Collecting Old Books

The collection so far

Antique dealers collect old books because they’re valuable. And some artists collect old books because they can be altered- scribbled on and cut to make new works of art. I’m collecting books for something different. I’m getting married in September and I’d like the table decorations to be book-related. So far my fiance seems willing too. 

This has become an excuse to dive into as many old bookshops as possible and I suspect I have more than enough books for the day. I’m hoping we can find a nice bookshelf to put them on when we move in together after the wedding.

But next I need to come up with a way of displaying them on the day. I’ve seen several clever ideas on the internet, but I’m not sure if they’re practical. If people are eating and drinking it might be better to have them in a basket which can be placed elsewhere if they start to get in the way.  If anyone has any suggestions let me know.

This Christmas my future mother-in-law very kindly gave me some old books as a present. Apparently she was going to give them to me separately at another time, but my fiance said I’d really like them and she should wrap them up.

An elephant on the front cover of The Jungle Book

He was right, they were just from the charity shop but I loved them. They were one of my favourite presents that day, books last longer than chocolate or bath salts and even clothes.

Now I’ve caught the collecting bug it’s hard to stop popping into the Oxfam book shop, or looking up my favourite titles on eBay to see if I can get a good copy. Fortunately or unfortunately, whichever way you look at it, I’ve yet to bag a job as a journalist so I can’t splash out on too many….