Inscriptions - an extra story...

 Anne here. I've always loved books, and not only for the stories and knowledge inside them. I'm fascinated by the extra, unique story found just inside the front cover - the inscription. 

 

This fascination started because, as the youngest of four, most of the books I read were very clearly labeled as Not Mine -- in other words my older sisters and brother had put their names inside the front covers. Or some parent or relative had written something like "To darling NotAnne, happy birthday with all our love, Auntie Jean, Uncle Stan, Diane and Ian." Which still meant that no matter how much I loved the book, it was still able to be wrested from me and removed from my stash of favorite books.  

(By the way, I looked through a few old books to see if there was anything worth scanning for this post, and found this, where my sister Jill had staked a claim, only to be written over my my oldest sister Jan. Notice who ended up keeping the book, LOL - but shh, don't tell them.)

I was into "keepers" early in life. Maybe it came from having stories and poems (AA Milne, especially) read or recited to me over and over as a littlie, always wanting my favorite stories repeated. But most kids are like that, I think. I never changed. I still have comfort reads and if I've loved a book I want to own it, so it will be there for me to lay my hand on whenever I need to.

So I learned early to look inside the front cover of books to check out who to watch out for. My fear was always that I'd have a book taken from me before I'd finished it. This often happened. I was a good ten years younger than my siblings -- still am, strangely -- and often when we went visiting there was nobody of my age to play with. But I was pretty easy to keep quiet -- put me with a book or an animal and I was happy. Often it was a book, and oh, the anguish when it came time to leave if I'd fallen in love with a book and hadn't finished it...

Some of my parents' friends had specially designed bookplates inside their books. I thought that was very posh, and wanted so much for us to get them, too, but we never did. I remember making some one time and carefully gluing them into a book -- and getting into such trouble for it. (Admitting nothing here, but I'd probably glued my bookplate over some brother or sister's name.) Obviously I wasn't the first little girl who made her own bookplate. Gorgeous, isn't it?

 

Some of our books had bookplates inside -- award bookplates. Both my parents, but Mum in particular won lots of prizes, often in the form of a book, leather bound and precious, with an ornate bookplate inside. Dad's prizes tended to come as cheap editions of classics, all his little rural school could afford, but just as prized by us all. Sometimes the school or church had printed bookplate, occasionally there was a handwritten inscription from a teacher, which I think is even lovelier, though not as decorative. 

Inscriptions make books so much more special, I think. I have a collection of books from relatives long gone, poetry books that my grandfather gave my grandmother, romantically inscribed, and signed, always, "from your loving Billy." He'd learned the love of Scotland, poetry and Robbie Burns at his father's knee and passed it down through the generations. There's one I'll never forget, inside a book of Burns poems: "To my darling little Rosie, from your loving Billy, as I leave for hell in Flanders..." Newlyweds, parted by war.

 When I was thinking about this blog, I looked through some of the old family books, and found a stamp I'd never noticed before inside one of them: Chas Dunn Lending Library, Belgrave. That's my great-great grandfather, and I never knew he'd operated a lending library. The only photo I have of him is when he was running a feed and grain store, which later turned into a grocery store. So there's a story right there, from that one little stamp.

 One of my treasures is this little book my mum found for me in France when I was eight and we were touring Europe in the school holidays — it was  the year we lived in Scotland. As usual, I'd run out of things to read. I was so excited to see second-hand book stalls stretching forever along the Seine River — until I discovered all the books were in French! But my wonderful mother kept looking until she found one small book in English, about Guy of Warwick, a brave knight who committed great acts of bravery in order to win the heart of the cold Lady Phyllis. I was a picky romance reader even then, for even at eight, I thought Guy deserved someone a whole lot nicer than Phyllis. But I still read it over and over. The inscription says, "Anne, for something to read in Paris," and the date, which was Bastille Day.

