#booknut

1st Edition, Early Printing of CS Lewis’s “Out of the Silent Planet” with original dust jacket. Ex library with associated markings. Solid binding, no writing. #rarebooks #firstedition #treatyourshelf #bookcollecting #cslewis #narnia #scifi #sciencefiction #shelfporn #booknut #booknerd #bibliophile https://www.instagram.com/p/B8-VAbihHeg/?igshid=260ccgp9amfc

Or in Book fairs or in Libraries 📚 #Bibliophile #bookstagram #BookNut #bookworm #bookporn #TorturedSoulSeries https://www.instagram.com/p/BfNlF3OFKfMhhPf0u9VgzIC_DvFL1J4C36UZEU0/?igshid=5mjstyhn6cr5

My Year of the Book - Day 124: John Muir’s “Our National Parks” (1909) may seem light years (or light sabres) away from today’s Star Wars celebrations, but there was a time when traveling to the wilderness was like visiting a whole other planet. I’ve long admired the artistry and delicate craftsmanship that went into turn-of-the-Century book design, and this volume is no exception. Muir assembled this from a series of sketches he wrote for the Atlantic Monthly, and although the true first edition was published in 1901, this fine volume qualifies for #firsteditionfriday as a first printing of the fully illustrated “new and enlarged edition” from 1909. A lovely and important book from the man who, with Roosevelt and Pinchot, spearheaded the creation of our national park system. #nature #nationalpark @nationalparkservice @nationalparkgeek #johnmuir @usparksandmonuments #book #booknut #bookish #bookshelf #bookstagram #yearofthebook #giffordpinchot #theodoreroosevelt #firstedition #rarebooks #mylibrary #reading #outdoors #bookworm

My Year of the Book - Day 105: I’m staying with my New York City theme for at least one more day. Here are two New York World’s Fair related guide books, the left one from the 1939-40 fair era (it is mostly a guide to NYC, but has a special fair section), and the one in the right created specifically from the 1964-65 fair. Both fairs were built on the same section of land in Flushing Meadows, Queens. The 1939 fair had its trylon and perisphere for its icons, and the 1964 iteration featured the unisphere as well as four corporate pavilions designed by Walt Disney Productions. These included GE’s Carousel of Progress, Pepsi-Cola’s Small World, the State of Illinois’ Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and Ford’s Rotunda, which eventually gave Disneyland its Primeval World diorama. The other three each migrated west to Anaheim as well. Great memories and images of two time periods long past. #guidebook #bookaddict #newyorkworldsfair #newyork #disney #worldsfair #1939 #1964 #book #bookish #booknut #booklove #bookstagram #booknerd #booklover #reading #audioanimatronics #imagineering #flushingmeadows #queens #mylibrary #mycollection #ephemera #rarebooks #disneyland #smallworld #carouselofprogress #abelincoln

My Year of the Book - Day 104: I had to sneak away from our family celebration to post this, so I’ll be brief. Witold Rybczynski’s biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, “A Clearing in the Distance” (1999) is a wonderful read. Olmsted, if you don’t know the name, was the visionary man who masterminded the design of NYC’s Central Park, and created the role of landscape architect along the way. He also designed the Stanford University grounds, the Back Bay Fens in Boston, and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, among many others. WR (a personal favorite who is also represented on Day 12) is a practicing architect and professor as well as a terrific writer, so he is a perfect biographer for such a fascinating man. I learned a good deal reading this one. #centralpark #newyorkcity #nyc #fredericklawolmsted #book #witoldrybczynski #favoriteauthor #booknut #bookish #booklove #bookgeek #design #nature #landscape #landscapearchitecture #bookstagram #yearofthebook #mylibrary #reading #firstedition #biography #booklover

