What unusual things have you found inside a book?

[imagine.ink]

A long time ago, there was a BSB thread about unusual things found in books.  I tried to locate that old thread using key words, but the thread appears to have dropped off the BSB cliff into the sea of arcane factoids.

So I'm resurrecting that topic with my recent unusual find. 

Tucked deep within the pages of a $1.00  The Return of Tarzan Ballantine paperback (I'm trying to amass a complete set of the black cover Ballantine Tarzans) at a used book store in Maryland,  there was this "bookmark" (actually quite timely considering recent world events):

[donsdetour]

Press card from that time (nice find) : did you look up the person??

[evry1nositswindy]

I have found plenty of items in books, most are 'the usual'--money, postcards, pictures, small paper items.  One of the best paper items was a group of papers from 1820 with writings of  Elder Joseph Thomas the Pilgrim, which I sold to a college.  One of the most unusual items was a 1980s photograph...of a man on the toilet in a 1950s bathroom!

[picture*books]

Hello Michele: Not on topic, but very, very coincidental that you posted a photo of a Neal Adams illustrated Tarzan cover! Just yesterday I mentioned this in the Vintage, Rare, & Antiques group on FB:

"Really like those Neal Adams covers … he didn’t do many book covers, best known for his reinvention of Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and to a certain degree Batman. Adams might be best known for illustrating the story in the late 1960's about Green Arrow's addiction to drugs, which is famous for being the first DC comic published without the Comics Code Authority's approval stamp."

Now pardon me while I go search through the 6,000 books in my collection for something unusual ...

[taylor_memorial]

Most recently $200 in cash, ATM crisp $20's in a paperback donated to the FOL. 

Earliest: a prescription for whiskey written during the prohibition period. 

Other things: Phillipine $5.00 bill printed by the Japanese during the occupation. 

I have a number of those Ballantine Tarzans, Michelle, if you drop me a list of what you need, I might be able to help.

[imagine.ink]

David, I'm still in need of these numbers:

2, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Although I found the bookmark in a #2 black cover Ballantine, its cover is in pretty bad condition (lots of creases).  I only bought that one because I spotted the press pass inside it and of course, it was priced at only $1.

I'm trying to get a relatively good condition set together.  Also (and here's the kicker), I'm trying not to spend more than $3 per paperback!

There are lots of individual copies on eBay, but most are priced higher than what I want to pay.   I plan to resell once I get a complete set together.  But I do love the Tarzan books!  

I remember the first time I read Tarzan when I was in grade school and I was so fascinated by the part where the boy raised by apes finds his parents' deserted jungle cabin and learns to read by deciphering the words found in their abandoned books.  Of course, I also loved the old Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies.  

[imagine.ink]

Stan, regarding Neal Adams book covers, great minds apparently think alike!   The artwork is stunning.

[bugler1998]

While I have found newspaper articles related to the subject of the book, and found $300 or more in a collectionnof cds bought at an auction, my only decent find probably was mentioned at that earlier thread:  A $50 ww2 military script bill.  It was torn and I eventually sold it for around $11, if I recall.

Now if you count signatures inside I have found many over the years, Including a 25 cent purchase of a book that included the signatures of Bill Clinton and James Pterson in their 2018 novel.

I wonder how many things I have missed.

Oh, do 4 leaf clovers count?  They have likely caused more damage than their value.

[annadryl]

 Just lots of sales-receipt bookmarks. It's interesting to see how far someone made it through...

[wri-8727]

Thank you imagine.ink for the opportunity to write about one of my favorite subjects; Rita. Rita was a farmers daughter who lived a mile North of town and walked everywhere (which made her odd in the 1960s.) Well over the years she became odder and odder to the point people avoided her but that didn't stop Rita:) who by the late 70s would wait at the bus stop for the light to change then open the door of the first car that stopped and get in. The Police used to ticket her for unlawful solicitating or something. One day she tried my door and I still feel ashamed that I didn't reach across and unlock it instead of feeling relieved I had locked it earlier which I normally didn't do.

To make this book-related after Rita died we were at a church rummage sale at a town miles away and found a prayer card for Rita in a book.

[keraz-0]

Wow, you guys are finding cool stuff. All I find is postcards or small paper items. 

[natoman777]

I have found some pretty neat things in old antique books.

1. Notes written about the book or to someone

2. Flyers to local events

3. Travel brochures

4. Hand written receipt of sale

5. photos

I have been selling for a while so don't remember specifics.  I do remember once having a flyer that sold for over $50 in a book worth about $3