Antiques & Collectibles

A vibrant study of the history and production of the Bryce glass company, one of the most successful designers and producers of pattern glass tableware, novelties and lamps in the nineteenth century.

Scottish immigrant James Bryce (1812–1893) began his glassmaking career at the age of ten as a child laborer on the floor of a Pittsburgh glasshouse working for $1.25 a week. In 1850 he founded his own glassware company just as pressed glass was increasing in popularity. Pressed glass transformed the lives of everyday people by making beautiful tableware widely available to those who could not afford the expensive blown and cut crystal enjoyed by their wealthy neighbors. Bryce became one of the largest producers of pattern glass in America and by 1871 was shipping its products all over the world. The company continued operations for 113 years, guided by second and then third generation family members.

This volume celebrates the beauty and artistry of the naturalistic designs, colorful tableware, and whimsical novelties Bryce produced between 1850 and 1891. At its heart, this book is a highly-illustrated work with 190 newly commissioned color plates beautifully photographed by leading decorative arts photographer Gavin Ashworth. It concludes with a compendium of authenticated Bryce products illustrated primarily with period line drawings that will be a valuable tool for both sophisticated glass scholars and casual collectors alike.

A fascinating survey of exceptional American chair design from the early nineteenth century to the present day.

Designed for function, each chair has a story to tell about the history and evolution of American design, art and craftmanship. At the heart of the catalogue is the presentation of 57 chairs from the Jacobsen Collection of American Art covered in 49 essays, all showing beauty and historical context, as well as important social, economic, political and cultural influences. Highlights include designs by John Henry Belter, George Hunzinger, Herter Brothers, Stickley Brothers, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Isamu Noguchi, and Frank Gehry, among others. There are good examples of historically significant chairs, such as the House of Representatives Chamber Arm Chair (1857), and a photograph of this chair being sat in by Abraham Lincoln, plus an Appalachian Bent Willow Armchair, which is shown in a 1901 photo being sat in by President McKinley on the porch of his summer home. Key icons from post-war American history include Charles Eames’ 1946 moulded plywood Low/Lounge Wood Chair, and the Contour Bar Stool designed by Frank Gehry in 1972.

The chairs are arranged across four main, broadly chronological sections, from the early 1800s to the Civil War; from Reconstruction through the Gilded Age to the dawn of the 20th century; from Art Nouveau to post-war Modernism; and finally, from the post-war Space Age to the Digital Age and the contemporary focus on space saving and sustainability. Each section opens with a brief introduction to its key themes.

Focusing on production and patronage, this new volume features over 150 images of magnificently illustrated books and precious bindings, drawn largely from North American collections. The book’s three sections are arranged chronologically, yet in each case with a different thematic focus. Opening with a look at the precedents set by the Carolingian forerunners of the Empire, the first section considers deluxe imperial manuscripts associated with the Ottonian emperors. The second section examines the role of imperial monasteries in the production of manuscripts, considering in particular the patronage of aristocratic elites. The final section offers a tour of imperial cities in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, from Vienna and Prague to Augsburg and Nuremberg. This final stop considers the impact of Albrecht Dürer and humanism on the arts of the book. The volume features a glossary, indexes, and maps showing the shifting borders of the Empire over 700 years.

(Bilingual Edition: English / German)

The publication presents the entire collection of printing plates depicting battles of the Chinese emperor that are still in existence. They show scenes of Chinese military campaigns between 1755 and 1828. Of the originally eighty-eight printing plates, only thirty-seven are still known today, thirty-four of them in the Ethnological Museum in Berlin.

The book tells the history of the plates’provenance and describes the history of copperplate engraving in China. The process in which the printing plates were created and the motifs found in the pictures of battles are also explained. The magnificent copper plates, which are part of the exhibition in the Wang Shu Room of the Humboldt Forum, bear witness to the history of missionaries in China, the military campaigns and politics of the Chinese emperor, the transnational interrelation of culture and craft, and ultimately the craft of copperplate engraving itself.

Institutions, associations, and company boards presented magnificent birthday presents to Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912), one of the most well-known representatives of the House of Wittelsbach, on the occasion of his round birthdays in 1891, 1901, and 1911. As high-quality handcrafted works, they combine artistic techniques from goldsmithing to cut leather to watercolor painting. Their stylistic spectrum ranges from variants of historicism to Art Nouveau. These treasures, which are part of the holdings of the Bavarian National Museum, shed light on the vital cultural development during the span of time around 1900, also known as the "Prinzregentenzeit," or Regency period, and the magnificent celebrations of the birthday of a prince shortly before the end of the monarchy in Germany.

