‘A Clock for the Rooms’: The Horological Legacy of the Library Company of Philadelphia

‘A Clock for the Rooms’: The Horological Legacy of the Library Company of Philadelphia PDF Author: Jay Robert Stiefel
Publisher: The Library Company of Phil
ISBN: 9781422362761
Category : Clocks and watches
Languages : en
Pages : 28

Book Description


Library Company of Philadelphia: 2008 Annual Report

Library Company of Philadelphia: 2008 Annual Report PDF Author:
Publisher: The Library Company of Phil
ISBN: 9781422366622
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 100

Book Description


A Grand Complication

A Grand Complication PDF Author: Stacy Perman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439190100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 527

Book Description
Two wealthy and powerful men engage in a decades-long contest to create and possess the most remarkable watch in history. James Ward Packard of Warren, Ohio, was an entrepreneur and a talented engineer of infinite curiosity, a self-made man who earned millions from his inventions, including the design and manufacture of America’s first luxury car—the elegant and storied Packard. Henry Graves, Jr., was the very essence of blue-blooded refinement in the early 1900s: son of a Wall Street financier, a central figure in New York high society, and a connoisseur of beautiful things—especially fine watches. Then, as now, expensive watches were the ultimate sign of luxury and wealth, but in the early twentieth century the limitless ambition, wealth, and creativity of these two men pushed the boundaries of mathematics, astronomy, craftsmanship, technology, and physics to create ever more ingenious timepieces. In any watch, features beyond the display of hours, minutes, and seconds are known as “complications.” Packard and Graves spurred acclaimed Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe to create the Mona Lisa of timepieces—a fabled watch that incorporated twenty-four complications and took nearly eight years to design and build. For the period, it was the most complicated watch ever created. For years it disappeared, but then it surfaced at a Sotheby’s auction in 1999, touching off a heated bidding war, shattering all known records when it fetched $11 million from an anonymous bidder. New York Times bestselling author Stacy Perman takes us from the clubby world of New York high society into the ateliers of the greatest Swiss watchmakers, and into the high-octane, often secretive subculture of modern-day watch collecting. With meticulous research, vivid historical details, and a wealth of dynamic personalities, A Grand Complication is the fascinating story of the thrilling duel between two of the most intriguing men of the early twentieth century. Above all, it is a sweeping chronicle of innovation, the desire for beauty, and the lengths people will go to possess it.

Art, Science, Invention

Art, Science, Invention PDF Author: Renée Wolcott
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781606180815
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Peale-Sellers Family Collection, held at the APS Library, is the world’s largest archival collection related to the Peales. Two recent American Philosophical Society Museum exhibitions, Curious Revolutionaries and Conservation and the Peale-Sellers Family Collection, included selected items from the collection. The conservation staff reviewed the selected items to ensure that they were stable enough to display for months without fading, discoloring, or suffering physical damage. When books or manuscripts could not be exhibited without conservation treatment, conservators repaired or stabilized them. Conservation of natural specimens and cultural artifacts is essential today, as it was for Charles Willson Peale when he opened his museum in Philosophical Hall. Renée Wolcott tells readers in her introduction, “As the owner of the nation’s first natural history museum, Charles Willson Peale served as both curator and conservator, concerned with selecting specimens for exhibition and preserving them for future museum visitors. He was also his own archivist, saving letters, diaries, and museum records that passed through his family for generations before becoming enshrined in the APS Library. This book examines the materials Peale and his family have left us, considers their preservation challenges, and discusses the evolution of conservation care for archival collections. Case studies of conservation treatment for six historic Peale-related artifacts illustrate some of the ways in which today’s conservators preserve the materials of the past for the sake of the future."--back cover.

Three Visits to America

Three Visits to America PDF Author: Emily Faithfull
Publisher: Applewood Books
ISBN: 1429004606
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Book Description
A woman from Scotland recounts her travels in the U.S., focusing particularly issues relating to women (education, employment, etc.), also discussing more general cultural matters.

