White Elephant Gifts

A collection of illustrated fairy stories from Louisa May Alcott—the author who brought us Little Women. 

Originally published in 1854, this collection of fables was inspired by Louisa's time spent in the woods around Walden Pond—a spot endearingly named Fairyland by Walden's own Henry David Thoreau. Young Louisa collected these fairy fables into a volume dedicated to her friend Ellen Emerson, the daughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson. This volume—published under the title, Flower Fables—was Louisa's first published book. Published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of its first publication, this elegant hardback edition is a perfect gift for any aged reader.

Discover your Victorian birthday flower and personalized poem and keep track of friends and family occasions in this lovely floral gift hardback

This reproduction of a Victorian birthday reminder book combines flowers and their emblems with great poetry. Three hundred and sixty-five color engravings grace this little book, perfect for keeping track of anniversaries and birthdays of loved ones. Each day of the year is beautifully illustrated with a unique flower and a quote from some of the world’s greatest poetry.

Ghosts are everywhere… if you know how to look.

Originally published in 1864, Spectropia is a science-based, time-honored guide to seeing ghosts, ghouls, spirits, skeletons, and witches—no graveyard loitering necessary.

Simply stare at the sixteen color plates inside this book for twenty seconds and you will see colorful spooky specters, life-sized or colossal. Whether a true believer or a skeptic, anyone can experience the paranormal with Spectropia.

Fast, easy, and economical, the recipes in Microwave Cooking for One are ideal for individuals, whether they live alone or share busy modern households. From breakfast through dinner, fresh, delicious meals can be prepared to satisfy personal tastes without wasted food, overheated kitchens, or messy clean-up.

This cult favorite has been featured by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Washington Post, The Mindy Project, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, About.com, Dangerous Minds, Anorak, SF Weekly, Livestrong, Nutrition Know How, Serious Eats, and more.

This uniquely practical guide to wholesome and efficient cooking emphasizes the importance of measured portions, careful timing, and the right utensils when cooking with a microwave. Inexperienced chefs will be able to cook like professionals with these more than three hundred easy-to-follow recipes. As an extra bonus, included are instructions for easily doubling or tripling a recipe when you need more to go around.

Dishes include Flounder with Stuffing, Flaky Homemade Biscuits, Momma’s Chicken Cacciatore, and Pound Cake. Discover a world of convenience for every meal of the day!

This colorful Victorian floral dictionary evokes an age gone by....

To Victorian letter writers in the West a new, exotic and secret language came from the East, communicating through flowers. The language of flowers became so refined in the nineteenth century that a dictionary was necessary. Using this source, one could send a message of reproach, passion, friendship, quarrel or a myriad of other sentiments singly and combined via a simple bouquet without ever penning a single word. Discover the language of flowers in this gift hardback, perfect for any home.

The 1917 book purportedly dictated from beyond the grave by Mark Twain.

Was Jap Herron the work of Mark Twain or a scam that capitalized on the heightened belief in the paranormal during the early 20th century? We invite everyone to read and decide for themselves... or let the Ouija board decide.

Several years after Mark Twain’s death in 1910, Emily Grant Hutchings claimed that Twain dictated this novel from the beyond, letter by letter, over a Ouija board. She went on to publish it with Mitchell Kennerley in 1917. When the Twain estate discovered the book, they took Hutchings to court, demanding that she either declare herself a fraud or surrender all profits and rights to the estate. The lawsuit was dropped when Hutchings agreed to cease publication and destroy the remaining unsold books—but she never retracted her claims. 

Set in the antebellum South, Jap Herron’s title character (Jasper James Herron) rises out of poverty to become a central figure in his small Missouri town. In a lengthy introduction, Hutchings recounts unidentified spirits meddling with the story, apparitions sent by Twain to haunt the medium’s dreams, and insights into Twain’s postmortem personality.

Amaze your friends with timeless magic tricks!

Originally published in 1838, Parlour Magic contains over 350 party tricks that will impress even the most skeptical of audiences. These memorable experiments require only household items, scientific principles, and wit. Using this book, you will be able to:

• Shatter bulletproof glass with a few grains of sand
• Change the color of a rose with a match
• Create visible sparks with a friendly cat
• Transform oil and water into soap with a drop of ammonia
• And much more!

These parlor tricks are the foundation of modern illusion magic for good reason—they are simply astounding. With Parlour Magic, you can continue the 200-year tradition!

The first personality assessment book of its kind, this fun and innovative classic from 1927 helped set the standard for interactive gamebooks. 

Innovative co-authors Mary Alden Hopkins and Doris Webster helped establish our enduring fascination with self-improvement by cleverly formulating a personality test that employs the easy-to-use format of a game. Here’s how it works. 

I’ve Got Your Number presents readers with a group of five categories containing five questions each. Your answers to the questions in each category determine your “number”, and your number reveals insights into your personality gleaned directly from your responses. A wide range of categories provide a well-rounded accounting of your personal qualities.  

What attributes should you look for in your ideal romantic partner? How do you best thrive at work? What traits might be holding you back? These topics, and so many more, are addressed within the pages of this quality facsimile edition of the original book. 

This fun and useful framework for self-analysis has delighted readers for decades and set the stage for others to come. Before there was Myers-Brigges, there was Hopkins and Webster. Indeed, nearly one hundred years later, the personality assessment presented in I’ve Got Your Number proves that while times change, our quest for self-knowledge remains constant.