Yesterday, a family friend generously gave me a gift. He had been at some sort of sale on Saturday and saw this book, thought of me and bought it. How sweet. How touching. I appreciated it so much. This friend is an (I hope he doesn't mind this) elderly gentleman that attends church with me, and I use the term "gentleman" appropriately. What he probably doesn't realize is that this is just the sort of gift that I love. An old book. Forgotten on someone's shelf, dusty, yellow pages, the work and words of someone long ago; imagine the wonderful possibilities.
"The Education of a Music Lover"
by Edward Dickinson
Published in 1911, I've only had a chance to read the preface so far. I love the language. One hundred years and you are in a different world. This was especially reinforced when I read this passage:
"In the course of the past few years an ingenious invention has brought the teaching of musical appreciation within the reach of instructors who have sufficient theoretical knowledge. It has made all departments of musical composition in a certain degree accessible even to those who are not expert pianists. I refer to the mechanical piano players, which were at first looked upon with suspicion and often with abhorrence by professional musicians, but which are proving themselves an agency of immense usefulness in diffusing good music among the people."
Player pianos, that ingenious invention! I had to giggle aloud when I read that one. One hundred years later, I find this article this morning that puts even more perspective on the last century of music appreciation. The ingenious inventions just keep on coming.
I'm looking forward to reading Professor Dickinson's book and am so thankful to generous friends.
1 comments:
I love old books too. Mainly I love find old things that are thought provoking. I have a couple of old medicine bottles that I love.
The walkman article was a great read!
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