Search results for ""Thames Hudson Ltd""

An essential reference for anyone working with ceramics, from weekend crafters and students to practising ceramicists seeking a one-stop reference on techniques and processes, this workshop reference covers both traditional and contemporary practices, collecting the breadth and range of ceramic techniques into one definitive volume for amateur and specialist alike. A directory of materials, tools, machinery and furniture describes everything you need to set up an effective workshop. It includes an extensive guide to forming techniques, from pinch, coil, slab and wheel to mold-making, slip casting and extrusion, detailed sections on slip decoration, embossing and glazing, glaze recipes and applications. These techniques are explored thematically to facilitate the process of discovery that takes place in the workshop, supported by detailed descriptions and step-by-step photography. At the back of the book there is a comprehensive guide to firing and kilns, along with charts and tables for quick reference. All techniques are examined closely for relevance to practice and quality of finish. The practical processes of running a workshop are discussed alongside the more complex techniques of making unique work. Examples of how to set up a studio, good workshop practices, tool making, and recycling of materials act as a foundation to creating a strong workshop environment to carry out your work.

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‘Pietre dure’ are mosaic designs made from semi-precious stones. This richly illustrated, large format book brilliantly captures the beauty and craftsmanship of this ancient technique of ‘painting in stone’, looking at decorative stonework techniques from prehistory to the present day, but focusing in particular on the period from its rebirth in 16th-century Rome to the developments of the 19th century.

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The Hermès scarf is one of the greatest fashion icons of all time.Worn by royalty and celebrities, coveted and admired, and now avidly collected, this deceptively simple square of silk is much more than just an accessory: it is the stuff of legend. Now for the first time the heritage and influence of House of Hermès is fully explored, from the first scarf’s debut in 1937 right up to the present day.

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7 Reece Mews, South Kensington, was Francis Bacon’s home and studio for over thirty years. After he died in 1992, access was granted to award-winning photographer Perry Ogden to work undisturbed for days on end to produce this riveting record of the house and its contents. He captured every part of the small building’s hidden interior: the rickety wooden staircase; the kitchen with its ‘gallery’ of Bacon works in reproduction; the bedsitting room with its bookcases piled high. In the studio itself, thirty years of inspired artistic endeavour had accumulated unchecked: the slashed, discarded canvases scattered across the floor; the brushes, rags and tins encrusted with layer upon layer of paint; the surfaces used as impromptu palettes; the last unfinished self-portrait on the easel. For some, Bacon’s studio was an heroic statement, a work of art in its own right, constructed to distil and give form to his aesthetic intentions. In this astonishing book we are invited to take an intimate and privileged look around his private space, and to gain unrivalled insights into how, why and what he painted.

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A bumper edition of John Peacock’s renowned costume drawings, charting the development of women’s and men’s clothing from the 1920s onwards. This beautifully illustrated, easy-reference volume features over 2,100 meticulous illustrations that record in fascinating detail the ways in which fashion has changed year by year, decade by decade, from the boyish silhouette of the 1920s right through to the structured ‘power dressing’ of the 1980s. Day wear, evening dress, sports and leisure wear, accessories, underwear and wedding wear are all portrayed, accompanied by complete descriptions of colour, cut, necklines, lapels, sleeves, pockets, fastening, buttons and belts. The reference section includes a chart that summarizes the evolution of fashion and garment-shapes through the decades, as well as biographies of the outstanding designers of each era. The Complete Fashion Sourcebook will be indispensable to all fashion enthusiasts, historians and collectors, and will be an invaluable sourcebook for any designer or student working in the performing arts.

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Christopher Dresser (1834–1904) is one of the most influential British designers of all time and he is widely regarded as Britain’s first independent industrial designer. His works still look remarkably modern more than a century later. Like his contemporary William Morris, Dresser advocated for an ‘honesty of materials’, but unlike Morris he fully embraced industrial techniques, designing for the growing consumer market. Dresser’s fascination with the arts of Japan and his advocacy of Owen Jones’s principle that ornament should be geometrical in form resulted in a range of designs that look surprisingly minimal for their time. Affordable, well-designed, functional and commercially successful, the objects that Dresser designed – wallpapers, textiles, carpets, ceramics, furniture and, most famously, metalwork – were industrially produced by manufacturers across the UK, the US and continental Europe. This compact, beautifully produced book on the work of Christopher Dresser begins with a brief introduction to his life and work before presenting 75 of his most important pieces, each accompanied by a narrative-style caption. It will appeal to anyone interested in modern design.With 117 illustrations in colour

