Author: John Fondas
Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications
ISBN: 9780847824144
Category : Sailors' valentines (Shellcraft)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Avid collector Fondas shares his expertise on the history, making and collecting of sailors' valentines--octagonal wooden boxes made of Spanish cedar or mahogany. They contain intricate, stunning mosaics made primarily of colorful shells and often incorporate sentimental messages. 60 color photos.

Author: Grace L. Madeira
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
ISBN: 9780764323782
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This "book showcases seashells that have been assembled by shell artists in sailor's valentines, the octagonal-framed plaques with love messages and floral designs that were said to have been made by Victorian sailors as love tokens for their sweethearts at home. Learn their history, lore, and reality, and be introduced to exquisite designs, both antique and contemporary"--Amazon.com.

Author: Pamela Boynton
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
ISBN: 9780764351020
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Here are new, contemporary perspectives on a craft from the 1800s, including eighteen top artists' insights about Sailors' Valentines plus more than 300 photos of their exquisite work. This collection shows how the once-obscure Victorian-era craft has gained its steadily-increasing popularity today. Sailors' Valentines, amazing mosaics of finely-crafted shell work usually set in an octagonal box, were originally created as gifts for the loved ones of sailors who were returning home to America, England, and Holland. The surprising history of the craft is explained--including how a 1961 revelation put rest to the myth that sailors made these pieces. Highly imaginative, remarkably colorful, and executed with great vision and precision, these contemporary artists' examples of Sailors' Valentines will inspire artists and others to become lovers of shell art themselves.

Author: Frances Ruley Karttunen
Publisher: Spinner Publications
ISBN: 9780932027931
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
"Contrary to what public history and popular literature might have led us to believe, Nantucket is historically an island of rich cultural diversity. Here, author Frances Ruley Karttunen introduces us to the original Nantucketers -- the Wampanoags -- as well as to African slaves, Pacific Islanders, Irish refugees, Azoreans, and Cape Verdeans who over the years have found a home on Nantucket. Here, too, is a look at the island's connection to Jamaica, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia -- all sources of people who have contributed to the island's economy and added dimensions to Nantucket's culture" -- Back cover.

Author: Alex Kershaw
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 1466851694
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
Raised in poverty as an illegitimate child, Jack London dropped out of school to support his mother, working in mind-deadening jobs that would foster a lifelong interest in socialism. Brilliant and self-taught, he haunted California's waterside bars, brawling with drunken sailors and learning about love from prostitutes. His lust for adventure took him from the beaches of Hawaii to the gold fields of Alaska, where he experienced firsthand the struggles for survival he would later immortalize in classics like White Fang and The Call of the Wild. A hard-drinking womanizer with children to support, Jack London was no stranger to passion when he met and married Charmian Kittredge, the love of his life. Despite his adventurous past, London had never before met a woman like Charmian; she adored fornication and boxing, and willingly risked life and limb to sail and explore. She typed his manuscripts while he churned out novels, serving as his inspiration and his critic. Lover, fighter, and onetime hobo, Jack London lived large and died before he was forty. This is a rare biography, from bestselling historian Alex Kershaw, that proves the truth can be more fascinating--and a far greater adventure--than a fiction.

Author: Gerard C. Wertkin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135956154
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 724

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Book Description
For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Encyclopedia of American Folk Art web site. This is the first comprehensive, scholarly study of a most fascinating aspect of American history and culture. Generously illustrated with both black and white and full-color photos, this A-Z encyclopedia covers every aspect of American folk art, encompassing not only painting, but also sculpture, basketry, ceramics, quilts, furniture, toys, beadwork, and more, including both famous and lesser-known genres. Containing more than 600 articles, this unique reference considers individual artists, schools, artistic, ethnic, and religious traditions, and heroes who have inspired folk art. An incomparable resource for general readers, students, and specialists, it will become essential for anyone researching American art, culture, and social history.

Author: Victoria Foyt
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060825634
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Lexie is obsessed with her computer and believes that the Internet equals truth. But when her mom is killed in a car accident, Lexie is forced to piece together strange clues and phenomena that reveal what becomes a murder mystery.

Author: John Whitenight
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
ISBN: 9780764344077
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Wax : "Beauties from the beehive"--Shell work : "Flowers from the sea" -- Hair work : "Hair today, hair tomorrow" -- Nature contained : "Birds, dogs, frogs, and monkeys too!" -- Feather work : "Birds of a feather" -- Beautiful in death : "Skeleton leaves and phantom bouquets" -- Wool work : "Have you any wool?" -- Glass whimsies : "Confections in glass" -- Fancy that! : "Paper, muslin, silk, bead, and seed work" -- Automata : "Musical mechanical masterpieces" -- Esoterica -- Gone but not forgotten.

