culture

NY, Hat & Beard Press, 1st, 1918, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 9 X 12", 196 pages. Beckman mixes her rare, early b&w photos of graffiti artists with splashes of color by celebrated urban artists. This unique collaboration creates an exciting expression of original hip-hop culture. SIGNED BY BECKMAN WITH A SKETCH OF A CAMERA on title page. Very scarce in a small printing.

Hardcover. Oxford UK, Clarendon Press, reprint, 1969, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover, blue cloth covers with gilt lettering on spine. In a lightly worn dust jacket with tape repairs. B&w illustrations, folding map in rear. R. H. Codrington (1830-1922), was an Anglican priest who made the first systematic study of Melanesian society and culture. Described in his obituary in the journal Nature as 'the apostle of Melanesia', his work is still regarded as an ethnographic classic. First published in 1891. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, AMS Press, reprint, 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, light brown cloth with black lettering on spine. A quality reprint of the edition published by Cambridge University in 1910. Pictorial frontis; 79 plates from photographs, figures in text. Fold-out map in rear, fold-out chart. Extensive study of the indigenous Melanesians of Papua New Guinea. Distinctly different from the Papuans of the archipelago, the Melanesians posed an extremely interesting problem to early 20th century ethnographers. There is some light pencil marking to about 20 pages. Also an inked biographical note about a Captain Barton (one of the contributors) on the copyright page. No dust jacket issued.

Softcover. Indiana Historical Society, 1st, 1996, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover in pictorial wraps, 358 pages, 2 maps, b/w photos, appendices, notes, important dates, bibliography, index. Explores the history and culture of the Miami Indians, who have fought for many years to gain tribal status from the U.S. government. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Center for American Places, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 232 pages. The Mississippi River flows through American history and culture as a mythic waterway brimming with tragedy and hope, and awash in passionate ambitions and harsh realities. In 1953, a young Charles Dee Sharp traveled twice down the Mississippi (first by towboat and then by car along the renowned river road Highway 61) to make a documentary film of it, taking black-and-white photographs of the river, its communities, and its people.While Sharp's documentary never came to fruition, the striking images he captured survived as moving and evocative historical testaments to a lost era, now collected in his new book The Mississippi in 1953. These images create a vivid portrait of America's heartland a half century ago, and they are enriched with excerpts from Sharp's original trip journal, intriguing anecdotes from the people he encountered along his journey, and an engaging environmental history of the river by historian John O. Anfinson. The Mississippi in 1953 offers an original and poignant look at the living artery of the American landscape and how it molded the United States into the nation it is today.

Hardcover. Ann Arbor MI, UMI Research Press, reprint, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, beige cloth stamped in black and red, 355 pages. Illustrations, maps, bibliography, index. Some light pencil markings to about 20 pages.

Softcover. Los Angeles, Getty Research Institute, 1st, 2024, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 199 pages illustrated in color. This book provides a new way of thinking about eighteenth-century French art and visual culture by prioritizing production over reception. Abandoning the ideologically driven discourse that distinguished fine from decorative art between the 1690s and 1770s, The Mobile Image reveals how the two have been inextricably bound from the earliest stages of artistic instruction through the daily life of painters' workshops. In this study, author David Pullins defines artisanal and artistic means of learning, seeing, and making through a system of "mobile images": motifs that were effectively engineered for mobility and designed never to be definitive, always awaiting replication and circulation. He examines the careers of Antoine Watteau, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, and Francois Boucher, situating them against a much broader cast of actors--such as printmakers, publishers, anonymous studio assistants, and architects, among others--to place eighteenth-century painting within a wider context of media and making. clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. London, Reaktion Books, 1st, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 208 pages. In The Modern Balkans, historian Richard C. Hall gives a complete account of the historical events that have shaped the Balkan region of Southeastern Europe. Originally separated from the rest of Europe by culture, politics, and economics, the Balkans have slowly been integrating into Western Europe since the nineteenth century. But this process of economic and political development, following the Western European model, has been far from smooth in the Balkans. As Hall explains, it has often been marked by violence and destruction, the result of many wars and rebellions. Though Soviet power imposed a nearly fifty-year peace in the region, the collapse of the Soviet Union renewed conflict that continued through the end of the twentieth century. Hall concentrates here on the significant political and economic events that have had the greatest impact on the role of the Balkans in Europe; in particular, he examines the development of national states in the nineteenth century, the influence of the two world wars, and the collapse of Yugoslavia. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Cultureshock, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 196 pages. This privately commissioned book celebrates the life and achievements of Laurence Graff whose passion for diamonds has been inspiring him to create the most fabulous jewels in the world for 30 years.

Hardcover. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1st, 1952, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover, green cloth covers in a worn and chipped dust jacket. 438 pages, mild waviness to pages. A collection of his most important essays, selected by Kroeber himself.