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Jewels and Jewellery surveys splendid early medieval pieces and superb examples of Renaissance, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau and 21st-century jewellery. Exquisitely detailed photography reveals both rare and precious stones as well as the elaborate techniques of the jeweller’s craft such as chasing, enamelling and cameo. Claire Phillips considers the history of Western jewellery in three parts, first exploring the materials used by jewellers, then turning to the development of styles in jewellery from the Middle Ages to today, before exploring the ways in which jewellery has been hallmarked, distributed and worn over recent centuries. The book concludes with a glossary, bibliography and list of key designers. Showcasing pieces by Cartier, Tiffany and Liberty, this beautiful volume is the ultimate guide to the history of Western jewellery.

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An introduction to the work of the celebrated fashion photographer. An experimenter and innovator, Erwin Blumenfeld (1897–1969) produced an extensive body of work including portraits and nudes, celebrity portraiture and advertising campaigns – but it is his fashion photography for which he is best known. Having fled Paris during World War II, Blumenfeld forged a stellar path in New York, where he worked for Harper’s Bazaar, American Vogue, Helena Rubinstein, L'Oréal and Elizabeth Arden. Discover Blumenfeld’s masterful work through sixty full-page reproductions in this title in the Photofile series. The curator Emmanuelle de l’Ecotais contributes an introduction.

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Salgado’s images of the Sahel famine and his colossal project ‘Workers’ would be enough to make his reputation and justify all the awards he has received. But there is more.A native of Brazil, trained as an economist, Sebastião Salgado has shown a constant faith in mankind, a solidarity that never wavers or flinches in the face of pain, an ability to analyse extreme situations, a fierce drive to affirm what he truly is, a humanist photographer.

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No photographer is more closely associated with a city than Brassaï (1899–1984) is with Paris. From the moment he moved there in 1924, he devoted his life and art to immortalizing his adopted city – capturing the street life by day, the cafés and the Seine by night. A friend of Picasso and Henry Miller, Brassaï knew and photographed the leading figures of his day – Giacometti, Sartre, Dalí, Matisse and Mann among them. His most famous portraits and cityscapes, collected in this volume, form a unique vision of life in pre- and post-war Europe.

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Bill Brandt is one of seven new titles being published this spring in Thames & Hudson’s acclaimed ‘Photofile’ series. Each book brings together the best work of the world’s greatest photographers in an attractive format and at an easily affordable price. Handsome and collectable, the books are printed to the highest standards. Each one contains some sixty full-page reproductions printed in superb duotone, together with a critical introduction and a full bibliography.

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Marwa al Sabouni was a little-known architect, living in battle-ravaged Homs, unable to practice her profession as the buildings and the lives around her and across Syria were reduced to rubble. Rather than flee her country, like so many of her compatriots, she remained, committed to the belief that the multilayered and multifaceted society she grew up in was worth rebuilding. She turned her fierce intelligence to chronicling how her city and country were undone through decades of architectural mismanagement and mistakes. The result was The Battle for Home. Published in 2016, the book and her story attracted the attention of international news media and received critical acclaim around the world. She became a TED fellow; some suggested she be nominated for architecture’s highest honour, the Pritzker Prize. Until the book was published, al Sabouni had rarely travelled outside of her native country, but The Battle for Home gained her invitations to speak to audiences, institutes and experts across the world. Her travels, combined with her deep understanding of the Middle Eastern heritage and values, provided al Sabouni with insights into a wide range of cities, which informed her views on how cities best work, how they might fail, and what can be done to enrich and harmonize the lives of all their inhabitants. This is a rich journey, drawing together several narratives: her personal observations of some of the world’s most fascinating cities, from Detroit to Helsinki, from Bristol to Amsterdam; the lessons that Western societies might learn from Islamic culture; and philosophical reflections, drawing on a range of thinkers, on how our personal and communal spaces can provide the basic foundations for happiness. Through this rich tapestry of personal experience, unblinking perspective, and unsettling insight, al Sabouni offers the reader real-world solutions – and hope – for how the conditions for enduring peace might be created in an increasingly polarizing world.With 24 illustrations

