There is no algorithm for what I do.
The catalogs you receive from Transmutation Publishing are not compiled from bulk acquisitions or warehouse lists. They are the result of months — sometimes years — of careful searching, correspondence, and cross-country travel. I go where the books are: attics and archives, private libraries and estate collections, forgotten bookshops tucked down winding side streets.
In a world increasingly automated, my work remains proudly analog — guided by instinct, curiosity, and an unshakable reverence for the book as artifact.
The Hunt: Where It Begins
My travels are often sparked by a letter, a whispered tip, or a private invitation. I’ve driven for days to view a single shelf of early occult titles, flown cross-country to examine a collection rumored to contain a heretical 17th-century manuscript, and climbed crumbling staircases to access locked attics where forgotten libraries slumber beneath dust and time.
These aren’t ordinary book runs. They are pilgrimages.
Whether I find myself in a university town, a centuries-old Masonic lodge, or a private collector’s home, I approach each encounter with care and discretion — cataloging not just the books, but the stories they carry.
What Makes a Book Worth Cataloging?
Not every volume makes the cut.
The books you’ll find in our catalogs are chosen for their singularity — a curious annotation, an unusual provenance, a binding done by hand in a now-forgotten workshop. Some are obscure works in fringe fields, others are well-known titles with rare printings or occult associations. A few are simply beautiful in ways that defy description.
My goal is not to offer a flood of inventory. It is to curate a meaningful collection — one that invites deep reading, collecting, and scholarship.
Each title is described with accuracy, but also with a sense of wonder. You’ll often find details you won’t see elsewhere: binding quirks, inscriptions, marginalia, and historical context I’ve uncovered through my own research. This is slow cataloging. Thoughtful cataloging. And, I believe, better cataloging.
A Catalog Is a Cabinet of Curiosities
Our catalogs are released periodically and in limited numbers. Some clients use them as reference guides long after the books are gone, marking up their own notes or cross-referencing entries in their personal libraries. Others await each issue as one might await a letter from an old friend — a glimpse into the obscure corners of bibliographic history.
They are more than sales lists. They are a form of correspondence between kindred spirits.
Why It Matters
In a time when so much is digitized, fast, and disposable, I believe in the enduring value of the printed page — and of the quest to preserve it.
These travels, and the treasures they yield, serve a purpose: to bring rare, beautiful, and unusual works back into the hands of those who will care for them, study them, and perhaps pass them on again.
If you’ve ever browsed our catalogs and wondered where these books come from — now you know. Each one has a journey of its own. I’m simply the one who listens for the whispers.
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John Belongie
Antiquarian Specialist | Transmutation Publishing
Curator of the Curious | Purveyor of the Unusual