There are similar bookshelves scattered throughout the house, some are considerably tidier than these, for these are my cookery books, my best loved books, frequently browsed and greatly enjoyed. Every now and then my inner librarian takes over and sort them out. They soon revert to a more comfortable relaxed condition.
I used to attend book auctions and that is where I first came across a book which set me off in collecting old cookery books. It is handwritten and took me quite a while to decipher. That book remains one of my favourites. It was written by a vicar's cook and is simply a hardback exercise book which was discarded by one of the vicar's daughters, back in the mid 1850's, taken over by Cook and filled from cover to cover.
There are family recipes, recipes from friends, several methods for dealing with enormous hams with various methods for curing them. Best of all, there are lists of the quantities of food which were used to prepare Easter and Christmas parties for the village school, as well as lists of the pickles, jams and preserves in the pantry. Wonderful stuff!
However, this is a post about books, not just cookery books.
I suffer from one great disadvantage when it comes to books. Unlike many other people I intensely dislike the smell of them. I don't mind worn and grubby books, but anything more than just a whiff of old book smell really puts me off.
These days I tend to buy secondhand books from abebooks, amazon, or ebay. I love trawling around, tracking down an obscure title, or tripping across a book which is on my wish list. Generally I prefer to buy worn and well used old volumes, not only are they less expensive but they also have more character.
No matter whether the books have been gently used or have been used and splashed, they all have to pass the sniff test before I can read them.
Those which fail have to be put to one side; sometimes all that is required is that they spend a few days in a warm dry room. Other books have a stronger smell and that calls for stronger action. A dish of non-scented cat litter is placed into a box, along with the offending book, and then they are left for a week or two. The cat litter absorbs the smell, but do take care not to use a scented litter because then you end up with a scented book and that is possibly worse than the original. A similar result can be obtained by using a dish of bicarbonate of soda and a box.
If any smell does still linger after the treatment, I leave the book face up and open to finish airing off.
As I type this I can imagine some people will be thinking what a fuss about nothing. Indeed, for some people, the smell of an old book is half the pleasure.
My sensitive nose has been the bane of my life since childhood, it often got me into trouble. Unfairly, in my opinion. I only spoke the truth!
What about you? Do you like the smell of old books?
To find out what I think about the smell of old books I'm now going off to sniff!
ReplyDeleteI used to have a similar problem with butcher's shops, dried herb shops and the not quite fresh enough fish stalls in some supermarkets, Sue. Obviously this is not a problem these days! Farm smells, however, are fine.
DeleteMy wife hates the smell of old books and if they do get like that she is more likely to get rid of it. We have quite a few cookbooks and I bought a cookbook off Amazon that was out of print but it was in great condition. I have also bought the from Abe books as well but Like you I'm not over keen on a smelly book
ReplyDeleteHello Billy, There are some wonderful bargains to be had, it does take a bit of detective work, but that is half the fun. I also used to enjoy browsing and buying from secondhand book shops, but that is out for a while. Best keep those cookbooks well aired if you don't want your wife to throw them away!
DeleteOh how I would love to read all those old books, never mind the smell.
ReplyDeleteThose old cookery books must be fascinating. I buy second books online too but often the older ones are too expensive for me. I shall go and do a search right now
Hello Linda, You would be very welcome to browse and borrow. I even have an old Greek recipe book slipped in there, not that I have made anything from it. Funnily enough I have made a few of your blog recipes! Amazon used to do one penny bargains, I made full use of that. Top tip: sometimes it pays to try mis-spelling the author's name...
DeleteOf course, you have just had me sniffing MY old books (the oldest ones are antiquarian horse books which I began collecting aged 16, when I first started work. Mine don't appear to smell, but I shall remember your tip with the cat litter or the bicarb. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDeeply envious of your old cookery book collection . . .
Hello BB, Those shelves also contain the lovely old cook books which you sent - and, no, I can confirm that they most definitely did not come with any smell. I was able to dive in and start reading them immediately. I have one on my worktable right now - remember Romany Remedies and Recipes?
DeleteI hope your husband is feeling a lot better today.
I'm very anti-clutter, so I'm a Kindle gal through and through and have been for as long as Kindles have existed. Six hundred books, mostly free, hovering in the interweb space around me. Nothing to dust, stink, move about, etc. When I open it, I can make the light whatever I want it, I can adjust the font size as my eyes age. Nirvana.
ReplyDeleteHello Silver, Excellent. Kindle sounds like the perfect solution for you!
DeleteI do have a kindle. I have to admit that it sits in the corner, unloved, unused, and gathering dust. :)
My husband hates the smell of old books - I can't say that I am that keen but generally the ones I have bought have lost most of the smell and scattered amongst new books on the shelves they seem less pungent.
ReplyDeleteHello wherethejourneytakesme2, Lovely to hear from you. I must remember that tip! Trouble is that I rarely buy new books.
DeleteDry old books of paper and leather are wonderful; musty old books are intolerable.
ReplyDeleteHello Joanne, I am not over keen on the dry smell either, but at least I can get close enough to read the book! I suppose I could always resort to using a peg on my nose.
