A Surprise in a Bookstore

While out shopping one brisk autumn afternoon, I stumbled upon an old store I had never been in before. There was furniture, decor, and books scattered across every table and bookshelf throughout. The items were beautiful, things that were brought in from all over the world and settled here to be sold.

Overwhelmed at the amount of novels and stories that were decorating the room, I carefully looked through the piles and stacks on the shelves. After deciding to purchase a compilation of Shakespeare, Common Sense, and an old book written in German, I was set to check out at the counter.

Sitting at the edge of a counter table was another book. I hadn't noticed it, mainly due to the excitement of the books I held in my hands. My husband however, had the book catch his eye. As I was going over the purchase with the store clerk, my husband touches my shoulder and hands me the book. "You'll like this one.'' He says.

I open the book and realize it's a poetry novel. A very old poetry novel. "Akenside's Poetical Works" the title reads. I skim through the pages, reading bits and pieces of the poems. Long poems, some written in stanzas whilst others are pages long. There is also a signature at the front of the book, as it appeared to be a gift from one friend to another.

The date read 1862.

How phenomenal is that? Not just an old book, but an autograph as well!

I lift my head and as he sees my smile, he takes the book and adds it to the pile. We pay and leave the bookstore.

The whole ride home I am scouring through this book, looking up things about the author, the signature, just devouring this book as much as possible.

Old books intrigue me, and the idea of having not only an old book but someone else's personal note and signature as well, all the more piqued my curiosity.

The book was given to a Sir Alfred Dent, from a friend of his named Charles Edward Buckland. After some research (though there wasn't much record to be found of either party) it seems as if Mr. Buckland was an entrepreneur in India during the British Raj. The book was a gift to Mr. Dent as he departed to fight in the military.

Regardless of the original owner of the book, I ended up learning quite a bit just from the design of the book itself. For instance, I learned about book plates. (My copy contained two.) In the front cover of a book, the owners used to put their own unique stamp or label on the front page. This showed ownership, so if a book was lost it could be returned. Authors tend to create their own, as the book is their work of art. It adds a bit of personal touch. Many of these older books contain the Latin phrase ex-libris, or 'from the library of' and then the author/owner's name. One of my book plates had this design, along with a torch, scroll, and a feather quill for the picture. The other was just Mr. Dent's name in calligraphy with a small creature above it. The creature appeared to be a dragon head mixed with that of a horse.

While this is an older concept, some authors still include book plates in their novels. I just haven't seen many from modern authors. So not only did I receive a poetry book, but I also got a history lesson. After all, good history has never hurt anyone.

Akenside's works are divided amongst arguments and response, songs, odes, and inscriptions. His poetry is heavy, and the era that it was written shines clearly through his writings. He is old like Homer, but heavy like Spenser. I have not yet finished the book but recommend it all the same.