When Michael Bell ran an antiquarian bookshop in Lewes, east Sussex, the collection of amusingly titled old books he kept in his window proved so popular with local people that he decided to share them with the rest of us in a book, just published - Scouts in Bondage (named after one of said books).

What has become of us? It's sad that we have become so smutty-minded and giggly about such titles as How Nell Scored, Fairies I Have Met, The Dangers of Cruising and Muffs and Morals, just some of the 45 featured books that recall a more innocent era in publishing. But not to worry about all that. I'm off to track down a copy of a 1931 adventure story, Invisible Dick (chapter two: The Vanishing Helmet). Phnar, Phnar.

· Scouts in Bondage, compiled by Michael Bell, is published by Aurum Press, priced £9.99