Wemyss Ware is an evocative name to anyone with an interest in pottery. It conjures grinning cats and pot-bellied pigs, jugs and plates and other items of tableware, often decorated with an intricate pink cabbage rose or other such bucolic scenes. Produced in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, from 1882 to 1930 (and in Bovey Tracy, England, 1930-1952), Wemyss Ware has an illustrious history. From the Wemyss family, the patrons of this pottery line; to the Queen Mother and Prince Charles, Wemyss Ware has caught the eye of many individuals of note. Among these was George Bellamy, now a legendary collector of Scottish Wemyss, who has been seeking out his pieces since 1976. A treasure trove of Wemyss Ware, this book catalogues a collection lovingly compiled over decades. Carol McNeil’s essay traces the history of the Fife Pottery where Wemyss Ware saw its debut, while Bellamy’s introduction guides the reader through several of the key figures involved in the locating and preserving of these works of art. Scottish Wemyss Ware celebrates the labor, design and artistry that poured into each hand-decorated pot. Often inspired by the Fife countryside where they first originated, these characterful creations are just as delightful now as when they were first produced.

Stuart Devlin was probably the most original and creative goldsmith and silversmith of his time, and one of the greats of all time. His originality of design marked him out as a master craftsman and his prolific output was a tribute to the width of his imagination.” – Foreword by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.

This book gives an idea of Stuart Devlin’s extraordinary creativity, his skill, and the beauty of his work. It comprises over 500 pages with hundreds of images of Devlin’s gold, silver and coins as well as his jewelry, sculpture and furniture. Many collectors will recognize pieces that they originally commissioned or have bought. Also shown are numerous sketches and working drawings. The short sections of text include concise captions and reviews from primary sources. Although it has been impossible to encompass everything ever designed or produced by Devlin, the book highlights how remarkable it is that this wealth of ideas was conceived by just one man. Stuart Devlin was a pioneer goldsmith who rejected the anonymity of corporate design during the 1960s. He adapted old techniques and devised many new ones. His commissions included those for the Royal Households, cathedrals, the armed forces, sporting bodies and universities, as well as abundant private commissions. He was also a coin and medal designer. Australian born, recognition came to Devlin after designing the Australian decimal coinage in 1963. He went on to design coins for more than 30 countries.

White Salt-Glazed Stoneware of the British Isles is the first book on salt-glazed stoneware since 1971. This book is the first to cover salt-glazed production in the whole of the British Isles, not simply the production in Staffordshire. Beginning with the introduction of salt-glazed stoneware into England by German and Dutch potters in the mid-seventeenth century, and John Dwight’s patent of 1672, this book goes on to discuss in detail early industrial stoneware, the manufacture from raw materials to producing and decorating the pots, to marketing and distribution, and even the history of collecting salt-glazed stoneware. There is a chapter on the American market and the final chapter identifies, for the first time, a number of manufacturers who produced salt-glazed stoneware, attributions made possible by the excavations of pottery sites. Beyond that, there are five invaluable appendices with details of all manufacturers of salt-glazed stoneware identified thus far, price lists from the eighteenth century and an extensive bibliography.

“When one is tired of London, one is tired of life.” – Samuel Johnson London has long been a center of the literary world. From Shakespeare to Amis, Byron to Blake, Plath, Thomas, Christie and Rowling; many of the greatest names in literature have made this metropolis their home. Writers’ London guides the reader through homes, bookshops, pubs and cemeteries, in search of where literary greats loved and lost, drank and died. Discover the Islington building where Joe Orton was murdered by his lover, the Soho pub where Dylan Thomas left his manuscript, the Chelsea hotel where Oscar Wilde was arrested, and the Bank of England where Kenneth Graham was shot at (and missed) three times. Gathering hundreds of famous and less-well-known anecdotes, this meticulously researched volume will entertain any lover of literature. Also in the series: Vinyl London ISBN 9781788840156 Rock ‘n’ Roll London ISBN 9781788840163 Art London ISBN 9781788840385 London Peculiars ISBN 9781851499182

