I have a few encyclopaedias from the 1920s. They’re worth it for the illustrations alone.
I’ve a set of 1930 and 1966 World Books. They’re fun to page thru.
But my E. Brittanica from 1984 is pretty worthless.
I have a set of 1955 World Books, which I read cover-to-cover when I was a kid. Every so often I look up a subject that I know has changed a lot, like astronomy or medicine or geography.
I have a 1926 Book Of Knowledge, full set. And I adore them, the illustrations are wonderful. They were sold to families on the installment plan, one book coming every couple of months. So each book has a smattering of everything, instead of how such books are laid out now. They are very interesting to look through.
I remember reading about a charity that sends outdated textbooks and references to poor schools in Africa. Older books were okay, because they had nothing otherwise. So, outdated medical techniques and technologies were actually okay. It also gave the student the chance to practice English, which was a huge advantage for them.
I remember that you had to pay to ship the books to whichever American port they went to, but I can’t remember the name of the charity.
Does anyone remember this?
My dad (who instilled the “never deface a book” rule in us…which I guess tossing books falls under) was a little annoyed when I told him I dumped it. I told him I had far more current info in my computer. That annoyed him even more.