October 11, 2012


A selection of Monkey's Paw items to be exhibited
 at the Toronto International Antiquarian Book Fair,
Toronto Metro Convention Centre, Oct. 12-14, 2012.
[Booth #108]
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[Please note: Catalogue items will not be offered for sale until 5 pm on Friday Oct. 12. 
A complete printed price list will be available at our booth.]
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Babitz, Eve:
FIORUCCI, THE BOOK
Harlan Quist, New York, 1980

In the late 1970s, Fiorucci was more than just a fashion line -- it was a postmodern experiment in New Wave merchandising, and the spandex soul of nightclub glamour. There's only one book on the subject... 
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Bartholomew, John:
PROGRESSIVE ATLAS, CONSISTING OF THIRTY-TWO MAPS
Williams Collins, Sons, & Co., Glasgow, 1869

For a pretty window into the worldview of the Victorian child, here's a school atlas featuring delicately-coloured maps drawn by a renowned Scottish cartographer. Uncommon.
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Becher, Bernhard & Hilla:
ANONYME SKULPTUREN: A TYPOLOGY OF TECHNICAL CONSTRUCTIONS
Wittenborn & Co., New York, 1970

One of the 20th century's most influential photographic art projects, featuring matched pairs of not-quite-identical industrial structures, viewed starkly against bland pale skies. Mesmerizing.
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Beebe, Lucius; Paul Rand (design):
THE STORK CLUB BAR BOOK
Rinehart & Co., New York, 1946

Recipe for a swanky mixology guide? Shake cocktails from a legendary nightclub with text by a flamboyant society dandy and design by a renowned graphic artist. Potent!
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Bel Geddes, Norman:
MAGIC MOTORWAYS
Random House, New York, 1940

A stage designer turned visionary, Bel Geddes created the General Motors "Futurama" pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair; then (in this book) laid the conceptual framework for the superhighway systems that defined the postwar world. This copy inscribed by the author.
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Burris-Meyer, Elizabeth:
HISTORICAL COLOR GUIDE
William Helburn Inc., New York, 1938

For designers, decorators, and aesthetes: the colour palettes of 30 historical periods, each illustrated with five tipped-in samples. An object of incredible charm and beauty.
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Carboni, Erberto:
EXHIBITIONS AND DISPLAYS
Silvana Editoriale d'Arte, Milano, 1959

Over 600 photogravure images of obscenely stylish installations designed for
mid-century trade shows and industry exhibitions. A cosmopolitan production, with text in English, German, French, and Italian.
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Carlyle, Cora (ed.):
AMERICAN FABRICS [magazine, various issues]
Doric Publishing Co., New York, 1958-61

A lavish oversized trade journal of the textile industry, featuring many illuminating articles and advertisements. Each issue includes numerous fabric swatches, which add a seductive tactile depth and cultural immediacy.
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[n.a.]
CHARM AND POISE FOR GETTING AHEAD
Milady Publishing, Bronx, 1972

From the publishers of the legendary "Call Me Mister," a manual on comportment and style for aspirational young women. Readers are sure to make the right impression in the secretarial pool. Numerous duotone illustrations throughout.

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[Class Handbooks for the Indian Army]
Bingley, Capt. A.H. and Capt. A. Nichols:
BRAHMANS
[and]
Bingley, A.H.; A.B. Longden (rev.):
DOGRAS
[and]
Holland-Pryor, Major P.:
MAPPILLAS OR MOPLAHS
Superintendent Government Printing, Calcutta, 1904-1918

The pre-history of multiculturalism: manuals offering front-line ethnographic data for British officers leading colonial regiments from India, segregated according to ethnicity or caste.
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Crumb, R[obert], S. Clay Wilson, et al.
SNATCH COMICS [Issues 1-3]
[Apex Novelties, San Francisco], 1968-69

Yes, there was a time when underground comics were TRULY transgressive... and there's something here to offend just about anyone. But despite that -- or perhaps because of it --  Crumb stands as one of the most revered and recognizable artist-illustrators of the 20th century.
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Devlin, Barry:
GOLF WIDOW
Vixen Press, New York, 1953

Probably the only 1950s smut novel to feature the twin themes of lesbianism and golf. An exceedingly scarce title.
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"Mme. Doudet"
BÉBÉ DEVIENT SAVANT
Theodore Lefevre, Paris, [ca. 1878]

