Over the years, I have run across a number of versions of the weird and wonderful Codex Seraphinianus. Along with English and French edtions, I have also seen an original Italian version from 1981. It’s difficult to catagorize this fascinating surreal fictionalized encyclopedia for an alternate reality.

Recently, I learned that there is a 40th anniversary limited edition being released next month in the United States, although it may be out already in Europe. As the  video below explains, the Codex was meant to look like a medieval encyclopedia of flora and fauna,  language and culture.The short video does an excellent job of explaining the organization of the book, its origins, and how to begin to dive into it’s brilliant weirdness.