I have inherited a high school library in which no weeding has been done in decades. Generations. A lot of what I dig up is a real hoot, and in order to pay tribute on its way to the dumpster I may as well share some of it.
Boys’ Own Arithmetic, c1924. Because everybody knows girls can’t do math.
How to Ride Your Hobby, c1935. Most of the materials for the projects in this book don’t exist anymore, and stamp collecting is pretty lame next to an xbox.
Flowers and Their Travels, c1936. This charmingly illustrated volume on seed dispersal dates back to when flowers apparently had feet, and free will. “Since the world began…plant families have sent their children out to seek their fortunes,” writes Frances Margaret Fox. Plant babies travel “from port to port until a gay adventurer like the dandelion has traveled round the globe.” Yes, this is what passed for nonfiction in the 1930s. You can almost see the fairies in the dewy morn.
Modern Medical Discoveries, c1948. The most up-to-date chapter is “Penicillin Comes Into Its Own.” The cover teasingly promotes information on “Space Medicine.” How much space medicine was there before the Mercury flights in the early 60s?
Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde, 1954. This was in the biography section. Arrrrrr!
Another one that walked off before I could get a picture of it was called He-Manners, c1938. It was a book of etiquette and dating tips for boys, such as how to make a good impression by finding an out-of-season gardenia corsage. It included a chapter called “The Gay Young College Man.” I made the mistake of opening up to that page in the middle of a faculty meeting & it made me snort.
Thank you for the laugh. I am in the same situation. The school I’m at use to be a high school, and has been an elementary school for at least 30 years. I’m still finding HS titles. One book I pulled, copy right about 1945, talked about the fact that every one will be zooming about in their personal helicopters at 200 mph in the 1980s.
It keeps our jobs interesting!