Antiques & Collecting
Antique Jewellery
Price: £9.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 385 0 / Shire Library 555 / 120 pp
Architectural Ceramics
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 517 5 / Shire Library 395 / 40 pp
This book charts the history of architectural ceramics, focusing on practical and decorative applications, on architects, designers and manufacturers, and on styles and techniques of production and decoration.
Art Deco Ceramics
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 378 2 / Shire Library 367 / 40 pp
An explosion of new ceramic design in the late 1920s and early 1930s introduced vibrant colours and dramatic angular shapes to the breakfast tables of Britain and the world. This book includes information on how to identify and date ceramics at a glance and features all the major designers including Clarice Cliff, Susie Cooper and Charlotte Rhead.
Aynsley China
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 542 7 / Shire Library 408 / 40 pp
Aynsley is one of the best-known names in the Staffordshire Potteries, with a history reaching back to the late 18th century. For much of the twentieth century Aynsley remained a family firm producing wares of a very high quality, emphasising traditional craft skills, while experimenting with modern shapes in the early 1930s.
Ayrshire and Other Whitework
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 589 6 / Shire Library 88 / 32 pp
Gives a summary of the various types of white needlework likely to be encountered. This book shows details of the techniques and gives an account of such diverse types as Dresden work, tambourned mun, Ayrshire embroidery, Mountmellick and Richelieu work, broderie anglaise, quilting and stringwork.
Barometers
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 240 2 / Shire Library 220 / 32 pp
Barometers measure the general pressure of the atmosphere, which changes with the weather: falling pressure generally heralds rain; rising pressure predicts fine weather. This book tells their story from their development in seventeenth century Italy.
Bathroom Ceramics
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 513 7 / Shire Library 391 / 40 pp
In the twenty-first century, most civilised communities enjoy washing water 'on tap' as the expected norm. This book traces the history of bathrooms over four thousand years and describes the development of ceramic fixtures for washing and bathing.
Beadwork
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 481 9 / Shire Library 57 / 40 pp
Beadwork developed as a decorative craft in Europe in the middle ages. This book describes and illustrates the many different styles and types of work and the techniques that were employed - threading, stitching, bead crochet, bead knitting, loom beading, tambour beading and commercial beading.
Billiards and Snooker Bygones
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 730 2 / Shire Library 136 / 32 pp
Details the early form of the game of billiards, describing the tables and accessories, since its vague beginnings. This book charts the history of the game since its primitive form with a wooden bed, surrounded by a plain wooden rim to prevent the balls falling on the floor. It deals with the various types of balls and billiard table lighting.
Blue and White Transfer-Printed Pottery
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 449 9 / Shire Library 97 / 40 pp
This book is intended to help all who are interested in blue and white wares, whether collectors or not.
Board and Table Game Antiques
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 538 4 / Shire Library 60 / 32 pp
Amongst the collectable items to be found in antique shops and stalls are board and table games and objects pertaining to them, which may not be easily recognised out of context. This book illustrates many board games, as well as dice, dominoes, mah-jong and playing cards and describes some techniques of construction.
British Campaign Medals 1815-1914
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 465 9 / Shire Library 384 / 40 pp
At a time of imperial expansion, British forces were almost constantly in action against major powers, in wars of conquest, or in expeditions on the fringes of Empire, such as the North West Frontier, southern Africa or Burma. This book outlines the medals issued to British soldiers and sailors for military service.
British Campaign Medals 1914-2005
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 649 3 / Shire Library 393 / 48 pp
Surveys the medals awarded to British personnel for military services from the First World War to operations of British forces in the opening years of the twenty-first century. The campaign medals awarded for the military actions have become a popular field for collectors, since the majority of British awards were officially named.
British Gallantry Awards 1855-2000
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 516 8 / Shire Library 394 / 64 pp
This book surveys the British decorations and medals from the origins in the Crimean War of 1854-6 up to the end of the twentieth century.
British Orders and Decorations
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 580 9 / Shire Library 424 / 56 pp
Introduces the insignia worn by members of British Orders of Knighthood and Chivalry. These Orders have existed since the early Middle Ages and were initially intended to unite important noblemen in bonds of loyalty to their monarch or to act as impressive rewards for their services.
British Tea and Coffee Cups 1745-1940
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 695 0 / Shire Library 377 / 56 pp
This book charts the development of tea and coffee cups over two hundred years, providing information on the methods of decoration, influential factories and designers, a guide to dating and help with identifying manufacturers.
Steven Goss has been involved in the antiques trade for more than twenty-five years, as a full-time professional dealer, specialist consultant to a leading provincial auction house, writer and collector. Educated at a special school for the physically disabled, his interest in antiques is diverse and includes early glass and silver, but eighteenth-century English blue and white porcelain is the main focus of his attention. He is an enthusiastic collector of tea wares.
