Added to my library: 16 parts (seven in this photo) of the spiritualist series ‘On the Borders of Two Worlds’ by feminist and paranormal spiritist Elise van Calcar (1822-1904). I have an almost complete set, but I couldn’t resist these bindings. It was published in 29 volumes, from 1877 to 1905.

More Gothtober! When did Ace do it better -- 1967 (left) or 1973 (right) Robert Maguire did the 1973 illustration. Not sure about the one on the left.

Robert Sydney Bowen sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/bowen_... was born on this day, so here are some of the covers to 'Dusty Ayres and His Battle Birds' (1934-1935) for which Bowen wrote the lead story (Artist: all by Frederick Blakeslee):

KINDRED SPIRITS: THE LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY LEGACY AS INTERPRETED BY CONTEMPORARY BOOK ARTISTS www.cbbag.ca/Kindred_Spir...

@gallery.ca @bookcoverlove.bsky.social Winners of this year’s Alcuin Society Awards – Canada’s only national competition for book design. Until October 12th, 2025 www.gallery.ca/whats-on/exh...

The Wave by Evelyn Scott (1929) Cover by Arthur Hawkins

Ladybird books in the spotlight: British Birds and their Nests (1953 - 1956) Artist: Allen Seaby

Gorgeous early Jill McDonald illustrated primary education book with an equally lovely interior

Andrew Lang's Book of Dreams and Ghosts (1897) — Containing 78 weird happenings, from a demon strangling Devonian farmers in 1682 to a poltergeist terrorising a contemporary Chinese couple. Read it here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-book-of-dreams-and-ghosts-1897

Happy Gothtober! Here's a vintage gothic romance thread 👻

John Boyd (1919-2013) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c... L, Gene Szafran, 1972; R, Paul Lehr, 1975 #scifi #sciencefiction #books

Artist Norman Adams sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/adams_... and author Beth Revis sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/revis_... were born on this day, so here are a couple of their covers (Norman Adams, Norman Adams, Jonathan Barkat and David Curtis):

If you love the book covers of "Frankenstein" issued for the #Netflix release, be warned: That big ol' logo on the front is NOT a sticker; it's part of the covers. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I feel bad for the cover artists.

Book cover art, c.1910 by Margaret Neilson Armstrong, US designer, illustrator, author known for her Art Nouveau style #WomensArt

s of the night. #NationalPoetryDay #BookSpinePoetry

Now on display: the @aupresses.bsky.social Book, Jacket, and Journal Show! If you visit the University of Wisconsin's Memorial Library over the next couple of weeks, please stop by to check out the show. It'll be on display in the lobby until mid-October!

We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2025 Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize! Stay tuned this week for more on the fascinating winning collection and honorable mentions: themillions.com/2025/09/meet...

Here is my late look at some of September's more interesting book covers: www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2025/09...

Joseph Mugnaini cover for Ray Bradbury’s short story collection The October Country, 1955.

Artist Richard Corben (1940-2020) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c... L, 1975; R, 1980 #art #artist #scifi #sciencefiction

Booker Prize 2025 "One of the highlights of the annual Booker Prize season comes when each of the shortlisted authors is presented with a unique, hand-bound edition of their nominated works, created by Fellows from the Designer Bookbinders society." designerbookbinders.org.uk/events-and-e...

Can somebody help me deciphering this blind stamp on a book binding around 1500? The second part looks IHS to me, but I cannot read the first part. ???|IHS Thanks in advance! 🙏 #bookbinding #bookhistory #gothic

September’s best book covers are here to bring text and texture to your reading space.

Books I saw at work: last week and @digitalscriptorium.bsky.social Annual Meeting today!

Shelf 19 of my science fiction library, a full set of 80 Pan Science Fiction books in the distinctive livery and fine artwork, modelled here by Christopher Priest's A Dream of Wessex. Think I've read about 10% of them so far. 🪐📚 #shelfie #scifibooks #sciencefiction #bookcollecting

Here are this month's book cover of note

H. B. Fyfe (1918-1997) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c... L, D. Pattee, 1950; R, Schomburg, 1952 #scifi #sciencefiction

@bookcoverlove.bsky.social @literaryhub.bsky.social lithub.com/the-14-best-...

