Gnomes, by Rien Poortvliet & Wil Huygen

Gnomes, by Rien Poortvliet & Wil Huygen. 1979 softcover. 212 pages, nice condition, some slight damage along the edges of cover.

The classic illustrated survey of gnome life, history, and lore. Originally published in Dutch in 1976 as Leven en werken van de kabouter (lit. 'Life and work of the gnomes'), then released in English in 1977, the book is written like a biology book, describing the habitat of the mythical creatures known as gnomes. In the book, Huygen and Poortvliet explain that they've spent at least twenty years observing them and call their study the "first work of consequence on the subject to be published since Wunderlich's bulky and dubious treatise De Hominibus Parvisimis appeared in 1580." Hundreds of illustrations, maps and diagrams.