This book, using the paintings that Mary McMurtrie left to illustrate an unpublished book on cottage garden flowers, records how she created the garden at Balbithan and used her nursery to distribute the double primroses and cottage garden plants which her husband, John McMurtrie, bequeathed to her. Mary McMurtrie belonged to the small band of enthusiasts, which included Margery Fish and Gladys Emmerson, who grew double primroses during the period after the Second World War. At a time when every fifth day a house of some architectural importance was being demolished, these enthusiasts, along with fellow gardeners, preserved many of the plants from our gardening heritage of the previous centuries. Her flower paintings have been published in Growing Old Fashioned Flowers and Wild Flowers of Scotland and have been widely exhibited in Scotland, England and Europe. The publication of this book symbolises the tradition that she and her small circle maintained for many years as the only keepers of garden plants until the foundation of the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens Gently proud of her Scots ancestry, Mary would have been delighted to know that one of her paintings was chosen as a gift for Prince Charles during a visit to The Gordon Highlander Regiment in 2006. ‘The exquisite watercolor drawings of an accomplished botanical artist, Mary McMurtrie, fill the pages of this retrospective of the life and work of this dedicated collector and grower of precious flora. Born in Scotland in 1902, she died at age 101. During her lifetime, she became an ardent advocate for saving the historic garden plants of Britain. Author Timothy Clark recalls in the narrative the influences on her career, her gardening friends, her restoration of an historic garden, and her favorite plants. His literary style is reminiscent of a cozy chat with a gardening friend as he tells of the heritage of plants and how to grow the rare beauties featured on the pages of this book’.
Marilyn K. Alaimo, garden writer and volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.

Acknowledged as one of the most important sets of early English tapestries, the Four Seasons set at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, raise many scholarly questions surrounding the design, production and uses of woven tapestry in sixteenth and early-seventeenth century England. Although their main subjects have long been known to copy a set of prints by Maarten de Vos, the 170 emblems with Latin inscriptions that fill their borders have never been fully described, or even listed, in the existing literature and it is only Professor Bath’s identification of sources for more than 100 of these in Renaissance emblem books which now allows us not only to understand exactly what these emblems represent and what they mean, but also to draw some conclusions about the design process of early tapestries and the deeply embedded status of emblems in early-modern British culture.

The 6th International Architectural Paint Research Conference draws on the successes of five previous APR conferences: Stockholm (2014), Lincoln, England (2010), New York (2008), Copenhagen (2005) and London (2000). It was hosted by Columbia University in New York City, March 2017. The theme of the conference, Powers of Ten, is a reference to a short film from 1977 by Charles and Ray Eames. Like the film, Architectural Paint Research (APR) deals with magnitudes of scale, from a single pigment particle, to a painted house, to the decorative tastes of an entire region. In the spirit of the film, the 2017 APR conference took a closer look at how we carry out our research at every level, from the micro to the macroscopic. The papers in this volume come from the talks at this conference and cover many topics including: theoretical and analytical examination of colours and pigments, Conservation requirements and treatments all over the world, interiors, wooden structures and the use and progress of the digital.

Goldscheider, a Viennese factory (est. 1885), soon sped to the top of European ceramics makers. Figures and vessels of faience and terracotta as well as bronze and alabaster, all of top quality in respect of form and workmanship, were created in the Historicist, Jugendstil and Art Deco period styles. A crucial factor to their success was the collaboration with distinguished sculptors and ceramicists of the day, which included Demetre Chiparus, Walter Bosse and Josef Lorenzl, all of whom were responsible for a great many of the Goldscheider designs. This success story was quashed by the National Socialist aryanization in 1938: the Goldscheider family was forced to emigrate, the firm was sold and the new proprietor was unable to sustain the high aesthetic quality standard. The Goldscheider brothers did manage to open new ceramics businesses while in exile in the US and England, and Walter Goldscheider even returned to Vienna after the Second World War to resume his post as managing director of his old firm; however, in the 1950s the great ceramics tradition of this venerable Viennese business ended when it was sold to the German Carstens company. Over 600 color photographs show Goldscheider examples, demonstrating why this firm earned such a highly regarded reputation in the world of ceramics. Text in English and German.

