BUCKLAND BOOKS
 
Just a few new books this time, but some interesting news too!
 
 
 
 
 
1659 POÊLES EN CATELLES DU PAYS DE VAUD: Confort et Prestige                                        £39.50
Catherine Kulling with contribution from Monique Fontannaz, Assoc de Vieux Lausanne, Switzerland, 2001, French text, 320pp, 570 b & w illus, oversize paperback
 
This is an incredibly detailed treatise on the ceramic tiled stoves of the Swiss Canton of Vaud, and appears to be a complete catalogue of all the stoves still in existence. Over 300 different stoves are described and illustrated, divided up by area and manufacturer where known. Unidentified stoves are attributed on stylistic grounds and the technology of stove manufacture and use is explored too. A superb book, but why no colour illustrations? The glimpse of colour seen on the cover makes one wish for full colour throughout!  Nevertheless, this is excellent value for money.
 
 
 
 
 
13125 MOSAIC ART: Design & Inspiration                                                                 £17.99
Martin Cheek, New Holland, August 2002, 144pp, illustrated throughout in colour, boards, dustwrapper
 
This fourth book on mosaics by Martin Cheek is probably his best. Featuring a wide range of mosaics created by him and his workshop, this is intended to be an inspiration to the more advanced mosaicist. Martin’s predilection with animals and fish comes over very strongly, but there are also some interesting mosaics based on medieval tiles. Although not essentially a ‘how-to’ book, there are useful sections on the techniques employed and hints on how to adapt designs to the mosaic art.  The illustrations are first class!
 
 
 
 
 
0008 100 YEARS OF CLAY WINNING MACHINERY, the First 50 Years                                         £6.50
Bill Huxley, privately pub’d by author, 2002, 44pp, 54 b & w illus, A4 booklet
 
An often-neglected side of the heavy clay industries (brick and roof tile manufacture in particular) is the ‘winning’ or extraction of the clays. This excellent little history records how mechanisation changed the face of the British brick industry during the first half of the 20th century. The historic illustrations are accompanied by a rich text written by a man who spent most of his life in mining clay and coal - a fascinating record of a much under-publicised side of the industry.
 
 
Stop Press!
 
We are pleased to announce the long-awaited arrival of:
 
 
 
 
1828 ROMAN MOSAICS OF BRITAIN, Vol 1: Northern Britain (Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottingham and Derbyshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Scotland             £160.00
David Neal & Steven Cosh, Illuminata/ASPROM/Society of Antiquaries, May 2002, 416 + xvi pp, 481 illustrations of which 220 are in full colour, cloth
 
Roman Mosaics of Britain, by David S Neal and Stephen R Cosh, is the culmination of more than seventy years of combined research and painstaking draughtsmanship by two authors who are in the forefront of mosaic scholarship. Their work, to be published in four volumes, amounts to a complete illustrated catalogue of every known Roman mosaic in Britain. Many are painted by the authors at 1:10 scale, with individual tesserae painted in gouache to give a faithful representation of the colours.
 
Nearly 2000 mosaics are now known from Roman Britain, of which some 400 feature in this first work. Presented in the form of a county gazetteer, each mosaic find site is described, with drawings, photographs of figured elements taken at the time of discovery, plans of relevant structures, bibliography and, most important of all, meticulous reconstruction paintings.
 
"Volume 1 is a splendid achievement and stands proudly beside similar corpora being produced throughout Europe and North Africa" Rosamond, Viscountess Hanworth, President, ASPROM (the Association for the Study and Preservation of Roman Mosaics)
 
Volume 1 is introduced by an illuminating essay in which the authors discuss the history and techniques of mosaic illustration, the history of mosaic excavation and the subsequent fate of many mosaics, the artistic content, quality and iconography of Romano-British mosaics, the organization of the craft, the methods employed, and the sources of mosaic materials. They also distinguish a number of mosaic ‘groups’, and discuss the links between them - and even the intriguing possibility that we can identify the work of individual mosaic artists. The essay concludes by addressing the questions of chronology and the contribution that mosaic studies can make to an understanding of the function of various types of Romano-British building.
 
"This splendid volume is the first of four that will comprise the catalogue, a venture of huge commitment and imagination. The authors are deserving of our warmest congratulations for setting about, and achieving, their huge task. Dr Neal and Mr Cosh are true heirs of their distinguished forebears like Samuel Lysons." The late Dr T W Potter, former Keeper of the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities at the British Museum
 
Taken together, the four-volume corpus uniquely brings together a huge range of diverse information, and will be an important stimulus to further study. This will also be a corpus to treasure, not least for the splendid quality of the illustrations, which portray - in a way that no photograph can - the aspirations and achievements of the mosaicists who worked in Roman Britain.
Future Volumes:
 
1829 Vol 2: South-west Britain (Expected late 2002)
1830 Vol 3: South-east Britain (Expected 2003)
1831 Vol 4: Western Britain (Expected 2004)
 
The Pottery of William de Morgan is the title of an exhibition being held at BLACKWELL, The Arts and Crafts House, at Bowness-on-Windermere in Cumbria.  Open until 22 December, the exhibition features a number of de Morgan's wonderful tiles as well as a wide range of his pots.  The House is open daily from 10am to 5pm (4pm in Nov and Dec) and admission (which includes the exhibition is £4.50 adult and £2.50 child/student.  For more details, telephone: +44 (0) 1539 446 139, email: info@blackwell.org.uk or log on to their website at: www.blackwell.org.uk
 
The BBC is featuring the Victoria Baths in Manchester in a series of programme to be screened shortly that looks at a number of buildings which are at risk.  These wonderful, virtually complete baths have been unused for a number of years and are fully tiled in Art Nouveau style with tiles made by the local company of Pilkingtons.  There are three swimming baths, a turkish bath and 'domestic' baths for those whose homes didn't feature a bathroom - almost all at the time the baths were built.  Viewers will be asked to vote on which buiding should be saved - let's make sure it's the VICTORIA BATHS!
 
 
Gallery!
 
We hope to feature the work of some of our customers in this little slot each month.  Do send us an image or two of your tiles, mosaics or whatever.  Make sure it's a fairly low resolution image so the update doesn't take too long to download.  If you have your own website, we'd be delighted to include links.  We want this to be open to all, amateur (dreadful word!) and professional, so don't be shy!
 
Here's our first exhibitor:
 
 
Ornato Branco  by Isabel Aboim.
 
 
Isabel Aboim is a tile painter in the Portuguese tradition   In her own words:
 
I have a lot of work both in Portugal, Canada and U.S.A. due to this wonderful means of communication known as  the Internet.  I exchange information, measurements, photos and drawings via email with my clients, and after having painted the items requested, they are sent via  air mail.  Most of the times, my tiles are totally handmade from different types of clay. The drawings are based on illustrations of Medieval frescos as well as Renascentistic woodcuts.
 
To contact Isabel, go to her website at: http://isabelaboim.home.sapo.pt  or email her at: isabel.aboim@mail.telepac.pt
 
 
Well, that's about it for this time, don't forget to keep us posted on your events, works, books etc.  We want to make this a useful newsletter for all our readers!
 
Chris Blanchett, Proprietor, Buckland Books
Holly Tree House, 18 Woodlands Road, LITTLEHAMPTON, West Sussex, BN17 5PP
England
Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1903 717 648
E-mail: cblanchett@lineone.net
 
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