Another Old Check in a Book

  Not as old as the last one, but definitely written for more!  This one, I definitely cashed.

Kitty Porn?

  I don't know if this counts as treasure, unless it's considered a trove of hilarity, but it was found in a book in a thrift store by my friend Ian Lary and I almost fell over laughing when he pulled it out. I have found Polaroid porn in books before. Frankly, I am always kind of nervous about it, as a few of them have been really disturbing, but I have never seen anything this wild and explicit (and cute). What else can I say? Hopefully, the ground will thaw soon so I can get out there and start digging!

Definitions of Treasure

I received a really wonderful message from someone recently who told me how much he enjoyed my blogs, particularly the treasure-hunting blog. He talked about how he had done some metal detecting and really enjoyed it and how he was now a mushroom hunter, which he considered a form of treasure hunting, and I totally agree.
Merriam-Webster defines "treasure" as "1 a (1) : wealth (as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded (2) : wealth of any kind or in any form : riches
b : a store of money in reserve
2 : something of great worth or value; also : a person esteemed as rare or precious
3 : a collection of precious things"
I think every "treasure hunter" has a list of things that they are searching for. If you are anything like me, your dream is to find enough of at least one thing on that list, or a rare enough specimen, to allow you the financial luxury of being able to devote more of your time to treasure hunting. It isn't that the money or wealth is the most important factor, but a kind of added benefit. I don't think I would stop coinshooting if they became totally worthless tomorrow.
Anyway, my list of "treasure" grows all the time. It starts with Laura, my fiance, who I never knew I was looking for to begin with, but found anyway, and am just trying desperately to keep, because you know, treasure tends to slip through your fingers if you aren't careful. After that is:
Sea Glass
Sea Doll Parts
Sea Marbles
Arrowheads (or any ancient artifacts)
Gems (which I am learning)
Fossils
Gold (which I have never found in it's natural state)
Coins
Relics
Caches (of anything)
Jewelry
Ambergris (the floating-gold whale-vomit I recently learned about)
Meteorites
Antiques (at yard sales, auctions, etc...)
Rare Books
Items Found in Books (money, photos, letters, etc...)

With a list this long and growing, I have not an ounce of doubt in my mind that one could support themselves treasure-hunting. On that note, I started this post with the intention of posting a few pics of a couple of items I found the other day flipping through some old books in a thrift store. Without further ado or jabbering, a pressed flower and a great old bookmark:

Mushrooms

Scotch Poem

  Found this in an old dictionary.  Handwritten poem on one side and typed on the other, only the typed version is not so good, as if the handwritten was the original, written by an actual "poet", and the typed version a sort of hackneyed reproduction. I guess it's open to interpretation. That is, if we have any Scottish interpreters about.

Found In Books

  In an attempt to continue posting on this site throughout the winter, when the ground is frozen solid and metal detecting is an impossibility, I have decided to start adding "things found in books".  I sell used and rare books online and often come across interesting items, such as letters, photos, lists, and tickets, like this one:

   I found it while thumbing through an old book about India in Goodwill.  It's about eight inches long and three inches wide.  The passenger obviously traveled to or from Stanford to (or from) North Canaan.  This ticket was probably issued in the late 1800's and the trip probably took a couple of hours, which was sufficient time to settle into a few chapters on the history of India.  I am including a link to an interesting site on the history of The New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Co. : http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/abnere2.Html