Ware Books

I am a pewter collector and dealer and have appreciated this book for all of its information and history of Sheffield pewter. I have been able to date many of my pieces and learned so much about the pewterers of Sheffield. Wonderful reference material and great history of marks.

This is the most helpful, informative book on pewter, I have. Extremely thorough on all sheffield pieces and makers, but I especially enjoy the history of James Dixon. Being a collector of his work, this book has allowed me to date every piece I own. It was well written and well organized. I would highly recommend this book to EVERYONE interested in collecting James Dixon pewter or Sheffield pewter.

`Ponder These Things: Praying with Icons of the Virgin' is the latest book by Rowan Williams, recently appointment to be Archbishop of Canterbury after a distinguished career as an academic and cleric in the Church of England (Anglican Church). Williams has a great affinity for the wider breadth of Christian experience, drawing influences and inspiration from Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox practices across the centuries. In this book, which is introduced by Bishop Kalistos Ware, a prominent Orthodox theologian, Williams explores ways in which meditation and prayer can be strengthened and enhanced with incorporation of iconographic images.

Protestants particularly have lost the tradition of the use of art work as representative objects for worship. However, the debate over the appropriateness of icons and other imagery is almost as old as Christianity itself. That Jesus could be depicted without violation of the `no graven images' commandment took a long time to be decided, and finally was deemed permissible because of Jesus' human nature. Rare the depiction of God or God the Father as anything more than a cloud, a hand, or some other vague symbol meant to characterise, more than anything else, the mystery involved rather than an actual physical likeness. Michaelangelo's depictions on the Sistine Chapel ceiling are remarkable not simply from their aesthetic quality, but also in that the image of God is very direct and distinctly human in form.

However, icons are a special form of art. They are not simple paintings, however elegant, as Ware points out in his introduction.

`The icon is not simply a work of art on the same level as any other work of art. On the contrary, the icon exists within a specific context; and, if divorced from that context, it ceases to be truly itself. The icon is part of an act of worship; its context is invocation and doxology. The art of the icon is a liturgical art. In the tradition of the Orthodox church, the icon is not merely a piece of decoration or a visual aid. We do more than just look at icons or talk about them; we pray with them.'

Williams draws his work from an event in his own ministry back in Britain.
`These meditations are really about how we are led by faith both to live in the world, fully flesh and blood in it, and at the same time to be aware of the utter strangeness of God that waits in the heart of what is familiar - as if the world were always on the edge of some total revolution, pregnant with a different kind of life, and we were always trying to catch the blinding momentary light of its changing.'

Using three traditional icons and one modern piece, Williams draws us into a method of contemplation and consideration with the icons. The Hodegetria, the Eleousa, and the Orans traditional icons show depictions of the Virgin Mary in very traditional ways; one who is faithful, who is loving, who is sign and a direction of the way we are to go. Traditionally the Virgin Mary is the first human being to have faith in Jesus, faith in his mission and faith in God's direction of that purpose. The Magnificat is a verbal depiction of this kind of faith; icons are the visual depiction. As the scriptural text talks about Mary `pondering these things in heart', so to are we called, when praying with the icons, to exhibit that kind of faith and loving nature, sureness of God's call and direction to us, whatever it may bring.

The modern piece is not what one would consider an icon in the regular sense. Using a modern art scarlet and purple fabric study by Leigh Hurlock, Williams explores a legend of Mary, the story of her weaving the sanctuary veil, a curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the eyes and physical presence of those who came into the Temple. In a sense, Mary's being provided the substance to weave both the veil and the way to see past the veil to holiness through Jesus.

Purple is the colour of royalty; scarlet is the colour of martyrdom, or the cross. The colours are significant, as are the images, in making the completeness of the experience as an iconographic piece.

This is a small book. It has a mere 75 pages or so of text, and thus could be read fairly quickly. However, to do so would be to deny oneself the richness of the experience. One can glance at an icon, generally a fairly small object, and think one has seen it. However, the true experience of an icon, and the true experience of this book, comes from re-reading, stopping, meditating, and slowly working through each detail. The book is generously illustrated in word and graphic art. Each of the icons is presented in full colour, with details highlighted in larger size at appropriate points in the text.

