|
“‘What a duck,’ she thought.”
—Virginia Woolf, “Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street”
Reader Duck
This squeaky duckie loves to read while floating in the water…or sitting on a desk or bookshelf. Each Lanco rubber duck is unique and handmade. Lanco is a family run business from Barcelona that has been making artisanal work since 1952. The unique designs are created and manufactured in Morocco.
Uneasy Elixirs
Featuring original drinks inspired by Edward Gorey’s deliciously macabre illustrations and with original art from the Gorey archives, this book captures the wit and whimsy of Amphigorey, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, Elegant Enigmas, and more. Created in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Edward Gorey’s birth, Uneasy Elixirs presents a delectable collection of fifty Goreyesque potions, libations, nightcaps, and aperitifs.
|
J. Thoreau & Son Pencils
This pack of four pencils is an homage to those made by Henry David Thoreau and his father, John. Years before writing Walden, Henry David Thoreau joined his father’s pencil business and rediscovered a French formula for kiln-fired pencil leads—a mix of finely ground granite and clay—that could be reliably graded from hard to soft.
|
The Pigeon Reads a Book: 48-Piece Puzzle
This jigsaw puzzle features Pigeon, the beloved character from acclaimed children’s book author Mo Willems, proudly exclaiming, “I am a READER!”
|
Paint-By-Numbers Museum Series Kits
The Museum Series of paint-by-numbers kits feature masterpieces by Monet and Van Gogh. The kits have detailed instructions, as well as a link to an online tutorial, to teach burgeoning artists ages eight and older. Perfect for improving your brush technique or just enjoying a relaxing activity to get away from screens.
|
Hemingway’s Paris:
1,000-Piece Puzzle
Travel back in time to the Jazz Age and explore Paris, which Ernest Hemingway famously described as a “movable feast.” Assemble the rich history and the remarkable legends with this beautifully illustrated 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle by Max Dalton.
|
On Cats
With an introduction by Margaret Atwood and photographs by Elliot Ross. In these pages, writers reflect on the curious feline qualities that inspire such devotion in their owners, even when it seems one-sided.
|
Prohibition and Repeal Amendments Rocks Glasses
A pair of eleven-ounce rocks glasses: a witty and, yes, sobering reminder of the historical path to legal drinking in the United States. One glass is printed with a reproduction of the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture of intoxicating liquors. The other glass is printed with a reproduction of the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition.
|
Janet All-Occasion Greeting Cards by Glen Baxter
In a multitude of books published across four decades, “Colonel” Glen Baxter built a world and a language all his own—slightly familiar, decidedly abnormal, irresistibly funny. Baxter’s drawings are a delicious stew of adventure novels, highbrow hijinks, and outright absurdity. These all-occasion cards are sure to enchant both confirmed Baxterians and those in dire need of an introduction.
|
The Dictionary of Obscure and Enchanting Words
Do you revel in rare words? Swoon over poetic turns of phrase? This dictionary is your passport to a world of linguistic wonder—where forgotten gems and modern curiosities meet. From the soaring spirit of “aliferous” to the bold brilliance of “zazzy,” words that inspire, amuse, and expand the way you see the world await you on every page.
|
The Snooty Bookshop Postcards
This postcard set celebrates more than a decade of Tom Gauld’s contributions to The Guardian, with fifty of his most beloved strips, from “Procrastination for Creative Writers, a 10-Week Course” and “Poetry Anthologies for People Who Don’t Like Poems” to an alternative bookshop shelving section (“Yes, we do have a copy of the book you’re looking for. You’ll find it in the ‘Vastly Overrated’ section of the ‘So-called Classics’ Department”).
|
Baguette Bread Knife
Have your baguette and eat it, too, with this cleverly designed bread knife. Inspired by French bakeries, this knife is not only witty but practical. Beautifully crafted of wood and stainless steel, it’s a charming addition to any kitchen countertop and dining table. The wooden sheath protects the blade and allows it to be safely tucked into a picnic or potluck basket.
|
Gluggle Jug
Discover the timeless charm of the Gluggle Jug—a beloved British design icon known for the delightful “glug-glug” sound it makes when water pours from its mouth. Handmade in Stoke-on-Trent, England, these jugs combine heritage artistry with quirky personality.
|
Anti-Education NYRB Baseball Cap
Whether you’re a teacher who loves tongue-in-cheek humor or a person who is drawn to Nietzschean thinking, this baseball cap makes a strong and surprisingly intellectual statement. Based on the title of the NYRB Classics Original book Anti-Education by Friedrich Nietzsche, which ponders anew way of teaching and questioning, as discussed in five vivid, popular public lectures in Basel in 1872.
Godlike NYRB Baseball Cap
This hat is fit for the divine—inscribed with the word “Godlike” in sky-blue lettering with a maroon border. The color pairing signifies enlightened creativity, serene inspiration, and luxurious wisdom. The hat displays the title of NYRB Classic Godlike by Richard Hell, writer, poet and punk rock pioneer, whose novel explores the tumultuous romance of two poets in 1970s downtown New York City.
