Dover Pub. Co.

Animal motifs in Asian art; an illustrated guide to their meanings and aesthetics. (reprint, 1927)

Originally published as Decorative motives of oriental art in London and New York in 1927, this slightly oversize volume (9x12.25 inches) reproduces the original, with all its illustrations (in b&w). The study is organized by motif — dragon, elephant, deer, goat, bat, etc. — with detailed discussion of the meaning of the motif in the varying contexts of the works of art in which it is found. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Brunelleschi; studies of his technology and inventions. (reprint, 1970)

Brunelleschi was a diminutive man with big ideas who shaped the architecture of the Renaissance. In this reprint of the 1970 edition by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, Prager and Scaglia examine Brunelleschi's original works, especially the huge unsupported dome of the Santa Maria del Flore cathedral in Florence. They also examine the machines such as hoists and cranes he designed and built for construction. The authors include modern detailed illustrations of the structure of the dome, photographs of details, and Brunelleschi's own sketches of his dome and the machines he invented to build it. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Chinese architecture; a pictorial history. (reprint, 1984)

Written in the 1940s by the late Chinese architect and founder of historic research on China's ancient architecture Ssu- ch'eng, and intended for a Western audience, the text & photographs of this book were misplaced for decades, rediscovered in 1980, and published in 1984 (this is a reprint of that publication). Most of the photographs were taken in the 1930s, and some of the monuments pictured are no longer in existence. Prefaced with a profile of Ssu-ch'eng and the story of how this book was created, "lost," and rediscovered, the text describes the Chinese structural system, pre-Buddhist and cave-temple architecture, monumental timber-frame buildings, Buddhist pagodas, and other masonry structures. This unabridged reprint includes 152 halftones and 94 beautifully rendered diagrams. It concludes with a brief chronology of Chinese dynasties, a glossary of technical terms, a guide to pronunciation, and a selected bibliography. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Jewish life in the Middle Ages. (reprint, 1896)

In this reissue of the 1894 Macmillan edition, Abrahams (d. 1925) introduces his survey of Jewish life in the 9th to 14th centuries by contrasting the cosmopolitan outlook of Jews of the period with Christian feudalism. The noted British rabbinics scholar discusses the synagogue as the center of Jewish life, and all aspects of social and business life — including Jewish-Christian relations and Jews' "special relation towards the government." Indexed by Hebrew authority and general subject. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The mind of Leonardo da Vinci. (reprint, 1928)

An authority on da Vinci presents a biography that corrects some errors of fact, interprets his manuscripts and achievements in the arts, and includes some illustrations of the Renaissance genius. McCurdy also discusses his beliefs, travels, and prescient design for a flying machine. This classic was originally published in 1928 by Dodd, Mead, & Co., Inc., New York. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The travels of Ibn Battuta in the Near East, Asia and Africa 1325-1354. (reprint, 1829)

Sheikh Ibn Battuta (1304-77) left his native Tangier on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and over the next 27 years, managed to visit the lands of every Muslim ruler of his time. Lee (Arabic, U. of Cambridge) selected from abridged manuscript copies of his Tijfat al-nuzzar fi ghara-ib al-amsar wa-'aja'ib al-asfar in the Public Library of Cambridge, focusing on the history, geography, botany, antiquities, and other matters he thought of interest to his contemporary readers. The Oriental Translation Committee, in London, published the 1829 edition, which is reproduced with Lee's notes. There is no index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)