Bread Upon the Waters

Bread Upon the Waters PDF Author: Rose Pesotta
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780875461274
Category : Labor
Languages : en
Pages : 476

Book Description


The Old Clock Book

The Old Clock Book PDF Author: N. Hudson Moore
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Clock and watch makers
Languages : en
Pages : 424

Book Description


Wealth, Poverty and Politics

Wealth, Poverty and Politics PDF Author: Thomas Sowell
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096778
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
In Wealth, Poverty, and Politics, Thomas Sowell, one of the foremost conservative public intellectuals in this country, argues that political and ideological struggles have led to dangerous confusion about income inequality in America. Pundits and politically motivated economists trumpet ambiguous statistics and sensational theories while ignoring the true determinant of income inequality: the production of wealth. We cannot properly understand inequality if we focus exclusively on the distribution of wealth and ignore wealth production factors such as geography, demography, and culture. Sowell contends that liberals have a particular interest in misreading the data and chastises them for using income inequality as an argument for the welfare state. Refuting Thomas Piketty, Paul Krugman, and others on the left, Sowell draws on accurate empirical data to show that the inequality is not nearly as extreme or sensational as we have been led to believe. Transcending partisanship through a careful examination of data, Wealth, Poverty, and Politics reveals the truth about the most explosive political issue of our time.

Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy

Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy PDF Author: Wayne
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780262130806
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
In his introduction to this book, George R. Harrison, Dean Emeritus of M.I.T.'s School of Science, writes as follows: "Basic to man's behavior is his ability to determine, modify, and adapt to his environment. This he has been able to do in proportion to his skill at making measurements, and fundamental to all other measuring operations is his ability to determine locations in the material world. Thus the science of mechanical measurements is a fundamental one. It is this science, and the art which accompanies and informs it, with which this book is concerned." This is the third book produced by the , Inc., of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Like all of its products, the book is marked by a clean precision of design and execution. The firm has built a worldwide reputation since 1924, both as a manufacturer of special tooling to extremely close accuracies and of machine tools that make possible a very high degree of precision. Wayne R. Moore has assembled in the 350 pages of Foundations of Mechanical Accuracythe company's intimate knowledge of and experience with mechanical accuracy, and how to achieve it. He has illustrated his text with over 500 original photographs and drawings. This book tells how to attain precision in manufacturing to millionths of an inch and how to control such precision by appropriate measuring techniques. The book is divided into four main sections: geometry, standards of length, dividing the circle, and roundness. A fifth section covers "Universal Measuring Machine Techniques and Applications." The book is printed in two colors throughout, and interspersed with full-page, full-color plates.

Masterpieces of Swiss Entrepreneurship

Masterpieces of Swiss Entrepreneurship PDF Author: Jean-Pierre Jeannet
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030652874
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 579

Book Description
This open access book focuses on Switzerland-based medium-sized companies with a longstanding export tradition and a proven dominance in global niche markets. Based upon in-depth documentation and analysis of 36 Swiss companies over their entire history, an expert team of authors presents several parallels in the pathways and success factors which allowed these firms to become dominant and operate from a high-cost location such as Switzerland. The book enhances these insights by providing detailed company profiles documenting the company history, development, and how their relevant global niche positions were reached. Readers will benefit from these profiles as they compile a diverse selection of industries, mainly active within the B2B sector, with mostly mature companies (60 years to older than 100 years since founding) and different types of ownership structures including family firms. ‘Masterpieces of Swiss Entrepreneurship’ brings unique learning opportunities to owners and leaders of SMEs in Switzerland and elsewhere. Findings are based on detailed bottom-up research of 36 companies -- without any preconceived notions. The book is both conceptual and practical. It fosters understanding for different choices in development pathways and management practices. Matti Alahuhta, Chairman DevCo Partners, ex-CEO Kone, Board member of several global listed companies, Helsinki, Finland Start-up entrepreneurs need proven models from industry which demonstrate the various paths to success. “Masterpieces of Swiss Entrepreneurship” provides deep insights highlighting these models and the important trade-offs entrepreneurial teams must consider when choosing the path of high growth or of maximum control, as they are often mutually exclusive. Gina Domanig, Managing Partner, Emerald Technology Ventures, Zurich