Ducroquet, Robert, et al.:
WALKING AND LIMPING, A STUDY OF NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL WALKING
J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1968.

Staggering info-graphics: the uneven gaits of paralytics, amputees, and other unfortunates expressed as tragic sequences of line art.

<-- plate 88, "Bilateral Ankylosis"

Chambers, I. Mench:
THE DEVIL OF TO-DAY, HIS PLAY BETWEEN THE FALSE AND THE GOOD
John C. Winston Co., Chicago, 1906.

Not properly a book at all, but rather the publisher's prospectus of a work to be sold on subscription by door-to-door evangelists; with many fire-and-brimstone illustrations, and 12 pages of blank order forms.

<-- front cover

n/a:
VISIT THE SOVIET UNION 1937
Intourist Ltd., London/Moscow, 1937.

How better to attract jaded Western tourists than with a travel brochure describing collective farms, hydroelectric power stations, and calisthenics programs for factory workers -- ?

<-- title page and foreword

Gillon, Edmund Vincent:
EARLY NEW ENGLAND GRAVESTONE RUBBINGS
Dover Publications, New York, 1966.

"As you are now, so once was I; as I am now, so you must be..."

<-- front cover

Benedict, Francis G.:
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF LARGE REPTILES
Asher & Co., Amsterdam, 1973.

Factors affecting the rectal temperature of snakes; gaseous metabolism and energy transformations of large alligators; heart rate of the tortoise; etc.

<-- figures 36 & 37 ["1931 Python"]

Haber, Heinz:
THE WALT DISNEY STORY OF OUR FRIEND THE ATOM
Dell Publishing, New York, 1960.

Disney's effort to calm the nerves of terrified Cold War schoolkids, written in a cheerful tone by an ex-Nazi who reinvented himself as a American pop-science writer.

<-- front cover

n/a:
BILDERTEIL DES LEHRBUCHES "BÜHNENFECHTKUNST"
Henschelverlag, Berlin, 1954.

A panorama of swashbuckling: some 200 sequential photos demonstrating dramatic sword-play for the stage. With brief captions in German.

<-- pp. 44-45

Abbott, L.B.:
SPECIAL EFFECTS: WIRE, TAPE AND RUBBER BAND STYLE
American Society of Cinematographers, Hollywood, 1984.

The professional memoirs of the man who created the giant mushroom forest in "Journey to the Center of the Earth," the antibodies in "Fantastic Voyage," the death-arena in "Logan's Run," and countless other marvels.

<-- front cover

Hoxie, Jane L.:
HAND WORK FOR KINDERGARTENS AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Milton Bradley Co., Springfield, MA, 1905.

Put the kids to work manufacturing pincushions, picture frames, napkin rings, etc.

<-- frontis and title page

n/a:
LOU TANNEN'S NO. 9 CATALOG OF MAGIC
Louis Tannen Inc., New York, 1972.

Over 500 pages of enticingly-titled magic tricks available by mail order: the Pearl Necklace Mystery, the Silken Bombshell, and Bengal Net Illusion, the French Guillotine...

<-- front cover

Vanderwalker, F.N.:
INTERIOR WALL DECORATION
Frederick J. Drake & Co., Chicago, 1941.

Insomniacs who live in old houses might be familiar with the experience of lying awake, fixated by the inexplicable lumpy plaster on the ceiling. Here's how it got that way.

<-- p. 303

Dennis, Rod:
COMPUTER SEX
M-T Publishers, Las Vegas, 1969.

A misleading title: all the porn scenarios in this collection describe traditional human-on-human intercourse. The only computer is the one that runs the dating service.

<-- front cover

n/a:
USE AND INSTALLATION OF BOOBY TRAPS [Field Manual 5-31]
Department of the Army, [Washington], 1956.

The very most diabolical expression of human creativity. Illustrated with 150 helpful diagrams.

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF H. ARMSTRONG ROBERTS
H. Armstrong Roberts, Philadelphia, [ca. 1930s].

To purchase stock photos from this disconcertingly wholesome catalogue, just send a telegram listing the cryptic titles of the images you desire: "order balk bird jace billy banister joke..."

<-- "Eat, drink, and look merry about it"

Kellogg, Alice M. (ed.):
FANCY DRILLS AND MARCHES
Penn Publishing Co., Philadelphia, 1920.

Diagrams and elaborate instructions for dozens of parade routines, including the Zouave drill; the tambourine drill; the muff and gun drill; etc.

<-- front cover

Cooper, Paulette:
THE SCANDAL OF SCIENTOLOGY
Tower Publications, New York, 1971.

Is it true that the Scientologists suppressed this title by systematically buying up all the available copies, and destroying them? If so... they missed one!

<-- front cover

Kalmenoff, Matthew:
CAVEMAN DIORAMAS TO CUT AND ASSEMBLE
Dover Publications, Mineola, NY, 1985.

For those who prefer their paper dolls nasty, brutish, and short.

<-- front cover

Groves, J. Walton:
MUSHROOM COLLECTING FOR BEGINNERS
Canada Dept. of Agriculture, Ottawa, 1961.

In some cases, specialized knowledge is more important than confidence.

<-- front cover

n/a:
PHOTOGRAPHY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, 1948.

As the producers of "CSI" are well aware: there's nothing sexier than a confident cop handling a camera with a big lens.

<-- front cover

Simmons, William H.:
SOAP: ITS COMPOSITION, MANUFACTURE, AND PROPERTIES
Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, London, 1939.

"This book will prove of interest not only to those who are actually engaged in the manufacture of soap, but to all large users of soap..."

<-- front cover