Victorian furnishers and decorators Collinson & Lock were a model of the art furniture business of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. This book is the first wide-ranging study of this once highly important company. It will give insights into the workings and productions of a London furnishing business in the period. It also provides information on a wide variety of topics including furniture design developments, interior design styles, business practices, working practices and techniques, and the firm's customers and competitors. Clive Edwards first considers the structure of the London 'art furniture' trade and its development to locate the firm in its community. He then traces the growth of the firm's business, its involvement with important international exhibitions, the designers they worked with, and the furniture and interiors they produced. This important book then outlines and discusses Collinson & Lock's creations ranging from seminal pieces that were designed for an exclusive clientele, to those displayed at national and international exhibitions between 1871 and 1900, through to batch produced objects that still maintained the quality and design that the firm was famous for. The involvement of the firm with both public and private interior decoration commissions is also examined through case studies, including those in the Anglo-Japanese, Queen Anne, Old English, and Renaissance styles used in the later Victorian period. Drawing on the author's extensive knowledge of nineteenth-century furniture and interiors, this book meets a need for a fully researched and illustrated reference work on this famous firm. If you have an interest in the history of furniture and interior design, if you are involved with furniture collections either on a private basis or professionally, or you simply have an interest in the decorative arts and culture of the period, this book should be on your shelves.

'Heartwarming, magical and uplifting' In today's throwaway culture, there's a counter movement growing that urges us to 'make do and mend'. The BBC's The Repair Shop has brought this waste-conscious message to an even wider audience, with its regular viewing figures of 7 million in the UK alone, cementing itself as a classic series in the vein of Antiques Roadshow. This new book concentrates on the show's much-loved experts, including woodworker and furniture restorer Will Kirk, clock restorer Steve Fletcher, metalworker Dominic Chinea, silversmith Brenton West, leatherworker Suzie Fletcher, upholsterer Sonnaz Nooranvary, and seamstresses Julie Tatchell & Amanda Middleditch - aka The Teddy Bear Ladies. Each of the experts shares their own stories and their repairs, capturing in the process the magic and ethos of the barn. Includes quotations and Q & As from the experts as well as Jay Blades on some unique restoration collaborations. With the focus on the experts themselves, readers will feel as though they're stepping straight into the 'workshop of dreams' and experiencing first hand the magic of the barn.

Author and poet Kathryn Carole Ellison's nine beautiful books of poetry are a result of a lifetime of writing-first as a journalist. Then, because she had some life lessons to share with her children, she chose poetry as a means of communicating. Her books-Celebrations, Heartstrings, Inspirations, Sanctuary, Awakenings, Sojourns, Gratitude, Tapestry, Milestones, Beginnings, Horizons and Moments-contain poems from a collection written over a span of 43 years. The "Poems of Life and Love" are as fresh and relevant today as they were when she first wrote them. She has also created a Journal titled Gifts of Life and Love. Ellison began writing poetry for her children in the 1970s when they were reaching the "age of reason," and she was leaving an abusive marriage, becoming a single parent, and overcoming alcohol addiction. She wanted to share "life's lessons" and "words of wisdom" with her them. Poetry was her way to communicate with her teenage children to help them make good decisions in life, without a barrage of words and lectures that would fall on deaf ears. And so, the Advent Poems began. Ellison gave her children one new poem a day during Advent, along with a trinket. More than 40 years later, her grown children still look forward to each Advent season to receiving her poems. In total, Ellison has penned more than 600 inspirational and wisdom-filled poems for living a more joy-filled life and overcoming every-day challenges. After Ellison's second husband died of Alzheimer's disease in 2008, she decided it was time to share her poetry with the world. In 2014, at the age of 75, she started a business and began the journey into the world of publishing and fulfilling her life's purpose. Ellison wants to share the message that it's never too late to pursue one's dreams. She believes the philosophy that "you can be old at 30, or young at 90"-that it's all up to us. And she believes there is no better time than now to share the poems with the world at large. The present, broken world needs some good-old fashioned lessons in kindness, civility and common sense.

Drawn from the extensive holdings of the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, this collection of jewelry through the ages links cultures and eras to show how the design, wearing, and collecting of personal adornment has evolved over the ages. They range from classic items such as necklaces, rings and earrings to less common items with origins in non-European cultures. The book features jewelry, ranging from the splendid crowns of ancient Greece, gold earrings from Babylon and jewelled collars worn by 13th-century Islamic royalty to more modern pieces such as those contained in the imperial collection of Queen Louise of Prussia, Art Nouveau jewelry designed by Rene Lalique, and work by contemporary designers. This chronologically arranged survey includes numerous brief essays and 400 illustrations with detailed captions, making it an ideal reference for anyone interested in cultural history, the history of jewelry, or the art and craft of jewelry making.

Ancient gems are precious stones with engraved images. Intaglios (gems with incised negative images) functioned as seals, jewelry, and amulets. Cameos (with raised relief images) were jewels or for display. Gems are a testimony to social and cultural history and reflect historical events. This book looks at their history from the Minoan/Mycenaean period to Late Antiquity (4th/3rd millennium BC a " 5th century AD) andtheir continued use and reinterpretation in the Middle Ages, as well as their reception by collectors, experts, and artists from the Middle Ages to Modern Times.

A wide-ranging study of the significance of swords throughout the whole Anglo-Saxon period, offering valuable insights into the meaning of and attitude towards swords. Swords were special in Anglo-Saxon England. Their names, deeds and pedigrees were enshrined in writing. Many were curated for generations, revealed by their worn and mended condition. Few ended their lives as casual discards, placed instead in graves, hoards and watercourses as part of ritualised acts. Contemporary sources leave no doubt that complex social meanings surrounded these weapons, transcending their use on the battlefield; but they have yet to transcend the traditional view that their primary social function was as status symbols. Even now, half a century after the first major study of Anglo-Saxon swords, their wider significance within their world has yet to be fully articulated. This book sets out to meet the challenge. Eschewing modern value judgements, it focuses instead on contemporary perceptions - exploring how those who made, used and experienced swords really felt about them. It takes a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, bringing together insights from art, archaeology and literature. Comparison with Scandinavia adds further nuance, revealing what was (and was not) distinctive of Anglo-Saxon views of these weapons. Far from elite baubles, swords are revealed to have been dynamic "living" artefacts with their own identities, histories and places in social networks - ideas fuelled by their adaptability, durability and unique rolein bloodshed. Sue Brunning is Curator of European Early Medieval Collections at The British Museum.