Blogging At Kellscraft Studio...
Well, Labor Day is here, and in my day (not quite horse-and-buggy day)
that meant back to school or off to college. Kellscraft.com has become
an enormous resource for schools, libraries, colleges and
home-schoolers, and we're quite proud of that. We'll continue to offer
free public domain books here in the years to come but we'd like to
hear from you. We'd like to know what books you'd like to see here
(remember: in the U.S. all books printed prior to 1923 are in the
public domain; more recent books may be but have to be researched to
verify their publishing status.)
We'd also like to know what you like here at the site and what you think can be improved. This is your chance to have your say. We'll take all suggestions seriously, however, please keep your comments civil and respect all others who comment here. Unlike most of the blogging world, mean-spiritedness will not be tolerated and offenders will be removed from the posts.
Of course, if you would like to email me, you can always do so at: JeffKelley@kellscraft.com
Jeff Kelley
Web Master
We'd also like to know what you like here at the site and what you think can be improved. This is your chance to have your say. We'll take all suggestions seriously, however, please keep your comments civil and respect all others who comment here. Unlike most of the blogging world, mean-spiritedness will not be tolerated and offenders will be removed from the posts.
Of course, if you would like to email me, you can always do so at: JeffKelley@kellscraft.com
Jeff Kelley
Web Master
I've only just *discovered* this site and I fear I will lose many hours here. From the day I discovered boxes and trunks full of old family books and magazines in one of my grandather's barns, I have been almost obsessed with old books. How I wish I had been old enough to stop my parents from tossing the books away, even selling many of them to agents of a NewYork Antique shop...and yes, sometime, now I will remind them of their folly and ignorance. (Okay, so a *child* shouldn't fuss at their parents but I was right even if was only a child then.)
In amongst these trunks and boxes were books from early 20th century bookshops in Louisville, Kentucky, and Lexington, even New York City. As an adult I learned my great-grandmother often took the train to New York and Boston and even Cinci, Ohio. There were old books purchased too, not just new ones. Old copies and printings of French authors and books of mysticism and fairy tales and yes, *blush*, erotica.
Alas, I wasn't able to keep any of the books, and even just a few years ago, two cousins sold boxes and boxes of books dating from before 1900 to more antique stores. I did manage to hid away some novels and lady's books from before the Civil War but my mother found them and threw them out, she didn't want those "old dusty" books in her oh-so brand new McMansion any more.
So, finding this site brings back some of the joy and yes, education I discovered all those years ago. We do have copies of circa 1900 books that belonged to my husband's great-grandfather who was born in 1886, carefully sneaked away from attics in Texas years ago.
Please forgive me rambling like this, but I really appreciate sites such as this, and so does my husband and friends and family. There are many educators/teachers hobby-historians in our family amongst our generation and a few even in the older ones.
Thank you again.
Hi,
I discovered your wonderful site last week. Thank you for putting so much wonderful nature writing and illustration on the web! I have been listening to nature writing with a text to speech narrator while I work on my nature photography and my nature blog here in the Finger Lakes of upstate New York.
I would love to see you add classic illustration from the golden age of European Illustration like Arthur Rackham to the site.
Frank
I just found your website looking for a copy of Old New England Traits that I am also converting to electronic format (text/html) for Project Gutenberg/Distributed Proofreaders. I wanted to check something that was missing from PGDP's scans which your version had--Thank you!!
I sent you a donation as I well know how much time is involved with converting all these wonderful old books to preserve them for future generations.
Much of my free time is devoted to this endeavor and I find it very rewarding even though it is all volunteer work. I love books and reading so much that it is truly a labor of love.
cheers,
Darleen