A Russian ground staff member signals to the pilot of a Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jet at the Hmeymim air base near Latakia, Syria, in this handout photograph released by Russia's Defence Ministry October 22, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)

A participant tries to tie a steer during the Russian Rodeo in the village of Kotliakovo, Bryansk region, southeast of Moscow, Russia, September 12, 2015. The competition was organised by privately held Miratorg, one of the leading Russia's meat producers, between the divisions of the agricultural holding. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Justin Rowe creates these magical sculptures from hand cut books and found images with the help of just a touch of gum arabic and 24 carat gold or palladium leaf. Some are very much in the realms of fairy stories like the one above, but my favourites are the stories below where Justin’s skill brings the book’s own illustrations to life.

Artist Terry Border gives new life to old books in his latest series titled Wiry Limbs, Paper Backs. The artist, who is no stranger to breathing new life into inanimate objects, utilizes his handcrafted technique of bending wires to serve as limbs and combines it with a great sense of humor. Each whimsical creation in the ongoing project is a sculptural work that stands on its own, reflecting its respective text.

A Russian prisoner eating bread. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Finland, circa 1940

Ingots of 99.99 percent pure silver are cast at the Krastsvetmet Krasnoyarsk non-ferrous metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, June 5, 2015. Krastsvetmet is one of the world's largest players in the precious metals industry. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

People will spout about impermanence of digital records, but books are really fragile, too. Alexis Arnold from San Francisco wanted to illustrate that with her project The Crystallized Book: collecting books and growing Borax crystals on them. Books range from literature classics to magazines, and there’s even a mysterious and arcane tome called “Linux: The Complete Manual”.

BAZ-69092-012 special wheeled chassis. Exhibition of military vehicles at Bronnitsy test range (a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located 54.5 kilometers (33.9 mi) southeast of central Moscow). Juny 10, 2011. (Photo by Vitaly Kuzmin)