British Teapots and Coffee Pots
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 634 9 / Shire Library 446 / 48 pp
Ranging from the elegant to the quirky, teapots and coffee pots are very collectable, being decorative and easily displayed and occurring in many different shapes and patterns, and can be relatively inexpensive. This book charts their development over a period of 300 years, providing information on the materials used in their manufacture.
British Tin Glazed Earthenware
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 512 0 / Shire Library 390 / 40 pp
This book provides an introduction to British tin-glazed earthenware for collectors and others interested in the history of ceramics.
Buckles
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 690 5 / Shire Library 477 / 56 pp
Buttonhooks and Shoehorns
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 696 1 / Shire Library 122 / 32 pp
The everyday need for a buttonhook began in the early nineteenth century when it was used, as an accessory to masculine fashion, to fasten stiff leather button-boots. By the 1880s, lines of buttons had become fashionable on ladies' gloves, clothing and footwear, and the development of the feminine market encouraged the production of 'fashion buttonhooks' in the wide variety of sizes, shapes and materials that are described in this book, and which can still be found by collectors today. Shoehorns were frequently produced as companions to buttonhooks, but although the latter had fallen into disuse by the 1940s, shoehorns still exist in most shoe shops and some homes to facilitate the pping on of footwear. A 'schoying horne' was first mentioned in the fifteenth century and the imagination exercised around the well-known basic shape has resulted in the variety so interesting to present day collectors.
Sue Brandon and her husband have been collecting buttonhooks since 1972. A chance discovery of three examples in a Cheshire antique shop began their collection. From the beginning they collected every type of buttonhook and this has resulted in a comprehensive collection, which now extends to other associated items such as shoehorns. Mrs Brandon is a member of the Buttonhook Society, which was founded in 1979 and has rapidly increasing world-wide membership.
Buttons
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 466 6 / Shire Library 382 / 40 pp
Buttons have been made from almost every known material. Their study provides insight into fashion trends, the clothing industry and social history in general. This book introduces an array of these treasures from the past, to show the variety of materials and the intricate design and workmanship incorporated in the making of the button.
Candle Lighting
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 574 8 / Shire Library 132 / 32 pp
This book looks at the types of candles which have been used over the centuries, and describes the various methods of manufacture. With reference to sources such as household inventories from the 16th century, the changing styles of candlesticks are followed.
Celtic Coinage in Britain
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 325 6 / Shire Archaeology 72 / 56 pp
A general introduction to Celtic coinage in Britain. It analyses how and why the coins were made, and explains how the coins and the images they carry can reveal information on the political, economic and social life of the Celts.
Ceramic Bygones
And Other Unusual Domestic PotteryPrice: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 467 3 / Shire Library 383 / 40 pp
This book examines some of the many ceramic wares that in earlier days would have been found in a great many homes.
Ceramic Roofware
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 569 4 / Shire Library 420 / 40 pp
Charts the history of ceramic roofware starting from the Middle Ages, highlighting both practical and decorative applications, and giving information about manufacturers and on the styles and techniques of production and decoration.
Ceramic Water Closets
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 457 4 / Shire Library 379 / 40 pp
This book traces the history and evolution of ceramic water closets through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with emphasis on changing designs, decorative styles and fashion trends, supported by explanatory diagrams and many original illustrations.
Ceramics of the 1950s
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 336 2 / Shire Library 363 / 40 pp
British ceramics of the 1950s are highly evocative of a decade of optimism and change in British life. The austerity of war was quickly banished by a new breed of young consumer who demanded ceramics which were bright and modern. This book considers how pottery manufacturers met this challenge, producing ware which was also prized for design.
Ceramics of the 1960s
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 486 4 / Shire Library 386 / 40 pp
This book examines how ceramic designers and manufacturers responded to challenges ranging from 'The Look' identified by the fashion designer Mary Quant to the Psychedelia of the late 1960s.
Children's Cars
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 833 0 / Shire Library 178 / 32 pp
Children's cars first appeared between 1901 and 1903; by 1910 they were being made commercially and mass produced by the 1920s. This book outlines the history of children's cars in Britain from the first custom-built models, through the period of greatest popularity, to the revival of interest in miniature replicas of famous makes of motor car.
Christmas Cards
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 426 0 / Shire Library 373 / 40 pp
Tracing the history of the Christmas card from its Victorian origins up to the end of the Second World War, the text illustrates examples in colour of a wide variety from each decade and shows how to create your own collection.