When I was fifteen, we moved into a big city for the first time, and I had to travel by train and tram (trolleycar) to school, going through the centre of the city. Naturally my friends and I grew to know the city centre really well, but my favorite activity was done alone -- it was too uncool to do with friends. I haunted Berry's Antiques, and oh the treasures! Books for a few cents. Whenever I had any pocket money I'd to go there on the way home from school and comb through the tables and tables of books. Six or seven of the Georgette Heyers I bought there have the same name written on the inside cover, Violet Edith Reed. She must have been an old lady who had died when I bought them, but the inscriptions on these books recall a young girl who eagerly awaited Georgette Heyers' latest book each birthday or Christmas... "To Violet, from your friend Enid. Happy Birthday", To darling Violet, Merry Christmas from Mummy and Daddy."  I feel such a kinship with Violet Edith Reed, and still gladly cherish her books -- even the one she borrowed from her friend Enid and never gave back...  

I love how inscriptions span the barriers of time and open a tiny window into someone's life and connecting us across the generations. With this in mind, I always try to write inside a book I'm giving to someone. It used to be easy, but strangely, since I've become an author and often have to sign books, I now struggle to decide what to write.   I recently discovered a blog (thanks, Janice,) Forgotten Bookmarks, where a used and rare book dealer posts, in his own words -- "the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things I find in these books." The  inscription on the right is from his blog, and looking at it, I'm amazed what the author wrote. I think it might free me up in future.

So what about you? Do you have books with inscriptions that touch you, or remind you of a time past?  If so, share a favorite with us. Or is it something that's dying out, now that books are so cheap and disposable? 

Comments

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, Anne, what a wonderful post! I feel the same way you do about books having a special place in my life. And an inscription or bookplate makes them even more individual—a story within a story.

You made me get up and thumb through my shelves to remind myself of some of my favorites. The best, of course, are those done by my late mother. I have many and as she was a wonderful artsist, she often uncluded sketches. In a book of Aubrey Beardsley drawing she did a portrait of me.

Then I have several Maurice sendak books that he signed for me, including "In the Night Kitchen" with an original drawing of Mickey. Talk about treasures!

I also have some old books in German with my Swiss grandfather's ornate bookplate proclaiming " Aus der Buchereivon Ernst P. Munch" as well as a tiny leatherbound bible with my great grandmother's beautiful script inscribing it to her daughter.

I'll stop now, but thank you for such a beautiful post on timeless memories!

[Linda Banche]

For most of the time since the invention of the printing press, books were expensive and valuable, available only to a few. In our modern, disposable world, we tend to forget how precious books are. Even a mass-market paperback is important to me. I buy only keepers, and I'll have them forever!

Thank God for used books and libraries. I'd never find some books I wanted to read if not for them.

Gushing fan here. Anne, I'm the type who buys the entire backlist of an author I like. I'm waiting for your Harlequins to come back into print, or ebook. I want all your books. Keepers, the whole lot!

[theo]

I ADORE ForgottenBookmarks! Some time ago now, I purchased a copy of Peterson's Magazine, Vol 47-48, 1865, from her at a very reasonable price. There are a few pages missing at the front, but overall in decent condition (if I handle it carefully) and there's a tiny bit of paper glued on the front page which reads; Nz A. Brooks.

My most cherished though is my Uncle George's bible. He received it as a small boy and the original inscription is George Wallace, 84 east John street, Glasgow. He passed it to my grandmother with this inscription:

from George Wallace to his sister Maggie Wallace. 31 Market Street of Gallowgate Glasgow 8.12.87. It was passed on to my mother when she married my dad in 1947, also with an inscription from my gran.

It's falling apart now and I rarely touch it as I have it in a display case. But if I had a fire tomorrow, I'd pass up all the (sometimes outrageously) expensive antique books and things most people want to grab, and I'd take that bible.

Thanks for the awesome post today. You brought back wonderful memories for me.

[theo]

Oh, and a note to Linda...I scoured forever but managed to find Anne's entire backlist. It took some time, but I found doubles of some. They're out there. Rarely, because they're so awesome, but they're out there.

