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“With this collection, I attempt to clarify that these are not only textile designs. There is a lot more to it than that: making links to developments in the fields of art, culture and politics is only logical and at least as important. My collection seeks above all to stimulate curiosity when reading (or learning to read) images.” – Marc Van Hoe

The Van Hoe Collection – Grammar of Textiles presents The Van Hoe Collection which mainly consists of textile designs, in part weaves and a number of rare books from the period from 1830 to 1990: a period of great artistic and aesthetic changes. Including essays by Mireille Houtzager – Dutch Textile & Costume historian and Johan Valcke, Hoanry Director, Design Flanders, and others.

Text in English and Dutch.

Stezaker attended the Slade School of Art in London in his early teens, he graduated with a Higher Diploma in Fine Art in 1973. In the early 1970s, he was among the first wave of British conceptual artists to react against what was then the predominance of Pop art.

Solo exhibitions for Stezaker were rare for some time, however, in the mid-2000s, his work was rediscovered by the art market; he is now collected by several international collectors and museums.

Made across a 32-year span, the works in Tabula Rasa unite the central themes in the art of celebrated British artist John Stezaker, from the capacities of collage to the current flow in an age of mass media. This volume brings silkscreens on canvas from the early 1990s and film still collages from the 1990s and 2009 together for the first time. An essay by art critic and cultural commentator Michael Bracewell looks at the connections within Stezaker’s practice, centering on notions of screens, voids and cut-outs.

Federico Garolla’s photography (Naples, 1925 – Milan, 2012) moved hand in hand with Italian history during a period of notable social change after the war. He quickly became Italy’s leading photographer in the 1950s and 1960s during the golden age of illustrated magazines when television was still a luxury for the few.

He belonged to a new generation of photojournalists who knew how to combine elegance and discretion to portray the world of entertainment and communication, as well as the socio-cultural life of their age. Their work provides a picture of a nation, the Italian people, in need of rediscovering its identity as it set about rebuilding the country through a combination of optimism and economic growth. With his unmistakable style, Garolla captured this transformation in all its modernity and also its deep contradictions. He provided an overview of the salient events of the day, taking a sensitive and also attentive look at social realities and contexts. His photographs reflected the liveliness and complexity of post-World War II Italian society, contributing to the image of Italy as it underwent rapid change, ready to embrace its dynamic, bourgeois future.

Garolla witnessed the rise the great fashion houses in Rome, actually becoming a key player in their success as he turned photo shoots into photo reports embedded in everyday life. An elegant narrator, influenced by masters like Cartier-Bresson, he moved beyond mere visual documentation to capture the very essence and spirit of a constantly changing era.

Text in English and Italian.

Pewter is a versatile alloy which has been used to make a wide variety of domestic objects since antiquity. Malleable and lustrous, it was commonly used for making tableware until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when porcelain and glass became more popular. An inexpensive alternative to silver, it re-emerged as a popular material in the twentieth century, allowing for a new-found flexibility, and encouraging designers to experiment with form. From architectural finesse to the smallest everyday object, pewter was used globally, and was favoured as an inlay for decorative panels, furniture, vases and bowls.

20th Century Pewter outlines the development of pewter design from the Art Nouveau movement up to the Modernist period. The first book to examine the artists and manufacturers working in this versatile material, it highlights the important factories and workshops of Germany, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Scandanavia, Japan, and America. Histories of Wurttembergische Metallwaren Fabrik (WMF) and Liberty & Co. are included, as well as details of marks and monograms. With invalauble information on resoration, care, reproductions and fakes, the volume includes over 350 original photographs of outstanding examples of twentieth century pewter design.

