Spring Wildflowers and Vintage Bottles

The wee one and I picked some dandelions, pansies, and some other purple flower out in the yard today. It looks as though all of a sudden spring has sprinkled itself across the yard, and these little pretties are everywhere. I have written about my vintage bottle collection here before, and if you were wondering what one does with those, here is my favorite use...

 They are so cheery on the window sill above the sink or clustered on the dining table, and the bottles are the perfect size for tiny blooms with short stems. I am loving spring, but I suppose I say that about every season here, as I am fortunate and grateful to live in a place where each season of the year is positively beautiful in its turn. I hope you are getting some sunshine and warmth in your neighborhood too!

Delightful Objects- Vintage and Antique Books

Today I'm sharing another of my mini collections. My vintage and antique books bring me joy even if I don't dare handle them too much. There are a few I've had since high school, a few that are recent acquisitions, some gifts, and perhaps one or two that are of monetary value, while every one of them has intrinsic and sentimental value.

 We keep two book cases in the house- the other is slightly larger than this. In recent years, Brian and I have tried to cull our collections and get rid of texts that we have lost interest in. I keep all sorts of literature (the other set of shelves houses all of my textbooks from college), and Brian is attracted to non-fiction; he keeps and reads books on history, religion, philosophy, politics, and knock-knock and yo mama jokes.

The second shelf down on the left houses my very small collection of old books. Among them are

If you're familiar with O.W. you can probably imagine that most of these are to dark for actual children's bedtime reading, but it is a lovely book nonetheless, with very pretty illustrations.

A copy of A Christmas Carol that someone received as a Christmas gift in the 30s.  

This Pride & Prejudice belonged to my grandfather's sister, Mary Agnes, known affectionately to us as "Aunt Sissy"

Ok, this one is not as old as the others, but it has an interesting page just inside the cover on Communism and how the publishing house established a royalties account for the author in the U.S. It states that "should he ever come to the United States, the royalties earned by the book will be turned over to him directly [...] In the event that within the next ten years Mr. Solzhenitsyn does not come [...] the royalties will be turned over to a worthy anti-Communist cause."

This beautiful Pride & Prejudice set was a thoughtful gift from my M&FIL. Isn't the cover art lovely? They also gave us Springs of Friendship, which is a small collection of quotes with lovely flower depictions that is dated 1970, but looks older.

I think this is the oldest of my books-
 printed in 1871.

 The two books of Irish literature were gifts from my father and stepmother. I am really into Irish literature, Irish culture, and Irish vacations.

 My father bought two volumes of this Poe collection at auction for me when I was in high school. I have always been a super book nerd.

 This is among my favorites. I love Hemingway, and this is a first year printing of A Farewell to Arms. My father sent this to me, and you can imagine my excitement upon tearing off the paper it was wrapped in!

I should probably do some reading up on how to properly store old paper, and if any of you have any suggestions, I would appreciate them. The one thing I won't do is tuck them away. Books are meant to be handled and enjoyed, and I certainly am delighted by my modest collection of lovely, dusty old books!