Beirne, Bryan P. (comp.):
COLLECTING, PREPARING AND PRESERVING INSECTS
Entomology Division, Canada Dept. of Agriculture, [Ottawa], 1955.

A steady hand and an utter lack of sentiment are required when mounting dead insects on pins.

<-- front cover

Morand, Paul; Aaron Douglas (illus.):
BLACK MAGIC
Viking Press, New York, 1929.

Original wigga: an early-20th century French author, smitten by the exotic rhythms of African culture, goes native in Louisiana, the Caribbean, and the Dark Continent itself.

<-- pp. 2-3

National Hot Rod Association:
DRAG RULES 1972
National Hot Rod Association, North Hollywood, CA, [1972].

"Driver's seat must be located within the confines of the car's passenger area; not in engine compartment or trunk."

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Firpo, Patrick, et al.:
COPYART: THE FIRST COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE COPY MACHINE
Richard Marek Publishers, New York, 1978.

The future of visual culture, invented one dime at a time: "The machine's accidents merge with the artist's control to create un-predetermined art."

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Lvov-Anokhin, B.:
GALINA ULANOVA
Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1956.

In dozens of gravure photos, a melancholy Russian danseuse explores the emotional territory beyond melodrama; text in English.

<-- front cover

Landau, Elaine:
RABIES
Lodestar Books, New York, 1993.

A colorful subject made accessible for young readers, by the author of several other introductory-level works ("Lyme Disease," "Chemical and Biological Warfare," etc.).

<-- front cover

Walker, Alexander, and Henry Howard (illus.):
BEAUTY; ILLUSTRATED CHIEFLY BY AN ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF BEAUTY IN WOMAN
Effingham Wilson, London, 1836.

A philosophy supported by 22 wistful engravings of female nudes: "Any sudden projection, any sharp angle, is in the highest degree contrary to the idea of beauty."

<-- frontis and title page

Childs, Leslie:
LAW FOR THE DENTIST
Dental Cosmos, Philadelphia, 1934.

Does the act of snapping off a hypodermic needle in a patient's jaw qualify as negligence?

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n/a:
RENT COLLECTION COURTYARD -- SCULPTURES OF OPPRESSION AND REVOLT
Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1968.

The depravities of capitalism, depicted as a lifesized socialist-realist diorama: "A mother is torn away from her baby so that Liu can indulge his special delight -- fresh human milk."

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Dibner, Bern:
MOVING THE OBELISKS
M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, 1970.

World's most gruesome hernia? Try hauling a 360-ton monolith of solid granite from Heliopolis to Rome, using nothing but muscle power...

<-- front cover

Marshall, Tim:
STORM CHASE MANUAL
Self-published, n.p., 1998.

Every nerdy meteorologist with a death wish keeps a copy in his glove compartment.

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Arnold, Levi M.; Anna A. MacDonald (ed.):
HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS, INCLUDING THE HISTORY OF MAN, FROM HIS CREATION TO HIS FINALITY, BUT NOT TO HIS END
Reprint; Sananda & Sanat Kumara, Mt. Shasta, CA, [ca. 1970].

An ambitious but unconvincing text, purportedly acquired via divine revelation in 1851 by a foundry owner in Poughkeepsie, NY.

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n/a:
THE WELLCOME MUSEUM OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
Wellcome Foundation Ltd., London, [ca. 1950s].

Doesn't every clinically-minded museum geek aspire to "conformity without tedium, exactitude without restraint and tidiness without rigidity" -- ?

<-- pp. 14-15

Lartigue, Jacques-Henri:
LES FEMMES AUX CIGARETTES
Viking Press, New York, 1980.

For students of world-weary sensuality: 96 photos of Parisian cabaret performers from the 1920s, all of them sporting cigarettes.

<-- pp. 6-7

n/a:
"TELL ME ANOTHER"
J.B. White Ltd., Fife, [ca. 1930s].

A collection of cheeseball jokes about Scottish parsimony, accompanied by colour illustrations at once creepy and endearing.

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Penn, Herman J.:
ENCYCLOPEDIC GUIDE TO PLANNING AND ESTABLISHING AN AUDITORIUM, ARENA, COLISEUM OR MULTI-PURPOSE BUILDING
Penn-Fleming Publications, Greenville, SC, 1963.

Sometimes it pays to dream big.

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Dr. Willy, et al.:
THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SEX
Reprint edition. Cadillac Publishing Co., New York, 1965.

Though intended for a general audience, this manual won't necessarily soothe the anxieties of the bashful.

<-- plates 10-11

Daniell, David Scott, & Jack Matthew [illus.]:
FLIGHT TWO: CANADA
Wills & Hepworth Ltd., Loughborough, UK, 1959.

Wholesome propaganda for kids of the Commonwealth, as cloying as a shotglass of pure maple syrup.

<-- pp. 14-15

Rorer, S.T.:
ICE CREAMS, WATER ICES, FROZEN PUDDINGS; TOGETHER WITH REFRESHMENTS FOR ALL SOCIAL AFFAIRS
Arnold & Company, Phildadelphia, 1913.

Not recommended for readers vulnerable to attacks of nostalgia on sultry summer evenings.

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Draper, James, and James Brooks:
INTERIOR DESIGN FOR LIBRARIES
American Library Association, Chicago, 1979.

With chapter titles well-suited for some of the world's most erotic public spaces: "Getting a Bird's Eye View," "Up Against the Wall," "Coming Out of the Closet," etc.

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