This was the only one I found, tried to see if I could get a whole set. I’m sure the rest are out there somewhere if I keep looking. Sadly when older collectors pass away, the families give away these books without knowing what they are. Which usually means they end up in 2nd hand donation stores like these. Hopefully they eventually find a good home with another collector who comes across them.
Although we live in an age of readily available information at the tips of our fingers. It’s important to preserve these books, which laid the foundation of where we are today.
The internet has been a revolutionary tool in making knowledge more readily available. But not everything will be digitally recorded. If a book that isn’t documented ends up lost or destroyed, We lose that information forever.
The burning of the library of Alexandria has set back humanity at least 1000s of years. The same thing can happen for any recordable knowledge, and we must take measures to prevent that.
As the NMB stated, we are very fortunate to have these resources online. But some books carry knowledge you can’t find anywhere else.
PSA: PLEASE label your books and belongings for your families. So that they’re aware of its value and importance when you’re no longer here. To prevent them donating it to goodwill without knowing what they are. Also so that they get a fair price if they sell it.