Treasure Hunting - every year during the 1st Weekend of May

The Elora Festival holds a used book sale every year during the first weekend in May.  It brings folks from all around and is their major fundraising initiative.  There's something for everyone and the Beynon family always comes home with some treasure.

 I've always got my eye out for a few select authors and John Gardner is one of them.  This particular volume is packed with woodcut illustrations.  Speaking of illustrations, here's a little something from 1964 by Roald Dahl.

Almost a first edition - unfortunately the ISBN tells me this is the second printing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Still, it's a beauty of a book.  A book from 30 years earlier was handed to me by my dear friend Diane.  This one was a first printing.

...and it had treasure inside...

The card above was used as a book mark.  Let's have a closer look at the date on that one penny card...

1939.  Take a look at the text of the card:

That's quite a find.  I love when a book nets me unexpected surprises.  Here's a gem we found among the thousands of volumes at the sale:

This tiny volume is a collection of the works of Percy Shelly...

...and it's old...

1837!  But that's not the oldest book we found at the sale.

This was:

The Vicar of Wakefield.  Admittedly, in very rough shape, but you'd be in rough shape too if you were...

190 years old!   And this book came with a surprise inside too.  Look at the dedication:

...and the dedication wasn't the only surprise.

Newspaper illustrations of The Vicar of Wakefield were tucked inside the book.  Have a look:

I'd say we had a successful day.

The Book of Trades

Each year the Elora Festival holds a massive used book sale during the first weekend of May. It is a fundraiser and a hugely successful one. Even before we called this area home, my wife and I would make the pilgrimage to the Elora Curling Club for the event.

Each year we go (as long as we're in town) and each year we walk away with at least one gem.

one year I found an 1852 History of the World (only the first volume, unfortunately). It was in poor condition but the perspective is amazing. Imagine history told by someone who has yet to see a US Civil War - or a World War. Imagine history before airplanes. Well, I don't have to - I have the book.

I also have a first printing of Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye which I found amid an ocean of crime novels. I'd post a photo of that one too, but I can't find it just now.

My favourite find, by far, is this one:

You probably can't read the title on the spine of this little volume. It's called The Book of Trades. I can find no date to tell me just when the good people at Spottiswoode and Co. of London printed this little gem but just look at some of the occupations listed:

You might not be able to make it out. We have The Paper Stainer, The Tallow-Chandler and the Button Maker, to name only a few. Each occupation has a detailed description of the job, the materials used, the tools of the trade and how to perform the tasks. It is an amazing reference for information that is quickly being forgotten. When was the last time little Billy said he wanted to be a Cooper when he grows up. (The job of Cooper, by the way, is still in demand, though there are only a few master coopers left in the world and not a lot of folks lining up to apprentice in the fine art of barrel making.)

I was referring to The Book of Trades this morning and thought I'd share. I would also encourage you to find your way to the little village of Elora on that first weekend in May and discover a few gems of your own.