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[cblj_backup]

This is a weird little story about a weird little book.

Quite a while ago, I stumbled on the Duke University Advertising Ephemera Collection. The collection is an archive of ads from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, everything from product-oriented recipe books to single-sheet broadsides. I found one called Dr. King's Lucky Book, a snake-oil salesbook masquerading as a book of folk charms, and thought, I'd like to have a copy of this. I knew it was possible to save off every image in high-res, clean them, set them into a doc file, and publish just a single copy for myself through Lulu.com. I also knew it would be a pain in the ass, so I didn't bother.

Then I broke my leg.

I spent a lot of time off my feet, and a not insignificant amount of time on painkillers, which gave me the time to work on a few projects. As long as I was printing up a copy of Dr. King's Lucky Book, I'd throw in some of the other ads and ephemera I liked. Then I thought, why not make an almanac?

Then I thought, why not make an evil almanac?

My idea for the Evil Almanac was that it would start out innocently, with folk cures and ads and calendar pages and harmless charms and recipes, and then slowly it would slide downwards into incoherent madness (I'd like to remind you all I was stoned and bored when I came up with this). I wanted to emulate what would happen if a book went insane. I tapped a few more resources I knew were good for the creep factor, and I mentioned the book to my friend Kiki, who loved the idea and supplied me with all the additional archive sources I could ever require.

I've been working on it off-and-on since then, so the book's about two years old, but I was always hesitant to share it because really it's just me doing a collage. When I had guests recently I happened to offer it to them to see what they thought, and they really liked it, which bolstered my resolve.

It still needs a few minor tweaks, I think, so in the spirit of Extribulum I'm sharing a proof PDF with all of you before it goes to print, to generate a little interest, get some commentary, the usual. The PDF isn't perfect, but it gives you a good idea of what to expect.

So without further ado, please enjoy Dr. King's Lucky Book:



Download via Megaupload | Mirror
Download via Sendspace | Mirror

If you enjoy the PDF, tell your friends, share it around, and keep your eyes peeled for the paperback edition coming soon from Extribulum Press. The final paperback will be about the size of a very thick comic book, with a colour cover and black-and-white interior, and run you about $10.

Comments

[calliope-jones.livejournal.com]

OMG, I can't WAIT to have a hard copy of this. Or two or three.

[strange-selkie.livejournal.com]

ooooh! Is this your Thing with the Thing that you were working on? It looks NEAT. (I can't download until I get home, alas. But I will. Oh yes.) It looks like kabbalah for the quirky consumer.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a little bit mystical religious, a little bit weird science -- I think there might be pages that I nicked from manuscripts which were nicked from Kabbalah-like things.

There's another Secret Project too, but this week I'm going to knock it OUT!

[strange-selkie.livejournal.com]

Also, have I shown you "Truck Got Stuck," by Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans? I posted it on FB, but I feel it is so indicative of the general feeling of your life as it hurtles through space (as filtered through the lens of the Canada prairies) that you should google for it if I haven't.

I can't wait for you to start reading! (I promise I will send any additional sex scenes as I write them.)

[odontomachus.livejournal.com]

A FELLOW CORB FAN! You are the first such I have found on the internet, and have earned my love for it. <3

[lapin-agile.livejournal.com]

What are the copyright issues with this collage publication? I feel sure you've worked through them, but would be interested to read what you might share about that process, extribulumwise.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Most of the items are out of copyright. There are a few that are in copyright but free for use as long as you provide attribution (the last page lists all the reference sites I used, even though some are now defunct). Some are out of copyright but "held" by certain archives (like Duke) so you have to credit Duke when you use them.

I'm not sure what the precise legal status of collage is, but I'm pretty sure some of these images would count as collage works (and thus be immune to copyright suits) even if they weren't already free for use.

[karadin.livejournal.com]

thank you for the preview!

[leighblack.livejournal.com]

thanks! looks interesting.

[pixiepanther.livejournal.com]

I have downloaded the preview and it looks great :) I've already warned my boyfriend we're getting a copy as soon as the physical copies are ready.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Hurrah! I was hoping people would enjoy it. I'm never sure whether they'll be willing to pay the amount I charge, or feel they got their money's worth...

[pixiepanther.livejournal.com]

But you are asking about the same price, if not a lower price, than most request. I'm pretty sure if people started getting a little irked by how much you want to charge, they'd either tell you or not buy it. I think the work you do is worth its price, and honestly, you're one of the few authors I will happily pay full/requested price for instead of getting it off Amazon for as cheap as I can find it.

[iamshadow.livejournal.com]

I am totally sending you a poster of the snake oil that Holtermann invested in (http://blog.sl.nsw.gov.au/holtermann/index.cfm/2011/3/1/holtermanns-great-remedy). They sell them cheap at the visitor's centre.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

LOL! I do love snake oil....

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

I downloaded the PDF and then sent it off to Amazon to be converted (for my personal use only!) to Kindle format. I'll let you know how it looks on Kindle--if it works, you might want to make ebook versions for sale.

