Hereditary interests

[bunn]

I had a feeling that I'd seen a translation of Tacitus's Annals lurking around the house somewhere. Seeking this, I rummaged around in our history shelves and found a couple of old books I'd forgotten.

1) 'The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial, a provisional guide' - dated 1958, with my father's name written on the front. When I picked this up, some very yellow newspaper cuttings about the Fishbourne palace at Chichester floated out of it. The cuttings don't have dates, but on the back of one of them are some London property adverts. A three bed, 2 reception room flat in Marble Arch with garage? £675pa!

2) A very faded copy of 'Everyday Life in Roman Britain' published in 1924, with my grandfather's name in it...

I wonder if somewhere, there are even older books about Roman Britain with great-grandparently names in them. And I wonder how much of the information I am reading now is stuff that they read too. Both died when I was in my teens, and I don't remember ever discussing this with either of them.

(I found Tacitus: the translation is published 1948, so I think it's probably my Granddad's.)

Comments

[inzilbeth-liz.livejournal.com]

Family gems like these are priceless. I have many of my dad's old history and English books and my grandfather's old theology ones from post WW1 Oxford. My absolutely favourite though is Tolkien and Gordon's Gawain signed by my dad, dated 1946 University College Cardiff and full of his old notes!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

An exercise in literary archaeology! I like buying second hand archaeological books and seeing who own them previously. I have picked up books that once belonged to a former boss of mine, and to the great CFC Hawkes...

I could've bought one of my ex-professor's books, too - a few wound up at Oxfam when he retired.