Church Tiles of the Nineteenth Century
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 502 1 / Shire Library 184 / 40 pp
This book describes how nineteenth-century decorative encaustic tiles derived from medieval church tiles, how they were made, the designers and manufacturers.
Clay Tobacco Pipes
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 248 8 / Shire Library 37 / 32 pp
This album traces the history of the clay pipe, looking at its myriad designs and helps to identify examples.'
Coade Stone
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 644 8 / Shire Library 453 / 48 pp
The Coade stone factory in London was active between 1769 and 1840. Coade stone was fired clay made using a special formula, but it was marketed as 'artificial stone'. This book charts the history of Coade stone, the techniques of production, the sculptors who provided designs, and the architects who used it.
Copeland
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 462 8 / Shire Library 306 / 40 pp
The work of some of the best-known artists is illustrated in this book, which also provides the reader with backstamps dating the ware and a short description of some of the most famous pieces.
Corgi Toys
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 667 7 / Shire Library 462 / 64 pp
Although the name ‘Corgi Toys’ was not introduced until 1955, the roots of the original holding company, Mettoy, go back to 1932 when a German toymaker called Philipp Ullmann arrived in Britain to form a new toy manufacturing company. This company produced many types of toys, both before and after the Second World War, mainly in tinplate. In the 1950s Mettoy began to produce diecast metal toys and hence, in 1956 the first Corgi Toys were released to the children’s toy market and proved an immediate success. Over the next 30 years hundreds of miniature vehicles would be modelled on contemporary vehicles such as Vauxhalls, Rileys, Hillmans, Standards, Commers and ERFs. Corgi also made daring and successful ventures into film and TV related toys with their versions of James Bond, The Saint and Batmobile cars selling millions. Life-long collector and vintage toy expert David Cooke explores the history of Corgi Toys, describing the various models and illustrating how these simple children’s toys became valuable collectables. He also charts the recent financial problems faced by the company, and their resurgence based upon Limited Edition collectors’ models sold direct to an adult market.
David Cooke's passion for toys began when as a child in the 1940s he was given four Dinky Toys for Christmas by his grandfather, and his collection grew throughout that and the following decade. In 1972 he founded the South West Model Club and in 1979 the East Anglian Model Club. David now appears regularly on radio and television describing toys, lectures to many organisations and writes articles for magazines. He is the Curator of the Dinky Toy collection at Bressingham Steam Museum in Norfolk.
Decanters 1760-1930
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 548 9 / Shire Library 411 / 48 pp
This book traces the developments and changing styles of these most elegant and useful pieces of glass tableware from the mid Georgian period to the Art Deco period of the 1930s.
Delftware Tiles
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 611 0 / Shire Library 179 / 48 pp
This book traces the history of delftware tiles, describes how they were made and explains the differences between Dutch and English delftware tiles.
Dinky Toys
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 427 7 / Shire Library 374 / 40 pp
Dinky Toys were introduced in 1931 and these diecast metal toys became bestsellers. More than 1000 different subjects were modelled, mostly transport related.
Discovering Antique Maps
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 307 2 / Shire Discovering SDI 98 / 120 pp
This book is designed as an introduction to the history and the many-sided aspects of early mapmaking.
Discovering Antique Prints
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 499 4 / Shire Discovering SDI 266 / 128 pp
This book helps to distinguish the various types of prints, tells you about their history and development and shows you something of their range and variety.
Discovering Book Collecting
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 387 4 / Shire Discovering SDI 267 / 120 pp
This book sets out to show that there are few pastimes as fascinating, enjoyable and rewarding for the enthusiast of modest means as collecting books.
Discovering British Military Badges and Buttons
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 484 0 / Shire Discovering SDI 148 / 88 pp
This book examines the development of the various styles of military head-dress badge from 1751, to the introduction of 'cap badges' in 1894. Buttons are dealt with from 1767 to 1881.
Discovering Friendly and Fraternal Societies
Their Badges and RegaliaPrice: £10.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 628 8 / Shire Discovering SDI 295 / 160 pp
Although often grouped under the misleading umbrella title of 'Masonic', this book describes the history of the vast range of friendly and fraternal societies, their badges and regalia.
Discovering Hallmarks on English Silver
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 450 5 / Shire Discovering SDI 38 / 72 pp
This book not only tabulates the hallmarks that enable the identification of silver items but also traces the history of English silver, describing some famous makers and providing hints on spotting fakes.
