This volume brings together twenty original essays by distinguished scholars of late medieval music on the life, works, and cultural context of the composer Antoine Busnoys (c.1430-1492), musician to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and one of the most celebrated composers of the fifteenth century. The essays present the results of much new research on music, ceremony, and ritual in the late Middle Ages; intertextual, contextual, and hermeneutic approaches to the music of Busnoys and his contemporaries; methods for assessing issues of authorship and anonymity; readings of theorists on compositional procedures and the performance of fifteenth-century music; and assessments of Busnoys's legacy to the musical culture of the late Middle Ages. Particularly noteworthy are the studies providing new light on the origins of L'homme arme mass tradition; unpublished documents on Busnoys's activity in churches in Poitiers and Brussels; previously unidentified liturgical sources for his plainchant cantus firmi; and studies and complete editions of several anonymous works newly attributed to Busnoys. These widely ranging essays offer a wealth of novel approaches to the study of musical culture in the late Middle Ages that is of interest not only to medievalists, but to students of all fields of music historical inquiry.

Women's purses are uniquely personal statements. Many antique beaded, textile, and leather purses have survived as treasured collectibles and new styles are fashion icons. This exquisite new book examines the passionate history, art, and design of antique, vintage, and contemporary purses in an informative and accessible format. Over 700 high quality purses were chosen from private collections, including Cora Ginsburg LLC, the premier dealer of antique textiles and costume in the United States. Many have never been published before, providing a fresh resource for collectors. Many pre-date 1860. Chapters cover the history of purses; pockets; misers; chatelaines; fabric, tapestry, and needlework purses; leather bags; dance, compact, and evening purses; wirework and mesh bags; beaded purses; tortoiseshell, shell, and ivory styles; souvenir and even plastic purses; and unique and very rare examples. Detail photos show particularly unusual features. A section on beaded purse repair, by Terri Lykins and the Antique Purse Collector's Society, offers tips and a new opportunity for collectors. Each caption provides detailed descriptions and current values, and the extensive bibliography gives many resources for further reading.