Vintage Collection - Commentarii linguae Graecae

Title: Commentarii linguae Graecae
Author: Guillaume Budé
Year Printed: 1556 

This is the oldest book currently in my collection. It's also one of the few I cannot read - it's written in a combination of Latin and Greek. This book was printed in 1556 and is in beautiful condition! The paper is in better shape than most of my more recent vintage finds. This is likely due to the material the paper is made of -- more of a rag and less of a bleached wood pulp. 

The outside of the book is a little worse for ware, especially on the spine. The text block, meanwhile, is sound. The gentleman at the Mark Twain Library, where I bought the book, believed it had been rebound sometime in the 1600s, meaning the current leather cover is not genuine. 

He also told me that his research into the book led him to discover that the printer had died of the Plague a few years after the book was printed. So... that's a thing. 

There's an interesting book plate attached to the front inside cover from one of the previous owners.

There are also short notes in the margins of some of the pages. I love it when I discover little remnants of previous owners like this! 

This was a lucky find that I'm so grateful to have in my collection! 💖

Vintage and Antique Book Collection

Just about everyone collects something. Me, I collect vintage and antique books. (Skulls as well, but we won't go into that here.)

While nothing I have is particularly valuable, they're all special to me. I personally find them beautiful and am often amazed that they've survived as long as they have.

Most of my collection were discovered at local library sales, with a few used book shops and Etsy sales thrown in. I'd love to begin exploring antique shops in our general area with the hopes of expanding the collection. While I planned on starting my little exploration adventure this spring, the COVID-19 pandemic has put things on hold. Hopefully I can move forward with my weird little hobby again next year.

For now, I'll be cataloging these old beauties and sharing them here with you. This is mainly so I have a record of what is on the shelves as well as a general idea of when each book was printed. It's my hope that, if something happens to me, the list will help these books go to good homes rather than just being dumped into a trash bin somewhere.