And by high places I mean the third floor of an old dowtown book store where they keep very old, very rare and very cool books and maps. This is the third floor where wayward children are shunned, where the staff has eyes in the back of their head, and where the word Provenance is used in regular conversation.
Had it not been for the fact that Vanessa was allowing my children to touch 350 year old books worth thousands of dollars I would have relaxed and lost myself in history of the place.
Check out the book above. The Provenance of this book (look at me, using the word in regular conversation!!) is traced back to the original owner in the Netherlands 1659 (go Dutch!), it then travelled to London, England and on to Scotland, then to Pennsylvania (go Steelers!) and then to London, Ontario. Basically it's a set of books about the life and culture of ancient Rome (don't go to sleep on me here - this really is interesting stuff!).
The ubber cool part is that the books include fold-out maps of Rome from a bird's eye view (apparently the bird's eye view thing makes them even more special). And here's the fascinating part - the paper is still white and drawings are impeccable. Want to know why? I know you do. And it's simple - it's because it's really old. So old infact that the paper is made of recycled fabric and the paper and ink are non-acidic so it has lasted a lot longer than would be expected of more modern day books.
OK - enough with the history lesson.
Moving on ...
First edition children's books. Again, not meant for today's child. At least not with the $100 price ticket attached. Amazing books though. Worth a peek.
Dawnelle - if you're reading this, I was thinking about you today. Did you ever take a walk down Dundas Street and stumble upon Attic Books? Drool.
Once we tired of books and maps we were entertained by fabulous antiques such as this little guy. If I had a place to put him I'd take him home. But alas - my house is full. That and I couldn't afford him. But I guarantee you I will be making many more visits to my friend in high places and when I do I'll say hi to this little guy. Next time - sans kids.
ps We were told that the attic is a very bad place to keep old books. So why is the store named Attic Books?
3 comments:
In 1976, Attic Books opened on the third floor of 428 Richmond St., waaaaay up on the top floor. *That's* why it's called Attic Books. The store used to be...up in the Attic.
I am also dazzled by old books, maps, etc. What a cool field trip!
I'm slobbering all over this post. I'm so bummed that I missed this spot! 3 years and I never even knew about it!
Thanks for a great read, though!
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