Boasting a collection of more than 350,000 books, the Ohio Book Store had us full of anticipation as we walked in the door. There was bound to be something here for us. It turns out there was a whole stack of somethings, starting at the bottom floor in the paperback classics section. I had a feeling that we might find some Riverside Editions -- it just looked like the kind of place that would have some.
But the first thing I laid my hands on was a 1962 Signet Classic of The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. Score! I actually got chills. We had collected all but Mohicans in Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales in the Signet Classic printing and we really didn't expect to come across Mohicans any time soon, as it is the most popular of that series. The set has really interesting, colorful artwork on the cover -- it has a sort of stained-glass like appearance that we find very attractive. We're so excited to have all five now. Thanks Ohio Book Store!
Next, seconds later, Kristian did indeed put his finger on a Riverside Edition -- The Octopus by Frank Norris. The fun thing about collecting this particular style of Riverside Editions -- simply because we like the look of the publication -- is that it means we get our hands on books and authors we have sometimes never heard of, thus broadening our literary horizons. (The Octopus was apparently first published in 1901 and was originally intended to be the first part in a trilogy that Norris never finished. It is about the conflict between California wheat growers and the Southern Pacific Railroad. We'll definitely read it one day.)
Well, that find opened the floodgates and we found Riverside after Riverside, snagging six more for our collection -- the most we've ever found in one place. They included Ten Greek Plays, Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy, The American by Henry James, The Egoist by George Meredith, and Minor Classics of Nineteenth-Century Fiction, Volume 1. Sadly, we can only increase our total count of Riverside Editions by five -- we'd already found Minor Classics Volume I, but we thought we had Volume II. Since we couldn't remember we had to get it to be safe. Oh well. This version is in much better shape, so we'll replace the other. Our total count is up to 24.
There are lots of great things about the Ohio Book Store -- many of which Kristian points out in his post -- but one very cool aspect is the fact that they have a bindery on the bottom floor of the store. They do amazing restorations of old books and have been in operation since 1940. As torch bearers for paper-paged, physical books, we are thrilled that places like the Ohio Book Store and its Bindery are going strong -- restoring and repairing the old books that we love and hope to keep around for a long time to come. We may have a couple to send their way...
Books added: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper; The Octopus by Frank Norris; Ten Greek Plays edited by L.R. Lind; The Egoist by George Meredith; Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy; The American by Henry James; Minor Classics of Nineteenth Century Fiction, Volume I edited by William E. Buckler
Publishers (in same order): New American Library, Signet Classics; Houghton Mifflin Company, Riverside Editions
Years: 1962; 1958; 1957; 1958; 1965; 1962; 1967
Where obtained: Ohio Book Store, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Price: $21.00 for all ($2.00 - $4.00 a book)
