eastern

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library has an extensive collection of books about European and American architecture and architectural ornament. This copy of the rare 1834 Essay on the Architecture of the Hindús written by Rám Ráz (1790-1830), a native of India, is not a book you would typically expect to find in the collection. The author compares Hindu architecture with the Greek, Egyptian, or later European architecture that is helpful in understanding sources of design, particularly of temple architecture.

This volume of the “Fauna of the Romanian People's Republic” is part of a larger set which covers the fauna of Romania. This volume covers the arachnids of Romania, which includes spiders, scorpions, opils, and ticks. Complete with detailed illustrations, this book serves as a helpful research resource and as a way to startle your friends who suffer from arachnophobia.