660 Items Tagged

Books

Bemelmans Bar

New York, New York

Bemelmans Bar

The walls are decorated with whimsical murals painted by the creator of the Madeline franchise.

Joe Orton at home in Islington, London, 1966.

The Strange, Sad Story of Joe Orton, His Lover, and 72 Stolen Library Books

After being imprisoned for a reading-related prank, the couple never recovered.

Natasha Frost August 9, 2017

Washington, D.C.

U.S. Naval Observatory Library

A hoard of sky catalogs, astrophysical journals, even the works of Galileo and Copernicus.

<em>Kitten's Game</em> by Henriette Ronner-Knip.

Lessons From a Victorian-Era Cat Dictionary

"Purrieu," "ptlee-bl," and other vital feline vocabulary words.

Cara Giaimo August 8, 2017

The <em>Who's Who</e> began in Britain in 1849.

The Weird, Vain History of Who's Who Books

From an early pet project to mockery and scams.

Ernie Smith August 3, 2017

The $30,000 Adult Coloring Book

It features illustrations from the creator of an Elton John album cover.

Michael Waters July 28, 2017

Library theft was made a criminal offense in 1982.

The Rare-Book Thief Who Looted College Libraries in the '80s

By passing as a professor, James Richard Shinn made off with over $100,000 worth of books.

Susan Falciani July 20, 2017

A Parthenon of Banned Books, Built at a Former Book-Burning Site

A replica of the Greek structure has been constructed out of forbidden titles.

Michael Waters July 19, 2017

Vincas Juška (1860-1939).*

The 19th-Century Lithuanians Who Smuggled Books to Save Their Language

They banded together against book burnings to fight an empire.

Michael Waters July 19, 2017

Maurice Sendak died in 2012.

Found: An Unpublished Manuscript by Maurice Sendak

The illustrations and text were hiding in his files.

Sarah Laskow July 11, 2017

Pollyanna Statue

Littleton, New Hampshire

Pollyanna Statue

A town wears its heart on the sleeve of a smiling girl, arms flung wide open in a cheerful greeting for all who encounter her.

Demon ruler Bael, from the <em>Dictionnaire Infernal</em>.

The Best Demon Illustrations of All Time

Even today, the 1863 edition of the "Dictionnaire Infernal" is the stuff of nightmares.

Eric Grundhauser July 10, 2017

Leibold's hand-drawn map for the Choose Your Own Adventure story <em>Grand Canyon Odyssey</em>.

These Hand-Drawn Maps Helped Create 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Books

Author Jay Leibold shares the branching maps he created while writing his first CYOA stories.

Sarah Laskow July 5, 2017

Parties where playwrights like Moliere read aloud were precursors to rowdy book clubs.

Even in the 1700s, Book Clubs Were Really About Drinking and Socializing

And "a considerable element of boisterous good humor."

Sarah Laskow June 26, 2017

Entrance to the Secret Room

Rochester, New York

Central Library's Secret Room

A room hidden behind a swinging shelf in the children's section.

Press with typesetting

Palmyra, New York

Grandin Printing Shop

The press that first printed the Book of Mormon.

We Asked, You Answered: The Kids' Books You Wish More People Remembered

Atlas Obscura readers took quite the trip down memory lane this week.

Sommer Mathis June 18, 2017

<em>Equal Areas, Their Triangular Square Root and Pi</em>, by Crockett Johnson

The Artful Precision of the Creator of 'Harold and the Purple Crayon'

After a long career as a cartoonist and illustrator, Crockett Johnson spent his final decade painting mathematical equations.

Eric Grundhauser June 16, 2017