I’ve come more and more to delight in old books as physical objects and for the histories their readers have left behind in and on their pages, and opening this one to find these two monarchs felt like a message from the universe to reclaim it. Based on the paper towels they were carefully folded into I’d say this reader served a few generations, with the butterflies probably held inside for 50 or 60 years. The reader itself shows a 1909 copyright and features a series of stories about animals and people with some nice illustrations.

7 7/8" x 5 3/4" x 13/16". The cover is faded and shows wear around the edges and there are pencil markings on a few pages and on the inside cover. One of the monarchs appears to missing its head (documented when flipped over) but they are both very well preserved and I will take care sending them.