As a kid, I was a voracious reader. Even more so than I am now! I was at our local Value Village when I saw an interesting looking copy of Jane Eyre. Not too weathered but had a haunting image on the front and back cover. I asked the clerk if this book was priced the same as their regular hardcovers and he said yup, they are all priced the same. Unfortunately when I got to the till, the more senior cashier told me it was actually 4x the price I thought.
I left it.
When I got back to my computer I found out that it was a 1943 Random House copy with prints from Fritz Eichhenberg's wood engravings. It was originally published as a 2-book set with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Wuthering Heights by her sister Emily Bronte. They were going for big bucks on Etsy!
I've just finished reading Wuthering Heights for the millionth time, one of my all time favourites!!! I am so sorry, I just reread your comment about the measuring image from the Sesame Street book, my inbox got totally full with comments on my giveaway and I totally forgot, would you still like me to send it to you or am I too late?
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for visiting the blog! I was surprised to see a comment because I hadn't told family/friends about sixballoons yet (I am a first-time blogger)... I actually don't need the Sesame Street image anymore but thank you for getting back to me. I love your site as your posts, photos and storytelling are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteDidn't know you collected old books - how fun!
ReplyDeletestrange about the upside-down jane eyre cover! i know very little about antique books, but i love the classics, and to find older printings is always such a thrill. your copies here are lovely.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful find and how lovely to have these in your bookshelf. Thanks for telling me about this.
ReplyDeleteyou already know my thoughts on this book and find :) thanks for diving in this week!
ReplyDeleteoohh i LOVE both jane eyre and wuthering heights. definitely two of my favorite books of all times. i have a beautiful edition of jane eyre with a an illustrated cover. i think i've read both books dozens of times.
ReplyDeletecame over here from ana's friday archive dive.
An upside down edition makes it even rarer!
ReplyDeleteI have both these editions myself - and Fritz Eichenberg was a friend of my parents back in the 50s when they lived in NYC and worked at the Catholic Worker. One of my favorites of his sketches is here: http://bit.ly/m4iUL4
He was an amazing man. Enjoy his beautiful engravings. Thanks for sharing this post.
Oh gosh!! I also go crazy whenever I find vintage classics! Just last week I found an old Robin Hood book, but then I didn't buy it because the pages were falling apart. :( But anyway, I have a vintage Wuthering Heights book as well! I think mine is also from the 1940s.
ReplyDeleteIt still confuses me that someone would actually give these books away to a thrift store!!
ReplyDelete