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Monday 27 January 2014

Magpie Monday - Childhood past

This week I picked up a couple of fabulous children's books in a junk shop.  Normally these sort of books have been filtered out from the usual bookshelves to have a hefty price tag attached, but these were languishing amongst the pile of Mills and Boon and Reader's Digest and I got them for 50p each.


'Rare yarns for boys'.  Brilliant!  Would kids even know what the expression 'yarn' as in 'tale' means nowadays?

These are swashbuckling, rip-roaring tales of heroic deeds and action-packed adventures.  Back when men grew humongous beards and smoked pipes.  Not anymore - fire-safety issue you see.

Smoking a pipe as a fully grown man was acceptable, but according to the cautionary picture inside, puffing a cigar if you were a small schoolboy was not.  It resulted in a heavy thwacking.  Which kinda surprises me, I thought every young boy smoked in the 1930's?

Maybe this was ahead if it's time.


Or maybe not.  I've not read the story yet.  Back then he could just have easily deserved corporal punishment for abandoning his books on the floor.  Or having his hands in his pockets.  I guess I'll have to read it and find out.  I'm intrigued now!

What second--hand gems have you found lately?  Grab the badge and link up.

 


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24 comments:

  1. Little Lilypad Co27 January, 2014 13:00

    It is amazing how literature changes over time. The images and the story itself wouldn't be considered in any way popular now! Great finds!

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  2. Mum of One27 January, 2014 13:07

    I love those old books. The endings were always quite dramatic too. My son refuses to believe that Chicken Licken got eaten by a fox in my old version.

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  3. Unknown27 January, 2014 13:09

    ooh we have some Chatterboxes from the late 1800s at my Mums somewhere, I used to love looking through them when I was little.

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  4. Jenny from Cheetahs In My Shoes & Just Photos By Me27 January, 2014 13:13

    We've got some original versions of the Thomas the Tank Engine books which would definitely not be deemed 'appropriate' now with small boys getting into trouble and getting 'walloped soundly'. Our current 2nd hand gems (according to my husband) are the original versions of car manuals...

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  5. Jennifer Jain27 January, 2014 14:20

    Wonderful books! My Grandma used to have a shelf of books like this, we loved looking through them.

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  6. Mammasaurus27 January, 2014 15:58

    Ooo love! I have some Chatterbox books here too, you know how I love my old books :)

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  7. Cakesphotoslife27 January, 2014 16:01

    It was a second hand gem but I did get a brand new wok with spices and chopsticks and noodles all for £5 in the supermarket x

    Those books look so lovely x

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  8. Julia | alivingspace27 January, 2014 16:35

    Such great illustrations in those books! Not a bad price, either :)

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  9. RedTedArt27 January, 2014 17:07

    Ha! So funny to see the smoking boy.. they so wouldn't illustrate that now!!! ;-)

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  10. incredibusy27 January, 2014 19:22

    absolutely gorgeous Lizzie - you know I love these don't you?!

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  11. Unknown27 January, 2014 19:40

    bargains! you can rarely find such lovely books for that price

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  12. Unknown27 January, 2014 19:53

    I'm also intrigued, get reading:)

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  13. Bex27 January, 2014 19:54

    How wonderful ! My daughter just foind my old copy of the faraway tree with the original names. Tis funny how time changes things

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  14. Claire Toplis27 January, 2014 20:47

    I want to say jolly hockey sticks.
    Great find

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  15. thismumrocks27 January, 2014 21:56

    LOL Mounties!! Quite literally stumbled upon the Mounties & their musical ride in Newfoundland in 2003... Man those guys are hot :)

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  16. Sweet Woodruff28 January, 2014 01:39

    Holy cow, that's awesome!!! LOL I LOVE old books like this. Children's books with lovely, dated illustrations like this are always a score. I can study them for hours. Enjoy! Thanks for hosting.

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  17. BigLittle28 January, 2014 03:03

    Oh my, I am in LOVE with your finds this week. I adore those vintage illustrations! xx

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  18. Deanies Stash28 January, 2014 06:50

    My mom bought an old copy of Chatterbox at Goodwill when we were young and read us stories each night. We loved it! I love both the books you found! Have a super week and thank you for letting me join.

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  19. Cass@TheDiaryofaFrugalFamily28 January, 2014 18:57

    Shhh don't tell anyone but I would have been tempted by the Mills and Boon #guiltypleasure

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  20. Capture by Lucy29 January, 2014 10:03

    I love picking up old annuals - I made some Beano bunting last year for the boy's rooms looks lovely! Good find xx

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  21. incredibusy29 January, 2014 17:11

    you inspired us Lizzie, we've upcycled some fabulous bits from the charity shop, and Sarah and I are running a competition to win one of Sarah's upcycled phone cases... yay!! :) #MagpieMonday rocks (as does Instagram where we're running it as an experiment!) xx

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  22. Unknown30 January, 2014 11:27

    I have a couple of books like this that belonged to my parents - they are wonderful! The weight of the paper and smelly of the dusty old ink - the stories are laughable and soooo dated!

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  23. Molly and the Princess04 February, 2014 21:44

    Ooh, I'm intrigued too. I expect it was just any excuse for a thrashing ;)
    I've linked up a post not about finds per se, but about a new local charity shop, hope that's ok! and sorry I'm late :) xx

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  24. Micheal Jackson31 January, 2023 00:26

    The result is formed for the approval of the membership at la fitness prices
    tools for the thing in the mid of the changes for humans.

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