I actually read a book over the weekend. I found this old (1920 edition) book, in a box of OLD books I bought from a yard sale a few years back, stuck in a corner of the closet. I dusted it off...(It is in very tattered condition)..and started to read.
This was a novel written as a diary by a young girl whose parents were divorced. At her Father's home she was Mary. At her mother's home she was Marie. I enjoyed the book!!
I know that the person who had the book before me, treasured it. There was only one page that was damaged. The person who had it before was very careful to keep the torn pieces attached to the page. She had straight pins holding the remnants to the page. The pins were extrememly rusty so I assume this page had been this way for some years.
When I find things, such as this, I start to wonder about the person who had this book. I can tell by a sticker inside the front cover that this book was once in a "Presbyterian Sunday School Library." 
Had I read this book earlier, I wouldn't have had to wonder about the "hair wreath" picture I posted when I first started blogging. In the first few chapters this was discussed often as there was one in her Father's home along with a funeral plate. (Now I'm wondering about the funeral plate..LOL)
7 comments:
Oh yes, the hair wreaths. Somehow it creeps me out. Thanks for your comment-- my grandma would make toast in the morning and insist on buttering it herself. I was old enough to do it, but she insisted. Just a few months ago, my brother told me it was because we used too much butter and she wanted to conserve it!
Interesting looking book... we must investigate the funeral plate. My friend Trish has a potato casserole recipe that she calls funeral potatoes, because that's what she always takes when asked to cook. :o)
Oh what a treasure! And I'm so glad that this book, once so loved by someone, has a happy new home.
And thank you for saying sweet things about my blog.
Hugs,
Mari-Nanci
Yuck on the hair wreath. We have a mansion here that was built by one of the famous Columbia River Bar Pilots and there is a hair wreath framed in one of the rooms. Very strange tradition.
I love old books like that and that one looks very interesting, especially with the funeral plate. I have one bookcase that is just dedicated to my old finds like that.
What a very interesting post. I have never heard of a funeral plate or the hair wreath.
I did laugh at Little Pen pen, & the potato dish she always makes! I guess mine is my Bacon & Egg Pie.
I saw my first "funeral hair art" when we visited the Packer Mansion - at least I think that's what it was. It freaked me out a bit. Then another time I saw at an auction a small box of lockets from the late 1800s. They all had the names or initials of children (so we were told) and a curl of their hair was inside. There are a lot of different customs in different cultures dealing with hair.
I love old books with illustrations, my favorite ones being by "Grace Livingston Hill"
It must have been beloved to be patched together in that manner.
There are strange funeral practices back in the day for sure!
:)
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