[Tennyson, Alfred]:
THE WORKS OF ALFRED TENNYSON, POET LAUREATE
E. & J.B. Young & Co., New York, [ca. 1880s].

Overdressed Victorian book pomp: in addition to the lavish binding with its inlaid medallion, all the page-margins inside are festooned with engravings of melancholy landscapes.

<-- front cover

Lettvin, Maggie:
THE BEAUTIFUL MACHINE
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1972.

Not really a book, but a slipcase filled with 180 vaguely erotic photographic cards showing how the author tones her body by bending over a chair, stepping on a phonebook, etc.

<-- front cover

n/a [Serge Jacques, phot.]:
FOLIES DE PARIS ET DE HOLLYWOOD. No. 280
Société S.N.E.A.R., Paris, [ca. 1964].

The succulent cheesecake photography of Serge Jacques, served up in sizable helpings. With accompanying text in French, bien sûr.

<-- front cover

Sparke, William, and Clark McKowen:
MONTAGE: INVESTIGATIONS IN LANGUAGE
Macmillan Co., [New York], 1970.

A high-concept textbook, so visually dynamic that it's not even clear what discipline it aims to teach: narrative theory? graphic communications? concrete poetry?

<-- front pastedown & title page

Watney, Marylian:
THE ELEGANT CARRIAGE
J.A. Allen & Co., London, 1973.

Descriptions and images of the Tilbury Gig, the Equirotal Phaeton, the Post Chaise, and dozens of other swanky conveyances from the horse-drawn past.

<-- front cover

Sumach, Alexander:
THE ORIGINAL AND AUTHENTIC GROW YER OWN STONE
Reprint edition. Firefly Books, [Toronto, ca. 1980].

Lost in his work, the author chose to forgo mechanical typesetting in favor of a meticulously hand-lettered text; the misspellings add an air of intimate authenticity.

<-- front cover

Kesler, Ken:
DARTS, A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE GAME
Self-published, Calgary, [ca. 1990].

Apparently those guys at the back of the pub spend lots of time pondering aerodynamics, anti-bounce technologies, and advanced alloys.

<-- front cover

[SCHOOL COMPOSITION BOOK, BLANK]
No publisher, [Toronto?], [ca. 1930s].

Instead of a notebook decorated with ponies or matinee idols, young Marybelle selected one with an ambiguous ethnographic portrait on its cover. Then she signed the upper right-hand corner in pencil.

<-- front cover

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

Merz, Florian:
POP ART IN THE SCHOOL
Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1968.

13 projects for young students: pictures to frighten teacher; distorted projection; banal montage; etc.

<-- front cover

n/a:
PROFESSIONAL SECRETS OF PERFORMING GREAT ORAL SEX ON WOMEN
Koszinski Sexual Studies Group, [no place, no date].

Advanced techniques, also suitable for the serious amateur.

<-- front cover

Riddle, Mawell:
THE WILD DOGS IN LIFE AND LEGEND
Howell Book House, Inc., New York, 1979.

Three dozen diverse chapters on canids, including "The Legend of Wolves as Man Killers," "The Lore of the Dingo," "The Biology of the Raccoon Dog," etc.

<-- front cover

Coleman, Ray (ed.):
TODAY'S SOUND. A MELODY MAKER BOOK
Hamlyn, London, 1972.

Don't dismiss it as campy fun: this is a comprehensive survey of a truly insane cultural moment.

<-- front cover

Bond, A. Russell:
THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN BOY, or, THE CAMP AT WILLOW CLUMP ISLAND
Munn & Co., New York, 1907.

A contrived adventure narrative allows boys with names like Dutchy and Reddy to demonstrate the manufacture of swamp shoes, ice boats, rope bridges -- even a gravity railroad. With over 300 engravings and photos.

<-- front cover

n/a:
GOURMET'S GUIDE TO GOOD EATING IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Garden City Publishing Co., New York, 1948.

Roadside steakhouses, tearooms, and colonial inns from coast to coast: Didn't Humbert and Lo keep a well-thumbed copy of this guidebook in their glove box?

<-- front cover

Ebensten, Hanns:
PIERCED HEARTS AND TRUE LOVE: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN TATTOOING
Derek Verschoyle Ltd., London, 1953.

