Friday, February 10, 2012

Sepia Saturday - Books

This week's photos involve people holding or reading books. I do not have an old photograph of an ancestor holding a book. However I do have old books once owned by my family.

This book was owned by my maternal grandmother, Helen F. (Coyle) Gardner, 1897 - 1965. She grew up in New York City where she met and married Nathaniel Gardner.

You might associate grandmothers with cookbooks or flower books but this is a bit different. As a young woman my Nana was fascinated by astrology, crystal ball reading and other predictions for the future. This book is all about reading palms. I love the author's photo inside. He looks very serious. He calls himself simply, Cheiro.


Cheiro's Language of the Hand
Original copyright the year my Nana was born.
"Complete practical work on the sciences of Cheirognomy and Cheiromancy, containing the system, rules and experience of Cheiro."

Sounds very scientific!




10 comments:

  1. Even though there is no photo of your grandmother holding this book, the book itself is a wonderful story that tells a lot about her.

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  2. You've taught me two new words today thanks to your grandmother - cheirognomy.cheiromancy. I have to hand it to you both.

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  3. Your grandmother must of been an interesting lady to talk with about her interests.

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  4. That must be an interesting book to peruse. I have to admit, my grandmother didn't have any books that were nearly that interesting.

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  5. Quite interesting. Those are subjects and words I have never heard of. I had forgotten about all my books about Reike, Healing Touch and Massage from my training in wholistic medicine. I know my children and grands find them whimsical. As an RN I used them in Pain Management. Like Bob I learned two new words today.
    QMM

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  6. What a wonderful treasure your book is, I think your Nana would have been great fun to sit and talk with.

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  7. Thanks for all the comments. My Nana was always great fun & an individual and taught us children to be individuals.

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  8. There's something precious about holding a book that once belonged to an ancestor, knowing that her hands once touched the corners of those pages to turn them the way yours turn them now, and that the words on those pages moved through her eyes into her mind, where they may have made her think similar thoughts to those you're thinking as you read them. It creates a unique connection between the two of you.

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  9. A book is a wonderful gift, but more so knowing it was a treasured book of your grandmothers. I like the book's cover art.

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  10. Astrology and fortune telling must have been a very popular subject for the few books most families owned 70 or 80 years ago. Your post has reminded me of one of my parents with a monochrome photographic plate of the various lines on a hand.

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