Through all the meditations, we are looking for God, and hopefully come to realise that God also looks for us.

`We find the God who has taken up residence in the heart of our humanity, who prays when we are not looking, not trying, who is at work when we are silent or helpless, and who can never be pinned down to a here or there in our individual lives or in the Church at large.'

Ponder these things...

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has written a series of meditations on three icons, specifically on three forms of icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. The first is the Hodegetria, Mary who shows us the way. Mary and Christ in this icon manifest their unique identities in a relationship: she is one who engages us in order to point us to Christ the way that leads to life, he is one who looks with love on humanity. The second icon is the Eleousa, the tender loving Madonna, named for the obvious affection of the Virgin for her child. But Rowan focuses here more on the love with which the God-man embraces his mother and through her the whole human race, passionately leaping over the boundaries that would seem to separate humanity from divinity. The third icon is the Orans, where Mary is the sign of the Church at prayer containing within herself/itself the God-man as the source of that prayer, remarkable in his hiddenness in the Church, in society, and in our own lives. The archbishop concludes with a reflection on the legend of Mary being raised in the temple and working on the sanctuary veil. The veil is the symbol of that which separates God and humanity, a symbol rent in two at the death of Christ. These few words, however, only point in the general direction of Rowan's deeper reflections, and the book deserves rereading and further meditation. Bishop Kallistos Ware writes an appreciative introduction. Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic alike may benefit from and appreciate this work.

Though a little expensive, this book is a "must have" resource for any Shelley collector. As an avid collector myself, I use this book on a daily basis and have found it to be 99.99% accurate on patterns and descriptions. It does appear that the dollar value placed on items may be a little high, but that may be due to the fact the author lives in England and her values in pounds need to be "translated" into current dollar equivalency. Highly recommended resource for a Shelley collector!

This is a great reference book for Shelley china collectors. It shows pattern shapes, pattern numbers and color photos of the hundreds of Shelley tea sets. Great for a beginning collector or for someone who wants
to catalog their collection. Also,it gives the history of the Shelley company from 1860 to its end in 1966. I like this reference book the best of all the Shelley books I have collected.

interaction designers, visual designers, researchers, people working in visualization, and the curious will find value in this book. careful readers will gain a deep understanding of how, why, and what we see. this understanding will inform the use of color, edges, contours, textures, layout, text, images, order and motion. designers will gain a new vista for critique and empathy: "which visual queries does this design imply? how well does it support those queries? how costly are they?" (a "visual query"--there's a more elegant definition in the book--is a question that is asked and answered with the eyes. for example, "which of these two items is larger?")

readers may come to appreciate just how mental, rather than mechanical, the act of vision is. they may also come to appreciate the preponderance of information that resides in the world, rather than the brain; and, on the other hand, the preponderance of information that the brain adds, via processing, to the incoming signal. vision and cognition interpenetrate to form a beautiful "strange loop" wherein what we seek influences what we see, and vice versa.

if i were asked to compose a canon of interaction design, this book would be in it, alongside About Face 3, Sketching User Experiences, and Envisioning Information.

one criticism: in my personal opinion, some of the designs and diagrams in the book are less than beautiful. this engenders a mild disconnect between the purpose and execution of the book.

I found this book provocative at multiple levels.

At the strategic level, although I have known about and followed Elsevier for decades, I am beginning to perceive a more coherent publishing strategy, and was pleased to see notice of their collaboration with BookAid and the Sabre Foundation to create libraries in developing countries.

At the operational level, I found this book to be a fascinating easy to read and understand integration of cognitive science (what is the brain doing to "see" different forms of visual cues (colors, shapes, groups, etcetera), psychology, art, design, and ultimately engineering of both larger than human structures, and computer graphics.

At the tactical level, the book is clearly a superior collection of critical information and easily a required text for those who would design for the human eye. At this level I would have liked to see more depictions of both buildings and environments, and more depictions of computer screens.

