Tuesday 21 April 2009

Set up!

It's always fun to collect sets of things, isn't it?
For starters...a set of two, vintage, glass tumblers, which I have had for some years.
I love these!
Fabulous.. and a must for any book lover.
Those illustrations, by C.F.Tunnicliffe, are to die for!
My favourite Ladybird books EVER!
Stork Cookery brought out some wonderful books.
And these are no exception.
Who can resist 'Sweet Pea' by Emma Bridgewater?
Adorable.
These should be in every child's bookshelf!
And adults, for that matter!
Need to escape..?
Look no further than these!
I wanted so much to be that teacher in that little village school!
Gardening joy!
I am lucky to have the full set of these..why don't they publish little books like this nowadays?

The covers make my heart miss a beat!

Anyone for the Twist? Remember that... anyone?

More Bridgewater delights!
A 'Pinks' trio.



I found these in Dorchester some years ago..never used...too nice for that!
'For display purposes only''! ;-)



Not a full set but these are my faves in the kitchen!

Hurrah for Enid Blyton school stories !
Frowned upon by so many in education...what a load of tosh!
Go Enid, is what I say!! ;-)
More Ladybird!
And now...my pride and joy and the books which set me on my literary journey!
Vintage Janet and John!
I have the full set...took me ages to collect them too!
Priceless!
Do you have a favourite set of anything? I'd love to know!
Have a happy Tuesday!
;-)

26 comments:

  1. Seriously......how big is your house?

    Haha, lovely sets of alsorts, I don't actually collect anything now, I jump from delight to delight take pleasure in things for a while then pass them on.

    Sue xx

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  2. Those are absolutely my four favourite Ladybird books too, Sal! You have some lovely sets. I think that at the moment my favourite set is four crocheted mats which just happen to match my CK ironing board cover - they're easy to move on and off the board but make it look so good when it's not in use!

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  3. You have some wonderful 'sets'. I really like the Emma Bridgewater Sweetpea design. I used to have a set of Rupert Bear annuals back in the late 60's/70's. I wonder if they are still in my Mum's loft?

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  4. Hi Sal,
    My youngest collects the beatrix potter books .. she loves the stories. We also have some malory towers. I like vintage alphabet books and nature books.
    As a child i collected tickets... any sort.
    Not got a lots of space to collect these days anything apart from fabric... which i have lots of!!
    ginny xx

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  5. I think I've mentioned it to you before, but those are my very fav Ladybird Books (I have all four of them.) But what about Shire Books? No one on blogs ever seems to mention those and yet they're inexpensive and often the only book on a given subject (Betal Chewing Equipment of East New Guinea always springs to mind on that one!) I have around 200 Shire books, some bought new, some picked up inexpensively over the years. The company, which was founded in 1962, was only sold to Osprey, the military books publisher a couple of years ago and has, since then, re-styled the books for the 21st century but they are still extremely attractive and as they're so slender (although not in content, there is much to read in each of them) they don't take up much shelf space. New titles include Buckles, The Village Shop, and The Victorians and Edwardians at Play and some out of print titles have been re-issued. For anyone interested in social history, these books are a must. The Shire website has also been re-vamped and is easy to use.
    Another series, this time an old one, is the Britain in Pictures series which was published by Collins. These, too, are slender volumes (hardback with dustrwaps) but have the most amazing illustrations and, being a large series, are fun to collect. They were also written by some of this country's well-known writers: I have Life Among the English by Rose Macaulay and English Country Houses by Vita Sackville-West. Oh, and English Novelists by Elizabeth Bowen. And, as they're slender, like Ladybird and Shire, they don't eat up too much shelf space!
    Oh, and then there are the Observer's Books ... oh, I'd better not get started on those ...
    Margaret P

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  6. Sal you really have some wonderful collections there, I'm very jealous of all those marvellos sets of books.

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  7. I love the glasses, especially the red/black ones. I remember dancing "The Twist". I still do it at Weddings, but only to embarrass my grown up sons! SueX P.S. Thanks for your help re Blog Etiquette.

