Mary Presson Roberts“The world encyclopedia, the universal library, exists, and it is the world itself.”
― Alberto Manguel
― Alberto Manguel
The set of World Book Encyclopedias, two years younger than I, was something that my family valued. The encyclopedias were always displayed, prominently, in a glass-covered bookcase in our den.
If I remember correctly, they were some type of bonus for my father, a hardworking salesman.
These books sat on our bookshelves. We saw them every day. They were our internet…the world at our fingertips.
So many school projects were finished because we had these books. I vividly remember completing reports about Thomas Jefferson during elementary school, one about diseases during junior high school, and a report about geometry while in high school using these encyclopedias.
The books now are displayed on a shelf in my home. The books, themselves, are somewhat obsolete, yet still treasured for their place in my past.
Sometimes, you just cannot let go…
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Mary ours were red. Bought in the 50’s for me but my father used them the most. He was completely self taught and they became his “Google” of the day.
They were wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Brings back memories of the set we had. Don’t know what they cost but I’m sure my parents paid dearly for them. My dad was also a salesman back then.
Wonderful memories, Bill! I am sure they were extremely expensive, but opened so many avenues for learning back in the day. Thank you!
Hi Mary, nice blog. Enjoyed reading with the past in mind. I still have a set of encyclopedias that I visit every once in awhile. I remember reading these when I was young and thought how much info was jammed packed in these books. Now, I surf the net and my is just blown away. I want to go back to the books to relax and feel like a little kid again, lol.
Thank, so much, Jason! It is comforting to think of the past at times with how quickly things change and move these days!
The difference between books and the internet is that you can smell their age and feel the texture of paper. Much like photographs on a canvas or print.
Brings back memories of reading encyclopaedia’ and learning about aardvark 🙂
Paul, for me, nothing compares to a real book that you can hold in your hands and turn the pages! Thanks so much for your comment!
Wonderful memory, the things we forget. I think mine came from the grocery store with each purchase of you could collect one book.
Thanks for sharing, Chris! What a wonderful way to collect your set!