The absence of Library of Congress cataloging data was also a disappointment. The Library of Congress is becoming archaic, I believe publishers are amply competent to provide their own cataloging data, and this is especially important when a book crosses disciplines, e.g. cognitive science, visual intelligence, art, design, computer graphics, etcetera. Indeed, in the process of assigning cataloguing data, the publisher might discover areas where the book is weaker than intended, and send it back for enhancement.

I recommend this book be expanded to add a chapter on "decision support" and an appendix on great practitioners of the visualization of information. Although Tuft is the best known, in part because of his ceasecell promotion of his books and classes, there are at least 25 if not 50 other great visualizers, and a page on each with their photo, short bio, list of publications, and a couple of examples of their work would be a mind-enhancing "walk about" in the field of visual design.

As a textbook, this is a clear five. As adult education is falls to a four, or needs a second book that properly introduces the collective intelligence and semantic web and geospatially and time-based visualizations that are emergent.

In addition to the books recommended by the first reviewer, see also:
Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
The Design of Dissent: Socially and Politically Driven Graphics
Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become
Large Scale Structure and Dynamics of Complex Networks: From Information Technology to Finance and Natural Science (Complex Systems and Interdisciplinary ... Systems and Interdisciplinary Science)
The Age of Missing Information
Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin

Im a collector and I say this book is AWESOME!
5 stars!! I saw the book at a book store and was impressed with
it so I bought it. I recommended it to my friends! Anyone
who is a collector is going to love this book! BEATS ALL THE REST!!!!!!

This book is very well done and easy to use as a reference guide. It has extensive collections of planters, banks and cookie jars as well as other ware produced by the American Bisque Pottery. The history of the pottery was extensively researched and really interesting. The photography is just fabulous and there are some very rare pieces shown here. In my opinion, having collected cookie jars for over 20 years, I think this book is a "must have" in your research library. If you're like me, you will enjoy looking at it over and over just for the pleasure of it, but it will also help you put together an awesome collection of your own and prevent you from mistaking reproductions for the real thing. In today's world that could save you a bundle! I recommend this book very highly.

This book is a must have for any serious student of classical
architecture in America! Beautifully detailed illustrations
throughout.

This is THE resource on PA Dutch pottery of the 18th and 19th century. It is filled with references to long forgotten potteries in Eastern Pa., especially the Upper Bucks County region once called the Nockamixon Swamp. He details the history of the potteries and the tools and techniqies used by the potters. This book is out of print but well worth searching for.

After dealing with a number of friends who have endured the pain of the suicide or death of a loved one, this is the first resource I have been able to locate offering some type of solace, and mature ways of addressing and dealing with their tremendous loss. Though I realize this book is intended for churches and those called to minister to the bereaved, I highly recommend Intentional Friends Ministries Bereavement Ministry Manual with Study Guide as a positive, direct, and meaningful tool to salve the difficult adjustments necessary after the devastating losses with which I have dealt. CWWEBSTER

From back cover:

"In this pioneering study, Vron Ware looks at the role of ideas about white women in the history of racism. Her two principal themes are the need to perceive white femininity as a historically constructed category, and the importance of understanding how feminism has developed as a political movement within racist societies. Her goal is to explore political connections between black and white women by dissecting the different meanings of femininity and womanhood.

Written in a variety of voices and styles, 'Beyond the Pale' discusses contemporary racism and feminism, developments through the 19th century such as the anti-slavery movement, and the British campaign against lynching in the United States. The result is a major contribution to a growing body of anti-racist work which confront the historical meaning of whiteness and tries to overcome the moralism that so often infuses anti-racism."

Chapters Include

* The White Woman's Burden?
Race & Gender in Historical Memory

* An Abhorrence of Slavery
Subjection and Subjectivity in Abolitionist Politics

* Britannia's Other Daughters
Feminism in the Age of Imperialism

* 'To Make the Facts Known'
Racial Terror and the Construction of White Femininity

* Taking the Veil
Towards a Partnership for Change