It was one of those kinds where the owners were extreme
collectors of all kinds of “stuff”. The house was in a modest tract and it
looked like it had been continuously added to over its 50 or 60 year span. It
had an enormous overgrown backyard and every space in the house, yard and
garage was piled with musty boxes filled with stuff. The genuine antiques were
priced high, but because I’m always on the lookout for funky art and craft
supplies, I found plenty of half-used acrylics and other paints, papers, rubber
stamps, ephemera, etc. As is common, tomorrow the wheeling and dealing will
start for the serious buyers.
My incredible $2 find of the morning, however, was a large hand-bound journal stacked beneath a pile of junk. The rain had soaked many of the books and items in the room it was in, but the journal was intact. Synchronicity as far as I'm concerned. Its worn fabric cover and the fabric inside covers need restoration and all the binding paste on the inside spine had long ago decayed. How I wish I could show it to Kelly Kilmer—and I’ll probably find a way.
This is the front and back cover.
This is its inside covers. Look at the pinking shears edges.
In my work I have long used a local bookbinder, but two
years ago he went belly-up; I’ll probably get a referral from Kelly to someone
in L.A. that she trusts. Or maybe I'll give it a go on my own.
I thought the journal, whose pages are a very heavy watercolor stock, was empty. Imagine my utter delight this afternoon when I saw that six of the front pages had art and words—and even tissue between the pages. Someone had lovingly made this journal long ago.
Does that name look like Georgia Gear to you? I Googled the name but only got the shop at the U. of Georgia. I'm thinking this book may be from the early 1900s.
There is another name on the bottom of this poem. Betty something.
This is the third page.
Following are the fourth and fifth pages.
I am totally enchanted with my find today--and I'm delighted it has energized me so. Though never diagnosed, I think I have a touch of seasonal affective disorder and this dark week was a hard one to get through--droopy and largely uncreative. I just sat in the beautiful sun today and soaked it up. Thanks Georgia and/or Betty. I'll take very good care of your journal.
