From hand-forged axes of the Viking conquests to the American homesteader's felling axe, this is a tool that has shaped human history like few others. American Axe pays tribute to this iconic instrument of settlement and industry, with rich history, stunning photography, and profiles of the most collectible vintage axes such as The Woodslasher, Keen Cutter, and True Temper Perfect. Combining his experiences as a forester, axe collector, and former competitive lumberjack, author Brett McLeod conveys the allure of this deceptively simple woodcutting implement and celebrates the resurging interest in its story and use.

Radio Monitoring: Problems, Methods, and Equipment offers a unified approach to fundamental aspects of Automated Radio Monitoring (ARM). The authors discuss the development, modeling, design, and manufacture of ARM systems. Data from established and recent research are presented and recommendations are made on methods and approaches for solving common problems in ARM. The authors also provide classification and detailed descriptions of modern high-efficient hardware-software ARM equipment, including the equipment for detection, radio direction-finding, parameters measurement and their analysis, and the identification and localization of the electromagnetic field sources. Examples of ARM equipment structure, applications, and software are provided to manage a variety of complicated interference environment in the industrial centers, inside of the buildings, and in the open terrain. This book provides a reference for professionals and researchers interested in deploying ARM technology as a tool for solving problems from radio frequency spectrum usage control.

The coins of ancient and medieval Europe provide unique insights into the economic and political history of their period. In a time when few members of the population could read or write, the symbols depicted on coins offered a medium for communication, propaganda, and historical archiving. This work hypothesizes that astronomical symbols on ancient and medieval coins were often used as a way to record actual celestial events. The author provides more than 550 figures and line drawings of coins, maps, and astronomical events to illustrate this hypothesis. In addition, several appendices evaluate the historical accuracy of ancient and medieval coinage and offer additional examples not included in the main volume.

Lorenzo de' Medici was a key figure in the creation of the Renaissance. An important patron of the arts in fifteenth century Florence, he was also a passionate collector of objects from antiquity and the post-antique period. His activities as a collector are documented in a group of 173 letters, previously unknown and published here for the first time, which provide the most complete picture of a well-known and historically important collector. As revealed in these letters, Lorenzo acquired sculpture to embellish his palace, but his real predilection was for small objects: coins, hardstone vases, and gems. His main source was the Roman dealer Giovanni Ciampolini, whose scandalous behavior demonstrates the gamesmanship of the art market. This book reveals how objects were studied, where they were displayed, the criteria for their selection, and their monetary worth.

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

This book chronicles the development of canes throughout the ages, defines their parts, the staggering variety of materials employed in their construction, and the dazzling array of gadgetry and weaponry hidden in many. Integral to the text are engaging stories of the author's experiences in hunting for the often elusive and rare sticks he has found over decades of collecting. He also provides advice that will give new collectors a much needed edge when entering the marketplace. Accompanying the text are over 1200 color photographs and illustrations. Invaluable information on the repair of damaged canes is also presented. An exhaustive index listing over 1580 cane patents from the United States, Britain, and Germany is provided as well as a very complete bibliography. Two illustrated auctioneer's catalogues and the prices received are included.

What exactly can we learn about America by examining its paper bills? This illuminating text answers that question by exploring the social, cultural and historical contexts of paper money. Predicated on the assumption that paper bills speak to us through the deliberate use of symbols - letters, verbal and visual elements, as well as symbols of civic values - this book examines what has been conveyed to Americans via their currency from Colonial times through the present day. Topics covered include origin, design, creative and subversive usages, and counterfeiting.

The joy and magic of Christmas are celebrated in this sumptuously illustrated, nostalgic pictorial exploration of old-fashioned Christmas. Nearly 1200 enchanting Christmas collectibles are reproduced in 262 large color plates. A new price guide by Robert Brenner, author of Christmas Through the Decades, has been added to this popular classic.

Discover the tools used by professional appraisers to evaluate your own antiques and make educated decisions in the antiques market.

Now the information once held by a select group of professional appraisers is available for all levels of collectors. With great wit and wisdom, Joe L. Rosson and Helaine Fendelman -- hosts of the popular television show Treasures in Your AtticTM, seen on PBS stations nationwide -- will help you identify, understand, and determine the potential value of any type of antique or collectible. Price It Yourself! not only explores all the basic concepts and skills that you must know in order to value an antique ACCURATELY, it is also filled with practice appraisals to help you develop an "eye" for value.

Price It Yourself! is truly the most comprehensive antiques appraisal and research guide available, covering furniture, glass, pottery and porcelain, silver and other metals, household collectibles, and much more.

A premier metalsmith in the early 20th century in France, Edgar Brandt (1880-1960) designed and fabricated some of the most beautiful architectural and decorative ironwork of his age. This elegant book recounts his life and work with scholarly text and photographs. Lyrical gates, doors, and tables, including his most famous screen, L'Oasis, appeared at the seminal 1925 Exposition des Arts DA (c)coratifs, in Paris, which gave the name Art Deco to the new style of designs. Combining motifs from ancient Egypt and classical Greek sources, floral and animals forms, and machine-inspired geometric designs, Brandt created items that became synonymous with the most lavish designs of the time. His workshop and showroom in Paris, along with a gallery that featured works by other contemporary artist-craftsmen, produced luxury goods and private commissions. Grilles, fire screens, doors, tables, andirons, vessels and lighting devices were exquisitely executed, and appear here to be studied and compared. Historians and art collectors interested in this fascinating period will find this book an invaluable reference.

