London Sight Unseen

London Sight Unseen by Snowdon

This clever collection of photos showcases strange and outré buildings in London. Originally built as gate houses, gazebos or follies (mock-historical buildings built just for the heck of it) most have now been converted into expensive yuppie dwellings or garden sheds. With everything from mock-churches, tiny Victorian wrought-iron stands, thatched cottages and fake temples this book is full of enough tiny, odd buildings to satisfy an army of Romantics.

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Toilets of the World

Toilets of the World - Morna Gregory and Sian James

A thoroughly enjoyable photo essay collection of toilets of the world. From a hole in the sand in the middle of a vast desert, a tree marked “p” on a hiking trail, to an ultra-modernist egg shaped pods at a London club, the world takes potty breaks in a remarkable number of ways. And for those of you familiar with the Kohler Art Museum, you may smugly point out toilets you have personally visited… in one way or another.

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They Call Me Naughty Lola

Personal Ads from the London Review of Books

Oh dear lord, I’m amazed the Brits manage to mate at all if this is what is out there. These real, honest and often completely horrifying ads have appeared in the LRoB.

It takes a real man to wear a dress. It takes a revolutionary to wear those shoes with that blusher. Box no. 3194

Slut in the kitchen, chef in the bedroom. Woman with mixed priories (37) seeks man who can toss a good salad. Box no. 7421

Whatever you’re looking for, you won’t find it in any of these other ads. But if you like early-morning trips down the Thames, Sunday-morning pastries, Saturday afternoons in Richmond Park and spur-of-the-moment ...

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Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder

Lawrence Wescheler

Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder is a strange little book on a real-life “museum” – the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Stuffed with wonders such as the Sonnabend Model of Obliscence, laying out reality in a cone format, information on various and sundry strange animals, a scale creation of The Ark, and a recreation of the Platonic conception of memory, symbolized as a set of hands holding a bird. Clear as mud, right? Visitors to the museum will be greeted by colorful dioramas, pamphlets and other literature and even narrated displays. What many will not catch is that most of the museum is pure confabulation. Displays are made...

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Your Disgusting Head and Giraffes? Giraffes!

Your Disgusting Head and Giraffes? Giraffes! The Haggis-on-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance

Written by Dr. Dorris Haggis-On-Whey and her husband Benny, the Haggis-On-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance book series will boggle your mind. Boggle boggle boggle. Just like that. Have you ever wanted to know where giraffes came from? Why, giant interstellar conveyor belts of course! And where can you find them in the United States? Terre Haute and Atlanta (known to giraffes as Hotlanta!). Learn catchy giraffe sayings ( “You salt-water sauerkraut “, “Bolt the Door, I’m in the spin cycle “), read the story of Ted “Theodore ” Logan Who Considered Himself...

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Cheap Laffs – The Art of the Novelty Item

Mark Newgarden

Following a short history of the creation of novelty gifts and subsequent “novelty gift wars” among various manufacturers, Newgarden displays various and sundry popular novelty gifts. Along with the old stand-bys, whoopee-cushions, joy buzzers, buck-teeth, there are also such wonder as a razor sharp device to be a ventriloquist, fake hypodermic needles and “rubber mouse looks real” – presumably. Commentary on the manufacturer, price and the target audience for the good are included “consumer in need of a rubber mouse.” The perfect book for the consumer of gag gifts. Is that an oxymoron?

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