Friends in Books

So I’m minding my own business, cataloging a Baltimore Imprint of “Fables Amusantes” from the RIHS vault that was printed by William Goddard in 1823, and I’m struck by this image of a man with a kind face that is pasted inside the front cover with the following inscription from someone now anonymous:

Owen Mason

Died in Providence in October 1873, aged 78.

He was my first friend in Providence and he taught me to read this book in 1847.

It is a sweet reminder of the importance that books play in friendships and in sustaining our memories of people with whom we have shared experiences.