Preview Link: https://www.juxtaeditions.com/documents/321

Published Link: http://sites.juxtaeditions.com/Twisted

– Allyson Macci

Preview Link: https://www.juxtaeditions.com/documents/309

Published Link: http://sites.juxtaeditions.com/thefiveorangepips

Preview Link: https://www.juxtaeditions.com/documents/313

Preview link: https://www.juxtaeditions.com/documents/311

Preview:

https://www.juxtaeditions.com/documents/303

Website:

http://sites.juxtaeditions.com/scandalinbohemia/

http://sites.juxtaeditions.com/engineersthumb

The idea behind book traces is that a book from the past is more than just what was published. A book is something people read, write in, think about, and give to one another. In this sense, a book from the past can tell us about the people that owned/read that book.
The book I found certainly falls into this category. When faced with the assignment to find a 19th century book with writing in it, my first thought was Samuel Clemens. For whatever reason, I can rarely remember his more common name, Mark Twain. The first book I found in the library was “Merry Tales” by Twain. This was published in 1892. The writing that I found in the book was also from 1892, so it would be my guess that the person bought this book new.
The inscription, which is on one of the blank pages in the beginning of the book, reads “For Ada B. Richardson, From your friend Annie M. Amied
Bon Voyage – April 30, 1892”
My guess is that Annie bought this book in 1892, wrote this inscription, then gave it to Ada before she went on some kind of trip. Annie may have chose this book to give her because it’s a collection of short stories which Ada would be able to read on the road.
In this case, this book is certainly more than a book. It was a gift from one friend to another. Maybe this book was the last exchange between these two people. If nothing else, this book is proof of these people in the past.

After learning the signs of what to look for in an older book that may have some old writing in the margins it was like a scavenger hunt. I knew which section of the library to go to. But I did not want to start off knowing exactly where a book was. I wanted to try to use the skills discussed in our lab time. It took a little time because there are some newer notes in older 19th century books. So figuring out what was from a librarian and what was from more recent times took some decision making. I did however end up finding a really good book.

It was a little rough and beat up but I would not expect anything less from an older book. My book was published in 1917 in New York. The publisher was The Century Co.  As you can see from the photo the book was called Heroines of Service by Mary R. Parkman.

The book looked rebound and fixed on the spine, cover, and the pages looked taped back together due to numerous use and touch. I was happy to see all these things from the looks of the book but it was really exciting to see that I found a book based on the appearance. There were marking all through out the book.

There were words written through the book based on the readings about the women and their services and stories. Each section about a woman had different markings. Some passages had words, others had sentences underlined trying to make sense and piece together the stories of these women. Maybe they were trying to figure out how they were all similar or maybe even the differences in these women’s experiences.