Search results for ""schiffer publishing, ltd.""

Of the vast variety of types of vernacular architecture, the igloo is probably the one which provokes the most curiosity and affection. In addition to offering a detailed analysis of the building tradition and cultural significance of igloos, this book gathers together the work of contemporary architects, designers, and artists from around the world who have turned their attention to this unique compacted dome when planning some of their work. Altogether, 14 modern designs are presented, ranging from an ice hotel to memorials to a forestry conservation center. Each of these works demonstrates a clear understanding of the characteristic traits that define the igloo, the process of its construction, and its relationship with the environment-ideas of great importance in architecture and contemporary design considering the existence of this millennia—old building tradition is threatened by globalization and climate change. This is an excellent reference for architects, designers, and students interested in vernacular design.

Read more less

Boating time is family time as everyone often shares both the work and the fun. Even young children are eager to help and, once their curiosity is aroused, they'll look for ways to learn more about boating. All About Boats: A to Z shows the youngest crew members the purpose of the many things they see while boating. Each letter appears on a separate page. The featured word is explained by a verse and an illustration, showing how it fits for boating. "B" is for bell. Though there are many types of bells, a ship's bell is used to send signals, which can be a safety factor in fog or rain. This book is a great conversational tool on the aspects of boating as families develop their onboard teamwork. Picture book–ages 0-6.

Read more less

This book is designed for the beginning wood turners ready to take up the challenge of turning segmented bowls and platters. Each step of the process is explained in both straightforward instructions and over 200 clear color photos and patterns. The hallmark of a segmented bowl is the design incorporated into the body. While these designs appear to be complicated and difficult to make, this book simplifies the process. Key to making these apparently complex designs is using a combination of different wood colors and varying lengths and segment alignments. The problem of cutting the segments accurately is also solved with instructions for making simple fixtures for your table saw that cut segments with enough precision to avoid complicated sanding and fitting. Using the methods described here, wood turners will successfully create segmented salad bowls, decorator bowls, and serving platters. While written with the beginner in mind, this book is a must for all wood turners.

Read more less

Lee, a young otter, loses his mother and finds himself in a rescue aquarium where he meets a bully, learns to trust human beings, survives a catastrophe, and, by recalling his mother's lessons, makes a tough decision that ultimately changes his life. Children who have been bullied, lost a parent, or just enjoy a good adventure, will be thrilled by this beautifully illustrated children's book. In addition to the non-stop action of Lee's story, readers will learn many facts about the habitat, biology, and behavior of otters as well as some of the dangers they face. Otter facts make this a great book for the classroom. Early reader–ages 5-8.

Read more less

Go behind the barbed wire and explore the many sanitariums or asylums that were intended to help the mentally ill but only contributed to their afflictions. Learn the history behind the infamous Riverside patient Mary Mallon, also known as "Typhoid Mary." Get spooked by the gothic and foreboding buildings at Danvers State Hospital in Danvers, Massachusetts, which became both the inspiration and the filming location for the movie Session 9, and Oregon State Hospital, where Jack Nicholson's famous One Flew Over the Coco's Nest was filmed. Today, these abandoned state institutions have been converted into other uses or remain in shambles, but the ghosts of their pasts linger. The author, also known by the pen name Corvis Nocturnum, explores these reputedly haunted asylums and others all the world over. Join him…if you dare.

Read more less

Frightening, sometimes amusing, always entertaining, this collection spotlights haunted tales from around the First State. Experience a sixth-grader's terrifying "game" with a talking board and a beautiful spiritual send off for a dying patriarch. Visit Fort Delaware where ghostly "chatter" may raise your hackles and read about one family's "ghost stories" spanning four generations and eighty-years. Discover the haunts of Cape Henelopen, Sussex, Kent, and New Castle counties, Newark, Wilmington, Delaware City, Dover, Smyrna, and more. Stories range from the strange and ghoulish, to the slap-stick comical. Urban legends are also explored to determine if the hype is trustworthy – some remain unexplained, while a few are debunked as pure invention. Included are results from several firsthand "haunted investigations," with a surprise ending to one inquiry that nobody saw coming!

