Newton, Shaw:
THE SECOND LINE OF OFFENCE.
Russell Motor Car Co., Toronto, [1918].
The achievements and inner workings of a munitions plant are extolled with vengeful pride in this account of a car parts company retooled for industrialized warfare. Illustrated with many photos and diagrams.
<-- p. 48 / plate 4
November 15, 2009
n/a:
THE MAORI HEITIKI, GREENSTONE SOUVENIR OF NEW ZEALAND
Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd., Christchurch, [ca. 1950].
A study -- necessarily brief -- of a traditional jade pendant carved in the form of a homunculus: "There is no explanation in legend or folk lore of its origin or meaning." With nine eerie duotone illustrations.
<-- front cover
Clason, George S.:
THE BABYLON COURSE IN FINANCIAL SUCCESS
Institution of Financial Education, Toronto, 1938.
A five-volume self-improvement program in a box, tarted up with an incongruous (and altogether specious) "Babylonian" theme.
<-- front of slipcase
Richards, Brian:
THE PENIS
Valentine Products, New York, 1977.
A monograph by a monomaniac. The author (himself a penis owner) insists that his subject is "the one single most important thing on all the earth and in the entire history of the earth."
<-- front cover
Cantine, Holley, and Dachine Rainer (eds.):
PRISON ETIQUETTE: THE CONVICT'S COMPENDIUM OF USEFUL INFORMATION
Retort Press, Bearsville, NY, 1950.
Personal experiences and advice from American war resisters incarcerated during World War II; though lacking in hardened criminal street-cred, this is a unique document of protest and moral indignation.
<-- front cover
Muslin, E.:
MACHINES OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Mir Publishers, Moscow, 1974.
"...mainly deals with such modest unassuming hard workers as rolling mills, excavators, lathes, presses and turbines..."
<-- front cover
November 8, 2009
Graham, Harry:
RUTHLESS RHYMES FOR HEARTLESS HOMES
Edward Arnold, London, [later reprint, ca. 1949].
Illustrated verse, gleefully describing hideous accidents and sadistic cruelties visited upon stiff Edwardian families. Is this where Edward Gorey learned his shtick?
<-- front cover
[folding wall ruler]
McDONALDLAND METRIC & INCHES GROWTH CHART
McDonald's Systems, [U.S.], 1978.
Allows devotees of corporate fast food to track the metabolic conversion of cheeseburgers into children. Unfolds to 5 feet (1.5 meters); illustrated with insipid McDonaldland characters.
<-- top panel
Mershon, Wm. B.:
RECOLLECTIONS OF MY FIFTY YEARS HUNTING AND FISHING
Stratford Co., Boston, 1923.
A lifetime of decimation with shotgun and fly-rod, and never a moment of moral reflection: "I think it was in the fall of 1886 that I killed the last wild turkey in Michigan..."
<-- frontis and title page
Caprilli, Federico; Piero Santini (trans.):
THE CAPRILLI PAPERS: PRINCIPLES OF OUTDOOR EQUITATION
J.A. Allen & Co., London, 1967.
The writings and photo archive of an Italian cavalryman who, on the brink of the automobile age, revolutionized riding with his "forward seat" style (and later died by falling off his horse).
<-- front cover
Smith, William Wye:
THE NEW TESTAMENT IN BRAID SCOTS
Alexander Gardner, Paisley, 1901.
The gospels with a wee o' the Scottish burr: "Gie us ilka day oor needfu' fendin. And forgie us a' oor ill deeds, as we e'en forgie thae wha did us ill..."
<-- title page
Senn, C. Herman:
THE ART OF THE TABLE
Ward, Lock & Co., London, 1923.
Not an art at all, but an inflexible set of formalities for serving nine-course meals to demanding socialites. Includes many diagrams of elaborate napkin-folding.
<-- front cover
October 25, 2009
Talmage, T. DeWitt:
SOCIAL DYNAMITE; OR, THE WICKEDNESS OF MODERN SOCIETY
C.R. Parish & Co., Philadelphia, 1888.
All the usual dangers, including High License; Fashion's Follies; Watering Places; Sequence of Evil Companions; Dark Deeds; etc. Illustrated with numerous engravings.
