The Library as a Museum: Part One

When I was little, my mom used to take us to the public library once a week during the summer. It was my favorite place to be in the world. Especially the Children's Library, where a squeaky voiced lady with a face like a bird mask (think expressive and interesting, not scary) would tell us the most wonderful stories with puppets and let us play with musical instruments. I always got the tambourine.

As I got older, the library maintained its wonder and mystique. I was fascinated by the idea that thousands upon thousands of people could come to one place and check out books that had passed through the hands of more people than they would ever meet in their life. I thought that if I was ever to come back in another life as an inanimate object, I should like for it to be a book so that I could be in a library and meet all kinds of interesting people and go to new places.

At University of the Pacific students and faculty have access to a wonderful source of books. One of my favorite things to do on campus is walk around the stacks and explore some of the older, rarer books. I spent a couple hours this week photographing some of the more interesting tomes in Pacific's collection.

The stacks seem to just go on and on at University of the Pacific Library

 I've always been partial to a beautifully bound book. Look at this one by Tennyson. The intricately decorated cover is glorious, something you can be proud to display on your bookshelf.

In a world where we are presented with covers like this...

How would you know you should read the book if there wasn't a movie made about it?

And this...

The idea that anyone needs Oprah's approval to buy this book makes me shudder.

...it's nice to remember the bygone days where bookbinding was more of an art form than advertisement, where craft meets function and a simple book becomes an artifact, a tresure to pass down through generations.

Very pretty copy of Arlington Edition

This gorgeous thing jumped out at me. Soft leather bound with gold gilt lettering, a lovely copy of Across the Plains by Robert Louis Stevenson

Detail of lettering on Across the Plains

Sometimes the beauty of a book's art lies in the first couple of pages.

Title page from 18th Century book

Lithograph from 18th Century book.

 Oftentimes it can also be found on the front cover.

Beautiful embossed leather cover of Cowper

 And sometimes if you have a keen eye and a little luck, you'll find beauty in places you never expected.

Amazing artwork on the sides of the pages!

The portraits along the side of these books blew my mind.

Truly an undiscovered gem.

I may or may not have found Professor Qurrill from Hogwarts in one of the book.