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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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Hortulus sanitatis, das ist, ein heylsam[en] und nützliches Gährtlin der Gesundtheit.
Durante, Castore. ca. 1609

First and only German edition, coloured by a contemporary hand, of an important herbal originally published in Italian as Herbario Nuovo (Rome 1585), beautifully illustrated with about 1000 woodcuts, at least some drawn by Konrad Gesner (1516-1565). Most, of course, show plants, but there is also a view of a pond with water plants, Ducks and a building, and others showing more than just plants. The translation is by Peter Uffenbach. Durante’s book was the first native Italian publication to give “a fairly full account of the medicinal value credited to tobacco” (Arents).