Cornish, G.A.:
THE ROMANCE OF CHOCOLATE
William Neilson Ltd., Toronto, [ca. 1933].

"The fretful cry of the helpless infant only a few days old is changed almost like magic to a look of satisfaction by the touch of a speck of candy to the red tongue between the toothless gums."

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Guthrie, John:
BIZARRE SHIPS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Hutchinson Scientific and Technical, London, 1970.

Many of these unlikely nautical innovations -- circular ships, ships with jointed hulls, ships on rollers, etc. -- were actually built as prototypes. But they all ended in glorious failure.

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n/a:
SPECIMEN OF PRINTING TYPES AND ORNAMENTS, IN USE AT THE PRINTING OFFICE OF LOVELL & GIBSON [etc.]
Facsimile of the 1846 edition. Bibliographical Society of Canada, Toronto, 1975.

To decontextualize language and free your mind of preconceived meaning, try staring at type specimens for half an hour.

<-- "fifteen-line antique"

Perard, Victor:
HANDS AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION
Pitman Publishing, New York, 1940.

Exemplary illustrations of human hands in every conceivable posture, from pointing, wringing, and clapping, to pouring martinis.

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Klebinder, Paul (ed.):
KRONPRINZENS IM FILM
Verlag Paul Klebinder, Berlin, 1914.

The pride of Prussia, photographically portrayed: Kaiser Wilhelm's eldest son rides, hunts, parades, and poses on the brink of World War I. Text in German blackletter.

<-- p. 34

Thane, Edith:
MARIONETTES ARE PEOPLE
Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York, 1948.

"Perhaps to you marionettes are crude grotesques with exaggerated noses and awkward stylized movements..."

<-- frontis and title page

Francatelli, Charles Elmé:
A PLAIN COOKERY BOOK FOR THE WORKING CLASSES
Facsimile of the 1852 edition. Scolar Press, London, 1978.

From the indigestible to the austere: baked cod's head, giblet pie, toast water, etc.

<-- front cover

Cauldwell, D.O.:
NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS -- A STUDY OF WET DREAMS
Haldeman-Julius Publications, Girard, KS, 1948.

It turns out that dreams featuring self-fellatio, with predictable results, are more common than previously supposed.

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Dixon, Royal, and Brayton Eddy:
PERSONALITY OF INSECTS
Charles W. Clark Co., New York, 1924.

In the struggle to bring science to a general readership, flagrant anthropomorphism is sometimes permissible.

<-- frontis & title page

Carey, David:
HOW IT WORKS... THE COMPUTER
Ladybird Books, Loughborough, 1979.

As with every sophisticated pleasure: "There is something about computers that is both fascinating and intimidating."

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Bloch, Iwan:
ODORATUS SEXUALIS
Reprint edition. Brandon House, North Hollywood, CA, 1967.

"No amorous assimilation is as prompt or as radical as that proceeding via the nose."

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Caldwell, W.V.:
LSD PSYCHOTHERAPY
Grove Press, New York, 1969.

I am he as you are he as you are me as we are all together.

<-- front cover

Jones, Rosa E.:
THE WONDERLAND OF COMMON THINGS
A. & C. Black, Ltd., London, 1938.

Reassures children that the basic constituents of British economic life -- housewife, fishmonger, coal-merchant -- exist in a happy web of interdependence.

<-- front cover

Bock, Richard:
CAMPER COOKERY
Lorenz Press, Dayton, 1977.

You don't need a fixed address to enjoy a paper plate of Festive Cheese Balls, Chicken Luau, or Hamburger Stroganoff.

<-- front cover

Hornaday, William T.:
TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1905.

"The sight of a particularly fine animal, either alive or dead, excites within me feelings of admiration that often amount to genuine affection..."

<-- front cover

Hutchison, Harold F. (intro.):
LONDON TRANSPORT POSTERS
London Transport Board, 1963.

Five decades of soothing, even bucolic, artwork commissioned to promote a crowded urban transit system.

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Needham, Jack:
MODELLING SHIPS IN BOTTLES
Patrick Stephens, London, 1972.

So THAT'S how they do it!

<-- front cover

Jacopetti, Alexandra; Jerry Wainwright (phot.):
NATIVE FUNK & FLASH: AN EMERGING FOLK ART
Scrimshaw Press, [San Francisco], 1974.

The bedrock values of hippie culture, revealed through its denim handicrafts: homely, preposterous, and lavishly creative.

<-- front cover

Rowland, Beryl:
BIRDS WITH HUMAN SOULS
University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1978.

An erudite panorama of bird symbolism throughout Western culture, from lyrical swan to lecherous sparrow.

<-- front cover

Devereux, George:
MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY: THE PSYCHIC DISTURBANCES OF AN INDIAN TRIBE
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1969.

Hunter's neurosis; the psychopathology of singers; sexual insanity resulting from witchcraft; and countless other mental ailments specific to the dwindling Mohave people of the Southwest.

<-- front cover

[Architectural Record]:
MOTELS, HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AND BARS
F.W. Dodge Co., 1960.

The habitat of the mid-century travelling salesman, revealed in hundreds of architectural photos, sketches, and floorplans.

<-- p. 57

Tener, J.S.:
MUSKOXEN IN CANADA: A BIOLOGICAL AND TAXONOMIC REVIEW
Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Ottawa, 1965.

"No evidence of a musky odour of the muskox was found during this study, although a characteristic bovid odour was noted."

<-- front cover

Petrie, Gavin (ed.):
BLACK MUSIC
Hamlyn, London, 1974.

Ideal for those times when you want to admire the photographs in reverential silence.

<-- front cover

Bancroft, Jessie H.:
GAMES FOR THE PLAYGROUND, HOME, SCHOOL AND GYMNASIUM
Macmillan Company, New York, 1936.

Hide the Thimble; Baste the Bear; Skyte the Bob; and hundreds of other equally entertaining group diversions.

<-- front cover

Okorokov, A.Z. (comp.):
LENIN AND BOOKS
Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1971.

"If a well produced book came along, he was really happy, and pointed out the fact..."

<-- front cover

De France, Henry:
THE ELEMENTS OF DOWSING
G. Bell & Sons Ltd., London, 1959.

It's one thing to locate underground water with a stick; but have you ever diagnosed a patient's illness by dangling a pendulum over a bowl of his urine?

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE SOCIAL EVIL IN CHICAGO: A STUDY OF EXISTING CONDITIONS
Vice Commission of Chicago, Inc., 1912.

Prostitution and pandering, when viewed at a century's distance, take on a nostalgic sepia charm.

<-- p. 373

Anderson, R.C.:
OARED FIGHTING SHIPS
Argus Books Ltd., Kings Langley, Herts., 1976.

Ramming speed!

<-- front cover

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