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Books are awesome. They are even more awesome when they are
props used in movies and television and I am fascinated by every one of them.
One of my current favorites is John’s Journal from
Supernatural. Sam and Dean’s dad, John Winchester, kept an amazing diary of
notes of all the vampires, djins, demons and other assorted creatures that he
had come across as a Hunter – and most likely had killed. It is
a guide book of sorts that they’ve referred to many times during the show,
especially since Dad was killed off.
One of the newer story lines in Supernatural has been the
introduction of the Men of Letters. When Sam and Dean found the secret bunker
with the special key, they found a treasure trove of books and documents to aid
in the battle of good and evil.
From Supernatural Wiki: “It is described as containing every
object, scroll and spell collected by the order for over a thousand years as
well as research and books on a variety of subjects.” And it’s also located in
Lebanon, Kansas, the geo center of the United States.
Another awesome favorite is from The Last Crusade—Indiana
Jones’ father’s diary. How cool was that little book, also known as the Grail
Diary? It held maps of neat little places in Jordan, like Petra. Pencil rubs
from tombs of the Knight’s Templar. Everything a treasure hunter needed.
In the television series Alias, there was the Rimbaldi
manuscript. The most famous page of that book was “Page 47” – the one Syd
replaced at Sloane’s house. I was sure she would get caught!
It contained the most famous passage of the entire
Alias series. Here’s the quote from The
Prophecy. "This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks, signs that
she will be the one to bring forth my works, bind them with fury, a burning
anger. Unless prevented at vulgar cost, this woman will render the greatest
power unto utter desolation."
And finally, there was the Book
of the Dead in The Mummy. It was a creepy book opened with the awesome
star-shaped key. Gah, I love these props.
All of these books portend some
bad happenings but they show such creativity. This type of prop had to include
drawings and text that could hold up to scrutiny on those close up shots. 
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Some other cool book props
include the Book of Secrets from National Treasure. And there was the Standard
Book of Spells from Harry Potter.
I’m also fascinated by all the treasure maps and scrolls they come up with. The Game of Thrones map that they
have in the opening sequence of the show is awesome.
I would love to have these on my book shelves!
What famous book props have I missed?