Read more less

Journey with The Paranormal Adventurers as they blaze a new path to Long Island's most perplexing paranormal mysteries: ghosts, ghouls, and monsters. See an apparition of a long-dead ship's captain as it appears to a passenger on the Port Jefferson Ferry during a lightening storm. Cringe as a hooded humanoid creature with thin arms and long, black, boney fingers is spotted in a tree on a residential street in upscale Farmingdale. Meet a white, waxen ghoul as it walks outside a haunted cemetery in Yaphank, only to disappear into the woods as a massive Halloween night ghost hunt begins. These stories – and more – are written in an in-depth investigative reporter's style, supplying useful information and aids to conduct your own paranormal hunts. Do you think these strange anomalies and mysteries don't exist? Think again!

Read more less

Journey through New England’s darkest places and read 22 of its scariest stories and urban legends. Explore mysterious cryptids like the Dover Demon, Pigman, the Sea Serpent of Gloucester, the Dublin Lake Monster, and the Derry Fairy. Meet Champ, the legendary lake monster of Lake Champlain, and a fisherman who found himself thirty feet from the beast. See the grave of Midnight Mary and the Desert of Maine, and judge for yourself if their curses are real. Try to walk with the Leather Man and wonder why he chooses to walk alone. Visit The House of the Seven Gables and The Shunned House, both famous in literature, and learn of ghosts that still linger there. Cross Emily’s Bridge in Vermont, creep over the alleged vampire Mercy Brown’s grave in Rhode Island, and more. New England promises to scare you!

Read more less

The revised edition of this popular and affordable book focuses on 16 of the most popular glass colors of the Depression era. It identifies, dates, and values over 300 different glass patterns, displayed in 384 vivid color photos. The book is divided into 16 chapters, each offering a brief history and several photographic examples of what is available to collect in a particular color. All of the items shown are described with their pattern name, manufacturer, dates of production, tips for identification, and current values. An updated index of pattern names and glass manufacturers is included for quick reference. While it is a wonderful identification guide, it is also a guide that encourages the collecting of a specific color of glass in various patterns rather than just a single pattern.

Read more less

Written in a fun, accessible style, Tarot in Reverse is an accessible yet comprehensive reference for reading upside down cards in a Tarot spread. Interpreting reversed cards is one of the major obstacles for both the beginner and the seasoned Tarot reader. With this guide’s extensive “at a glance” keyword list and contemporary anecdotes for each card, readers are equipped to understand reversals immediately, without complex psychological methodology. Hundreds of reversed keywords and phrases boost confidence in readings and expand personal card associations. Addressing life’s reversals, each card also includes a related quote, advice, and twenty affirmations providing additional help with life’s journey. Full-color card images from the Universal Waite illustrate the concepts.

Read more less

Doll artist, Helen Cohen, has created a cat fancy in Whimsical Elegance like no other! A self-taught doll maker and passionate costume and fashion aficionada for over forty years, she has made and sold numerous dolls, many of them during her twenty-two years as owner of The Doll Lady, a shop in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Bringing fresh approaches to the creation of each figure, 20 of her miniature dolls were displayed in a custom-made dollhouse at the White House in 1981. Sophisticated and adult dolls in human proportions are shown in this collection, but with a twist – CAT faces grace the pages along with a primary emphasis on historical fashion, representative of the 1500s through 1920. Each figure is unique, reflecting 31 variations on a theme. She focuses on her skill and experience in working with a wide variety of fabrics and generously imparts and shares helpful tips. The artistic color photographs by David Gehosky bring to life and into sharp focus her dazzling details, exuberant adornments, and embellishments, in concert with amazing fabrics on beautiful cat dolls. This exciting Cohen collection displays theatrical qualities, designed to offer a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration for anyone who enjoys costuming for dolls, puppets, marionettes, stuffed animals, or people.

Read more less

This book contains 168 photographs of thoroughbred racing taken by award-winning photographer Arthur Frank in the United States, France, and Ireland, and is introduced by a personal essay by The New York Times sportswriter Joe Drape. The photographs capture the beauty and excitement of one of the world’s most popular sports by depicting the development of thoroughbred race horses from their days as foals, through training sessions, and then to the track. It also highlights the unique relationships between the horses and those individuals who bred them, own them, train them, care for them, and bet on them. As the photographer is more interested in the sport of horse racing than with celebrity, the book offers a unique humanistic depiction of the sport of kings and concludes with a tribute to the winners and losers.

