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"May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books." -Thomas Carlyle

Welcome to my virtual book collection. Since collecting actual books is somewhat cost-prohibitive, I've begun to amass all of the books I would love to have if I had the means. Some are new, lots are old, all are unique or beautiful or unusual or in some other way have captured my fancy. Enjoy browsing!

Special Collections: Fine Bindings ~ Fairies and Fairy Tales ~ Terror and Madness ~ Poetry ~ Food, Drink and Apothecary ~ Science Fiction ~ Illuminations, Lettering and Hand-Coloring ~ Magic ~ Supernatural and Occult ~ Alchemy ~ Science and Technical ~ Maritime ~ Costumes ~ Humor ~ Children's books ~ Legend of King Arthur ~ Americana ~ 18th Century ~ 19th Century

Authors and illustrators: Edgar Allan Poe ~ Jules Verne ~ Edmund Dulac ~ Kay Nielsen ~ Arthur Rackham ~ Edward Gorey ~ Charles Dickens ~ H.P. Lovecraft ~ William Hope Hodgson ~ Mark Twain ~ Lewis Carroll ~ Salvador Dali ~ George Cruikshank ~ Emily Dickinson ~ Geoffrey Chaucer ~ H.G. Wells

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MERCKLEIN, Georg Abraham
Neu ausgefertigtes historisch-medicinisches Thier-Buch in vier besonderen

Nuremberg, Johan Friedrich Rüdiger, 1714. 8vo. Contemporary vellum. Double-page engraved allegorical frontispiece engraved by Johan Lorentz Hönnig (Nurenberg), title printed in red and black on two facing pages, 95 full-page engraved plates each depicting two, three or more animals. [26], 732, [72] pp.

Second edition of a pre-Linnean work on natural history, describing in 4 parts respectively the names, appearance, characteristics, qualities and habitat of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and invertebrates, together with their medicinal purposes and use, by the German physician Georg Abraham Mercklein (or Mercklin(us)) (1644-1702). Mercklein frequently cites (classical) authorities in the fields of medicine and natural history like Galenus and Aristotle. The first edition of the Thier-Buch was published at Nürnberg by Johann Zieger in 1696. Another edition appeared at Nürnberg in 1739. Not only real animals are included, Mercklein also describes and illustrates four species of unicorns (plate between pp. 28-29) and a dragon (p. 611). The characteristics of the silkworm are to be found on pp. 678-687. At the end an index which lists the animals, illnesses and cures.