Heh. Quite small, admittedly -- it was chosen to be the "old books" case because it's the secretary with the locking glass doors, and *feels* like it should have really old books in it. Still, I had sort of expected that space for a few dozen such was going to be enough: I think of the old books as such a *tiny* part of the overall collection that they scarcely take any space at all. (Which, relatively speaking, they do...)
We segregate by fragility. There are old books in other cases too. The "hundred year" case has glass doors, which help protect the books. (Three shelves, btw.)
At the macro level, we segregate by subject area and where we are most likely to use the books. E.g., the home health and cookbooks are in the bookcase in the kitchen, and all the railroad, calligraphy, and illumination books are all in bookcases in my office/scriptorium. Ealdthryth is slowly cataloging them in her copious amounts of spare time. 8^)
As far as antiquarian books, we do have some, but they aren't very significant. It was amusing to read through the principles of logic book from 1893. It didn't focus so much on mathematical logic, but rhetoric, philosophy, and what I would consider sophistry--based on the principles the author deemed "self-evident".
I was at the home of a true bibliophile and she wasn't quite ready to go out, so my wife and I were waiting for her in her library. I was looking at a book open on a display stand when I suddenly realized what I was looking at. It must have shown in my face because I suddenly heard her voice. She was at the top of the stairs looking at me. Her: You know what you're reading, don't you? Me: The Holinshed Chronicles??? Her: First edition! Me: Shakespeare only owned second edition! Her: Oooo! You *do* know your books! -- Dagonell
Tres spiff! We don't own anything nearly *that* old -- oldest thing in the collection is 17th century, and it's not actually very interesting. The monologue in the bookstore went something like, "It's a religious rant. It's in crappy condition. I have no *conceivable* use for this book. But it's from 1690, and it's only twelve bucks!" Occasionally the really pure bibliophilia does poke through...
yeees. I strongly suspect that monologue is why I own a 1917 hardcover of a Shakespeare play I don't even like. I'm actually considering whether it should go to a new home now that I have a complete volume of Shakespeare's works (no printing date anywhere in it, to my frustration).
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 03:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 04:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 04:11 am (UTC)(That said, I don't think our over-100 books would fill even one of the half-height bookcases if we pulled them all together, so I'm impressed.)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 04:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 04:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 03:19 pm (UTC)As far as antiquarian books, we do have some, but they aren't very significant. It was amusing to read through the principles of logic book from 1893. It didn't focus so much on mathematical logic, but rhetoric, philosophy, and what I would consider sophistry--based on the principles the author deemed "self-evident".
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 04:21 am (UTC);-)
[Speaking for a relative, not for myself...]
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 01:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 04:59 am (UTC)Her: You know what you're reading, don't you?
Me: The Holinshed Chronicles???
Her: First edition!
Me: Shakespeare only owned second edition!
Her: Oooo! You *do* know your books!
-- Dagonell
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 02:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-12 05:28 pm (UTC)