Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Any Bookmark Collectors Here?

I've mentioned my bookmark collection a time or two (or three or four) here on the blog, and I finally had the bright idea that you might like to see some of them. So I went searching through my files where I just happen to have captured scans of a major part of my collection. My collection includes some of my mother's, gifts people have given to me, and ones that I've made. 

Years ago, one of the people I worked with was going back home to Palau (think Micronesia) for a couple of weeks, and she asked me what I wanted her to bring back as a gift. My mind went absolutely blank. I didn't want her spending any money on me really, and I certainly didn't want anything that would take up a lot of room in her luggage. Then the light bulb went off over my head: I wanted a geographically specific bookmark. Unless you go crazy, they don't cost much, and they take up scarcely any room. Ernestine gave me a set of three gorgeous bookmarks from Palau, and ever since then, if someone wants to bring me back something from their travels, that's what I request. It's a win-win for both parties.

Let's take a look at some of the ones I've collected over the years.


Handmade on paper from Mexico

Handmade tatted bookmark gifted to me

An online group I belonged to had a meet in Seattle. I decided to make laminated bookmarks as gifts for everyone who attended.

I also made bookmarks for each attendee that included their photo and a favorite quote. Everyone seemed to love them and made sure they had one of each. Here's mine.

This is one of the bookmarks Ernestine gave me.

When my niece Karen visited Monaco, she bought me this bookmark.

Here's one I bought for myself when Denis and I visited Waddeston Manor in England.

 

That's enough for one sitting, but don't be surprised if I trot out some more of them. Why? Well... you might just like seeing them, and I like the memories they bring back.

Do any of you collect bookmarks? Inquiring minds would love to know!

16 comments:

  1. Magnificent. Those are very nice bookmarks and it's the thought that counts, as well as the good taste. I like all of them, although Mexico and Palau stand out.
    I do not collect bookmarks. I collect books, pottery and some refrigerator magnets. One was given to me by a friend who traveled to South Africa, and Nelson Mandela is on it.

    I don't know how you have time to do all of this and keep it organized so well.

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    1. One of the words my co-workers always used to describe me: organized.

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  2. You know, I don't collect bookmarks, Cathy, but I can see why someone would. You've got some gorgeous ones, too! I'm impressed. I think handmade crafts like bookmarks are unique, and I'm glad you have at least one.

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    1. I'm glad I made all those bookmarks for the Seattle meet. My friend Helen and I had an assembly line set up and played music with a fast beat to it so we could motor through and get them done in one evening. But I wouldn't necessarily want to do that again (especially since Helen is no longer with us).

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  3. I do collect bookmarks! Sometimes I wonder why! You can really only use one or two or maybe three at a time! I need to change my thinking and call it a collection. Maybe even find a way to display some of the more unusual or special ones. Thanks for the reminder, Cathy!

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    1. You're welcome! When I was younger, I had bookmarks in all my textbooks, and I would have a dozen reading-for-pleasure books going at the same time. I wouldn't always finish them, and when I purged my library a few years ago, I was amazed at the number of bookmarks I'd left in books!

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  4. I do have a number of nice bookmarks; however, I use whatever is at hand to mark my place. Could be a bill, a gum wrapper, or a sticky note. :)

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    1. LOL Not me! I use magnetic bookmarks for my physical books probably because I don't read physical books "on the fly." They stay at home while my Kindle travels with me whenever I leave the house.

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  5. I also collect them, and why not? They are usually quite easy to find, relatively cheap, very easy to transport and store and every single one has a story or some wonderful memory to go with it.

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    1. I've seen your collection, and a nice one it is, too. :-)

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  6. I've got a bunch of them too. Turns out that it makes a nice little something to get for 'Kay the person who reads too much' - as I'm known in our family. Ha! Maybe I'll think about showing some of mine in upcoming days. Good idea, Cathy! And I love these and would love to see more...

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  7. I have sort of inadvertently put together a bookmark collection over the years, but I use them until they wear out and end of tossing them at some point. My favorites are mostly from favorite bookstores here and in the UK, things like that.

    But since I also collect old books, I sometimes find an old forgotten bookmark still marking a long-dead reader's progress. I found a couple of really beautiful ones from the early 1900s that way (and now I can't remember where I put them for safekeeping). Even found a hardware store receipt from about 1930 in an old book and spent quite a while going down the list of purchases and prices. You never know...

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    1. I have several from favorite bookstores, too. I once found a beautiful piece of old lace used as a bookmark. When my grandmother saw it, she asked for it to use on the collar of a dress she was making for one of her antique dolls.

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  8. I have an inadvertent collection of bookmarks, received as gifts from well-meaning friends who don't realize that the ones they're giving are too large or bulky for me to ever actually use. I like the receipt-paper library hold slips as bookmarks, since they're light enough to slip between pages elsewhere in the book while I'm reading, and not be in the way.

    The good thing about the bookmarks received as gifts is that they are decorative. So I have them in or on strategically chosen hardcovers on my living room shelves, to add a little extra interest and to bring the givers to mind when I see them.

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    1. I have a tendency to put up a small "theme tree" at Christmas which is decorated solely with bookmarks. Yes, they certainly are decorative!

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