Burland, Cottie A.:
THE EXOTIC WHITE MAN
Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1969.

"The artist is somewhat prone to see the foreigner as a comic creature."

<-- front cover

Michaels, Craig:
SUNDAY BREAKFAST: A COOKBOOK FOR MEN
Nitty Gritty Productions, Concord, CA, 1972.

One pragmatic chapter -- "Bakery Breakfast" -- advises Dad to just go out and buy some danishes.

<-- front cover

Garrett, A.A.:
HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY OF INCORPORATED ACCOUNTANTS, 1885-1957
University Press, Oxford, 1961.

"It is always a sad affair when an old and respected institution goes out of existence. Few who open this book will do so without a sense of sorrow."

<-- front cover

Morton, Dudley J.:
THE HUMAN FOOT
Columbia University Press, New York, 1935.

Reinforces our shop's brand identity.

<-- title page

Clark, Claude:
PRIMER OF SHIP BLUEPRINT READING [with] GLOSSARY OF SHIPYARD TERMS
Cornell Maritime Press, New York, 1942.

A boatload of jargon for shipbuilders, much of it uncomfortably anatomical ("club foot," "butt strap," "bosom bar," etc.). With fold-out sample blueprints tipped in.

<-- front cover

Osborne, Eileen; S.B. Pearse (illus.):
AMELIARANNE AND THE JUMBLE SALE
George G. Harrap & Co., London, 1950.

Aspiring vintage dealers, take note.

<-- front cover

n/a:
ANTIQUE FIREARMS AND EDGED WEAPONS. CATALOG NO. 31
Robert Abels, Inc., New York, [1958].

An arsenal of homicidal history, from battle axes to repeating rifles, with suits of armor and dungeon shackles thrown in for good measure.

<-- pp. 2-3

Mogford, Gwen:
MY INHERITANCE
Bernard Kaymar Ltd., Preston, UK, 1985.

From the scrapbooks of a "dog lady" gone nuts: eight decades of forgotten magazine clippings, book excerpts, photos, etc., all featuring Old English sheepdogs.

<-- front cover

Thulin, J.G.:
GYMNASTIC HAND-BOOK: GYMNASTICS WITH THEORY AND METHOD
South Swedish Gymnastic Institute, Lund, 1947.

A phys-ed text so earnestly Nordic that merely leafing through it constitutes an exhausting form of exercise.

<-- front cover

Girdler, Allan; Carl Caiati (rev.):
CUSTOMIZING YOUR VAN
TAB Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 1983.

Others may denigrate it as a "shaggin' wagon," "sin bin," or "fuck truck"; but if you're one of the lucky ones, you get to call it "home."

<-- front cover

Sutermeister, Edwin, and Frederick L. Browne:
CASEIN AND ITS INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 1939.

A mysterious protein extracted from skim milk was the primary ingredient in 55% of the buttons manufactured worldwide in 1926.

<-- title page and frontis

Machlejd, Wanda (ed.):
EXPERIMENTAL OPERATIONS ON PRISONERS OF RAVENSBRÜCK CONCENTRATION CAMP
Wydawnictwo Zachodinie, Warszawa, 1960.

The most malign image in the history of human cruelty: a white lab coat worn over an SS uniform.

<-- front cover

Coppens, Armand:
THE MEMOIRS OF AN EROTIC BOOKSELLER
Grove Press, New York, 1970.

Everyone knows it's a glamorous and lucrative career; but the real bonus is the carnal gratification it offers.

<-- front cover

Warren, Carl:
ANIMAL SEX CONTROL, A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR BREEDERS
Orange Judd Publishing, New York, 1941.

Pseudo-scientific techniques for those who prefer litters of all-male or all-female offspring.

<-- title page and frontis

Goldreich, Gloria and Esther:
WHAT CAN SHE BE? A COMPUTER SCIENTIST
William Morrow & Co., New York, 1979.

Apparently a victim of ethnic stereotyping, studious Linda Wong works long hours designing systems on a mainframe the size of a minivan.

<-- front cover

Fuller, Andrew S.:
THE SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST
Orange Judd & Co., New-York, 1867.

"The laws of nature should be secrets to none."

<-- front cover

Beebe, Lucius; Paul Rand (design & typography):
THE STORK CLUB BAR BOOK
Rinehart & Co., New York, 1946.

Swanky Manhattan nightclub + witty epicurean dandy + influential graphic designer = mixing guide for top-shelf alcoholics.