Read more less

For many service men and women, the battle is over, but the ink lives on. Thousands have chosen to commemorate their military service through tattoos, a custom as old as war paint itself. Yet military tattoos go far beyond the usual anchor and eagle clichés, and are often as complex and varied as the military experience. For the first time, documentary photographer Kyle Cassidy has sought out veterans who marked their military service with a tattoo and they are shown here in all their glory: fresh, faded, sometimes intertwined with wounds, physical and otherwise. And the stories behind these tattoos, both conventional and surprising, are just as engaging. In a transient world, with shifting enemies, mores, leaders, and friends, this is a testament to the values of a permanent commemoration. The unique journey into each service man and woman’s story will captivate you. Not only is this book a great resource for history and military buffs, but it is also a great reference for tattoo artists.

Read more less

Make people smile when they see these unique bookmarks! With 293 color images, illustrated, step-by-step instructions provide carvers of all skill levels with fresh ideas for weekend carvings. Make a Santa head or Abraham Lincoln. Show them with hair or a full beard. The possibilities are endless! Even make a “book” bookmark. These make great gifts for book lovers, family, and friends. Chapters include basic cuts, safety tips, project layout, carving details, painting, and assembling the bookmark. A gallery of completed projects will inspire your own ideas. Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned carver, you’ll want to try your hand at these fun caricatures.

Read more less

Visions: Earth’s Elements in Bird and Nature Photography contains a varied collection of more than 450 bird and nature photographs that reflect the personal visions of the three authors and eight other wildlife photographers. The theme of the book is set by the elements of the planet (earth, fire, air, and water) and includes an assortment of nature photographs, from exciting action and moody contemplation, are connected to these elements. Throughout the book, each two-page layout tells a story that relates to the subjects or habitats shown on the pages, or creates a mood using color themes that connect with one of the earth’s elements. Relevant quotes about nature are interspersed throughout the book, and personalized captions share interesting information about each photograph.

Read more less

Southern California has it all! Its rich diversity in climate, terrain, people, opportunities, and ideas cannot be overstated. With an open mind, Southern California welcomes the new, the wacky, and the absurd just as much as the brilliant and traditional. In more than 220 spectacular images and captions bursting at the seams with information, John Eng and Adriene Biondo reveal all that the region has to offer. From the magnificent mountain scenery of the High Sierras to the lowbrow subculture of the Venice Beach Freakshow, and from the opulence of Hearst Castle to the feisty cancan dancers at the French Festival, you will see some of the beauty and pathos of a state that has become a modern utopia and the envy of the world.

Read more less

This book is the first in a new series profiling the Knight's Cross holders of the Wehrmacht in World War II. Concise biographies, rare photographs of personalities, aircraft, and award documents cover not only known soldiers and airmen, but lesser known KC holders as well. This initial volume covers four Luftwaffe fighter, and bomber pilots.

Read more less

What happens when professional craft artists are allowed to let loose – when they get to explore their mischievous and irreverent sides? Find out in this groundbreaking book, which, for the very first time, reveals an entirely different side of “serious” craft. Hundreds of images and essays from all over the world allow you to gain insight into the creative minds of contemporary artists like never before. A variety of traditional craft media are shown, such as furniture, ceramics, glass, fiber, jewelry, and metal, as well as a number of unique, nontraditional techniques. Even a bus shelter in London gets a creative make-over that’s sure to make you smile! The topics range from the playful to the serious, but the message is always most enjoyable. Humor in Craft is a treasure trove for craft aficionados and humor enthusiasts alike.

Read more less

The U.S. Army glider corps was formed in the tumultuous period of rapid buildup of American military might prior to the nation's December 1941 entry into World War II. It then had to mature rapidly, under the persistent pressure of wartime conditions, to be ready for action when American airborne troops first deployed. This meant haste and misconceptions that fostered inefficiencies in all aspects of the effort. The program produced a cadre of pilots and fleet of wood and fabric gliders that executed challenging combat missions unlike anything done before or since. Despite the numbers and combat record, the glider is almost never mentioned in accounts of World War II combat aircraft. Many other gliders were developed, partially or completely, to enhance airborne operational capabilities. Most of these have been little reported until now. The U.S. Army and Britain shared aircraft and knowledge, both employing the other's gliders in combat. The U.S. Navy also spent time developing amphibious transport gliders for Marine Corps landings. All are covered in this book. The American experience with military gliders during World War II remains a fascinating story of innovation under wartime conditions of a weapon with no historical antecedents.

