Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-26
Old Books Remade

large room on the first floor Of tn,
Chicago public library building re-
minds one of laundry with soi!et
clothes at one end and washed ant
ironed ones at the other Two or thres
long. wide tables are covered with
books. tern. frayed and dirty. Other
| tables and rows Of shelves are filler
with volumes lust from the birdery. ir
Splck. span new clothes, with black
, blue, green. purple maroon or red
BACK; not so gaudy or SO gilty as in
their original array. but far more solid
and Substantial.
| Last year three thousand volumes
We're reclaimed and reclad, and. this
year. six thousand will be. Most of
them are novels. an occasional history
or work On practical arts feeling as lost
in the tattered rank of fiction as n
pedlsreed dog among the ours Of a
| pound The original binding seldom
lasts mere than six months. but stout
'boifcs IN place Of cloth are substi-
tuted, and the leather backs instead of
cloth ones. The thread is much strong
| er ana each token" or cluster of pages
| IS StWed separately 80 that the removal
| tea book of this grade and sort lasts
| four or five times as lon- As il Iii! in
its original covers. Each new book
| costs All average OF S. cents and its
new sui 81 cents, or. taking into ac-
count it, longer endurance, about nine
cents.
The >i.i,.' mag. is done Is the tear
II" # III" '..NtrS from the leaves, the
:ti III! j. writing in them. The
..i.:, e
on the hooks either in praise or blame.
Lovely hook" Fine story Re sure
and read it," Isn't she just lovely?"
Il think Reginald is a splendid fellow"
Just too fine for anything" Adverse
judgments are briefer and less explicit
PUN" and No good sums it up.
These commentaries have all to be
erased, which is sometimes made i'm
possible by their being written in in
delible ink. Occasionally the character
Of the book provokes controversial in
scriptins. Books in favor of secession
excite emphatic protests from Union
readers. The history of Belle Boyd"
the spy, has been fearfully marked up
with frank opinions Of her secession
proclivities. Protestants and Catholics
also give vent to their sentiments in
regard to each others creed and con-
duct. So do those Of socialistic or an
archistic beliefs when the rare chance
of their presence in fiction offers. FIRE.
o,uenti, th..s.- voluntary commentators
are satisfied to draw line under the
obnoxious text and set question Or
Interrogation mark in the margin.
These expeditions are generally in poor
writing, bad spelling and bad English.
Occasionally they are bitter and even
profane.
Two or three damaged books are
kept as curiosities. One is history by
Senator Lodge of Massachusetts. 1t
was run over by the wheel of street
car and a hunfUed-odd pages cut sheer
across diagonally. Another is copy
of the United States Official Register |
from which someone while in the
library was able undetected to cut over |
four hundred pages containing the list
of post offices and postmasterS IN the |
United States. probably for n mailing |
list: Many of the books are badly |
stained with the compound of mud and |
scot that overlaES Chicago streets. |
When book has been defac"d or dam |
aged. but is not yet far gone enough |
for rebinding. the one who draws It
from, the library after the defects have
been seen is protected by stamped
line reading. Pages IA to 153 of this
book were cut out previous to June Is.
1904" or whatever the date may have
been.
OF Dickens works David Copper
field, is most frequently re5ought
and rebound. OF the more mod
ern books Mark Twain's limo
cents Abroad" "Roughing 1t,
ano Tom Sawyer" Churchilrs Rich
ard Carvel' and The Crisis" though
Ben Hur'' beats them all in the length
Of time during which it has been re-
placed or the shelves. Sometimes the
pub,ic fools the library officials as II
docs the publishers. OF the Is COPIES Of
KiplinG's kim IS are on the shelves
as good as new. and there are 40 such
of Weir Mitchell's Hugh Wynne. The
supply Of James Lane Aliens Reign
Of Law" likewise exceeds the demand.
The last supply of David Harum is
not yet exhausted.