Costume jewellery is commonly understood to mean fashionable yet affordable adornments made from non-precious material. Originating in in mid-1700s France with the rise of the bourgeoise, the earliest ‘costume jewellery’ mimicked fine jewellery styles. Since then, costume jewellery has always been evolving. From Victorian sentimentalism to the mass-produced ornaments available today, costume jewellery has developed into an artform in its own right. An encyclopaedic study of its history is long overdue. Flush with expert information, identification tips and historical anecdotes, Adorning Fashion explores the development of costume jewellery across the past four centuries. The styles of each era – Victorian, Edwardian, Arts & Crafts, Jugenstil, Art Nouveau, and each decade of the twentieth century – are given individual attention. Production methods are also explained in depth. Alloys and gilded electroplating can mimic silver and gold, while the refraction index of treated glass can, to the untrained eye, be mistaken for diamond.
Adorning Fashion discusses the contributions of a remarkable roster of designers and innovators, including Kokichi Mikimoto, Arthur L. Liberty, Carlo Giuliano, René Lalique, Elizabeth Bonté, the Castellani brothers, Jean Fouquet, Jean Després, Fulco di Verdura, Jean Schlumberger, Salvador Dalí, Miriam Haskell, Lina Baretti, Countess Cissy Zoltowska, Line Vautrin, Kenneth Jay Lane, Francisco Rebajes, Diane Love, Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Chanel, Van Cleef & Arpels, Paco Rabanne, Yves Saint Laurent, Napier, Haskell, Trifari, Brania, Bulgari, Versace and more.

Whilst many books have been published about war, the role of the prisoner of war has been largely ignored or paid scant attention. This book, along with the author’s other title – A History of Napoleonic and American Prisoners of War 1756-1816: Hulk, Depot and Parole – aims to correct this imbalance, and is the result of his quest over thirty years into this almost-forgotten field of history.

Illustrated here is an extensive selection of items from museums around the world and the author’s own collection – one of the largest private collections of prisoner of war artefacts in existence – revealing the incredible skills of these imprisoned craftsmen. The items – delicate, intricate and highly detailed – include boxes, toys and automata made from bone, straw or paper, as well as paintings by artists whose work is now much in demand. The creation of these pieces seems even more remarkable when the conditions under which they would have been made and the extreme limitations the prisoners would have endured in terms of access to materials and resources are considered.

This book records in great detail the fascinating accounts of the lives and occupations of the prisoners of war, and the prison markets in which they were permitted to sell their wares. It also tells of the comings and goings of the highly interesting variety of characters who lived and worked alongside the prisoners, or were paroled prisoners themselves, and who would travel for many miles to trade with these, quite literally, captive audiences.

Providing an excellent insight into general life at the time, much information, such as the laws, and the trading and working conditions of both the prisoners and their non-prisoner acquaintances is given as background to the former’s stories.

A detailed account of the historical background to the wars that saw these men become prisoners can be found in the author’s, A History of Napoleonic & American Prisoners of War 1756-1816: Hulk, Depot & Parole.

This is the first publication in a single work of all known Chester punch marks, and continues the tradition of the standard volumes of Jackson, Grimwade, Culme and Pickford. It is also the first time that the twentieth-century Chester marks have been published. It is produced in dictionary format, in alphabetical order from 1570, the date of the earliest known mark, to 1962 at which time the Chester assay office was closed. The authors, both members of the silver society, were given unlimited access to the Chester assay office records covering 1686 to 1962, and to the Chester Goldsmith’s Company records dating from the 16th century.

The compendium has four sections. The preface provides an historical background and details of all extant records and copper plates. Part 1 is devoted to assay office marks, with a full set of date letter tables to assist the reader in dating wares. Part 2 covers nearly 10,000 entries for makers’ marks, including pictograms and monograms. Finally, the appendices include items on assay volumes and charges, thimble makers, and Liverpool watchcase makers.

Since over 2,000 of the entries have Birmingham addresses, the new work will also enhance available information on jewellers and silversmiths working in this important trade center. The format of the marks’ tables and the extensive index will also allow future research into the relationships between companies and agents.

“Fully illustrated, the charm of his English Roses comes across on every page, even if the reader has to imagine their scent.” – The Irish Garden

“Experts will appreciate the notes on each rose’s breeding.” – Historic Gardens Foundation

Informative, accessible and stunningly illustrated, David Austin’s English Roses introduces the reader to the world of rose propagation and care. The book focuses on English Roses, bred by David Austin to combine the sumptuousness of Old Roses with the strength and practical virtues of Modern Roses. It will be greatly prized by rose-growers and rose-lovers everywhere, whether professional or amateur.

Also available: Climbing and Rambler Roses ISBN: 9781870673655 Modern, Shrub and Species Roses ISBN: 9781870673716 Old Roses ISBN: 9781870673693

F.H.K Henrion was one of a distinguished group of graphic designers – refugees from Europe just prior to World War II, who brought cutting-edge continental design to the rather parochial English scene. He quickly made his mark as a poster designer for the Ministry of Information, and, parallel to this, began to build up a career in exhibition design, culminating in two highly original pavilions for the Festival of Britain.