Cette uvre (edition relie) fait partie de la serie TREDITION CLASSICS. La maison d'edition tredition, basee a Hambourg, a publie dans la serie TREDITION CLASSICS des ouvrages anciens de plus de deux millenaires. Ils etaient pour la plupart epuises ou uniquement disponible chez les bouquinistes. La serie est destinee a preserver la litterature et a promouvoir la culture. Avec sa serie TREDITION CLASSICS, tredition a comme but de mettre a disposition des milliers de classiques de la litterature mondiale dans differentes langues et de les diffuser dans le monde entier.

Based on the dramatic events of a real family's overland crossing
Mary Rockwood Powers reluctantly left her comfortable life as a doctor's wife in Wisconsin in 1856, one of the many women whose destiny as a settler of the West was determined by her husband's wishes. Trading in her home for canvas roof and wheels, Mary, her husband, and their three children set out on the arduous trek westward to California.
When Dr. Powers' increasingly unstable mental state threatens the family's safety, Mary is forced to leave her ideals of femininity behind. She takes fate into her own hands-stepping in as head of the household to help her family outlast the trail.
In Outlasting the Trail author Mary Barmeyer O'Brien uses Mary Rockwood Powers' letters as a starting point to further illuminate this remarkable woman's story. It is a story full of dangers, misfortunes, and an appreciation for the smallest of blessings. By constructing a rich inner life for her characters, O'Brien seeks greater truths about what it meant to be a woman, a girl, or a husband facing the obstacles and trials of the trail to California. Based on the heartrending struggle of a real family, this novel brings to life a fascinating slice of American history.

About one in three people in North America and Europe collects something. Collecting is clearly an important social phenomenon and yet surprisingly little is known about how and why we collect. This work explores the nature of collecting both in Europe and among people living within the European tradition elsewhere. The way people collect tells us about their notions of themselves and others, about their relationship to objects, and helps us understand people as consumers. Susan Pearce addresses many of the issues surrounding the practice of collecting. She considers how European collecting practice is part of an essentially European mentality, how collected objects have cultural value and how the individuals who collect them help to affect the society they live in. The text should be of value to museum professionals and students, cultural historians and anyone interested in the phenomenon of collecting.

The Adjustable Spanner is the product of thirty years' collecting and original research, fired by Ron Geesin's acquisition of the SLIK adjustable spanner that hung in his father's garage. At the core of this book is a concise history of this much-maligned tool. Serious and comical observations parallel its chequered life, from its bent beginnings in the blacksmith's shop to over-designed and lovingly engineered treasures from the small Birmingham machinist. Around this core are discussions and findings about components and construction on the practical side, and patents, registered designs and trade marks on the design protection side. Emerging from history, we take a closer look at uses and especially abuses, immerse ourselves in an analysis of types and styles, and dive deeply into the histories of the inventors and makers. You will be amazed at the engineering diversity required to produce these most fanciful but essential supports to the Industrial Revolution.

A catalogue of Chinese belt toggles in the Bieber collection.

From priceless eighteenth-century dining tables hidden away in decaying farm sheds to tattooed travellers with a penchant for Wedgewood china, professional auctioneer Philip Serrell has seen it all. In An Auctioneer's Lot he brings to life a world in which the most valuable antiques frequently turn up in the most unlikely places - and accompanied by the most unlikely people. For over twenty years he has uncovered a huge range of priceless (and occasionally worthless) antiques, and he has met, done business with and befriended people from some odd corners of English life. Funny, startling and sometimes poignant, these stories of ordinary people with extraordinary possessions are also the perfect inspiration for anyone who's ever wondered whether they might just be sitting on a fortune . . .

A revolution in lighting took place in the last part of the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth century. Nadja Maril explores the dramatic changes in lighting technology and form in this amply illustrated, informative volume. Using color photographs and rare catalog material, American Lighting concentrates on domestic lighting, making it an important work for home restorers and decorators seeking to capture an authentic look in their homes. The informative text and history of the American lighting industry makes it a welcome, valuable addition to the literature for historians, collectors, and others, interested in the development of American design and technology.

This authoritative work was, at the time of its first publication, the first full-length book to cover in detail the collecting of Pennsylvania "Dutch" furnishings and crafts. It was subsequently redesigned and enlarged, to make it again available in this more ample format it deserves. The Pennsylvania Dutch country may be said to have been "discovered" by collectors in the 1920s and 1930s. These unique people, with their old-world customs and colorful folk art, have created in America an authentic genre, with a flavor much in vogue among experienced decorators, as well as amateur collectors. Earl F. Robacker, a native Pennsylvanian and a collector himself, introduces this volume with a general discussion of characteristic Dutch country art forms and craftsmanship, emphasizing its authentic "peasant" quality in contrast to the more elegant styles of other early American furnishings. Chapter by chapter he discusses typical pieces of furniture, china, kitchenware and other articles, giving careful descriptions of each important piece, its availability, and most important, the rules for a collector to keep in mind when on the trail of real Pennsylvania Dutch "stuff." This volume offers a thorough orientation in Pennsylvania Dutch country antiques and makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the general subject of old furnishings. As the first volume to assemble the scattered and fragmentary information on the subject, it is an invaluable guide for those who merely want to achieve authentic atmosphere in home decoration. Many fine illustrations supplement the text, and a partial list of museum collections gives additional guidance. The book contains a full discussion of the basic principles of Pennsylvania Dutch decoration, and an appraisal of the quality of reproductions available on the market.