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It was around Kengo Kuma’s tenth birthday that he came into contact with Kenzō Tange’s fishlike Yoyogi National Gymnasium, completed for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and determined that he would become an architect. In the intervening five or so decades, he has become one of the world’s most fascinating and influential architects. Kuma is known throughout the world for his formally daring and materially expressive buildings, recognized for his inventive use of traditional materials, and his use of innovative materials in vernacular forms. He is perhaps less known for his work inside his native Japan, where he works actively towards the preservation of ancient building techniques and craft. A keen curiosity for all forms of building and a wealth of knowledge about the world acquired through expansive travels make Kuma a unique commentator on Tokyo’s dynamic architecture. Through twenty-five stories, this intimate little publication paints a picture of how a building inspired a boy to become an architect, how Japan’s national heritage helped form his thinking, and how his professional experience has made him one of the most successful architects of his generation. This book contains something for everyone: design acumen, insights into Japanese culture, a tour of Tokyo and the heartfelt commitment to producing buildings that have meaning and longevity.With 41 illustrations, 21 in colour

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A Chronology of Architecture presents a fresh perspective on the medium by taking a purely chronological approach to its history, tracing the complex links between structural innovations, social changes, and artistic interventions. Organized around a central timeline that charts the development of architecture from the earliest structures to the present-day skyscrapers and global cities, it features key buildings, together with commentaries and contextual information about the social, political and cultural events of the period in which they were built. Special feature spreads highlight important movements, construction methods and key practitioners. Covering a wide selection of genres, styles and architects, it is invaluable as a comprehensive guide to architecture in all its different forms.

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Established on the global stage by the international success and influence of architects such as Peter Zumthor and Herzog & de Meuron, today’s generation of architects in Switzerland draws on the country’s distinctive landscape of alpine peaks, crystalline lakes and efficient cities, and fuses traditional Swiss materials with new high-tech tools and innovative construction methods. New Swiss Architecture documents fifty of the most important buildings of the last decade through architectural photographs that highlight their exceptional detail, attention to context and material experimentation. Because of their isolated locations, many of these buildings are little known, despite having been designed by leading architects, including Christ & Gantenbein, Gigon/Guyer, Valerio Olgiati, Charles Pictet, Richter Dahl Rocha and Diener & Diener. The book is presented in two sections: the first comprises a photographic portfolio of projects organized into themes: Alpine, Infrastructural, Recreational, Rural, Suburban, Urban. The second section describes each of the featured buildings through drawings, plans and concise texts.

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Here is a lively, vibrantly illustrated social and cultural history of the Aboriginal Australians, from their origins to the present day. The book explores the spiritual beliefs and Dreamings of the Indigenous people, their complex social structures and relationship with the land, and their struggle to survive the trials of colonization and forced assimilation. It also looks in depth at their massive cultural renaissance over the past four decades, with comprehensive coverage of the way in which Aboriginal art and literature have become flagships for Australian culture.

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Egon Schiele lived in Vienna during its last years as capital of the declining Habsburg Empire. Rejected by his family and hounded by society for his interest in young girls, he expressed through his art a deep and bewildering loneliness and an obsession with sexuality, death and decay. Schiele died at the age of twenty-eight, yet he left behind him a body of work that sustains a huge public reputation – and myth. This profusely illustrated book delves into both the controversial sexual themes and neglected aspects of Schiele’s art, notably his formal experiments and his later expressionist portraits and allegorical paintings – works that reveal much about the importance of his short career.

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Colour is all around us; we take it for granted as a naturally occurring aspect of all things. Yet colours are also manufactured, and the science of pigments, hues and dyes has an ancient and fascinating history. What were the colours of Ancient Egypt? What did its artists use to paint their magnificent frescoes? Where do indigo and ochre come from? Why is purple the colour of royalty? What are pastels? How many colours are there? Why do we dye our food? Who invented ink? What are white and black made of? What is the symbolism of yellow? From the 40,000-years-old painted caves at Lascaux to the medieval cloth trade that enriched Europe, to the synthetic chemistry of today, the history of colour making has a central place in our lives. This book surveys the history of dyes and pigments, the invention of new colours and the industries that were fuelled by them.

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How does a sign represent something other than itself? How do we understand the meaning of a written symbol? Can clothes be a sign? Can sounds? Signs and symbols represent ideas and objects and, over time, these marks and gestures have multiplied into a complex network of images. This handy pocket-book combines scholarship, documentary evidence and fantastic illustrations to provide the story of how we have interacted with signs and symbols across the ages.