<-- front cover

Wheeler, Harry G.:
EXHIBITION AND FLYING PIGEONS
Spur Publications, Hindhead, Surrey, 1978.

Obsessive descriptions of hundreds of breeds, including the Bohemian Saddle Pouter; the Fairy Swallow; the Clean-Legged Priest; etc.

<-- front cover

Rodale, J.I.:
THE ITCH AND WHAT TO DO BESIDES SCRATCHING
Rodale Books, Emmaus, PA, 1971.

We used to worry that we'd never find a book devoted exclusively to the subject of rectal itching.

<-- front cover

"Written by divers hands;" Carl Cobbledick (illus.):
AN UNCENSORED ANTHOLOGY
Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, 1937.

Light verse suitable for your bachelor uncle, from an era when "uncensored" meant mammary puns and outhouse jokes.

<-- title page

Lejnieks, J.:
RIGA, KURAS NAV [NEVER-BUILT RIGA]
Zinatne, Riga, 1998.

Catalogue of missed opportunities: 100 years of elaborately planned, but never implemented, urban redevelopment schemes for Riga. In Latvian, with summary in English.

<-- front cover

Proudfoot, W.B.:
THE ORIGIN OF STENCIL DUPLICATING
Hutchinson & Co., London, 1972.

A history of carbon copies, mimeographs, and other indispensable clerical technologies from the distant days of paper-and-ink.

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE NEWEST ATLAS OF JAPAN
[Sanseido, Tokyo, ca. 1929]

Japan in its Imperial ascendancy: a golden age for map designers as well as nationalist zealots.

<-- front cover

Niemoeller, A.F.:
CHASTITY SAFEGUARDS
Haldeman-Julius Publications, Girard, KS, 1947.

A taxonomic history of chastity belts: the intra-vaginal type, the anterior-posterior type, the chain grate type, etc.

<-- title page

Allen, Joseph, et al.:
SANDCASTLES: THE SPLENDORS OF ENCHANTMENT
Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY, 1981.

Can it still be considered innocent seaside fun when 40 adults and a backhoe spend four days recreating Baroque-era Heidelberg on a California beach?

<-- front cover

Clapp, Gordon S.:
FITTING FOR FOOT HEALTH
Chadwick Print & Litho, Toronto, 1950.

"...of great benefit to the multitude of Shoe Fitters in whose care the foot health of the nation rests."

<-- front cover

Beers, Portia:
WHAT MAKES MEN TICK
Aldus Books, London, 1972.

The short answer: Sansabelt slacks, big sideburns, and sweeping generalizations.

<-- front cover

Eisenmann, Charles P.:
STOP! SIT! AND THINK!
Self-published, East Syracuse, NY, [1968].

"An intellectual breakthrough between man and dog," achieved by a TV dog trainer; one corner slightly chewed.

<-- front cover

Beirne, Bryan P. (comp.):
COLLECTING, PREPARING AND PRESERVING INSECTS
Entomology Division, Canada Dept. of Agriculture, [Ottawa], 1955.

A steady hand and an utter lack of sentiment are required when mounting dead insects on pins.

<-- front cover

Morand, Paul; Aaron Douglas (illus.):
BLACK MAGIC
Viking Press, New York, 1929.

Original wigga: an early-20th century French author, smitten by the exotic rhythms of African culture, goes native in Louisiana, the Caribbean, and the Dark Continent itself.

<-- pp. 2-3

National Hot Rod Association:
DRAG RULES 1972
National Hot Rod Association, North Hollywood, CA, [1972].

"Driver's seat must be located within the confines of the car's passenger area; not in engine compartment or trunk."

<-- front cover

Firpo, Patrick, et al.:
COPYART: THE FIRST COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE COPY MACHINE
Richard Marek Publishers, New York, 1978.

The future of visual culture, invented one dime at a time: "The machine's accidents merge with the artist's control to create un-predetermined art."

<-- front cover

Lvov-Anokhin, B.:
GALINA ULANOVA
Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1956.

In dozens of gravure photos, a melancholy Russian danseuse explores the emotional territory beyond melodrama; text in English.

<-- front cover

Landau, Elaine:
RABIES
Lodestar Books, New York, 1993.

A colorful subject made accessible for young readers, by the author of several other introductory-level works ("Lyme Disease," "Chemical and Biological Warfare," etc.).

