I was contacted by Invaluable.com recently, an online auction site with a huge collection of valuable books. They asked me if I felt like putting together my dream literary collection from antique books they have to offer and I thought why not.
Being a poor student these books are only eye-candies for me, but hey, who knows? Someday I might get rich and be able to bid on half or all of these books. I'll have a private library with several floors and shelves so high I'll need a ladder to reach the highest ones... Yes, it's time to dream!
When I went through the list of books on the site, I found some that I, had I the chance, would buy without a second thought. Let me show them to you:
Lot 745 (available): The Tempest by William Shakespeare (1908)
Look at this beauty! Even though the Tempest is not one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, I studied it at uni and I have several good memories of the courses where it came up. Someday I would like to own a collection of all of Shakespeare's plays and I would be glad to own copies as beautiful as this one.
Lot 450 (available): For whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I'm not a big fan of Mr. Hemingway, but I love Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby to death. These are first edition books. Although The Great Gatsby is not in pristine condition, I would still be more than happy to own it.
Lot 197 (sold): The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Oh, this is a clever cover! Beautiful edition. I have a special relationship with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I wrote an essay a few years ago for a course in which I compared Stevenson's book with Mihály Babits's Gólyakalifa (The Nightmare in English) and I enjoyed the writing process a lot, because I had amaizing materials to work with. I would definitely treasure this edition.
I spent long days reading Winnie-the-Pooh when I was a child. Everyone has favourite childhood books, for me this is one of them. The animals who live in the Hundred Acre Wood became my friends and who wouldn't want to share their house with their friends? Even if they live on paper. I love the colours of these editions, the minimalist cover and the map and drawings on the inside of the front and back cover.
Lot 1906 (past lot): Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Of course I would need a copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in my collection! When I saw this cover design I completely fell in love. A bit cartoonish, but I think it reflects the atmosphere of the story just fine. The green and black works together oh so well. If you take a look at the illustrations inside (you can do that on the website), you'll see that they are a bit different from that on the front covers, but still gorgeous. *grabby hands*
If you had a huge literary collection which books would surely be part of it? Let me know in a comment below! :) Happy reading!
