Reference Tools
7000 Years of
Jewelry: An international history & illustrated survey from the collections
of the British Museum - $29.95
Hugh Tait, editor. This new edition of an acclaimed title includes revisions to the sections on Celtic Europe, Roman Britain, cameos, and finger rings. The book explores the varied styles, techniques, and materials used to make jewelry in many civilizations throughout the world and across the millennia. More comprehensive than the earlier edition, this reference remains the finest and most beautifully illustrated history of jewelry ever published. Tr pb, 256pp, 400 photos, 250 in full color, glossary, bibl, further reading suggestions, index. Firefly Books
Ancient Herbs - $19.95
Marina Heilmeyer. Presents the 40 most important plants used for culinary, medicinal, and religious purposes in classical antiquity. The author paints an intriguing image of the uses of and myths about plants from Greek and particularly Roman kitchen gardens. Quotations from classical authors testify to ancient practices, some curious and some still standard today. Illos reproduce drawings from early 19th century botanical publications, often showing the plants at various stages of growth. Pb, 108pp, 55 color illos. Getty
Anglo-Saxon Leechcraft - $6.95
Rose & Nefr Press.
Around the House: a
Medieval child’s guide to useful skills - $5.00
Rae L Hadley, Editor. This CA issue is about skills that would be handy for children helping around the house, and includes some material about education and manners that a medieval child might have experienced. The book includes two cooking & one brewing project, as well as a number of items to be hand sewn, and material about using a spindle. Each essay includes notes, sources, and suggestions for further reading. Perfect bound, 89pp. SCA
Artifice of Beauty: a history and practical guide to
perfumes and cosmetics - $34.95
Sally Pointer. Why did Egyptians use so much makeup? Were the Vikings really unwashed barbarians? How did the fashionable Elizabethan deal with bathing, lice, & excessive facial hair? This fascinating and unique book traces the way in which we have adorned, perfumed, and presented ourselves from the earliest prehistoric evidence through to the dawn of the multi-million-dollar cosmetics industry of the 20th century. The author complements this lively historical account with a comprehensive practical guide to the ingredients & tools used to make & apply these beauty aids. Includes numerous recipes, which have been adapted for modern usage. Numerous color & b/w photos & illus. HC, dw, 302pp, index, biblio, notes, glossary of ingredients, tables of weights & measurements, appendix of ingredients listed by ancient authors, Abdeker’s ‘Library of the Toilet’.
Before the Mast: Life & Death on board the Mary Rose
- $100.00
Edited by Julie Gardiner & Maggie Richards. Of the crew of nearly 500, fewer than 40 survived the ship’s sinking in 1545. Their bodies & belongings went to the bottom of the sea. More than 440 years later, excavation produced a huge collection of objects that make up a picture of what life was like on board. This book explores how the men lived through their remaining possessions, how they were fed, physick’d, their recreation & music. The barber-surgeon & carpenter’s cabins contain full toolkits for their trades, the ship’s galley the utensils for cooking & eating. An amazing look into Tudor life. HC, 760pp, hundreds of b/w illos. David Brown
Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy - $35.00
Douglas Biow. Concern about public hygiene caused Da Vinci to design an ideal clean city. Such concern was, argues the author, everywhere in Renaissance Italy. The author discusses the image of cleanliness in literature as well as social life and public health. He also touches on soap, the washerwoman, and latrines, in his discussion of high and low culture and the image of the clean and the unclean. HC, 272pp, 44 halftones, extensive biblio, index, notes. CUP
English Embroidery in
the Metropolitan Museum 1575-1700: ‘Twixt Art and Nature - $65.00
Melinda Watt and Andrew Morrall. This book centers around the Met’s preeminent collection of embroidered objects from England’s late Tudor and Stuart eras. These embroideries, some 80 in all, include samplers, gloves, headgear, purses, and many other items. In a series of essays, the book explores the important role of embroidery in the history of textiles and decorative arts. This is a superb and comprehensive overview of embroidery during this period. Hardcover, 256pp, 280 illus, index, extensive bible, stitch glossary. Yale University Press.
