Posts tagged ‘united states’
The Hook and The Book: The Emergence of Crochet and Knitting in American Popular Culture, 1840-1876 (Library Company of Philadelphia)
The Hook and The Book: The Emergence of Crochet and Knitting in American Popular Culture, 1840-1876
by Nicole Scalessa (Library Company of Philadelphia)
(Paperback, 46 pages, 2001, ISBN: 0914076981, $15.00)
Nicole’s casual interest in old crochet and knitting patterns grew into a mission to search The Library Company’s collections and make available to patrons a comprehensive database of holdings focused on needle crafts and their relationship to the economy of the family, leisure, philanthropy, and manufacturing.
Read the 
of this book before you purchase it.
Nicole’s research has allowed her to cross-reference a large number of materials on the history of knitting and crochet throughout the 19th century and translate patterns of the period for modern use while uncovering a social history of knitting and crochet in early American culture.
The culmination of her research is presented in both the exhibition and her book “Historic Reflections in Crochet.”
Diatoms of the United States: Exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii: Monographs of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, No. 13, Vol. I
Diatoms of the United States:
Exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii
Monographs of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, No. 13, Vol. I
by Ruth Patrick and Charles W. Reimer, foreword by Radclyffe Roberts
(Paperback, 688 pages, 1966, $75.00, ISBN: 1422317803)
This systematic treatment of the diatoms of the U.S. is written for the use of all those concerned with the multitude of kinds and the fascinating diversity of this very large and important group of algae of our fresh waters.
This volume represents the first part of a two part systematic treatment of the freshwater diatom flora of continental U.S. exclusive of Alaska.
Besides those taxa found in fresh water, a few taxa found in estuaries of rivers and belonging to genera that commonly occur in fresh water are included. No strictly fossil species are included; however, many of the species embraced are found in recent fossil material.
Although this book is concerned with the U.S., it should be helpful to the students of diatom floras in Mexico, Canada, and other areas. Illustrations.
New Government Report: Terrorism in Southeast Asia (ISBN: 9781437925685)
Questioning Supreme Court Nominees About Their Views on Legal or Constitutional Issues: A Recurring Issue (ISBN: 9781437935899)
By Denis Steven Rutkus
(Paperback, 25 pages, 2010, $20.00)
Contents of this report: (I) The Rise of Islamist Militancy in Southeast Asia: Overview; The Rise of Al Qaeda in Southeast Asia; (II) The Jemaah Islamiyah Network: History of Jemaah Islamiyah; Jemaah Islamiyah’s Relationship to Al Qaeda; Jemaah Islamiyah’s Size and Structure; Major Plots; (III) Indonesia: Recent Events; Background; The Bali Bombings and Other JI attacks in Indonesia; The Trial and Release of Baasyir; U.S.-Indonesia Cooperation; (IV) The Philippines: Abu Sayyaf; The MILF; The Philippine Communist Party (CPP); U.S. Support for Philippine Military Operations; (V) Thailand: Southern Insurgency; Approaches of Recent Governments; Current Government’s Approach; Little Evidence of Transnational Elements; Leadership of Insurgency Unclear; U.S.-Thai Cooperation; (VI) Malaysia: Recent Events; A Muslim Voice of Moderation; Maritime Concerns; Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Malaysia; Terrorist Groups in Malaysia; Malaysia’s Counter-Terrorism Efforts and Their Critics; U.S.-Malaysia Counter-Terrorism Cooperation; (VII) Singapore: U.S.-Singapore Cooperation; Enhanced Homeland Security. Maps.
To Do Justice to Him and Myself: Evert Wendell’s Account Book of the Fur Trade with Indians in Albany, New York, 1695-1726 (includes cd-rom with original Dutch text) (ISBN: 1606189123)
To Do Justice to Him and Myself:
Evert Wendell’s Account Book of the Fur Trade with Indians in Albany, New York, 1695-1726
by Kees-Jan Waterman (American Philosophical Society, ISBN: 1606189123)
(Paperback, 310 pages and CD-ROM with original Dutch text, 2008, $50.00)
This translated Dutch account book of the fur trade with Indians yields essential data for understanding workings of intercultural fur trade in colonial North America.
It contains accounts of hundreds of Indians, many listed with their own names, who purchased merchandise on credit from Evert Wendell (1681-1750) and his relatives in Albany, NY. Over 2,000 credit transactions and payments are recorded. This book has been praised as a major addition to the literature on the fur trade which challenges many widely held interpretations.
Illustrations. Tables. The book also includes a CD-ROM with transcription of the Dutch manuscript (searchable).
“The introductory essay and the tables put together from Waterman’s detailed reading of the account suggest an active trade between the Evert family and a wide range of Indians from many different tribal groupings,” writes Ann M. Carlos in the Journal of Economic History (70:2). “One has to be particularly impressed with the level of detail extracted from the accounts after looking at the photographs of the original documents.