Hardcover. Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press, 1st, 2003, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 362 pages. Hitler, Koonz says, understood the German people's need for a sense of coherence in the wake of what many saw as the degeneracy of the Weimar Republic--and 'he promised to rescue old-fashioned values of honor and dignity' by offering a secular faith to replace lost religious certainties. Koonz explores the promotion of these beliefs in German culture and law, and how they led to the catastrophe of the Holocaust, adding much to our understanding of how a civilized society could reach such infamous levels of violence. Clean copy.

Softcover. Wellington NZ, Polynesian Society, 1st, 1980, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 170 pages. Originally published in 1978 as a series of articles in The Journal of the Polynesian Society. Wrappers rubbed, internally very good, clean.

Hardcover. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1st, 2017, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 541 pages. b&w illustrations. As Joel Dinerstein reveals in this book, cool began as a stylish defiance of racism, a challenge to suppressed sexuality, a philosophy of individual rebellion, and a youthful search for social change. Through portraits of iconic figures, Dinerstein illuminates the cultural connections and artistic innovations among Lester Young, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Jack Kerouac, Albert Camus, Marlon Brando, and James Dean, among others. We eavesdrop on conversations among John-Paul Sartre, Simone De Beauvoir, and Miles Davis, and on a forgotten debate between Lorraine Hansberry and Norman Mailer over the 'white negro' and Black cool. We come to understand how the cool worlds of Beat writers and Method actors emerged from the intersections of film noir, jazz, and existentialism. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Harper and Row, 1st US, 1967, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a bright, lightly worn dust jacket, 355 pages, b&w illustrations. Offers the general reader the complete history of Norman Sicily--"from the first day, in 1016, when a party of Norman pilgrims was accosted in the shrine of the Archangel Michael on Monte Gargano, to the last, a hundred and seventy-eight years later, when the brightest crown of the Mediterranean passed to one of the blackest of the German Emperors." The present volume covers the first hundred and fourteen of those years and is a history of struggles, intrigues, sieges, and insurrections, dominated by the sons and grandsons of Tancred de Hauteville and, above all, by the "gigantic blond buccaneer," Robert Guiscard, one of the most incredible men of the Middle Ages. The Other Conquest is an excellent book distinguished by its Horatian ability to delight as well as teach. Lord Norwich does not pretend to have unearthed any new material or to have put forward any startlingly original conclusions, but he has succeeded admirably in explaining "how the Normans got to Sicily in the first place, what sort of country they made of it, and how they managed to imbue it with a culture at once so beautiful and so unique." Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. Paris, the City of Light, the city of fine dining and seductive couture and intellectual hauteur, was until fairly recently always accompanied by its shadow: the city of the poor, the outcast, the criminal, the eccentric, the willfully nonconforming. In The Other Paris, Luc Sante gives us a panoramic view of that second metropolis, which has nearly vanished but whose traces are in the bricks and stones of the contemporary city, in the culture of France itself, and, by extension, throughout the world.Drawing on testimony from a great range of witnesses-from Balzac and Hugo to assorted boulevardiers, rabble-rousers, and tramps-Sante, whose thorough research is matched only by the vividness of his narration, takes the reader on a whirlwind tour. Richly illustrated with more than three hundred images, The Other Paris scuttles through the knotted streets of pre-Haussmann Paris, through the improvised accommodations of the original bohemians, through the whorehouses and dance halls and hobo shelters of the old city. A lively survey of labor conditions, prostitution, drinking, crime, and popular entertainment, and of the reporters, realiste singers, pamphleteers, and poets who chronicled their evolution, The Other Paris is a book meant to upend the story of the French capital, to reclaim the city from the bons vivants and the speculators, and to hold a light to the works and lives of those expunged from its center by the forces of profit.

Softcover. UK, Cambridge University Press, reprint, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 273 pages, b&w illustrations. Despite the fact that its capital city and over one third of its territory was within the continent of Europe, the Ottoman Empire has consistently been regarded as a place apart, inextricably divided from the West by differences of culture and religion. A perception of its militarism, its barbarism, its tyranny, the sexual appetites of its rulers and its pervasive exoticism has led historians to measure the Ottoman world against a western standard and find it lacking. In recent decades, a dynamic and convincing scholarship has emerged that seeks to comprehend and, in the process, to de-exoticize this enduring realm. Dan Goffman provides a thorough introduction to the history and institutions of the Ottoman Empire from this new standpoint, and presents a claim for its inclusion in Europe. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Wiley, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 320 pages. Having signed the most lucrative contract in NHL history with the Washington Capitals, Alexander Ovechkin, at 24, is an undisputed hockey legend. In the mold more of a rock star than hockey player, Ovechkin courts the limelight, is never shy with his opinions, and, in a sport that thrives on the collective culture of the team-Ovechkin is an iconoclast who flouts convention, while loving the game. In The Ovechkin Project, veteran hockey writers Damien Cox and Gare Joyce trace his elite sports pedigree, his role representing Russia in the World Juniors, and how since entering the NHL, he's taken his team from worst to first in their division, and the hockey world by storm. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Lee & Low Books, 1st, 1996, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. This dazzling collection of poetry celebrates the beauty of African-American culture. Written by 20 inner-city children, these moving and powerful poems represent little-heard and often overlooked voices. Color illustrations by Gregory Christie. Bookplate on inside front cover otherwise clean copy.

