n/a:
GÖPPINGER LEINEN
Göppinger Kaliko -und Kunstleder-Werke, [ca. 1960].

Sublime tactile object for the bibliophile: a catalogue of elegant bookbinding fabrics, with 56 swatches and 14 actual book covers tipped in. Text in German.

<-- front cover

Statler, David:
ROARING GUNS
Simon and Schuster, New York, 1938.

The oddest thing about this violent Western (written and illustrated by an 8-year-old, with original misspellings left intact) is that it was ever published at all.

-- front cover

Tart, Charles T. (ed.):
ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1969.

In addition to dreams, meditation, hypnosis, and psychedelic drugs, this collection examines the "hypnogogic state" -- that mysterious twilight between waking and sleeping.

<-- front cover

Gay, Jan:
ON GOING NAKED
Garden City Publishing, Garden City, NY, 1932.

"The author has for years taken pleasure in going without clothes." Naturally, her book is illustrated with dozens of photos of frolicking nudists.

<-- front cover

Crowcroft, Peter:
MICE ALL OVER
Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL, 1973.

A sympathetic (yet scientifically rigorous) behavioral study, illustrated with diagrams tracing the paths of mice as they meander around their cages in search of food or psychic comfort.

<-- front cover

Wilder, G.D., and J.H. Ingram:
ANALYSIS OF CHINESE CHARACTERS
North China Union Language School, [n.p.], 1922.

Organizational dilemma: How do you index written Chinese?

<-- index pages

Sizer, Nelson, and H.S. Drayton:
HEADS AND FACES AND HOW TO STUDY THEM: A MANUAL OF PHRENOLOGY AND PHYSIOGNOMY
Fowler & Wells Co., Publishers, New York, 1897.

Some 200 engraved portraits, demonstrating a spectrum of character traits (benevolence, sublimity, acquisitiveness, rectitude, etc.), as well as lots of elaborate whiskers.

<-- front cover

Di Maio, Dan:
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ROSY ASTER
Citadel Press, New York, 1971.

A porn novel in the form of a rebus makes for an interesting literary experiment; but ultimately, the genre lacks heat.

<-- front cover

LaFetra, William:
CLIP AND GROOM YOUR OWN POODLE
T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ, 1972.

Overheard in our shop, as a wisecracking 11-year-old examined the cover of this book: "Which one's the show dog?"

<-- front cover

Pirenne, M.H.:
OPTICS, PAINTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY
At the University Press, Cambridge, 1970.

Anybody can draw two converging lines, and call it a train track; but it takes some serious erudition to actually explain pictorial perspective in terms of optics and physiology.

<-- front cover

Robinson, Clarence C.:
CAREERS FOR BOYS
The University Society Inc., New York, 1933.

It seems irresponsible to direct youthful enthusiasm into farming, construction, law, medicine, banking, etc., while entirely omitting the popular and promising profession known as... Used Book Tycoon.

<-- front cover

Reed, Carl, and Joseph Orze:
ART FROM SCRAP
Davis Publications, Worcester, MA, 1960.

With many intriguing, if slightly forlorn, photos; and a handy "Projects & Materials" chart at the rear ("...Bark; Beads; Boxes; Burlap; Buttons...").

<-- front cover

n/a:
OUR LITTLE ONES IN HEAVEN
Sampson Low, Son & Co., London, 1858.

Despite the Victorian kitsch factor, these poems and sermons memorializing dead children could cause a world-weary bookseller to weep at his desk.

<-- frontis and title page

Kempf, Julius:
KLEINWOHNSTÄTTEN DER GEGENWART
F. Bruckmann Verlag, München, 1950.

Every Bavarian needs a comfortable place to hang up his lederhosen. Here are photos and floorplans for dozens of styles of folksy cottages.

<-- p. 108

Chu, H.F.:
HOW TO KNOW THE IMMATURE INSECTS
Wm. C. Brown Co., Dubuque, IA, [ca. 1970s].

Sure, they're cute when they're larvae...

<-- front cover

Sager, Raymond M., et al.:
THE SAGER WEATHERCASTER
Weather Publications, Pleasantville, NY, 1969.

Housed in an unassuming spiral-bound book, this circular slide rule is "an instrument based on meteorological science. It is in fact a handy computer."

<-- introduction and circular slide rule

Walker, Sara MacLeod:
HIGHLAND FLING COOKBOOK
Atheneum, New York, 1971.

Recipes for Scottish delicacies like Meldrum potted hough, Killiecrankie mince collops, Dingwall invalid toast... but oddly, nary a haggis in sight.

<-- front cover

Prus, Robert, and Styllianoss Irini:
HOOKERS, ROUNDERS, AND DESK CLERKS
Sheffield Publishing, Salem, WI, 1988.

Considering a career change? This study is so richly detailed, it could serve as a practitioner's guide to the hustling life.

<-- front cover

Gummerus, H.O. (ed.):
VISION
Finnish Society of Crafts & Design, [Helsinki, 1966].

When Finnish designers reflect on Finnish design, the result is as serene as a dark lake in a spruce forest.

<-- interior spread (unpaginated)

Meibomius, John Henry:
A TREATISE ON THE USE OF FLOGGING IN MEDICINE AND VENERY
1/500 copies. Isidore Liseux, Paris, 1898.

Apparently a vigorous whipping on the backside sends a glut of overheated blood to the testicles... with predictably bestial consequences.

<-- title page