Some of us who grew up in the pre-computer dark ages were lucky enough to have a set of encyclopedias in our homes. And some of us used those encyclopedias as a primitive browser. We would take a volume off the shelves and browse the contents. That’s right, some of us actually read our encyclopedias and studied the photos and drawings.
Encyclopedias came in different flavors. Many of us started out with the colorful and endlessly browsable Golden Book Encyclopedia with large print and lavish colored illustrations. After that we moved on to something like World Book or Funk and Wagnalls or Childcraft. Intellectual households went full on Encyclopedia Britannica, which frankly, I always felt needed more pictures.
Buying an encyclopedia set was no small investment, whether it was the kind that came from a supermarket one volume at a time or the kind that was sold by a salesperson who was able to convince parents that not having an encyclopedia was definitely going to impact their child’s future prospects. The books are beautiful quality, printed on nice coated stock inside fine quality covers with embossing. Those of us who know what those encyclopedias cost and who treated them with the respect that books full of the world’s knowledge deserved–we still look at our encyclopedias with the same amount of respect now as we did when they first came home. We know they are dated, but we still like having them around.
While we may still value our encyclopedias, the world at large does not. More and more encyclopedia sets are finding their way into landfills because few organizations will accept them as donations. It turns out, in the computer age, no one actually wants used vintage encyclopedias to use in the way they were made to be used. Sets can be given away for free on craigslist or freecycling sites, but the simple truth is that despite their pedigree, not many people feel a burning need to have encyclopedias as reference books in the days of Wikipedia.
So what do you do when you are ready to part with an encyclopedia set? As it turns out, clever souls are finding ways to upcycle and/or reinvent encyclopedias as art and as decorative accents. Here are some of my favorites:
Book box by artist Shannon Moore
Artist Shannon Moore greatest incredible display boxes for miniatures form old books and encyclopedias. Her creativity is somewhat breathtaking. Visit her shop, she also makes custom orders.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Artist Jim Rosenau’s Reading Chair made from vintage Funk and Wagnalls, $195.
Several years ago, Apartment Therapy featured the bookish bookshelves of California artist Jim Rosenau. His Encyclopedia Britannica bookshelf would be an incredible place to showcase a special collection.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Encyclopedia stack table, made to last DIY from Little Things.
A simple stack of encyclopedias with a creative top (serving trays work well) makes a smashing pop up side table. But this tutorial from Little Things gives you the how-to for making an encyclopedia side table that will last.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Books in brown paper wrappers, stamped, by Chloe Moore Photography.
One of the nicest attributes of using vintage encyclopedias as decor is that they are all the same height and depth. The widths may vary, certainly the A volume is going to be larger than Volume D, but the main size conformity is a beautiful thing when filling a bookcase or crafting a tablescape. Chloe Moore Photography simplifies to dramatize with brown paper book covers and spines stamped with messages. Change the covers or messages for fun seasonal displays.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
As I said at the beginning, your vintage encyclopedias may be dated in many ways, but it’s still a great read. The meticulous care that went into crafting illustrations and writing articles holds up in some but not all cases. They might not have a touch screen, but they do have the power to engage attention. Is there any better way to practice alphabetizing than looking things up? Some articles may be hilarious framed from today’s perspective, but in that humor lies lessons about our not all that distant past. If you’ve decided to downsize your encyclopedias out of your life, consider asking a someone with school age children if they’d enjoy it.
2 comments
Wonderful article Laurie! I spent many hours reading through our Encyclopedia Brittanica as well as Webster’s dictionary. And I’m sure I learned a thing or two in the process.
What great ideas! I have quite a few very old sets and love how they used the old ones to create such great decor. Thanks for sharing!