Die Inventarisation als Kernaufgabe der Museen benötigt zuverlässige Hilfsmittel und eine einheitliche Terminologie. Band 3 der von der Landesstelle für die nichtstaatlichen Museen in Bayern herausgegebenen Reihe 'Bestimmungsbuch Archäologie' widmet sich einer nur auf den ersten Blick unspektakulären Objektgruppe, die noch nie in ein griffiges typologisches Schema gebracht wurde: den Nadeln vom Jungpaläolithikum bis zum Hochmittelalter.

Näh- und Stecknadeln sind unverzichtbar bei der Herstellung von Bekleidung, Nadeln dienen als Schmuck, zur Körperverzierung oder auch als Werkzeug bei der Metallbearbeitung. Material sind Knochen oder Metalle, schlichte Ausführungen stehen neben aufwendig, auch figürlich verzierten Exemplaren. Der Thesaurus stellt die überraschende Vielfalt der Typen und Formen vor. Er kann von Laien wie auch von Wissenschaftlern benutzt werden und bietet verschiedene Erschließungstiefen bei der Inventarisierung. Jedem Begriff sind eine Definition, ein Quellennachweis und eine Abbildung beigefügt. Zur Einordnung der Objekttypen werden Hinweise zur Datierung und Verbreitung gegeben.

Nun in dritter, aktualisierter Auflage!

Als Angriffswaffen sind Dolche und Schwerter in ihrer Form vorrangig von der Kampfesweise geprägt. Immer waren sie aber auch Statussymbole. Mit edlen Materialien aufwendig gestaltet, repräsentierten sie das Selbstverständnis von Kriegerkasten und Heerführern. Dies belegen neolithische Fischschwanzdolche von herausragender handwerklicher Qualität ebenso wie prächtig verzierte fränkische Goldgriffspathen.

Band 6 der erfolgreichen Reihe widmet sich zum ersten Mal einer Waffengattung und legt eine epochenübergreifende Gliederung der „Dolche und Schwerter" vor. Das Spektrum reicht von jungsteinzeitlichen Silexdolchen bis hin zu eisernen Schwertern der Wikinger aus der Zeit um 1000. Erstmals werden dabei vorgeschichtliche, römische und frühmittelalterliche Formen in einer gemeinsamen Systematik zusammengefasst.

(English / German)
To mark the occasion of the 200th birthday of Ferdinand Adolph Lange, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden are organizing an exhibition that will trace the history of making precision timepieces in Saxony. The amateur Johann Heinrich Seyffert, the future master horologist Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes and the successful watch manufacturer Ferdinand Adolph Lange represent this development from the first precision watches to the high-quality serial production of pocket watches. Decisive technical innovations can be traced back to Paris and London, the watchmaking centers of the 18th and early 19th centuries, while the French-speaking western part of Switzerland perfected a production system based on a division of labor. Lange successfully carried out these standards of international watchmaking in the Saxon town of Glashütte, and his acclaim is also indebted to the existence of the Mathematisch- Physikalischer Salon. As a site used for observing astronomy, the Salon was dependent on the accuracy of time measurement and served as an authoritative interface in which scientific needs and technical skills were bound together.

The fascinating world of Goebel is brought to you by two of the world's foremost authorities, Werner Moderhack and Ray Wagner.

This book, Goebel: The Collector's Guide, is printed in full color and is the most comprehensive and completely researched guide ever published on Goebel products. It is published with the approval and cooperation of Goebel Porzellanfabrik, Rodental, Germany.

Contents include: Value and Identification Guide; Listings of Goebel Artists and Sculptors; Trademark History, Goebel History; Many prototypes and other rare pieces; and Madonnas which include figurines, wall hangings, plaques, busts and grave markers. Every category is as complete as research and expertise will permit. Plus Works of major artists such as Lore (Blumenkinder), Kathe Kruse, Normal Rockwell (Original), Schaubach, Nasha, Huldah, Staehle and many others. 