Far Traveler: voyages
of a Viking Woman - $15.00
Nancy Marie Brown. 500 years before Columbus, a Viking woman named Gudrid sailed off the edge of the known world. She landed in the New World and lived there for three years, giving birth to a baby before sailing home. Or so the Icelandic sagas say. Even after archeologists found a Viking longhouse in Newfoundland, no one believed that the details of Gudrid’s story were true. Then, in 2001, a team of scientists discovered what may have been this pioneering woman’s last house, buried under a hay field in Iceland, just where the sagas suggested it could be. Joining scientists experimenting with cutting edge technology and the latest archeological techniques, and tracing Gudrid’s steps on land and in the sagas, the author reconstructs a life that spanned-and expanded-the bounds of the then-known world. She also sheds new light on the society that gave rise to a woman even more extraordinary than legend has painted her. Pb, 320pp. Harcourt
Hygiene of the Middle
Ages & Renaissance - $5.00 each
Volume one: Personal
Grooming 64pp
Volume two: Domestic
Arrangements 80pp
Jennifer Heise. This two-volume set discusses the hygienic practices in the period between 475 AD and 1601, with some sidelights on the Roman and Elizabethan eras. Sources make it clear that, while hygiene beliefs were quite different during this period than what we now accept, there was considerable attention given to cleanliness and grooming. Volume one considers personal grooming, including documented daily hygiene routines, equipment, hand washing, and tooth care. Volume two focuses on methods of bathing (including bathing as a social event), use of soap and scented products, disposal of personal waste, and hygiene concerns particular to women and children. Perfect-bound, notes, bibl. SCA
Hunting Book of Gaston Phebus - $6.00
88 magnificent illuminations from the Bibliotheque nationale version of this period title. Fully captioned. A wonderful resource for calligraphers & costumers. Oversize tr pb (11.5” x 10”) Hackberry Press
Ink and Gold:
Masterpieces of Islamic Calligraphy - $40.00
Marcus Fraser & Will Kwiatkowski. Charts the development of Islamic calligraphy over a thousand year period, where the art of the pen became the focus of an extraordinary energy. Covers all the major centers of Islamic calligraphy, from North Africa to Central Asia. Though pride of place is given to the Qur’an, calligraphy is also examined in mystical & scientific works, poetry, and calligraphic albums. Tr pb, 96pp, 80 illus (many in color, some with gold). Univ Wa Press
Knives & Scabbards: Medieval Finds from Excavations in London -
$37.95
J Cowgill, M de Neergaard, N Griffiths. Reprinted from the Museum of London’s
original publication. This catalog details over 500 items found in the
archeological excavation of 12th century London middens.25 b/w
illos, much highly technical material. For the serious recreationist or
craftsman: a classic work of scholarship. Paper,184pp. Boydell & Brewer.
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Life Along the Silk Road - $17.95 |
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The Master of Game - $21.95
Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York. Edited William & F. Baillie-Grohman. Based on Gaston de Foix’s 1387 Libre de chasse, this oldest & most important English book on the chase was written between 1406 & 1413. Edward added 5 chapters of his own to de Foix’s work, and the two combine to form the major source for our knowledge of the medieval hunt. Includes: popular quarry & their behaviour, hunting breeds & their training, rules & techniques for a successful hunt, weapons & traps, horn calls. A delight to read. Pb, 376pp, 24 illus. Univ Penn Press
Material Culture in
London in an age of transition: Tudor and Stuart period finds c.1450-c.1700
from Excavations at Riverside sites in Southwark - $40.00
Geoff Egan. Similar in format to the various Museum of London Archeological books such as Dress Accessories and Knives & Scabbards, this volume records in amazing detail a rare assemblage of items from the Tudor and Stuart periods. Clothing & accessories, household equipment, pilgrim souvenirs, fixtures & fittings horse equipment, arms & armor, materials related to writing, reading, and leisure pursuits, all are cataloged here. Extremely useful for artisans and serious late-period recreators. Oversize Tr pb, 257pp, index, glossary of leather terms, bible, metallurgical analyses. English Heritage MoL AS
Medieval Combat - $22.95
Hans Talhoffer, trans Mark Rector This brilliant & attractive book
makes one of the most influential & lavishly drawn fencing manuals of the
Middle Ages available in English for the first time. The authentic 15th-century
techniques of this master present not only a unique historic record but also a
visual guide for modern practitioners. 320 pp, 268 illus, pb Greenhill
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The Medieval Garden - $24.95 |
The Medieval Horse - $40.00
John Carter, editor. Whether knight's charger or beast of burden, horses
played a vital role in medieval life. The wealth of medieval finds excavated in
London in recent years has, not surprisingly, included many objects associated
with horses. This catalogue illustrates and discusses over 400 such objects,
among them harness, horseshoes, spurs and curry combs, from the utilitarian to
highly decorative pieces. . . The introductory chapter draws on historical as
well as archaeological sources to consider the role of the horse in medieval
London. It looks at the price of horses and the costs of maintaining them, the
hiring of 'hackneys' for riding, the use of carts in and around London, and the
work of the 'marshal' or farrier. It discusses the evidence for the size of
medieval horses and includes a survey of finds of medieval horse skeletons from
London. It answers the key questions, how large a 'Great Horse' was, and why it
took three horses to pull a cart. A new introduction to this edition provides
an update on research and a supplementary bibliography. This is a basic work of
reference for archaeologists and those studying medieval artefacts, and
absorbing reading for everyone interested in the history of the horse and its
use by humankind. (Publisher’s note) 42 b/w illos, 202 pages, hc. Boydell &
Brewer
Medieval Rural Life in the Luttrell Psalter - $20.95
Janet Backhouse. One of the best-known early English manuscripts (written &
illustrated in the early 14th century), the Luttrell psalter has
long been celebrated for its illustrations of daily life. Using this source,
the author has written an interesting discussion of rural life. Paper, 64pp, 45
color illos. University of Toronto Press.
