Antiquities & Oddities

//Antiquities & Oddities
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  • What's in a name? Well, plenty, according to this interesting little booklet.  The word 'dunce' meaning slow-witted or dull is from the name Duns Scotus, a brilliant medieval teacher; Dick Whittington, mayor of London, did exist but is not the legendary poor boy with a pet cat seeking his fortune; Robert Louis Stevenson's infamous character Dr. Jekyll was based on a real man; Old 'Uncle Tom Cobbleigh' was a hotblooded and amorous red-headed man; Lady Godiva did get her gear off  as a result of a bet with her husband - and Mother Goose did write a swag of nursery rhymes! Loads of interest in a small package.
  • Cat; n. Small domesticated carnivorous quadruped.  This selection of writings has been presented as Nine Lives: The Kittenish; The Legendary; The Traditional; The Diabolical; The Poetical; The Domestic; The Curious; The Wild and The Last. A fabulous vintage volume for those who worship and observe cats. Illustrated with black and white photographs.
  • Based on original scripts by Spike Milligan and brought to life by illustrator Pete Clarke.   Entertainments in this volume include: Rommel's Treasure; The Case of the Missing C.D. Plates; The Saga of the Internal Mountain and The Case of the Vanishing Room.
  • Can one think of Torquay without the image of Basil Fawlty cropping up? This charming guide book covers not only the Torquay of 1920 but also delves into history, folklore and local customs. With beautiful colour plate illustrations by Frederick J. Widgery. Reprinted in 2016.
  • This book, which has nothing to do with anything, owes nothing to almost everyone including Robert Burns, Napoleon, Graeme Green, Livingstone Hopkins, Longfellow, John Bull, Guiseppe Verdi, Daniel Defoe, Lord Byron and others. It owes a lot to Bill Wannan, who over the years has pandered to his sudden rushes of comic inspiration and has strayed into a world of dreadful puns, comic narrative, biographies brief and banal, philosophical snatches and illustrated idiocy. His assiduous filing has allowed the accumulation of these visual and verbal tid-bits for the delectation of mankind.  So if you want to knit a scarf for a giraffe, see Mr. Hyde's last confession, understand the difference between a ballad and a ballade, read of the historic meeting between William Wordsworth and the Inspector of Stamps, find out who was the world's most eligible vandal - then this book is for you.  Illustrated.
  • Simon Templar...The Saint No. IV. The lovely Sonia Delmar takes a bite of chocolate - and thereby involves Simon Templar in the most thrilling adventure of his young career. It seems that the young lady is an American munitions heiress...and the chocolate is drugged. The game is kidnapping, blackmail and international turmoil in the very vulnerable Europe of 1930. And though the Saint's allies are the stalwart Roger Conway and the powerful Sir Isaac Lessing, his adversaries are equally formidable: Rayt Marius, the 'Millionaire Without A Country', who would sacrifice the lives of millions for his own profit; Prince Rudolph who fancies himself the new Napoleon; and Vassilov, agent of the Kremlin...
  • Brian Savage, eligible bachelor-about-Manhattan had an antic mind and breezy drawing style that gave Playboy some of its wittiest visuals.  Mr Savage's art has been described - not as savage - but as pointed, perceptive, piquant and uniquely critical of the platitudes and attitudes of contemporary life. Vintage Playboy Magazine humour, 1972.  Probably very non-P.C. and highly collectible.
  • The year is 1793, the darkest days of the French revolution, and little Charles-Léon is ill. The delicate son of Louise and Bastien de Croissy is recommended country air, but travel permits are needed - and impossible to come by. Louise's friend, Josette, believes she knows a way out. For Josette is convinced that her hero, the Scarlet Pimpernel, will come to their rescue. She refuses to believe that he only exists in her imagination. 'I say that the Scarlet Pimpernel can do anything! And I mean to get in touch with him,' she vows, and sets forth into the Paris streets...
  • Sub-title: How To Live in Australia - And Like It. This is actually one of those books that tells you what's right about Australia. Kit Denton, author of  The Breaker and father of television's Andrew Denton, came to Australia in the late 1940s and worked as a gold miner, an itinerant worker, a radio and television interviewer. he covers his mining days, the old ABC television studios in Perth, landladies, characters such as Captain Sundial and Uncle Charlie, his search for the Big Bronzed Anzac Hero and so many other wonderful memories. His last book.