[British Medical Association's Board of Science and Education]
THE MEDICAL EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WAR
John Wiley & Sons, Chichester (UK), 1983.

If you want to hear a dire prognosis, ask a panel of doctors about the prospects of providing medical care for tens of millions of burned and irradiated victims in the aftermath of a large-scale nuclear attack.

<-- front cover

Crocker, Denton W., and David W. Barr:
HANDBOOK OF THE CRAYFISHES OF ONTARIO
University of Toronto Press, 1968.

"In crayfishes, there are 18 true segments plus a presegmental portion at the anterior end and a postsegmental portion at the posterior end."

<-- front cover

n/a:
MANUAL ON UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES FOR STREETS AND HIGHWAYS.
U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, 1971.

Official graphic standards for signage in the automotive landscape: a potent fetish object for Ballardite design junkies. With colour illustrations throughout.

<-- front cover

Peterson, Wm. O. (ed.):
MASONIC QUIZ BOOK: "ASK ME ANOTHER, BROTHER"
Charles T. Powner Co., Chicago, 1960.

"What is a Broached Thurnel?" "Who is the Principal Sojourner?" "What is the length of your 'Cable Tow'?" "What is the source of the term 'Riding the goat?'" ...etc.

<-- front cover

Douglas, Helen (comp.):
THE SILVER CROSS, A COLLECTION OF POEMS AND HYMNS FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING
George Bell & Sons, London, 1908.

Uniquely depressing verse on Christian resignation in extremis: titles include "Pain," "Weariness," "Enough," "Wishes about Death," etc.

<-- front cover

Austin, Alma H.:
THE ROMANCE OF CANDY
Harper & Brothers, New York, 1938.

From tropical raw materials to Main St. merchandising, a forgivably tolerant overview of the industry responsible for creating the world's easiest-to-like substances. With over 50 photos.

<-- photos 28 to 33 ("Making Peanut Crisp," etc.)

Clark, George H., and James Fletcher:
FARM WEEDS OF CANADA
Dominion of Canada Dept. of Agriculture, Ottawa, 1923.

It's sweet, and somehow chivalrous, that a couple of agricultural bureaucrats would produce such a lovely book about plants they despise so adamantly. With 76 very pretty colour plates.

<-- page 120 & plate 44: Field Bindweed

Fogarty, Ann:
WIFE-DRESSING
Julian Messner, Inc., New York, 1959.

Costume advice for married narcissists with big closets: for a 10-day Florida vacation, the author (herself a fashion designer) recommends packing 18 dresses and 20 pairs of shoes.

<-- front cover

Dutton, June and Edith Vanocur:
THE BOOZE BOOK.
Determined Productions, San Francisco, 1967.

It was the Summer of Love for middle-class alcoholics, too. Here are recipes for mai tais, daiquiris, sangria, etc., illustrated with cheerful caricatures in supersaturated pop colors.

<-- front cover

Johnson, Margaret Fullerton, and Dorothy E. Cook:
MANUAL OF CATALOGING AND CLASSIFICATION FOR SMALL SCHOOL AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES
H.W. Wilson Co., New York, 1950.

Highly concentrated bibliographic pathos: a guide to card catalogue management, discarded by a school library without a single checkout recorded on its "Date Due" card.

<-- front cover

"Zeta" [Zachary Cope]:
THE DIAGNOSIS OF THE ACUTE ABDOMEN IN RHYME
H.K. Lewis & Co., London, 1949.

Rarely is the dissonance between form and function so jarring, even scandalous, as in this collection of perky doggerel describing life-threatening abdominal afflictions.

<-- front cover

Herdeg, Walter:
SCHWEIZER SIGNETE / TRADE MARKS AND SYMBOLS
Graphis Press, Zurich, 1948.

A work of such haughty elegance that no one would dare call it vanity publishing -- even though a single highly-motivated Swiss designer was its publisher, editor, and primary contributor. Text in German and English.

<-- pp. 64-65

Sullivan, Jim, and Lori Calicott:
BREAK DANCING: STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Publications International, Skokie, IL, 1984.

