These two, for example, celebrate quite significant friendships in the family. On the left is a little French dictionary which Dad gave to Uncle Eric during the War while Uncle Eric was serving abroad.
The dedication reads:- I hope you will be back before you can make good use of this dictionary. Morris. 16.3.43
On the right is an Apocrypha given to Mum. The dedication reads:-
A Simple Token January 5th 1953 for my Dear Friend Flora Edwards from John Dowd With great gratitude for the Special help she has given from time to time.
John Dowd was our next door neighbour and his wife was mentally unstable. Mum gave him
not only friendship but acted as a mediator in his stormy marriage.
The follwing dedication was in a Margery Lawrence book of Mum's.
Pixie was Mum and Fairy Queen was a former office colleague of hers though which one I have forgotten (and nowadays have no way of finding out).
What does one do with books like this? I have no use for an out-of-date (and tiny) French Dictionary or an Apocrypha or a novel I shall never read and yet to throw them away seems somehow sacrilegious. No doubt they'll go back in the loft...
I love these dedications. Tricky when you're trying to make some space, but I agree it would be very hard to let go of them.
ReplyDeleteand if you do decide they have to go then I'd like Bryony, Rich, Gareth or I to have the dictionary - that one really needs to stay in the family in my opinion.
ReplyDelete