Books - As Television and Movie Props

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.

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?