<-- front cover

Walker, Alexander, and Henry Howard (illus.):
BEAUTY; ILLUSTRATED CHIEFLY BY AN ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF BEAUTY IN WOMAN
Effingham Wilson, London, 1836.

A philosophy supported by 22 wistful engravings of female nudes: "Any sudden projection, any sharp angle, is in the highest degree contrary to the idea of beauty."

<-- frontis and title page

Childs, Leslie:
LAW FOR THE DENTIST
Dental Cosmos, Philadelphia, 1934.

Does the act of snapping off a hypodermic needle in a patient's jaw qualify as negligence?

<-- front cover

n/a:
RENT COLLECTION COURTYARD -- SCULPTURES OF OPPRESSION AND REVOLT
Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1968.

The depravities of capitalism, depicted as a lifesized socialist-realist diorama: "A mother is torn away from her baby so that Liu can indulge his special delight -- fresh human milk."

<-- front cover

Dibner, Bern:
MOVING THE OBELISKS
M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, 1970.

World's most gruesome hernia? Try hauling a 360-ton monolith of solid granite from Heliopolis to Rome, using nothing but muscle power...

<-- front cover

Marshall, Tim:
STORM CHASE MANUAL
Self-published, n.p., 1998.

Every nerdy meteorologist with a death wish keeps a copy in his glove compartment.

<-- front cover

Arnold, Levi M.; Anna A. MacDonald (ed.):
HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS, INCLUDING THE HISTORY OF MAN, FROM HIS CREATION TO HIS FINALITY, BUT NOT TO HIS END
Reprint; Sananda & Sanat Kumara, Mt. Shasta, CA, [ca. 1970].

An ambitious but unconvincing text, purportedly acquired via divine revelation in 1851 by a foundry owner in Poughkeepsie, NY.

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE WELLCOME MUSEUM OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
Wellcome Foundation Ltd., London, [ca. 1950s].

Doesn't every clinically-minded museum geek aspire to "conformity without tedium, exactitude without restraint and tidiness without rigidity" -- ?

<-- pp. 14-15

Lartigue, Jacques-Henri:
LES FEMMES AUX CIGARETTES
Viking Press, New York, 1980.

For students of world-weary sensuality: 96 photos of Parisian cabaret performers from the 1920s, all of them sporting cigarettes.

<-- pp. 6-7

n/a:
"TELL ME ANOTHER"
J.B. White Ltd., Fife, [ca. 1930s].

A collection of cheeseball jokes about Scottish parsimony, accompanied by colour illustrations at once creepy and endearing.

<-- front cover

Penn, Herman J.:
ENCYCLOPEDIC GUIDE TO PLANNING AND ESTABLISHING AN AUDITORIUM, ARENA, COLISEUM OR MULTI-PURPOSE BUILDING
Penn-Fleming Publications, Greenville, SC, 1963.

Sometimes it pays to dream big.

<-- front cover

Dr. Willy, et al.:
THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SEX
Reprint edition. Cadillac Publishing Co., New York, 1965.

Though intended for a general audience, this manual won't necessarily soothe the anxieties of the bashful.

<-- plates 10-11

Daniell, David Scott, & Jack Matthew [illus.]:
FLIGHT TWO: CANADA
Wills & Hepworth Ltd., Loughborough, UK, 1959.

Wholesome propaganda for kids of the Commonwealth, as cloying as a shotglass of pure maple syrup.

<-- pp. 14-15

Rorer, S.T.:
ICE CREAMS, WATER ICES, FROZEN PUDDINGS; TOGETHER WITH REFRESHMENTS FOR ALL SOCIAL AFFAIRS
Arnold & Company, Phildadelphia, 1913.

Not recommended for readers vulnerable to attacks of nostalgia on sultry summer evenings.

<-- front cover

Draper, James, and James Brooks:
INTERIOR DESIGN FOR LIBRARIES
American Library Association, Chicago, 1979.

With chapter titles well-suited for some of the world's most erotic public spaces: "Getting a Bird's Eye View," "Up Against the Wall," "Coming Out of the Closet," etc.

<-- front cover

Stalin, J[oseph] V.:
WORKS, VOLUME 1: 1901-1907
Red Star Press, London, 1975.

The early scribblings of a man better remembered for his actions than his ideas.

<-- front cover

n/a:
JUMPING OVER BOY'S BACK (LEAPFROG)
Optical Toys, Putney, VT, 1994.

Proto-cinema in the form of a tiny and artfully obscure flip-book; thumb required.

<-- front cover