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At the time of his death in 2001 at the age of 57, the German writer W.G. Sebald was cited by many critics as a future winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. It was his book The Rings of Saturn, written in 1995 (translated into English in 1998), which went a long way...
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Endless Amusement, a collection of nearly 400 entertaining experiments in various branches of science, including acoustics, arithmetic, chemistry, electricity, hydraulics, hydrostatics, magnetism, mechanics, optics, wonders of the air pump, all the popular tricks and changes of the cards, &c., &c., &c.; 1820; Thorp and Burch, and Thomas Boys, London. As it states on the...
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Devises et Emblemes Anciennes & Modernes, Tirees de Plus Celebres Auteurs; 1699; Kroniger & Göbel, Augspurg. Beautiful 17th century book showing various emblems with mottos described in German, Latin, French and Italian, and the emblems themselves described only in German. Some highlights include a floating stone, a lion being suspended over an empty throne,...
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Passing English of the Victorian era, a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase, by J. Redding Ware; 1909; Routledge, London. Passing English of the Victorian era, a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase is complied and written by James Redding Ware, the pseudonym of Andrew Forrester the British writer who created one...
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With December 25th fast approaching we have put together a little collection of entries for Christmas Day from an eclectic mix of different diaries spanning five centuries, from 1599 to 1918. Amid famed diarists such as the wife-beating Samuel Pepys, the distinctly non-festive John Adams, and the rhapsodic Thoreau, there are a sprinkling of...
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Stevenson’s baby book, being the record of the sayings and doings of Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson, son of Thomas Stevenson, C.E. and Margaret Isabella Balfour or Stevenson; 1922; John Howell / J.H. Nash, San Francisco . A remarkable record of the first few years of author Robert Louis Stevenson’s life, as noted down by...
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Dennison’s bogie book, by Dennison manufacturing co.; 1920; Dennison manufacturing co., Framingham, Massachusetts.] Decoration, costume and party suggestions from 1920 for the night of Halloween, that one time (according to the book) “of all the year when an opportunity is supposed to be given for looking into the future and having one’s fate settled...
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Kunstrichtige Schreibart allerhand Versalie oder AnfangsBuchstabe der teütschen, lateinischen und italianischen Schrifften aus unterschiedlichen Meistern der edlen Schreibkunst zusammen getragen; 1655; Bey Paulus Fürsten Kunsthändlern daselbst, Nürnberg. A 17th century German book on the art of writing. The full title (in English) reads The Proper Art of Writing: a compilation of all sorts of...
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The art of invigorating and prolonging life, by food, clothes, air, exercise, wine, sleep, &c and peptic precepts, pointing out agreeable and effectual methods to prevent and relieve indigestion, and to regulate and strengthen the action of the stomach and bowels: to which is added, the pleasure of making a will, by William Kitchiner;...
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An Alphabet of Celebrities, by Oliver Herford; 1899; Small & Maynard, Boston. Intricately rhymed and beautifully illustrated alphabet book on the world of late 19th century celebrity. It ends up creating quite wonderfully bizarre a-historical scenarios by throwing names with the same beginning letter all in with each other – for the letter N:...
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Curiosities of Puritan nomenclature, by Charles W. Bardsley; 1888; Chatto and Windus, London. A fascinating look at some of the more bizarre names given to children during the 17th century in England. Among the names explored are “From-above”, “Free-gift” & “More-fruit” for unexpected additions to families; “Humiliation”, “Abstinence” & “Sorry-for-sin” to express those qualities...
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Cartoon portraits and biographical sketches of men of the day, the drawings by Frederick Waddy; 1873; Tinsley Brothers, London. A book of caricatures of famous “Men of the Day” (as was the case in 1873) – including the likes of Darwin, Swinburne, Tennyson and Browning – drawn by cartoonist Frederick Watty and accompanied by...
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The Fifth Olympiad: the Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912; 1913; Wahlstrom & Widstrand, Stockholm. The official report of the Olympic Games held in Stockholm in 1912. As exhaustive account of all there is to know about the 5th Olympiad including all the bureaucratic wranglings and preparations for the Games, the...
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Fancy dresses described or, What to wear at fancy balls, by Ardern Holt; 1887; Debenham & Freebody, Wyman & Sons, London. A comprehensive guide to all things fancy dress, with detailed descriptions of costume ideas, from the more abstract such as “Air”, “Africa” “Dew” and “Five o Clock Tea”, to the more specific in...
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What to draw and how to draw it, by E.G. Lutz; 1913; Dodd & Mead, New York. Drawing made easy a helpful book for young artists; the way to begin and finish your sketches, clearly shown step by step, by E. G. Lutz; 1921; C. Scribner’s Sons, New York. A cartoon drawing masterclass from...
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How to Become a Magician, Containing a Grand Assortment of Magical Illusions as Performed by the Leading Magicians and Wizards of the Day; 1882; F. Tousey, New York A grand assortment of various tricks, illusions, conjurings, deceptions and slights of hand…. The following pages are not intended to make the young reader either a...
