Bookstore Bliss

When we were in Indiana a couple weekends ago, we stopped briefly at Hyde Bros. Used Books. It is the perfect place to spend an afternoon (though we only had a measly forty-five minutes). There is room after room of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves all well-organized and with those sliding rail-guided ladders to reach the top shelves. Customers are actually expected to use them. (No “For Employee Use Only” signs at Hyde Bros.!) There are squashy armchairs, and there’s even a resident cat! Well, in our short time there, I found more books to buy than I had money to buy them, but I did settle on the gorgeously illustrated Psalms of David illustrated by James S. Freemantle. According to the bookflap, Freemantle was born in India in 1859 and traveled extensively throughout India and the Middle East. In 1906 he began illuminating the Book of Psalms as a gift for his wife, whom he must have loved dearly, and finally finished in 1943, just before he died. His son had it published posthumously. My copy, though bought in a used bookstore, is brand new; even the ribbon marker was still tucked inside in its original position. I see that Amazon has used copies for $.48!