Antiques & Collectibles

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.