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A Floral Fantasy in an Old English Garden, set forth in verses & coloured designs, by Walter Crane; 1899; Harper, London Walter Crane (1845–1915) is considered to be the most prolific and influential children’s book creator of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway, one of the strongest contributors to the...
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Choregraphie, ou, L’art de décrire la dance, par caracteres, figures, et signes démonstratifs avec lesquels on apprend facilement de soy-même toutes sortes de dances: ouvrage tres-utile aux maîtres à dancer & à toutes les personnes qui s’appliquent à la dance, by M. Feuillet, maître de dance; 1701; Chez l’auteur et chez Michel Brunet, Paris....
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A Burlesque Translation of Homer, by Thomas Bridges; 1797; G.G. and J.Robinson, London Homer’s Iliad set to bawdy verse by Thomas Bridges (c.1710-c.1775), originally published in 1762 under the pseudonym Caustic Barebones. The work achieved some popularity, and was reprinted several times, the last in 1797. In 1765 Bridges wrote The Battle of the...
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“Museaum Clausum” in Certain Miscellany Tracts, by Thomas Browne; 1684; London In the latter half of the 17th century the English polymath Thomas Browne wrote Musaeum Clausum, an imagined inventory of ‘remarkable books, antiquities, pictures and rarities of several kinds, scarce or never seen by any man now living’. His list of desired items...
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An Alphabet of History, the words by Wilbur D. Nesbit, the pictures by Ellsworth Young; 1905; Paul Elder and Company Publishers, San Francisco. “Who frets about the mystery / Enshrouding all of history / On reading this will, maybe, see / We’ve made it plain as ABC.” From Alexander The Great, “a victim of...
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Natural History of Shakespeare, Being Selections of Flowers, Fruits, and Animals, arranged by Bessie Mayou; 1877; E. Slater, Manchester. Collection of little snippets from Shakespeare’s plays pertaining to the natural world: Garden Flowers, Wild Flowers, Weeds, Trees, Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, Spices and Medicines, Grain, Birds, Animals, Fish, Reptiles, and Insects. Open Library link HELP...
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Alphabetical Index to Type Faces, by G.A. Davis Printing Company; 1939?; Toronto. An “Alphabetical Index to Type Faces” from the G.A. Davis Printing Company. What it says on the tin, but also generator of bizarre ‘accidental’ sentences such as “Summer-time with outdoor pleasures become flowers with nature”, “Domestic animals are nuisance when a hurry...
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Hand book of the carnival, containing Mardi-Gras, its ancient and modern observance, by J. W. Madden; 1874; New Orleans. Fascinating little book offering a brilliantly detailed insight into the 19th century New Orleans Mardi-Gras tradition, including a history of the Mistick Krewe of Comus, The Twelfth Night Revellers, and The Knights of Momus. From...
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Catalogue of Napoleon Relics, Pictures and Other Works of Art and Curiosities, compiled by W.Wheeler; 1901; Cassell, London. Madame Tussaud’s 1901 Catalogue of Napoleon Relics, Pictures and Other Works of Art and Curiosities. Although famous for her wax work models, the Madame Tussaud’s exhibition also featured a weird and wonderful array of historical memorabilia,...
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Yuletide Entertainments: Christmas recitations, monologues, drills, tableaux, motion songs, exercises, dialogues and plays, suitable for all ages, by Ellen M. Willard; 1910; T. S. Denison & company, Chicago. Christmas recitations, monologues, drills, tableaux, motion songs, exercises, dialogues and plays, suitable for all ages. From the introduction: “It becomes more and more a part of...
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Uriah Jewett and the sea serpent of Lake Memphemagog, by George C. Merrill; 1917; Newport, Vermont. A very curious little book concerning a poet named Uriah Jewett, a sea serpent, the disappearance of a cheat named Hoyt, and the possible illegitimate child of Prince Arthur born in the forests of Canada. Open Library link...
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Horse laughs, by Chas. H. Marshall; 1891; Bemrose & Sons, London. Remarkably strange little book on account of much of the humour being lost over the passage of time – often resulting in surreal, if not somewhat disconcerting, little scenes. Open Library link HELP TO KEEP US AFLOAT The Public Domain Review is a...
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Napaleon’s Oraculum and Dreambook; 1839; S.N., New York. The Oraculum had been originally discovered in one of the Royal tombs of Egypt during a French military expedition of 1801, and at Napoleon’s request was translated by a famous German scholar and antiquarian. Apparently consulting it “before every important occasion”, the book became one of...
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English As She is Spoke, by Pedro Carolino; 1884; Appleton, New York The book was intended as a Portuguese-English conversational guide or phrase book, but is regarded as a classic source of unintentional humour, as the given English translations are generally completely incoherent. Carolino added Fonseca’s name to the book without the latter knowing...
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Cat and bird stories from the “Spectator”, to which are added sundry anecdotes of horses, donkeys, cows, apes, bears, and other animals, as well as of insects and reptiles, edited by John St. Loe Strachey; 1896; T. Fisher Unwin, London. A sequel to Dog Stories from The Spectator, this book brings us mysteries and...
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