"The young man's first experience at the tattooist and with the sexual act resemble each other closely."

<-- "Sailor, pimp and thief"

Morgan, Terry:
"LORD OF THE FLIES": A CARD GAME
Graham Brash Ltd., Singapore, 1988.

An engaging pastime, certain to keep kids out of trouble. Contains forty laminated game cards, bound in pamphlet form.

<-- front cover

Yarsley, V.E., and E.G. Couzens:
PLASTICS
Allen Lane/Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1941.

"During the past few years we have seen many of the common objects used in daily life take on a new and more pleasing form..." With striking photos in sepia gravure.

<-- front cover

Barnett, S.A.:
THE RAT: A STUDY IN BEHAVIOUR
Aldine Publishing Co., Chicago, 1963.

Includes photos of caged rats (both male and female) attempting homosexual rape on their cellmates.

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE AMERICAN STANDARD OF PERFECTION
American Poultry Association, Davenport, IA, 1938.

"...not alone the most beautiful and symmetrical but also the most useful and productive."

<-- pp. 36-37

n/a:
AVON COSMETICS AND TOILETRIES
Avon Products of Canada, Montreal, [ca. 1952].

Ring-bound sample catalogue for "Avon ladies," illustrated with creamy photos of soaps and lotions, and still haunted by a scent of grandmotherly perfume.

<-- title page

Kelly, G. Lombard, et al.:
FEMALE MASTURBATION
Banner Books, Inglewood, CA, 1966.

Eight authoritative-sounding essays on various aspects of this popular diversion, including "Artificial Erotism," "Masturbation in Girls," "Curing Masturbation with Hypnosis," etc.

<-- front cover

Yorke, F.R.S., and Frederick Gibberd:
MODERN FLATS
The Architectural Press, London, 1958.

A rigidly geometric paradise, made possible by the wonders of reinforced concrete.

<-- pp. 138-139

Seashore, Carl Emil:
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSICAL TALENT
Silver, Burdett and Co., Boston, 1919.

"The scientific study of the artistic mind is a somewhat baffling undertaking."

<-- frontis and title page

Lloyd, Robin:
FOR MONEY OR LOVE: BOY PROSTITUTION IN AMERICA
Vanguard Press, New York, 1976.

When you read it on the subway, strangers glare at you suspiciously.

<-- front cover

Talmage, T. De Witt:
EVILS OF THE CITIES: A SERIES OF PRACTICAL AND POPULAR DISCOURSES [etc.]
Thos. W. Jackson Publishing, [Chicago], 1891.

Includes diatribes on "The Plague of Infidelity," "The Haunts of Vice," "The Sins of Summer Watering Places," etc.

<-- pp. 272-273: "Why I explored the slime pits"

n/a:
VOGUE PRESENTS THE CORRECTLY SET TABLE
Wm. A. Rogers, Ltd., Niagara Falls, NY, 1922.

Which side does the spork go on?

<-- front cover

Iannini, Robert E.:
BUILD YOUR OWN LASER, PHASER, ION RAY GUN & OTHER WORKING SPACE-AGE PROJECTS
TAB Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 1983.

Dangerous when cornered: hobbyists armed with phaser shock-wave pistols, pocket pain field generators, electronic paralyzing devices...

<-- front cover

Armen, Jean-Claude:
GAZELLE-BOY
The Bodley Head, London, 1975.

The not-entirely-convincing story of a feral child raised by gazelles in the Sahara desert, written and sketched by the Basque poet who "discovered" him.

<-- front cover

Kielty, Bernadine:
THE SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK
Little Leather Library Corp., New York, 1923.

(Little, yes; leather, no.) Bound in modest oilcloth, this diminutive guide to the neighborhoods of lower Manhattan would fit in a leprechaun's vest pocket.

<-- front cover, with pencil for scale

Hadfield, E.C.R. (ed.); Erna Pinner (illus.):
A BOOK OF ANIMAL VERSE
Oxford University Press, London, 1943.

"The friendly cow all red and white, I love with all my heart: She gives me cream with all her might, to eat with apple-tart."

<-- front cover