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A landmark study of ancient Greek and Roman cults, from the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis to the cults of Dionysus and Mithras. Mystery cults are one of the most intriguing areas of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically re-enacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honour Dionysus; in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings. These cults were an important part of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, but their actual practices were shrouded in secrecy, and much of what they were about has remained unclear until now. This is the first book to describe and explain all the major mystery cults of the ancient world, cult by cult, reconstructing the rituals and exploring their origins. It makes plentiful use of artistic and archaeological evidence, as well as ancient literature and epigraphy. Greek painted pottery, Roman frescoes, inscribed gold tablets from Greek and South Italian tombs and the excavated sites of ancient religious sanctuaries all contribute to our understanding of ancient mystery cults. Making use of the most recent work on these cults, the book is also informed by crucial current work on the anthropology and cognitive science of religion. Not only is this clearly written book a significant contribution to the study of these cults, but it is also accessible to a general readership. More than any other book on ancient religion, it allows the reader to understand what it was like to participate in these life-transforming religious events.

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A pioneering look at early Scotland that transforms prehistory into gripping narrative history. The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour. Alistair Moffat’s gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age – which was instrumental in shaping Scotland’s magnificent landscape – through the megalith builders, the Celts and the Picts, to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence – all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Rounding out the account is a selection of carefully chosen colour photographs that give a strong sense of the Scottish landscape and monuments. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period. A story of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the land that became Scotland.

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The lives of 40 men and women behind some of the world’s most exciting gardens. Throughout history great gardeners have risen from all walks of life. Some have been aristocratic amateur gardeners, others professional designers with an international practice. Some have come to garden-making from sister arts such as sculpture or painting; others have been hands-on nurserymen or botanists. What they all have in common is the ability to take an idea and develop it in a new manner relevant to their times. The book contains four sections. ‘Gardens of Ideas’ moves from the politically allusive gardens of 18th-century England made by men such as William Kent, to Charles Jencks’s Scottish garden inspired by 21st-century cosmography. ‘Gardens of Straight Lines’ explores the lives of the great formalist gardeners, from Le Nôtre at Versailles to the rational English minimalism of contemporary designer Christopher Bradley-Hole. ‘Gardens of Curves’ begins with that great exponent of the English landscape garden, ‘Capability’ Brown, and leads to the extraordinary Brazilian designer Roberto Burle Marx. Finally, ‘Gardens of Plantsmanship’ moves from the father of naturalistic planting, William Robinson, to the sweeping prairies of New York’s favourite Dutch designer, Piet Oudolf.

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A comprehensive introduction to the styles and techniques of portrait photography. Through simple projects on subjects such as 'Making Self-Portraits' and 'Capturing Personal Moments' as well as captivating profiles of twenty internationally acclaimed photographers, Cian Oba-Smith and Max Ferguson give you a visual tour of the medium. Perfect for the aspiring portrait photographer, this manual includes: • Projects with which to experiment and develop your technique • Inspirational profiles of leading photographers from around the world • A complete overview of the most exciting, continually evolving form of photography

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A major study of Ukrainian art from 1900 to the mid-1930s – with loans from major museums in Ukraine, elsewhere in Europe, the United States (including MoMA) and Israel. How does artistic life flourish during revolution and conflict? Ukraine in the early 1900s endured unimaginable political upheaval, yet this became a period of true renaissance in Ukrainian art, literature, theatre and cinema. In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900–1930s presents the ground-breaking art produced in Ukraine in the early 20th century, focusing on the three key cultural centres of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa. Against a complicated socio-political backdrop of collapsing empires, World War I, the revolutions of 1917 with the ensuing Ukrainian War of Independence, and the eventual creation of Soviet Ukraine, several strands of distinctly Ukrainian art emerged. While émigrés such as Sonia Delaunay and Alexander Archipenko found fame outside their homeland, the followers of Mykhailo Boichuk focused on Byzantine revivalism, and the artists of the Kultur Lige sought to promote the development of contemporary Yiddish culture. The first avant-garde exhibitions in Ukraine featured the radical art of Davyd Burliuk and Alexandra Exter, and the dynamic canvases of the Kyiv-based Cubo-Futurist Oleksandr Bohomazov. In Kharkiv, Vasyl Yermilov championed the industrial art of Constructivism, while Vadym Meller, Anatol Petrytskyi, Oleksandr Khvostenko-Khvostov and Borys Kosarev revolutionized theatre design. The attempt to build a national identity in Ukraine resulted in a polyphony of styles and artistic developments across a full range of media – from oil paintings, sketches and sculpture to collages, cinema posters and theatre designs. Twelve internationally renowned scholars, including curators from the National Art Museum of Ukraine, bring to life this astonishing period of creativity in Ukraine and all the movements it encompassed.

