Phillips, H.I. ("Hi"):
THE FOOLISH QUESTION BOOK
Edward J. Clode Inc., New York, 1927.

"Q: Where is rubber found? A: In chicken pies... Q: Where are bisons found? A: On the backs of nickels... Q: Where is Madagascar? A: Heavens! Have they misplaced that again?"

<-- front cover

Dubas, Frederic, and Jacques Vallotton (eds.):
COLOUR ATLAS OF MOUNTAIN MEDICINE
Mosby Year Book, St. Louis, 1991.

Acute frostbite, high-altitude neurological disturbances, compound skiing fractures, mountaineering head trauma, etc.; with alarmingly grisly photos throughout.

<-- front cover

Schoenleber, F.S., and R.R. Dykstra:
CASTRATION OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS
Orange Judd Co., New York, 1919.

There's more than one way to emasculate a cat: this instructive manual describes scraping, crushing, twisting, ligating, and tearing away.

<-- front cover

Sayer, Edgar Sheappard:
PIDGIN ENGLISH
Self-published mimeograph, Toronto, 1939.

A uniquely eccentric study of ethno-linguistics; also an inadvertent lesson on proper English, as written by a sneering racist during the late colonial period.

<-- front cover

[flip book]:
ACTION MINI-MOVIES
[no bibliographic data given; ca. 1940s].

Jaded 21st century pornaholics may scoff, but we believe this tiny, furtive photo-sequence of a woman in a bubble-bath still retains a saucy charm.

<-- front cover, with pencil for scale

Kivengere, Festo:
I LOVE IDI AMIN
Fleming H. Revell Co., Old Tappan, NJ, 1977.

With the patience of Job, this Ugandan bishop maintained his Christian optimism while his colleagues were being tortured and murdered.

<-- front cover

MacFarlane, C.:
THE LIVES AND EXPLOITS OF BANDITTI AND ROBBERS IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD
T. Tegg, London, 1839.

"It may be said that no species of narrative, except, perhaps, that of shipwrecks, produces a deeper impression on people of all ages and conditions."

<-- front cover

[mail-order catalog]:
NATIONAL MAGIC COMPANY CATALOG NUMBER 3
Chicago, 1940.

Hundreds of illustrated ads for stage tricks like the Immortal Cigarette; Aladdin's Tea Kettle; the Mystic Tube; Cabbage from a Hat; etc. With order blank laid in.

<-- front cover

[four volumes in leather travel wallet]:
MIDGET DICTIONARIES: ENGLISH (to/from) FRENCH; ITALIAN; GERMAN; SPANISH
Burgess & Bowes Ltd., London, [ca. 1960].

Surprisingly comprehensive, considering that the books are the size of matchboxes.

<-- interior of wallet

Alison, Crichton (ed.):
MEN IN WOMEN'S CLOTHES
Medical Publishing Co., New York, [ca. 1950].

Impostors in Petticoats; The Lure of Dainty Things; Men with Feminine Bodies; A Transvestite Confesses; and more.

<-- front cover

Huddleston, Sisley:
PARIS SALONS, CAFES, STUDIOS
J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1928.

For romance, nothing surpasses bohemian Paris in the early 20th century -- even when it's remembered by a pompous, name-dropping poseur.

<-- front cover

Nagahara, Yoshiaki:
STATEGIC CONCEPTS OF GO
Ishi Press, Tokyo, 1972.

With whole chapters devoted to obscure Japanese game strategies like miai ("seeing together"), korigatachi ("frozen shape"), aji ("taste"), etc.

<-- "Problems," pp. 60-61

Wood, Alice L.:
THE JINGLE BOOK FOR SPEECH CORRECTION
E.P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1934.

Over 100 tongue-twisting alliterative rhymes, chosen to charm and challenge children who have difficulty pronouncing consonant sounds.

<-- front cover

Salisbury, Frank B.:
THE BIOLOGY OF FLOWERING
Natural History Press, Garden City, NY, 1971.

A study of Mother Nature at her most lascivious.

<-- front cover

Greey, Edward:
THE BEAR-WORSHIPPERS OF YEZO [etc.]
Lee and Shepard, Boston, 1884.

Disguised as the frivolous tale of an American family traveling in Japan's northern islands, this is in fact a serious and detailed study of the "hairy" Ainu people indigenous to the region.

<-- front cover

[Bosch, Vernon]:
SEXUAL DIMENSIONS: THE FACT AND FICTION OF GENITAL SIZE
[Ax Produxions, Dayton, OH, 1970].

A work of enormous interest, even if this particular copy -- lacking the first four pages -- comes up short. Includes well-developed scholarly apparatus.

<-- front cover

Alter, Dinsmore:
PICTORIAL GUIDE TO THE MOON
Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York, 1963.

