Lifestyle and Hobbies

Only recently recognized for its many contributions to ceramics found throughout the world, the Scottish pottery industry has existed for more than two hundred years. Rather than compete with England's famed potteries to the south, Scotland focused on the export market, sending its colorful and decorative wares to America, Canada, and many parts of Southeast Asia.

During the second half of the twentieth century, Scandinavian potters and glassmakers drew on elements present in China and Japan during the period of the Sung Dynasty to produce pieces of beauty and elegance that combined subtle glazes and classical shapes.

In the world of costume jewelry, the name Lea Stein Paris® is recognized as the most notable and innovative designer of plastic jewelry of the 20th century. Her use of sculptured laminated celluloid in many novel combinations of textures, colors, and designs resulted in her whimsical and colorful world of original animals, people, and geometric delights.

German Meissen porcelain figures made during the Kaendler Period are considered the best era in the Meissen factory’s history. They are organized here by their subjects, depicting Street Traders, Court Life, Military and Hunting scenes, Italian Comedy, Children, Mythology, Artisans, and various nationalities. Many figures are matched to the original engravings that inspired them.

Among the great designers at Herman Miller in the 1950s and 1960s, Alexander Girard enhanced Eames' and Nelson's furniture with innovative textiles. As head of Herman Miller's Textile Division since it was formed in 1952, he designed some of the most colorful and exciting fabrics available anywhere.

Contains 124 extraordinary color profiles, portraying examples of nearly all types of single-seated fighter aircraft used by the Luftwaffe in World War II. All of the detailed profiles represent aircraft flown by German aces, some of the most famous and successful as well as those of lesser known.

Explore the broad range of beautiful, high-quality porcelain figurines manufactured by the Bing & Grondahl Porcelain Manufactory, of Copenhagen, Denmark, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, collectors worldwide appreciate the sculptors’ and decorators’ skills, as reflected in their charming figurines.

This beautiful and comprehensive volume on easy-to-grow geraniums (pelargoniums) provides a wealth of new information for hobby growers from all climates, including valuable tips on the challenges each region presents. Chapters provide detailed background on the many varieties of geraniums, including scented leaf pelargoniums, zonals, dwarfs, stellars, regals, angels, and more.

Chinese pottery and porcelain has been admired, sought after, fought over, and emulated throughout the history of the civilized world. In form, color, and technique, China led the world in the ceramic arts. Its perfection of hard paste porcelain in the Ming Dynasty followed a fascinating record of ceramic production that is traceable back to 5,000 B.C.

This long-awaited book will be a valuable tool for collectors, dealers, and researchers of modern Italian glass. Most comprehensive volumes are written in Italian, and none includes a value guide. This one, in English, includes information and photographs that will make this book a standard reference on the subject.

The islands of Murano, in the lagoon of Venice, have been a sheltered community of glass artists for at least 700 years, leading the world in blown techniques and design of beautiful and functional objects. This new study captures the artistry of Murano glass as well as the multi-generational world of discovery, innovation, alliances, and realliances that have fostered that artistry.

This is the perfect introduction to Shaker furniture design.This concise book surveys distinctive furniture styles produced during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Shaker communities of New England, Kentucky, and Ohio, with over 130 beautiful full color images. Free-standing tables, chairs, boxes, desks, built-in cupboards, and cases of drawers are shown.

For the first time, alarm clocks with legs, between 1880 and 1935, are brought together in a single volume. Over 375 black and white photos and catalog pages illustrate the fascinating alarms affectionately known as "tin cans" and nickel alarms.

Collectible porcelain Christmas plates have been made in Denmark by Bing & Grondahl since 1895 and by Royal Copenhagen since 1908. These and their many other popular commemorative series, including Mothers' Day, Jubilee, and Childrens' Day plates, have been cherished by generations of people all over the world.

This is the third book by the authors on American-made ceramic salt and pepper shaker sets made in the mid-20th century. Here are hundreds of sets, made in California and elsewhere, by important manufacturers. Sets by Arcadia, California Originals, William H. Hirsch Manufacturing Co.

Natural swimming pools rely on the correct balance of living plants and micro-organisms to clean and purify the water. They are easy and less costly to maintain than chemical pools. Chlorine and other common pool chemicals that are hazardous to human health are not used.

This comprehensive new book celebrates over 550 top quality handbags by leading and unknown designers the world over, dating from 1759 to 2004, with detailed information to describe their outstanding qualities. These carefully selected handbags are arranged by their primary materials and chronologically within each chapter, for easy reference and interesting comparisons.

The bible book of buttons is back in an updated and revised sixth edition. This is the best introduction to the world of buttons that has ever been written. Over 3,000 buttons, covering all periods, materials, and manufacturers, are pictured and identified, along with newly revised current market values for each button. Although comprehensive in scope, the book is never intimidating.

The name Rolex is recognized around the world. It has become an icon of beauty, quality, accuracy, style, and taste. While there are other fine manufacturers of timepieces, none has reached this pinnacle of public respect and acclaim. The watches produced by Rolex over the last 100 years are celebrated in this lavishly illustrated classic, now in a revised and expanded third edition.

Over 1,240 beautiful museum quality hats reveal the milliner's ingenuity from the 1790s to the 1970s. Among the styles displayed are ascots, bourrelets, bigonnets, chapeaux rouges, nurses' hats, Pamelas, pillboxes, toreodors, turbans, and wedding hats. They are made with materials including felts, furs (real and imitation), and feathers, and are adorned with beads, flowers, sequins, and much more!