This is the third book in a collector's series on Randall Made Knives, by Robert Hunt. These publications reflect the author's interest in the historical role that knives have played and he has documented their use during the wars of the 20th Century. This volume introduces the rare, unique and experimental knives of W.D. Randall, many either made or designed by him. The initial section explores knives from the Randall Museum, where over 50 images reflect the commitment to design innovation, which was and is still today, a hallmark of Randall Made Knives. The second section contains knives from a private collection, which was uncovered by the author. Interestingly enough, the knives in this grouping have roots in some of the "museum" examples and various designs can be found in Randall early "experiments" displayed in the museum cases

This is the third book in a collector's series on Randall Made Knives, by Robert Hunt. These publications reflect the author's interest in the historical role that knives have played and he has documented their use during the wars of the 20th Century. This volume introduces the rare, unique and experimental knives of W.D. Randall, many either made or designed by him. The initial section explores knives from the Randall Museum, where over 50 images reflect the commitment to design innovation, which was and is still today, a hallmark of Randall Made Knives. The second section contains knives from a private collection, which was uncovered by the author. Interestingly enough, the knives in this grouping have roots in some of the "museum" examples and various designs can be found in Randall early "experiments" displayed in the museum cases

Author Bob Hunt's first book, Randall Fighting Knives in Wartime, provided him the opportunity for further study on this subject. It was apparent before publication of the first book, that the subject matter could not be exhausted. In his second book, Hunt continues the process of identifying, describing and dating fighting knives produced in the dramatic early days of the Randall experience. This new volume provides a vast amount of material, carefully organized and presented to enable the reader to further his own research in the areas most interesting to him.

On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2023, the University Library organized an exhibition and complied this commemorative volume to record and contextualize its burgeoning collection of Western rare books about China. This splendid volume features books, maps, and manuscripts from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. Among its treasures are some of the very finest works of early Sinology. Many of these were written by celebrated Jesuit missionaries like Matteo Ricci and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, who almost single-handedly founded modern Sinology through their deep engagement with early modern Chinese society and culture. As the writings of these missionaries percolated back to Europe, knowledge about China grew exponentially as European books about China became more accurate and detailed. Through its extended introduction, images, and descriptions, this catalogue illustrates the dynamic early history of the West’s longstanding and profound interest in China, thereby giving members of the university community and the public at large an opportunity to consider how we might better “combine tradition with modernity and bring together China and the West.”

Bringing the existence and significance of the lost riches of Henry VIII back to life, this book sheds new light on Henrician and Tudor court culture.

Henry VIII amassed the most spectacular collection of gold and silver of any British monarch. Plate and jewels were hugely prominent in medieval and Renaissance courts and played an essential role in dynastic marriages and diplomacy as well as in cementing the bonds between king and court. Ranging from plain domestic wares to extraordinary bejewelled works of art, Henry's collection embraced virtuoso continental objects as well as vast quantities of plate commissioned from London goldsmiths or inherited from his father. But nearly all of these holdings were destroyed over the following century, and of the thousands that he owned no more than a handful have survived to modern times.

This book makes use of the wealth of surviving documentation - inventories, drawings, lists of payments, dispatches by foreign ambassadors and other records - to explore this lost collection and the light it sheds on the monarchy. Starting with an assessment of the young king's inheritance from his father, the book considers the role of plate at state banquets, in great church services and in the regular exchange of gifts between courtiers and ambassadors; the role of plate and jewels as a potent symbol of power; how the king used confiscation as an instrument of humiliation of those who fell from grace, including Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon; and how Henry's avaricious seizure of church plate towards the end of his life throws light on his changing character. While the focus is on plate and goldsmiths' work, the context ranges from court ceremonial to rivalry between princes, the role of the church, the vulnerability of persons and institutions with covetable assets, and relations between the king and his own family.

Bringing the existence and significance of these lost riches back to life, the book sheds new light on Henrician and Tudor court culture.

This volume commences with the the books and manuscripts given at the foundation of King's College in 1495, continues with the collections which accrued to Marischal College from its foundation in 1593, and comes together with the fusion of the two colleges in 1860 in the modern University of Aberdeen.

From the beginning, the scope and focus of the University was international, and its developing collections represent a microcosm of the world of knowledge as it changed over the centuries. The University Colleges of Aberdeen have a distinct intellectual tradition: pragmatically tolerant in times of persecution; dissident from the religious and political policies of the Lowlands; looking outwards to the world of northern Europe and to the territories of the Jacobite diaspora.

The book introduces one of the oldest continually-evolving academic library collections of the Anglophone world, surveys its history and includes a series of studies of items or collections of particular interest.