Miskatonic University Monograph: Liber Oblitus


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A Study of a Mythos Tome

The HPLHS presents the latest addition to our series of academic monographs from Miskatonic University Press, Liber Oblitus: A Reading of an Unreadable Book. The discovery of a manuscript written in an unknown language puzzled its discoverers. A team from Miskatonic University undertook an analysis of the strange document.

Led by the art historian who discovered the manuscript, the team does its best to analyze the nearly 300 hand-written pages. Aided by an historian, a psychologist and a mathematician, the scholars look at the strange work from the points of view of their respective disciplines. Filled with breathtaking scholarship, copious footnotes, figures and color plates from the amply illustrated manuscript, the team teases out meaning from the mysterious document.

Fans of the Cthulhu Mythos, art history, psychology, astronomy, cryptography, mathematics, history and cryptical books like the famous Voynich Manuscript will be delighted with this painstaking recreation of an academic monograph of yesteryear. This monograph is ideally suited for collectors of mythos memorabilia and for role playing gamers looking for a prop that's able to withstand a high level of scrutiny. 

The standard monograph features 53 pages of text, figures, detailed footnotes and bibliography, a glossy 16-inch color centerfold and more. It is 5.5 x 8.5 inches, saddle stapled with a high quality green cover in the same style as our previous monographs.

The deluxe hardback facsimile version contains the complete text and figures of the monograph (minus the color plates), plus all 267 pages of the cryptical manuscript for a complete 302-page facsimile. The book measures 8.75 x 11.25 inches and is an inch thick, weighing over two pounds.

Bonus Fun: Liber Oblitus is a real manuscript and we hope to be able to offer fans full replica copies of it in the future. The hardback facsimile of Liber Oblitus also is a prop in a forthcoming Call of Cthulhu® scenario by the HPLHS called "The Spark Devil". Whether you're a gamer, or just into awesome mythos props, we think you'll find Liber Oblitus and everything connected to it to be a lot of fun. It's one part Voynich Manuscript, one part Necronomicon, and one part something you've never seen before.

FAQ

Q: Is this real?

A: It was published by Miskatonic University Press, the publishing arm of a fictitious university. We hope that answers your question. 

Q: The illustrations are interesting - what do the words say?

A: This entire book is an effort by scholars to understand a book that seems to be written in a language that no one can read.

Q: Wait a second, is Liber Oblitus real? 

A: We have the original manuscript here at the HPLHS office. It weighs nearly 11 lbs. We don't know what it says. Really.

Q: Are there more Miskatonic University monographs?

A: Yes. We have ones on the Codex Beltrán-Escavy, the Curious Sea Shanties of Innsmouth, Massachusetts, and the delightful The Discovery of Fragments of Kitab Al-Azif at Harran. We have several more titles in the works.

Q: Why doesn't the hardback version include the color plates? 

A: Because it has a full facsimile of the manuscript, making the color plates redundant and unnecessary.

Q: Does this monograph have more pages and footnotes than any previously published?

A: Why, yes. Yes it does.

Q: Are you really going to include a copy of the hardback version as a prop in an upcoming game?

A: That is the plan. If you think you might be interested in buying that game when it comes out, you might consider buying the standard edition of the monograph in the meantime.

Customer Reviews

Based on 23 reviews
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S
Scott Little
Miskatonic University Monograph: Liber Oblitus

Great academic tome from Miskatonic!

R
Ryan Cutter
Mervelous Piece

An excellent addition to a collection and a perfect launching point for a strange story.

N
Nick Best
Highly recommended!

This is an amazing piece of art. I highly recommended it!

J
John Anuci

Like everything from HPLHS, this is perfect!👌

A
Alastair
It’s Unforgotten now...

This is a review of the softback booklet version only. I decided to save the hardback one until the RPG set including it is ready!

Latest in the line of reproduction Miskatonic University Press’ Monographs from the early 20th century by the HPLHS, this booklet enjoys the usual formatting for that series, including images of the original document on glossy paper, two as fold-outs, and two, including the cover photo - in colour. The illustrated, expert-written texts are all we’ve come to expect from others in this Monograph collection, here with those experts sometimes tying themselves metaphorically in knots in trying to explain the inexplicable. Rare use of contractions, such as “it’s” for “it is”, jar occasionally, compared with texts from the historical 1920s and 1930s, but these are minor distractions overall, in another beautifully-produced work of its kind. Ah, those hidden messages are calling, not least thanks to the mystical time-travelling nature of the book, no doubt a result of the action of the text’s extracts contained within (see the interior copyright date, if confused!).