Read more less

Despite the overwhelming contributions made by the Armenians to the Allied war effort, it is widely unknown that at least 18,000 served under the Third Reich. After the war, these so-called collaborators were chastised and indiscriminately labeled as traitors by those unable to grasp the complexity of their circumstances. Largely based on archival research, German-Armenian Relations in the Second World War attempts to separate fact from fallacy by examining the complex motives, treatment, and history of these Armenians.

Read more less

This book provides a unique view of the development of military and commercial aviation in Japan from the pioneering years before World War I to the end of World War II. There are comparatively few books in English that illustrate aviation in Japan in the years before World War II. This is the first book to make extensive use of Japanese aviation postcards to show how aviation in Japan grew from a dependence on foreign aircraft designs and engineers in the early years to an independent industry that produced world-class airplanes. The book uses more than 250 postcards to trace the history of Imperial Japanese Army and Navy aviation, and commercial aviation, during this thirty-five year period. Each of the book's four chapters begins with a narrative survey of key developments during the period covered. The postcards, some in color and some in black and white, show both military and commercial airplanes, many famous and some less so. Of particular interest to those interested in Japanese military aviation in World War II will be a number of postcards of wartime propaganda art.

Read more less

In this second book on Paleozoic fossils, over 840 all new specimens from this period are provided, organized by biologic (taxonomic) position. It is a real eye candy feast for fossil enthusiasts. Come and explore the fossil evidence for a world that was ancient and long gone when the dinosaurs ruled the earth. Discover the sponges, archaeocyathids (reef builders), cnidaria, worms, brachiopods, bryozoans, mollusks, arthropods, echinoderms, and chordates that populated the oceans and inhabited the land from 535 to 235 million years ago. Much of the fossil record for this era reveals marine organisms in many forms, but this is also the period when clear evidence for plants and animals appears in hard rock. While the earth presents many natural barriers to the collecting of Paleozoic fossils, the author has overcome those barriers to present readers with a formidable collection.

Read more less

Protect that beautiful hand-forged knife you’ve just completed or keep your favorite piece of cutlery close for daily use with a leather sheath. From basic leather working techniques to a completed sheath, this how-to book will walk you through the steps to produce your own fixed-blade knife sheath. Choose from four different designs, each presented in detail, including a sheath with folded belt loop, a scabbard with leather lining and riveted belt loop, a sheath with safety strap and attached belt loop, and a scabbard with belt clip. Complete with illustrated tips on sketching the sheath design and treating the leather, as well as four complete sheath patterns and a supply list, this guide will provide you with the know-how and tools to make sheaths of your own design.

Read more less

Boomer is a silly dog that loves to explore — and explore he does on the streets of Annapolis. After getting loose from his yard, he spends a day roaming popular streets, including Duke of Gloucester and Maryland Avenue, and visiting the historic State House and City Dock. Through 15 colorful images, accompany Boomer on his day-long adventure and learn the stories behind the city’s many historic sites. Beautifully illustrated, this book is a great educational tool for teachers and parents and a great keepsake for any child. They’ll be laughing and bouncing around with Boomer all the way home. Grades K-5.

Read more less

Explore haunted places of Montgomery County, Maryland, and its surrounding area through 53 ghostly stories: Brookeville to Gaithersburg, Poolesville, and Leesburg, Virginia; the C & O Canal to Rockville and Silver Spring; Chevy Chase and Washington, D.C. to Sandy Spring. Learn about the many ghosts, apparitions, and supernatural occurrences that can't be explained logically, including the Headless Horseman that continues to terrorize visitors to the old railroad bridge; the poltergeist that haunts the Madison House; the Tommyknocker at the Maryland Mine; and the farmer that keeps searching for his buried treasure. The history of gold mining, presidential politics, the Civil War, the burning of Washington during the War of 1812, the French and Indian War, and various important personages come to life through these mind-tingling stories. Are you brave enough to take this haunted journey back into time?

Read more less

Take a field trip with Ms. Gwinn's class and discover how fun and educational being in the outside world can be. More than 25 beautiful illustrations take you to each place the students visit along their nature walk. Meet the various animals they encounter, from squirrels, to rabbits, and the dreaded rat, and learn identifying characteristics of each. Learn about the environment and what can be done to help protect it. Adults and children alike will be laughing out loud at the humorous ending. A great read for at home and in the classroom. Early reader–ages 5-8.