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  8. I hope, after such a long comment, you will forgive a PS:
    I have only one Miss Read. When my late mother died, I parted with her collection - it was impossible to keep everything (and believe me she had a lot of everything) - but I kept a rather nice Penguin edition of Christmas at Fairacre. Indeed, there are times, aren't there, when only a Miss Read will do? I recall in one of my very early articles which I wrote for a small, desk-top published magazine called The Wessex Journal, way back in 1997,I was bemoaning the long winter days of February and I mentioned Miss Read. I said:
    "... In my semi-comatose state, winter is kept at bay behind closely-drawn curtains and with the lamps lighted, the fire aglow, I rest with my favourite book on my lap. But which book to read? The choice is endless but for me winter books are those with which I am familiar, old friends whom I turn to not for mental stimulation but for comfort. Miss Read, whose books are the literary equivalent of Horlicks, comes into her own when, with knees covered by an old patchwork quilt, I reacquaint myself with the residents of Faircare and Thursh Green."
    Oh, dearie me ... I'd not write quite like that today. I've learned a bit more about the craft of writing and this is redolent of the romantic gardening writers of the 1930s and 1940s!
    I would add that one of my fav illustrators illustrated the Miss Read Books: John S Goodall. And that brings me to the collections of his books ...
    Margaret P

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  9. I spotted your collection of Miss Read books! Also Beatrix Potter ~ that is another collection that I would love to own...

    Marie x

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  10. I don't particularly have sets of things except those I inherited like 1930s fruit bowls and a 1950s tea service - never used I'm afraid. I collect things like theatre programmes from performances I've seen and I keep things like guide books and entry tickets of places I've visited.

    I love the Emma Bridgewater 'sweetpea' design - I'm lucky enough to live just half an hour's walk away from her factory, factory shop and ceramic cafe - I love going in there for a coffee and to just look at all the wonderful things - can't afford to buy too often, though:)

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  11. I love those glasses they are wonderful. I think that set of Ladybird books are one of my favourites and I think I will have to look out for that set of Stork cookery books, I own The Stork Wartime Cookery book and that makes very good reading (the Lemon Curd recipe from it is out-of-this-world!), I also own the Feeding the Family one too I didn't realise there was that many! You are right every child should read Beatrix Potter and Enid Blyton, we have the complete set of Thomas the Tank by the Revrd Audrey which is our family favourite. You now have given me an idea to collect the Janet and John books I own one which mum bought me Out and About. When I was at school (1960) we had a giant sized one in our classroom! The picture that is attached to this comment came from Standard O. (Preparatory reader) with word-building and coloured illustrations the book my mum had when she was five (1938).

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  12. What lovely collections. I collect books as well, any illustrated by Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone. I adore their illustrations; very escapist.

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  13. What lovely collections. I collect books as well, any illustrated by Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone. I adore their illustrations; very escapist.

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  14. I'm so glad there are others who collect things. I sometimes feel guilty for cluttering up our house. My favourites are your Blyton and Miss Read books and the Bridgewater of course!

    Tracey

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  15. Thanks Sal, I think you know my situation!!

    Clare x

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  16. We have so many books here that I feel obliged to warn any passing American president to keep a watchful eye out.

    I have a complete set of books on a subject close to my heart (apart from Mrs Snippets). That being Devon and the Devonshire dialect.

    In particular tales from Dartymoor by Jan Stewer

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  17. Ooh I have quite a few of the Stork books and I love Miss Read I'm reading 'Village Affairs' at the moment. I also have 'What to look for in Spring' but haven't come across the others yet.
    Yvonne x

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  18. What lovely collections you have. I feel like I collect a bit of everything but will never know what collections I have until I unpack all the boxes I have ready for my flat.

    Victoria xx

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  19. Wow you certainly have a lot of collections! Some really gorgeous things there.
    I got some Emma Bridgewater Sweet Pea when we went to her pottery cafe the other week, i think it is just the prettiest thing she has ever done.

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  20. What brilliant collections you have! Those nature ladybird books look really interesting, I must look out for them.
    Ahh, Janet and John books, I cut my teeth on those . Literally.

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  21. Golly, I'd forgotten all about those Stork cookery books until I saw them in your picture. What a blast from the past! x

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  22. I have the what to look for in Spring book, but not the other seasons, you are very lucky to have the set.
    I love the miss read books and I read all the Malory towers,I thoroughly enjoyed them.
    You are very lucky indeed to have all those gorgeous gardening book, your other collections are super too.
    I love the glasses, they're brilliant.
    Thanks for sharing all that fun xx
    sumea

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  23. I just love everything you've photographed. Those tumblers at the top are to die for.
    x

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  24. Can I come round live in your library and read your books for a while?!

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  25. Oooooh Sal, I'm swooning at your Mr Cuthbert's gardening books. I had no idea there were so many. I picked up 5 fairly recently but I obviously have a long way to go with this collection!
    Hen x

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Thank you for taking the time to comment! ;-)