The Alice and Louis Koch Collection of finger rings was originally collated by a jeweler from Frankfurt am Main, once described as the German ‘Cartier and Fabergé’. By 1909 the collection comprised 1,722 rings from Antiquity to 1900. Rene Lalique, a contemporary of the time, was included, undoubtedly as a modernizer of the ring form. In the past twenty-five years the fourth generation of the family continued where Louis Koch and his wife Alice left off and expanded the collection to include rings from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

This publication will present the complete collection of contemporary rings, now kept in the Swiss National Museum, Zurich. Nearly 600 rings by artist jewelers from around the world document how these miniature works of art have become modern sculptures showcasing new materials and techniques, daring designs and current themes.

Text in English and German.

The Formula One book. Art of the Race – V18 is book 5 in a series that encapsulates the very essence of Formula 1 motor racing through the lens of Darren Heath, one of the sport’s most celebrated photographers. Art of The Race captures the key moments and rarely seen images of each race as the 2018 season unfolds, culminating in Lewis Hamilton winning his 5th World title. “Formula 1 is the aesthete’s ultimate sport: an intoxicating cocktail of speed, spectacle, competition and power, at the heart of which are the thoroughbred racing machines exquisite manifestations of form following function, driven at dizzying speeds by the quickest-of-the-quick, the best racing drivers on the planet. From a young age I dreamed of one day photographing the sport I adored. My one desire: to demonstrate through this creative art just how beautiful Formula 1 can be. This yearning has never dimmed. I hope you enjoy the pictures that follow as much as I enjoyed taking them.” Darren Heath – Multiple award-winning photographer with an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society in 2005.

Zen master Takuan Soho (1573 1645) was Abbot of the Daitokuji, the leading Rinzai Zen Temple in Kyoto, and was founder of the Tokaiji Temple in Edo. Living proof that ‘A master of Zen can be master of anything’, his teachings and practice influenced calligraphy, painting, poetry, martial arts, and the tea ceremony. He taught and inspired the Shogun Iemitsu, Yagyu Munenori, founder of one of Japan’s greatest schools of swordsmanship, and Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings and Japan’s most famous swordsman and master of strategy. Immovable Wisdom includes an account of Takuan’s life and translations of his most important writings, as well as anecdotes encapsulating the essence of his wisdom, which are as relevant today as in his own turbulent era. Master Takuan taught that, rooted in immovable wisdom, the trained mind becomes unfettered; undistracted by the irrelevant, one’s response to the unexpected is always instantaneous and correct. Nobuko Hirose is a translator, writer, and co-author of Japanese Art Signatures, the standard reference on the subject. After graduating from Meiji University in Tokyo she obtained a Master’s degree in Japanese Art History at SOAS, University of London, and settled in England. Her translation skills and lineal descent from a traditional Japanese Zen family make her uniquely qualified to present the wisdom of Takuan Soho to a broader Western audience.

“The well-judged employment of classical detail in a new home has an additional significance that cannot be underestimated. It is an expression of an informed personal choice and an evocation of the delight in the human senses. This is true of all the houses featured in this book.” Jeremy Musson
“The architects and craftsmen that Phillip has featured in this wonderful book all have a love for classical detail. The art is alive and well, as can be attested to in these pages.” David Easton
In The Art of Classical Details, Phillip James Dodd takes a close-up look at some of the finest examples of contemporary classical architecture. The book consists of two chapters: The Essays and The Projects. Starting with a foreword by renowned decorator David Easton, The Essays are written by some of today’s most sought after architects, scholars and craftsmen. Accompanied by sumptuous full page photographs and renderings that illustrate a use of fine materials, intricate detailing, and superb artisanship, these insightful texts are essential reading for anyone with an interest in the theory, practice and craft of classical design. The Projects presents an illustrated look at 25 of today’s finest classically-designed homes. Employing the theories prescribed in the writings of the first chapter, this portfolio of contemporary buildings exhibits the work of some of the most recognizable and celebrated architects in Great Britain and the United States. The work featured in within this book demonstrates the timeless beauty of classicism, and delights in the role that superbly crafted details play in creating art.