Read more less

Over 1750 photos present more than 1550 fans in all their artistry, some showing both sides. The informative descriptions of the fans are often amusing. Roughly 100 “factoids” in boxes accompanying the captions, give readers extra insight into these fascinating fans. The fans are divided into forty-three categories, from Agriculture to Wine. The gorgeous fans of casinos, expositions, hotels, railroads, and theaters are amazing. The delightful fans of the circus are an interesting contrast to the somber fans of funeral parlors. Fans advertising chocolate and other sweets, beer, Champagne, cool drinks, and spirits will pique your appetite for advertising fans. The authors are from different sides of the Atlantic so they were able to amass a dazzling array of fans representing Europe and North America, plus a handful from other locations. Two indexes show the wide variety of fans by artists as well as manufacturers and suppliers.

Read more less

The spirits of the Shakers are still active in their historic homes, meeting houses, and on the land where they once toiled, prayed, and sang. Shaker Spirits, Shaker Ghosts offers ghost hunter investigations, haunted tales from White Water Shaker village in Ohio, walkthrough village reports from psychics, and an interview with a Shaker scholar. Thomas Freese was immersed in their music for ten years when he performed with the Pleasant Hill Singers. At Shakertown in Mercer County, Kentucky, he heard, then recorded, true tales from both visitors and employees of Pleasant Hill. Ghostly singing is heard in the Meeting House, children are scared of moving tombstones in the graveyard, spirit figures walk the village lane, and ghosts enter guest rooms. Are you ready to have an encounter with a Shaker ghost? We thought so.

Read more less

This book will have kids coloring their way to learning about boating. It explains the sometimes confusing terms boaters use in an easy-to-understand and fun way. What is the bow on a boat? What does SOS mean? What about the flags on the boats? Everything you ever wanted to know about boating is answered, from A to Z, and your kids will get a kick out of being able to color their own boats and captains. This great educational tool for boating families with elementary and middle school-aged children is something the whole family can share. It is a perfect gift for all boat owners. Picture book–ages 0-6.

Read more less

Enjoy discovering the hows and whys behind growing a beautiful garden through 293 color images. From learning the profiles of each individual plant and their basic needs to maintaining a garden community, this book offers a fun and whimsical approach to developing your green thumb. You’ll learn how to choose the right plants for growing your best garden. Think of it as staging a theatrical production, with tips for lighting, temperature, drainage, and developing a sustainable landscape. The text is entertaining, with easy-to-remember facts and suggestions for putting on the best garden show ever. This book is great for both the beginner and seasoned gardener, landscape artists, horticulturalists, and everyone who just loves looking at beautiful flowers and plants.

Read more less

Updated with nearly 30 high-quality vintage images, the second edition of this lavishly illustrated book provides irrefutable documentation of ladies' fashions worn in Victorian America from 1860 to 1900. Extensively researched using nineteenth-century fashion, beauty, etiquette, household, and medical literature, the book explores the fluctuations in clothing styles including undergarments, casual wear, sports clothes, common dress, evening attire, hairstyles, and jewelry, while tracing the fascinating impact fashion had on the mental, physical, and social lives of our Victorian ancestors. Chapters on personal hygiene, cosmetics, clothing manufacture, laundry, and the dating of vintage photographs are included, along with updated prices. The period photographs and detailed analysis provide a unique picture of the lives of Victorian women through their styles of dress. The second edition of this comprehensive and easy-to-read book is an invaluable resource to historians, theatrical costumers, genealogists, museum curators, and historical fashion and photography enthusiasts.

Read more less

Create your own interlocking building blocks and remember the childhood days when you sat on your living room floor playing with stacking toy blocks. Through 109 color images and diagrams, illustrated step-by-step directions tell you how to make the blocks from the first cut through assembling an entire city. Learn to make wall, roof, window, and door blocks, as well as blocks for the walkways, streets and the grounds that will surround the buildings. Soon you will be on your way to having a fun new hobby. It’s also a perfect activity for parents and children to share together. Chapters include tools and materials, methods for making the blocks, and instructions for working with them. Let the building begin!

Read more less

This is the fourth and final book in the complete series on the life of Rommel’s former Chief-of-Staff Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein. Bayerlein faced obstacles in attempting to get his life back to normal after six years of fighting and two years as a prisoner of war. This unique book about Bayerlein covers his trial by the Denazification Tribunal conducted in September 1947. Bayerlein’s German trial is extensively documented including details of his testimony regarding his actions as a commander during World War II.

