n/a:
LEVI'S DENIM ART CONTEST: CATALOGUE OF WINNERS
Baron Wolman/Squarebooks, Mill Valley, CA, 1974.

Eye-popping '70s freak culture on parade: 50 prize-winning examples of embellished-denim folk fashion (appliqué, embroidery, patchwork, rivets, etc.), in many cases modeled by the contestants themselves.

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE WORK
Lautir Press, Toronto, [ca. 1954].

A vest-pocket guide to Masonic rituals, with the directions cryptically abbreviated to perplex outsiders: "S.D. steps up and gives S.W. (in a whisper) the P.W. of a F.C. with the P.G."

<-- pp. 130-131

Homsy, Martha, and Doris Keppeler:
THE HULA: THE DANCE AND ITS MEANING
Tongg Publishing, Honolulu, 1950.

As gently erotic as a balmy, hibiscus-scented breeze rustling a grass skirt. Illustrated with many sequential photos of dancers in action -- enchanting of course.

<-- front cover

Davies, D.P.:
HANDLING THE BIG JETS
Air Registration Board, Redhill, Surrey, 1968.

"The demand of jet transport flying can best be met by enthusiasm." Illustrated with 80 dynamic colour graphs and a dozen photographic plates.

<-- front cover

Haikonen, Atte (ed.):
MUNICIPAL COATS OF ARMS OF FINLAND
Suomen Kunnallisliitto, Helsinki, [1976].

An obsessive, even pathological, collection of heraldic escutcheons, representing 570 towns and provinces in one of the world's most thinly populated countries. Text in Finnish, Swedish, and English.

<-- pp. 86-87 [Parikkala to Pihlajavesi]

Wall, Florence E.:
CANITICS: THE TREATMENT OF CANITIES REDUCED TO A SCIENCE, ELEVATED TO AN ART
Beautician Publications Inc., New York, 1926.

Like a bad dye job, this beauty-parlor manual hides behind ominous scientific-sounding language to describe the latest techniques for tinting gray hair.

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Bailey, Wellesley C.:
THE LEPERS OF OUR INDIAN EMPIRE: A VISIT TO THEM IN 1890-91.
Darien Press, Edinburgh, 1899.

The white man's burden, dutifully shouldered by missionaries at leper colonies throughout the subcontinent; with descriptions of morbidly disfigured natives pleading for divine mercy.

<-- front cover

Traylor, Joseph G.:
PHYSICS OF STEREO/QUAD SOUND
Iowa State University, Ames, 1977.

For the insatiable geek audiophile who demands the deepest possible involvement with this subject, each chapter concludes with a set of questions and exercises.

<-- front cover

Gold, Frances Joslin:
THE INSTANT DECORATOR
Clarkson N. Potter, New York, 1976

A spiral-bound tool for decorators: large-scale line drawings of 16 typical room layouts, with transparency overlays for testing combinations of fabrics, wallpapers, or colour swatches.

<-- front cover (detail)

Romans, John R. and P. Thomas Ziegler:
THE MEAT WE EAT
Interstate Printers & Publishers, Danville, IL, 1977.

Covers every aspect of the meat economy, from pasture to plate: slaughtering practices; packing-house by-products; inspection and grading; preservation and storage; merchandising; organizations that promote meat; etc.

<-- front cover

Sholl, Clarence Vreeland:
SHOLL'S HUMANITOME
Verbis Publishing Co., Flushing, NY, 1946

An anthropocentric thesaurus, methodically listing 60,000 English words to describe human physical attributes, mental states, and activities. (Every other class of word is omitted.)

<-- front cover

Costa, E. and S. Garattini, eds.:
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON AMPHETAMINES AND RELATED COMPOUNDS
Raven Press, New York, 1970.

Over 900 pages of useful clinical data. "In rats, amphetamine can elicit an abnormal stereotyped behavior consisting of continuous sniffing, licking or biting... in humans, meaningless, perserverative mechanical work on cars, radios, etc. was also observed."

<-- front cover

Brebion, H.:
THE LEGEND OF THE CARVED ROCKS OF ROTHENEUF
Combier, Mâcon, 1955.

A confusing guidebook to an irrational monument: 300 sculptures depicting a long-dead clan of pirates, carved into the rocky Breton shoreline by a hermit. Text in imperfect English; with 16 heliogravure photos.

<-- pp. 16-17

Kaspar, Karl:
VACATION HOUSES: AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY
Frederick A. Praeger, New York, 1967.

Where austere modernists go to unwind: a low wooden lake cottage in Finland; a geometric split-level on an Italian hillside; even a cryptic prefab "plastic egg" from Japan. With hundreds of photos; text in German and English.

<-- front cover

Moore, Harry H.:
KEEPING IN CONDITION: A HANDBOOK ON TRAINING FOR OLDER BOYS
Macmillan Co., New York, 1919.

"A boy cannot continue to look upon immorally suggestive pictures, hear so-called 'smutty stories,' or indulge in sexual thoughts without a harmful physical reaction."

<-- frontis and title page

[Herford, Beatrice]:
BEATRICE HERFORD'S MONOLOGUES
Samuel French, New York, 1947.

Eighteen theatrical routines on mundane subjects (Choosing the Wall Papers; Man with a Cold; At the Optician's; etc.). An uncomfortable marriage of light chatter and existential hell.

<-- front cover

[Lovesick Lake Native Women's Association]:
THE RURAL AND NATIVE HERITAGE COOKBOOK
Burleigh Falls, ON, 1985.

Pan Fried Bear Steak; Raccoon Delight; Beaver Tails in Sauce; Muskrat Hash; Buffaloaf; etc.

<-- front cover

n/a:
SARAH BELL AND FANNY BLAKE
Religious Tract Society, London, [ca. 1839].

A gloomy abecedary in verse, each letter representing a lesson for Christian living, or cautioning against a dire sin. Diminutive vest-pocket format; illustrated with engravings.

<-- pp. 14-15 (D for Death; E for Eternity)

Aro, Pirkko:
ARABIA DESIGN.
Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, Helsinki, 1958.

Soulful artists who manufacture sensible housewares: here are brief professional bios of 26 designers at the Arabia factory in Finland, accompanied by highlights of individual craft specialties and disarmingly earnest photo portraits. Text in English.

<-- front cover

Carson, Byrta:
HOW YOU LOOK AND DRESS
McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1959.

"Mastery of wardrobe planning and clothing construction gives a young girl a feeling of security and poise which not only assists her economically but socially and psychologically as well."

<-- front cover