State Beds and Throne Canopies: Care and Conservation is the first publication to concentrate solely on state beds and throne canopies in England, covering not only their historical and stylistic developments and the role that they played in the theatre of courtly ritual, but more importantly focusing on the surviving objects themselves and the care they now receive. The specific subjects of this book are the state beds and throne canopies at Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace. Different in style, construction and hangings, they reflect the changing times, circumstances, court use and character of their owners. Increasingly rare, they pose problems of access, conservation treatment and financial provision. Practical guidelines are provided for conservation approaches with short case history summaries that bring together knowledge and experience gained from working in a unique situation with an unparalleled collection of court furnishings. The information accrued and the strategies that have evolved to cope with these rare objects are outlined.Containing a vast amount of detail not found elsewhere, this lavishly illustrated work is a valuable reference not only to conservators, but also to owners, curators and collection managers who may not have access to specialist advice in house, and to a wider audience of all those with an interest in cultural heritage and in preserving it for future generations to enjoy.

As downhill skiing became popular in 20th-century Europe, resorts in the Austrian, German, French, and Swiss Alps commissioned paintings of their ski runs to turn into maps. The best of these paintings are now featured in this book showing the artists' ability to combine technical virtuosity, geographic information, and creative flair. The undoubted master of panoramic map painting is H. C. Berann, and many examples of his works are shown in this beautiful volume, along with a select handful of artists from throughout Europe. Detailing scenes of the Alpine range from Slovenia to France, each of these images was created by hand from aerial photography, mostly shot by the artists on helicopter rides through the mountains. The paintings themselves cleverly combine multiple perspectives so that all trails, terrain, and mountain features are visible. In these exquisite reproductions, the paintings have been stripped of all references to the ski trails, allowing viewers to focus entirely on the beauty of the colours, composition, and detail. A joy to study and savour, these dramatic and vivid paintings recall a time when the human hand was the best means of translating the Alps' towering beauty to the general public.

Commissioned by the U.S. Committee on Public Information, more than 300 of America's most famous illustrators, cartoonists, designers, and fine artists donated their services to create more than 700 posters in an effort to build patriotism, raise funds for war bonds, encourage enlistment, and increase volunteerism during World War I. The Winds and Words of War is a rich collection of World War I-era posters created between 1916 and 1917 to motivate the country to abandon a position of remoteness and connect with European allies against German aggression and tyranny. These images became a great equalizing force in American culture, causing people of all backgrounds and classes, rural or urban, educated or uneducated, to rally to the cause. Some 450 of these posters are part of the San Antonio Public Library's permanent collection, bequeathed in 1940 by Harry Hertzberg, a Texas state senator and avid memorabilia collector. The posters were created by a group of early twentieth-century American artists, among them Charles Dana Gibson, Howard Chandler Christy, James Montgomery Flagg, Guy Lipscombe, Charles Buckle Falls, Haskell Coffin, and Norman Rockwell. The lithographs' heroic images and patriotic slogans depicted military and civilian effort and sacrifice, aiming to inspire young men and women to enlist, pick up a flag, and support the soldiers and nurses during a trying time in American history. The posters, many of which appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, are both testaments to the people who volunteered their service and excellent examples of the period's advertising strategies and graphic design.