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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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Ehon Futami-Gata (Erotic Book of Conjugal Eddies)
Katsushika Hokusai, ca.1802-4

3 volumes, 8° (215 x 152mm). 21 double-page and 6 full-page colour-printed woodblock illustrations. Original blue paper wrappers with minor gilt decoration, printed title slips pasted to upper covers (lightly creased and worn).

“IT IS ONLY BY RARE GOOD CHANCE THAT A SHUNGA AS RARE, OR AS CLOSELY GUARDED, AS EHON FUTAMI-GATA, IS LIKELY TO BE SEEN AT ALL’ (Hillier p.507). Only attributed to Hokusai by Hayashi Yoshikazu and Hillier in 1981 and 1987 respectively, the present work is now seen as key to the development of Hokusai’s erotic art from his early works of the Shunro period to his later masterpieces.” (J. Hillier, The Art of the Japanese Book, p.507)