COLLECTION #168: Vintage US Presidents Book

It's so fun to have a collector blog! It's great to choose which collections to feature, how to present them, how to photograph them, and what to say about each item or collection. It's also fun to do whatever I want to do, which means occasionally breaking my own rules. I mean, who really cares? I do enjoy following my rules most of the time. It gives order and cohesion to the blog so people can find things, enjoy groupings of items, and keep my stuff organized. But once in awhile, I think it's fun to shake things up a bit. I don't ever want my blog to be boring!

Since today is President's Day in the US, I thought you might enjoy my fun book called Our Presidents at a Glance, by Rolf Benjamin Vinmont, published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1933 (revised with an update about Franklin Roosevelt in 1941). This book has a double page spread on each president, from George Washington to Franklin D. Roosevelt. A nice portrait is on the left, and a series of small line drawing illustrations and anecdotes about the President is on the left. (Speaking of left, did you know James Garfield was the first left-handed US President?)

Back when I was a kid, we celebrated two Presidents with holidays: Abraham Lincoln on February 12, and George Washington on February 22. That made February lots of fun, with two days off school, and Valentine's Day in between! We spent a lot of time studying both of these great men, learning what made them great. But somewhere along the line, the powers that be decided that one holiday was better than two (BAH! I say!), and it was much cooler to celebrate ALL the presidents, instead of arguably the two greatest Presidents of all.  But what ended up happening, was that instead of celebrating all the presidents, the day only watered things down to the point that it became merely a day off from school, and a day the banks & post offices were closed. AND, a special day to participate in fabulous sales at car dealerships and electronics stores. If those of you in the education field spend a lot of time in February teaching your students about all the Presidents, let me know and I'll alter my poor opinion of this holiday change.

Regardless of how I feel about President's Day, I think it's fun to read about our presidents, and learn a few factoids about their lives. I hope you enjoy these pictures of my book!