I Just Felt Like Crying

I mentioned in my first post how I have always loved books. I'm not kiddin! I love the way they feel in my hands and I love the way they smell. I was the same way about fresh new notebook paper and the smell of real wooden pencils too! School was my escape and when I was young I loved school.

I think they allowed us to go to the library at my little country school when we made it to 5th grade! We were big enough kids then to check out library books! Our little school library was really a walk in coat closet that had been used to store books instead. The first book I checked out was "Bambi". A chapter book that made me cry. It was so sad! I also checked out "Old Yeller"....and it made me cry. Then I checked out "Where the Red Fern Grows" ....and guess what? It made me cry. Of course I eventually moved on to books that didn't always make me cry. Throughout the years I've probably averaged reading 4 or 5 books per month. Some I'm glad to say have given me a lot of good feelings and laughter, while others have scared the daylights out of me! So now you know that I get emotional over books. You won't be surprised when I tell you about the Wizard of Oz books I found in one crate in the storage unit....and how they made me want to cry!

I've done enough research by now to know how special these old books are. And for anyone my age, who didn't love watching the movie of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz? So when I found these books.....so messed up...I felt like crying.

I've listed them in the right column for sale here but I think they really need to go to a book conservator or at least someone who knows one. I don't have a book conservator here in my town. If you're interested in these books and you're up for the task of overhauling them, you can email me at kmorgan34@gmail.com. I will tell you what damage I see and then show you the pictures below. They definately have old wet damage, and from what I've read, some of the areas that look whitish/dusty are deactivated mold. The book covers are worn/chewed, one spine completely missing. They are coming loose from their bindings, the black and white illustrations have been colored by a child. The name plate has the name of the child who owned them (of course). The pages are browned with age and soiled with various brown spots and smudges. Surprisingly though, most of the color illustrations are still bright and in good condition

When I list these things here, I would appreciate any comments that any of you have to offer me. Maybe you have good ideas about what I could do with these books?