[Samantha Craig]

I have an antidote about inscriptions. When I was in High School we had a great back stage area for drama. During one production I found a book that was a collection of works by Edgar Allen Poe. I was in love with that book. There was no inscription or clue as to whom it belonged to and no one else ever touched it. So, at the end of the production my good friend presented me with the book and inscribed inside was the following "to my favorite niece Samantha love uncle Milton". so, while not true...and maybe slightly felonious the book became mine and remains one of my favorite books to this day.

[Linda Banche]

Thanks, Theo. I have "Tallie's Knight" and "The Virtuous Widow" (which is the story that got me hooked), both used. I have to look harder for the others.

[maryjoputney]

What a lovely post! Since I'm interested mostly in content, I've never thought much about inscriptions. My family had plenty of books around, but very seldom were any inscribed. There may have been a subliminal feeling that writing anything in a book was sacrilegous. "g"

But you came up with some wondeful examples here. I trust that your grandfather came home from hell in Flanders. What a window through time that one is!

Mary Jo

[Anne Gracie]

Cara/Andrea, your mother's inscriptions sound wonderful. I am in awe of people who can draw. I have a friend who's very talented in this area, and she usually does a little cartoon on a card when she gives a gift, or in a book, and it's magic.

Linda, what a lovely thing to say. Thank you. I only had three novels and a novella with Harlequin, and they've all been reprinted at some time or other, but only in the UK. And they never notify authors about reprints, so by the time I find out it's months after they've been on the shelves. I'm hoping they'll republish them at some stage, as I'm always getting mail from readers asking about those first few books.

[Anne Gracie]

Theo, I loved the story of your uncle's bible. I have an old bible we found in my dad's desk after he died but there's no name in it. I suspect it was his grandfather's, as it's full of pages inserted in it with prayers and verses copied out in the most beautiful neat writing. Dad used to say that grandfather was a "pillar of the church" so I'm guessing it was his, but if he'd only put his name in it...

And thanks for scouring the internet for my old books

[Anne Gracie]

Samantha, it was probably a copy bought second hand as a prop for the play, and with your name on it, it was obviously meant to be.

However I can imagine your descendants in a hundred years or so, in a froth of genealogical excitement, trying to track down the mysterious Uncle Milton. LOL

See, that's three stories out of one inscription (counting the original unknown story.) I wonder how many more we could get.

[Anne Gracie]

Mary Jo, yes, writing in a book was forbidden in my family, too, but names were all right, and inscriptions, though I think in was having a bunch of children that got some of the books named. I'm still laughing at the one that Jill wrote and Jan wrote over -- I'd never noticed that before.

And when books are given as gifts, I think an inscription is lovely. I also have a few books by author friends and having a personal message in them makes each copy so much more special.

And yes, my grandfather did come back from Flanders, but with badly damaged lungs from the poison gas. He died quite young, poor love, so I never knew him. But he left a strong "imprint" in the family, from the stories passed down about him, and also the poetry he loved so much, and from a few photos. So in a way, he was alive to all of us, growing up.

[Michael]

Thanks for the love -

FB

[Anne Gracie]

That comment above is from Michael, the writer of the blog I mentioned (click on the link in my post), and the rare bookstore where Theo bought her 1865 magazine.

Thanks for dropping by, Michael.

[Sue]

Loved the theme of the post! I too have a family bible with all the births and marriages in from the late 1800's. The most amusing is an attempt by my great great aunt to alter her birth year; vanity personified. I remember her well with dyed hair (a sign of a fallen woman in the 60's)in an elaborate French roll. We have her birth certificate so she didn't fool anyone! I guess the pursuit of eternal youth isn't so modern after all.

[Anne Gracie]

Sue, love your g-great aunt's attempt to lie -- in the family bible, no less. That's hilarious.

I had a great aunt called Aunty Glad -- and she was Glad by name and glad by nature. She lived in a tiny fishing village but her heart was in Hollywood, or Paris. She had two (2!) pairs of feather mules -- one pair in pink and the other in turquoise -- the only other place I'd seen feather mules was on TV -- Greenacres and other shows of the 60's. She was a darling and I'll put her in a book one day.

