Today in the studio we have an 1852 copy of The Oasis: or, Golden Leaves of Friendship, edited by N.L. Ferguson. The Oasis is part of a whole genre of 19th century gift books: illustrated anthologies of poetry, essays, and short fiction with titles like The Keepsake, Forget-Me-Not, and The Book of Beauty. Published annually before the holiday season, they were intended to be given as presents, often with a handwritten inscription from gifter to giftee. Gift books were frequently criticized and parodied—even during the Victorian era—for their hackneyed sentimentality and shallow moralism, and were arguably valued more for their ornamental bindings than their literary content. However, for collectors today, the inscriptions themselves—written by long-dead ordinary people, husband to wife or parent to child—convey a timeless tenderness.
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Brattlecast: A Firsthand Look at Secondhand Books
At one of America's oldest bookshops, there are just as many stories to be told outside the pages as in them. Join bookseller Kenneth Gloss and co-host Jordan Rich as they share entertaining conversations and histories surrounding Boston's favorite spot for bibliophiles.
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