While there are more than 15,000 museums in our country, visitors get to see only about five percent of any institution's collections. Most museums simply don't have room to display everything they've got. However, there are a wide variety of surprising and intriguing reasons that, for example, the Smithsonian Institution doesn't display its collection of condoms, Florida's Lightner Museum locks up all but one of its shrunken heads, and a world-class stash of Japanese erotica (shunga) art was kept in the Honolulu Museum of Art's storage until only recently. Each item or collection included in this volume is described and placed in context with stories and interviews that explore the historical, social, cultural, political, environmental, or other circumstances that led to keeping that object or group of objects out of public view--the ultimate museum buff's voyeuristic experience. Color photographs of the artifacts are included.

Once, nutmeg was worth its weight in gold. For much of human history, the tiny Banda Islands in Indonesia were the only source of this esteemed spice. From the age of the Silk Roads through to the mid-19th century partial shift of production to the Caribbean, covering battles between the Honourable East India Company and the Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, this book traces the story of nutmeg, revealing its extensive and often surprising influence over conflict, politics, social mores, and Western society. Beautiful antique silver, gold, enamel, bone, ivory, treen and Tunbridgeware graters and rasps demonstrate how much nutmeg was valued throughout history. This book gathers pictures of some of the finest examples world-wide, alongside mechanical and base metal graters and spice containers. It illustrates, and provides useful information on, the history of pomanders which were associated with nutmeg, as this spice was once thought to ward off pestilence and plague. Combining the social history of nutmeg with explanations of the spice production and transportation process, and illustrating in detail examples in international nutmeg grater collections and museums, this book is the essential reference work for collectors, antique dealers and auctioneers.

A generous selection of diverse thought on the search for and collection of manuscripts and autograph letters, and their role in the history of ideas, has been culled from the first twenty years of Manuscripts, the Manuscript Society's quarterly publication. Priscilla S. Taylor has arranged, condensed, and, where possible, updated fifty-six memorable articles on the rich variety of the manuscript experience. The articles are grouped into five sections: Pointers for the Collector; Areas in Which to Collect; Historical Documents; Penmanship and Writing Systems; and Manuscripts as a Key to Biography and History. The subject range is broad. Readers will learn what to buy, how to buy, how to avoid forgeries, and how to handle a collection.

The definitive collection of Ohio's odd, wacky, and most offbeat people, places, and things, for Ohio residents and anyone else who enjoys local humor and trivia with a twist.

The definitive collection of South Carolina's odd, wacky, and most offbeat people, places, and things, for South Carolina residents and anyone else who enjoys local humor and trivia with a twist.

The definitive collection of New Hampshire's odd, wacky, and most offbeat people, places, and things, for New Hampshire residents and anyone else who enjoys local humor and trivia with a twist.

This updated reference is a specific resource illustrating genuine punishment straps formerly used in school settings. The countries covered include Scotland, England, Ireland, Canada, Australia and others. Over 115 authentic examples are featured through 400 colour illustrations. The emphasis is on auction prices realised, dealer estimates, specifications, maker history, regulatory background and former practices employed. While mainly geared to collectors; this guide can be of broader interest to historians and readers with a general interest in the genre of corporal punishment and educational history.

INDUS VALLEY PAINTED POTTERY A 9 Comparative Study of the Designs on the Painted Wares of the Harappa Culture BY RICHARD F. S. STARR. FOREWORD THIS volume is not, nor could it be, so complete and conclusive a discussion of the subject as to pretend solution to all its riddles and answers to all its questions. The mysteries of prehistoric in terrelationships could not be so eaSfly or fully penetrated. It is, rather, the hope of the author that this work will help to clarify and stimulate future and further discussions in this field and if the data and suggestions in the following pages help to an ap preciable degree in clearing away the haze that has surrounded the Indus Valley in its relationship to other portions of the ancient world, the real purpose of this work will have been accomplished. This study originated in 1938 as a dissertation presented to Princeton University in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Since then, it has been entirely revised and rewritten the less important material has been eliminated and much has been added that was originally overlooked or has been newly dis covered. So many people have given their assistance in this work that it is difficult to acknowledge my gratitude to each individually. How ever, I wish first of all to mention the assistance given by my wife. Not only her uncomplaining and interminable labor at typing, re typing and proofreading, but her clear-sighted criticism has been pf enormous help. Among those in the academic world I am espe cially indebted to Professor Harold H. Bender and Professor Philip K. Hitti for their continual and willing assistance, both of a schol arly and material nature, and I wish here to emphasize myobliga tion to them. Professor Ernst Herzfeld, with his usual generosity, jj s given me much of his time and, as always, his comments have been stimulating, penetrating and wise. I wish also to thank Pro fessor W. Norman Brown and Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy for reading my manuscript and for offering many helpful suggestions. Nor should I neglect to record my indebtedness to the Institute for Advanced Study which made it possible for me to carry on the revision of my original manuscript. Finally, it is a distinct pleasure to express my gratitude to the American Council of Learned So cieties and to the Institute for Advanced Study for making possible the publication of this volume. R. F. S. STARR Princeton, February TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD V ABBREVIATIONS 2 PART I. INTRODUCTION I-5 II. 6 in. 9 IV. II v. 13 vi. 16 VII. 20 PART II. HARAPPAN RELATIONSHIPS WITH IRAN AND MESOPOTAMIA I. STRAIGHT-LINE BORDERS 25 II. LOOP PATTERNS 7.6 in. WAVY LINE RIVER PATTERN 34 IV. LOZENGE PATTERN 42 V. TRIANGLE PATTERNS 43 VI. SIGMA AND CHEVRON DESIGNS 46 VII. COMB MOTIF 52 VIII. CROSS MOTIF 56 Evil IX. GRID PATTERNS 57 CHECKER PATTERN 57 TRIANGLE PATTERNS 58 INTERSECTING-CIRCLE PATTERNS 6l CONTIGUOUS-CIRCLE PATTERN 63 X. PLANT DESIGNS 64 XI. ANIMAL DESIGNS 69 XII. MISCELLANEOUS 82 PART III. CONCLUSIONS 85 II. 90 III. 91 iv. 95 v. 99 INDEX 103 MAP 106 C via FIGURES IN THE TEXT The site at which each illustrated specimen was found is given first, then the publication in which the figure originally appeared. Where the name of the site and the abbreviation used to denote the publication correspond, only the publication reference is given. NUMBER PAGE 1. M-, pl. xc, 8 26 2. M-d, pi. xci, 17 26 3. Dhal, Sind, pi.xxxii, 22 26 4. M-d, pi. xci, 19 27 5. M-d, pi. xcii, 2 27 6. M-d, pi. xc, 1 6 27 7. M-d, pi. xci, 30 27 8. Tal-i-regi Khusu, Per sis, pi. xxv, 37 28 9. M-d, pi. xci, 32 28 10. M-d, pi...