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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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My Lady Nicotine. A study in smoke
J.M. Barrie. Boston: Joseph Knight Co., 1896 (© 1895).

First American edition of one of the great classics of smoking literature, in a beautiful decorated publisher’s binding. This ode to the incomparable joys of tobacco was written by Barrie, best known as the creator of Peter Pan; the humorous tales of the pleasures and pitfalls of dedicated smoking are recounted by one who has married and “quit” but still dreams of the bachelor days with pipe, the cigarette, and the cigar, all three. Here they are for the first time illustrated by American Impressionist painter Maurice B. Prendergast, who supplied a profusion of winsome, smoke-wreathed sketches and scenes for this, one of only two books he illustrated himself.

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