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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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The Famous Stories of Baron von Münchausen
Rudolphe Erich Raspe. Amsterdam, Schalekamp & Van de Grampel 1827.

Rare Dutch translation of the famous stories of Baron von Münchausen after the fifth English edition by Rudolph Erich Raspe.The Munchhausen burlesques originate from Germany. Under the title M - h -s nsche Geschichten, between 1781 and 1783 some crazy anecdotes were published in the Vade Mecum für Lustige Leute, edited by August Mylius. The reader recognized in these impossible stories the legendary boasting qualities of the German nobleman Hieronymus von Münchhausen (1720-1797), who had been a cavalry officer in Russian service and then lived on his country estate in Hannover. This character was used by Rudolph Erich Raspe (1737-1794) in order to make some money by publishing an easy bestseller.