Search Results: Over 100 Years Old from Turtleman Used Books

Blue cloth cover is coming loose from the binding, front and back, but not completely detached. Peeling off the lower corner of the spine as well, as shown in photo #1. Pages are clean and tight, with no sign of notes or underlining. Owner's name on each of the first four pages. That owner was Gertrude Pritchard, apparently a schoolteacher in England early in the twentieth century. I acquired a number of her books from an estate sale in Seattle recently, and have gathered them in a catalogue entitled "Pritchard Library".

Usually, when I have a poor book, it is due to the cover and binding that has failed. This patterned green fabric shows some wear at the edges and corners and darkening over the spine, but really isn't that bad for the age. And there are no hinge splits, so the binding is still remarkably solid. It is the pages, where there are many torn pages, some repaired with tape and some not, and a scattering of stains throughout. This book was quite popular at the Hoquiam Public Library from May of 1929 to June of 1930 before it seems to have been retired. This book is quite rare.

This book shows a fair amount of wear. Navy blue fabric covered boards, with gilt print on the front and spine. Fabric is worn through at the corners. There are splits in the endpapers front and back, showing the binding fabric. The deckle-edged pages are still tight and clean except for the frontispiece page, which is almost detached. This is a fairly rare book. This book will ship at over two pounds. Excess shipping costs are included in the list price.

No dust jacket. Green fabric covered boards with embossed initials on the front and gilt print on the spine. Fabric on the spine is faded with age. Wear to the cover is mild. Deckle-edged pages are generally clean and tight, with one illustration that has come loose (while the binding is stitched, illustrations were glued in after the fact). Frontispiece is in color, the other illustrations are black & white. There is a binding split after the front endpaper, not unusual in a book of this age. This reprint of Scribner's first edition from 1907 begins with a 48-page biography of the author before beginning the eleven chapter novel. Stratton-Porter was known for her work as a natural historian and that interest typically shows up in her novels as well. This novel is no exception. A moderately rare book, this is one of a number of books I recently acquired by this author.

I would describe this book as very good, except for one glaring problem. The front cover has split along the hinge from top to bottom. Nothing is coming loose, at least not yet. Otherwise, the book looks very nice. The deckle-edged pages are clean, tight and intact. Gilt on the top page edges.

Exterior of the book shows some wear at the corners and the head and tail of the spine. One 8 mm tear to the fabric along the lower rear edge. The pages are, for the most part, clean, tight and unmarked. Minimal tanning. One plate near the middle has come loose, and a small group of pages (5) were torn and repaired with tape many years (decades?) ago (see photos). A part of the Riverside Literature Series. (For another in this series, see ST07518.) A rare book priced low due to the damage. Originally published in this series in 1886, reprinted in 1896.

A compact little book with an embossed red fabric cover, coming apart at the top of the spine, both front and back. Contains seven illustrated short stories for children, each with a moral to teach. A number of inscriptions are found on the first few pages, the earliest of which documents a gifting in 1866 (see photo #5). An additional inscription documents the finding of this book in an attic in 1945.

No dust jacket. Cover has places of stains and discoloration. Owner's name inside front cover, with inscription. Pages are clean and tight.Described as a coming-of-age novel set in the Pennsylvania Dutch community, this story was made into a play titled "Erstwhile Susan". Photos from that play are included throughout the book, with the first shown in photo #2. This book has been reprinted in modern times; this is not one of those reprints.

An 8-volume set of all the history you'll even need (as long as it happened before the 20th century). The first seven volumes were written by John Lord and first published between 1883 and 1896, the year Lord died. The eighth volume, edited by George Spencer Hulbert, was published in 1924. The first seven volumes in this collection were most recently copyrighted in 1921.
The books show varying levels of wear. All have some hinge splits where the glued parts part ways with the stitched parts (a common thing in books of this age). Most are minor, but the front split in volume 8 and the front and rear splits in volume 1 do weaken the binding a bit. The owner's name can be found on the front endpaper in volumes 1 and 3. Covers are artificial leather, worn at the corners, edges and hinges, with the worst wear to Volume 1 and the least wear to volumes 3 and 4. Pages are clean tight and intact, with the exception of one loose page in the table of contents of Part I of Volume 1.
Altogether, this set offers… Read More

Lightly worn for a book from the last year of the 19th century. From the original manuscript, which I gather was held in England until 1897, at which point it was returned to Massachusetts. "With a Report on the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts." Complete with appendix and index. Pages are clean, tight and unmarked, and still rather bright after 123 years. A nice copy. Will ship at about four pounds. Excess shipping and packaging costs are included in the list price.