Must be difficult indeed with two banging around on the inside! The Double-Minded Man by E.L. Arch. 1966, cover art by Gray Morrow. #booksky

Julianna Baggott [aka NE Bode] sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/baggot... and SM Stirling sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/stirli... were born, whilst Wynne Whiteford sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/whitef... died on this day: some of their covers (Artist: Peter Ferguson, Stephen Hickman, Mark Harrison and Don Dixon):

On September 29th, 1547, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born in Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid. To celebrate we have The Dialogue of the Dogs (The Allen Press, 1969)) originally collected in Novelas ejemplares, published in 1613. Amanda, Special Collections Graduate Intern

Charles Addams sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/addams... died, whilst Paul Féval sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/feval_... and Xiran Jay Zhaoon sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/zhao_x... were born on this day, so here's some of their cover artwork (Artist: Addams, Addams, Ladrönn and Velinxi):

Ladybird book in the spotlight. ‘The Gingerbread Boy’ (1966) Artist: Robert Lumley

@lanalin.bsky.social reconsiders the expectations of memoir and re-envisions the classic cover of Gertrude Stein’s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.

While you're all patiently waiting for me to finish up this month's post, here's SPINE's September Book Covers We Love spinemagazine.co/book-covers-...

Because even stationery has the right to be lovely, here are two well-loved little notebooks from entomologist and silversmith Dru Drury (1725-1804). #NaturalHistoryMuseum #MarbledMonday #BlankBooks #Bookbinding #MarbledPaper #SpecialCollections #BlueSkyBooks

The new call for entries for the Herzog August Bibliothek Artist’s Book Prize 2026 is now open. Create a new work in response to the collection. Prize: €6,000 plus a four-week residency at HAB in Wolfenbüttel, Germany. Application deadline: 31st December 2025. Info at: www.hab.de/en/artists-b...

Tiny heart💕 in comb pattern #marbled #endpapers, in vol 4 of set. All 4: red morocco binding, heavily tooled, decorated in gold. L. Annæi Senecæ philosophi opera omnia, Elsevier, 1649. https://bit.ly/seneca-1649-catalog #MarbledMonday #MarbledPaper #MarbledEndpapers #FineBindings #RareBooks

Cards on the Table - #agathachristie - 1st American edition (Feb 1937). Quote: "Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend" - #poirot A rather unique dust wrapper with the skull apparition. #firstedition #rarebooks #crimefiction

William R Barton sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/barton... was born on this day, so here are some of his book covers (Artist: Dean Ellis, Bob Eggleton, Paul Swendsen and Sean Beavers):

Happy birthday Warja Lavater. The Swiss artist, bookmaker, & designer, best known for her books re-telling fairy tales with symbols, was born today in 1913. #artistbooks #bookmaking

Just read Bess Lovejoy's piece "Loved to Pieces - On the Appeal of Collecting Well-Worn Books" in @finebooks.bsky.social autumn 2025 issue. A rather delightful read, w/ a big nod to the 'emotional and historical richness of flaws.' We are all so very flawed, indeed, a am so very human. Nice essay!

Thomas Pole took up painting in the golden age of British watercolour, which spanned the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A doctor by profession, he settled in Bristol from Philedephia in the early 19thC - this work (c1810) depicts a view into his garden, 14 St James's Square.

New in our collection the Dutch first edition of “The Adventures Of Tintin: Destination Moon” by Hergé. BTW: we call him Kuifje.

Two lovely Eyke Volkmer covers for John Brunner. L, the 1967 German edition of The Long Result (1965); R, the 1966 German edition of No Future in It (1962) #scifi #sciencefiction #books

Books I saw at work: last week!

And here is the Royal Danish Library’s copy of the 1725 Historia Coelestis. Hoping Rev Flamsteed looks kindly on our work. This copy turned up some interesting material, including the binding with the cipher of Christian the 7th!

Today's thrift store find: gothics! 🖤 Consider this a preview of October content 😁

Douglas R Mason sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/mason_... - who also wrote as John Rankine - was born on this day: so here are some of his book covers (Artist: John Linder, Wilson McLean, Wilson McLean and Paul Lehr):