Pleasure and Profit, or The Find of the Year

It has been some time since I last posted, nearly a year. For those (one, maybe two) of you who have been waiting patiently for my next post, the time is at hand. Last Friday, during my lunch hour, I was rummaging around for books in an antique store in Newberry, SC. The first shelf I came upon had numerous aged volumes. I picked up a softcover book entitled, Pleasure and Profit in Bible Study, by D.L. Moody. Not being familiar with Moody's works, I thumbed through it to get a glimpse. I love the way the tables of contents were organized in older books. Instead of being just a list of the chapter titles and what page each began on, the table of contents gave you, as well, a brief summary of what each chapter contained, thereby truly being a table of contents, rather than a forward index of chapter locations. I have several older books where this is the case, especially in theological works. You can get an idea of what I'm talking about by clicking here. The book was originally published in 1895, 115 years ago. A very short time later the version of the book I found was published in April of that year by The Bible Institute Colportage Association, Chicago. According to the back of the book, the Association "was founded for the purpose of issuing good sound Christian literature at low prices." Indeed, for a whopping 10 cents you could have this version of the book, or any book in the series, sent anywhere in the United States. Which I imagine is why the book showed up in Newberry, SC. However, the book has had 115 years to circumnavigate the globe, so who's to know?

The book wasn't priced, so I decided to put it back on the shelf. Money has been hard to come by, as of late, and my lovely wife has not so subtly suggested that I already have enough books. But one of my habits in my collecting has been to check the flyleaf of books for marks of ownership or autographs. I did this and lo! and behold, the book is clearly inscribed and dated by Moody. I had to do a double take, I couldn't quite believe it at first glance. I hastily asked the clerk how much she wanted for the book. "Engh, twenty bucks," she says. Sold! The book quickly joined my collection. I've looked around online and simply cannot find any books signed by D.L. Moody. That's not to say they aren't around. It's clear, though, that I've truly found a rare treasure, certainly The Find of the Year.

For those interested, here's a link to the history behind The Bible Institute Colportage Association.