Discovering Oil Lamps
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 288 8 / Shire Discovering SDI 145 / 48 pp / Available March 2008
This book traces the evolution of oil lighting and places on record details of the many fine lamps which served our forebears so well. A great many of these lamps survive today, though much of the knowledge about them has disappeared. Owing to the interest in Victoriana, they now appear in antique shops at prices that would have been considered fantastic not so long ago. Whether the reader is a collector, a seller of lamps or is just interested in this fascinating subject, this book will help to fill some of the gaps in his knowledge of oil lighting.
Cecil Meadows was apprenticed to the ironmongery trade in the 1920s when there was still a demand for oil lamps in rural East Anglia. He built up a considerable collection of his own and gave many talks and lectures on the subject. He is also the author of ‘The Victorian Ironmonger’.
Discovering Old Board Games
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 533 9 / Shire Discovering SDI 182 / 80 pp / Available March 2008
This book contains descriptions of sixty board games, drawn from an immense range of history – from 3000 BC through to the turn of the nineteenth century. Accounts of these games have been gleaned from archaeological reports, traveller’s tales, anthropological studies and foreign-language accounts of games, translated into English for the first time. Using the detailed text and fifty-nine diagrams it is possible for the reader to construct their own boards and pieces and enjoy hours of play. Perfect for toy and game collectors, this book can also bring something different to family occasions – instead of the usual board games, why not play a number game that was once popular among the intelligentsia of the middle ages?
The late R. G. Bell was born in Ontario and came to England in 1928. He was a consultant plastic surgeon and was author of several books for the Shire list on games including Discovering Chess, Discovering Mah-jong, Discovering Dice and Dominoes and Discovering Backgammon.
Discovering Stained Glass
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 205 1 / Shire Discovering SDI 43 / 96 pp
This guide is to help the general reader and church visitor to know what to look for and where to look for stained glass.
Dolls
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 381 2 / Shire Library 368 / 40 pp
A concise history of the doll industry over the last 300 years in Europe, the United States and the Far East. It shows how dolls have developed and illustrates typical examples of dolls from each area.
Dolls' House Furniture
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 382 9 / Shire Library 369 / 40 pp
Domestic Bygones
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 392 8 / Shire Library 20 / 32 pp
Hasteners, idlebacks, washing bats and goffering machines all had a place in the Victorian household. The author has assembled photographs of many such bygones and provides a commentary on their place in the domestic economy.
Dummy Boards and Chimney Boards
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 921 4 / Shire Library 214 / 32 pp
Life-size painted wooden cut-out figures of soldiers, serving maids, children and animals stand in dark corners of some museums and country houses. This book presents their true origins in seventeenth century 'Trompe l'oeil' painting and discusses the purposes to which they were put.
Egyptian Games and Sports
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 661 5 / Shire Egyptology SEG 29 / 56 pp
The Ancient Egyptian enjoyed a wide range of sports and games - young men chased lions and ostriches across the desert. Children played with balls and dolls. Even the Egyptian kings took their own sporting prowess very seriously. This work looks at the range of sports and games played in the times of the Ancient Egyptians.
Egyptian Woodworking and Furniture
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 239 6 / Shire Egyptology SEG 21 / 64 pp
Gives a description of Egyptian woodworking since the earliest times. This book examines the sources of wood and other materials used by Egyptian carpenters. It also explains the techniques used to embellish timber and the complex joints employed in carcase construction and describes woodworking tools and processes throughout the Dynastic period.
Embroidered Georgian Pictures
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 256 3 / Shire Library 307 / 32 pp
This book shows the variety of subjects and techniques of embroidered pictures in the Georgian period in Britain (1714-1830).
English Windsor Chairs
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 562 9 / Shire Library 70 / 32 pp
An introduction pointing out the basic characteristics which help in the naming and dating of Windsor chairs.
European Orders and Decorations to 1945
Price: £9.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 670 7 / Shire Library 463 / 96 pp
Since the early Middle Ages, the Royal and princely families of Europe have conferred a wide range of Orders of Knighthood and Chivalry both to reward loyal service to the Crown or Royal Family and to strengthen the bonds of loyalty which existed between sovereign and subject. Although many ancient Orders have fallen into disuse over time, many European states continue to award Orders for distinguished service. Badges of the highest quality are worn to show membership of an Order. The manufacture, and the materials used in creating these badges are exquisite and these decorative objects are studied and collected widely. In this volume, expert medal collector Peter Duckers describes the range of European Orders conferred before 1945, some of which stretch back hundreds of years. A brief introduction to a fascinating subject, this is an ideal reference book for anyone interested in collecting these rare and valuable objects.
Peter Duckers has been a collector of British campaign and gallantry medals for thirty-five years and now specialises in awards to the Indian Army. He has written numerous magazine and journal articles about medals and is a Fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society as well as a member of the Orders and Medals Research Society and the Indian Military Historical Society. He is curator of the Shropshire Regimental Museum in Shrewsbury Castle.
