Saturday 28 December 2013

Dandino the pedlar of dreams & Little Boy Joe from The Jack and Jill All colour Gift Book

This is a truly beautiful annual published by The News of the World. Sadly, this copy like others I've seen has a damaged spine. If you can ignore the damage, you will find delights galore inside. One of my favourites is a story and poem about Dandino the pedlar of dreams;

I'm Dandino, the Pedlar of Dreams, 
you'll buy violet or lilly a-down Piccadilly, 
orange and lemons around by St. Clements, 
but never a Dream, so it seems.

To my shop in the Strand
folks humble and grand
come with lists of the dreams they require,
and the very next night before it is light
they are having the dreams they desire.

We've everything here
and nothing too dear,
Come when the Full Moon beams,
if you've got the right face
I'll find you a place
in my beautiful Country of Dreams.

No nightmares or scares
find a place in my wares,
I deal with the very best people,
I prefer the young folk,
and just for a joke
I can make you jump over a steeple.

I've a nice line in fairies
the price seldom varies,
but demons and goblins, with screams,
and frightening spooks
are NOT on my books,
for mine are the nicest of Dreams.



Another of my favourites is this poem written and illustrated by Barbara C. Freeman about Phyllida Phoebe and three little pigs called Timothy, Thomas and Little Boy Joe.


Phyllida Phoebe keeps pigs in the wood, 
Timothy, Thomas and Little Boy Joe; 
In the hot weather, they paddle together 
and play with the gleaming fish swimming below. 
Chase the blue dragon flies, darting and cool, 
while Phyllida washes her clothes in the pool...


This is the first Jack and Jill all colour Gift book published in 1949. As far as I know there were only two issues. This and a second annual published around 1951/52 - see previous post here. It’s a shame because they are really special but maybe the cost of printing ‘in full colour’ or the problems with the spine were enough to halt production.

Updated June 2014 – with thanks to 'Mary' for this extra information received by email - If you haven't already discovered it, I thought you might like to know that there were 3 books in this series. I've had the 3rd since about 1952.

The Jack and Jill all colour gift book is now sold, thank you for your interest.



I’ve just enjoyed some time off with family and friends, but it’s now time to start listing lots of lovely new (vintage) books and related ephemera. Thanks to everyone who called in over Christmas. I really appreciate your visits and wish you all a very...


Monday 23 December 2013

Christmas Night

When it’s Christmas night, and the fire’s alight, and I'm lying awake in my bed,
I feel quite sure there are fairies like the ones in tales I've read.
It’s specially on Christmas night, when nothing feels the same,
That I keep thinking to myself, “suppose a fairy came!”

via

I think there must be fairies who hang the stars all out,
and fairies who make the bells ring, and carry the snow about.

via

And some of them paint the shadows that dance up and down the wall –
So nobody need be frightened of shadows like that at all!

via

And one little special fairy looks after the ugly things,
and things that are old and broken, and covers them with her wings.

via

That’s why I've put my dolly – The one that has lost an eye –
On the mantelshelf, so her fairy will see her as she goes by…


When it’s Christmas night, and the fire’s alight, and I'm lying in bed awake,
I keep quite still, and I listen for the sounds the fairies make.
I've never seen nor heard them yet, but I believe I might,
If only I could keep awake all through one Christmas night. 
~Marion St. John Webb~



I wish you all a very merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a joyful time with your loved ones. See you soon. Much love, Barbara xxx

Friday 20 December 2013

Vintage Christmas Greetings Sent With Love


Heureux Noël; A postcard sent to Little Nelly with love from Uncle Charlie - Xmas, 1921.

Happiness this Christmastide and for the New Year all prosperity

A beautiful card illustrated by Molly Brett 
To wish you good cheer and happiness

Vintage invitation - We depend upon you to come to our party on Tuesday 20th Feb from 4 o'clock 

Christmas card illustrated by Rene Cloke

A jolly Christmas to you,
A rollicking, frolicking, 
Christmas Day,
With crackers to pull
and lots of play!

I love it when the postman calls! Receiving cards and letters is such a joy. Hearing from friends and family from near and far is one of the nicest things about Christmas. So imagine my excitement when a parcel arrived from Claudine - Carry Us Of Books. Claudine left a comment on my blog to say a surprise was on the way so I was really excited when it arrived. Inside was a copy of Walk two moons by Sharon Creech and a beautiful Alice in Wonderland postcard. I had tears in my eyes when I opened the parcel and read the words.


Claudine ended her note by saying she wished me days nourished with blooms, books & brilliant paintings. How lovely is that? Thank you so much my sweet blogging friend. 

I hope the postman brings each and every one of you something your heart desires this Christmas.  

Sunday 15 December 2013

You Shall Go To The Ball - The Story of Cinderella

The Story of Cinderella told by Muriel Levy with illustrations by Evelyn Bowmar. Published by Wills & Hepworth Ltd (Ladybird) in 1944. Very scarce 1st edition with original dust jacket.
The story of Cinderella is now sold, thank you for your interest

I had a copy of this when I was a little girl, and can still remember longing to be whisked away by a handsome prince. I was about six at the time so I thought being whisked away by a handsome prince meant lots of riding around on horses, wearing pretty dresses and eating jelly and ice cream! This and the sleeping beauty (here) have a lot to answer for! None of the boys I knew were anything like a storybook prince. I thought most of them were ‘soppy’ and not at all what a prince should be.