However, Henrion is best remembered for his evangelical work in corporate identity design whereby he raised the status of the graphic designer to boardroom significance. He established the authority of the profession as total re-branders of organisations, from logo, through retail outlets and vehicles, to stationery and labels.

The Design series is the winner of the Brand/Series Identity Category at the British Book Design and Production Awards 2009, judges said: “A series of books about design, they had to be good and these are. The branding is consistent, there is a good use of typography and the covers are superb.”

Also available:

Claud Lovat Fraser ISBN: 9781851496631 GPO ISBN: 9781851495962 Peter Blake ISBN: 9781851496181 David Gentleman ISBN: 9781851495955 David Mellor ISBN: 9781851496037 E.McKnight Kauffer ISBN: 9781851495207 Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious ISBN: 9781851495009 El Lissitzky ISBN: 9781851496198 Festival of Britain 1951 ISBN: 9781851495337 Harold Curwen & Oliver Simon: Curwen Press ISBN: 9781851495719 Jan Le Witt and George Him ISBN: 9781851495665 Paul Nash and John Nash ISBN: 9781851495191 Rodchenko ISBN: 9781851495917 Abram Games ISBN: 9781851496778

Commissioned by the Water Colour Society of Ireland, this book is the first to chronicle in depth the history of this distinguished Society, established in Lismore, County Waterford in November, 1870 and recognised today as being one of the oldest and most outstanding art societies in these islands. Members have included such prominent participants as Sir William N.M. Orpen, R.A., R.I., H.R.H.A., Sarah H. Purser, R.H.A., Walter F. Osborne, R.H.A., Mildred A. Butler, R.W.S., H.B.A.S., Mainie Jellett, Paul Henry, R.H.A., Evie Hone, H.R.H.A., Tom Carr, H.R.H.A., R.U.A., R.W.S., O.B.E and many others who succeeded in achieving recognition for their work not only in Ireland but on the international stage. The author sets out to trace the historical development of watercolour painting in Ireland, the difficulties encountered by artists in relation to exhibiting watercolours in eighteenth and nineteenth century Ireland. Brief accounts of the establishment of the Royal Dublin Society’s Drawing Schools are included together with the influence of the nineteenth century English watercolour tradition in relation to Irish students, the foundation of the N.G.I, the role of the governess and drawing master, together with the influences which the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art exerted on countless future members of the Society. The difficulties encountered by women in establishing themselves as either professional or amateur artists in nineteenth century Ireland, the opportunities for training not only in the field of art but in crafts such as wood-carving and lace and the availability to pursue an art academic training abroad all form part of this book. The vital role of Sketching Clubs and Drawing Societies which led to the birth of the Amateur Drawing Society (later to become known as the Water Colour Society of Ireland) are included. Founded by six enterprising ‘Lady Artists’, their largely unknown biographical information is provided here for the first time. Descriptions of early exhibitions, the aristocratic glamour attached to openings, conversaziones, the day to day running of the Society and the need by many artists, particularly women to transform themselves into professional painters form part of the early development of this remarkable Society. The birth of the nineteenth century exhibition watercolour and the requirement by members to market and sell their work throughout Ireland and the U.K. is described. The author provides concise biographies of over one hundred W.C.S.I artists from the relatively unknown to the widely acclaimed together with illutrations of works from both public and private collections, the latter, due to the generosity of their owners being illustrated here for the first time.

London’s record shop scene is at its most vital and buoyant point since the 1990s, following a resurgence of interest in vinyl over recent years. Tom Greig, who has immersed himself in the world of London’s record shops for close to two decades, profiles and tells the story of 60 distinctive independent record stores, selling both new and used vinyl. Vinyl London is at once a practical guide, featuring maps, addresses, opening times and stock information, and an attractive visual celebration of London’s record shops. The book is organised geographically, and contains the following chapters; Soho; North; East; South; West; Suburbs; Markets; Vinyl Cafes. Also in the series: Rock ‘n’ Roll London ISBN 9781788840163 London Peculiars ISBN 9781851499182 Art London ISBN 9781788840385

