Wednesday 27 February 2013

Ballet


When I'm browsing for books in a charity shop I never have a fixed idea of what I'm seeking, only that I'll know what it is when I see it. Dangerous method. I'm left wide open to temptation and since I never leave the house without a sturdy book bag tucked into my satchel (student habits die hard) I can load myself up with as many bookish treasures as take my fancy. You have to be able to spot an interesting spine if you're after a treasure, with so many tomes jostling for space it's easy to miss something. This is where the head tilt and the sideways wander come into action and I spend the next ten minutes ear to shoulder; as though the wind changed and I'm stuck mid-stretch, it looks ridiculous but it's just so much easier to read the titles that way, I've made my peace with it. Sort of. 

It was mid sideways wander that I found this very well loved copy of The Book of Ballet for the princely sum of 70p. I've never been the ballerina in my family - my little sister got that gene - but I do enjoy watching. My sort of freedom is found on the back of a horse or in the world of a book, that being said ballet has always looked so free to me; the sheer grace and range of movement. I know that in reality ballet is blood, sweat and tears - total dedication to perfection, though it still conjures such a beautiful illusion for the rest of us. I think that's why this book came home with me. It has definitely seen better days and some of the pages are making a bid for freedom but it is such a gorgeous thing to leaf through - page after page of elegance and loveliness. I wonder how many little girls hands it passed through before it came to me.




Linking to Thrift Share Monday

18 comments :

  1. Ha! Many a time I've cricked my neck doing that in a second hand book shop! Those canvass type spines are always worth looking out for. Lovely find.
    xxx

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  2. Such a gorgeous find...in fact very jealous that it's not mine...oh the illustrations!!

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  3. the sideways shuffle with bendy neck!! I do this!! Ahhh its nice to know I'm not alone and what a gorgeous old book! x

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  4. What a beautiful find, gorgeous illustrations xx

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  5. AH I love second hand book shopping, there is always a gem to be found. I love the look of this ballet book and it's reminding me of some very similar ones which my mum had when she was young.

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  6. What a beautiful book! I love ballet, so I love reading things like that, such a good find, I never seem to get so lucky!
    Eleanor x

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  7. What a sweet book, I too found and rehomed a ballet book last year, it was an old library copy so I love seeing all the library stamps in it - that alone would tempt me, but all the gorgeous images pulled me over into buying it!

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  8. What a sweet book. I'm doing the neck-bend browse for ballet books for my wee girl but not having much luck, though we did find a sweet old cake plate with faded ballerinas on it she adores x

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  9. What a beautiful book, I love the illustrations. I've never been into ballet- we were forced to do it a bit at school, however Ballet Shoes was always one of my favourites!xx

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  10. Hello, I'm a first time reader of your lovely blog *waves* and a fellow Derbyshire gal :-) Beautiful book, I do the same walk when browsing charity shops and adore old well loved books

    Becky

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  11. Oh Jem what a beautiful treasure! Those illustrations are to die for. I love the simplicity of those sketches, so graceful! I will have to have a go at recreating something like this myself, though knowing me, it'll end up as a rabbit in a tutu!! Xxx

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  12. i just love old books, you will find me in the book room (i know a whole room!) at the charity shop i volunteer in, i wish we had a chair in thee...and a coffee machine.... haha

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  13. Looks like such a lovely book. That is something I love about old books, the amount of people who have touched it and have fallen in love with the words and pictures.
    xo Natasha
    http://thenightiswild.blogspot.co.uk

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  14. I've just found your blog, you have such beautiful pictures & style of writing that i'll be sure to call again!

    I have always loved pictures of ballet even though I never went as a child. There is just something so delicate and inspiring about it.
    x

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  15. Yes! The pain of the neck twist whilst looking at books! One that I suffer from many times...
    Eleanor x
    http://coffeewithcroissants.blogspot.co.uk/

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  16. So nice to hear from you! I love the ballet and the book is lovely.
    I can't resist a lovely old book!

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  17. That is such a beautiful book, what a beautiful gem! I danced from the age of three to fifteen, and when I first started I had a book very similar to this, but a modern version, with photographs instead of illustrations. I gave ballet over two years ago because i wasn't enjoying it anymore but I still adore watching it, to me the costumes and the illusions that the dancers give are the best thing of all!annie x

    www.cheramiblogger.blogspot.co.uk

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  18. I love ballet! :D The costumes, the movements and the positions... all the things releated with ballet are beautiful. I still can remember when I started taking lessons and doing exercises with portable ballet barres, I enjoyed it a lot!
    Laura

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