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A new collection of Saul Leiter's work, much of it published here for the first time. Saul Leiter remained relatively unsung until he was rediscovered by curators and critics in his early 80s, and his work has been drastically re-evaluated over the last two decades. Leiter’s painterly images evoked the flow and rhythm of life on the mid-century streets of New York in luminous colour, at a time when his contemporaries were shooting in black and white. His complex and impressionistic photographs are as much about evoking an atmosphere as nailing the decisive moment. In recent years, Leiter has been in the spotlight more and more with a series of exhibitions and publications. His studio in New York's East Village, where he had lived since 1952 until his death in 2013, is now the home of the Saul Leiter Foundation. The foundation has begun a full-scale survey and organization of his more than 80,000 works, with the aim of compiling the ‘complete’ archive. This volume contains works discovered through this process, valuable documents that reveal the secrets of Saul Leiter's creation, unpublished works, popular colour works and black-and-white works that have not been published so far, as well as works that trace the memories of those closest to him taken in private. As Saul Leiter said, ‘Photographs are often treated as capturing important moments, but they are really small fragments and memories of the world that never ends.’ This is Forever Saul Leiter.

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Great paintings cannot be fully understood in a single encounter; there is always more to be derived from them. Art lovers may revisit and reconsider the masterpieces throughout their lives, but a deeper understanding can only be gained by analysing the painting in detail, be it the placement of the subject, the lighting, the style of brushstrokes or the themes. Art in Detail examines 100 iconic paintings from the Western canon and spotlights the finer points a quick glance will almost certainly fail to reveal. These include subtle internal details, such as hidden symbols and artistic tricks employed by the painter to achieve particular effects. In addition, Susie Hodge writes intelligently about external influences on the artist – everything from the socioeconomic context in which he or she flourished, to smaller local difficulties, such as the level of air pollution at the time the painting was created. And she treats each of her subjects not only, to quote Matthew Arnold, ‘as in itself it really is’, but also as part of a tradition that links the oldest painting to the most recent, as artists pass a metaphorical baton down through the ages.With 700 illustrations

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Photography: The Whole Story is a celebration of the most beautiful, meaningful and inspiring photographs that have arisen from this very modern medium. It begins with a succinct overview of photography, placing it in the context of the social and cultural developments that have taken place globally since its arrival. Organized chronologically, the book then traces the rapid evolution of photographic style, period by period and movement by movement. Illustrated, in-depth essays cover every photographic genre, from the early portraits and tableaux to the digitally manipulated montages, split-second sports images, and conceptual photographs of today. The ideas and works of key photographers are assessed to reveal what motivated them, who influenced whom, and what each was striving to achieve. Detailed cultural and individual artist timelines clarify historical context.With over 1000 illustrations

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Did you know that: • A giraffe can lick its own ears clean? • You can weigh your head by putting it in a bucket of water? • Astronauts urinate into a vacuum cleaner? What the encyclopaedia was to the 20th century, this book is to the 21st. Twelve elegantly designed chapters brim with 321 fascinating – and often surprising – facts, enabling people to dazzle their friends and family with their encyclopaedic knowledge of sports, science, plants and insects, famous people and space. The facts are all grouped together by topic, so readers can dip in and pick and choose the topics that they find most interesting. This well-structured collection of smart things you need to know will be fun for all the family.

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At the heart of this history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty are the lives of six men – Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius Caligula, Claudius and Nero – men who mastered Rome and changed it from a democracy to a personal possession. It was no easy task: Caesar and Caligula were assassinated, Nero committed suicide and Claudius was poisoned. Only Augustus and Tiberius died natural deaths – and even that is uncertain. The Julio-Claudian saga has a host of other characters, from Cicero, the last great statesman of the Republic, to Livia, matriarch of the Empire; the passionate Mark Antony and the scheming Sejanus; and Agrippina, mother of Nero and sister of Caligula, who probably murdered her husband and in turn was killed by her son. Set against a background of foreign wars and domestic intrigue, the story of Rome's greatest dynasty is also the story of the birth of an imperial system that shaped the Europe of today.