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

Or not, on sending it to Amazon, since it turned out to be too big. But I'm converting it (again, only for my personal use) in Mobipocket. I can send that to you if you'd like, however.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see it, yeah. I think some of it might lose too much definition to be readable on a hand-held, but I haven't dealt with Kindles a whole lot, so I could be totally wrong :)

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

It's definitely readable on the Kindle, though it would be easier on the larger Kindle DX, which is intended for professional documents, textbooks, and other things with diagrams and charts and stuff. On my Kindle 2, the smallest print is difficult for my forty-something year old eyes, but it's clear, not fuzzy or anything, just too bloody small. I expect to read it tonight after I take out my contact lenses.

I sent the ebook to your gmail address.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

This reminds me of a plan some friends and I were talking about involving creating an elaborate forged copy of "The King In Yellow" and tucking it away somewhere in a major academic library.

Er, which is to say I think I know what one of my friends is getting on the next major gift giving holiday.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHA that would be brilliant! Like Joe Orton "modifying" library books...

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Just with less vandalism and more full-time work.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

I've just glanced through it but it looks like a lot of fun. I want to look up all those people I've never heard of whose birthdays are noted in the calendars. Isn't it interesting that the little filler "jokes" are so unfunny? I think my favorite parts are the Good and Evil dingbats and Jesus' horoscope (I believe that's what that was - Jesus' star chart, maybe? a lot of the unfortunately very many fundamentalist Christians I know think astrology is a work of the devil).

[elisiande.livejournal.com]

Dear Sam,
You are my second favorite evil genius. I do admire that in a man. (I married my *most*favorite evil genius. )

Love,
Elisiande

[myemmie.livejournal.com]

I downloaded this and picked through it all afternoon. The only thing that threw me off (and then only a little) is that I expected a little bit of narrative in-between the adverts and things; once I reset my brain to have it read more as a farmer's almanac of sorts, everything was peachy.

I love it, and it has a space on my bookshelf reserved right between my copies of The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases and Your Disgusting Head, from the Haggis-On-Whey World of Unbelievable Brillance. :D

[pillmayken.livejournal.com]

Ooh, very interesting imagery. Also, I'm totally printing out some pages to use in my collages.

[lavinialavender.livejournal.com]

OMG, Sam. I've just skimmed through it, but I LOVE this sort of thing and yeah, I'm definitely not going to be able to resist buying it. It's just too quaint and surreal and the best coffeetable book ever.

MURDER WILL OUT.

No statement has oftener been proven true than this, unless it is the one that Bucklen's Arnica Salve is a reliable remedy for all skin affections and a sure healer of burns, bruises, boils, ulcers, sores and open wounds.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I KNOW RIGHT? :D

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

Cool - I love this kind of thing. I can't wait to pore over it.

[dreamwaffles.livejournal.com]

You should know that this is vastly unsettling to read at night alone in a dark house. Well done, you.

Now to go post a cryptic Google+ status about it. :P

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

LOL! I'm glad :D

[dreamwaffles.livejournal.com]

I almost missed when it started to go strange, and I'm still not sure whether the Homely Women ad is part of it all or not.

[jonaht.livejournal.com]

Finally saved on my flashdrive via the library computer. There's a slim chance it's been saved on the computer for other patrons. Probably not though, but in case something comes up...don't blame me.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

More publicity! :D

[firynze.livejournal.com]

SO UP MY ALLEY.

[crowgirl13.livejournal.com]

I found this to be fascinating, though not very creepy. But then, my creepy threshold is incredibly high, so I'm really an outlier in that regard. The part that pinged hardest on my creep-dar was the bit about nailing this book to the wall for luck. I was curious - how much of the text did you write? It all fits together logically and as seamlessly as one would expect from an insane book.

The only thing that stuck out as a potential error: on page 14, there's no interpretation for a poorly developed Saturn mount. All of the rest of the mounts have both positive and negative meanings included.

This is very cool, Sam. I can't wait to see the finished results.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I wrote absolutely nothing, just assembled images -- anything missing is the fault of the original creators, not me :D Crazy, isn't it?

[crowgirl13.livejournal.com]

*blinks*
REALLY?
Well, joke's on me, since I was squinting at the text, looking for Sam-flavor scattered throughout. :D And yeah, that's NUTS, as well as very cool.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find the alchemical stuff? I've been poking about online looking for images with only moderate luck.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, some of the alchemical stuff came from the ad archive, if I'm remembering right. If you go to the very last page of the PDF there's a list of all the archives I used; that should give you a good place to start. I find library archives, specifically university library archives, often have a surprising diversity of online images.

[crowgirl13.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, some of the alchemical stuff came from the ad archive,
That is odd - and it puts an very interesting slant on the snake oil business overall.

Oh, I did see the list of sources and intend to go poke around. I was just hoping to narrow the search at the onset. ;D Thank you, Sam.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Try the Cornell one -- I think that had some. Pictures From Old Books would be a good place to start but I'm not sure it's still around...

[crowgirl13.livejournal.com]

Oh great! That's very helpful and much appreciated.

[contrarywise]

Ooh, nifty fun!

BTW, you might also enjoy this collection of Victorian infographics.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

WOW. Those are awesome. Graphjam for the steampunk set!