Stoner NYRB
Baseball Cap
This cap pays tribute to the luminous and deeply moving novel and its “truly virtuous and dedicated” hero, John Stoner. “John Williams’s Stoner is something rarer than a great novel—it is a perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, that it takes your breath away” (The New York Times Book Review).
Edward Gorey Dancing Cats:
300-Piece Puzzle
We suspect this is what cats get up to when they’re left home alone. These felines—who can be found knitting, skating, balancing, and juggling their way through Edward Gorey’s book Dancing Cats and Neglected Murderesses—fit right in with the rest of his anthropomorphic animals and Edwardian eccentrics. Prolific artist and author Edward St. John Gorey published more than one hundred works, designed sets and costumes for the stage, and had a profound affection for ballet, literature, film, and animals.
|
Untranslatable Words Cards
This set of cards defines some of our favorite words from the world’s languages, and matches them with complementary images to bring some of our feelings into focus. These thought-inspiring cards make an excellent gift for language lovers, word nerds, and all curious individuals, encouraging us all to reflect on the splendor of vocabulary and emotions.
Twenty cards in a beautiful keepsake box; some cards contain adult themes.
|
Edward Gorey: 1,000-Piece Puzzle
Thoughtfully conceived and engagingly intricate, our 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle features the image Untitled (1965) by the incomparable Edward Gorey. Gorey (American, 1925–2000) was an artist, writer, and book designer. His drawings and stories, set in a vaguely Edwardian time frame, exhibit a special genius for what is left unseen and unsaid. Crosshatched characters and quirky narratives keep Gorey devotees in gleeful anticipation of decorous mayhem.
|
Silence Please Mug
A polite exhortation, “silence please,” appears beneath the English Gothic arch at the entrance to the Bodleian Old Library. Another appears in the library’s fifteenth-century courtyard. In fact, these signs are presented at every entrance to the Bodleian, one of Europe’s oldest libraries and the main research library at the University of Oxford. A reminder of the sanctity of scholarship and the quiet passion of book lovers, this bone china mug is an ode to one of the world’s most famous temples of literature.
|
“Life is Difficult” Peanuts Cards
Share the humor of life’s difficult moments with these letterpress cards featuring an original comic strip from Charles M. Schulz’s beloved Peanuts comics. This strip, first published in 1966, features the sardonic wit that has made Peanuts’s popularity so enduring. In it, Charlie Brown shares his encouraging new philosophy with his pal Linus: “I only dread one day at a time!”
|
Cinephile: A Card Game for Film Nerds, Movie Geeks, and Cinephiles
With 150 cards and multiple ways to play, this “stylish and addictive card game” (GQ) is the perfect choice for everyone from casual moviegoers to bona fide film nerds. When we asked an editor and one of our resident cinephiles at New York Review Books what they thought about it, we learned it’s their go-to gift.
|
The World of Oscar Wilde:
1,000-Piece Puzzle
Step into the world of late-nineteenth-century Irish poet, author, and playwright, Oscar Wilde with this 1,000-piece puzzle exploring notable characters from his works and figures from his real life. Spot scenes from all across his works, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Happy Prince.
|
James Joyce Yes Bracelet
“yes I said yes I will Yes“ is the memorable closing line of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Spoken by Molly Bloom, it concludes her soliloquy with a powerful affirmation of life and resolve to embrace it. We’ve put this quote on the inside of one of our sterling silver cuffs as a little “secret” message (or a reminder to oneself).
This slender but substantial cuff is 0.125" wide, and will fit a wrist that is 6.5"–7" around. Every bracelet is individually made by an artist near New York City.
|
Philosophy Teacup
It can be a bit hard to get a handle on philosophy…but not with this elegant porcelain cup, made in the style of a yunomi (a traditional Japanese teacup). Ponder life’s most perplexing questions in the company of eighty Western philosophers, displayed in beautiful and humorous original portraits.
|
“Keep Pedalling” Mug
This heirloom quality bone china mug is decorated with an illustration from Quentin Blake’s much-loved picture book Mrs. Armitage on Wheels and the text: “The trick is to keep pedalling.” Perfect for a six-year-old or a ninety-six-year old, and everyone in-between, under all circumstances.
|
The Shakespeare Collection Socks Gift Boxes
“Undoubtedly the most cheering underthings in the land.”—The Guardian
Each Shakespeare Collection gift box—designed and produced under license from The Shakespeare’s Globe Trust—includes five luxurious pairs of socks suitable for all genders.
|
Walt Whitman Earrings
These handmade sterling silver domed disc earrings, for pierced ears, are stamped with Walt Whitman’s rallying cry for individual and collective liberty: “Resist much, obey little.” The poem in which the line appears, “Caution,” was first published as one of the “Messenger Leaves” in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. The poem was later retitled “To the States.”
|
David Levine Illustrations
A print of a favorite writer, artist, historical figure, or personal hero makes a thoughtful gift for anyone on your list—or a great addition to your own home or office. We offer framed prints of the hundreds of caricatures by celebrated artist David Levine that enriched the pages of The New York Review of Books for more than four decades. (Oscar Wilde shown here.)
|