Everyday Fashions of the 20th Century
Price: £9.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 428 4 / Shire Library 545 / 160 pp
Using previously unpublished photographs collected from many private sources, the author records the history of everyday wear from 1900 to 1999, allowing us to view the clothes worn by ordinary men, women and children over the last 100 years.
Fans
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 402 4 / Shire Library 243 / 40 pp
Traces the history of fans from biblical times to the present day.
Firegrates and Kitchen Ranges
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 629 9 / Shire Library 99 / 32 pp
Gas Lighting
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 394 2 / Shire Library 65 / 32 pp
History of gas lighting and its fittings and shades.
Glass and Glassmaking
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 585 8 / Shire Library 83 / 32 pp
A general introduction to the vast and complex subject of glass, not only the history and technology of glassmaking but also the social background of the lives of the glassmakers.
Goss and Souvenir Heraldic China
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 623 3 / Shire Library 440 / 56 pp
Heraldic china is keenly collected and here the author explains how the china was made, what potteries produced it and how to identify and date individual pieces.
Hat Pins
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 182 5 / Shire Library 286 / 32 pp
Identification of Lace
Price: £9.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 237 2 / Shire Library 556 / 160 pp
Attempts to guide the reader through the intricacies of identifying a piece of lace, listing and illustrating the points to look through in each lace. This book covers the whole range of lace from all parts of the world, selecting for examination those major types which the collector or dealer is most likely to come across or hear about.
Jet Jewellery and Ornaments
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 503 2 / Shire Library 52 / 32 pp
Chronicles the history of jet as a jewel in Great Britain and the rest of Europe from Bronze Age times. This book discusses the geology and origin of jet and describes its chemical and physical properties. It gives an account of the flourishing Whitby jet industry of the nineteenth century.
Ladies Dress Accessories
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 570 0 / Shire Library 421 / 48 pp
Laundry Bygones
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 648 0 / Shire Library 107 / 32 pp
Illustrates the simple, rare, but often extremely beautiful traditional laundry aids - the glass calendars, washing bats, mangle boards and goffering stacks. This book also provides examples of the multitude of flat, box, solid fuel, spirit, gas and electric irons, washing machines and wringers.
Longcase Clocks
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 417 8 / Shire Library 370 / 40 pp
Marble Clocks
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 431 4 / Shire Library 347 / 32 pp
From the mid-19th century to the end of the Victorian era, the most popular mantel clock was the mass-produced French ''marble clock''. Even though these clocks came in a vast range of case styles, they were instantly recognisable. For the collector, marble clocks offer a useful, active antique, of wide-ranging style and at an attractive price.
Mechanical Music
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 578 6 / Shire Library 333 / 48 pp
Covers the history, development, use and fall from favour of many types of exotic instruments, from pocket-sized musical boxes to roll-playing pipe organs and everything else in between. This book describes pianolas, organettes, roller organs, orchestrions, nickelodeons, carillons and more.
Medieval Tiles
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 463 5 / Shire Library 380 / 40 pp
During the Middle Ages decorative floor tiles were used in abbey churches, royal palaces, parish churches and the homes of wealthy citizens. Many medieval tiles disappeared during nineteenth-century restorations but the designs lived on in the copies made by Victorian tile manufacturers. The British Museum has a collection of these tiles.
Monumental Brasses
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 677 6 / Shire Library 468 / 64 pp
Needlework and Embroidery Tools
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 399 7 / Shire Library 38 / 40 pp
As manufactured goods became more easily available, ladies developed crafts such as needlework, to occupy their increased leisure time. This book illustrates and describes over 200 items used by Victorian and Edwardian ladies in their needlecrafts. It includes needlecases, scissors, tape-measures, thread waxers, pincushions and thimble.
Nutcrackers
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 523 6 / Shire Library 399 / 40 pp
Everybody has used a nutcracker. This book describes the many ingenious methods employed and the numerous imaginative designs produced since the eighteenth century to carry out the apparently simple task of cracking a nut. It covers the history, development and variation of design and construction of nutcrackers around the world.
Old Fishing Tackle
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 278 5 / Shire Library 315 / 32 pp
Old Gramophones
And Other Talking MachinesPrice: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 104 7 / Shire Library 260 / 32 pp
Ben Bergonzi was for many years curator of artefacts at the British Library National Sound Archive, whose collections include several hundred phonographs, gramophones, tape recorders, radiograms and related documentation.
Old Radio Sets
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 697 4 / Shire Library 295 / 48 pp
The radio has been a part of home entertainment, and thousands of different models have been designed, manufactured, enjoyed and then discarded as a new or improved model came on the scene. This book describes the development of the radio from the late Victorian era until the late 1960s, showing many rare sets once so familiar to listeners.
