It was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious find.
A first-edition hardcover book of Mary Poppins, published in 1934 by Cornwall Press, is back in an Alberta public library after 40 years.
Dwayne Olson with St. Paul Municipal Library says the book was taken out of circulation in 1978 to make room for newer versions.
“I was quite surprised… a little bit stunned,” he told Global News. “After 40 years, for it to come back… I’m quite happy.”
It was recently donated back to the library after being discovered at a local thrift store.
“He brought it to me,” Olson said of the thrift store owner. “I thought that was pretty cool.”
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Olson said he took a closer look at the text and realized it was a first edition.
“It was still in fairly good shape for that old of a book,” he said, minus a little wear and tear. “All the pages are turning yellow and there are a few stains.”
The book was the first of eight in a series by P.L. Travers about a magical, umbrella-toting nanny that spawned a Disney movie and stage musicals.
Like many old books, this one comes with a few secrets of its own.
The second page is blank except for a hand-written dedication.
“It said: ‘To my mother: 1875 to 1928.’ Don’t ask me what that meant but I thought it was pretty neat,” Olson said.
There is also a stamp in the book that reads: “Business Girls Public Library. St. Paul, Alberta.”
The town is located about 200 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
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Olson says the library’s copy of the old book is a treasure and will be kept in a locked display case with some of its other old texts.
“I’m hanging on to it,” he said with a chuckle.
“We have a hutch back here with older books… even one that’s the naval history in the 1800s from England… this book will go there.
“I was thinking about putting them into a safety deposit box but what’s the point? Nobody can look at them… You’ve got to be able to see them.”
— With files from The Canadian Press