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Booklist•Alexander's Coins and Alexander's Image•Ancient Glass •Audubon in Edinburgh •Bagpipes •Complete Illustrated Catalogue of Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum •Drawings by Michelangelo and Raphael •A Geological Excursion Guide to the North-West Highlands of Scotland •Hidden Treasures of the Romanovs •The Lewis Chessmen •Heracles to Alexander the Great •Life Everlasting •Lucien Pissaro in England •A New Flowering • Northern Lights •An Orkney Boyhood •Reconstructions •Scotland's Land Girls •The Poetry of Truth • Robert Louis Stevenson •Showfolk •Stringed Instruments • Teaching with Objects •The Traction Engine in Scotland • Treasures from Tuscany •Wroughte in Gold and Silk |
Featured BooksThe Lewis Chessmen Unmasked David H. Caldwell, Mark A. Hall and Caroline M. Wilkinson 
ISBN: 978-1-905267-46-0
Pages: 80 Illustrations: 104, 34 color These 73 elaborately carved pieces may be the world's oldest complete chess set (or parts of several). Of walrus ivory and whales' teeth, the entire hoard was found 15 feet deep in the sand on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland by a local fisherman in the early 19th century. A source of delight to collectors, chess aficionados and to archeologists, they are currently exhibited at the Cloisters branch of the Metropolitan Museum. The "unmasked" in the book's title refers to new controversies about their origin and about who might have owned - and lost - them - and about the trade and state of society where they were crafted. Most of the experts agree, however, that that these Medieval pieces are of Scandinavian origin. "This is the first forensic account of modern research into the Chessmen... very authoratative... with very clear explanations... the pictures are just outstanding." Reconstructions 
Klaus Staubermann and contributors
ISBN: 978-1-905267-48-4 Pages: 276 Illustrations: 137 black and white photographs and diagrams, 6 color photographs Historic reconstructions have become a decisive tool in today's technology and in our understanding of the history of science. This unique volume brings together key studies of recently completed reconstruction projects and processes - in which international experts in each field had a hand in their re-making. Included are three Americans - Elizabeth Cavicchi on the Page spiral, James Rizzo, on Stirling Engines, and Mark Osterman, on Wet Collodion Photography. The experts reconstruct Romans dying procedures, the Sea Stallion of Glendalough Viking Ship, Vermeer's camera, the Babbage Calculating Machine and Leonardo's 'Flight,' among other instruments. The projects involved such diverse scientific fields as physics, computing, horology, communication, transport and the military - and the processes in the 'experiments' include smelting, dyeing, metal-working, riveting and welding, as well as sailing and flying. Each contributor offers ideas on the cultures and traditions that were used in the manufacture of their particular artifact. Some of the projects failed before they worked, which make them even more interesting. The book is the result of an important scientific workshop held at the National Museums Scotland. Softcover, |