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What is the oldest book on your bookshelves? We were pondering this question today, so like normal bibliophiles (oxymoron!) we searched our shelves for our oldest and most tattered books. Our copies of Lorna Doone, Raintree County, The Building of Jalna, and The Moonstone were in the running for the oldest book we own, but the winner is Nathaniel Hawthorne's Mosses from an Old Manse.
Frances purchased this in the late 1970s in a used bookshop Downtown called the Haunted Bookshop. It was probably $2 at most, but worth every penny.
Our copy was published by Donahue, Henneberry & Co. in 1900. The date isn't actually in the book, but the website WorldCat has very similar editions listed that were published in 1900. It has an Art Deco style cover in silver and blue. It includes some of our favorite Hawthorne short stories such as Rappaccini's Daughter, Young Goodman Brown, and The Birth-Mark.
Anyone else have really old books? We're interested in hearing about them and their stories!