“Waterman argues that these accounts with about 300 different individuals give us an unprecedented glimpse into intercultural exchanges in the upper Hudson River valley. He points to the role played by women in this trade; to the nature of the goods exchanges; to the range of different tribal groupings; to the mention of “white” and “black” individuals and to the descriptions of naming practices and tattoos or lack of same.
“Not too many family account books from the early eighteenth century exist. This one documents commercial exchanges between an important Dutch trading family and native traders. Waterman provides an incredible level of detail about the people in these transactions [in this] interesting primary source.”
American Photographic Patents 1840-1880: The Daguerreotype and Wet Plate Era (ISBN: 1887694218)
Read more about our selection of books on 19th century photography. >>
American Photographic Patents 1840-1880:
The Daguerreotype and Wet Plate Era (ISBN: 0871699729)
by Janice G. Schimmelman (Paperback, 119 pages, 2002, $25.00)
Identifies all of the nearly 1,000 United States patents related to photography during the wet plate era. To be included in this list the patent had to have direct application to photography or its application had to be recognized and indicated by the applicant.
Read this book on before you purchase it.
There is no easy way to identify 19th century patents by one simple subject heading, instead photographic patents appear in the official records under such headings as album, albumen, ambrotype, camera, carte de visite, collodion, daguerreotype, ferrotype, magic lantern, multiplying camera, picture card holder, plate holder, portable camera, solar camera and stereoscope, and photograph or photographic.
Patent for Improvement in Stereoscopes, 1876. American Photographic Patents, p.100
Contents: List by Title, Patentee, Residence and Date for Invention, Reissued Invention, and Design Patents. Illustrations.
Maureen Taylor on Family Tree Magazine‘s Photo Detective blog recommends this book to learn more about photographic patents and “clamps around a person’s waist or head to keep him still for the long exposure time.”
Purchase this book for $25.00:
Read more about our selection of books on 19th century photography. >>
Peter Collinson and the Eighteenth-Century Natural History Exchange (American Philosophical Society Memoir 264, ISBN: 9780871692641)
Peter Collinson and the Eighteenth-Century Natural History Exchange
(American Philosophical Society Memoir 264, ISBN: 9780871692641)
by Jean O’Neill and Elizabeth P. McLean
(Paperback, 216 pages, 2008, $75.00)
Collinson’s life is a microcosm of 18th-century natural history. A gardener and naturalist by avocation, he was what we would now call a facilitator in natural science, disseminating botanical and horticultural knowledge during the Enlightenment.
He influenced the Comte de Buffon and Linnaeus. He found clients for the Philadelphia naturalist John Bartram. American plants populated great estates like those of the Dukes of Richmond, Norfolk, and Bedford, as well as the Chelsea Physic Garden, and the nurseries of James Gordon and Robert Furber. Botanic painters such as Mark Catesby and Georg Dionysius Ehret painted American plants in Collinson’s garden.
He had an unprecedented effect on the exchange of scientific information on both sides of the Atlantic, being credited for introducing more than 150 plans to horticulture. Illustrations.
“One man can make a difference,” co-author Elizabeth McLean tells Green Scene [PDF] in the September/October 2009 issue. “[Collinson] did it for love. He was self-educated, yet he made enormous contributions to natural history in the eighteenth century.”
This book has been indexed by H.W. Wilson in their “Essay and General Literature Index” for June 2009.
H.W. Wilson writes: “These essays describe the life and achievements of the Quaker Peter Collinson, an 18th century London draper and naturalist whose interest in horticulture led him to establish contact with the Philadelphia Quaker farmer and naturalist John Bartram and to import Bartram’s American plants to England.
“The consequent popularity of American plants in English gardens, reflected even in the botanic paintings of the period, have earned Collinson a place in the history of botany as a facilitator between English and American horticulture.”
The Most Important Clock in America: The David Rittenhouse Astronomical Musical Clock at Drexel University (American Philosophical Society Transaction 99-2, ISBN: 1606189921)
The David Rittenhouse Astronomical Musical Clock at Drexel University
American Philosophical Society (Transaction 99-2, ISBN: 1606189921)
by Ronald R. Hoppes (Paperback, 99 pages, 2009, $35.00)
The David Rittenhouse Astronomical Musical Clock, saved by former Drexel University President Constantine Papadakis, is considered to be the “Most Important Clock in America.”
David Rittenhouse, the 18th century’s most important scientist, constructed the clock in 1773. This national historic treasure and engineering masterpiece tells the time, date, positions of the planets, the phases of the moon and signs of the zodiac and plays melodies.
“There were doubts that the United States could achieve the kind of technical engineering and level that was present in Europe at the time,” Baruch Blumberg, President of the American Philosophical Society, told the Philadelphia Inquirer (also in PDF) at a book signing in October. “I think this was an outstanding example that this could be done here – and was done.”
Recently a million dollar restoration kept the clock’s nearly 1,000 original pieces in tact, and the clock is in near-perfect working order.