Do you remember what you dreamt about when you were six?  Did any of those dreams come true?

Sunday 8 December 2013

Countdown to Christmas, a bird called Ted and an Award

British summertime is now a distant memory but there's still plenty to look forward to as autumn turns to winter. Christmas is just around the corner, and if you're looking for presents, I may have some ideas for you. Vintage books are always a joy to give and to receive.


Vintage annuals make delightful gifts.

A jolly good read.

Vintage illustrated story books for the one you love.

Or something from our 'Special Book Room'.

A Bird called Ted

Some of you will remember the story of a little wild bird called Ted and Janet the lady he lives with. If you want to refresh your memory, you can read the original post here. A few days ago, I received another email from Janet, with more photographs of Ted. Janet has kindly agreed to my reproducing both the email and the photographs here...


This is what Janet said... I go across the field to the woods every day to feed the wild birds. I saw a Woodcock yesterday, such a stunning bird and a real treat. Today, there was a squirrel which luckily, my dogs didn't see. The pheasants were there and as always, a Robin. I call if I can’t see him, and he always comes. I will go on Christmas Eve no matter what the weather and put out a feast for the next day.



It is very muddy in places, and today I got stuck and ended up with my boots full of mud and my trousers filthy. When I got home, I threw them in the sink and turned on the tap to rinse them. As you can see from the pictures, Ted decided to join in. The picture of him with his eyes closed is because he is actually under the stream of water. There are no pictures of him when he got out as I had to rush to fetch the hair drier before he got cold.  

What can I say? Janet is obviously a really caring person and Little Ted is adorable. Thank you so much for the update and 'photos Janet.


The Liebster Award

Last but certainly not least I want to thank Margitte over at Something Wordy for awarding my blog the Liebster Award. Having just got back from my holiday and with lots of Christmas orders to fulfil, I don’t have the time to answer the questions, but I do want to pass the award along.

The award does come with a few rules;

Link back to the blog that nominated you.
Answer the questions they set (sorry I broke that one!)
Nominate 10 blogs & let them know.
Ask 10 questions for the blogs you nominate to answer in their post.
Share a couple of random facts about yourself.

Some random facts about me; Book auctions and book fairs still give me a thrill even though I’ve been visiting them for a very long time. My favourite kind of shopping is book shopping, especially for second-hand books. I used to enjoy gardening and cooking, but I don’t find much time for those simple pleasures now. My days are spent surrounded by books, and I would not want it any other way.


MY QUESTIONS ARE
 Do you have a favourite Christmas song? If so what is it?
What or who inspired you to start writing your blog?
Do you remember the first book you ever read?
Do you prefer physical books or e-books?
Do you have a favourite Christmas movie? If so what is it?
Do you have a favourite series of books?
How often do you blog?
Do you blog about books or a mix of topics?
Do you have a favourite author?
If you won the lottery what would be the first thing you did?

MY 10 NOMINEES:


Update July 2016: All the featured books are now sold. March House books closed on my retirement in 2015, but I am still happily blogging here at March of Time Books. Your visits are always appreciated.


Wednesday 4 December 2013

The Holiday!

Colouring in by Zoe Rose Fisher aged 2 years 10 months.

Thank you so much for all the comments and messages while I've been away. I'm sorry my parting post sounded a little mysterious. I didn't want to mention being away from home in case it signalled an open invitation to any burglars in the area. I was longing to tell you about the upcoming holiday but had to contain myself!

As many of you know we live in England and our son, his lovely wife and our two little granddaughters live in Australia so Malaysia felt like the perfect place to meet. We spent two weeks in Penang, followed by a week in Kuala Lumpur.

Let's Go! This is Lilly (aged 18 months) waiting to board the flight from Adelaide to Malaysia.

I forgot to take my camera so all the photos are courtesy of our son and daughter in law. I thought I had done well with the packing. I remembered to include a small Christmas gift for each member of the family, treats for the girls, plenty of sun tan lotion, tea bags, hair straighteners (unused), lots of shoes (unworn) and changes of clothes but no camera – bah humbug!

Steven and Lilly lead the way while Zoe and I stroll along hand in hand.

Our hotel in Penange was wonderful we stayed in the garden wing of the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa at Batu Feringgi Beach. If you are ever out that way, I can thoroughly recommend it.

The Shangri-La Rasa

Lilly looking cool in her shades but does it really take two grandparents to push one buggy?

Yum! Zoe enjoying an ice cream.

Lilly feeling the heat.

Chatting with Lilly and Zoe.

The colourful streets around Little India, Kuala Lumpur.



Inside the Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur.

It may be 32 degrees outside but inside its Christmas!

We arrived back in the UK on Sunday morning but are still operating on Malaysian time (day feels like night and vice versa) so it may take me a few days to catch up with all your posts. Thanks again for your visits I really appreciate them.