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A riveting history and maritime adventure story about priceless masterpieces originally destined for Catherine the Great. In October 1771, a merchant ship out of Amsterdam, the Vrouw Maria, crashed off the stormy Finnish coast, taking her wonderous cargo to the depths of the Baltic Sea. The vessel was delivering a dozen Dutch masterpiece paintings to Europe's most voracious collector: Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. Among the lost treasures...

A clever, thoughtful, and funny history that reveals how our the Union of states was built on a much more personal union of people. What could the relationships of homesteaders in 19th century New England possible have in common with the iphones and millennials today? At once heartbreaking and heartwarming, Matrimony Inc. reveals the common thread that wends its way through not just marriages and relationships throughout the centuries, but American...

An exquisitely written and nuanced biography of an exceptional individual and writer who has created the # 1 international bestselling hero Jack Reacher, revered by dedicated and loyal readers worldwide. Lee Child has a great public persona: he is gracious and generous with readers and fans. But Jim Grant is a reticent and very private man. This rags-to-riches literary and social biography is based principally on disarmingly frank personal conversations...

Gem Identification Made Easy is the first and only book that explains in non-technical terms how to identify diamonds and colored gems, and how to separate natural gems from imitations, treated stones, synthetics, and look-alikes. The books approach is direct and practical, and its style easy to understand. In fact, with this highly accessible guide, anyone can begin to master gem identification. Using a simple, step-by-step system, the authors...

The 20th century was a rich and influential period of beautiful, innovative design and many classics from that era have influenced and inspired modern designers. "Collectables: 20th-Century Classics" features more than 90 of the most desirable and iconic pieces from the last century. Beautifully illustrated and organized by category (furniture, household, lighting, glass and ceramics) each entry has: a double-page spread, featuring a short essay on...

The Nobel Prize, regardless of category, has always been surrounded by politics, intrigue, and even scandal. But those pale in comparison to the Peace Prize, which remains the most prestigious, admired, and controversial prize of our time. Norwegian writer Unni Turrettini completely upends what we thought we knew about the Peace Prize-both its history and how it is awarded. As 1984's winner, Desmond Tutu, put it, "No sooner had I got the Nobel Peace...

A trans-world journey with an extraordinary shorebird-from Australia's southern ocean to the Arctic and back-that explores the mysteries of the natural world and its power to heal. As the sun lowered and turned Gulf St Vincent fiery, they each called a high-pitched 'peeooowiii!', flashed their black wing-pits, spread their tail skirts and took flight... In a luminous new book, Andrew Darby follows the odysseys of two seemingly-humble Grey Plovers,...

A guide to pottery created by one of the great forgotten civilisations, the Harappa people of the Indus valley. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This early work is a fascinating read for amateur and professional antiquarians, thoroughly recommended for use as a reference on all aspects of antique chairs. Extensively illustrated with text and full page drawings to accompany the text. Contents Include: The Historic Background of Chairs; Chairs of the Seventeenth Century from Tudor Gothic through William and Mary; Slat-back and Banister-back Chairs; American Windsor Chairs; Queen Anne and Georgian...

This book is a catalogue of a special exhibition (1907-1908) of Japanese sword guards, or tsuba, has been prepared by Mr. Okabe-Kakuya. To our knowledge, it is the first attempt to treat the history of the tsuba and tsuba makers apart from the other branches of metal work which enter into the ornamentation of the Japanese sword. Of the three sections into which the book is divided, the first gives a brief general history of the art, specifying the...