Author Ronald Hoppes is a retired development engineer with a degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University. An avid clock and tool collector, he makes cabinet and movement replacement parts for clocks that are faithful to the originals.
The book includes a biography of Rittenhouse written by Jacqueline DeGroff, curator of the Drexel Collection (click the link to hear the clock’s chimes), and more than 100 drawings and full-color photographs.
“Hoppes is a retired development engineer who makes cabinet and movement parts for a wide variety of clocks, and he has written this volume on the 1773 Rittenhouse astronomical clock at Drexel U. for fellow enthusiasts and engineers,” writes Book News in a review.
“The author provides detailed drawings and illustrations that document nearly every part of the clock such as the sun-moon dial, the gear trains, the calendar hand, the equation-of-time indicator, the strike operation, the music train and the settings for dial indicators. A brief biography of David Rittenhouse, the designer and builder of the clock, is included.”
New Government Report: Treaties Latin America and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking and U.S. Counterdrug (ISBN: 1437934056)
Treaties Latin America and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking and U.S. Counterdrug (ISBN: 1437934056)
By Clare Ribando Seelke
(Paperback, 34 pages, 2010, $20)
Earlier in June 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton toured Latin America and the Caribbean to discuss issues, including drug trafficking, Politics Daily reported. On the agenda were the lawless border regions — between, for one, Colombia and Ecuador — where legitimate governments are stymied by non-state actors wielding sub-machine guns and running drugs. The Washington Office on Latin America noted that drug money from Venezuela and other countries is funneled throughout the Caribbean, corrupting officials and paving the way for safe passage of drugs.
Contents: (1) An Overview of Illicit Drugs in Latin America and the Caribbean: Drug Traffickers and Related Criminal-Terrorist Actors; (2) U.S. Antidrug Assistance Programs in Latin America: Plan Colombia: Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: U.S. Assistance to Mexico Beyond Mérida; Central American Regional Security Initiative; Caribbean Basin Security Initiative; Department of Defense (DoD) Counternarcotics Assistance Programs; (3) Foreign Assistance Prohibitions and Conditions: Annual Drug Certification Process; Conditions on Counternarcotics Assistance: Human Rights Prohibitions on Assistance to Security Forces; Country-Specific Prohibitions on Certain Counterdrug Assistance; Drug Eradication-Related Conditions; (4) Issues for Congress. Illustrations.
Weekly Book Special: July 4th Children’s Book: Building Liberty: A Statue is Born (ISBN: 0792269691)
Weekly Book Special: June 22nd-June 28th
The Fourth of July celebrates American independence, and this week’s special tells the story of the Statue of Liberty — a gift from the French people to celebrate the 100th anniversary of American independence:
Building Liberty: A Statue Is Born
Written and Illustrated by Serge Hochain
(Hardcover with reinforced library binding, 46 pages, 2003, $25.00)
Did you know that Statue of Liberty did not begin her life in New York?
The extraordinary construction of the Statue of Liberty began in France in 1875, and with the work of many people, was completed 11 years later on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in New York.
Join a cross-Atlantic adventure with four boys — Italian construction worker Leo, French sailor Fanch, African-American newsboy Benjamin and Irish ironworker Angus — as they help to build one of the world’s most famous landmarks.
Also includes a step-by-step illustrated history of the statue’s creation (with captions) from Bartholdi’s sketch pad to its completion.
Our favorite illustration is when the Statue of Liberty is unveiled in Paris (click to enlarge):
“This is a great little book,” writes Social Studies for Kids. “The illustrations are amazing in their depth and choice of color. The book also showcases the difficulties young boys and their families faced in the late 19th century in America and in France. There are many excellent details that leave the reader knowing much more than the average American about how the statue came to be.”
Purchase this book for $25.00:
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New Government Report: People Crossing Borders: An Analysis of U.S. Border Protection Policies (ISBN: 1437933955)
People Crossing Borders: An Analysis of U.S. Border Protection Policies (ISBN: 1437933955)
By Chad C. Haddal (Paperback, 54 pages, 2010, $25)
The top four big cities in America with the lowest rates of violent crime are all in border states: Austin, El Paso, Phoenix and San Diego, according to the FBI. And the U.S. Customs and Border Protection says that Border Patrol agents face far less danger than street cops in most U.S. cities.
The current state of border protection strategy presents at least three questions: (1) What does the current border protection framework consist of? (2) Is it working? and (3) Are there more effective alternatives to achieve border protection? This report addresses these three questions through two competing models. Contents: (1) Defining the Evolving Challenge; (2) Competing Models; (3) Advantages and Disadvantages of a Geographically Focused Border Strategy; (4) Current Border Protection Framework; (5) Layered Border Security; (6) Expanding the Borders; (7) Maximizing Domain Awareness; (8) Systemic Challenges and Resulting Vulnerabilities; (9) Are the Border Policies Working?; (10) What Can Be Done?; (11) Conclusion.
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