Endler, Norman S., and Emmanuel Persad:
ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY: THE MYTHS AND THE REALITIES
Hans Huber Publications, Toronto, 1988.

"Loose teeth should be protected, and dentures should be removed."

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n/a:
TOBACCO, PIPES AND THE PLEASURES OF PIPE SMOKING
Turmac Tabakmaatschappij Canada Ltd., Toronto [ca.1960s].

This avuncular introduction to nicotine paraphernalia strikes a pleasing balance between enthusiasm and pomposity.

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Yupho, Dhanit; P.S. Sastri (trans.):
CLASSICAL SIAMESE THEATRE
Hatha Dhip Company, Bangkok, 1952.

Historical descriptions and quaint photos of more than 50 stylized entertainments: Dancing the Alphabet, Presenting the Monkey, Frustrating the Rite in the Tunnel, etc.

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Jackson, Daniel F. (ed.):
ALGAE AND MAN
Plenum Press, New York, 1964.

"Algae are certainly here to stay and of course we are less sure about Man, so it is appropriate that emphasis be placed on algae..."

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Dimelow, Grace C.:
PARIS FROCKS AT HOME
Butterick Publishing Co., New York, 1930.

In times of economic austerity, every lady needs to know how to alter an outdated gown into something modish and sophisticated.

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Slocum, Rob R.:
CAPONS AND CAPONIZING
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, 1929.

Disturbing castration fantasy for poultry.

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Professor Duncan:
HOW TO TALK CORRECTLY; A POCKET MANUAL TO PROMOTE POLITE AND ACCURATE CONVERSATION [etc.]
William Nicholson and Sons, London, [ca. 1880s].

"The design of this Manual is to meet the needs of the 'people,' rather than those of the 'educated classes,' though we presume that even they would derive profit from perusing and studying it."

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Saisselin, Remy G.:
BRICABRACOMANIA: THE BOURGEOIS AND THE BIBELOT
Thames & Hudson, London, 1985.

After rooting around in junk shops and flea markets all day, it's nice to unwind with a cultural history of knick-knack collecting.

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Bhanawat, Mahendra:
MENHADI RANG RACHI (FOLKLORIC STUDY OF COLORFUL MYRTLE)
Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal, Udaipur, 1976.

Henna tattoos have become a silly trend in the West; but this delectable little book redeems the original South Asian tradition. Text in English; illustrated with 22 enchanting colour plates.

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[Home Office]:
THE PROTECTION OF YOUR HOME AGAINST AIR RAIDS
His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1938.

Obviously, war was in the air: this worrisome public service pamphlet, with its special emphasis on precautions against gas attack, was issued more than a year before the outbreak of WWII.

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Hodgins, J. George (ed.):
AIMS AND OBJECTS OF THE TORONTO HUMANE SOCIETY
Facsimile of the 1888 edition; no publisher, no date [centennial reprint?].

Righteous Victorians had to confront a host of evils, from cruelty to horses and the wanton destruction of birds, to human street-waifs and the absence of public drinking fountains.

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Jennings, Thomas:
THE FEMALE FIGURE IN MOVEMENT
Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1971.

Repetitive acts of mundane nakedness: through 1500 sequential photos, art models demonstrate the allure of carrying a box, talking on the phone, watering a houseplant, etc.

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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.

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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..."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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..."

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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[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.

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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."

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

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

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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.

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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..."

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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?

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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.

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

Ramming speed!

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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."

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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.

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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."

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

Reinforces our shop's brand identity.

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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.

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

Aspiring vintage dealers, take note.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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