Softcover. Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Press, reprint, 1999, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, publisher's green wrappers lettered in white, 305 pages. Two pages with light marking (241-242). Otherwise a clean, bright copy. This introduction to the descriptive and historical linguistics of the Papuan languages of New Guinea provide an accessible account of one of the richest and most diverse linguistic situations in the world. The Papuan languages number over 700 (or 20 per cent of the world's total) in more than sixty language families. The Papuan Languages of New Guinea will be of interest not only to general and comparative linguists and to typologists, but also to sociolinguists and anthropologists for the information it provides on the social dynamics of language content.

Hardcover. NY, Oxford University Press, 1st, 1997, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 94 pages, color illustrations by Peggy Turley. In this delightful children's tale, an American boy, Kenny Strange, moves to the quiet Mexican town of Taxco with his parents and strikes up a friendship with young Juanito Perez, a Taxco native. The two boys are brought together by an enchanting toy, the pasteboard bandit Tito. Chosen by Juanito at a town fair from among the other pasteboard toys, Tito, with his colorful clothes and bright eyes, becomes Juanito's and Kenny's constant companion, and the threesome share many adventures in and around the town's rolling green hills. The boys' growing friendship, Kenny's introduction to a culture unlike his own, and Tito's witty reflections on being a toy will be recognized instantly by anyone young or old who has ever made a friend or imagined that a toy might be real. Originally written in 1935, but never before published, The Pasteboard Bandit grew out of several trips Langston Hughes made to Mexico during his lifetime. Hughes first went to the town of Toluca at age 5 to visit his father, and again when he was older. During these visits, Hughes met many writers and artists, and it is their influence that informs the story of The Pasteboard Bandit--a story of two cultures meeting. When Hughes left Mexico for the last time, at age 32, he was carrying the first draft for The Pasteboard Bandit. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Orange Judd Publishing, 1st, 1928, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a lightly worn dust jacket, small paper scar to front panel, chip to top of spine. 125 pages with b&w illustrations. A comprehensive and practical guide dedicated to the art and science of growing pears. Written by renowned pomologist H. B. Tukey, this classic horticultural work explores the intricate details of orchard management, offering valuable insights into the selection of varieties, soil requirements, and planting techniques essential for successful fruit production. The text provides in-depth coverage of critical topics such as pruning strategies, pollination requirements, and the management of common pests and diseases that affect pear trees. Tukey's expertise shines through as he discusses the propagation of trees and the nuances of harvesting and handling the fruit to ensure peak quality. Whether addressing the needs of the commercial orchardist or the dedicated home gardener, "The Pear and Its Culture" serves as a foundational resource for understanding the specific biological and environmental factors that contribute to a thriving pear crop. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Malden MA, Blackwell , 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 311 pages, b&w illustrations. A succinct narrative of Iranian history from the time of Cyrus the Great in 558 BC to the present day. The book traces events from the rise of the Persian empire, through competition with Rome and conquest by the Arabs, through to the re-establishment of a Persian state in the sixteenth century, and finally the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the establishment of the current Islamic Republic. For each period, the author utilizes the most recent scholarship in order to examine Iran's political, social, and cultural history. He presents this history within an analytical framework which focuses on rulership as the central theme of identity for Iranians. He also considers the part played in Iranian identity by land, political culture, religion, and the arts. Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, Crowell/Alskog, 1st, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 96 pages. This is one of a series of eight books on various aspects of photography. They were published in the mid Seventies and have a great deal of good information and diagram some of the shots featured in the book. This book is one of the best of the eight and that is saying something as they are all good. Sadly Art Kane committed suicide five or six years after this book came out, so it is now a retrospective of most of his work. This is an overview of some of Kane's most defining work at the height of the 60's culture wars, some pieces have gone on to define a generation. Fully illustrated in b/w & color with full page descriptions of techniques involved.

Hardcover. NY, W W Norton & Co., 1st, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 281 pages, minor dust jacket edge wear and foxing on edges, otherwise, very clean and tight copy. A brilliant, daring, and utterly original book that analyzes (even as it exemplifies) the effect that the image saturation of a hundred years of moving pictures have had on human culture and consciousness.