[Susan/DC]

I don't have a story about a book inscription, but I do have a story about a brief addendum added to a piece of paper. When I was a child one of my mother's friends had a copy of her great grandmother's homework (a page of sums). At the bottom of the page she added a heartbreaking note: her brother, only in his early 20's himself, had come home one winter day with a chill. The chill rapidly developed into pneumonia and he died. I could only imagine how devastated the young woman was and how she was compelled to record his passing so that even 100 years later people would be able to read that he existed and then died far too young.

[Janice]

When I was a kid and I got Christmas books, the people in my family never wrote anything in them; it wasn't their way. I had found old used Oz books with inscriptions like 'To Charlotte from her loving Aunt Emily, be a good girl' (I wonder what little Charlotte could have been up to.) I thought that was a wonderful custom, so I would write in the front who gave me the book and for what occasion. I still have some of these, written in the green fountain pen ink I favored when I was a kid, with those little notes about people long gone but dearly remembered for pleasing a little girl whose only friends sometimes were her books.

Nowadays we live in a modern disposable world, with books that aren't even on paper, and so I rarely write anything in a book I give in case the recipient wants to return it for something else. But every time I wrap a book that doesn't say anything in front, I think of the old quaint custom and wish it would return.

[Anne Gracie]

Susan/DC that's such a sad story. But also an odd one -- recording the tragedy on a page of sums. Wonderful that it wasn't thrown away.

Janice, I ,love it that you made your own inscriptions and have recorded the event so beautifully. I wish I'd done that more often. I loved green ink, too, and have several books marked in it, but only with my name.
I'm wondering if some of those "be a good girl" inscriptions weren't necessarily personal or any reflection on the child, but just a general exhortation that children in those times were often given. It's a bit Victorian, isn't it?

I sometimes don't write in a book for the same reason, but I often put a small card or something inside that, if it were me, receiving it, I'd keep in the book... for someone like Michael at Forgotten Bookmarks to find.

[Priscilla Waller]

What a wonderful site. One of the books had the poem "Time " inscribed in it. That is the poem engraved on the memorial to the British fallen on Septeptember 11.
We were lucky enough to be in London this year on that date and to go to the American Embassy for a memorial service.
Time is
Too slow for those who want
Too swift for those who fear
Too long for those who grieve
Too short for those who rejoice
But for those who love
Time is eternity.

[Anne Gracie]

It is a great site, isn't it, Patricia? I do love the unexpected glimpses of other lives and other times it provides.

That's a beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing it.

[JJ Johnson]

As a child and teen my Grammie always gave me books, inscribed "to my sweet Granddaughter", and sometimes my parents. I haven't been given the gift of a book in a very long time, it kind of makes me sad that no one is willing to take the time to pick a book I would like and write something in it. I would rather have a $15 paperback than any other fancy gift, becuase I know they put thought into it. I can't get my husband to understand this!

[Anne Gracie]

JJ, I think you should just tell them. Tell everyone you know "I want a book." And maybe let them know some authors you like as a guideline. If they're not big readers themselves, there are so many books out there the choice is daunting.

A friend and I give each other a book every Christmas -- it's not so much a Christmas present as a book for holiday reading -- and I love it, because she gives me the kind of books I don't buy myself, and vice versa. There have been times I've put off reading her book for the longest time, because I didn't think I'd like it, but eventually I read it and lI haven't been disappointed yet. I think it's because we're both readers and always give a book we've read that we loved. (This year I gave her two, because I couldn't decide between the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Elizabeth Peter's Crocodile on the Sandbank.)

[theo]

DD1 bought me three audio books this Christmas. I was thrilled! I always put books on my Christmas list. I get specific though. :)

Every year, my friend buys both my girls a Christmas book. Some are quite current, some have been classics and some pretty obscure, but they've always been a huge hit. And they're always inscribed.

Then again, books are a great gift any time.

[Anne]

Great website. I happened upon it while searching for words to write in the Bible I bought for my 8 year old grandson who will soon be making his First
Communion. I have never written an inscription in a book before although I have given books
many times as gifts. I think this is something I will start doing now.