In this stunning catalog, Wees, curator of decorative arts at the Clark Art Institute, shares her extensive knowledge of silver. Robert Sterling Clark, who established the Art Institute in 1955, preferred Huguenot silver? especially that of Paul de Lamerie? so his collection, which contains typical objects from the early 16th to the mid-20th centuries, is especially rich in 18th-century examples. Wees arranges this collection according to general function ("Dining," "Lighting," etc.) and prefaces each chapter with exhaustively footnoted essays. She accompanies each item with crisp black-and-white photographs, a wealth of description, and helpful commentary. Analogous to Kathryn Buhler's standard catalog of American silver in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, this is a wonderful tool for researching makers and hallmarks, comparing stylistic elements, or just marveling at the beauty of an extraordinary collection. While not intended to be a historical compendium, this informative, visual feast belongs in all silver reference collections and will also certainly appeal to individual collectors. 19 colour & 1,222 b/w illustrations

By B. Lowsley: Dive into the rich numismatic history of the Channel Islands with Lowsley's detailed exploration. This book offers a comprehensive look at the coins that have circulated in these islands, providing readers with insights into their historical and cultural significance.

Tracing Your Channel Islands Ancestors is an expert introduction for the family historian to the wealth of material available to researchers in libraries and archives in Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. Full information is given on how to access the civil birth, marriage and death records which are only available in the islands and differ in format from those in England and Wales. Marie-Louise Backhurst covers the census, church records, nonconformist registers, rating lists, newspapers, wills and inheritance, official records, and the variety of other sources that can illuminate a past life and make family history research so rewarding. Migration has played a large part in the history of the islands and details of the records are fully explained.This authoritative and easy-to-use guide to these collections, and the authors advice on how to use them and get the most out of them, will be invaluable to anyone who is trying to find out about the life and experience of an ancestor who lived in the Channel Islands or was connected with them. This book will equally be essential reading and reference for anyone who wants to explore the history of the Channel Islands.

Prehistoric foragers, conquistadors, missionaries, adventurers, hunters, and rugged agriculturalists parade across the histories of these little known islands on the horizon of twenty-first century Southern California. This chain of eight islands is home to a biodiversity unrivaled anywhere on Earth. For visitors and armchair travelers alike, this book weaves the strands of natural history, island ecology, and human endeavor to tell the Channel Islands’ full story.

"Those of us born and raised along the California coast know and treasure the great beauty, diversity and natural wonder of the most remarkable coastline in the world. This wonderful book gives you a chance to share that great experience of California's beaches and parks so that perhaps you too will understand why we care so much about protecting this unique coastal resource for the future."—Leon E. Panetta, Panetta Institute