Be sure to read the fine print: "The moves in this book have been explained and demonstrated by experienced dancers. Breaking moves should not be attempted without the assistance of an instructor."

<-- front cover

Ketley, A.J.:
TEXTBOOK OF IRONMONGERY AND HARDWARE
National Institute of Hardware, Birmingham, [1949].

A guide so comprehensive that an enterprising archaeologist could reconstruct the entire metal-based material culture of the 20th century from the contents of this one book.

<-- front cover

Dahinden, Justus; Gerald Onn (trans.):
URBAN STRUCTURES FOR THE FUTURE.
Praeger Publishers, New York, 1972.

The architectural utopia of tomorrowland, vividly imagined but in most cases never built: domed habitats; plug-in cities; modular polyester pods; pneumatic clusters; artificial floating islands; etc. Thoroughly illustrated.

<-- front cover

Farnham, Albert B.:
HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS AND SKINS
A.R. Harding, Columbus, OH, 1944.

All the ghoulish aspects of tanning and dressing animal hides, plus helpful advice on marketing the finished product.

<-- front cover

MacBeth, George:
PENGUIN BOOK OF SICK VERSE
Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1963.

Morbid obsessions, visions of despair, extravagant emotion, perverted action, sick jokes, and nightmares: an editorial conceit so compelling that the uneven quality of the anthologized poetry hardly matters.

<-- front cover

Hamilton, Alice:
MANITOBAN STAINED GLASS
University of Winnipeg Press, 1970.

The pious light of the northern prairies, filtering into a church or synagogue through multicoloured windows... it makes you feel kinda wistful, doesn't it?

<-- p. 209, "Boy Scout"

Richardson, W.T.:
HISTORIC PULASKI, BIRTHPLACE OF THE KU KLUX KLAN [etc.]
[Self-published, Lynnville, TN], 1913.

Uncommonly sinister: an unapologetic history of the Klan, published by its founding members in one of the most fanatical corners of the former Confederacy. Includes facsimile of the Klan's "cipher code," used for conspiratorial correspondence.

<-- copyright page & frontis photo

Heline, Corinne:
ESOTERIC MUSIC BASED ON THE MUSICAL SEERSHIP OF RICHARD WAGNER
New Age Press, Los Angeles, 1953.

Oh, that explains it. "Wagner was an emissary sent to earth from the great inner-plane Temple of Music. In that exalted center of learning, musical Initiates acquire sensitivity to hear the music of the spheres."

<-- front cover

n/a:
LEVI'S DENIM ART CONTEST: CATALOGUE OF WINNERS
Baron Wolman/Squarebooks, Mill Valley, CA, 1974.

Eye-popping '70s freak culture on parade: 50 prize-winning examples of embellished-denim folk fashion (appliqué, embroidery, patchwork, rivets, etc.), in many cases modeled by the contestants themselves.

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE WORK
Lautir Press, Toronto, [ca. 1954].

A vest-pocket guide to Masonic rituals, with the directions cryptically abbreviated to perplex outsiders: "S.D. steps up and gives S.W. (in a whisper) the P.W. of a F.C. with the P.G."

<-- pp. 130-131

Homsy, Martha, and Doris Keppeler:
THE HULA: THE DANCE AND ITS MEANING
Tongg Publishing, Honolulu, 1950.

As gently erotic as a balmy, hibiscus-scented breeze rustling a grass skirt. Illustrated with many sequential photos of dancers in action -- enchanting of course.

<-- front cover

Davies, D.P.:
HANDLING THE BIG JETS
Air Registration Board, Redhill, Surrey, 1968.

"The demand of jet transport flying can best be met by enthusiasm." Illustrated with 80 dynamic colour graphs and a dozen photographic plates.

<-- front cover

Haikonen, Atte (ed.):
MUNICIPAL COATS OF ARMS OF FINLAND
Suomen Kunnallisliitto, Helsinki, [1976].

