Ex Libris Miskatonici: A Catalogue Of Selected Items From The Special Collections In The Miskatonic University Library

by Joan C. Stanley

Account of the acquisition, history, & contents of sixteen of the Library's most notable books on the occult, including The Pnakotic Manuscripts, The Eltdown Shards, R'lyeh Text, Dhol Chants, Ponape Scripture, De Vermis Mysteriis, and of course, the Necronomicon.

Genres: Reference

66 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

Reviews

[James Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This heavily footnoted and well-researched (and inventive when need be) reference is a terrific guide to the pseudobiblia of the Cthulhu Mythos. Included are histories of the Pnakotic Manuscripts, Eltdown Shards, Celaeno Fragments, G'harne Fragments, Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan, Book of Dzyan, R'lyeh Text, Dhol Chants, Ponape Scripture, Codex Dagonensis, Cultes des Goules, De Vermis Mysteriis, Book of Eibon, Unaussprechlichen Kulten, and of course, the infamous Necronomicon, as well as the history of Miskatonic University's library. Great for major Mythos fans, though perhaps a bit much for those interested more in the mood than the Mythos itself. Highly recommended!

[Isobelle Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It is one of my favorite latter day Mythos texts. The woman that wrote it is a genius.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little item will make no sense to anyone unfamiliar with H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos.

But to those who are, it's an insider gem that brings a lot of smiles.

Miskatonic University is the fictional college in Lovecraft's work that serves as the academic foundation for the occult research behind the various expeditions, examinations and adventures in the Lovecraftian world-view. So the library at the university would be the source of all important documents, books, manuscripts etc. on these matters, and would publish a catalog of their special collections. This is a selection from their full catalog.

Joan Stanley knows her Lovecraftiana. The most important fictional texts referenced in Lovecraft's work are all described, with background on how they were acquired by the library and scope notes on the contents, where translated. Many items were donated by characters who appear in Lovecraft's work. Part of the fun is that she references real books (both fiction and non-fiction) as her sources, and there's an impressive bibliography at the back of the book.

Also fun is the inclusion of real manuscripts in the library, most notably the famously controversial Voynich manuscript, which she says some scholars have tied to the Necronomicon, the most famous text in the Cthulhu mythos. The various editions of the Necronomicon that the library holds are described, of course, as well as seminal texts such as the R'lyeh text, the Codex Dagonensis, and the Pnakotic manuscripts.

I'm a middling reader of Lovecraft myself, but I had a lot of chuckles with this. The more you know about Lovecraft, the more you'll enjoy this little oddity.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly fun book, Ex Libris... is catalog of "special" books in the holdings of (fictional) Miskatonic University. This little gem works because it is utterly true to its type. That is, if Miskatonic existed, if the books existed, if they were summarized and cataloged by the library staff there, the result would be this. Exactly.

Featured here are all (I think, certainly most) of the "big-hitter" texts of Lovecraftian horror - The Pnakotic Manuscripts, The Book of Dyzan, the Codex Dagonensis, De Vermis Mysteriis, the Book of Eibon, and many more including, of course, the Necronomicon. Each has only a brief section, but what there is is detailed and wonderful, a real spark of verisimilitude for these works.

A fresh, hardcover printing of this book is available from Necronomicon Press. If you are a Call of Cthulhu Keeper, interested in the Mythos, or just someone that likes books on (fictional) books, you'll love this one. Packed into these brief sixty-six pages are histories and physical descriptions of the texts, notes on transactions, and an excellent Bibliography and Reference section at the end.

Highly recommended.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think one of the things I enjoyed about this book is that it accomplishes clearly what it set out to do. The title itself explains it, of course, and obviously the book can only have a VERY particular kind of readership who would know what this is, and why it might be interesting to poke into. So, if you're one of those readers, and you'll know already if you are, then all I can say is, the book doesn't disappoint. It has the kind of dry, literary exactitude it should have, and yet all sorts of nuggets of interest. It's extremely well researched, and indeed (if you're one of those readers) it will point you in the direction of several (real) books that you might not have heard of that you might want to track down. Quite superb, this.

[Joel Saa'C · Rating 3 out of 5]

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