Hidden Secrets of Old Books: The Notes in the Margin

Half the fun of reading an old book is when you have just come to an exciting portion of the story, you turn the page. . . and discover some past reader's notes and comments. That is something I always look forward to. On a couple of rare occasions, I have even found sketches by the readers from the 19th and early 20th century. Whenever I buy an old book, the first thing I do is turn to the title page and see who the past owner was and in what year they read it. When you see a signature or a date in a book, take note: this is a piece of history. The signatures in books are important because they allow future generations (like us) to know who was reading what in the past.

Some people think it is unwise to write in or take notes in the margin of your books. But my father has always told me that your children will look at the books you own and will want to know what you thought of The Deerslayer when you read it for the first time... This is why I take notes in my books. Now, if you have a first edition of Blackstone's Commentaries, I probably would not argue for you to write all over it, but, for the most part, I believe in "multi-generational note-taking." Just remember, you would not be reading that note about how funny Peterkin was if someone hadn't left it in the margin of that book for you.