I quite like collecting old guide-books that I come across in second-hand book shops (often for a pittance), and have collected a few over the years.
They're interesting reading, and often the descriptions for climbs haven't changed much (in particular I've noticed this to be the case with the Stanage guide which has many descriptions the same as the 1989 version that I use). Some of the pictures are class too, although obviously the older the guide, the less pictures, but the Stanage one below has some classics.
Here are a few I've collected over the years.
FRCC Second Series (1938)
Bought in a second hand-book shop in Keswick for £10.
FRCC Second Series (1950)
Bought in a second hand-book shop in Keswick for £10.
Rock Climbs in the Peak Vol. I, BMC (1964, revised 1965). Picked up in a second hand book shop in Wales for £2.25!
by D.T. Roscoe, 1961 (revised 1964). Climbers Club. Picked up in a second hand book shop in Wales for £2.25!
by A. J. J. Moulam, Third Edition 1958 (revised and reprinted 1964). Climbers Club. Picked up in a second hand book shop in Wales for £2.25!
by Steve Roper, 1971. Purchased in a second hand book store in Daytona, Florida for about $7.
And a couple that aren't so old...
by Jim Ballard & Ernie Marshall, First Edition : New Series 1981.
By Paul Williams. 1994 reprint, Picked up in Oxfam in Broomhill for £7
Anyone else actively seek out old guides? Or anyone still got old guides from back in the day that they've kept for posterity?