Saturday, January 30, 2010

Vintage Copy of My Favourite Book



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!

Of course when I went back it was gone, but luckily for me, another thrift store I hit up (SPCA Thrift Store on Victoria Drive) had both books in great condition - except the covers were blank. I shrugged and bought them anyway. All the Eichenberg engravings inside the books are the same. One oddity is that Jane Eyre is upside down... What I mean is that the book cover was applied upside down, but all else is fine and Wuthering Heights is a-ok.


I'm looking forward to getting re-aquainted with an old favourite and seeing if I will like it as much as I did when I read it years ago...
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10 comments:

  1. Thrifted TreasureFebruary 6, 2010 at 1:12 PM

    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?

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  2. SixBalloonsFebruary 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM

    Wow, 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!

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  3. Nancy DeprezMarch 22, 2010 at 8:07 PM

    Didn't know you collected old books - how fun!

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  4. ana @ i made it soNovember 12, 2010 at 1:38 PM

    strange 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.

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  5. AnonymousDecember 29, 2010 at 12:43 AM

    What a wonderful find and how lovely to have these in your bookshelf. Thanks for telling me about this.

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  6. ana @ i made it soMay 15, 2011 at 7:09 PM

    you already know my thoughts on this book and find :) thanks for diving in this week!

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  7. clearlytangledMay 17, 2011 at 11:55 AM

    oohh 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.

    came over here from ana's friday archive dive.

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  8. Jo Chopra McGowanMay 18, 2011 at 4:01 AM

    An upside down edition makes it even rarer!

    I 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.

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  9. Blessy @ Stellar TatterJanuary 23, 2012 at 3:45 AM

    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.

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  10. SixBalloonsJanuary 24, 2012 at 9:09 AM

    It still confuses me that someone would actually give these books away to a thrift store!!

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