old collection of the Concord Antiquarian Society was installed in the new house which had been built for it.

In the middle of the eighteen-hundreds a Concord character, Cummings E Davis had the unusual crotchet of collecting antiques. Long before the value of such things was recognized, he gathered everything he could."



There inside was an old rendering of the Concord Museum. The Emerson family had donated the land where the museum stands today.



The front door has also been preserved, and you enter through another door to visit the museum. A trip worthwhile. One of my favorite exhibits is the Emerson Library. To learn more about the museum you can click HERE.

You just cannot help but let your imagination run wild...

as you glance up through the boughs of an old fruit tree. Dreaming of who might have sat beneath and written lovely words of the days they knew. Many people have come and gone admiring it's strong trunk and found shade underneath it's lovely branches. Yet it alone still stands, rooted in the history of the place and inviting the new guests to sit and to daydream for awhile.

The Poetry of Robert Browning

This lovely book of Robert Browning's poetry was publised in 1886 by Press of Berwick and Smith, Boston, Massachusetts.

The dedication page is to Alfred Tennyson dated May 14, 1872, London.

This lovely treasure still boasts beautiful gold leaf on the pages, the binding is also iced with gold leaf on the spine.

The book measures 5 x 7 inches and has 282 pages of poetry. There is a portrait of Robert Browning in the front of the book.

When I found this book and noticed the year it was published, I couldn't believe what lovely condition the book is in, except for a cover that is lovingly worn. A treasure for any library. I have just listed the this book in my etsy shop For The Love of Old Books.

So many lovely bindings

I love the look of an old binding, and the way the sweet volumes feel when you pick them up to hold them. I love the gold leafing found on the pages, and the beautiful book plates found inside. I found a beautiful journal all about her love of old books.

aptain's Children is one of those beautiful bindings that I love.



The illustrations inside are gorgeous.



I have used the illustrations inside to create prints, cards and bookplates. Here is a new illustration that I will restore.



So it can be loved again all new and in a new wrapping.



I have found a stack of wonderful treasures to list, including the one at the top of this post by Robert Browning. This week has been busy with wonderful new things, preventing me from listing my new finds. Hopefully I will be able to list them on my etsy shop in a day or two.

Until then...wishing you a lovely day.