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If you want to know how we know what we know about dinosaurs, read this book! Steve Brusatte 'I defy anyone who is, like me, a non-scientist to read it and not feel a sense of wonder’ Tom Holland, Guardian Startling new fossil finds are the lifeblood of modern palaeobiology. Giant sauropod dinosaur skeletons from Patagonia, dinosaurs with feathers from China, and even a tiny dinosaur tail in Burmese amber – complete down to every detail of its filament-like feathers, skin, bones and mummified tail muscles – inspire awe in a global audience enthralled by the idea of these great creatures walking the earth. Dinosaurs are of perennial interest to all ages, as illustrated by the huge range of dino-themed films, books and live attractions, from the enduring popularity of the Jurassic Park franchise to the success of London’s immersive ‘Dinosaurs in the Wild’ experience. In the past twenty years, dinosaur study has changed from natural history to testable science. New technologies have revealed secrets locked in the bones in a way nobody predicted – we can now work out the colour of dinosaurs, their bite forces, speeds and parental care as well as how they came to die out.This groundbreaking book illustrates how science has replaced speculation and how our understanding of dinosaurs and their world hascompletely changed. The subject has never been so vigorous, has never changed so fast, and has never been so attractive to so many.

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The MR PORTER Guide To A Better Day covers all aspects of a man’s daily life, from morning rituals, to flawless grooming to handy tips for taking the work out of your working and social life. Compiled by MR PORTER’s Editors and featuring wisdom from Messrs Tom Ford, Laird Hamilton and more, this volume is packed with expert advice, helpful illustrations and full-colour photography that explores the habits and routines of the world’s most stylish men. Of course, it’s also got the wardrobe side of things covered: between each chapter, a dedicated section on ‘How To Dress’ offers a deep dive into the ins and outs of contemporary menswear, offering rules and guidelines on what to wear and how to wear it, whether you’re heading out for a fancy dinner, or spending a weekend recovering from just such a thing. Drawing on MR PORTER’s unparalleled experience of dressing discerning gentlemen across the globe, it is the definitive volume that every man of taste should have on his bookshelf this season.

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Ian Jeffrey is a superb guide in this profusely illustrated introduction to the appreciation of photography as an art form. Novices and experts alike will gain a deeper understanding of great photographers and their work, as Jeffrey decodes key images and provides essential biographical and historical background. Profiles of more than 100 major photographers, including Alfred Stieglitz, Bill Brandt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Paul Strand and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, highlight particular examples of styles and movements throughout the history of the medium. Each entry includes a concise biography along with an illuminating discussion of key works and nuggets of contextual information, making this book the ideal gallery companion for photography aficionados everywhere.

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Lively and informative, The World Atlas of Tattoo is a superbly illustrated and compelling reference book that, through examining the meeting point between tattoo artists and their personal understanding of their environment, presents a well-informed and nuanced account of what has become a widespread art practice. Organized geographically, each section is introduced by a short historical overview of the types of tattooing traditionally practised in that area of the world, enabling the reader to trace historical threads in the careers of some of the profiled tattooers, as well as marvel at how other artists have managed to create novel forms of tattooing that transcend any previous context. The book also tracks the movement of styles from their indigenous settings to diasporic communities, where they have often been transformed into creative, multicultural, hybrid designs. Written by an international team of scholars, historians and journalists, this comprehensive atlas will enlighten and excite anyone who is passionate about tattoo art in its many forms worldwide.

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The definitive history of the Maya, fully updated with the latest archaeological studies. The Maya has long been established as the best, most readable introduction to the ancient Maya on the market today. This classic book has been updated by distilling the latest scholarship for the general reader and student. This tenth edition incorporates the most recent archaeological and epigraphic findings, which continue to proceed at a fast pace, along with full-colour illustrations. The new material includes evidence of the earliest human occupants of the Maya region and the beginnings of agriculture and settled life; analysis from lidar on swampy areas, such as Usumacinta, that show enormous rectangle earthworks, including Aguada Fénix, dating from 1050 to 750 BC; and recent advances in decoding Maya writing and imagery. It also expands on information on the roles of women, courtiers and outsiders; covers novel research about Maya cities, including research into water quality, marketplaces, fortifications and integrated road systems; and features coverage of more recent Maya history, including the displacement and mistreatment of the Maya people, along with growing affirmations of their cultural identity and rights. Highlighting the vitality of current scholarship about this brilliant culture, The Maya remains the gold standard introductory book on the subject.