“Anyone who appreciates the beauty of antique tools needs to have a copy” Jim Gehring, The Fine Tool Journal
“Lavish, stunning, outstanding, magnificent … superlatives just don’t do justice to this book.” canadianwoodworking.com Amassed over nearly forty years, the David Russell collection brings together a stunning array of edge and boring tools from Britain, continental Europe and North America, thus providing a broad survey of hand tool-making from prehistory to today. All the tools are illustrated with James Austin’s photographs, with details and marks shown where appropriate. Special attention is given to planes, and the great British makers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are discussed in depth. Since prehistoric times there has been a never-ending quest for better ways to cut and bore wood. Along the way this has produced a wide variety of hand tools, and there are many where beauty and function meet. The book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including collectors, craftsmen, industrial archaeologists and social and economic historians, as well as historians of material culture.
Amassed over nearly forty years, the David Russell collection brings together a stunning array of edge and boring tools from Britain, continental Europe and North America, thus providing a broad survey of hand tool-making from prehistory to today. All the tools are illustrated with James Austin’s photographs, with details and marks shown where appropriate. Special attention is given to planes, and the great British makers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are discussed in depth.

Since prehistoric times there has been a never-ending quest for better ways to cut and bore wood. Along the way this has produced a wide variety of hand tools, and there are many where beauty and function meet.

The book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including collectors, craftsmen, industrial archaeologists and social and economic historians, as well as historians of material culture.

Accompanying a touring exhibition, which opened at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and is now traveling through the U.S. and Australia, this highly illustrated catalog showcases highlights from Paul Cahn’s collection of magnificent silver bearing the mark of the illustrious Huguenot silversmith, Paul de Lamerie. Other pieces marked by Lamerie’s contemporaries are also featured to show the broader context of his work and to give us a deeper understanding of the London trade at the time. The author provides us with new insights into Lamerie’s remarkable success and influence within the London cultural scene.

A magnificent collection of silver-gilt objects from England and France, meticulously cataloged and illustrated with stunning photographs that illuminate these beautiful items. Famous makers include: Pierre Platel, Benjamin Smith, Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot, Martin-Guillaume Biennais, Phillip Rundell and Paul Storr.

Each entry includes comprehensive technical data, with an accompanying short description, setting each object in its social and historical context.

Published in conjunction with displays shown at: TEFAF, Maastricht, 15th-24th March 2013; Masterpiece, London, 26th June-3rd July 2013; Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong, 3rd-7th October 2013; International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Shows, New York, 24th-31st October 2013.

Joseph Losey’s award-winning movie The Go-Between was filmed entirely on location in Norfolk in 1970. The film charts the tragic story of a young boy’s loss of innocence during a hot summer and stars Julie Christie and Alan Bates as a pair of lovers crossing class boundaries in late Victorian England. The production brought together the playwright Harold Pinter, who adapted L.P. Hartley’s elegant novel for the screen, the acclaimed director Joseph Losey and a cast of international stars for ten weeks’ filming in and around Melton Constable Hall in north Norfolk – a time of happy creativity, some tension and a good deal of comedy. But the idyllic summer only came about after years of bitter battling over the rights of the book, and it was to be followed by yet more intrigue and high drama, which culminated in the film’s triumph at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Palme d’Or.

Thomas Daniell was thirty-six years old when he and his nephew William, barely sixteen, sailed out from Gravesend in April 1785, headed for the East. They arrived in Calcutta via China the next year.

The Daniells traveled across India, painting oriental scenery wherever they went. Their views were widely appreciated and are representative of that fascinating period. The Daniells returned to England in September 1794. This special book presents a selection of their work in India, bringing alive the scenery and architecture of that age.

