I am an avid reader and I think old books are really cool. Old books have a distinct smell, they have a feel, and sometimes you can imagine some of the hands that touched a book. In fact, I've found some interesting things in old books: four leaf clovers, pressed flowers, notes, pictures, and even letters. You might also discover margin notes, signatures, and other little entries when you read through a old book.
In a recent article for Poor Yorick: A Journal of Rediscovered Objects, I discuss this odd book that turned up on my family bookshelf and how that book easily traveled around the world and came back to New London. While times change, we still have these artifacts to remind us of the skill and the abilities of men who took to the sea. The adventure is almost palpable on this old pages.
