Illuminated manuscripts are among the most beautiful, precious and mysterious works of Western art. Before the printing press was invented, books were produced by hand and their illustration using brightly colored pigments and gold embellishments was a labor of love and an act of piety in itself. The results are stunning. The works emanating from the scriptoria of monasteries were mainly religious texts, including illuminated bibles, psalters, and works for private devotion known as books of hours.

Illuminated Manuscripts describes the origin and history of illumination in...

Victorian pumping stations are colorful cathedrals of utility. Their imposing and striking exteriors enclose a highly decorative cast-iron frame, built to encage mighty steam engines. They are glorious buildings which display the Victorians' architectural confidence and engineering skills. More than that, they represent a key part of the story of urban development and how our towns and cities were shaped in this period of ground-breaking invention and civic pride.

In this illustrated guide, Trevor Yorke tells the story of Victorian pumping stations and explains why they were built...

William Hillman was an early maker of cars in Coventry: he produced cars from 1907 before selling his company to the Rootes Brothers in 1928. Three years later came the Hillman Minx, the first of a line that would endure for nearly half a century. By the 1950s, the latest Minx came in multiple forms--including a versatile and much-liked compact estate derivative called the Husky. The Minx remained the core Hillman product even after the remarkable Imp arrived in 1963 to claim a slice of the market opened by the BMC Mini.

Rarely revolutionary, Hillman cars nevertheless carved out a...