what's the oldest book you own?
the iliad or the old testament
A first edition pocketbook of one of Hawthorne's novels.
>>7742134
1850 Complete poems of Longfellow 2 volume set
>>7742137
mate! those must have been wicked expensive!!! first edition iliad?!?!
first edtion of The Prophet - Gibran
1810 illustrated edition of Boccacio's Decameron.
This is my oldest. I took a picture just for you guys. I moved it somewhere with good light for the photo, but of course I don't keep it in sunlight like that.
This is a 1691 edition of the works of Horace, printed in Paris. It's big as fuck. Every page is about 20% carmina, 20% interpretationes, and 60% annotationes.
I get no use out of it whatsoever except that it looks cool as shit and it reminds me of how much I like Horace.
>>7742407
was my grandmothers, she gave it to me
Probably some random late 1800s book about plants of new england or something like that. Nothing "cool"
>>7742411
if the condition is halfway good that's worth a load of money, take care of it
>>7742474
> some random late 1800s book about plants of new england
how would that not be cool?
>>7742390
Very cool.
>>7742183
Imagine how comfy a recording of Homer reciting the Iliad would be
>>7742390
hmmm
post the first page. the one that looks something like this
>>7742390
>>7742797
goddammit
this
I have my great-grandfather's school books. It's a collection of classics, like Dickens and Shakespeare, that he doodled all over, and I think the earliest is from 1915.
>>7742134
Mine is probably a bible from about the mid-18th century. It's in pretty good condition but it isn't really worth anything- there are millions of old bibles around.
Mine is an Anglican Hymn book from the early 20th Century
I need more old books...
>>7742797
>>7742803
sorry this photo's much shittier
>>7743642
man this just fucked my shit up... my book was printed when France still had a king. I can't wrap my mind around it.
>>7742390
Noice. Mine is an ilustrated Spanish translation of a Da Vinci text on painting. Early 18th century.
OP here. Pics are great. Post anything old if it's interesting—first editions, leather-bounds, anything highly ornate, anything with illustrations inside.
Also—cop or not? I kinda want this Gall & Inglis copy of Robinson Crusoe, but it's $90 so I'm not sure that's worth it for a Victorian cloth hardback in "good" condition.
>>7744201
oops, forgot pic
>>7743665
France had a king up until 1848, or 1871 if you count Napoleon and emperor.
Meaning that 157 years elapsed between 1691 and 1848, and 168 years since 1848. That book has been kingless for 11 year longer than the time when it had a king(excluding the initial revolutionary years).Viva la Revolution
>>7742498
If I wanted to read lists of outdated unverified factoids by some dummy I'd read Ulysses
I've got a first edition of the Iliad. It was a buck at a garage sale. One man's trash...
>>7744246
ah, you speak true. My french history is shit.
14th century book on vampyrs. It's splattered in wine though, so most pages are unreadable.
Uh, probably a User Guide for MS-DOS published in 1983.
>>7745113
Nope, never mind, it's a copy of 'Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered', published in 1974.
>>7742134My diary
>>7742237
I think that's what mine is too, I'll have to double check because I think some of my law books are older.
>>7742134
1807 copy of the book of common prayer
1870 complete Coleridge
a book about cosmic radiation from 1950
Homer was a woman
1910 German translation of the Divine Comedy. Bought it for 10€ on a flea market. I'm also reading it right now.
>>7744407
damn... pics?
>>7745332
>he doesn't have first edition coleridge
step up
first edition infinite jest from 1996 i read in HS
A collection of poems by E.E. Cummings from 1926. It's exactly as old as my oldest living relative.
A 800 pages long French literature manual from 1946.
I bought it today for 3 Canadian dollars.
I once had a collection of Horace Walpole's letters published in the late 18th century. He was the guy who wrote "Life is a tragedy for those who feel but a comedy for those who think." or something like that. Very witty fellow. I sold it for $100, which was probably not what it was worth, seeing as it was in very good condition, but still. . . I bought it for $30.
>>7742134
Mechanika 1800's engineering book written in a slavic language.
>>7748592
Also, my grandfather's WWII diary.
>>7744407
>Wine not vampire blood.
What language is it in?
The first edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
>>7742134
Early 19th century King James Bible, can't be bothered to check the date.
>>7744407
>wine
Are you sure?
nothing pre-20th
I've been reading a lot of mid 19th century poetry collections from my university library though. they're rebound into the standard flat-color hardcover that libraries do, which is baffling in itself - makes you wonder why, and how, they do it.
>>7748986
>makes you wonder why, and how, they do it.
there are plenty of articles and videos online about how rebinding is redone. many universities run their own binding service for their libraries. as for why—generally, because a hinge broke or was becoming very weak. 19th century book bindings are not especially durable, and they become more brittle with age. add to that the fact that students aren't especially careful with library books.
I've learned to love the thick ugly colored bindings. They do their job really well, and I never worry about whether I'm damaging them.
>>7742134
I own a first printing of Appley Dappley's Nursery Rhymes. My mom used to read it to me when I was very young. It still brings me happiness when I read it.
I find it kind of sad when people don't own anything 19th century or older.
I don't mean everyone should be antiquarians. But some very good books have been out of print since that time. I have some books from Victoria's reign strictly out of necessity, and they weren't very expensive.
