This book uncovers the work of sculptor William Simmonds, one of the forgotten originals of the Arts and Crafts movement. Inspired by his pastoral surroundings in the Cotswolds, he played a particularly vital role in the movement between the two world wars. After the First World War Simmonds emerged as a master of woodcarving, known for his exquisite oak, pine, ebony and ivory carvings of wild and domestic creatures. He earned his living by making puppets and became Europe's most renowned puppet master. His wife Eve, a well-known embroiderer in her own right, made the puppets' costumes and accompanied the puppet shows on the spinet, playing early music discovered by Dolmetsch and pieces by Cecil Sharp and Vaughan Williams. Simmonds's circle included the artists William Rothenstein, Edwin Abbey, John Singer Sargent and E.H. Shepard; architects Ernest Gimson, Detmar Blow, and the Barnsley brothers; potters and stained-glass artists Alfred and Louise Powell and Edward Pay≠ and textile printers Barron and Larcher. Poets Tagore, W.H. Davies, John Masefield and John Drinkwater; writers Max Beerbohm and D.H. Lawrence; and the musicians Lionel Tertis and Violet Gordon Woodhouse with her 'four husbands' all played their part. This book documents that lost world and adds another dimension to the story of the extraordinary Violet Gordon-Wodehouse, who lived at Nether Lypiatt Manor a mile from Simmonds's cottage.

The history of these gorgeous old bits of roadside Americana comes to life with stunning photographs of these crumbling relics of America's rural past. Featuring Mail Pouch Tobacco barns as well as others painted with old-fashioned advertisements, this book includes a profile of a man who painted hundreds of Mail Pouch Tobacco barns. A nostalgic look at the way America used to advertise and photographs of barn ad memorabilia, this beautiful book is a sure bet to tug at the heartstrings of those who long for a simpler time.- This great, nostalgic title will sell as a gift book to Americana and history buffs during the Holiday Season. Its the perfect present for Grandpa and Grandma.- Most Americans, while on vacation, have seen these barns adorned in advertising slogans along the road. These barns are a piece of American history that is disappearing.- The only book in print covering this topic.About the AuthorWilliam G. Simmonds is a senior graphic designer for a large Northeast Ohio corporation. He graduated from Kent State University in 1975 and makes his home in Chardon, Ohio. He has photographed more than 600 Mail Pouch and other ad barns. By doing so he hopes to preserve the memory of these nostalgic structures for future generations.

In his short life, William Morris (1834-96) combined the roles of poet, author, painter, designer, translator, lecturer, political activist, journalist, weaver, bookmaker, and businessman. This volume draws together influential voices from different disciplines who have participated in the recent critical, political, and curatorial revival of his work, with essays exploring the contemporary resonance of his exceptional legacy. As a critic of capitalism, his thinking has thrived in these years of financial crisis; as a theorist of work and craftsmanship, his legacy interacts with a more recent ethics of making that questions the values of 'off-shored' production; and as a protector of landscape and buildings Morris's concern with what is precious strikes a chord in our age of environmental crisis. At the same time, a careful and scholarly approach observes the particularity of Morris's context, in a way that confounds the 'false friends' of hasty historical reception and reveals unexpected connections.