Time in a bottle; this is a collection that explores the unlocking of history through the identification of its unique seals, using crests and coats-of-arms as the ‘keys’ towards identifying the original owner. This three-volume collection examines the evolution of the sealed bottle from the 1640s to the late 1800s and provides a detailed description to accompany each entry, supported by numerous photographs, including the number of examples known, their condition, and the collections where the bottles and detached seals are held. The laying down of wine to improve its quality and longevity related to the social history of the day, the design of the bottles, their evolution and manufacture, are a reflection of the individuals who ordered and used the bottles at home or in the private gentlemen’s clubs, much influenced by the historic events of the 17th through to the 20th centuries. Wine consumption has a place in cultural history; these collected bottles existed at times of incredible upheaval and social change. From the early colonial settlements of the New World, into the slave markets of Richmond, VA, New Orleans, Charleston, SC, and Philadelphia, and with the plantation owners who amassed vast wealth and prestige as a result of this trade. In the taverns and coffee houses of London, alongside the bear baiting and cock fighting to be found across the River Thames in Southwark, in the cellars of the Oxford colleges and Inns of Court, these sealed bottles give much information on the early drinking habits of the aspiring and upwardly mobile, and the established aristocracy. Contents: Volume One: Dated Sealed Bottles 1650 – 1900 Volume Two: Undated Sealed Bottles 17th Century; Undated Sealed Bottles 1700 – 1900; Crests and Coats of Arms, pre-1700 identified; Crests and Coats of Arms, pre-1700 unidentified; Crests and Coats of Arms, post-1700 identified; Crests and Coats of Arms, post-1700 unidentified Volume Three: Chapter One: What is a Sealed Bottle? Chapter Two: Sealed Bottles from the Seventeenth Century; Chapter Three: Sealed Bottles from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries; Chapter Four: Heraldry and Sealed Bottles; Chapter Five: Sealed Bottles from the West Country; Chapter Six: Sealed Bottles from Wales; Chapter Seven: Sealed Bottles associated with the American Colonies; Chapter Eight: Sealed Bottles in Major Public Collections; Chapter Nine: Building a Collection; Chapter Ten: Price Guide and Price Trends

Where are we going to eat tonight? What’s the best place for a drink? Where do locals buy their fruit and vegetables? Where are the best delicatessens? All tourists who love good food have asked themselves these questions when visiting a city or country.

Many travel guides suggest some food addresses but these are generally very few, unoriginal and, most of the time, crowded with other tourists. This new series, on the other hand, promises the opposite: each title will bring you the heart of gastronomy of the selected destination. Starred restaurants, bistros, canteens, street food, Asian cuisine, chic picnics: in Eat London the best of London is lying on a silver platter just for you!

In addition, you’ll find addresses to the best delicatessens, the best wine bars, the best cookery equipment stores or specialised gastronomy bookstores of each city…

Contents: Stores and General Food; Markets; Tea Time; Bakeries and Pastry Shops; Breakfast; Pubs and Drinks; On the Go; Restaurants.

Du Paquier, an independently operating Viennese porcelain factory, was established in 1718, only eight years after Meissen. Although its heyday was brief, lasting only twenty-five years, Du Paquier produced porcelain of great beauty, notable for an enchantingly graceful style and consummate sophistication of execution. In three sumptuously illustrated volumes, scholars of international standing present the distinctive style and the exciting history of Du Paquier porcelain in the context of Baroque Vienna. The first comprehensive publication on this important porcelain factory, this work has been made possible through a five-year research programme conducted by the Melinda and Paul Sullivan Foundation for the Decorative Arts. The objects shown, many of them for the first time here, are in major public and private collections. The first volume deals with the historical and stylistic background of Du Paquier porcelain: art and architecture in early eighteenth-century Baroque Vienna; furthermore, the history of the porcelain factory, its style and its manifold sources of inspiration as well as Du Paquier’s relationship to Meissen and the role played at Du Paquier by independent porcelain painters and decorators. The second volume places this Viennese porcelain in its cultural context, providing broad-ranging information on court banquet ceremony as well as private pleasures such as drinking and festive dining. Objects used in aristocratic circles are shown along with choice presents of state made to the Ottoman and Russian courts. In addition, this volume contains a new study on the Dubsky Room, the only room still in existence devoted to Du Paquier porcelain. The contents of the third volume include an annotated catalogue comprising approximately 500 objects, scholarly analysis and a chapter on the history of collecting Du Paquier porcelain, an inventory of the Dubsky Room, a bilingual glossary of terms and a complete bibliography. An enclosed CD-ROM contains transcriptions of original documents that have played an important role in the history of the Du Paquier porcelain factory.

