#oldpaper — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

hkz @[email protected] · 2026-08-12 · 21:22 UTC

I have this weird compulsion when I read a book: if I find a rip in a page (not rare at all with old used books) I must mend it.

It bothers me so much that I have to get up and go do it.

It just happened.

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hkz @[email protected] · 2026-07-12 · 10:30 UTC

Another #oldpaper post.
This is a first edition of the Italian translation of "Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James and was published by Einaudi in 1943. Got it at the #fleamarket this morning.

This book is suffering the "Slow Fire" effect: the chemicals used to produce the paper are degrading and embrittleing it. The reddening of the paper is the giveaway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_fire

There is an interesting (and rather controversial) book by Nicholson Baker you may want to look up if interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Fold

#oldpaper #fleamarket

hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-14 · 13:54 UTC

Last but not least for today, a 1930 Italian illustrated edition of "Les Misérables" rebound in a single, hardback volume (the original print was a paperback).
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hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-14 · 13:18 UTC

Another book I found today, "Works by the Count Giulio Perticari". 1841
I remember the guy because he had something to say about the "Purists", in short XIX century Italian authors that had this habit of roleplaying as XIV century ones when writing.

A literature professor would probably want to kick me now. Whatever!

Look at the beautiful watermarks on the paper glued to the plates of this book!
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hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-14 · 10:29 UTC

CW: Book / racism

This is an interesting one to find in a local fleamarket in Italy.

"Two travelers in Europe [...] what they saw and how they lived while traveling among the half-civilized people of Morocco, the Peasants of Italy and France as well as the educated classes of Spain, Greece and other countries", by Mrs. Herman J. Hall 1913, Springfield, Massachusetts

Well guess I should be thankful we did not get called "half civilized" also...
Still, I like these books because they give a different perspective on local culture, and it contains lots of photos and paintings of places that have now completely transformed. #oldpaper

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hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-14 · 09:38 UTC

A thread for today's #oldpaper!

First post is for the two volumes of the "Military History of France" by Giovanni Crollalanza (by chance it translates to William Shakespeare...), 1856.

It has some moisture stains, the half leather binding is still intact, even though someone replaced the marmorized paper in one of the plates with a different paper.

This is not going to stay with me: I have a colleague that is a history, military and book buff. I'm going to bring this to him next week at the office.

#books #history

#oldpaper #books #history

hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-09 · 06:38 UTC

One of the things I love about reading an old magazine is the serendipitous feeling of finding interesting and unexpected pieces of trivia.

Yesterday I read a 1950 article about a girl from Bucharest that moved to Italy for love (didn't work out) and found a job as a hostess for an Italian airline.

20000₤/month (Italian Liras) plus 1800₤ travel allowance (which I guess built up quickly).
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hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-07 · 13:17 UTC

DON'T
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hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-07 · 11:16 UTC

Another thing I brought home from the #fleamarket are a few bound volumes of "OGGI" a popular weekly paper. I brought home years 1950 and 1947.
There are more where these came from, I gave my contacts to the nice person that was selling, I'll get the rest.

I love these collections, as they give precious insights on the mind of people of the time, plus perspective on how the world was seen.
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#fleamarket #oldpaper

hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-03 · 13:52 UTC

#oldpaper it'll be then.

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hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-03 · 04:49 UTC

Here's the bunch of notebooks I bought at the last #fleamarket. They all have dates ranging between 1970 and mid '80s.
The seller has been emptying an old office/school supply shop that closed down more than 20 years ago.

I take a lot of notes and love doing it on these.
Besides, they're actually cheaper and have better paper than the ones I can find at the local shops.

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#fleamarket #oldpaper

hkz @[email protected] · 2026-06-02 · 16:30 UTC

An #exlibris in one of the books I bought today. The motto is "scire quod sciendum", to know what is to be known. The book is a collection of homilies for the lent by Paolo Segneri, a Jesuit. This is a late edition, 1820, and is bound in a much more recent imitation leather binding, burgundy color.

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#exlibris #oldpaper