November Personal Acquisitions!

This month I have gained a few personal additions to my library. A few of which, I would like to keep private as they are clues to personal aspects of my family that I was not aware of before. These all deal with family members that are now deceased but, I would like to respect their privacy and that of my family. However, I have received two items that I would like to write a little post about.

Paradise Lost by John Milton (Illustrated by Gustave Dore)

Worth: Approx $250-600 depending on edition found

I was given the most beautiful copy of the famous story by Milton. This epic poem depicts what happens after the fall of Lucifer and opens with him waking up a pool of boiling lava. One of the most important aspects of this particular copy however is the illustrations by Dore. He was a French painter who created the most well-known rendering of Don Quixote (which still influences actors/directors on looks today). He illustrated Paradise Lost in 1866, 3 years after Don Quixote. The illustration seen is the fall from grace by Dore. I do not yet know the date of this publication but, I can verify that it is close to a first edition as the other books I received were published in 1889 (and before). The binding on the copy is broken and the pages are riddled with mold from years of living in an attic. I will be attempting to leaf through the pages for a publication date. This post will be updated when I am able to acquire a mask to ensure my lungs live to see another day.

Atlas of Skin and Venereal Diseases (1889) Worth Approx: $300-500

This was a very exciting gift from my Great Aunt! It came with the other books and has been discussed as a legend in my family for years. It contains only the grossest and most enlightening 19th century depictions of all diseases in the skin and venereal family. For those of you wondering, yes it does include 100 pages of syphilis with photos! It is reminiscent of a car crash in that you can’t look away from the pages. I cannot wait to flip through the whole thing to see what medical abnormalities I can find! I will update with photos if you think you all can handle it. The pages are in order, but the sewn binding is very damaged, and the mold is bad. I will be trying to find someone to rebind it if I cannot learn myself. But, for 131 years old it looks great! I will be asking for 3 new nonacidic archive storage boxes for Christmas to keep my new babies safe!

I hope this didn’t gross you all out too much! I will be posting photos with warnings when I don my masks and gloves! Have a lovely week! Yay for having time to double post!