"Within a few years men will land on the moon and find out what it is really like."

<-- front cover

Cantor, Eddie:
CAUGHT SHORT! A SAGA OF WAILING WALL STREET
Musson Book Co., Toronto, 1929.

The "we laugh that we do not cry" school of publishing: Cantor, a comedian who lost a fortune in the Crash of '29, issued this humor title just six weeks later.

<-- front cover

[trivia card game]:
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CANADA?
T. Eaton Co., [Toronto, ca. 1930].

Boxed set of 144 cards, each bearing a nearly-unanswerable question about the history, geography, or culture of North America's most self-effacing nation.

<-- box front, with three cards

Talbott, John H.:
GOUT
Grune & Stratton, New York, 1964.

"Endowed with a bountiful and noble heritage, gout has afflicted many eminent persons throughout history."

<-- front cover

[reader's accessory]
CARDINAL BOOK-PROP
Chas. Fischer Spring Co., Brooklyn, [ca. 1930s].

Not a book, but a metal book stand, designed to clamp onto a user's leg for hands-free reading while lounging in an easy chair; in original box.

<-- box front, with book stand peeking out

Mills, Brenda:
MADE IN SUEDE: THE ART OF TAILORING IN SOFT LEATHER
G. Bell and Sons, London, 1973.

No need to choose between the floor-length leather evening gown and the lace-up suede hotpants -- this book promises both.

<-- front cover

Westfall, Minter J., and Michael L. May:
DAMSELFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA
Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, FL, 1996.

Why theorize about angels dancing on the heads of pins, when you can examine and compare the genital anatomy of dainty aquatic insects for 600 pages?

<-- front cover

Atwater, Constance:
TAP DANCING TECHNIQUES, ROUTINES, TERMINOLOGY
Charles E. Tuttle Co., Rutland, VT, 1973.

Includes two dozen photos of cheerful children performing Scoot Backs, Toe Points, Doll Hops, Coffee Grinders, etc.

<-- front cover

Parsons, Lydia Mary:
MRS. PARSONS' MANUAL FOR WOMEN'S MEETINGS
Macmillan Company of Canada, Toronto, 1918.

Rules of parliamentary procedure for suffragettes; with a glossary of sophisticated-sounding phrases in Latin and French.

<-- front cover

Florman, Monte:
TESTING: BEHIND THE SCENES AT CONSUMER REPORTS 1936-1986
Consumers Union, Mt. Vernon, NY, 1986.

Enthralling documentation of mid-century consumer tests conducted on lipsticks, lawn sprinklers, ballpoint pens, instant coffees, linoleum tiles, frozen fish fillets...

<-- front cover

Cobb, Ivo Geikie:
THE GLANDS OF DESTINY
Wm. Heinemann (Medical Books), London, 1936.

The mysterious thyroid, the commanding pituitary, the urgent adrenals, the cherished gonads: apparently their secretions have determined the course of human history.

<-- front cover

Armstrong, Charles:
CUSACK'S MODEL DRAWING
City of London Book Depôt, [1893].

"Examples of faulty drawings are given, but lest beginners in casually glancing through the diagrams should mistake them, they are carefully branded WRONG."

<-- "What to Avoid in Drawing the Square Plinth"

Kneass, Jack:
HOW TO BUY RECREATIONAL VEHICLES
Trail-R-Club of America, Beverly Hills, 1969.

The author's previous work -- a series on California's taxation of trailers and mobile homes -- was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

<-- front cover

[yearbook]:
RUBICON '69
St. Michael's School of Nursing, Toronto, [1969].

Like flocks of angels: one hundred oval portraits of student nurses, floating in formations of perfect symmetry.

<-- "Graduates"

Yankowski, John S., and Hermann K. Wolff:
THE TORTURED SEX
Holloway House Publishing, Los Angeles, 1965.

"The man who engages in homosexual acts may be a mental, moral, and/or psychological cripple..."

<-- front cover

n/a:
SOLVENTS AND PLASTICISERS FOR THE LACQUER, ARTIFICIAL LEATHER AND RELATED INDUSTRIES
J.M. Steel & Co. Ltd., London, [ca. 1938].

Concludes with a very seductive suite of industrial photos, entitled "Apparatus Used in Testing, Making and Using Lacquers."

<-- "Can-Stirring Apparatus"

Baker, G. Cornelius:
INDOOR GAMES AND SOCIALS FOR BOYS
Association Press, New York, 1923.

Wholesome activities for Christian youth: Rooster Fight, Potato Joust, Hottentot Tackle, Skin the Snake...