Passions and Tempers: a history of the humors - $14.95
Noga Arikha. The humors were substances thought to circulate within the body and determine a person’s health, mood, and character. Eating food that was ‘cold’ in nature would thus help to balance a person who was ‘hot’ or choleric in temperament, for example. This theory remained an inexact but powerful tool for 2,500 years, surviving scientific changes and offering guidance to physicians and cooks alike. This book examines these theories & follows them from their Western origin in ancient Greece to their present-day versions. Pb, 356pp, 25p index, notes, chapter-by-chapter biblio (divided into primary & secondary sources), 30 b/w illos. Ecco
1381: The Peel
Affinity: an English Knight’s Household in the Fourteenth Century - $49.95
La Belle Compagnie and Friends. This book builds a portrait of a world long past, using striking photos filled with carefully researched and reconstructed artifacts. The text draws extensively from various historical accounts, records, and literature. This material is brought to vibrant life as we follow an English knight, his family, servants, officials, and tenants through a year in their lives. La Belle Compagnie is a group of independent scholars and history enthusiasts committed to the medium of ‘living history’. (See how many acquaintances you can spot in the photos, and how many well-know paintings are represented here!) Hardcover, dw, 176pp, 163 color illus. Schumacher Publishing
Pennsic 20th Anniversary DVD (1991) – The
Noble Edition - $25
Every year, two kingdoms of the SCA meet for the Pennsic War, the largest annual medieval event in North America. This event is filled with ceremony & spectacle, honor & chivalry, armored fighting & honest fun. This video is the most complete program ever made of this event. It contains battles, ceremonies, parades, tournaments, archery, artisans, music, merchants, and interviews with legendary figures of the SCA, as well as with younger gentles who have since become noble peers & royalty. Original 68 minutes footage plus 47 minutes of new material. Originally released in VHS, this new edition also contains a special insert with interviewee updates & color photos & production notes. Watch This Space Enterprises
Pennsic 2003 DVD - $25.00
At last, a way to show friends, relations, and those suspicious &
slightly hostile officials at the local school or church what the Pennsic War
(and, by extension, the SCA) is all about. The disk contains two videos, the
first a 12-minute one ideal for using at demos, showing school officials, etc)
with a sampling of the delights of the 2003 Pennsic War. The second video, 30
minutes, is more of the same, delightfully expanded, with the possilibity of
recognizing yourself or your friends, group, or banner. PG – no bunny fur
bikinis – this is great fun to view and use. Every seneschal needs one! Winslow
Video Productions
Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the
Color of Desire - $15.95
Amy B Greenfield. A brief history of dyeing in the Ancient and Medieval world is followed by an intensive history of the cochineal dyestuff: its origins, cultivation, spread to Europe, and attempts to cultivate it outside Mexico & South America. Fascinating and well-written. Paper, 338pp, extensive notes, 25p biblio, index, 12 color illos & numerous b/w illos. Harper Collins
Pilgrimage Road to
Santiago: The complete Cultural Handbook - $24.95
David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson. One of the three major Christian pilgrimage routes during the Middle Ages, the road to Santiago led to the resting place of the Apostle Saint James. This book is a fascinating step-by-step guide to the cultural history of the road, for pilgrims, hikers, and armchair travelers. It is organized geographically, covering the terrain, places of interest, history, monuments, and towns’ and villages’ historical relationship to the pilgrimage. Pb, 464pp, b/w line drawings & maps. St Martin’s Press.