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Sunday Times Art Book of the Year 2018'If you are interested in modern British art, the book is unputdownable. If you are not, read it.' - Grey Gowrie, Financial Times 'All the good stories, and more, are here … this is a genuinely encyclopaedic work, unlike anything else I have come across on the topic, informed by a deep love and understanding of modern painting. Everybody interested in the subject should read it.' - Andrew Marr, Sunday Times A masterfully narrated account of painting in London from the Second World War to the 1970s, illustrated throughout with documentary photographs and works of art The development of painting in London from the Second World War to the 1970s is the story of interlinking friendships, shared experiences and artistic concerns among a number of acclaimed artists, including Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach, David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Gillian Ayres, Frank Bowling and Howard Hodgkin. Drawing on extensive first-hand interviews, many previously unpublished, with important witnesses and participants, the art critic Martin Gayford teases out the thread connecting these individual lives, and demonstrates how painting thrived in London against the backdrop of Soho bohemia in the 1940s and 1950s and ‘Swinging London’ in the 1960s. He shows how, influenced by such different teachers as David Bomberg and William Coldstream, and aware of the work of contemporaries such as Jackson Pollock as well as the traditions of Western art from Piero della Francesca to Picasso and Matisse, the postwar painters were allied in their confidence that this ancient medium, in opposition to photography and other media, could do fresh and marvellous things. They asked the question ‘what can painting do?’ and explored in their diverse ways, but with equal passion, the possibilities of paint.

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From the dawn of history to the death of Cleopatra, ancient Egypt was home to larger-than-life personalities. Across one hundred lives, Toby Wilkinson explores the true character and diversity of human experience in the ancient world’s greatest civilization. Some of those profiled are famous: pharaohs and queens such as Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Ramesses II and Tiye. Others are lesser known but equally engaging: Imhotep, architect of the first pyramid; Perniankhu, the court dwarf; and the royal sculptor Bak. Equally illuminating are the lives of commoners, so rarely given their own voice: ordinary men and women who include a doctor, a dentist, a housewife, a musician – and a serial criminal.

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Chocolate – ‘the food of the Gods’ – has had a long and eventful history. Its story is expertly told here by the doyen of Maya studies, Michael Coe, and his late wife, Sophie. The book begins 3,000 years ago in the Mexican jungles and goes on to draw on aspects of archaeology, botany and socio-economics. Used as currency and traded by the Aztecs, chocolate arrived in Europe via the conquistadors, and was soon a favourite drink with aristocrats. By the 19th century and industrialization, chocolate became a food for the masses – until its revival in our own time as a luxury item. Chocolate has also been giving up some of its secrets to modern neuroscientists, who have been investigating how flavour perception is mediated by the human brain. And, finally, the book closes with two contemporary accounts of how chocolate manufacturers have (or have not) been dealing with the ethical side of the industry.

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Geometric patterns are perhaps the most recognizable visual expressions of Islamic art and architecture, magnificent in their beauty and awe-inspiring in their execution. Now, with the aid of this book, anyone can learn how to master this ancient art and create intricate patterns or re-create classic examples. An introduction guides the reader through the basics, and is followed by some of the best examples of geometric patterns from around the world, arranged into three levels of complexity, with careful, step-by-step instructions taking the reader through the stages of composition.

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Focusing on fifty diverse women artists, from Lavinia Fontana and Artemisia Gentileschi through Judy Chicago, Ana Mendieta and the Guerrilla Girls to Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman and Louise Bourgeois, this book equips the reader with a general understanding of the history of art by women, as well as an appreciation of its most outstanding figures. Traditionally women have been among art’s favoured objects of representation, while their contributions as art producers have been subordinated to those of men. This book documents women artists in context to offer readers an accessible but rich understanding of key female artists from the Baroque to the present day.

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Here is the fabric and textile directory that dressmakers and fashion designers everywhere have been waiting for. This book is like having your own personal shopper – able to recommend fabrics to suit the effects you want to achieve, show you how the fabric will perform, and tell you the best ways of using it. - Organized by function: do you want a fabric for structure, fluidity and movement, added volume, definition or decoration? This book works in such a way that you can view the fabric as the medium from which the garment design can be achieved right from the beginning. - Each textile in the directory is accompanied by samples of the fabric presented so that its properties come alive, allowing you to really understand how a fabric might behave. - The chart section at the back of the book includes essential guides to fibre properties, fabric structure and weight, fabric characteristics and end use.

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Architect and designer Michael Embacher’s unique collection of more than 250 bicycles, the only one of its kind, was lovingly collected over many years and exhibited around the world. This new compact edition of Cyclepedia offers an expanded selection of Embacher’s finest, most unusual and most coveted pieces, despite the fact that the collection is no longer intact. With a foreword by design guru Paul Smith and a history of bicycle design by Michael Zappe and Martin Strubreiter, this homage to the beauty of two wheels is a celebration of the fastest, lightest, most innovative – and most inventive – bicycles designed over the past century. This stunning, carefully curated selection features some of the rarest, most beautiful and most sought-after bicycles from around the world, including classic racing bikes from the Tour de France, high-tech machines that employ the latest advances in materials science, and eccentric bikes designed for unusual uses. With a redesigned layout that makes the most of Bernhard Angerer’s colourful photography, this edition features ten new bicycles from Embacher’s collection, including designs from Alex Singer, Alan, Textima and Puch. Published in a new and more accessible compact format, Cyclepedia is a cornucopia of all that bicycle design has to offer, the ultimate gift for cycling enthusiasts everywhere.

