Hoffmann, Heinrich (ed.):
KUNST DEM VOLK [August 1939 issue]
Verglag Heinrich Hoffmann, Wien, 1939.

The photos in this incongruous Nazi art magazine show Hitler attending the annual "Great German Art Exhibition" in Munich; the art itself is a blend of peasant romanticism and gay kitsch. (Text in German.)

<-- front cover

d'Ombrain, A.W.; Tydfyl Evans (illus.):
A GALLERY OF GUM TREES
Australasian Medical Publishing Co., Glebe, 1944.

Evocative portraits and descriptions of 21 aromatic eucalypts, along with a short chapter on the leaf-eating habits of the melancholy koala.

<-- front cover

Duda, Margaret B.:
MINIATURE SHOPS: HOW TO DESIGN AND MAKE THEM
A.S. Barnes & Co., Cranbury, NJ, 1977.

Nowhere on this doll-sized Main Street -- with its old-fashioned general store, toy shop, confectionery, etc. -- is a single bookshop to be found.

<-- front cover

n/a:
TAVOLE IMBANDITE
SugarCo Edizioni, Milano, 1981.

Nineteenth-century culinary artistry revealed via fanciful engravings: ornate, architectural, often preposterous. (Text in Italian.)

<-- p. 14

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."

<-- front cover

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.

<-- front cover

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.

<-- frontis and title page

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..."

<-- front cover

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In times of economic austerity, every lady needs to know how to alter an outdated gown into something modish and sophisticated.

<-- frontis and title page

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

Disturbing castration fantasy for poultry.

<-- front cover

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."

<-- title page

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.

<-- front cover

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.

<-- front cover

[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.

<-- front cover

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.

<-- front cover

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.

<-- p. 47

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."

<-- front cover

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.

<-- front cover

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.

<-- front cover