Greville-Pipe

Lord Winstanleigh Greville-Pipe was the author of Some Observations on the Art of Invisibility, a book on the art and uses of concealment, profusely illustrated in color by his sister, Emelia Jane. The book depicted animals, such as tigers, and the various forms of camouflage they employed. When Havelock Vetinari was a senior student at the Assassins' Guild, he acquired the last remaining copy, the engraving plates having been melted down. This book was the basis of Vetinari's unusual skill at camouflage and stealthy movement, suggesting several better alternatives to simple darkness, especially the use of greys and dull greens.

Unfortunately, the rare book was destroyed by Downey in the spirit of juvenile vandalism. Unfortunately, that is, for everyone except the future Patrician, who had already studied it and now knew another thing that other people didn't know. (Entirely unconnected to this, the student Downey was later knocked out, in the dim corridors of the assassin’s guild, by someone he couldn’t see and when he came to the next morning, some scag had painted a tiger on his face.)

Ventinari lamented the fact that the author had no grave, as he would have liked to have paid his respects. However Lord Greville-Pipe’s final resting place is unknown as he died while in the jungle, having failed to spot a tiger. He was buried inside said tiger.

A secret known only to Vetinari is the existence of four remaining copies of the book, bound into a false-cover title of Anecdotes of the Great Accountants, Vol. III. Although he had personally melted down the engraving plates to prevent others discovering the secret, he had been unable to bring himself to destroy the last books themselves, and instead hoped that the author would appreciate his choice of hiding place.