bibliophile — a collecter of books

I am a collector.

I collect things I like. I don’t have a particular interest or object that draws me. I like what I like in the moment and then I need to have a few more of what I like.

The other day, in a post, I talked about my chair collection.

Old books are another thing I like to own—and not just because I like to decorate with books, but books are especially tied to the owner’s soul. A few of those books belonged to my husband’s parents and consist of Catholic prayer books and missals. They date back to the early 1920’s.

I’ve displayed a few old ones on a glass cake platter and also in small piles here and there —like my mother-in-law’s old Singer sewing machine. I like to create vignettes with my books so I can display them more readily and have tangible reminders of people I loved.

Inside my mother-in-law’s prayer book are prayer cards — these are mostly obituary or memorial types of cards that include the person’s date of death and a prayer to a Catholic saint. She also tucked in some personal notes and a few book marks.

The spline has eroded over the years. I used some jute to tie it together. Inserted under the jute is a skeleton key of unknown origin that was found in my father-in-law’s possessions after he died.

Having these books on display is a reminder of lives once lived and memories of their presence and love in my life.