The upsurge in publishing in the sixteenth century turned the Reformation into a media event, and printed products of every kind superseded the communication methods used thus far. Flyers were particularly successful in reaching their audiences as an easily affordable information medium. Renowned artists such as Hans Sebald Beham, Lucas Cranach Sr, Albrecht Dürer and Michael Ostendorfer produced the woodcuts for these single-sheet prints, which thematised the political, religious and societal happenings of the time. Portraits of protagonists, such as Luther and Karl V., but also fables and proverbs as well as reports on miracles and celestial phenomena, catastrophes and crime all found their platform in these pages. One of the largest collections of illustrated single-sheet prints in the Palace Museum of the Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha provides a rich treasure trove of prints that informed the Reformation. The Gotha inventory of around 700 flyers from 1480 to 1599 is today considered unprecedented. Now for the first time it has been published in its entirety. Text in German.

Goldscheider, a Viennese factory (est. 1885), soon sped to the top of European ceramics makers. Figures and vessels of faience and terracotta as well as bronze and alabaster, all of top quality in respect of form and workmanship, were created in the Historicist, Jugendstil and Art Deco period styles. A crucial factor was collaboration with distinguished sculptors and ceramicists of the day – including Demetre Chiparus, Walter Bosse and Josef Lorenzl – who were responsible for a great many of the Goldscheider designs. This success story was quashed by National Socialist aryanisation in 1938: the Goldscheider family was forced to emigrate, the firm was sold and the new proprietor was unable to sustain the high aesthetic quality standard. The Goldscheider brothers did manage to open new ceramics businesses while in exile in the US and England and Walter Goldscheider even returned to Vienna after the Second World War to resume his post as managing director of his old firm; however, in the 1950s the great ceramics tradition of this venerable Viennese business ended when it was sold to the German Carstens company. Text in English and German.

Lace was a passion of Leopold Iklé (1838-1922), scion of a Hamburg textile dynasty who successfully produced machine-made embroidery over the course of the industrial boom in St. Gallen around 1900. He exported to England, France and the United States, among other places, at a time when St. Gallen was the market leader in the lace industry. Iklé’s collection of handmade European bobbin lace and needlepoint from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century originally served as inspiration for his firm’s textile designers. Through his passion for collecting, however, it quickly surpassed the practical demands of a simple pattern collection, and in 1904 he donated it to the Textile Museum St. Gallen. Historische Spitzen provides a comprehensive review as well as highlights of the lace samples in this unique collection.

Text in German.

With contemporary advertising and sales catalogues as its sources, this book represents the first exhaustive survey of the Ikora and Myra lines in glass produced between the 1920s and 1950s by the Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik AG (WMF) at Geislingen/Steige. At the instigation of the then WMF director general, Hugo Debach, WMF had been making high-quality art glass (called Unika pieces, indicating that they were one-of-a-kind) as well as lines in mass-produced art glass (Ikora and Myra). First presented to the public to great acclaim at the Württembergisches Landesmuseum in Stuttgart by museum director G. E. Pazaurek, these pieces are now much sought-after as valuable collector’s items.

Ikora and Myra Glass by WMF not only deals exhaustively with the history of this glass but also provides aficionados and collectors of Ikora and Myra glass for the first time with a complete catalogue of WMF products. The availability of this information makes it possible, first, to distinguish from the original later glass made in imitation of WMF glass by rival competitors and, second, to identify accurately each piece of Unika, Ikora or Myra glass.

Text in English and German

With passion and expert insight, Frank Nievergelt compiled an impressive collection over forty-five years of more than 900 pieces of contemporary ceramics, ranging from vessels and sculptures via display pieces to monumental works. Over one hundred leading figures of the international ceramic scene from 1970 to 2015 are represented in the collection, the emphasis of which is on newer objects. In this publication, the most significant pieces of this renowned collection are presented in a selection of forty-one artists, hence impressively highlighting the unaffected beauty and diversity of contemporary ceramic art. Moreover, Nievergelt introduces the artists individually, enhanced with reflections from Anne-Claire Schumacher (curator of the Musée Ariana) and Prof. Volker Ellwanger. The catalogue documents the latest inventory of the Musée Ariana in Geneva. Text in German and French.

