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Many people consult a barometer before going out, to see what the weather is likely to be. Barometers measure the general pressure of the atmosphere, which changes with the weather: falling pressure generally heralds rain; rising pressure predicts fine weather. The simple mercury barometer originated in seventeenth century Italy and was soon copied in France and Britain. In the nineteenth century demand increased for domestic and scientific barometers. They were needed for weather forecasting, a...

Rene Lalique was one of the giants of twentieth century decorative arts and a master of the Art Deco idiom. Born in 1860, early artistic talent led to an apprenticeship with Paris goldsmith Louis Aucoc. By 1885 Rene had established his own workshop, and for the next twenty years he designed and made jewellery of great originality and beauty. Though this became famous worldwide, before the turn of the century he began experimenting with glass, and it is for this that Lalique is today most famous:...

This is a guide to Chinese ceramics which cites the latest scientific and archaeological evidence, as well as ancient traditions of Chinese connoisseurship and patronage. The book draws on the holding of Chinese ceramics in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. It is organized into four chroncologically arranged sections, from the Neolithic to the end of the Qing dynasty, and it also includes a selection of photographs of base marks, often a vital aid in the identification process.

While the prices of most antiques have soared in recent decades, rising well beyond the price-range of the average person, bottles have remained comparatively inexpensive. In Victorian times, our forebears packed everything from tea to hair-restorer in glass bottles that were discarded with general household refuse - with the result that, in rubbish dumps all over Britain, these bottles are waiting to be dug up, each non-machine-made bottle a collector’s item that affords the collector a rare op...

Starting in the early 1960s, the McDonald's*r restaurant chain has been creatively advertising their popular fast food products through the sale of collectible drinking glasses. A virtual parade of glassware fills the pages of this colorful book, which illustrates and describes McDonald's glassware promotions in the United States from 1963 to 1998. Organized chronologically and featuring convenient check-off boxes to help you organize and document your collection, the book includes glasses, cups...