An obsessive, even pathological, collection of heraldic escutcheons, representing 570 towns and provinces in one of the world's most thinly populated countries. Text in Finnish, Swedish, and English.

<-- pp. 86-87 [Parikkala to Pihlajavesi]

Wall, Florence E.:
CANITICS: THE TREATMENT OF CANITIES REDUCED TO A SCIENCE, ELEVATED TO AN ART
Beautician Publications Inc., New York, 1926.

Like a bad dye job, this beauty-parlor manual hides behind ominous scientific-sounding language to describe the latest techniques for tinting gray hair.

<-- front cover

Bailey, Wellesley C.:
THE LEPERS OF OUR INDIAN EMPIRE: A VISIT TO THEM IN 1890-91.
Darien Press, Edinburgh, 1899.

The white man's burden, dutifully shouldered by missionaries at leper colonies throughout the subcontinent; with descriptions of morbidly disfigured natives pleading for divine mercy.

<-- front cover

Traylor, Joseph G.:
PHYSICS OF STEREO/QUAD SOUND
Iowa State University, Ames, 1977.

For the insatiable geek audiophile who demands the deepest possible involvement with this subject, each chapter concludes with a set of questions and exercises.

<-- front cover

Gold, Frances Joslin:
THE INSTANT DECORATOR
Clarkson N. Potter, New York, 1976

A spiral-bound tool for decorators: large-scale line drawings of 16 typical room layouts, with transparency overlays for testing combinations of fabrics, wallpapers, or colour swatches.

<-- front cover (detail)

Romans, John R. and P. Thomas Ziegler:
THE MEAT WE EAT
Interstate Printers & Publishers, Danville, IL, 1977.

Covers every aspect of the meat economy, from pasture to plate: slaughtering practices; packing-house by-products; inspection and grading; preservation and storage; merchandising; organizations that promote meat; etc.

<-- front cover

Sholl, Clarence Vreeland:
SHOLL'S HUMANITOME
Verbis Publishing Co., Flushing, NY, 1946

An anthropocentric thesaurus, methodically listing 60,000 English words to describe human physical attributes, mental states, and activities. (Every other class of word is omitted.)

<-- front cover

Costa, E. and S. Garattini, eds.:
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON AMPHETAMINES AND RELATED COMPOUNDS
Raven Press, New York, 1970.

Over 900 pages of useful clinical data. "In rats, amphetamine can elicit an abnormal stereotyped behavior consisting of continuous sniffing, licking or biting... in humans, meaningless, perserverative mechanical work on cars, radios, etc. was also observed."

<-- front cover

Brebion, H.:
THE LEGEND OF THE CARVED ROCKS OF ROTHENEUF
Combier, Mâcon, 1955.

A confusing guidebook to an irrational monument: 300 sculptures depicting a long-dead clan of pirates, carved into the rocky Breton shoreline by a hermit. Text in imperfect English; with 16 heliogravure photos.

<-- pp. 16-17

Kaspar, Karl:
VACATION HOUSES: AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY
Frederick A. Praeger, New York, 1967.

Where austere modernists go to unwind: a low wooden lake cottage in Finland; a geometric split-level on an Italian hillside; even a cryptic prefab "plastic egg" from Japan. With hundreds of photos; text in German and English.

<-- front cover

Moore, Harry H.:
KEEPING IN CONDITION: A HANDBOOK ON TRAINING FOR OLDER BOYS
Macmillan Co., New York, 1919.

"A boy cannot continue to look upon immorally suggestive pictures, hear so-called 'smutty stories,' or indulge in sexual thoughts without a harmful physical reaction."

<-- frontis and title page

[Herford, Beatrice]:
BEATRICE HERFORD'S MONOLOGUES
Samuel French, New York, 1947.

Eighteen theatrical routines on mundane subjects (Choosing the Wall Papers; Man with a Cold; At the Optician's; etc.). An uncomfortable marriage of light chatter and existential hell.

<-- front cover

[Lovesick Lake Native Women's Association]:
THE RURAL AND NATIVE HERITAGE COOKBOOK
Burleigh Falls, ON, 1985.