<-- front cover
[library record]
MY BOOK LIST
Boots Book-lovers' Library, [London, ca. 1935].
Snapshot of print culture at its zenith: a want-list, issued by a pharmacy chain that rented books to its customers, entirely filled in with the titles of popular novels.
<-- pp. 4-5
Skeaping, John:
HOW TO DRAW HORSES
The Studio, London, 1944.
To encourage real beginners, the author gently compares the ways that children and adults differ when observing and representing equine subjects.
<-- Figs. 2-3 [drawings by five-year-olds]
Erichsen-Brown, Charlotte:
USE OF PLANTS FOR THE PAST 500 YEARS
Breezy Creek Press, Aurora, ON, 1979.
Suspiciously ambitious title lives up to its claim: an almost comprehensive catalogue of written historical references to the ethnobotany of Canada (plants eaten, smoked, used as medicines, etc.).
<-- front cover
Burt, Olive Woolley:
AMERICAN MURDER BALLADS AND THEIR STORIES
Citadel Press, New York, 1964.
"Mother believed in rocking her babies to sleep, but she seldom chose conventional lullabies." Includes complete lyrics, historical origins, and some musical notation.
<-- front cover
Graumont, Raoul, and John Hensel:
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF KNOTS AND FANCY ROPE WORK
Cornell Maritime Press, New York, 1944.
With 332 plates depicting thousands of knotted ropes and strings -- some useful, some decorative, some seemingly created by spiders on LSD.
<-- frontis and title page
October 18, 2009
[promotional brochure]
WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK: THE CLOSEST SOME OF US WILL EVER GET TO HEAVEN
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, [ca. 1982].
Foldout leaflet opens to more than 30 inches wide, to accommodate a dizzying observation deck photo panorama of New York -- a view nowadays attainable only from a helicopter.
<-- front panel
"Koresh" [pseud. Cyrus Teed]:
THE CELLULAR COSMOGONY, OR, THE EARTH A CONCAVE SPHERE
Guiding Star Publishing House, Chicago, 1899.
The inside-out doctrine of a Florida cult leader, who maintained that all terrestrial life actually occupies the inside of a hollow sphere; with elaborate geometric evidence to prove his point.
<-- front cover
Bled, C.E.:
UNDERSTANDING CHINA THROUGH CARTOONS
Canadian Society for a Better Understanding of China, Ottawa, 1985.
Even accompanied by translated captions and an earnest cultural analysis, these badly-drawn didactic cartoons (culled from Beijing's "People's Daily") come across as comically inscrutable.
<-- front cover
Crespo, Merlito S.:
THE PAPER AIR MACHINES
Dorrance Publishing, Pittsburgh, 1993.
Blueprints for air superiority on the playground: "It only takes one 8.5x11 sheet of paper to make an accurate copy of the latest military aircraft flying in the skies today."
<-- front cover
Scott, Claude L.:
THE SCIENCE OF PORNOGRAPHY, VOL. 2
Editions Erectus, [no place or date; ca. 1970].
A rigorous discipline, requiring the graphic portrayal of onanism, orgies, homosexuality, bestiality, and the "grotesque fringes" of sexual behavior. (We'd love to know what Vol. 1 covered.)
<-- front cover
Blunt, Wilfrid, and Will Carter:
ITALIC HANDWRITING
Newman Neame, London, 1954.
For connoisseurs of elegant form and decontextualized content, this collection reproduces 44 random excerpts of handwritten letters in italic script.
<-- p. 5
October 11, 2009
Leathem, Harvey T. and Hugh Jones:
AUTO EROTIC DEVICES [SEX GADGETS]
Century Books, Cleveland, 1968.
A refreshingly clinical description of 56 masturbatory aids (many arcane), organized by erotic function.
<-- front cover
Sadler, William S. and Lena K. Sadler:
THE CAUSE AND CURE OF COLDS
American Publishers Corp., Chicago, 1938.
Emphasizes the basics of prevention: cold baths, saltwater gargle, regular bowel habits, etc.
<-- frontis and title page
Zinkowski, Nicholas B.:
COMMERCIAL OIL-FIELD DIVING
Cornell Maritime Press, Cambridge, MD, 1971.
