I feel that I have gone through the history and significance of my first edition copy of Little Men, at least as much as I can without the specific details of where it was purchased and who owned it previously, as this is difficult to do without it being a family heirloom. However, I am still greatly interested by the history of books and so I turned to the rest of my collection to see if I could dive into another book’s history. I looked for books which had previous owners’ names or dates inscribed inside. Though many of my books do have these details, I found myself most taken with a four specific books, of which I had forgotten their relation as I have owned them for several years now.

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These four books–Rose In Bloom, Old-Fashioned Girl, Under the Lilacs, and Eight Cousins–have many things in common, as well as with most of my collection. They are all written by Louisa May Alcott and published by the Roberts Brothers. Rose In Bloom, printed in 1893, is bound in a dark brown cloth with black lettering and floral designs on the front and black, brown, and gold lettering and accents on the spine. Eight Cousins, printed in 1888, has the same brown cloth binding but with gold lettering and black floral design on the front and black, gold, and red accents on the spine. Old-Fashioned Girl, printed in 1892, is bound in a lighter brown cloth with black lettering and floral design on the front and black and gold accents on the spine. Finally, Under the Lilacs, printed in 1892, is bound in green cloth with black lettering and design on the front and black and gold accents on the spine. These four books were purchased together as a gift to me by my grandparents, who also love books and antiques and are always on the lookout for specific ones that would fit into my collection, such as this author or publisher. They were found in a large antique warehouse (from what I remember) in Pennsylvania. They had said this place housed items for anyone’s interests and was a treasure trove for hidden collectibles, as most of their items were from estate sales or the clearing out of large collections. Because my grandparents were buying all four, they were not very expensive and was a substantial edition to my collection.

However, there is another detail which unites these four books: all were originally owned by the same person. This information is found on the inside covers. When opening the cover of Old-Fashioned Girl, in faded ink there reads:

“To Carrie

From Mamma

March 6, 1892”

Though I am unsure of the significance of this date, I can assume that it may be her birthday or another special occasion. On the inside cover of Under The Lilacs, there reads:

“To Carrie

From Papa

December 25, 1892”

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Though “from” different people, the handwriting makes me think they are both written by the same person with the same type of fountain pen and so probably written by just one of the parents. The other two titles do not have one of these messages, but rather a first and last name written in pencil in the same spot. The first name clearly reads Carrie, though after much effort I still cannot confidently make out the last name, though in Eight Cousins there is a middle initial ‘L’ also included. I am pretty confident that it was Carrie who wrote the names in these two books as one of the reasons I cannot make out the last name is due to the pencil handwriting not being very clear. Additionally, the letters, though I can tell it is the same last name, are made in slightly different script styles. This possibly indicates a couple year difference in when they were written and therefore the child having more practice or development of her handwriting.

While it is disappointing I cannot make out the last name, I am also unsure of how much more information I would be able to find on her or her family. She probably would have been married young and taken another name and I do not have the first names of her parents. However, I enjoy the idea of having a unique collection within my collection, and it brings to mind many questions I have about both her and the books’ lives since her ownership. I can tell, unlike my copy of Little Men, that these books were well read from the wear of the spine, cover edges, and the inner seams of the pages being loose and showing when opened. I do wonder of what financial means this Carrie girl and her family were, if she were spoiled and these were frequent gifts of which there are a few remaining. Or, if her family had to save for these and were only given for special occasions throughout her childhood. I also wonder at what point she parted with them, and if there were other Alcott books of hers that have since been separated. Or, even, how many owners they had before they became property of the antique warehouse, then of my grandparents, and now of mine.