Friday, August 24, 2012

Guest post: vintage book collecting by Andi B Goode

Hello readers of the wonderful Kate Gabrielle's blog! My name is Andi (of Andi B. Goode) and today I'd like to share part of one of my (many) collections with you...

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I'm a collector of many things and I feel like I'm always finding something new (to me) to collect. One of my collections is vintage books. I've always loved the illustrations for book covers from the 1940s and 1950s but my collection started when my dad's stepfather passed away and I spent a night at his house – one of the things I loved was his small number of vintage hardback books with great dust jackets. So my dad let me take a few and I started scouring op-shops and other places for them. My interest has dwindled somewhat but I still love the collection that I have so I've taken some photos to share some of my favourites with you, today.

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I don't always know a lot about the books or the authors (I admit I've not read most of these!) and it's just struck me that I ought to do some research.

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I love the pretty pink colour of this dust jacket as well as the spindly sketchy style of the illustration.

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As a lover of vintage fashion I also find them appealing for their depictions of the fashions of the era in which the books were published.

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The cover for The Melody Lingers is definitely one of my favourites! I love the vibrant colours and that great hat. I also just love the way the spines of these books look against one another.

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But as much as I love the dust jackets for the hardcover books, I am most definitely a paperback girl through and through (for new or secondhand books) – I love their size and there is something just as appealing about a cracked spine as there is a pristine novel.

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One of my favourite things about collecting is being able to share my collections, so hopefully you've all enjoyed seeing part of my vintage book collection. And this post may just start me off on another book buying binge...