DeleteI have a very strong sense of smell - I have not bought any old books for some time and the ones I had were culled when I remarried but what I have trouble with is the smell of washing powders today. I use a non scented one but when people have visited using a particular brand it lasts on the furnishings for days.
ReplyDeleteHello Susan, I absolutely agree, they are dreadful. Nothing from a bottle or a capsule can beat the smell of linen dried on an outside line in the fresh air and sunshine.
DeleteI love the smell of dry books as Joanne says. My sense of smell is keen like yours, is it an asset, I’m not sure? At least if we lose our sense of smell (Coronavirus symptom) we will be instantly on notice!
ReplyDeleteLX
Hello LL, My husband has a poor sense of smell. Jack Spratt and his wife. He cannot detect the smell of badly kept books at all, not so much as a twitch on the smell-o-meter. Open a sachet of cat food and he can smell that from three rooms away! We are funny beings.
DeleteYou speak for yourself, young lady!
DeleteLXX
I am a great fan of an old book myself and actually love the smell. What a joy to see some of your collection.
ReplyDeleteHello mamasmercantile, You would have loved some of the 'aromatic' ones I have had to deal with then! I hope the island weather is being kind to you. Have a lovely weekend.
DeleteI have a sensitve nose too and can smell things way before my husband can - burning toast, gas, drains etc. There is a certain 'damp'smell with some shops that sell very old books which I don't like but I like the way you treat your books to take that aroma away. The smell I dislike the most is walking past the open door of a butcher's shop especially on a warm day. You have some wonderful books:)
ReplyDeleteHello Rosie, That sensitive nose can be very useful, no doubt about that. The butcher's shop smell is foul. When I was a child, living in Hong Kong with my family, my mother would take me shopping each weekend. I was fine while we were in the Dairy Farm shop, the pharmacy, etc. Then she would visit her favourite butcher's shop. It was down a very stinky (to my nose!) alley which, of course, added to the horror. I would sniff frantically at a tissue drenched in my mother's perfume, or failing that filled with scented talcum powder, neither of which I liked, but it helped to cancel out that terrible smell. No wonder I am vegetarian!
DeleteHello Marleen, Smoke definitely adds to the vile smell. A new home, now that is exciting. May I wish you much happiness in your new home, and keep enjoying those old books!
ReplyDeleteI love the smell of old books. Please, next time you post photos of your stash, put them upright, I have a crick in my neck form reading the titles.
ReplyDeleteHello hart, Oh, no. Don't give yourself a crick in the neck, just ask me next time and I'll list them for you.
DeleteHi..my daughter and i love the smell of old books..infact if it doesn't smell right we kinda leave it. But your tip for getting rid of the smell is a good one and i do have a book that is particularly smelly and does need toning down a notch or two.
ReplyDeleteftm
Hello flowertotmum, Trouble is that some of the most wonderful books come with that smell, well they do if you like old, forgotten recipe books. I wish I could appreciate that smell as much as you and your daughter! Nice to hear from you.
DeleteTotally agree! The smell of old books and old wooden furniture gets to me. I may just have to buy some cat litter to give it a go. I wonder if a bowl of cat litter inside an old cupboard would help eliminate the smell...
ReplyDeleteHello Chloe's Nan, Well worth a try! Do remember to get a non-scented variety though or you could end up with something which smells just as bad but different. Lovely to see you.
DeleteHave to admit I do like an old book smell, but not an old book musty smell. I’m very picky, haha. You have a fantastic collection!
ReplyDeleteHello Ann, I need to refine the collection, it seems huge, but it does represent a lot of birthday and Christmas vouchers, I was a bit single-minded for a while!
DeleteI don't have a particularly strong sense of smell but I do love the smell of old books. It reminds me of my grandmothers house as hers was full of them. When she died I bought home a box of them, when I get them down off the shelves I am instantly transported back to her house. I would never want to get rid of that smell!
ReplyDeleteHello sustainablemum, Books to love and to cherish as they transport you through space and time. I don't doubt for an instant that they have a lovely smell, quite unlike the smelly old ones I described. I doubt that a kindle device could have the same effect. Three cheers for books and three more for grandmothers.
DeleteI do like old books too. Guess what career I chose? Librarian. Sadly IMHO nowadays library focus today is less on books and more on computer resources, especially at university libraries. Once at a library book sale I rescued (bought) a book from the 1800s so it would have a good home. It is a Bible dictionary.
ReplyDeleteHello Terra, Ah, the demise of good old-fashioned libraries. Many of my early memories are of delighting in the hushed atmosphere of a public library - going back six decades - when silence was enforced. I am delighted to know that you are a book rescuer, too!
DeleteI love the smell of old books but you have me thinking about ways to get odors out of things...not just books but other things that can't be washed but have an offensive odor. i can't think of what but I know I'll think of this post whenever the next offense to the olfactory happens!
ReplyDeleteHello Kristin, It is just one of those handy little things to have tucked away at the back of your mind. This nose of mine is sometimes the bane of my life; while other people sniff appreciatively at the smell of a barbecue, I have to get as far away as possible because it makes me feel ill. I often wish I could appreciate the smell of old books - it piques my curiosity to know what it must be like to appreciate it so much!
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