Sometimes scandalous. Always collectible. Erotica has been an omnipresent aspect of literature, shaking up societal norms since ancient times. Battling censors, doing jail-time or narrowly escaping death sentences, the real-life adventures of the writers are almost as dramatic as the books themselves. [Erotica]

Did you know that Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens? During his time as a pilot on a riverboat, he picked up the term "Mark Twain", a boatsman call noting that the river was only two fathoms deep, the minimum depth for safe navigation. [Mark Twain]

AbeBooks booksellers have hundreds of unique books on gardening; browse through these titles or search for more new, used, rare and out of print books to add to your collection. [Gardening Books]

Increase your knowledge of art from around the world with this fine selection of rare and collectible books about art. [Collectible Art Books]

The Bible was first printed in 1454 A.D. by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the first moving press. Since the Gutenberg Bible, the Bible has been translated into thousands of different languages and is still considered a bestselling book. AbeBooks' booksellers have an impressive selection of some very desirable rare and collectible Bibles. [Rare Bibles]

Music touches everyone in one way or another throughout their lives. Here at AbeBooks you can find rare and collectible books that cover the whole spectrum of the music world. [Music Books]

ans Christian Andersen, born in 1802 in Odense, Denmark, is known around the world for his beloved fairy tales. Andersen wasn't always a writer - he started his career as a singer and actor - but his true love was writing. [Hans Christian Andersen]

harles Dickens: There is nothing more synonomous with the holiday season than Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. This year, buy a special collectible edition of A Christmas Carol to give to your loved ones so they can read it year after year. [Charles Dickens]

ild West: Histories and personal experiences of the old West, and art by those who were there, takes us to our roots as a nation, and the wonder and dangers of exploring and settling a vast continent. Such a book collection takes us into the lives of extraordinary men, both white and Indian, and it is difficult to realize that the west still was not completely won only about 100 years ago. [Wild West]

unting: The history of hunting goes hand-in-hand with the history of civilization. Hunting styles and methods may have changed throughout the centuries, but the colorful stories of adventure and sport have not. We’ve put together a collection of works – from great storytellers like Roosevelt to controversial characters like Siegfried Sassoon – depicting fascinating accounts of these adventures- and thrill-seekers. [Hunting Books]

tlases: We were brought up with atlases-- they adorned our coffee tables, they were consulted to plan our trips, and they helped us write our reports for geography and other classes. We referred to them when an unknown place was mentioned in conversation or on the news. [Atlases]

aps: The fascination with old paper is not confined to books, but crosses into many areas of collecting--including the world of geography. These pieces of paper are much more than a guide to get from place to place. They can trace the history of artistic endeavor, printing techniques, paper use, military conquest, scientific development, geopolitical trends, the heavens, and more. These are maps of and by the imagination. They are the product of a collective activity, not just the single engraver, cartographer or geographer. [Maps]