I was finally able to do a bit of thrifting! Of course COVID-19 has pretty much decimated this treasured hobby of mine thus far for the year. I personally do not feel comfortable going into charity thrift stores at this time. I am an anxious germaphobe under the best of conditions, and let’s face it: thrifting can be a dirty business. I do feel a bit more comfortable with consignment and antique shops though. I had a good excuse recently in dropping off some things to consign, so I took full advantage of the opportunity!

I only got one item in the first shop, this comic, “The Book of Ballads and Sagas.” The comic itself is in fair condition – certainly not fine, but not terrible either. As a fantasy enthusiast I was drawn to it and immediately noticed the names of artist Charles Vess and author Neil Gaiman. According to this article from sci-fi/fantasy publisher Tor:

Charles’ The Book of Ballads came about in 1995 when the artist had the idea to collect his favorite writer-friends and have them write comic adaptations of English and Scottish ballads. As I heard him tell the story, Jane Yolen was one of the first people he called, just to float the idea off of someone. An hour later a complete script from her poured out of his fax machine. Over time, other writers participated, including Neil Gaiman, Sharyn McCrumb, Charles de Lint, Jeff Smith, Midori Snyder, Emma Bull, Graham Pratt, Elaine Lee, Delia Sherman, Lee Smith, and Vess himself.

The Book of Ballads was originally issued as four self-published comic books from his own Green Man Press as The Book of Ballads and Sagas. In 2004, Tor Books printed hardcover and trade paperback editions with additional stories.

“Charles Vess’ Book of Ballads Accepted into the Library of Congress” by Irene Gallo, 2012

This is book one of that comic series. The illustrations are, of course, inspiring! After all, the above-linked article was written with the intention of congratulating Mr. Vess on the book drawings being accepted into the Library of Congress.

The rest of my haul was all found in one place. I was taking my sewing machine to be serviced when I ran across a newly opened shop. Aren’t those the best discoveries?!

My first finds there were three books. I’ll start with “Beyond Time” by Gwen Frostic. I completely judged this book by its appearance. It may be the most beautiful book I have ever purchased secondhand, with its pages made to look as aged and torn parchment. It is a nature art and poetry book. The book has a copyright of 1971 on the inside, but you can buy it from the author’s website still today, so I’m not sure how old this copy may be. It is certainly a treat for the eyes.

Next up is “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis. You likely know Lewis as the author of the “Chronicles of Narnia” series, but he was also a prolific writer of non-fiction and on the topics of religion and Christianity. This one has been on my to-read list for some time, so I was excited to find such an immaculate and stately hardcover copy.

The last book is a Girl Scout Handbook which is apparently from the 1950’s. The child owner did some writing on the inside which has mostly been marked through or torn out, but a camp attendance date in the back appears to read 1957. How fun! I was never a girl scout, but I have always thought I would have liked it. I want to read this book, but it triggered some sort of allergic reaction from me, so I have sealed it up in a plastic zippered bag. I have not had that happen before, so I will need to research what I can do about it…

My next find in the store was this typewriter ribbon tin. I was a bit familiar with these because I had hoped to find a few to go with a typewriter I thrifted back in early 2019. It is a Royal brand typewriter as this tin is for. So, yay me, I found one!

Lastly, I HAD to have this basket. I already own one of these that is quite large and in the shape of a watermelon, so my brain saw the shape and said “WATERMELON BASKET!” and I grabbed it like a madwoman. But duh, it’s an apple of course. It was very dingy and dusty and I wasn’t sure how it would clean up, but I took a chance and it turned out beautifully. So now I have an apple to go with my watermelon!

I am happy with my little haul and glad I got to scratch that thrifting itch. I’ll leave you with a gallery of neat items I liked but did not bring home with me.

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