Pan Fried Bear Steak; Raccoon Delight; Beaver Tails in Sauce; Muskrat Hash; Buffaloaf; etc.

<-- front cover

n/a:
SARAH BELL AND FANNY BLAKE
Religious Tract Society, London, [ca. 1839].

A gloomy abecedary in verse, each letter representing a lesson for Christian living, or cautioning against a dire sin. Diminutive vest-pocket format; illustrated with engravings.

<-- pp. 14-15 (D for Death; E for Eternity)

Aro, Pirkko:
ARABIA DESIGN.
Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, Helsinki, 1958.

Soulful artists who manufacture sensible housewares: here are brief professional bios of 26 designers at the Arabia factory in Finland, accompanied by highlights of individual craft specialties and disarmingly earnest photo portraits. Text in English.

<-- front cover

Carson, Byrta:
HOW YOU LOOK AND DRESS
McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1959.

"Mastery of wardrobe planning and clothing construction gives a young girl a feeling of security and poise which not only assists her economically but socially and psychologically as well."

<-- front cover

White, Edward T.:
A GRAPHIC VOCABULARY FOR ARCHITECTURAL PRESENTATION
Architectural Media, Tucson, 1972.

Over 800 line drawings (people, furniture, shrubbery, wall textures, etc.) to jazz up your architectural sketches... or to populate the glass penthouse of your imagination.

<-- p. 32, Human Figures

n/a:
CHINESE FOLK PAPER CUTS
No place, no date. [Taiwan? ca. 1970s?]

Not a book, but a folder containing nine ethereal images: theatrical figures and masks, cut from impossibly delicate sheets of tissue paper.

<-- cover of binder, with two cuts

Metcalf, Keyes D.:
PLANNING ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH LIBRARY BUILDINGS
McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1965.

Viewed from the digital age, no other subject looks so hopelessly obsolete. (Special ironic bonus: this copy was discarded by the library of an Ivy League university.)

<-- front cover

Merkulov, A.:
AUTOMATION SERVES MAN
Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, [ca. 1960].

"One cannot help being enthusiastic about the wholly automated shop for the mass production of antifriction bearings at the First State Bearings Plant in Moscow."

<-- front cover

Paulsen, Chas.:
BASEBALL CURVES.
Warp Publishing Co., Minden, NE, 1936.

The science and technique of tricky pitching, "written for the experimenter, student and theorist as well as for the Amateur and Professional baseball player." With many photos and graphs.

<-- front cover

Ashley, Roberta:
SINGERS AND SWINGERS IN THE KITCHEN
Parallax Publishing, New York, 1967.

Unchallenging recipes gathered from pop stars: the Mamas and the Papas' "Chili Esperanza"; Simon and Garfunkel's potato pancakes; Paul Anka's "Party Spaghetti"; etc.

<-- front cover

Farnham, Albert B.:
HOME TAXIDERMY FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT
A.R. Harding, Columbus, OH, 1916.

"Monkeys, bear cubs and alligators mounted erect with card trays are quite striking; equally so are foxes or raccoons peering over the edge of umbrella jars or waste baskets."

<-- front cover

n/a:
THE ENGLISH DUDEN: A PICTORIAL DICTIONARY
Librairie Marcel Didier, Paris, 1960.

Learn English by pointing! Here 25,000 nouns, obsessively grouped by genus, are visually represented as line-art details in hundreds of "real world" scenarios.

<-- pp. 454-455 (The Town, II)

Stokhuyzen, Frederick:
THE DUTCH WINDMILL
Universe Books, New York, [ca. 1965].

The history, functional typology, mechanical design, and folk symbolism of Dutch windmills; with a 6-page technical glossary for more serious students of the subject.

<-- front cover

von Hagen, Conny:
ALCOA'S BOOK OF DECORATIONS
Golden Press, New York, 1959.

A creative way to increase your aluminum foil consumption: fold, crumple, and sculpt it into animal puppets, Halloween masks, Christmas angels, bridal centerpieces...

<-- front cover