Bram Stoker. The Mystery of the Sea. London, W. Heinemann, 1902.
via: The Internet Archive
Affinity
Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
Flowerchild Fairytale of Good and Evil, by G. van der Hoeven. Cover design by J.B. Heukelom, 1901.
via: Indigo Dreams
Henry Van Dyke. The Blue Flower. Illustrated by A. Heming. Binding designed by Margaret Neilson Armstrong. New York. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1892.
The illustrator of this book, Arthur Henry Howard Heming, comes from a small town near me called Paris, Ontario.
Jonathan Swift. Voyages de Gulliver dans des contrées lointaines. Paris: Delarue, 1855 — Source.
A particularly charming French version of Gulliver’s Travels.
John Kendrick Bangs. A Houseboat on the Styx. U.S., Harper & Brothers, 1895.
Today’s book is extra-special because it belongs to our very own Anne, Cranky Cat Lady. It’s also my very first reader submission for this column and I thank Anne for that very much. She tells me this book belonged to her parents and I can see that it’s landed in a good next home with someone who recognizes that the value of a book is more than just as a repository for stories.
Often when I post a lovely, old book I wonder what it feels like in your hand. What are its textures, its weight and its point of balance? What of the thickness of its papers and the feel of its edging as you turn a page? I wonder how the binding sounds as you open the book and what is the faint fragrance of its paper and glue and incense of ink. Modern e-readers are fine, functional things and I use one myself sometimes, but a book, a real book, is a treat for the senses and not just the mind.
If you have a real book that you’d like to share, I’d like to see it. Just e-mail me at the link on the sidebar. Thanks again, Anne, for sharing your A Houseboat on the Styx.
Mary & Elizabeth Kirby. Humming Birds. London ; New York : T. Nelson, 1874.
via: The Internet Archive
Bianco, Margery Williams; Illustrations by Nicholson, William, Sir. London, Heinemann, 1922.
This is the original cover from the first publication of the book in 1922. I’ve included a few interior plates to showcase the simple, tender artwork that brings the story to life.
Bianco, Margery Williams; Illustrations by Nicholson, William, Sir. London, Heinemann, 1922.
Bianco, Margery Williams; Illustrations by Nicholson, William, Sir. London, Heinemann, 1922.
Bianco, Margery Williams; Illustrations by Nicholson, William, Sir. London, Heinemann, 1922.
via: The Internet Archive
Aleister Crowly. The Book of Lies, which is also falsely called Breaks. The Wanderings or falsifications of The One Thought of Frater Perdurabo which Thought is itself Untrue. London, Wieland & Co. 1913
According to Wikipedia, Crowly was,
…an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. A prolific writer, he published widely over the course of his life.
In the Wiki article specifically about The Book of Lies, the author says,
“This book deals with many matters on all planes of the very highest importance. It is an official publication for Babes of the Abyss, but is recommended even to beginners as highly suggestive.”[1]
The book consists of 91 chapters,[2][3] each of which consists of one page of text. The chapters include a question mark, poems, rituals, instructions, and obscure allusions and cryptograms. The subject of each chapter is generally determined by its number and its corresponding Qabalistic meaning
Well, that clear up everything.
via: The Pulp Girls
Ignatius Donnelly. Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel. New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1883 — Source.
An interesting book about geological drift, or the movement of rocks and sediment across the earth.
Jenyns, Charles Fitzgerald Gambier. A book about bees. Their history, habits, and instincts; together with the first principles of modern beekeeping for young readers.
London, W. Gardner, Darton, & co., 1886.
I thought this book was a nice complement to Nightjar’s Bee Orchids of earlier today.
via: The Internet Archive
F. Schuyler Mathews. Underwood, William Lyman. Familiar Life in field and Forest. The animals, birds, frogs and salamanders. New York. D. Appleton and Company, `1898.
J. Henri Fabre. The Life And Love Of The Insect. Translated by Alexander Teixteira De Matttos. London, Adam and Charles Black, 1911.
Jules Verne. From the Earth to the Moon. London, Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1873 — Source.
Our book today comes from the fertile imagination of Jules Verne and the cover is eerily reminiscent of the modern rocket technology that actually did take man to the moon nearly 100 years after this book was written.