For the month of August, we have prepared a series of short lists that show the great diversity within the area of books-about-books. We’re kicking off the series with a look at the ways in which books incorporate the element of bonus content—after all, most people enjoy a good surprise.

As booksellers, we have handled a plethora of books with wonderful association copies—and, indeed, we still do. In our latest offering of association copies and books and art inscribed by the artist, we now turn the spotlight onto those books and works on paper in which one can find a few choice connections. We offer, for instance, a copy of the Officina Bodoni’s Four Gospels in Italian, inscribed by Pope Paul VI to the mayor of Milan—a connection that becomes even more intriguing when one considers that prior to becoming Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini served as Archbishop of Milan for nearly a decade. Or consider the story behind the first type specimen to feature Bruce Rogers’s Centaur type, inscribed by BR to William Edwin Rudge, for whose imprint BR designed eighty publications.

While there are certainly many booksellers who make history a specific area of specialization, that has never been our focus. And yet, here we stand on the cusp of launching an e-catalogue on the subject of history. We have come to find out that one can find oneself on the road to acquiring books and other material with historical content without being completely conscious of it. Some items, of course, are more obvious: an original painting of the Atlantic Charter and the Four Freedoms—executed the year before Norman Rockwell indelibly imprinted it upon the national consciousness—is not only thematically forthright, but also imposing in terms of sheer size. Some are less so, such as Gaylord Schanilec’s subtle tribute to the High Bridge in St. Paul, which uses images and newspaper accounts to tell the story of a bridge and its impact on the community from its construction in the 19th century to its demolition in 1985.

As part of the pantheon of foundational narratives to which we regularly turn for inspiration and guidance, fables and fairy tales often overlap with myths and legends. Indeed, they arise from the same wellspring of oral literature that dates back to antiquity. However, whereas myths and legends frequently convey cultural touchstones, such as origin stories, fables and fairy tales use timeless and imaginary worlds to demonstrate that our actions have consequences.

Considering the importance placed upon our interactions with the world and the notion of personal responsibility that should guide those interactions, we hope this selection proves timely. After all, the German fabulist Wilhelm Hey composed a series of these stories to occupy his children while they were quarantined with the measles.