Streets in a book
One morning, July 2024, I was looking for a really precious children’s book in my shelf to make sure it was in good condition after all these years. While scanning the racks, a soft blue linen-ridged cloth-bound book caught my attention: Paris for Everyman by JM Dent and Sons Ltd.; Atlas & guide in one.
No idea how it came to be in our home — small hardcover — roughly 4" x 6.5" — plain endpapers — looked like a pen and ink illustration on the title page — and then, on the copyright page, I noticed the date:
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Reprinted July 1924…
For a brief second, my mind was in a time warp, looking at this open page that was printed exactly a century ago, around the same time of year right down to the month.
Flipping through the slightly brittle book, I found the standard structure — foreword, contents. But then, before the main text could begin, pages and pages of maps started to roll in…
It was fascinating. On an 8" spread with font sizes down to 2 and 3 pt, a miniature city made of tinted inks and street cartography looked just stunning.
