Breakfast without Tiffany

Tiffany photos
A treasure at the recent Friends of the Library book sale that I let slip away.

After visiting "Eat the Street: Garlic" June 29, I headed to the Friends of the Library book sale at McKinley for a peek before the sale ended July 1. I figured June 30, 50 percent off day, would be too crazy to bother with.

Just before closing, I was browsing through the art books and picked up "Tiffany Jewels" by John Loring. A beautiful book and timely, considering the company is marking its 175th anniversary this year and we'll be hearing more about events planned for fall.

All the other books I was picking up was about $3 or $5, so when I saw a whopping $20, I balked. Hmm, if I wait til tomorrow morning, it'll be $10. Never mind that the book is now selling for $285.50 new on Amazon.

My husband was no help, wavering between, "You don't need another book," and, "If you really want it, get it now." Those were two conflicting messages that made me think, "What would I do with the book immediately," and, "I want it, but do I really need it? How many other books do I have that are unread, like clothes in my closet that are unworn?"

Sometimes you need some overnight clarity. Ultimately, I just loved the beauty of the full-color photographs and illustrations throughout the book.

A sample page from John Loring's "Tiffany Jewels." The company celebrates its 175th anniversary this year.

I figured my timing would be perfect. The sale would open at 9 a.m. and I could pop by en route to a hair appointment. I was among the last to leave the McKinley cafeteria Friday night. What were the odds someone would swoop in Saturday morning and grab my book?

Of course, if you can ask the question, you can guess the outcome. When I got there about 5 minutes to 9 a.m. the next day, there were about 60 people in line. I scanned the crowd to try to gauge what they might go after. The people with boxes worried me. They are typically resellers.

When I finally got in the door, I gazed over at the art section, and there were only four people milling around. I went straight to the box containing my book and it looked the same as the night before. I feared that staffers might have tidied up and consolidated, but the other three books I had seen there the night before were in place. I pulled back the large book that hid the Tiffany book, and ... it was gone!

There was no competition for these other books I picked up.

I searched for a while to see if anyone had walked off with it and placed it in another box, but alas, it was not to be. So I went home with a few more consolation prizes, like a First Ladies cook book because I like historic menus, a book about barns reflecting newfound interest after having just returned from farm country, and a book about castles, after having heard my mother-in-law's stories of having grown up in them.

Here's a link to some "Tiffany Jewels" previews on Amazon so you can see what I missed: http://amzn.to/MupH7q

To commemorate its birthday, Tiffany & Co. recently reset the Tiffany Diamond. The fancy yellow diamond, which has been reset four times—including starring in Jean Schlumberger's Ribbon Rosette necklace worn by Audrey Hepburn in publicity photos for "Breakfast at Tiffany's"—is now set in a platinum necklace, surrounded by 120 carats of white diamonds, 20 Lucida diamonds, and 58 brilliant-cut diamonds.