In the last two decades of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th century, glass manufacturing was a unique enterprise in Canada. Beginning with the founding of the Nova Scotia Glass Company in 1881, the glass factories of Nova Scotia made clear tableware at a time when it was not made anywhere else in Canada.

By the 1800s, people had been making glass for more than 4,000 years. Before that, however, the mass production of glass was not technically possible. Pressing machines to produce glass shapes were invented in the 1830s in New England. As mechanization improved, decorated glassware could be produced relatively quickly and affordably. By the late 1880s, moulded and pressed glass was produced in Pennsylvania and Ohio, in New England, and, perhaps not surprisingly, in Nova Scotia.

In this beautifully illustrated book, featuring photographs of the highly collectable patterned tableware produced during this 40-year period, Deborah Trask tells the story of Nova Scotia glass during this golden age of pressed-glass production.

Employing her skills as a curator and a detective of sorts, she tells the story of the major glass factories -- the Nova Scotia Glass Company, the Humphrey Glass Company, and the Lamont Glass Company -- and provides crucial information on patterns and moulds, allowing readers and collectors to identify what remains of this glittering enterprise.

VINTAGE MASON JARS, MODERN STYLE Packed with dozens of easy do-it yourself projects, this book shows how to transform the forever fashionable Mason jar into everything from a festive party decoration or fun children's toy to an elegant wedding favor or useful home decoration, including: * Cake Stand * Calligraphy Drink Glasses * Holiday Candelabra * Terrarium * Night Light * Piggy Bank * Clock * Herb Garden * Animal Hooks With helpful instructions and over 150 step-by-step photos, Mason Jar Crafts will have you fashioning inexpensive and stylish projects in no time.

This work looks at ceramic contexts from Late Antiquity to Early Middle Ages (350-700), in rural settlements of Salamanca (Spain). It explores a whole series of ceramic contexts from six sites excavated in recent years, in the territory of Northern Lusitania (nowadays the province of Salamanca, Spain), covering the period between the end of the 4th century and the beginning of the 8th. The chronological frame of reference for the stratigraphy has been established by information provided by coins and radiocarbon dates. The pottery of this period in the central Iberian Peninsula has remained little known, and this present study relating to its classification and chronology represents a significant development, providing initially a common terminology to designate the diverse pottery productions, usually considered as local ware.

This essential reference work provides a detailed study of Frederick Carder, his contributions to the Steuben Glass Works, and the captivating works of art he produced in glass. To dazzle and delight the reader, there are over 760 photographs and 450 line drawings, the vast majority of which provide illustration for 800 pieces of Steuben glass from the famous Rockwell collections. Reference material and photographs never before in print are provided. The text evaluates Carder and the Steuben Glass Works that he cofounded in 1903 in a critical light. It reviews Carder's lengthy and productive career, analyzes his changing role within the company, and places Carder's artistic contributions within the matrix of the international decorative arts industries of his time. A section valuable to all collectors is one in which many aspects of identification and evaluation are covered--signatures, relative rarity, and dating.

'The Mirror is an amusing jewel of a book, a sparkling reflection of the history of the mirror in Europe, and the role of the mirror in European imagination.' - Los Angeles Times

"The cultural history of the mirror is fully explored by Sabine Melchior-Bonnet. The book marries science and art, literature and philosophy." - New York Times

'This erudite meditation ... reveals how significantly the mirror has influenced Western culture...this beautifully illustrated study offers so many intriguing glimpses into the meanings of reflection that it will reward anyone who peers beneath its surface.' - Publishers Weekly

Southwestern ceramics have always been admired for their variety and aesthetic beauty. Although ceramics are most often used for placing the peoples who produced them in time, they can also provide important clues to past economic organization. This volume covers nearly 1000 years of southwestern prehistory and history, focusing on ceramic production in a number of environmental and economic contexts. It brings together the best of current research to illustrate the variation in the organization of production evident in this single geographic area. The contributors use diverse research methods in their studies of vessel form and decoration. All support the conclusion that the specialized production of ceramics for exchange beyond the household was widespread. The first seven chapters focus on ceramic production in specific regions, followed by three essays that re-examine basic concepts and offer new perspectives. Because previous studies of southwestern ceramics have focused more on distribution than production, Ceramic Production in the American Southwest fills a long-felt need for scholars in that region and offers a broad-based perspective unique in the literature. The Southwest lacked high levels of sociopolitical complexity and economic differentiation, making this volume of special interest to scholars working in similar contexts and to those interested in craft production.