Alice In Wonderland and Film Cartoons Saturday

Late this Saturday afternoon I took a quick peep at a local thrift store to check out their book section. I found one book that I could probably swap at Paperback Swap. I walked over to the electronics section and forgot to go peek at the children's books. I ended up finding a couple of old ones - interesting artwork to say the least - the book Best In Children's Books and also a collectible gem How To Animate Film Cartoons. The oversized how-to book is filled with illustrations on how to make your own animated cartoons in color and black and white. This was a rare find and nice to boot.








Here are some illustrations by John Tenniel (best known for illustrating cartoons and caricatures in Punch, a satirical and comedic magazine that began publishing in the late 19th century) from the short story version of Alice in Wonderland in Best In Children's Books:

Mike Stilkey uses old books to make gigantic paintings

Interview and more photos.

Simply stunning.









Above: Portrait of
Charles Bukowski

Funny Book Cover of the Week

Well this is one interesting book, that's for certain. I wish I had a copy so I could figure out why it's really named this. I don't think it has to do with cigarettes. What a strange title.

Funny Book Cover of the Week

Make your own Casket Sarcophagus!
Times are tough. Save money any way you can.

Funny Book Cover of the week

I'm not really ƒure just what needs to be explained about farting. Everybody does it. Even Benjamin Franklin, who trumpets his pride in ƒhooting the breeze in a compelling and attention graƒping book, Fart Proudly.
And proudly we ƒhould.

Funny Book Cover of the week

I've always wondered what to do with discarded pantyhose. Thank goodness my question is answered with this lovely book!
I will now spend my free time making pantyhose dolls for the whole family. Makes cheap gifts and provides hours, days, even weeks of family fun and entertainment.

Book trade labels

Among the delights of acquiring a nice collection of books is the art of the book label. These tiny works of art are usually found in the endpapers of books. Proprietors involved in the printing or publication of the book, including designers and printers use the book label to advertise their part in promotion of the publication.
You can view a nice assortment at Seven Roads Gallery.
After writing this, I looked through all of my antique books and was a little disappointed to find only one not very remarkable bookplate, and one torn and illegible book label. Am hoping to find some in my future hunts!

Thursday Book Hunting

After running an errand this late and unusually humid October afternoon, I decided to pop in at one of my favorite thrift stores to check their used book stacks. After a few minutes of looking, I didn't see anything of interest. The usual titles peeked out at me by authors we commonly see in these environs: Nicholas Sparks, Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich - flavors of the year.
I scanned one of the last bookshelves where I found an interesting title:
Federal Prison, Where Inmates Stay & Convicts Run: A Survival Guide and Reference by Tracy W. Humble.
Surely most of us would find this handy! Well hopefully not. For 50 cents I couldn't pass it up. I love weird books like this and you don't find these kinds of books often.
I opened up to the copyright page and saw it was a small press, Edutainment, out of New Orleans.
Hmmm, small press, unusual book, I'll take it.
When I got home, I went to Amazon to see if maybe it was something worth listing. My fifty cent investment paid off. Copies were going around $40. But I was wondering why.
I Googled the book and found the website where the book was being promoted and sold. Due to Hurricane Katrina, they weren't taking any more orders.
In any case, it was a nice day to find a sort of rare book - an Amazon surprise. I hope I'll never have to put this to good use.

Welcome

Hi and welcome to my new book blog.
Salmagundi Booktopia will be focusing on the love of books, which covers anything and everything.
I'll focus on things I find of interest - ephemera, antique books, book collecting, selling, scouting, anecdotes, rants and news.
Hope you'll enjoy what you read and comments are always welcome.