<-- front cover

n/a:
CATALOGUE OFFICIEL DES PIECES DE RHABILLAGE POUR MONTRES SUISSES [Official Catalogue of Swiss Watch Repair Parts]
Les Fabricants Suisses d'Horlogerie, Bienne, 1955.

When a bookseller turns 45, he owes himself a gift that celebrates the transient beauty of time.

<-- section divider, "Chronographes et Compteurs"

Bagneris, G.:
ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTURE
William Rider & Son, London, 1882.

"... the whole body of observed facts which relate to forest vegetation, arranged and combined into a system in so far as they apply to the treatment of forests."

<-- front cover

Blake, Dick:
DISCOTHEQUE DANCES
World Publishing Co., Cleveland, 1965.

Illustrated instructions for steps like the Hitch-Hiker, the Mashed Potatoes, and the Camel Walk; plus photos of Phyllis Diller doing the Temper Tantrum.

<-- front cover

Cheskin, Louis:
COLORS: WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR YOU
Liveright Publishing, New York, 1948.

"Because of ignorance of the nature of color, we have much avoidable discomfort in the home, unnecessary irritability, emotional instability, considerable loss in industrial production..."

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE BEAVER AND THE MUSKRAT
Ginn and Company, Toronto, [ca. 1940s]

In this school reader, the exploitation of natural resources is a noble pursuit, engaged in by noble Indians, noble fur traders... and even noble rodents.

<-- front cover

Reich, Edward, and Carlton John Siegler:
CONSUMER GOODS: HOW TO KNOW AND USE THEM
American Book Company, New York, 1937.

In late-stage capitalism, the highly informed shopper is a moral equal to the scholar or the priest.

<-- frontispiece

n/a:
WELCOME ABOARD AMERICAN ASTROJET
American Airlines, [n.p.], 1961.

This in-flight brochure for the jet set addresses pressing concerns ranging from the efficiency of fan-jet engines to the physical dimensions of stewardesses.

<-- front cover

Allen, Ellen Gordon:
JAPANESE FLOWER ARRANGEMENT IN A NUTSHELL
Charles E. Tuttle, Rutland, VT, 1961.

Don't let yourself be duped like we were -- you're actually supposed to arrange the flowers in a vase or bowl.

<-- front cover

Storm, Wayne:
INTERNATIONAL MONEY POWER BEHIND WORLD REVOLUTION
Storm Publishing, Shreveport, LA, 1966.

Why are the illustrations in anti-Semitic conspiracy literature always rendered so ineptly? Does pathological paranoia interfere with a person's ability to draw?

<-- front cover

Chevalier, Denys:
CAR STRIPTIZA
Slavko Krušnik, Ljubljana, 1971.

Titillating, pretentious, opaque: the Slovenian edition of a French photo-illustrated study of strippers (original title: "Métaphysique du Strip-Tease").

<-- frontis & title page

Smith, James Reuel:
SPRINGS AND WELLS OF MANHATTAN AND THE BRONX [etc.]
New-York Historical Socity, 1938.

Another laudable obsession: from 1898 to 1901, the author bicycled all over New York City to measure and photograph its surviving mineral springs and wells.

<-- plates 2A & 2B [Upper West Side]

Hartmann, Newton H. (phot.):
QUEER BIRDS
Edward Stern & Co., Philadelphia, 1934.

"Not all of Mother Nature's children are graceful and good-looking, as most of these photographs prove."

<-- front cover

Brown, Adolph M.:
MODERN PLASTIC SURGICAL PROSTHETICS
Grune & Stratton, New York, 1947.

The dreadful intersection of pathos and revulsion, thoroughly illustrated.

<-- Figure 24, "Prosthesis Being Applied"

Supf, Peter:
DER LUFTKRIEG IN POLEN ["The Air War in Poland"]
Junker und Dünnhaupt, Berlin, 1941.

Over 180 photos of heroic Nazi airmen defending the fatherland in 1939 by bombing the crap out of those menacing, militaristic Poles. Text in German.

<-- frontis and title page

Grumme, Grete:
DANISH FOOD
Chr. Erichsen's Forlag, Copenhagen, 1964.

Creamed liverpaste, pale meat jelly, spiced lard... and that's just the chapter on "Dishes for a Danish Cold Table."

<-- front cover

Zimmerschied, Gerd:
NATURAL STONE AS AN ELEMENT IN DESIGN
Standard Catalogue Co., London, 1961.

The hypnotic geometry of stonemasonry, as revealed in some 400 closeup photos of walls, chimneys, garden paths, etc., from around the world.

<-- front cover

Tapson, Frank:
TAKE TWO!
Pantheon Books, [New York], 1977.

Parlor fun on the cheap: 32 different game boards in a single spiral-bound album. (You supply the buttons or coins for counters.)

<-- front cover