Written as a textbook, with review questions at the end of each chapter. Cover has come loose, as have a few of the pages. Many notes throughout. Wear at the lower right corner. Contains a number of fold-out maps, such as the three shown in the photos. All appear to be intact.

This book does not actually have a copyright date, but the songs do, and 1917 is the latest copyright date of any songs. Therefore the book has to have been published sometime after, but not too long. I have found accounts of Rev. Bulgin actively travelling the country with his revival in the 1920s. One would imagine he'd have had his song book with him at that time. Probably available to the attendees keep for a small fee.Cover is somewhat worn, with a few creases, a small tear, and a bit grimy. The stapled binding has allowed the middle sheet to come loose. (see photo #2) A very rare book.

Over 100 years old. A small reference book for business. Owner's name inside front cover. Minimal wear for its age. A unique piece.

No dust jacket. Generally in good condition, however the fabric of the front cover has bubbled up in a few places on the front cover, perhaps from some moisture. Pages are clean, tight and unmarked. This is part of a collection of books I recently acquired that used to belong to one Gertrude Pritchard of England in the early 20th century. Her name can be found inside the front cover and in a couple other places before the title page. I have gathered all these books into a catalogue called "Pritchard Library".

Part of a series called Elementary Classics. Book is worn, with the fabric faded on the spine, and worn through at most edges and corners. Pages are fairly tight and intact. The Introduction, Index and Notes are in English, while the actual essay is in Latin. Written by Cicero in 44 BC. The original owner's name can be found in about three places. That owner was Gertrude Pritchard, a schoolteacher in England at the beginning of the 20th century. I recently acquired a number of her books at an estate sale in Seattle. You can view all of her titles in the catalogue "Pritchard Library".

The cover of this rare old book has come loose from the book and is in two pieces. This small guide is intended to help plan children's parties around a number of themes, including New Years, Valentine's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and more. Each party plan comes with a number of recipes and a beautiful full-page, full-color illustration by the well-known artist Frances Tipton Hunter. Many recipes specify the use of Calumet Baking Powder, so I presume that they were a sponsor of this publication (Additional copies were available for 10 cents with a coupon from your Calumet can, or 50 cents without.) This is a fairly rare book.

Red cloth covered boards with black print on cover and spine and two color stamped decoration on the cover. Fabric is darkened over the spine. Wear to the fabric is miimal. There is a spine split after the front endpaper (photo #6) and there is looseness in the stitching at a couple other locations (photo #7). No pages are coming free. Notable is that the illustrator was none other than Charles M. Russell. Also notable is that there are only three illustrations. A rare book.

Translated from the original German (Diagnostik der Innerer Krankheiten). Fourth American edition, taken from the fifth German edition. No dust jacket. Fabric worn through at the corners and base of spine. Endpapers split over the spine, both front and rear. Otherwise, pages appear to be clean and tight. Owner's name on first page after the front endpaper. Many diagrams and illustrations. A rare copy. This book will ship at almost five pounds. Excess shipping costs are included in the list price.

We have here a 12-volume set of the complete works of Henrik Ibsen, translated into English, published in 1908. All show very little wear other than being quite sun-faded over the spines. The leather covers are still smooth and intact, with a lovely oxblood shade and a bright gilt shield with the title information. The spines feel more like suede but the gilt print is still clear. The pages are clean, tight and intact, with no significant age-related yellowing. The bindings are stitched with the covered glued on. There is some splitting of the glue near the front of eight of the twelve books, as often happens with these turn of the century bindings, but nothing is coming loose (see photo #10). The twelfth volume is a biography of the playwrite. The previous owner has included a clipping of Ibsen's obituary inside the front cover of this volume. This is a rather rare and highly valued set. This set will ship at about ten pounds. It will be shipped with insurance and signature required. All excess… Read More

A rare edition. All I have found online are editions from the early 20th century. This would be a great sourcebook for quiz nights. I was a teacher for 40 years, but some of these questions stump me.
No dust jacket. The tan fabric covered boards show just mild wear at the edges and corners, and there is one small dark stain on the right hand edge of the front cover. The real wear problem is that the endpapers have split, both front and rear. Photo #3 shows the front split, the rear is worse. New endpapers might well be in order, if you feel up to that.
First published in 1880.