The ultimate visual reference to over 6000 of the world's best stamps & coins & a professional guide to starting & perfecting a spectacular collection. Follow the fascinating story of adhesive stamps from their origins in Victorian England to the superbly-produced philatelic sets of the present day. Learn more about some of the world's most influential coins, from ancient Chinese knife money to the first thalers, or dollars, to be traded across the oceans. Witness the revolutions in stamp & coin production, from punch marks & intaglio to presses & printing, & how these influenced size, shape & design. Learn how to identify & categorize new purchases, & gain ideas on boosting a collection, whether focusing on country, pictorial theme or a specific event. Gain full advice on getting the most out of these popular pastimes, from caring for your new acquisitions to the best methods of exhibiting them. ...

The comprehensive visual encyclopaedia of every king & queen of the British Monarchy, & a fascinating insight into the world in which they lived. Over 500 stunning fine art paintings, sculptures, engravings, artefacts, photographs & illustrations reveal the heritage & pageantry of royal Britain from earliest times to the present day. Special feature boxes highlight the major events of each reign, & detailed genealogical data gives background information on every British dynasty & the lines of succession. ...

This is the perfect sourcebook & reference manual for anyone building a garden plant collection & looking for inspiration & practical advice. It contains descriptions & essential cultivation information for over 3000 common garden plants. Entries are arranged alphabetically within plant categories for quick & easy reference. It

Includes:: essential advice on choosing plants for different soil types & garden locations. It is aimed at everyone from the new gardener to the experienced plant-selector. It comes with more than 950 clear & helpful photographs throughout. Choosing a collection of plants is one of the most enjoyable aspects of gardening, & this highly informative encyclopedia is the perfect companion for selecting the best plants to help you create a beautiful & uniquely personal garden. This accessible book

Includes:: familiar garden plant groups such as annuals, perennials & bulbs, as well as specialist plants such as orchids, alpines, & cacti & succulents. There are descriptions of each plant, with information on hardiness, size, & care & cultivation. A wealth of photographs, showing plants either in detail or in their growing habit, lavishly illustrates the encyclopedia.



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Details: A comprehensive guide to over 700 minerals, rocks & plant & animal fossils from around the globe & how to identify
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This book contains illustrations of up to 400 tartans, making it the most comprehensive directory of tartans, both ancient & modern, ever published. It details the cultural & historical development of Scotl&, & her determination to maintain political independence & national identity. It illustrates how tartan is used to unite & identify a diverse ancestral tradition. Here the brave history of this romantic cloth is examined in detail, covering the span of Scotland's history & the manner in which tartan was enmeshed in her struggle for international independence & cultural identity. The history of Scotland is a long & rich one, & the story of tartan is inextricably woven into it, but tartan is also very much part of the modern world, both as a continuing tradition & as a declaration of affiliation, by Scots all around the globe. In this book is an unprecedented collection of tartans, ancient & modern, traditional & obscure, mainstream & idiosyncratic, from the major clans who have dominated Scotland's destiny, to today's individuals & societies who use tartan to declare an allegiance. This book has 256 pages & is 22cm x 17cm x 1.1cm ...

Herbs were once the only source of medicine available to many people, & this book opens by tracing the history of their use, & it shows how to design & plant a herb garden or container with plants suitable for treating specific health issues. The second section of the book is arranged according to ailment such as sore throats, insomnia, & sunburn. The symptoms are described, together with methods of safe herbal treatment. Finally, an A-Z visual directory catalogues the herbs, their active properties & uses. Each is illustrated photographically, & the medicinal value of each is described. This book has 256 pages & is 30.5cm x 23.7cm x 2.4cm ...

I am the luckiest man alive, because I get to live & work in the most beautiful place on earth: Matterdale in the English Lake District. When I was a child we didn't really go anywhere, except a week in the Isle of Man when I was about ten years old, & I never left Britain until I was twenty. Even now, years later, the best bit of any travelling is coming home. Bringing us into the world of shepherd's baking competitions, sheep shows & moments out on the fell watching the sheep run away home, James Rebanks interweaves thoughts & reflections on the art of shepherding with his photographs of the valley, people & animals that make up the daily life of the fells. A life lived by the three hundred surviving fell farming families, this is a book of photos & words filled with reverence & love. ...

ï ½ Illustrated with hundreds of colour & black-&-white photographs, maps & artworks. ï ½ Revealing, engaging text written by an established steam railway expert. ï ½ Detailed

Specification tables of all the most important locomotives. ï ½ Profiles of famous railway engineers & ground-breaking companies.

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The Illustrated History of Torture is a chronicle of the practice from Ancient Rome to the current War on Terror. It



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See the history of civilization through the world's most deadly & fascinating tools of battle. In the Illustrated History of Weaponry, the extraordinary weapons from the Berman Museum of World History, some of which have never been photographed before, are collected in one unique volume. Within these pages, you'll find weapons owned by Napoleon Bonaparte, Heinrich Himmler, Catherine the Great, Benito Mussolini, Jefferson Davis, Belle Starr, Hermann Goering, Napoleon III, Kaiser Wilhelm & Maximilian I. This book also offers information on weapons innovators including John C. Garand & the Mauser brothers. A variety of exceptional weapons of espionage, combination curiosities & rarities rounds out the compelling selection, making this a must-have guide for both military historians & antique armament collectors. ...