I am currently reading the tall, cloth-bound book on the left. It is a Canadian 'atlas' (more a geographical survey/textbook including maps) from 1935. The first few pages, as that's all I've read so far, have been fascinating. Really, it's a historical document. It is what people thought of Canadian geography in 1935, some 78 years ago. Pluto was brand-new - only discovered 5 years earlier. There is also an amusing bit about archaeologists:
"There still remain unexplored regions. There are some parts of the world where the foot of the civilized seeker of knowledge has seldom, if ever, trod. But the little known regions are dwindling, year by year, as the adventurers push back the line of darkness. Everywhere, too, are the archeologists or 'diggers', who excavate old cities or old geological strata, searching for relicsof past ages, to aid in the knowledge of early life on the earth."
It is a book that I think I got when my Grampa C passed away, when I was 20. All three of his children, and all 5 of his grandchildren, met at the home he shared with my Grama a little while after he was gone. It was a peaceful afternoon. All of the things that Grama didn't want to keep now that he was gone were laid out on tables in the basement. Slowly, in turn, we all selected things that we wanted to keep. I selected many things: a small bookshelf to hang on the wall; a tin from India (where he lived when he was young), with some 60 old coins in it; some hand-painted teacups; and many of his books. I think this book was amongst them. However, I also got many books when my Grama E moved several years back, and I'm not sure which of the two this book came from.
Either way, this book belonged to one of my grandparents. Maybe it was even one of their schoolbooks. Its spine is fragile, and so I won't be carrying it to and from work with me. It will be my first home book - let the blog begin in earnest!
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