Jonathan Hill is a freelance writer and photographer who has been interested in the history of radio since his art school days in the early 1970s. He was a founder member of the British Vintage Wireless Society, which was established in 1976 to encourage the preservation of early radio equipment and the study of broadcasting history. He has written several books on the subject and in 1992 established the National Vintage Communications Fair, now held twice a year at the NEC in Birmingham.
Old Sewing Machines
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 591 9 / Shire Library 84 / 32 pp
Talks about sewing machines. In 1790, Thomas Saint took out a patent on a machine for sewing leather, the first ever sewing machine. In 1807, Edward Chapman invented a machine using a needle with the point and the eye at the same end. In 1850, Isaac Merritt Singer, whose name was to become synonymous with sewing machines, made his first machine.
Old Sheffield Plate
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 965 8 / Shire Library 222 / 32 pp
After its introduction in 1742, Old Sheffield Plate quickly became popular, particularly with the middle classes. This book explains what Old Sheffield Plate is and how its method of silver plating differs from other techniques such as electroplate. It also describes the manufacturing processes and outlines the history of the trade.
Old Televison
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 367 6 / Shire Library 337 / 32 pp
Television has nonetheless reached a ripe old age. This book explores the whole heritage of the black and white era of television. It features receivers from imposing sets built like furniture to the first transistor portables, the story of the development of television broadcasting, and the whole culture of the television generation.
Parian Ware
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 737 1 / Shire Library 142 / 32 pp
Parian porcelain, named after the marble from the Greek island of Paros, was developed as a substitute for the white marble portrait busts. Parian portrait busts provide a mantelpiece history of the Victorian and Edwardian periods. This book talks about the invention, development and manufacture of Parian and places it in a historical perspective.
Penknives and Other Folding Knives
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 966 5 / Shire Library 223 / 32 pp
Perambulators
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 684 4 / Shire Library 472 / 64 pp
A complete illustrated history of the British wheeled baby carrier, from the eighteenth century to the end of the classic pram era, this book is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, and an invaluable resource for any owner or collector of historic prams. Examining and illustrating the design and development of full-size prams, this book details the technological changes that affected pram design, and the rise in popularity of the pram. In an intriguing final section the author goes on to examine the designs of children’s toy prams, which were perfect miniature versions of the full-sized prams. These miniature prams kept pace with the design changes of the full-sized prams, and this section will be especially interesting for toy collectors.
Jan and Geoff Swift have a comprehensive private collection of perambulators dating from before the Victorian era to the present day. The collection includes many of the iconic and significant carriages in the history of perambulators. Their knowledge of prams and the industry that manufactured them has been built up over many years through meticulous research and contact with the prams themselves, often through careful restoration.
Pewter
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 152 8 / Shire Library 280 / 32 pp
Introduced to Britain by the Romans, the pewter trade became widespread in the middle ages, and English pewter became renowned for its high quality. This book traces the history of pewter manufacture in Britain, describing the alloys used, the methods of working and the objects produced.
Picture Postcards
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 398 0 / Shire Library 208 / 40 pp
The history of postcards and collecting suggestions.
Piers and Other Seaside Architecture
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 693 6 / Shire Library 406 / 64 pp
Architecture at the seaside is colourful, inventive and fun, its buildings created in pursuit of profit from pleasure. Early piers were landing stages for trippers arriving by boat, but later they became attractions in themselves, with ornate pavilions, delicate ironwork and exotic lighting. The author outlines the fascinating history of pier and pavilion construction, using many delightful colour illustration. Entertainment buildings boomed in the resorts of late-Victorian Britain: pleasure domes such as the Queen’s Palace at Rhyl – its imitation Venice included real canals – catered for huge crowds seeking inspiration and enjoyment beside the sea. In the 1930s modern movement architecture flourished at the seaside, but idiosyncrasies still abounded. Twenty-first century seaside developments use goods design to produce an enjoyable environment: from Bridlington’s award-winning beach huts to Ilfracombe’s Landmark Theatre, seaside architecture continues to amaze and amuse.
Lynn F. Pearson is an architectural historian and photographer specialising in research on unheralded structures, from seaside architecture and slot machines to multi-storey car parks and mausoleums. She was brought up beside the sea, at Lowestoft in Suffolk. She has published fourteen books including The People’s Palaces: Seaside Pleasure Buildings (Barracuda, 1991), British Breweries: An Architectural History (Hambledon Press, 2000), and Amusement Machines (1992), Lighthouses (1995) and Mausoleums (2002) for Shire. She is a research fellow at the University of Wolverhampton, where she is writing and editing the Titles and Architectural Ceramics Society’s gazetteer of British ceramic sites. Her website at www.gosforth3.demon.co.uk is largely devoted to seaside architecture.
