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About Me: sobooks ( 745Feedback score is 500 to 999) About Me

Member Since

Saturday, Dec 26, 1998

SOBooks (Smelly Old Books)
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22 Somerset St
Dartmouth, NS, B2Y-1Z1

Welcome to MY PAGE

I'm primerily a collector of Popular Mechanics (PM) but over the years (before ebay) if I couldn't find issues of PM I would pick up Popular Science (PS) or Modern Mechanics & Inventions (MMI) which became Mechanics/x Ill (MI) and is now called Home Mechanix. The collection of PM is only missing under 10 issues to complete the set back to 1903, when they started publishing monthly. Prior to Sept. 1903 the issue was published weekly from it's start 11 Jan. 1902, I have been able to find 45 of these issues including a photo copy of the very first (Thanks to Mary Seelhorst, who writes the 'Think It's New' article found in todays PM's). The earliest PM issue in the collection is Feb. 22 1902. The other two PS and MMI/MI are about 95 to 99% complete. These two issues are complete up to the mid 1990's when there was more advertising than text and projects!!!

Over the years of collecting I have collected quite a few duplicate copies of all the magazines, ebay has been a good place to sell off these issues to support the collection of other issues that I'm missing. I'm also interested in the Yearly and Monthly issues that PM has put out over the years namely Shop Notes (Complete 1905 - 1960), What to Make (Complete 1936 - 1960), Home Kinks (Complete 1938 - 1954), and Useful Ideas (Missing '47).

I've also started on the series of 'Little Library of Useful Information' from the '40's (Missing Bklt's #1, 2, 3, 9, 16, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 35, 36, 39, 48, 50, 53, 58, 59, 63, 64, 67, 72, 76, 84, 85, 87, 88, 96, 105, 109, 113, 114, 117, 118, 120, 122, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130. The highest number that I have is 131, I don't know if there are any others), and "DO-IT-YOURSELF" Booklets (Complete Issues #1 to #22) from the '50's.

Collection Status

Thanks to a recent find in Mass. I was able to acquire 68 volumes of PS from 1872 to 1917, this leaves only about 10 more years to collect. The following is a list of the issues that I'm still looking for:

    Popular Mechanics

  • 1902 Vol. 1 #1 to 6 / Vol. 1 #8 to 16 / Vol. 1 #19 / Vol. 1 #21 / Vol. 2 #1 to 5 / Vol. 2 #7 to 17 / Vol. 2 #20 .

  • 1903 (July Vol. 4 #4 was the last weekly - No Monthly Aug. issue) Oct. monthly

  • 1920 Oct.

    Popular Science

  • Vol.'s 42, 43, 51, 52, 53, 55, 57.

  • 1919 Jun. Nov.

  • 1920 Jan. Oct. Nov.

  • 1921 Aug.

  • 1922 Jan.

  • 1963 Jul.

  • 1965 Mar. Oct. (I had these but where they are now is unknown)

    Modern Mechanics/x Illustrated

  • COMPLETE

Search Service

 With the collections getting to the point of being complete I can offer a Search Service. If your looking for that project that you once saw in a PM, PS, or MI. I think that I should be able to help you out. All I ask is to give me the approx. year within a couple years. Contact me via the above Ebay link. There will be a search fee for the service, it's only a minimal amount, my time is worth something the info that I'm sending you is Free.

How I Got the Name S. O. B.'s

 After I started collecting some of the early issues, my wife Josephine started saying to me "Your not bringing more of those smelly old books in the house again!!!". And it was the start of the handle, after a couple of friends heard her complaints. Maybe after the building project in the back yard is over, she will be free and clear of that recognizable smell. I have found that if you fan the pages and sprinkle baking soda on the open edge then give them some sunlight, it takes away most of the smell. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.......





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