Bibliophilia: Startling Experiences!

I'm sure there are startling experiences in books, in having them and loving them? Maybe not so much. Neither is the inspiration for the title, though. No, this is named for the book I'm highlighting in this post. One in my collection, which I will admit readily I have not yet read, it caught the eye of a commentor in a background over on today's Mad Genius Club. I answered him while I was not at home, looking at the book, and I got it completely wrong. So! Here is what the book is really about. 

Startling Experiences! 

I picked this book up based on the cover alone.

Sometimes you just have to bring a book home with you, even knowing you might never read it. This was one of those. I mean to read it. It's just not something I've needed for research just yet. 

Another one for my history geek, really, and given the date... 

I'm pretty sure this was written in 1900, and bought in 1901, although there is no date on the frontmatter page. 

I like to think this was a boy's book.

So what does history look like through the lens of more than a century's passage of time? 

There are pages and pages of photos like this, invaluable for their stiff glimpse into the past.

The pages have stood the test of time remarkably well, although there is some minor water damage to the binding, along with general wear. 

The mini was aquired for a photo prop today, so this was my trial of 'making art with posed object' as well as book profile.

This is a beautiful book, really. Remarkable stories, but I could spend time just looking at the photos and art, wondering how these places have changed. 

A war swept over this place, generations after this photo. Is it even recognizable today?

I think this is close to where the photo was taken... courtesy of google maps. 

Paseo de Magallanes

When the book reached Ohio in 1901, no one dreamed of doing what I just did, reaching across the globe instantaneously for a photo of a place. 

It was the era of the illustration, photos still being relatively exotic (although less so at the turning of the century than in, say, 1865). The cartoon was in it's heydey, making sharp points with few lines and fewer words.

Messing around with art filters to make my minis come to life. Or at least leap from the page.

Updated to add that you can read it for yourself! The scanned image of the book is available online.