Author: Judilee C. Bennyhoff
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 1481733516
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
Judilee Bennyhoff spent her childhood and teenage years living above a funeral home. She painted this miniature picture of the funeral home. Growing up with such grief and sadness gave her an enthusiasm and zest for life. Judilee was a model and worked at a famous psychiatric clinic in New York City. She then became an interior designer and artist on the Main Line of Philadelphia where she still lives in Strafford, Pennsylvania with her husband (me). These are her stories. You will laugh out loud or, at times, reach for a tissue. You will LOVE the read and you will get to love Judilee as I do! George R. Bennyhoff Front cover design and illustration by Elizabeth Traynor. (Lizzie is the authors wonderful niece.)

Author: Kevin Cannon
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
ISBN: 1603091769
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
"One amazing slice of storytelling magic." -- Junot Diaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao "One of the best graphic novels of the year."-- The AV Club "Cleverly plotted ... Cannon is one of the comics world's most energetic storytellers, and his minimalist artwork, far from cramping its subject matter, has its own eye-catching charm."-- Carl Hays, Booklist "Riotous, exciting, and ridiculous."-- New York Magazine "Cannon's graphic novel is an adventure, a comedy, a mystery, and a tragedy ... What begins as a slightly silly lark becomes an engaging, even haunting story about desire and loss."-- Karin L. Kross, Bookforum "Cleverly weaving together his extraordinary cast of characters through past histories and present events, the author neatly ties everything up in a satisfying ending. The images in each panel skillfully match the tone of the story and beautifully support the characterization of individuals and events as they unfold. Cannon has proved himself to be a riveting storyteller with this fast-paced adventure that features polar-bear fights, kidnapping, conspiracy, misinterpretations, and double-crosses."-- Lara McAllister, School Library Journal "As the entwined pasts of Army, his ex, her current husband, a college couple and an orphan bent on revenge for his father's murder are revealed, entwining pasts become clear and the full range of this engrossing story is revealed."-- Publishers Weekly "Kevin Cannon's Far Arden is an unassuming series of masterstrokes ... His spindly post-clear-line characters may act like expressive marionettes but they are multi-faceted once you get past Cannon's hyper-active narrative pace."-- Kyle Lemmon, Under the Radar "Kevin Cannon is spinning one huge, huge yarn here; a classic adventure story that delights in ridiculous set-ups, far-fetched schemes, hidden treasure, mysterious strangers, outlandish characters and ridiculously contrived threats leading to even more ridiculously contrived rescues. Everything in Far Arden connects, every character is there for some reason implicit to the simple plot of one sailor attempting to reach the mythical Far Arden, a tropical island paradise in the middle of the barren and desolate Canadian Arctic. And it's a great, great adventure."-- Richard Bruton, Forbidden Planet International "Starting off madcap, slapdash, and more than a little ridiculous, somehow, over the course of roughly 375 pages, it transforms into a sad, thoughtful, even stirring book."-- Jillian Steinhauer, The Daily Cross Hatch "Far Arden is one of the most unruliest and unpredictable adventure comics I've read in a long while, and yet the story weaves itself into a complex and consistent whole ... the best of two worlds: the purely spontaneous burst of comics creation and the carefully constructed adventure saga."-- Dave Baxter, Broken Frontier "The character of Army Shanks is one that readers can really sink their teeth into. ... He's a man with all the personality conflicts and defects and emotional confusion that make us human. And even when he surprises you by bringing a dead fish to a party at the governor's palace, it doesn't seem at all out of character."-- Sean Kleefeld, Kleefeld on Comics Meet Army Shanks -- crusty old sea dog and legendary brawler of the high Arctic seas! He's got just one mission: to find the mythical island paradise known as Far Arden, which lies hidden (so they say) in the wintry oceans of the far North. But there's more than just water standing between Shanks and his goal: he'll have to contend with circus performers, adorable orphans, heinous villains, bitter ex-lovers, well-meaning undergraduates, and the full might of the Royal Canadian Arctic Navy! Not to mention he's not so sure how to get to Far Arden in the first place... In his first solo graphic novel, Kevin Cannon (THE STUFF OF LIFE, T-MINUS) proves himself a master spinner of yarns. FAR ARDEN is an epic journey through a world not quite our own, written and drawn with strokes bold and swift. As readers hurtle toward the stunning conclusion, Cannon assembles countless details, characters, and relentless plot twists into an astonishing whole far greater than the sum of its parts. Thrilling, eccentric, lusty, genuinely moving, and often hilarious (with sound effects that alone are worth the price of admission), FAR ARDEN may be the best adventure comic you'll read all year.