Mortal risk at 50 fathoms: "The bold diver who rushes into situations without sufficient forethought tends to have a short career."
<-- frontis and title page
Axler, Bruce H.:
SHOWMANSHIP IN THE DINING ROOM
ITT Educational Publishing, Indianapolis, 1974.
Big displays of salad ingredients on ice; rolling cart service; beverage drama; carving for an audience; flambé...
<-- front cover
Shaftesbury, Edmund [pseud. Webster Edgerly]:
INSTANTANEOUS PERSONAL MAGNETISM
Ralston University Press, Meriden, CT, 1929.
Long-winded crypto-scientific sermons by a disagreeable self-improvement guru, who ultimately found success as a manufacturer of breakfast cereals.
<-- front cover
[Underground Space Center, University of Minnesota]:
EARTH SHELTERED HOUSING DESIGN
Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1979.
A handsome and confident technical resource for anyone planning a "below grade" home. (The finished examples look like basements without buildings on top.)
<-- front cover
September 20, 2009
[wine & liquor label album]:
"LABELS"
[blank journal, ca. 1970]
Remembrances of hangovers past: labels from over 100 sweet fizzy wines, flavored liqueurs, cheap gins, etc., lovingly pasted into an album. No text.
<-- "Crème de Menthe"
n/a:
SWIMMING IN NEW CHINA -- THE MASS WAY
People's Sports Publishing House, Peking, [ca. 1976].
In a reactionary's nightmare, the rivers, lakes, and canals become a human soup, filled with bobbing proles paddling furiously toward shore. Illustrated with photos.
<-- front cover
Smith, Wilbert B.; Timothy Green Beckley (ed.):
THE BOYS FROM TOPSIDE
Saucerian Books, Clarksburg, WV, 1969.
"One of the most interesting aspects of the study of flying saucers, beyond the realization that they are real and extraterrestrial, is their philosophy."
<-- front cover
[Charles Cluthe & Sons]:
CLUTHE'S ADVICE TO THE RUPTURED
Cluthe Rupture Institute, Bloomfield, NJ, 1912.
Rein in your hernia with a truss manufactured by the Cluthe family, and perhaps you'll join the satisfied customers whose testimonials occupy 23 pages of this hard-selling promotional book.
<-- frontis & title page
Hennessey, James, and Victor Papanek:
NOMADIC FURNITURE
Pantheon Books, New York, 1973.
A sensible and eco-oriented guide to cheap, portable and build-it-yourself furnishings for students and other urban gypsies; includes a description of an entire secondhand bookshop built from fruit crates.
<-- front cover
n/a:
POULTRY PORTRAITS: No. 1, ENGLISH TYPES
Canadian Poultry Review, Toronto, [ca. 1898].
For the devoted chicken fancier, a portfolio of 12 large-format engravings (Hamburg Hen, Minorca Pullet, Black Hamburg Cock, etc.), suitable for framing.
<-- front cover
September 13, 2009
Jowett, George F.:
MOLDING A MIGHTY GRIP
Jowett Institute of Physical Culture, Philadelphia, 1930.
A strong-man program for those who wish to hoist a barrel of nails using only the tips of their fingers; to our satisfaction, the first exercise involves lifting a heavy book.
<-- front cover
Wilke, Arthur:
DIE ELEKTRIZITAT, IHRE ERZEUGUNG UND IHRE UNWENDUNG [etc.]
["Electricity, Its Production and Its Application..."]
Verlag Otto Spamer, Leipzig, 1895.
The romantic spirit of Imperial Germany expressed as an electrified technological utopia, with over 800 engravings, diagrams, and photos.
<-- front cover
Bozzini, Lidio (ed.):
ITALIAN PRODUCTION 1961
Unitalia Film, Rome, 1962.
Catalogue of 130 not-so-famous Italian movies from 1961, illustrated with select stills. Sultry eyebrows, well-groomed moustaches, and roman sandals much in evidence; text in English.
<-- front cover
Henry, Alfred J.:
LOSS OF LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES BY LIGHTNING
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (Weather Bureau), Washington, 1901.
"The greatest fatality from a single stroke occurred at Chicago, where 11 persons, huddled together in a zinc-lined shanty under a pier, met instant death."
<-- front cover
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