Read more less

They were called the deadliest fighter squadron in action in the South Pacific; U.S. Navy Fighting Squadron Seventeen, famous with their Skull and Crossbones insignia, became one of the most successful squadrons of WWII. Flying the F4U Corsair, VF-17 shot down 152 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat in only 76 days. At the end of the war VF-17 had the top four Navy Corsair aces:Kepford, Hedrick, Blackburn, and Smith. After seventeen years of meticulous research, Lee Cook presents this new book, which is also greatly enhanced by considerable VF-17 family involvement who have supplied original material and photographs not previously appeared in previous works. The Aces of Fighting 17 has a detailed biography of each VF-17 ace and has a host of hitherto unpublished photographs.

Read more less

Photographer Steve Pidcock sees faces in the magical reflections of water and rock along the Susquehanna River. Though not everyone sees them in the same way, more than 200 images show the beautiful scenery, details of rocks, plants, and shapes and colors of the seasons and how, with a slightly different perspective, they reveal surprising results. Early Native Americans used these waters as a major highway. Today, sports enthusiasts and environmentalists use it for recreation and research. Laid out in what the photographer calls “Verti-zontal Art,” the humorous and sometimes dark “beings” within the images take form. If you love art, nature, history, or just enjoy viewing the world from a different vantage point, then this book is for you.

Read more less

UFOs Above the Law is a collection of UFO reports from law enforcement officers and other government officials that prove that UFOs are not only real, but that they are here en masse. Those people who serve and protect the public tend to be the most credible witnesses and investigators when it comes to bringing forth the truth. When public servants see UFOs and are willing to stand up and testify about those sightings, their words are no less credible. In fact, with so many questions surrounding UFOs, there is great controversy that puts these respected men and women’s reputations, families, and careers on the line with every report. Still, in the name of truth, they step forth. Here, experience abductions, learn investigative procedures, read transcripts of radio chases, track strange lights, and investigate things that most people would run from! Join law enforcement officers from around the world in a pursuit for UFO disclosure.

Read more less

Witches are everywhere! You can find them in your local schools, workplace, or community. They are your friends, colleagues, neighbors, and sometimes family members. But what do you really know about them? Break through your misconceptions with this groundbreaking, comprehensive guide showcasing Wicca and Witchcraft, written in a simple myth/truth format. Three Witches, elders in the pagan community, take on wiccan-related fallacies still present in society today. They invite Wiccans to come out of the broom closet and they encourage understanding of the tenets of Wicca by those just interested in learning about the basics. This book will serve as a tool for parents and family members who seek to appreciate a loved one’s religious choices, and it will help those seeking to separate the truth about modern Witchcraft from centuries of misinformation.

Read more less

Wyoming is filled with ghosts and haunted adventures. Sleep at the Ferris Mansion where a mischievous spirit of a little boy resides. Take a hike to Big Horn Medicine Wheel and experience the history and spirits that reside within the sacred Wheel. Grab a magazine at a drug store where the late owner likes to be greeted each morning. Visit a ghost town where a former serial killer still walks on an unearthly plane. Find out about Yellowstone’s mysteries, as well as the spirits that still roam the many caves and grooves of Wyoming’s landscapes. Learn the signs to determine when ghosts are near and what you can do to protect yourself from them! Wyoming has plenty of hauntings just waiting for you!

Read more less

Tour the mighty Mississippi River with this first A-Z encyclopedia-style listing of paranormal phenomena along its winding length. Presented in a convenient, cross-referenced format, these pages are an indispensable guide of the supernatural for the curious traveler, brave riverboat pilot, ghost-folklore buff, aspiring vampire slayer, and dedicated UFO chaser. Learn how to distinguish hoodoo from Voodoo and examine posthumous perambulations and visitations of the pirate Jean Lafitte. Find out about the domain and habits of devil babies and grunch, assess haunted plantations and mansions, and chart prominent water-monster hazards. Please note, though, that the root work conjure-spells, blues-musician pacts with the devil, loup-garou assemblies, Bigfoot-trackings, Judas Eyes, and exorcism rituals are offered for entertainment and historical enlightenment only, and because dangerous, should not be undertaken by amateurs. So take a ride down the mighty Mississippi and experience the paranormal for yourself!

