The things you find in a book

Crescentwood

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/05/2023 (1111 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bestselling mystery author Louise Penn writes in The Madness of Crowds: “People put all sorts of things between the leaves of books. Some they want to keep. Some they want to hide.”

The folks who sort and price books donated to the Children’s Hospital Book Market can attest to that. Each week, volunteers lovingly place items they found between pages of books into a container for me to retrieve, review and record. Then, with a little help from my friends, they are prepared for public display. All this ephemera is ready to be seen at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg (603 Wellington Cres.) during Doors Open Winnipeg on Saturday, May 27 from 1-5 p.m.

The following day, in his sermon at the church, Rev. Stefan Jonasson will reflect on life learnings he’s found written in the margins of old books. He notes that “many of the used books I cherish most are the ones that came with bonuses – wise (or shocking) marginalia.”

It is such an honour for me to be involved in this “hidden history” endeavour because it takes a village of book lovers to amass remnants from someone’s museum of the heart and I am but the messenger.

As a double history major (Canadian and U.S.), I never had this much fun learning about the way we were than through the letters, ticket stubs, postcards and clippings that have been found preserved between pages. From military photos of J. Edgar Hoover to candids of Rocket Richard and programs from Red Skeleton, Elvis’s car registration, and autographed photos of Leave It to Beaver and Carol Shields, we have it all, thanks to items that were either slipped into books to be saved or hidden. These include graduation and marriage certificates, love letters, break-up letters, even an elevator permit, medical X-rays, recipes for camel stew, school report cards and a plethora of baby pictures.

The No. 1 question we are asked is whether we find money in the books. Yes, we do, and all the items, including dollar bills, are the property of the Children’s Hospital Foundation. Next most asked is if we find any ‘naughty’ things left behind.

I’ll never tell.

One could presume loonies and toonies are too thick to mark a page but an unopened packet of ketchup once did the trick for someone and survived unscathed. We have class photos, and antique cards such as a 1942 Christmas card from “your Free Press carrier boy.” The memorabilia from the Second World War is powerful.

Besides international bookmarks from most every locale on the planet, a most popular display at a recent preview was the framed collection of Winnipeg bookstores, most now gone but evoking fond recollections for avid readers. Commercial bookmarks are given to the Nearly New Shop, at 961 Portage Ave. to sell as part of their fundraising for Children’s Hospital.

The Found in a Book collection is also a researcher’s haven in cultural anthropology. The Boys Parliament and Manitoba Home for Girls require some serious sleuthing.

A personal highlight for me was meeting the sister of Steve Martin’s stuntman thanks to an autographed photo of the comedian saying “Best Fishes” resplendent with a fish in his suit. Not only does cursive handwriting require some translation for young folk, try explaining ink blotters, of which we have many from local 1940s businesses. And try explaining that photo of Prince Charles with the Spice Girls.

Book donations can be dropped off at any Winnipeg fire hall or Dufresne furniture store. We promise to take good care of anything you might leave behind.

The next Children’s Hospital Book Market will be held on Sept. 15 and 16 at St. Vital Centre.