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I was at the library in Springfield and saw a book from 1892 that was still in great shape
I was looking for some old maps in the local history section last Tuesday and pulled out this huge atlas. The binding was this simple quarter leather with cloth, nothing fancy. But the spine was totally solid and all the pages were tight, even after 130 years. It made me think about how we sometimes overcomplicate things with fancy materials when solid basics last just as long. What's the oldest book you've handled that was still in good working order?
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the_alice19d ago
Totally get what you mean about basics lasting. Found a 1910 shop manual in my grandpa's garage, just cheap paper and a cardboard cover, but it's still all together and you can flip through it fine. Makes me side-eye my new phone case that cracked after six months. We really have lost the plot on making stuff that just works for a long time. Oldest I've held was a family bible from like 1885, and the leather was flaky but the sewing on the pages was still perfect.
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joelt7019d ago
That part about the sewing on the pages being perfect really hits home. It's like they used to take pride in the hidden parts of things, the stuff you don't even see. Now everything is about how it looks on the shelf for five seconds. My grandpa had tools from the 40s that still work better than the ones I bought last year. It feels like a choice to make things break now.
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