Polish Miscellany -
$5.00
Tom Nadratowski, Linda Learn, Paul Goldschmidt. This pamphlet contains four main sections: Portraying a Polish Hussar in the Current Middle Ages, Reconstructing a Zupan, Textiles in Poland in the Middle Ages, and A comparison of Western European Feudalism & Polish Governing Structure. Also includes ‘Some useful Polish words & phrases’ with a pronouncing guide, tips on research when you don’t know the language, biblio, & endnotes. Saddle-stapled Pb, b/w illus & patterns, 56pp. SCA
Samurai Swordsman:
Master of War - $44.95
Stephen Turnbull. Brings to life the history behind the courageous and highly disciplined fighting men of early Japan. Authoritative historian Turnbull shows how the samurai evolved from the primitive fighters of the 7th century into an invincible military caste with a fearsome reputation. Includes discussion of the elite mounted archer, wars against pirates, women samurai, and much more. HC, 208 pp, 150 color photos. Tuttle
Samurai Weapons -
$29.95
Don Cunningham. Samurai employed a variety of weapons. This book details how and why their arsenal included not only the sword but also a variety of other tools, including concealed weapons, improvised fighting tools, fans, truncheons, and polearms. The author succinctly describes the society of Japan, how and why the samurai class arose, and the place the they held in that society through the centuries. HC, 208 pp, 120 color & b/w photos, engravings, and fine art. Tuttle
Shoes and Pattens - see Costume
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Silk Industry of Renaissance Venice - $45.00 – SALE! |
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Sleeping Around: the bed from antiquity to now - $35.00
Annie Carlano & Bobbie Sumberg. There’s more than one way to make a bed, and humans throughout history have devised every sort they could imagine. From a simple blanket laid on the ground to elaborately carved four-posters hung with sumptuous draperies, from a hammock swinging under the stars to a stifling cupboard bed built into a wall, the ways in which people have tried to get a night’s sleep are myriad. This book, illustrated with some 140 images, takes readers on a lively tour of sleeping customs are the world. Tr Pb, 200 pp, index, notes. Univ WA Press.
Textiles & Clothing - see Costume
The Ties That Bound; Peasant families in Medieval England - $19.95
Barbara A. Hanawalt. This book explores the life of the English peasant
during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, examining material environment,
family economy (including the contributions of wife and children), land
inheritance, life stages, and relations with neighbors, guilds, and religious
institutions. "Medieval coroners, like modern ones, investigated all
sudden or unnatural deaths," explains Hanawalt, and taps this rich vein of
contemporary information to shape a picture of peasant life. Despite her morbid
sources, the book provides a lively and extremely vivid portrait of life in the
past. 350 pages, including 13 pages of bibilography, and 60 pages of notes.
Oxford University Press.
Tudor Housewife - $24.95
Alison Sim. Considers the life of the average woman in Tudor England, with
material on religion and marriage, childbirth & rearing, education,
household duties. Well-written, readable. 150p, hc. McGill/Queens.
Ukraine: an illustrated History - $75
Paul Robert Magocsi.
This lavishly illustrated book provides a concise, readable historical survey
of the country from earliest times to the present. 46 historical maps, over 300
photos, line drawings, portraits, & reproductions of art bring to life the
Ukraine’s rich past. HC, 352 pp, 310 illus, index. Univ WA Press
Wooden Bowl - $49.95
Robin Wood. This is
the first authoritative account of the history of the wooden bowl.. It details evidence
of the turners craft dating back 4000 years, and looks at the development of
lathe technology, as well as the tools and timbers used. The author has been
given unprecedented access to study and photograph important collections, many
of which have never appeared in print before. The superb photographs show
priceless, gold-adorned vessels buried with Saxon Kings, Tudor bowls from the
wreck of the Mary Rose, and even a bowl which some claim to be the Holy
Grail. Hardcover. 192p Stobart Davies
2005
Yurts: Living in
the Round - $24.95
Becky Kemery. One of the oldest forms of indigenous shelter still in use today, yurts are multi-faceted, versatile, and immensely popular structures whose possibilities are still being explored. This book shoes how to build, insulate, ventilate, and transport a yurt, and shares invaluable information on everything from foundations and heating to building codes and floor plans. Includes information on where to find a yurt, find a builder, floor plans for a variety of yurts, and ideas for combining yurts with outbuildings or satellite yurts. Extensive resources section & index, 160pp, 150 color photos, tr pb. Gibbs Smith
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