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.