If only the metadata accompanying e-texts were as interesting as that found in used books!
Online bookseller AbeBooks.com recently asked its vendors about the strangest things they’ve found in used books. The list will surprise you: a Christmas card from L. Frank Baum, a Mickey Mantle rookie card, a diamond ring, a strip of bacon, $40,000, a World War II U.S. ration book, and even “a holographic image of a lady who sheds her clothing,” among other items.
Surely similar items have turned up in collections bequeathed to academic libraries around the country. What strange things have you found in your library’s old books?—Catherine Rampell
