Bibliomania Meets Weird Horror Fiction

Many thanks to Tartarus Press owner and author Ray Russell for this fine mini-documentary on his book collection. Bibliomania strikes when least expected, even though it has become more expected in weird horror than in many other genres. Undoubtedly a product of limited print runs and deluxe editions, the average literary horror devotee is also a lover of well made books and obscure tomes.

Russell's video is the first known video record of this phenomenon. His intense collecting interest in Arthur Machen and other writers is discussed at length, while handsome shots of the books in question materialize. Rare volumes by Thomas Ligotti, Mark Valentine, and Edgar Allan Poe with Harry Clark's celebrated illustrations sit not far from the Machen books. An impressive collection, without question.

It's little wonder that Tartarus has always carried a strong sense of identity. The rich history behind their operation seems to be standing the test of time, especially if the latest developments are any indication. Just recently, Tartarus issued the latest short story collection by Reggie Oliver, Mrs. Midnight and Other Stories, which met out-of-print status at a breakneck pace.

-Grim Blogger

Bibliomania Meets Weird Horror Fiction

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Rarest H.P. Lovecraft Book of the Decade?

This terribly scarce deluxe edition of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" caught my eye on Horrormall.com. Originally published by Bloodletting Books several years ago, it's one of the most luxurious Lovecraftian books bound in recent years--and perhaps the rarest containing "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" since the original limited edition publication of this story in Lovecraft's own lifetime. The 125 copy print run of this book includes several bonus features as well:

The total edition is 125 copies, 150 pp, small octavo (5 x 7.5 inches). The book features a fold-out map of Innsmouth, drawn from Lovecraft's detailed descriptions of the town. The text is set in Centaur and Arrighi, with Gill Shadow for display. The pages were printed letterpress, in two colors, from polymer plates at David Clifford's Black Stone Press in Vancouver, B.C.

This BATRACHIAN issue comprises 125 numbered (1 - 125) copies printed on Mohawk Superfine (an archival, acid-free paper), sewn & cased by hand in full black cloth with an image gold-stamped on the front board. This issue also features specially printed endpapers.

So, if you're a fanatical follower of Lovecraft's Deep Ones and have some money burning through your wallet, you might consider purchasing this unusual item. This pricey specimen also illustrates an important matter of taste for Lovecraftian bibliophiles. Reprints of Lovecraft tales are fairly commonplace, seeing as how all of his stories are public domain. Genuine Lovecraft books worthy of a private library, however, are something else...

-Grim Blogger

Rarest H.P. Lovecraft Book of the Decade?

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Blasphemous Tomes: The Eldritch Quintuplets

This new "blasphemous tomes" series of posts will cover books related to the weird fiction genre that are off the commonly tread literary path. The weird of the weird, you might say. Sometimes humorous, sometimes deathly serious, and always bizarre, these books are also usually obscure. Bringing them to light from an out-of-print musty shelf or from the darker caverns of the online world might or might not unleash a multitude of horrors. You have been warned.

The Elegantly Amused Press only holds one publication to its name so far. And it's easily classifiable as a blasphemous tome. The Eldritch Quintuplets is a re-formatting of H.P. Lovecraft's terrors into jaunty limerick form. Phrases from the famous Necronomicon already possess their own charming rhythm, as in the famous couplet, "That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die." Authors Mike Tice and R.A. Strong up the ante by blurring Necronomicon passages into limericks. Observe the example posted on the book's webpage:

There was a Mad Arab who said
That Cthulhu, though dreaming is dead,
But some future night
When the stars become right,
He'll abandon his watery bed.

But they don't stop there. These writers effectively retell nearly every Lovecraft tale with a limerick. The horror! This 2003 work only saw a very limited release from this tiny publisher. Still, it seems copies of this book remain on the publisher's website. Inquire about buying one of these cheap texts to own a truly unique bit of Lovecraftian ephemera.

-Grim Blogger

Blasphemous Tomes: The Eldritch Quintuplets

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