Bloom: The Luminous Gardens of Frederico Azevedo presents the accomplished work of Frederico Azevedo – the Brazilian landscape designer who has established himself as the leading gardener of the Hamptons. With stunning projects all over Long Island, Azevedo’s work carries an emphasis on flowers which he uses to ‘lure the eye through the flow of the design’. His signature curving, floral borders are the hallmark of an Azevedo garden. He also often creates multi-dimensional vistas using layers of flowers, trees, grasses, shrubs, and hedges for a dramatic effect. The results of his impeccable designs are soft and romantic, but always sophisticated, well executed, and most importantly, adaptable to whatever its environment may bring. Discover the luminous world of Frederico Azevedo and his dazzling gardens.  Contents: Introduction; Casa Meu; Vista; Bloom; Green; Border; Tree; Stone; Water; More.

Published in conjunction with the tenth year of the New York-based showhouse Holiday House, the book highlights the best and brightest rooms by over 75 of the world’s top interior designers. Holiday House: Ten Years of Decorating for a Cure is a celebration of the union of design and philanthropy. The Holiday House showhouse was founded by Iris Dankner to raise breast cancer awareness in the design industry. Dankner is a 20-year breast cancer survivor, and has made it her mission to raise funds for breast cancer research and to support women who need help fighting this disease. In 2008, combining her two passions – her love of design and her efforts to help women in need, Dankner created Holiday House, the first designer show house held in New York to benefit a breast cancer organization. In this lavish book, the magic and skill of interior designers comes to life as empty rooms are transformed into a variety of interpretations. The showhouse was held at the Academy Mansion, a historic house on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and was a resounding success, with all the proceeds donated to help end the scourge of breast cancer. Since its inception, Holiday House has received critical acclaim, been endorsed by some of the most celebrated global luxury brands, and has expanded to showhouses in the Hamptons on Long Island, SoHo in downtown Manhattan, and in the Fall of 2017 in London, England.

Siam 1890. Blue-stocking Julie Gallet is an independent-minded Parisian who has made what her English mother describes as an imprudent match. Following her husband to the Far East, she comes to stay with Michael Crawfurd, her British diplomat cousin and discovers a glittering city of golden spires and colonial intrigue as the Kingdom is caught between France’s territorial ambitions and England’s quest for supremacy and influence in Asia. Resisting her family’s entreaties to return home, Julie settles in Bangkok, becomes a French teacher to the ladies of the Royal Court and becomes passionately involved in Siamese life and affairs. Her frank and irreverent journal recounts her growing political awareness along with the awakening of her sensuality. While Paris and London play a game of global chess with the Siamese as their pawns, both she and Michael find their national and personal loyalties tested. Their lives and loves take unexpected turns, and Siam struggles to retain its independence against a ruthless and formidable opponent. Blending fact and fiction, Siamese Tears is a faithful account of the events leading to the Paknam incident through the eyes of those who witnessed them.

“The well-judged employment of classical detail in a new home has an additional significance that cannot be underestimated. It is an expression of an informed personal choice and an evocation of the delight in the human senses. This is true of all the houses featured in this book.” Jeremy Musson
“The architects and craftsmen that Phillip has featured in this wonderful book all have a love for classical detail. The art is alive and well, as can be attested to in these pages.” David Easton
In The Art of Classical Details, Phillip James Dodd takes a close-up look at some of the finest examples of contemporary classical architecture. The book consists of two chapters: The Essays and The Projects. Starting with a foreword by renowned decorator David Easton, The Essays are written by some of today’s most sought after architects, scholars and craftsmen. Accompanied by sumptuous full page photographs and renderings that illustrate a use of fine materials, intricate detailing, and superb artisanship, these insightful texts are essential reading for anyone with an interest in the theory, practice and craft of classical design. The Projects presents an illustrated look at 25 of today’s finest classically-designed homes. Employing the theories prescribed in the writings of the first chapter, this portfolio of contemporary buildings exhibits the work of some of the most recognizable and celebrated architects in Great Britain and the United States. The work featured in within this book demonstrates the timeless beauty of classicism, and delights in the role that superbly crafted details play in creating art.