Interactive installation art is an important medium of artistic expression, generated alongside the development of technology and art throughout the 21st century. This book includes a number of interactive installation projects, dedicating particular attention to how designers convey their message.

Instead of accepting information passively, in an interactive installation the audience is encouraged to communicate directly with the art. This book is divided into three parts: immersive installation (environment), experimental installation (technology), and feedback installation (engagement). Featuring examples drawn from 3D-rendered images, photographs and video projects, this book will explain the relationship between art and technology, and explore some of the ways these fields can be combined. It is a high-quality and practical guidebook, to accompany any interactive installation art exhibition.

This book includes a cross-section of projects from outstanding global design agencies such as teamLab, Dem, and Random International. When placed in conjunction with testaments from practising designers, these examples provide a comprehensive introduction to interactive installation art.

In October 2015, metal detectorist James Mather discovered an important Viking hoard near Watlington in South Oxfordshire. The hoard dates from the end of the 870s, a key moment in the struggle between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings for control of southern England. The Watlington hoard is a significant new source of information on that struggle, throwing new light not only on the conflict between Anglo-Saxon and Viking, but also on the changing relationship between the two great Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex. This was to lead to the formation of a single united kingdom of England only a few years later.

The hoard contains a mixture of Anglo-Saxon coins and Viking silver, and is in many ways a typical Viking hoard. However, its significance comes from the fact that it contains so many examples of previously rare coins belonging to Alfred the Great, king of Wessex (871-99) and his less well-known contemporary Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874-c.879). These coins provide a clearer understanding of the relationship between Alfred and Ceolwulf, and perhaps also of how the once great kingdom of Mercia came to be absorbed into the emerging kingdom of England by Alfred and his successors. A major fundraising campaign is being planned by the Ashmolean to secure this collection for the museum.

The Wilshere Collection offers a remarkable insight into one Englishman’s enthusiasm for the early Christian church. A wealthy landowner travelling frequently to Italy, Charles Wilshere (1814-1906) saw it as his mission to acquaint the British with the then brand-new subject of early Christian archaeology and art. Newly discovered documentation, including correspondence held at the Vatican Library and the Biblioteca San Luigi, Posilippo, recount Wilshere’s acquisition of a remarkable collection of early Christian, Jewish and pagan gold-glass, sarcophagi and inscriptions, shipped to England for public display.

Previously unpublished evidence presents the reader with intriguing new information about the provenance of the collection. In addition to this, recent scientific analysis of the objects, now in the collections of the Ashmolean Museum, allows major new insights, notably into the origin of gold-glass and its use in fourth-century Rome.

Pioneering and exceptional design trends are at the heart of Focus Open 2017. Companies and professional designers from around the world were invited to participate. This publication presents all the award-winning products that persuaded the jury with their exceptional design quality. Winners from the fields of production, medicine, bathrooms, kitchens, interiors, lifestyle, lighting, media, optics, sport, outdoor, public design, architecture and transport are presented and described. It also publishes the results of the Mia Seeger Award: a prize that is awarded to up-and-coming designers who have developed products that ‘serve more than one purpose’.

Text in English and German.

From the Ivory Tower: 200 Years of Ghent University tells the story of Ghent University and its societal impact, from its foundation in 1817 to the present day. From the very beginning, the university was closely involved in major social issues through its professors, students and former students, who sometimes played a leading role. In eleven thematic chapters ranging from pluralism and democratisation to gender and sexuality, the environment and biotechnology, historian Gita Deneckere outlines two hundred years of history. Each chapter ends with a point of contention for the future. In addition to archival and other sources, the author also obtained information from interviews with privileged witnesses. Their personal stories combine with the ‘big history’ to provide a monumental synthesis. The author does not avoid controversy. She makes clear why the university is important, for everyone. This jubilee book is thus an example of how scholarship and societal engagement go hand in hand under the motto ‘Dare to Think’. This book is a must for all those who are involved with UGent or who want to get to know the university better, and for those who are interested in the role of the university today.