Reunited, And It Feels so Good!

For those of you who are familiar with this blog, you know that I actively posted a different collection of mine every week day for a full year, from July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012. My intention was to occasionally add to the blog as I felt inspired, but just a few months after I posted my last collection, my husband and I moved from California to a small apartment in New Jersey. We either sold or put everything into storage. During the next three or so years, I posted maybe once a year or so, sharing a few collections that I managed to put together during our east coast sojourn.

We recently moved back west, and although we aren't in our California home, we are settled in a new place in Utah, and I've been reunited with most of my old collections.

It's been so fun to unwrap each treasure, and find a new "home" for so many dear old friends.  However, our lifestyle is changing. We no longer live in a large home with lots of storage, surface areas, and rooms. So, I've decided to keep those things that are most special to me, and sell the rest of my stuff. In the next few months we'll be putting up many books and other treasures up for sale or auction. If there's anything you are interested in, please email me (email is on the side of this blog) and I'll let you know if it's available.

Perhaps as I put things up for sale, I'll post them here, so watch this space. I'd love them to go to a good home.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos of a few of my favorite things that most likely will NOT be going up for sale, in their new home here in Utah.

Our dining room, with some of my green pottery, Franciscanware, and other pottery

In my studio, some of my kaleidoscopes and robots find a new home

Vintage school books and reference books

COLLECTION #258: Vintage Billy Books

This is a fun little trio of books I didn't know I had! I try to keep all my vintage school books together by series and/ or publisher. Since I have nearly 500 of them, it's really hard to keep them all straight in my mind. I had the book called Billy Goes to School on display in a special area in my house, and I really wanted to share it, but I didn't have any other books in the series. But then I realized that I did! I just happened to look at one row of books, when I spotted two more Billy books!

What makes these books special, is that each of the three books in this series of Follet Social Studies books is from a different decade: one from the 1940s, one from the 1950s, and one from the 1960s.  They are early elementary books, probably 2nd semester first grade, and second grade.

Billy Goes to School was published in 1949. I love the sweet, typical 1940s style illustrations and stories.  This book looks to me to be a second grade level book.

Billy's Neighbors, is from 1957. The illustrations are much more stylized and modern, with very traditional stories and characters. Just look at Miss Dale's pearls! I really love the fun colors and design in this book.  I believe this book is 2nd semester second grade, or perhaps third grade.

Billy's Friends is from 1965. The book is more ethnically diverse, and the illustrations are also stylized an colorful. This book looks to be a second semester first grade level book. 

COLLECTION #238: Vintage American Book Company Readers

These mostly 1960s edition readers were produced by the American Book Company, under the name Betts Basic Readers. The original edition (of which I have one: Down Singing River), was published in 1949. The others were all published in 1958 and 1965. The fun little mottled covers with their fanciful modern illustration by Oscar Liebman are a delightful addition to my school book collection.

Although the illustrations in these books are not my absolute favorites of my school books, the stories in these readers are wonderful. The word adventure in the title of several of the books is perfect: there is lots of adventure to be found here! Stories of children from different parts of the USA, different times in history, and different places in the world, all have a definite adventurous tone. Conflict resolution, creativity, excitement, and appreciation for different cultures and times are the centerpiece of all of these stories.

COLLECTION #228: Vintage Social Studies School Books

I think my school snuck social studies into our curriculum without my knowing it.  I honestly don't remember a subject called "social studies" until I was in the 4th grade, when we studied California history. But obviously, social studies was a very important part of our early education. Social Studies is the study of how individuals, families, and the community interact together to form a working unit.

Younger children learned about their family, and the different home responsibilities and roles of different family members. As they got older, they learned about the school community- rules, processes, structure. Then they began to learn about the community- how business was done, the interaction of commerce, agriculture, transportation with the individual citizen and family. It's really fun to see the way things were presented in my collection of vintage social studies books. These books are from the 40s and 50s, with one 1962 edition of a late '50s book. As usual, the illustrations are what draws me in.  Socially, it's interesting to see the dynamics of families (they always seemed to be portrayed as two-parent households, although some families had a grandparent living with them, and other families had an 'only child'. I don't recall ever seeing a single parent family. But this was a different time. The books were becoming more integrated, with black and native American characters, as well as the occasional Asian American.

Enjoy looking at the different pages from the books, I'll let them speak for themselves.

COLLECTION #217: Vintage Schoolbooks About Our American Neighbors

Growing up in the US, we spent at least a year in elementary school learning about our American neighbors, primarily Mexico, Central and South America. When I was young, this was in the sixth grade, and I well remember the salt dough map I made of the South American continent.

These books are all from that same approximate grade level. Lots of interesting facts about Canada, Mexico, and Latin America, especially about their customs, climate, and products. As is often the case, the older books seemed to be a bit more interesting and exotic. I love my copy of "An American Family Visits the Americas". It is full of wonderful black and white, and full color illustrations of the people and cultures of Latin America. It was published in 1942.

I even have a fun Social Studies book from Mexico, called, Continente Americano: Metodo Objectivo. I couldn't find a copyright date, but it looks like the 1950s, early '60s.

There's only one book about Canada in my collection. I remember learning about Canada in grade school, and memorizing the provinces and capitals. I don't recall if we actually had an entire book about Canada or not. (Having traveled to Canada several times, I can tell you, it is just as fascinating as Argentina or Bolivia!)



Two small songbooks round out my collection. I remember how much fun it was to learn to sing in Spanish!