Read more less

William Spratling was a U.S. educator whose artistic impact caused a successful silver jewelry industry to arise in Taxco, Mexico, in the 1940s. This book examines Spratling's Mexican work and explores how his talent attracted the attention of the U.S. Interior Department. In 1945, he was invited to create a similar program for Alaska, where it was felt that the indigenous people needed to be encouraged for their own artistic expression and economic gain. Thirty never-before-seen Alaskan models, lost for over 50 years, have been found and now are preserved at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. These and original designs for the project, made in 1949, are presented here along with Spratling’s original 1945 report to the Arts and Crafts Board. Also featured are Spratling’s designs that inspired a new company’s formation to carry on his legacy at Taxco. Clearly, innovation in designs and inspiration for generations of new artists have risen from Spratling’s work.

Read more less

Delve into the fascinating origins and contemporary interpretations of Sun Face and Thunderbird/Hopi Bird designs. This thorough study was undertaken to establish the identities of 33 Zuni artists and their interpretations of these traditional designs from the 1940s through the 1960s. Their mosaic stone and shell inlay pins, bracelets, bolo ties, and other ornaments appear in over 190 color photos that display subtle variations indicative of each master’s work and distinctive style. Also introduced are important but forgotten artists, such as Harry Deutsawe and Raphael Homer. It also features two intriguing variations of Sun Face designs, such as Sun Face with Horns and Sun Father and His Twin Sons. Detailed analysis explains the changes and connections among early and recent makers and their individual styles, materials, and designs.

Read more less

Over 650 vivid color photos reveal the geo-collectible fossils and minerals associated with the first two billion years of earth’s history. The engaging text explores the geology of shield areas and their associated rocks and minerals. Also examined are pegmatites and their associated minerals, including attractive minerals and crystals like emerald and aquamarine. Early minerals and rocks associated with the formation of the earth’s atmosphere are also revealed–the geologic strata known as BIF (Banded Iron Formation). Some of the earth’s oldest fossils are included, displayed in outcrops harboring the earliest evidence of life. A variety of unusual minerals associated with early limestone-like rocks (now usually found as marble) are revealed, including highly prized rocks used for decorative carvings as well as gemstones. Greenstone belts, among the earliest rocks on the planet, are also examined and their interesting association with much of the earth’s gold deposits is explored. This book is a must for anyone passionate about geology and paleontology.

Read more less

A historic overview of the parks the Olmsted companies created in New Jersey primarily for the county park commissions in Essex, Union, and Passaic counties. Son and stepson of the creator of New York’s Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and John Charles Olmsted, continued with their father’s naturalistic style of landscape architecture, with 20th-century modifications, into the 1960s. Illustrated with more than 200 historic and contemporary photographs, vintage postcards, and Olmsted sketches and plans, this survey chronologically details the development of each park or reservation as it was transformed from former farmland, swamp, forest, or a previous park. Included are the gems of Branch Brook Park in Newark, Cadwalader Park in Trenton, Warinanco Park in Roselle, and Brookdale Park in Montclair and Bloomfield. Discover the Olmsted legacy in some of the most magnificent public parks in New Jersey

Read more less

Gourd and fiber containers have been essential for making human migration and commerce possible for thousands of years. This new DIY book takes a step back in time to show how different forms of fiber have been used to tie a loop around the neck or waist of a gourd or to weave an intricate basket structure to hold the handle. With more than 350 color images and step-by-step instructions, seven projects are based on water containers from around the world: a palm wine bottle from Cameroon, a canoe bottle from Borneo, a saki flask and a spiral woven bottle from Japan, a bule from Mexico, an intricately woven bottle from Indonesia, and a netted Hawaiian water bottle. These projects show the universality of the gourd in the human settlement of the earth, and make great projects for advanced gourd artists.

Read more less

The beauty of Christmas is displayed through decorated historic homes from around the country. From Virginia to Texas, tour 27 houses and see how history comes alive in a festive way during the holiday season. Learn the traditions of President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s family with a trip to “The Texas White House,” revisit colonial America with a trip to Colonial Williamsburg, and get decorating tips from professional designers. With more than 300 color images, historic homes ranging from magnificent estates to simple residences offer a variety of styles, tastes, and ideas to inspire your own celebrations. Homemakers, decorators, historians, or anybody who loves the magic of Christmas will appreciate the engaging text and wonderfully decorated interiors.

Read more less