Cute shelves

Good morning Library!

After a major reshelving my books are looking especially cute today

 

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*drool*

 

I think your books are worth much more than the collection of the average CTer

 

No kidding.

Would be fun to look through them too even if you don't specialize in RR.

What is your oldest book, Andrew?

 

Where is the rolling ladder?

 

I've about a dozen books from mid 1500s. Oldest complete numismatic book is Huttich 1534 which is a bootleg reissue of Fulvio 1517 with an additional Roman Republican material. My (numismatic) Bude originally issued 1514 is a 1551 printing. I have fragments Fulvio 1517 - several leaves. I've a profusely illustrated 1537 book on ancient ships. My oldest book written in English is an Appian translation printed 1578. My oldest non-translation in English is Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the ancient world written when imprisoned in the Tower between 1603 and 1616. My oldest purely numismatic book in English is Evelyn's book on coins printed 1692. All my numismatic books from the 1500@ are written in Latin but are generally magnificently illustrated with coins and antiquities and ancient buildings

 

I would love to see some of those illustrations.
Do you ever use those books? I'd be terrified to touch them!

 

..i just got a new bookshelf meself...not quite like or as large as Andrews but...

 

Gorgeous book shelves. I enjoy my space so most of ours are E-books. My desk has a large tier, with 2 drawers, and 2 cabinets. I keep my resource books on the tier for quick access. Thanks for sharing your new look.

 

I use them daily. I read books printed in the 1500s on the bus while drinking coffee and eating a croissant (pre pandemic, now with masking I read but don't eat on the bus)

As with coins, if my books have survived 100 readers over the last 500 years, I very much doubt that a few extra greasy fingers or wine stains are gonna do them harm.

I'll upload or link to pics in time, either on my twitter feed or on flickr where my picture generally live

NB some of the wines stacked at the back of the library are also reasonably old. Various Bordeaux and Ports dating from 1920s to 1960s. Time to drink up.

 

I'm curious to learn of what you have there.

 

What are the green shaded parts of the map behind your desk?

 

Due to past bad experiences with sagging shelves, we built in our new house (2003) coin book shelves using 2x12" (nominal, 1 1/2" actual thickness) lumber. Elsewhere in the house, the builder used 1/2" pressboard shelves for knicknack shelves but these sagged terribly with photo albums and had to be redone within a few years. The thick wood proved up to the job. I encourage anyone considering building a library to consider carefully just how heavy books are. I have several individual volumes that weigh in between 3 and 5 pounds. A foot of auction catalogs like CNG is over 50 pounds. Do the math and consider steel rods imbedded or beefy lumber. Gravity is not your friend.

 

I keep my oldest references in a glass cabinet so they aren't exposed to dust etc. My oldest only goes back to 1743 and the oldest I regular refer to was printed in 1806 in Edinburgh.

 

The Map is Strozzi's numismatic atlas. Green shaded parts seem mostly to be Roman provinces added late to the empire such as Dacia, Armenia, Numidia but tbh seems inconsistent as Britannia isn't green but Calabria is. First time I noticed. Perhaps just for contrast.

 

Agree, but the other factor is shelf length. My shelves are very short. Built by this company:
https://www.thebookcaseco.co.uk/
to my specs. Uprights are all double thickness and theres a solid back making the shelving actually a series of stacked boxes. This keeps them very rigid despite only one inch wood thickness. Standing for six years now, always full, no signs of sagging. Lifts and Separates.

 

No I don't do this. I regularly lick my books. The usual alternate location for my books is on the floor under a pile of other books. Or on a coffee table under a wine glass. When not splayed open for reading. Use and misuse, rebind as needed, intend to hoover everything outta them into my head including paper texture which gives me a thrill and adrenaline shot when I feel them. Dusty as hell.

In my defence, many of my antiquarian books were bought coverless as shambles of roughly ordered pages and I then had rebound. Akin to rescue puppies, that need to be cuddled and played with

 

Are you saying that your books aren't slabbed???

Mine is small but growing....

 

I used black pipe for the structure of my shelves and then used 3/4" thick tongue and groove oak flooring! Yes, very easy to move or extend. Even has holes for those tall items. I didn't want the clean look with nice clean edges and such.