Pillow Lace and Bobbins
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 400 0 / Shire Library 9 / 40 pp
Lacemaking was once a widespread cottage industry; at one time even men made lace because they earned more than they could working in the fields. Although those days have gone and no one in England can make a living from it, as a few women on he Continent still manage to do, it is regaining popularity as a hobby, assisted by the general revival of interest in crafts, bygones and local history. This book describes and illustrates different varieties of lace and the tools used in the making of it, not only from England, but also from France and Belgium, and explains some of the terms peculiar to the craft. A number of pages are devoted to lace bobbins, often highly decorated and sometimes inscribed with names or mottoes, usually concerned with the joys and sorrows of love, though occasionally with contemporary events or famous people.
Jeff Hopewell has been interested in collecting small antiques since he was very young. His fascination for lace bobbins stems from the nucleus of half a dozen, all that remained of the many once used by his great-grandmother, a Northamptonshire lacemaker. These inspired him to acquire a representative collection, to research the history of lacemaking and to learn to make lace himself. A member of the Lace Guild since its formation, he has given talks to a number of local societies and written several articles. He is now a clergyman in the Church of England, carrying on the tradition of ecclesiastical eccentrics.
Porcelain Pastille Burners
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 622 6 / Shire Library 439 / 56 pp
Pastille burners are porcelain nineteenth century cottages, varying in architectural design, which held pastilles made by the still room maids and when lit, their perfume combated unpleasant odours in Victorian homes.
Portable Writing Desks
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 503 8 / Shire Library 388 / 40 pp
Although portable writing desks have existed in England since the sixteenth century, the majority of those found nowadays date from the Victorian period. This book looks at the history and significance of the portable writing desk and illustrates the main types to be found.
Pratt Ware
An IntroductionPrice: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 220 4 / Shire Library 296 / 32 pp
Pratt Ware takes its name from a family of potters who worked in Staffordshire in the 18th and 19th centuries. Here, the authors describe this earthenware, that was made not only by the Pratt family, but also by many other potters throughout England and Scotland.
Pressed Flint Glass
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 782 1 / Shire Library 162 / 32 pp
Pressed flint glass has never been out of production since its introduction at the beginning of the 19th century, and vast quantities have been manufactured. This book surveys the development of the processes which transformed glassmaking from a craft into an industry, supplying the consumer market with a range of decorative ware and fittings.
Pub Beer Mugs and Glasses
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 656 1 / Shire Library 458 / 56 pp
Real Tennis
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 610 3 / Shire Library 437 / 40 pp
This book gives an overview of the game, looking particularly at its history, other related ball games, equipment and rules, heroes, villains and victims of real tennis and the game in Europe, Australia and the United States.
Roman Dress Accessories
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 567 0 / Shire Archaeology 85 / 56 pp
Provides an introduction to Roman dress accessories (non-precious metal jewellery). Using evidence from finds, this book examines production areas, distribution patterns and the locations of workshops. It also introduces the interpretation of dress accessories, with reference to the depiction of objects in Roman art.
Romano-British Coin Hoards
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 532 8 / Shire Archaeology 82 / 72 pp
The best testament to Britain's participation in Graceo-Roman civilisation is its 'hidden' monuments: hoards of household valuables or decorations and also rich hoards of gold, silver and bronze coins. This book provides an introduction to Romano-British coin hoards and places major discoveries in the story of the Roman province's monetary system.
Royal Crown Derby
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 443 7 / Shire Library 376 / 40 pp
Royal Crown Derby by Margaret geant tells the fascinating story of these highly collectible porcelains produced over 250 years.
Royal Doulton
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 338 6 / Shire Library 364 / 40 pp
Royal Doulton is one of the world's leading ceramic manufacturers of china tableware and collectable giftware. This book presents an outline of the Royal Doulton's varied history, which reveals an even wider range of pottery production and also offers a general introduction to the wide range of Lambeth and Burslem wares.
Scales and Balances
A Guide to CollectingPrice: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 227 3 / Shire Library 55 / 32 pp
Weighing is an ancient art that exercised the minds of philosophers, scientists, engineers and even the dishonest for at least 6000 years. This book shows how men strove to produce a machine which would compare more accurately, or more quickly and with the aid of illustrations essential knowledge of the principles of weighing is provided.