Once again, knowledge and beauty walk hand in hand. Illustrated throughout with lovely hand-coloured engravings on natural history, agriculture, and industry.
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General Idea [AA Bronson, Felix Partz, & Jorge Zontal]:
FILE MEGAZINE, Volumes 1 & 2 (six issues, complete)
Art Official, Toronto, 1972-73

The first two years of the hugely influential "art organ" produced by conceptual/media arts collective General Idea. Complete with all inserts. Each issue is one of 3000 copies printed.
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Goudeau, Emile, & Charles Morice (eds.):
PARIS-ALMANACH [three issues]
Librairie Ed. Sagot, Paris, 1895-97

The complete three-year run of a charming Belle Epoque annual, illustrated with many original lithographs and woodcuts of coquettes and flâneurs at play.
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[Emanuel Haldeman-Julius and his pamphlet empire]
Haldeman-Julius, E.:
THE FIRST HUNDRED MILLION
Simon and Schuster, New York, 1928

An account of the Little Blue Books series, told by its flamboyant editor/entrepreneur. With a wealth of data on mass-production methods and pioneering sales techniques. First edition.
[and]
Haldeman-Julius, E.:
MY SECOND 25 YEARS: INSTEAD OF A FOOTNOTE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Haldeman-Julius Publications, Girard, KS, 1949

With background on various contributors to the Little Blue Books series (including title lists and sales figures), and several photos of E.H-J and his family. Signed by Haldeman-Julius.
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Harrison, A.S.A.; AA Bronson (design):
[TWENTY-TWO WOMEN TALK FRANKLY ABOUT THEIR] ORGASMS
Coach House Press, Toronto, 1974

A series of interviews with liberated '70s chicks, on a subject of nearly universal interest. Book design by AA Bronson of General Idea.
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Herzl, Theodor; J. de Haas (ed.)
A JEWISH STATE: AN ATTEMPT AT A MODERN SOLUTION OF THE JEWISH QUESTION
Maccabaean Publishing Co., New York, 1904

The foundational text of modern Zionism: a work of immeasurable geopolitical influence. This is the exceptionally scarce first American edition.
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Leuner, Hanscarl:
INTERPRETATION OF VISUAL HALLUCINATIONS
S. Karger, Basel, [1963]

A portfolio of 14 lurid works of psychedelic art, resulting from a creepy series of drug experiments conducted
upon psychiatric patients by Sandoz Ltd. (the original pharmaceutical producer of LSD-25). The artwork is both frightening and beautiful, and the clinical commentary leaves you wondering who exactly is the crazy person here.
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LeWitt, Sol:
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Multiples Inc., New York, 1980

By one of the lauded fathers of conceptualism, a revealing self-analysis: hundreds of affectless photos, organized in a characteristic grid configuration, portraying all the material objects that constitute the artist's life. Strange and powerful work.
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MacDonald, Thoreau (illus.):
SOME PROVERBS FROM RUSSIA
Privately printed, [Thornhill, ON?], 1934

Wry scraps of folk wisdom, accompanied by nine lovely hand-coloured lino-cuts and cover design by Thoreau MacDonald. Stamped "TM 1934" on final page.

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Mathews, F. Schuyler
FIELD BOOK OF WILD BIRDS AND THEIR MUSIC
G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1904

The first printing of an ineffably romantic book, featuring descriptions of bird song rendered into musical notation; with many colour plates.
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[The NASA History Series]
Swenson, Loyd S., James M. Grimwood, et al.:
THIS NEW OCEAN, A HISTORY OF PROJECT MERCURY

 [and] 
ON THE SHOULDERS OF TITANS, A HISTORY OF PROJECT GEMINI
[and]
CHARIOTS FOR APOLLO, A HISTORY OF MANNED LUNAR SPACECRAFT
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, 1966-77-79

The official NASA histories of the U.S. space program, culminating with the Apollo moon walks: surely one of mankind's most epic achievements. It's safe to say that in 500 years, this will be a very valuable set of books.
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Nerdinger, Eugen, & Lisa Beck:
ALPHABETS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS AND ARCHITECTS
Crosby Lockwood & Son, London, 1965