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Here is an informative and entertaining guide to everything that any tourist needs for a journey back in time to ancient Rome in AD 200. You need only pack your imagination and a toothbrush – this guide provides the rest, describing all the best places to stay and shop, what to do, and what to avoid. Brought to life with wonderful computergenerated reconstructions of ancient Rome, this highly original, witty book will appeal to tourists, armchair travellers and history buffs.

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The Big Idea shortlisted for series design in the British Design and Production AwardsIs Capitalism Working? is a highly relevant question today – not least to a generation coming of age in a world still experiencing aftershocks from the near-meltdown of the world economy in 2008. Economic theory can be complex, but Jacob Field’s wellstructured and thought-provoking text lays out the debate in a clear, accessible and engaging manner. Infographics and timelines ensure that readers grasp the basic tenets, history and context of capitalism, without distracting from the compelling arguments. Jacob Field presents a measured conclusion that reviews the evidence on each side, allowing room for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.

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All students with a budding interest in architectural design will value this book for its solid foundational orientation and instruction. Mo Zell introduces readers to architecture’s visual language, showing them how to think spatially and getting them started in architectural drawing with a series of instructional tutorials. Using three-dimensional design problems, she coaches students through the fundamentals of proportion and scale, space and volume, path and place and materials and textures. A series of study units cover virtually every aspect of architectural drawing. This book concludes with practical advice for anyone considering a career in architectural design, offering ideas on building a portfolio, getting advanced training and continuing on a path to a professional career.

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The Books That Shaped Art History provides an invaluable roadmap of the field by reassessing the impact of the most important texts of art history published during the 20th century. Each of the sixteen incisive chapters, focusing on a single book, is written by a leading art historian, curator or one of the promising scholars of today. In bringing these cross-generational contributions together, the book presents a varied and invaluable overview of the history of art, told through its most enduring literature. Each essay – with writers including John Elderfield, Boris Groys, Susie Nash and Richard Verdi – analyses a single major work, mapping the intellectual development of its author, setting out the premises and argument of the book, discussing its position within the field of art history, and looking at its significance in the context both of its initial reception and its legacy. Enlivening debates and questioning the very status of art history itself, this is a concise and brilliant study of the discipline and an invaluable resource for anyone interested in visual culture and its histories.

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Monsters have preoccupied mankind from the earliest times: even cave art includes animal-human monsters. Certainly monsters were present in the ancient religions of Egypt and Mesopotamia; the Old Testament describes the giant land and sea monsters Behemoth and Leviathan, while in the world of Classical mythology, monsters embody the fantasies of the gods and the cruellest punishments of human beings. While we may no longer worry about being eaten by trolls on the way home, there remains a fascination with these creatures who have shadowed us throughout history. This book explores monsters down the ages and throughout the world. It provides a dark yet engrossing visual history of the human mind, lit up by flashes of wild and unearthly inspiration.

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The ten extraordinary houses and castles featured in this book have all survived the vicissitudes of Scotland’s history with almost all of their original families still in residence. Each house also represents a landmark in Scotland’s architectural history, ranging from the early seventeenth to the early twentieth century. The architectural revelation is matched by sensational settings, which merge designed gardens and landscape with the unparalleled wildness and vistas of Scotland. All of these cherished houses are chockablock with memories of the past, from swagger portraits to sporrans, from vintage photographs to ancient weaponry, from curling stones to fading chintz. James Fennell’s masterly photographs capture the distinctive atmosphere of each residence. As he guides the reader on an intimate tour of the houses, Knox recounts their histories and profiles the colourful lairds, clan chiefs and nobles who have called them home.

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The legions of Rome were among the greatest fighting forces in history. For almost half a millennium they secured the known world under the power of the Caesars. This pioneering account gathers together the stories of each and every imperial legion, telling the tales of their triumphs and defeats as they policed the empire and enlarged its borders. Focusing on the legions as the core of the Roman army, and chronicling their individual histories in detail, this volume builds on the thematic account of the Roman military force given by its companion The Complete Roman Army , and is vital reading for anyone who has enjoyed that book.

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