My Year of the Book - Day 88: MLB’s Opening Day rates another “My Year” book centered on the grand old game; one that gives a whole new meaning to the term “fantasy baseball.” “Rhubarb” (1946) by humorist H. Allen Smith, tells the tale of a cat who inherits a baseball team, specifically the Brooklyn Loons, and the story is just about as goofy as you’d imagine it could be. It was illustrated throughout (and on the wraparound cover art) by the wonderful Leo Hershfield. Smith came to fictional fame in 1941 with his first comic novel, “Low Man on the Totem Pole.” That book sold more than a million copies, and launched both Smith and his title phrase to popularity. “Rhubarb” spawned two fictional sequels and a 1951 motion picture of the same name starring Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, William Frawley and, in an uncredited role, Leonard Nimoy. The lead role of the cat (there were a total of 14 felines used in various scenes) was played by “Orangy,” who went on to appear as “Cat” alongside Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” earning a “Patsy” (the “Oscar” for animals) for both roles. The book also had a great tag line: “Rhubarb is the story of a cat who inherited nine more lives - a baseball team!” Rhubarb the cat brought the Brooklyn Loons plenty of good luck, and I wish your team the same today. Remember, on opening day, every team is still undefeated! #baseball #openingday #mlb #baseballbooks #rhubarb #booksintofilm #sportsbooks #book #bookish #bookgeek #bookworm #booknerd #booknut #reading #mylibrary #yearofthebook #dustjacket #firstedition #satire #humor #hallensmith #rarebooks #novel #bookstagram #famouscats #catsofinstagram #feline #leonardnimoy

My Year of the Book - Day 86: Following the success of “Storm” in 1941, George R. Stewart began work on what became perhaps his most unique book, in the truest sense of the word. “Names on the Land” grew out of his fascination with history, geography and mankind’s sociological and psychological need to leave something permanent on the land; even something as simple as a name. Interrupted by a secretive research gig for the navy (hinted at in the book’s dedication) and subbing in for young teachers called to war, GRS finally finished it in 1945. The book was NOT a long, dull list of place names; instead, it described HOW and WHY towns, rivers, mountains and regions, etc. were named, and by whom (for example, the British, French and Spanish each had different naming practices, as did Native Americans with their largely oral tradition). It is a bright, thoughtful and fascinating work on a topic largely taken for granted; one few had considered or studied. It was also chock full of surprises, some quite humorous. The DJ cover art is very nice as well, with a slight and sneaky revision between the first 2 editions! It also appeared as an Armed Services Edition, and revised editions were released in 1958 (GRS added chapters on Alaska and Hawaii, as well as a “Notes and Reference” section originally eliminated by wartime paper restrictions) and 1967. It remains in print, and in use, today. GRS later compiled two place name books and one on given names in the twilight of his life. When asked, GRS named “Names” as his favorite of all of his books, and that’s saying quite a bit. #bookish #booknut #bookgeek #bookworm #booklife #bookstagram #reading #placenames #naming #bibliophile #fortheloveofbooks #yearofthebook #rarebooks #firstedition #names #favoriteauthor #georgerstewart #history #geography #americana #regional #ushistory #americans #northamerica #folklore

My Year of the Book - Day 85: It’s “Back to School Monday,” featuring another “retired” series of California State textbooks, but with a special “Seussical” bonus! The Treasury of Literature “Readtext” series began as a 4-book (Grades 3-6) set in 1954, and it was adopted for use by the State of California in 1960. Eventually, readers for 1st and 2nd grades were added, bringing the total to six. The strength of this series was in the content, as it featured excerpts from dozens of well-known works from popular children’s authors such as Felix Saltin, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lewis Carroll, E.B. White, Robert McCloskey, Hugh Lofting, Johanna Spyri and Kenneth Grahame, among many others. I don’t have any teachers editions from his set, so I can’t compare those to the Ginns (Day 64) or Prose & Poetry (Day 78) series’, but one thing the Readtext series has going for it (at least from a collectible angle) is the first appearance in book form of the little-known Dr. Seuss “story,” “Marco Comes Late.” The 6-page piece, which features Seuss’ protagonist from “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” originally appeared in Redbook magazine in the early 1950s. It was eventually collected in “Horton and the Kwuggerbug and Other Lost Tales,” published in 2014. But if you owned a copy of “Treat Shop” like me, you’d already have it. :) #drseuss #bookish #booknut #bookworm #booksofinstagram #yearofthebook #booklover #book #bookstagram #childrensbooks #mylibrary #reading #textbook #bookgeek #bookcollecter #drseussweek #collection #mybookshelf #favoriteauthor