By Kevin Williams
The theme of this week's installment of "Amish Etsy" is books. SIGH, I love books. Isn't it fun just to go into Half Price Books and simply browse? That's one of my favorite things to do. The used bookstores are often more fun than the actual bookstores because it's sort of like stepping into a time capsule or looking at societal strata. The printing press definitely was one of the most important inventions of the modern era, in my opinion.
A classic children's book with an Amish theme.
AMISH DEVOTIONAL: Wow, I'd love to get my hands on this. This is a rather tattered original of a 1906 Amish devotional book. The book was a gift to a "Menerva Glick" in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from her "Grandpa Solomon." Glick is a very common Amish name in Lancaster County. What I'd love to know is how the book ended up in Darke County, Ohio, at the estate of a family named Peachy. Peachy is also a common Amish name, but not in Darke County. There are no Amish in Darke County, Ohio, but a very heavy Brethren presence. The two groups rarely interact, so I'm curious as to how they devotional made its way to Ohio. Anyway, click here to look at this fascinating book.
KATY BE GOOD: Wow, this is a fascinating looking children's book with an Amish theme. A tried a true "fish out of water formula", Amish girl goes to the big city and this was written in the early 1960s.
JUST PLAIN FANCY: This children's book was published in 1990 about the same time I was really delving into Amish culture for the first time. Looks like an interesting book. Click here to look at it.
EMMA BYLER'S PLAIN AND HAPPY LIVING: I remember when this book came out in the early 1990s, it really generated some positive reviews. I always wanted to get my hands on a copy of this but I just never did.
AMISH BUGGY LICENSE PLATE: In Indiana buggies are required to have license plates. The fees from the plates help pay for road wear from the horse's hooves and provides a layer of safety in identifying buggies. I wasn't sure how many years the license plate program has been in effect, but from this, at least since the early 1960s. Click here to take a look at this old plate (I can't imagine whoever once had it on their buggy could have imagined it would have one day ended up being sold on an online marketplace!)
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