Companions & Reference from

This is a very rare copy of Modern Cabinet Work, Furniture and Fitments: An Account of the Theory and Practice in the Production of All Kinds of Cabinet Work and Furniture With Chapters on the Growth and Progress of Design and Construction Illustrated by Over 1000 Practical Workshop Drawings, Photographs and Original Design, written by two British experts, Percy Wells… Read more about this item

This is a first edition of Glorafilia: The Venice Collection: 25 Original Projects in Needlepoint and Embroidery, produced by the British embroidery and needlepoint pattern firm Glorafilia. It is a collection of needlepoint and embroidery designs with a Venetian theme. There are projects for cushions, pictures, stool tops, a curtain tie-back and an evening bag. The book also includes a section… Read more about this item

This is a first edition (2010) of The New Traditional Woodworker: From Tool Set to Skill Set to Mind Set, written by the American cabinetmaker Jim Tolpin. Over 176 heavily illustrated pages, Tolpin teaches you that you don't need expensive machinery and power tools. You'll learn to set up a hand-tool woodworking shop, then discover the toolset, practice the skillset,… Read more about this item

This is a first edition of Great Maritime Museums of the World, a very high-quality coffee table book. Each museum covered has case histories and descriptions written by their curators. The museums covered are: Australian Maritime National Museum, Sydney, Australia Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada Vancouver Maritime Museum, British Columbia, Canada Viking… Read more about this item

This is an unread First US Edition of I Saw Esau: The Schoolchild's Pocket Book, written by the English folklore experts Iona and Peter Opie. It was originally published in 1947. In 1992, it was re-published, this time full of color illustrations by the great American illustrator Maurice Sendak, best known for Where the Wild Things Are, and his many… Read more about this item

This is a first edition (1950) of Old Dolls, the classic book on doll collecting by the American expert Eleanor St. George. In it, there are photos and descriptions of the most collectible dolls (Peddler, Greiner, China-Head etc), where to find them, how to they should be dressed etc. The original owner of this book signed the front endpaper, and had… Read more about this item

This is a first English edition of Parisian Chic: A Style Guide, by the French super-model and designer Ines de la Fressange. It was first published in French in 2010 and was a massive best-seller. It is 240 pages of advice on dressing, make-up, jewelry and shopping. Fressange took the photos; the model in the book is her daughter. It is a… Read more about this item

This is a bit of a collector's item. It is the Webster Vest Pocket Dictionary, Self-Pronouncing De Luxe Edition. It is undated but it was purchased in 1974. It says it was "not published by the original publishers of Webster's Dictionary" but it does not say who published it. It contains 50,000 words, plus Rules for Spelling, Punctuation, Use of Capitals,… Read more about this item

This is the second reprint of Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I, originally published by Jane's in 1919. This is now the world's greatest reference work of its kind, accepted everywhere as a symbol of accuracy and authority. It begins in 1914 with photographs, line drawings and data tables of warships and includes submarines and the aircraft that were integrated… Read more about this item

This is the 1975 reprint of Jane's Fighting Ships 1950-51. The original book is a collector's item; so is this reprint. It's an important book because it illustrates the pattern of development of the world's navies after WWII. It shows the development of the aircraft carrier, and the American Navy's first atomic-powered submarine. It's an exact reprint, in that it includes… Read more about this item

This is a rare copy of Sons of Martha: University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering 1913-1988. It was written by Dr. George Ford, the co-founder and former chairman and dean of the university's faculty of mechanical engineering. It is a history of engineering at the university, with loads of photographs, anecdotes, quotes from the news, awards, lists of graduates etc. The title… Read more about this item

This is Up-To-Date Toasts for All Occasions, a reference book published in Boston in 1912. Copies of this book are now very rare. It was compiled by E.C. Lewis, who apparently wrote several books on entertaining. It is 5" x 6", periwinkle blue covers with a gilt design. Inside, it is toasts for every event. Each page is adorned with a lime… Read more about this item

This is an unread copy of the Woodworker's Techniques Handbook, part of Firefly Books' Essential Illustrated Reference Series, written by woodworker Paul Forrester. It is considered the go-to reference for fine woodworking. It was first published in 2009 then updated in 2016. It covers everything from how to choose and cut lumber to how to plan, measure, mark, cut, shape and join. It… Read more about this item

This is an First American edition (1964) of The Koka Shastra, Being the Ratirahasya of Kokkoka, and Other Medieval Indian Writings on Love, translated and introduced by the British scientist Alexander Comfort, who is best known as the author of The Joy of Sex. The Koka Shastra is another name for The Ratirahasya, a medieval sex manual written in the 11th… Read more about this item

This is a first edition of The Topographical, Statistical, and Historical Gazetteer of Scotland, Volume II, I-Z. In the late 1790s, Sir John Sinclair set out to create a statistical account of Scotland, with information gleaned from local clergy. He published two volumes, and then passed the task to the the Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of… Read more about this item

This is a first edition (1985, Great Britain) of The Guinness Rail Fact Book, by the British railway expert John Marshall. Called 'the essential reference book for rail enthusiasts', it is 208 pages of facts and statistics on route lengths, rolling stock, motive power, tunnels, bridges and railway systems. It includes 80 photographs. There are a couple of creases and… Read more about this item

This is The Golden Encyclopedia of Music, written by the American academic Norman Lloyd and published in 1968. It includes a 24-page color section produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Emanuel Winternitz. It begins with the musical note 'A' and ends with 'Zither'. In between, entries include biographies of the major composers and performers in classical, blues, jazz and… Read more about this item

Peter Quennell's A History of English Literature is a reference book, but it is known as one that people actually read straight through. From a review: "This book is a delight. Quennell is besotted by the English language and he presents to the reader a procession of gifted wordsmiths both famous and obscure, from the dawn of British literature to the… Read more about this item

This is a first reprint of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Railway Locomotives, written by the British writer Robert Tufnell and published in 1987. It covers 180 years of worldwide locomotive development, from the first steam engine journey to high-speed French trains. 256 pages, packed with photographs, specs, charts and drawings. It's a big book--9" x 12" and 3 lbs. This book has… Read more about this item

This is the Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland, the first UK edition published in 1994. It contains a wealth of information about Scottish history, famous Scottish people, cities, castles, cathedrals, forts, sports and the Scottish way of life, past and present. 4000 entries, 500+ photographs. It is a big book--1046 pages. 7" x 10" x 2.5" There's quite a lot of wear to the dust… Read more about this item