An important study of English Posies and Posy Rings, first published in 1931. It examines their origins and contains an extensive list of inscriptions.

The distinguished private collection, known as the Griffin Collection, comprises in its entirety examples of every category of ring - signet, devotional, memorial, decorative - dating from antiquity to modern times. This catalogue, focusing on about 150 rings in the collection, is concerned with perhaps the most personal rings of all, those associated with love and marriage. Some can be recognised by the figure of Cupid armed with his quiver of golden arrows, others by the symbols of heart and clasped hands. However, the majority are gold bands, sometimes plain and occasionally decorated, that are inscribed with mottoes in English expressing the admiration, affection, and pledges of fidelity which bind humankind together. Known as posies or little poems because they often rhyme, these mottoes were current on rings from the late Middle Ages until the middle of the 19 th century. Through these rings, Ms. Scarisbrick engagingly tells the long story of the relations between the sexes from the fifteenth century, when the cult of courtly love was superseded by an idealization of monogamous marriage, to an end in the twentieth century as a result of a different moral outlook. Scholars would agree that the Griffin Collection of posy rings makes an important contribution to English social history and connects with the national literature from Chaucer to Byron. Small though they are in scale, their significance was appreciated by Victorian collectors, and they are well represented in the leading museums, notably the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, and the Museum of London, as well as the Ashmolean and Fitzwilliam museums in Oxford and Cambridge. Yet none of these institutions have ever published fully illustrated catalogues of their posy rings, nor has there been an up-to-date study since the seminal monograph by Joan Evans entitled English Posies and Posy rings (1931). In this respect, the catalogue of the Griffin Collection, which illustrates the rings and sets them in context, using wide-ranging literary and historical sources, breaks new ground. It also contains posy rings with inscriptions hitherto unrecorded and others with identified maker's marks.

“Engrossing . . . evokes the subculture of the ‘mudlarks,’ who scour the banks for fragments of London’s past.”—The New Yorker The international bestseller that mesmerizingly charts quixotic journeys through London’s past, Mudlark thrills Anglophiles and history lovers alike. Long heralded as a city treasure herself, beloved “Mudlark” Lara Maiklem tirelessly treks along the Thames’ muddy shores, unearthing a myriad of artifacts and their stories—from Roman hairpins and perfectly preserved Tudor shoes to the clay pipes that were smoked in riverside taverns. Seamlessly interweaving reflections from her own life with meditations on the art of wandering, Maiklem ultimately delivers a treatise “as deep and as rich as the Thames and its treasures” (Stanley Tucci).

The author considers rings in all their forms and makes their context come alive through paintings, drawings and vivid quotations.

This volume weaves together the Scottish otter stories from Gavin Maxwell's three non-fiction books, Ring of Bright Water (1960), The Rocks Remain (1963), and Raven Meet Thy Brother (1969). Maxwell was both an extraordinarily evocative writer and a highly unusual man. While touring the Iraqi marshes, he was captivated by an otter and became a devoted advocate of and spokesman for the species. He moved to a remote house in the Scottish highlands, co-habiting there with three otters and living an idyllic and isolated life – at least for a while. Fate, fame, and fire conspired against this paradise, and it, too, came to an end, though the journey was filled with incident and wonder. Maxwell was also talented as an artist, and his sinuous line drawings of these amphibious and engaging creatures, and the homes they occupied, illustrate his story. This book stands as a lasting tribute to a man, his work, and his passion. It was received and has endured as a classic for its portrait not only of otters but also of a man who endured heartaches and disappointments, whose life embodied both greatness and tragedy. He writes with rare eloquence about his birth, his devotion to the beloved Scottish highlands, and the wildlife he loved, while refusing to ignore the darker aspects of his nature and of nature in its larger sense.

Few personal possessions have the resonance of finger rings, whether they serve as symbols of marriage, office, status or, in some cases, as token of hidden political or religious beliefs. This attractive volume provides an illustrated catalogue of the rings in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. These rings, which were worn by both men and women and range from the familiar to the bizarre in type, include examples from many different cultures across the centuries, including Egyptian, Minoan, Etruscan, Greek, Roman and, particularly medieval rings. All are illustrated with colour photographs with facing description. An initial discussion explains the terminology of ring studies and outlines changes in type, function and fashion.

A beautiful historical romance from the author of The Curiosity Cabinet. When antiques seller Daisy Graham inherits an ancient house on the Hebridean island of Garve, she’s daunted by its size and isolation. But the building, its jumble of contents, its wilderness of a garden and the island itself prove themselves so fascinating that she’s soon captivated. She’s also attracted to Cal Galbraith, who is showing an evident interest in the house and its new owner, yet she’s suspicious of his motives – with good reason, it seems. In parallel with their story runs that of sixteenth-century cousins Mateo and Francisco, survivors from the ill-fated Spanish Armada who find safe passage to the island.There, one of them falls in love with the laird’s daughter. The precious gold posy (poesy) ring he gives her is found centuries later. Are its haunting engraved mottoes, un temps viendra and vous et nul autre, somehow significant now for Daisy and Cal?

Toward an Art History of Medieval Rings gives a full survey of Merovingian, Byzantine, Medieval, and Renaissance rings ranging in date from around 300 to 1600 AD. They include marriage rings, seal rings, stirrup rings, tart mould rings, iconographic rings, merchant rings, and gemstone rings, and are arranged chronologically.

A treasury of poetry, prose, and art celebrating the charm and beauty of the English garden, with marbled endpapers, slipcase, and silk ribbon marker. 74 full-color illustrations.