Big Book Sale

The SFPL Library Big Book sale is one of my favorite events of the year....

And, it is set in an incredibly beautiful location right on the water...

So, when you are waiting in line to get in you have a great view.  I skipped the member's preview this year and went to Dollar Day on the last day instead.
It worked out perfectly.
This was the line at 10AM on the last day but everyone got in fast and I scored lots of great art supplies....er.....vintage books.

Vintage Rubber Stamp Catalog? $1? I think I will....

I loved this cover and considered it for a Paris altered book for my upcoming trip but it was so beat up I passed it up...
what was I thinking?

I scan the tables for the most tattered, old looking books....my favorites.

How could I resist this?

It was filled with cool old illustrations....I feel a collage coming upon me.

I cannot resist old, foreign language dictionaries. Especially ones in Farsi or Russia or an Asian language with a different alphabet.
I did get about six or seven vintage French dictionaries and language-learning books...

Can somebody tell me what language this is? Copyright1884!!! It amazes me I can get paper from 1884 for only $1.

Big book with gold edges and filled with old illustrations of London...

So, I have an endless supply of old paper to make things with. I have made a bunch of collage cards with the bits and pieces already....

And, I wrapped some tiny presents in book pages for a mail art pal in NYC.

I definitely find treasures just flipping through old books  -- like this! That Postage Due stamp is the icing on the cake.

After dragging 25 books to my car, I had 30 minutes left for parking so I did a last look through and found these!
It was meant to be.

I said I wouldn't get too many but old books are like catnip to me. Can you blame me?
I'll see you next September Big Book Sale!!
I think I have enough books to keep me busy until the next day.
But then they do have a $1 Steps Sale every week....hummmmm

I was considering to making up some paper packs to sell...
anybody interested in those?

Ok, back to tearing and pasting....

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Books and More Books and Mail Too....

Well....truth to be told.....I couldn't resist......

I went back on Sunday to the last day of the library book sale. Everything was $1.00.
I wondered if it was worth going and what would be left....

HA!
Yes, it was definitely worth going. Here are my shopping carts --
no, actually those are not mine but it looks like some people get more carried away than even I do..

This one is mine.....and I got seventeen books for $17.00. And actually the dollar sale was more fun than the members preview. No lines, fewer crowds and cheaper books.
I've got to remember that next year.

There is just something about foreign language dictionaries I cannot resist.

I like to think I can speak French.
The French don't seem to think so though...

I found two very cool old yearbooks -- score! One was from 1936....
and the other from the 50's sometime...$1!

Lots of lovely autographs and comments too.

I have been collecting vintage French dictionaries for years...who could resist those pages with pictures?

I was hoping for a French scarf-tieing tutorial......

I think this was my favorite find on Dollar Day....the beautiful graphic caught my eye...

I snatched it up....

....to discover it is a book on graphic design lettering -- in Cyrillic .....so cool. Published and printed in Moscow. I wonder, how did it make it's way here to San Francisco? We do have a pretty large Russian population here.

I cannot bring myself to tear this one up. At least not for a while.

But in some cases -- tear I did! 

My worktable is a work-in-progress. I am tearing up books, sorting the pages, making piles and making things.

OUTGOING MAIL
Handmade envelopes with yearbook pages.

OUTGOING MAIL

OUTGOING MAIL

OUTGOING MAIL
I've been busy! But it seems like I have been sending out more mail than I have been receiving.
Hummmm.....
I better see a good mail day real soon.

Ok. I know you have been waiting. Many thanks to all of you who commented on the last post about the book sale. It is sure nice to hear from you all and know who's actually reading the blog.
I put the names in a hat (ok, it was a bowl) and I got a little carried away and picked three winners-
ta da

1. Linda Gibbons
2. TERAdactyl
3.pam foster

Please message me your addresses as soon as possible so I can put a paper ephemera pack in the mail to you. Congratulations. Hope to see what you do with the papers. Have fun with it.

And if Rhonda H would like some math pages and Cindy would like some Russian pages
you two message me your address too. I have a lot of paper to go around.

So, there you have it. Two outings to the book sale and lots of fun in the studio.
Next one is in April so maybe you'll want to plan your visit to SF now!
I'll see you there.

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