Rosie's Ramblings

November 3, 2000

Hello Out There,

This month I visited my state capital, Springfield, Illinois, for the first time. Although I didn’t tour any historical sites, I did manage a run through several antique malls. My hopes for a spectacular find didn’t materialize, though I did find a few so-so books to add to my collection. One thing for sure…they are proud of their needle books there. I saw a “Roosevelt’s New Deal” and a die-cut coal bucket priced at $35 each, plus a few common books in the $15 range.

Although it was good to get away for a few days, that was not the highlight of my month. The best part came in the form of a gift. A very generous lady from New Zealand GAVE me three wonderful pop-up needle books (plus another that had been on my wish-list forever!). I can’t begin to express my excitement as I opened the packages. I believe that generous people are gifts from God. Her selfless act brought such pleasure, at a time when I truly needed a lift. November is a month of Thanksgiving, and this year I am bursting with gratitude. Please visit my Pop-Up and A-Z pages to see my bounty. Since someone stole the digital camera at school, I am unable to show the wonderful insides to the pop-ups. On these “Novelty Needle Books”, the figures on the cover are identical to the ones that pop-up on the inside. They are marked “Made in Japan”.

In many antique publications, I have noticed articles telling about reproductions of everything from Roseville pottery to cast iron banks. Click here to read my article about my recent discoveries of reproduced needle books. I hope that my visitors will let me know of other items that are suspect.

Just in case you missed it, there was a bidding war recently for the “Invincible/Our Heroes” blimp needle book on eBay. The auction ended at a whopping $143.50. If that’s not a record price for a needle book, it’s close to it.

Thanks for visiting,

Rosie

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