Tag Archive for: My dad’s books

Off-Topic: Farnworth Society of Women’s Suffrage

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I expect most of you will be off-topic for the next 24 hours so here’s another random addition to the blog. Among my dad’s books, which I’m currently sorting through, there’s a volume of poetry with a red suede cover — “Poems of Experience” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, dated 1916, published by Gay and Hancock of Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London. The suede is pretty fragile and my hands are covered in red dust.

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The inscription is fascinating and I’ve no idea how this book came to my dad:

To Mrs Affleck.

a gift from the Committee of the Farnworth Society for Women’s Suffrage in commemoration of the passing of the Representation of the People Bill, and in grateful recognition of her work as Secretary 1910 – 1918.

May 15th 1918

And in case you think that intellectual property rights are mainly the burning issue for the digital age, there’s a note from Ella Wheeler Wilcox:

Any edition of my poems published in England by any firm except Messrs. Gay and Hancock is pirated and not authentic.

Nothing changes . . .

Off-Topic On A Pilgrim’s Progress

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As it’s the Season of Good Cheer I thought I’d go off-topic today. I’ve been using the holiday to sort through my dad’s old books as I’m planning to arrange them on my new bookshelves. How wildly exciting – new bookshelves!

In fact many of these books were inherited from my great uncle, William Thwaites. Uncle Bill was a vicar in the North West of England, latterly in Lytham St Anne’s near Blackpool. Not surprisingly there’s a religious theme in a fair chunk of his reading material.

I’m fascinated by a miniature book in his collection, entitled The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Language of Scripture. It’s the cutest little thing. There’s no date or publisher name. Following a tiny two-page preface, the book comprises biblical quotations under headings relating to the full text of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, first published in 1678.

Uncle Bill bought an edition of The Pilgrim’s Progress published by The Book Society in London. Again, there’s no date but I’ve found a reference online that suggests it was published in 1874. So pretty old!

The little and large versions are pictured here. I expect he read the miniature while referring to the full volume.

Can anyone cast any light on this little book?