When one of my colleagues brought a copy of Codex Seraphinianus by Italian artist Luigi Serafini into the office, I knew we had to do a feature on this whacked out book.

It’s a truly unique art book and flicking through the pages was an interesting experience. A disturbing window on a bizarre fantasy world complete with its own unique (unreadable) alphabet and numerous illustrations that borrow from the modern age but steer into the unusual.

The copy we had was the 1983 American edition published by Abbeville – 370 pages of pure Twilight Zone. The cover alone is wonderful. It features a couple having sex and being transformed into a crocodile (a sexually transmitted reptile if you will!).

Essentially an encyclopedia about an alien world that clearly reflects our own, each chapter appears to deal with key facets of this surreal place, including flora, fauna, science, machines, games and architecture. The most expensive copy to ever sell on our site was a true first edition in two volumes signed Luigi Serafini that went for $5,000.

Read the full feature here.