Inspire: Cooking from the Past

I'm going through a vintage phase, in case you hadn't noticed previously.  And I'm a terrible book hoarder.  Book sales are my weakness.  But what is even worse than sales are piles of free books.  I haven't figured out why, but my local library has a shelf of free books next to the door.  In another room they have books to sell.  I think they are all donated by various community members.  But why this free book shelf?  Are they books they can't get rid of any other way?

I thought so, but I have found a few beauties that I would have paid for.  I would have paid quite a bit for the one I recently found.

A Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book binder in fantastic condition.  I'm pretty sure it's from 1951 to judge by the copyright dates.  How freaking awesome is that? 

The binder even has a plastic thingie in between the rings that says Patent Pending.  I think it was supposed to help the pages turn? 

The pages and dividers all seem to be in pretty good shape.  Some of the dividers are fraying at the tabs from use, but they are in no danger of falling apart.  The pictures of food make me laugh and go eww at teh same time, but it's full of interesting information.  There are multiple pages of how to identify and cook different cuts of meat.  There is a page that tells you how to cook spaghetti noodles.  The recipes all seem to be no nonsense things and several recipes are on each page.

I'm over the moon with this find.  I want to use it, and I think I will use the homemade noodle recipe, but I don't want to run the risk of ruining it with a spill. 

Do you have a favorite cook book or regular book find?