Thursday, November 16, 2006
Strange Days at About Books
Here it is, a week until Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday, by the way) and it is dead at the book store. Yesterday no one came through the door until 12:15 p.m., I open at 10:30 a.m. Today I have had two people asking for directions to other businesses downtown, one man drumming up business for his father-in-law, the window washer, and my neighbor, Jim, from the antique store wanting me to order books for him (I guess that makes him sort of a customer). I sometimes think I could do business from home, but then I remember I don't have a house big enough for 100,000 books!! I will do what always works for me - keep busy and blame the cold, grey, dreary November weather! The top picture is the view entering the store - just to give you an idea of what About Books Inc looks like.
Anyway, here is a little bit about what I feel is the the most interesting book I have in the store, a page is pictured above:
"Abbildungen zu Oken's Naturgeschichte fur alle" by Oken. It is a nature book with hand colored plates. It was published in 1843 and survived the Chicago fire. There are notes written by the owner on several pages in this volume:
"I had loaned this to my Cousin Henry Reuter of Chicago who had it for a few years and when at the fire of '71 it was barely saved showing some of the water marks & tears of the fire. I had it rebound as per bill within these pages but children & others interested has torn some parts of it again. A.H. Mundt, Fairbury, Ill."
Written near the publication date:
"4 years before I was born in 1847, Aug. 5th I know that when at the age of 10 I began to collect butterflies that I was told that my father had paid $88.00 in gold for this book a year after their steel engravings, hand colored (water color) with the 10 vol. now in my den all in Latin & German. Only a few more printed & sold long since out of print. A.H. Mundt"
Written on the page facing frogs:
"The soils on this and other pages and the tears in the different parts of this valuable volume of Natural History is the commemoration of the great Chicago Fire of October 8th, 1871. The book has since been rebound by the owner. Several Plates destroyed. A.H. Mundt"
I think the book itself is very interesting and pretty darn fantastic. But, I think this little bit of personal history is even more fantastic!
Enjoy the rest of November, especially Thanksgiving, and stay warm if you are in the col northern climate!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
About Books Inc.
Welcome to About Books Inc. I have decided to give 'blogging' a try since it seems to be the wave of the future (and the current)! I have worked at this book store since 1998 and purchased it from my previous bosses in July of 2005. Following is a bit of information about the store and downtown Bloomington:
About Books Inc. is a used book store in downtown Bloomington, IL that was opened in August, 1994. Bloomington has an historic downtown business district that is currently undergoing lots of renovation and restoration. The business district is vibrant and alive with small shops, restaurants, and bars as well as State Farm Insurance, banks and offices. The old courthouse is home to the McLean County Museum of History and is a beautiful building. The building in which my store is located was built in 1888 by John Y. Chisholm (of the Chisholm Trail fame). I am located across the street from the old Central Fire Station which was built after the 'big fire' of the late 1800s. Central Station is currently a very nice restaurant which has been in business for 30 years. The upper two stories of my building have been undergoing renovation for more than a year. What used to be eight small apartments are now 4 very nice size condominiums, The work is nearly complete which means more peace and quite and lots less dust and dirt for the book store.
I will post periodically as time and inventory allow. If there are interesting items that I acquire or that are brought to me I'll be sure to fill you in on them. I currently have a nature/botanical book in German that survived the Chicago Fire in 1871. The plates are hand colored and very nice. This book has several small notes detailing the history of the book and its survival of the fire. It is nice for its age and ordeal!
Until next time - Keep Reading!
About Books Inc. is a used book store in downtown Bloomington, IL that was opened in August, 1994. Bloomington has an historic downtown business district that is currently undergoing lots of renovation and restoration. The business district is vibrant and alive with small shops, restaurants, and bars as well as State Farm Insurance, banks and offices. The old courthouse is home to the McLean County Museum of History and is a beautiful building. The building in which my store is located was built in 1888 by John Y. Chisholm (of the Chisholm Trail fame). I am located across the street from the old Central Fire Station which was built after the 'big fire' of the late 1800s. Central Station is currently a very nice restaurant which has been in business for 30 years. The upper two stories of my building have been undergoing renovation for more than a year. What used to be eight small apartments are now 4 very nice size condominiums, The work is nearly complete which means more peace and quite and lots less dust and dirt for the book store.
I will post periodically as time and inventory allow. If there are interesting items that I acquire or that are brought to me I'll be sure to fill you in on them. I currently have a nature/botanical book in German that survived the Chicago Fire in 1871. The plates are hand colored and very nice. This book has several small notes detailing the history of the book and its survival of the fire. It is nice for its age and ordeal!
Until next time - Keep Reading!
