How do you feel about inscriptions, colouring and other marks in books?

The Laughing hour is a sweet little book in less than perfect condition. This is a short précis from my website;

A collection of beautifully illustrated stories and poems. Covers rubbed and chipped at edges, spine frayed at ends. Lots of finger marks, previous owner’s name, several black-and-white drawings have been neatly coloured. A very pretty book that has been well loved.

So, if you were me would you offer it for sale?  What about the finger marks, the colouring and the previous owner’s name?

I love finding previous ownership marks and don’t mind the odd bit of colouring, if it’s done neatly (as this is), but lots of collectors wouldn’t dream of adding a book in this condition to their collection.

As far as I’m concerned inscriptions, notes and drawings show that a book has a story of its own, it shows how books are given, passed on or discarded and then perhaps loved by someone else.

If the The laughing hour could speak I think it would say something like this;


I used to belong to a little boy called Paddy McAlpine, Paddy spent hours with his pens and pencils carefully colouring my pages. He liked two of my poems very much - one was about a beetle and the other about a robin. Paddy read me over and over again but when he grew up his mummy gave me away, and now I'm looking for a new home.



I know the little boys name was Paddy McAlpine because he wrote it in the front of his book, I assume he liked colouring (although it could have been done by his mummy or someone else).  My reason for thinking Paddy liked the two poems is because those two pages are heavily finger marked and the binding is pulled, suggesting the book was repeatedly opened at the same pages. This is a well-loved book in need of a new home -a case of recycling at its best!

Do you keep books that belonged to your parents, grandparents or grown-up children so that you can pass them on to the next generation? Would you still keep them if they were in poor condition?

How do you feel about previous ownership marks - love them or hate them?

The laughing hour is now sold. I'm so happy this sweet little book has a nice new home where it will be loved.