Scent Bottles
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 909 2 / Shire Library 210 / 32 pp
Perfume has been used in religious ceremony and also in medicine, for it was believed to have the power to ward off illness. Elaborately chased silver pomanders were carried during times of plague. This book traces the history of the scent bottle from the alabaster containers of ancient Egypt to mass-produced commercial bottles.
Scottish Pottery
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 639 4 / Shire Library 191 / 64 pp
Since the mid twentieth century there has been considerable study of the Scottish pottery industry, revealing the diversification of production and showing that exports and innovation were more significant. It is recognised as having its own distinctive characters and in this book many examples are illustrated in colour.
Sentimental Jewellery
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 363 8 / Shire Library 366 / 40 pp
Shawls
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 524 3 / Shire Library 77 / 40 pp
Smocks
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 477 6 / Shire Library 46 / 32 pp
The smock-frock was worn by countrymen in England and Wales during the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was a practical garment and represented a true folk craft developed by ordinary people. This book traces the development of the smock, its makers, its wearers and the revivals of interest which have taken place.
Spectacles, Monocles and Lorgnettes
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 545 8 / Shire Library 227 / 40 pp
Spectacles have been used since the thirteenth century, at first by the few people who needed to read, such as churchmen and clerks. This book traces the development and use of eyeglasses from the fourteenth century onwards. It is illustrated with many colour photographs.
Spode
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 364 5 / Shire Library 309 / 40 pp
The two Josiah Spodes, father and son, may be regarded as important names in the development of English ceramics. Under their direction two of the most important products in the English ceramic repertoire were perfected: underglaze transfer printing on earthenware; and fine bone china, a very practical porcelain.
Spoons 1650-2000
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 640 0 / Shire Library 211 / 64 pp
Traces and illustrates the history of English spoons, and gives collectors some guidelines to follow. This second edition has an expanded section on the British Arts and Crafts Movement, examining its contribution to European design at the turn of the nineteenth century, and showing how this influence was revisited on British design.
Staffordshire Figures
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 636 3 / Shire Library 448 / 56 pp
Offers an overview of Victorian Staffordshire figures, describing their manufacture, their makers and illustrates a selection of figures across the range.
Studio Glass 1960-2000
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 527 4 / Shire Library 403 / 48 pp
The new approaches to glassmaking that evolved during the 1960s liberated glassmaking from the factory and placed it in the hands of individual glassmakers. Concentrating on the British context, this book provides an introduction to the work of significant contemporary makers along with the themes and ideas that have shaped their work.
Table Knives and Forks
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 295 2 / Shire Library 320 / 32 pp
Tatting
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 312 6 / Shire Library 323 / 32 pp
Tatting is the craft of making lace with a shuttle. Its charm lies in the repetition of simple motifs. This title traces the development of tatting from the eighteenth-century pastime of knotting, through its emergence as a craft in Victorian times, to modern innovations. It is illustrated with examples from museums and private collections.
The 1930s Home
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 464 2 / Shire Library 381 / 40 pp
Introduces the homes that people fell in love with in the 1930s, and the fixtures and fittings that went in them. With nearly hundred illustrations and informative chapters on architectural styles, gardens, furnishings and technology in the home, this book seeks to serve as an introductory guide to the houses of the period.
The Potteries
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 564 3 / Shire Library 62 / 32 pp
The Victoria Cross
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 635 6 / Shire Library 447 / 72 pp
Describes and illustrates many of the medals, including the Victoria Cross award, and the men and women who have been awarded them together with the award citations which are always remarkable and sometimes astounding.
The Victorian Ironmonger
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 456 7 / Shire Library 32 / 32 pp
The Victorian ironmonger's shop was the nineteenth-century equivalent of the modern department store and a vast range of goods could be bought there. This book describes the Victorian ironmonger's varied stock and also explains the purchase of goods, keeping accounts, giving credit and the prompt delivery service.
The Village Shop
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 675 2 / Shire Library 466 / 48 pp
Once the core of the rural community, the village shop has now almost entirely disappeared from everyday life. That bastion of Britishness that once stocked everything from Atora shredded suet to Zebra grate polish has become as much a victim of the accelerating pace of social and economic change as the parish school and pub. The village shop was often the social focus of a community, as much a meeting place as a commercial venture. This book relates the development and history of the village shop. Charting its rise, Lin Bensley analyses why the British developed the reputation that prompted Napoleon to declare that England was ‘a nation of shopkeepers’. In a final section the author goes on to describe the slow demise of the village shop as both a social and a commercial venture.
Lin Bensley comes from a family of shopkeepers, with his parents and grandparents running a village shop. Though he has departed from family tradition by working in the engineering industry, he has had a lifelong interest in the history of retailing, and in the village shop in particular. He lives in Norfolk.