More auction news…Wed. May 11

…AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY (local?) (different?)

And once more in response to some expressed interest, we’re posting this news on an upcoming local auction at Trout’s Auctioneers in Frederick, Maryland.  Items can be viewed on line, but there will not be on-line bidding (absentee bidding seems to be accepted, though).

Different parts of Barbara’s massive book collection will be showing up in various venues in upcoming months, and since some have asked for updates and news, we’re trying to oblige.  To Trouts went her collection of pop-up books.  (Yes, you heard us aright — she also collected pop-up books.  She loved how they folded out in amazing ways when you opened them.  One of her favorites (of which many family members and friends received copies over the years) was called “America the Beautiful” and featured scenes of the US accompanied by stanzas of the song.)  There are also some children’s books included in the Trout’s collection from MPM.

… there are certain beloved readers … you know who you are … to whom we are considering sending warnings  (**don’t go, you know you don’t need more books!!**)  (on other hand, most of us book lovers could use that warning!!)

In addition there will be all kinds of non-book items (notice how we categorize stuff!), from a baby grand piano to the ornate shelving used to house Barbara’s extensive martini glass collection (when that woman got into something, she really got into it — and her “refreshing beverage” was definitely gin, rather than Amelia’s favorite whiskey & soda… ergo the ebullient display of martini glasses above!)

This is the kind of local auction at which Barbara loved to muddle about, coming home with various “treasures” after hours of happy digging of a non-Egyptological sort.  From a safe distance, we who don’t share that delight can simply point those of you who are “local” and similarly insane toward this latest outcropping of MPM madness… (…albeit, perhaps, with a *wistful backward gaze*)

Magic of books, a child’s eyes

“You have to bring the magic with you!”

This was what Barbara envisioned writing in an indignant letter to a newspaper (which shall remain nameless) that published a critical review of one of the Harry Potter movies.  She felt that the reviewer had missed the spirit of Harry Potter by watching through a jaded adult’s eyes. And she believed in keeping the magic of childhood alive, whether through reading (and re-reading) children’s books, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the latest fantasy and science fiction movies, or delighting in a new children’s toy she’d discovered.

And no one entered the holiday season with more feelings of fun and anticipation.  Barbara was easy to buy for — a silly-looking stuffed cat, a light saber, Bilbo/Frodo’s sword Sting, or some goofy joke ornament for her tree — all would be received with her characteristic throaty chortle.  So it seems like a good moment to think about the magical worlds that opened up for many of us when we first encountered books as children.  This was something Barbara never forgot, and throughout her life she could be seen buried in one children’s book or another, along with all the other books she was devouring.  (She was a quick and avid reader.)

As you can see, Rosemary Wells’s Max and Ruby books rub shoulders with George MacDonald’s Princess and Curdie on her bookshelves — and every L.M. Montgomery or L. Frank Baum book ever published can be found tucked away somewhere or other.  Some favorite series by women authors were accompanied by biographies, so that she could read about Montgomery or Alcott or Nesbit after reading what they’d written.

What were/are your favorite children’s books?  It’s a great season to once again experience the magic of books — and the world — through a child’s eyes.