It's not often you can apply the word "charismatic" to a printed artifact. But this book -- enormous in both physical size and visual impact -- exerts an almost palpable magnetism.
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["New Furniture" series]
Hatje, Gerd (ed.); Alvin Lustig (American supplement)
NEW FURNITURE / NEUE MOBEL / MEUBLES NOUVEAUX: 2
[and]
Hatje, Gerd (ed.); John Peter (American section)
NEW FURNITURE / NEUE MOBEL / MEUBLES NOUVEAUX: 3
George Wittenborn, New York, 1953-55

Even 60 years ago, it was evident that those Northern Europeans had hit upon a classic formula: beauty + utility + simplicity = furniture to fantasize about.
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[Outing Handbooks]
Kephart, Horace:
CAMP COOKERY
[and]
Pinkerton, Robert E.
THE CANOE: ITS SELECTION, CARE AND USE
Outing Publishing Co., New York, 1910-16

If you find freeze-dried entrees and aluminum boat construction distasteful, these guidebooks can lead you to a more authentic wilderness experience: call it the days of wood and bacon.
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Ovette, Joseph; Preston L. Hickey (ed.):
PRACTICAL TELEPATHY
Reilly Co., Chicago, 1924

Did you ever wonder how they do it? Here are mind-reading tricks for the stage, by a prominent magician of the early 20th century. Exceedingly uncommon.
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PICK-A-HANKY
Scarves & Allied Arts, [Montreal, ca. 1940]

Kinda creepy: a collection of seven printed handkerchiefs (one for each day of the week), displayed in a cardstock portfolio. Illustrated inside and out with full-colour portrayals of cherubic boys frolicking.
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[Emily Post's landmark work on manners]
Post, Emily:
ETIQUETTE IN SOCIETY, IN BUSINESS, IN POLITICS AND AT HOME
Funk & Wagnalls, New York, 1923

An uncommon early printing of the most influential etiquette book of the 20th century.
[and]
Post, Emily
ETIQUETTE, "THE BLUE BOOK OF SOCIAL USAGE"
Funk & Wagnalls, New York, 1938

A later printing of the same work (though under a revised title). This copy is signed by Emily Post, in the polite sort of handwriting you'd expect.
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"R.K."; Henry Rox (illus.):
LIFE-SPARK STORIES FOR THE INTELLIGENT YOUNG
Women's Printing Society, London [ca. 1930s]

A scarce theosophical work for children. Follows the career of a "life-spark" as he inhabits and passes through a sequence of species and lives; illustrated with many odd, simplistic pen drawings.
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["Self and Sex" series]
Mary Wood-Allen, Sylvanus Stall, and Emma F.A. Drake:
WHAT A YOUNG WOMAN OUGHT TO KNOW
[and]
WHAT A YOUNG MAN OUGHT TO KNOW
[and]
WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW
[and]
WHAT A YOUNG HUSBAND OUGHT TO KNOW
[and]
WHAT A MAN OF FORTY-FIVE OUGHT TO KNOW
Vir Publishing Co., Philadephia, 1897-1913

The "solitary vice" is a menace to all people at all ages, and consequently it makes sense to offer a moralizing tract for every possible demographic.
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Smialowski, Arthur, & Donald J. Currie:
PHOTOGRAPHY IN MEDICINE
Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1960

From one of our very favorite publishers, an instructional monograph on clinical voyeurism. Heavily illustrated with photos, some beautiful, some simply shocking.
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"The Two Taylors" (illus.):
A BOOK OF AIRPLANES
Whitman Publishing, Racine, WI, 1930

Streamlined aeronautical glamour: 22 portraits of biplanes, flying boats, etc., printed in cloyingly rich art deco colours.
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Trelawny, John Francis
CORSETS, COLLARS, AND CHAINS
Publishers Export Co., San Diego, 1968

A widely-quoted, but exceedingly hard-to-find, survey of bondage practices throughout history and across many cultures. Paperback original.
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Warhol, Andy, et al.:
ANDY WARHOL'S INDEX (BOOK)
Random House, New York, 1967

First printing of Warhol's famed, and fantastic, novelty book. Complete with pop-up accordion, geodesic dome, and tomato paste can; spring-loaded "Chelsea Girls" ad; Velvet Underground flexi-disk; "Andy Warhol" blotter acid; etc.
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[Western Union]:
WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPHIC CODE (UNIVERSAL EDITION)
International Cable Directory Co., New York, 1900

A cumbersome scheme for encoding telegrams... but can also be appreciated as a madman's phrasebook to a language that doesn't exist.
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[** end TIABF catalogue **