The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-05-25
RARE old BOOKS
GIVEN LIBRARY
Collection Aas Been Arranged So That
P,as,ie May See But Not Touch
These Famous
Volumes.
IS OF MUCH VALUE
Ono Of tlre Books Has Engravinas Of
Pictures That are Now Rare
History, Travel and Letters
in Collection.

Recent gifts TO the keolSuk public
library of old and rare volumes have
created a new interest in this type OF
books and Miss Mamie p. Fulton, the
librarian has placed all of the Oldest
books owned by the local library in a
large glass case in the center of the
room where people may see them. The
volumes are worn and fragile and are
not to be taken out of their resting
place but they are opened in such a
way that the sort Of literary material
In them can be observed, and there are
typewritten cards of explanation at.
tucked to many of them.
Many OF the books are over two
hundred years old and they vary large
" as to the character OF the contents
and the list OF authors. Dissertations
OF the Island OF Formosa" by a man
who had never seen the place, another
large volume on China" by another
writer who had never visited the
orient, history by "Captaine John
Smith OF ''Ould Virginia" the famous
Code of 1850 OF the general court OF
Connecticut, with other editions on
kings Of England, and North American
Indians are among those present" in
the collection.
PERHAPS none Of the books are more
interesting than the one written by
George Psalmanzar and published In
l7o5 in which he related the adyen'
lures of reputed native of Formosa,
containing accounts OF his travels
education, literary productions and
conversion from heathenism to chris
80 No
tended he was the native of Formosa
when he was really a Frenchman and
had never even visited the island OF
which he wrote so aSsuredly. In
spite of his cleverness his deception
was finally discovered, and he openly
confessed. Although he wrote during
the remainder OF his life, he preserv-
ed seeming regard for the truth.
Old Spelling is Used.
These old books are hard to read
because of the old time spelling. In
practically all of them the letters OF
Shakespeare's time prevailed. AS an
example, in telling of the contents in
the philosophical works written by
John Locke they say: CONFEDERATION
of the confequencef of the lowering of
fntereft and rafting value of money,
In every case the letter F stood for S.
The using of tobacco was held to
be nothing short of a crime, way back
in the good old days, according to a
frontispiece in the volume of the
code Of 1850" Of the Laws of Con-
necticut which pictured constable
bringing a tobacco taker" into court
to have a sentence imposed upon the
offender ..
"Captaine John Smith. sometimes
govenour of the countrey, and author
of 1.-The Sixth Voyage" is another
book of special interest, published in
1906. Illustrations in the book by
The captain depict different scenes ia
miliar to the school boys and girls,
OF Pochohontas as she laid her head
on the block where John Smith was
to be killed, of the Englisman's en-
counter with Indian kings of other
tribes and many more.
A book of the Indians of North
America written by Samuel Drake is
imong the early editions. The front
spiece in the volume is a picture of