I read a lot. My wife is always wanting the books moved off the kitchen table, especially if someone is visiting. Some time back when Edward Thomas was moving, I went to see what items might be of interest. In amongst the remains of his bindery I found a book stand with a little swivel. In need of some TLC, I stripped it down sanded , reassembled and polished.
In the lockdown, I lingered over breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, reading and taking notes. The book stand came to live even more on the table, especially as I was reviewing/reading the Maurice Betteridge collection. Of course it is essential to read the books in order to properly catalogue them, and review them! What a joy. I grew in respect for Maurice's collection as I saw how interconnected and inter-related all the books were. Reading this book, and there is a reference to something. I have seen a book on that, and so a diversion of to investigate. Back to the first book and again a reference elsewhere. An absolute delight. But I digress. I was reading this book on the Bodleian and its treasures. When I closed the book, the rear cover has a picture of the reading room. I draw your attention to the lower left of the picture, and the closeup. We live in a flow of history, and at times, its a delight to realise it.
I had also tried the book stand in the bindery.
I am always reading the How to Do it books, and picking up and putting down the reference materials. There is a problem with that. The materials laid on the table always seem to be in the way, and get "Finger prints"! on them. I tried the book stand. But not idea its size mean it was too far away and it took up too much real estate. Besides it was always in use on the dining room table.
During covid, my son in law has worked at home in a corner of the garage. Some doors were pressed into service and a stack of IT stuff with a wall of screens , servers and the like, and he spends his time in online tech support. He came in and asked if I wanted to buy one of these, a monitor stand. "Buy?" It seems there are a few of these, not used at the head office and he was asked to dispose of them. Enterprising, sell them to father in law! But a few minutes looking and I realise this might just be a good thing. Adjustable tilt, just the right thing to hold a photocopy. A clipboard and another clip and its looking promising. Yet another clip and a scrap of timber for a ledge, and its a real book stand. A bit taller and close to the glasses, a smaller footprint so it can stand close to the cutting mat. Now I have 5 of these and for a small donation ( minimum $5.00, more generous donations willing accepted) to the VBG Fund. I will have them available ( without the clipboards) at the meeting in March coming up soon. Send me an email to book yours. And of course we will have a range of materials and tools available at the meeting. let me know if you want glue or other items so I can be sure to bring them. Jim
