BOOKS:

[Peg Leg]

I do not think this belongs here but I know it will get attention.
Today when I went to see a Doctor, his office was directly across from where I lived as a kid.
I recall there was a house next door that was FILLED with books and all the books were written in German. There were a few books that were written in the 1800's.
The people that lived there passed away. A contractor was hired to remove the old 2 story house. They dug a big hole and buried all the books in the hole and then covered them up. I would say that there was over a hundred thousand books buried and that may be a little short. They also buried some of the material from the house.
The sand was SOLID WHITE.
I know that during WW11 Germany burnt tons of books.
My question is this do you think that I should contact the Historical Society and see if they would like to try and recover a few thousand books. YES I know that most will be no good but just maybe a few will still be in good enough shape to save. I also recall seeing a few OLD BIBLES mixed with all the other books going into the sand hole.
Thanks
Peg leg

 

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[cmhphoto]

Peg take my advise and dig them up . There may be some valuable out of date books there . Even if you don't read German yourself they will be worth a fortune to others . Take my word you want be sorry ! Cornelius ( ps , I will help you with dating them and put a value on them )

Gee... after a couple rains those books are pretty much history.... When I was in college Ohio University they had a dumpster of old books everytime they cleanout the library. Books from the 1800's mostly outdated worthless information. But to collectors of old stuff may have worth something. Just because is old those no make it valuable or worth saving.

 

[FISHEYE]

I agree with Cornelius that you should dig them up.old books of any kind are worth $$$ no matter whats in them.but being buried im sure the elements have got the best of them.if they aret worm food by now from being wet.they might be salvagable.maybe some of the books in the middle can be saved.

When i bought my house the former owners were history teachers in orlando at a high school.the sunken living room was a library.i ripped out all the shelves and in each corner was a 1 foot think dictionary dated the year 1800.also found 1 and 2 volumes of the history of the world.both dated 1790.i read both volumes.there was very little info about the 1715 fleet wrecking.one day when i dont have anything to do ill scan thru them again.the dictionaries have some interesting stuff in them.besides just words and color pics.i found a few $100 bills,some $20's an $5's and $2 bills,roses,flowers,recipies,newspaper clippings of various florida events.even some squashed bugs.books are a great hiding place for valuables.

Some old man that lived around the corner from me died a few years back.he was a serious pack rat.his whole house was full of books stacked all the way to the ceilings taking up all the floor space in every room.he had paths to get in an out of the house.when he died his kids came in to clean the house out.they found thousands of $$$ in cash in the books.there was piles all around the house next to the windows where they flipped thru them then tossed them out.then they bull dozed the house an hauled off the debris.the lot is now all over grown,so now it time to MD it.i bet that old man buried stuff in the yard too

 

[Peg Leg]

I went by the site this evening with a metal probe and probed a few places wher I knew the hole was and I hit METAL. I now recall the the roofing was made of metal sheeting so maybe just maybe the roofing is over some of the books?
Good dry land project.
Later
Peg leg

 

[Mackaydon]

Peg:
You may wish to solicit a local history teacher or archivist, in addition to the Historical Society, as advocates in your pursuit to unearth the books. Finding those old Bibles, especially those with some personal hisories in them, would be well received by your local geneology library; perhaps the descendants are also still around to receive those Bibles.
Don.....

 

[ivan salis]

you never know just what bits of rare knowledge might be lying under your feet -- the massive book burns of the nazis killed off much german knowledge & they killed many writers -- anything they didn't agree with was fair game to be burnt -- any thinking person / writer -who dared to question them their books became "banned and burnt" on sight -- much will of course be lost and useless but some might be saved hopefully ---the destruction of knowledge on a scale like this makes me want to scream -- "you fools --do you know what your doing ?" Ivan

 

[Zephyr]

Go dig'em up.
I've seen stories on the TV where people have dug into landfills and found paper materials from the 40's & 50's that had been buried, and a lot of it was in pretty fair condition. (I would love to dig up some of the landfills in L.A. where the movie studios threw out their "trash". Probably some 'missing' movies still in the film containers await.)

At the least, do it to satisfy your curiousity....

 

[cmhphoto]

cmhphoto . I see that you don't like or understand books . Not that you can help that but some of us know that even if only 10% can be safed it is worthwhile . I agree with you that most of these books have no value to us but did you ever think about other people ? . Throwing books away is the same as burning them . It should not happen ! Cornelius

Thats a pretty bold statement.... as I mention to collectors it may worth it. That those not mean I dont like or understand books. The university threw them away cause they provided no educational value to the current generation of students; stuff as periodicals that provided a history account of events were microfilm and originals thrown away. Now, I'm sure there had been an Ebay in the 1980's they would have consider posting them there and make some money for the library. I know, if I had access to Ebay then I would have jump in the dumpster and taken as many old one as I could therfore saving them from destruction for others to enjoy... while funding my other hobbies.

