About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherUnicorn Publishing Group
ISBN-101910787256
ISBN-139781910787250
eBay Product ID (ePID)228462151
Product Key Features
LanguageEnglish
TopicGeneral, Antiques & Collectibles
AuthorWilliam Wallace
IllustratorYes
Dimensions
Item Height0.8 In.
Item Length10.3 In.
Item Width11.4 In.
Additional Product Features
Publication Year2017
ReviewsWallace shows and tells in this beautifully designed book just what fascinates him about antique keys. He includes keys from around the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries up until just before the twentieth century. He provides enough history and visual treats to ignite the imagination and please the eye., Arranged by topics rather than chronologically, the aim of this slender volume with hundreds of beautifully reproduced color images is to demonstrate the fascination with this everyday object. The 500 years covered by this book show keys to have been of infinite design, shape and artistry; workmanship reaching its zenith at the end of the Seventeenth Century....Designed like an art book, this would be a lovely gift for any collector or just to fascinate the idle looker.
FormatHardcover
TitleLeadingThe
Book TitleLure of the Key : Knowledge Acquired from Some Thirty-Five Years Collecting
Table Of ContentAcknowledgements Foreword What Has Gone Before The Components and Purpose of the Key The Apprentice A Golden Age The Age of Elegance Victoriana Chamberlain's Keys Keys of Special Merit The Locksmiths The Auction House Maintenance and Improvement Glossary of Terms Bibliography People of Note Postscript Collections Open to the Public
Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional
SynopsisThe key has been in use for many centuries, it has become such a familiar object,essential for so many uses, that, apart from identification, its appearance is of little or no importance. Modern keys are characterless, mass-produced stampings that do not merit a second look. Technology and the need for improved security mean that they are ......, The keys in your pocket right now are probably pretty boring. Mass-produced, stamped out without care, and used without thought, they're nothing more these days than a tool. ?But that hasn't always been the case--and the large numbers of key collectors the world over know better than anyone. In Lure of the Key , William Wallace draws on more than thirty-five years of collecting keys to offer a richly illustrated history of the key from the Middle Ages to 1900. Paying particular attention to the incredible innovations and craftsmanship of the period around 1700, the zenith of creative keymaking, Wallace invests his history with a clear sense of the pleasure and excitement of key collecting (or cagophily)--after reading his account, you'll never take even your dull modern keys for granted again., This book covers the history of the key from the Middle Ages to 1900. The glorious keys evolved over these years until, with the spread of new manufacturing processes available with the coming of the Industrial Revolution, its demise., The key has been in use for many centuries, it has become such a familiar object,essential for so many uses, that, apart from identification, its appearance is of little or no importance. Modern keys are characterless, mass-produced stampings that do not merit a second look. Technology and the need for improved security mean that they are gradually facing extinction.Collecting keys is a logical hobby. Keys are small taking up little space; they can be stored in drawers so do not need to be dusted; require little or no maintenance; will last indefinitely and above all are both attractive and interesting, each one providing just a little of our past.The end of the 17th century was the time when the craftsmans skill reached its zenith which can be seen in the myriad illustrations. This skill has not been surpassed before or since so it is regrettable that so few keys can be attributed to a particular maker or workshop. The author has managed to include a number keys whose owners can be identified e.g. the Duke of Somerset, Catherine Fauquier, Williams and Marys Lord Chamberlain and the Earl of Carnarvon and has briefly researched their histories.All the keys are carefully photographed in colour to demonstrate the diversity,intricacy and beauty that can be encountered. Many can justifiably be described as works of art. The author provides a comprehensive glossary of terms describing the anatomy of the key and related items. The only other book published on key collecting (cagophily) is the Shire Publications edition, written by the late Eric Monk., The keys in your pocket right now are probably pretty boring. Mass-produced, stamped out without care, and used without thought, they're nothing more these days than a tool. But that hasn't always been the case--and the large numbers of key collectors the world over know better than anyone. In Lure of the Key , William Wallace draws on more than thirty-five years of collecting keys to offer a richly illustrated history of the key from the Middle Ages to 1900. Paying particular attention to the incredible innovations and craftsmanship of the period around 1700, the zenith of creative keymaking, Wallace invests his history with a clear sense of the pleasure and excitement of key collecting (or cagophily)--after reading his account, you'll never take even your dull modern keys for granted again.
Number of Pages156 pages