 

[Peg Leg]

Been very busy this morning doing some research. I found a group of Germans that are very interested in working with me on the BOOKS.
There are DETAILS that have to be worked and agreements to be signed before I tell them the location but I offered them a 50/50 deal.
Two have a Doctrate degree and work at the space center so funding should not be a problem.
Time will tell.
Peg leg

 

[Peg Leg]

Something just came back to me.
When I was prospecting East of Leadhill Arkansas I recall finding an old house with the attic full of books.
I know exatxly where it is located. This was at one time a large farm. I even recall the Blacksmith forge still standing with the bellows still hanging in place.
It is funny how one thought leads to another and another.
Anyone interested.
Let me know.
Peg leg

 

[G.I.B.]

I was looking through the rubble of a small, old frame house they were tearing down in Nassau, Bahamas, and found 2 old letters. One signed A. Lincoln, the other signed Abraham Lincoln. Dell

What did you do with the letters? Where are they now?

 

[ScubaDude]

So did anyone ever follow up on the books

 

[Peg Leg]

So did anyone ever follow up on the books

NC Brad,
No sir, I am trying to find someone interested enough to spend a few dollars and who is willing to recover them.
The property is for sale.
This lot has been available for many years but because of its location no one seems interested.
Will continue untill I move to St. Augustine this Dec.
Peg Leg

 

[Peg Leg]

The property where the books are buried is 161' x 150'
The asking price is $149,000.00 which is WAY to high since it has been vacant for over 50 years.
This means that it cost about $6.17 per sq. foot.
Whoever purchases this property is in for one hell of a surprise when they start construction ever/
I wonder if it is possible to HOLD this property in order to do some TEST DRILLING.
I know the EXACT location where the books are buried so TEST DRILLING would be a piece of cake.
This would be just a front to actually see what is there and what condition the books are in.
I wonder if this could be classified as site of HISTORICAL INTEREST?
Whoever buys this property are gonna be really pissed when they start uncovering all the trash buried there.
Peg Leg

 

[Mackaydon]

Peg Leg:
A suggestion: Offer to lease the land for $1,000 per month for six months. Would that be afforadable? If owner/lessor approves your offer, would that not be enough time to dig up and recovery what you believe is there?
Don.......

 

[Peg Leg]

Don,
I believe that might work.
In fact I could say that I need the space for equipment storage and will have to clear a small space to store some equipment.
Worth a try anyway.

Cornelius,
I feel that if the Real Eatate people KNEW the shape of the property this might be a doable deal.
It would cost the BUILDER a good some of money to bring this property to code.
Thanks\
Peg Leg

 

[Mackaydon]

Peg Leg:
If my suggestion works, you still need to get over the legal hurdle of ownership of anything (currently buried) you wish to take from the property. If you get past the first step, my 'two cents' is to consult with an attorney for the legal language that will allow you to keep what you find buried in the earth--without 'letting the cat out of the bag'; otherwise, it's still the owner's/lessor's.

Don....

 

[Peg Leg]

I contacted a few GERMAN CLUBS here on the East Coast Florida and have had 3 responses.
Of course I did not disclose the location or even the town where the books MAYBE located.
I also contacted an Attorney.
He recommeded that I present the property owner with a LETTER OF INTENT with a list of Provisions that the property must meet which shall include the removal of any and all material that I consider TRASH and that I will cover any and all holes drilled or dug. I will also cover the cost of this removal ETC. ETC.
I have also having an agreement drawn up that any and all interested parties must put into an ESCROW account the recommended funds to cover this project.
I am getting there slowly but surely.
Time will tell.
Thanks everyone for your comments .
Peg Leg

 

[ScubaDude]

Why not just make a low ball offer and remind them of the fact that the lot was used as an illegal dump during the demolition of the prior residence. Remind them of the fact that they were bound to disclose that fact and they did not and suggest the implications of the clean up and subsequent legal hassles they'll face. It might work.... I don't know Florida Law but you can't do that kind of stuff around here.

 

[Peg Leg]

NC Brad,
I will have to check and see what the City/County Law was during that time but it is a very good point.
Thanks
Peg Leg