It's a Book About...

The Green Dragon

2011-02-16T11:17:00.005Z

Dragons abound in legend and, in religious terms represented sin and paganism. As with St George and the dragon, another popular pub sign, they were an evil to be vanquished by the forces of good.

Medieval travellers to the Holy Land saw crocodiles so representations of dragons on pub signs and in heraldry might have come from these exagerated descriptions.

Pictured above is the Green Dragon in Marlborough and is one of many countrywide. A green dragon appears on the crest of the 1st Earl of Pembroke, a high-ranking Tudor nobleman whose wife was sister to Queen Catherine Parr. Two green dragon-like creatures also support the crest of the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers (plasterers).

To alchemists the green dragon is the universal spirit present in all things, not a mythical creature. Alchemy, a forerunner of modern chemistry, was considered cutting-edge science in the 16th Century; not only seeking to turn base metal into gold but also to purify and transform humankind. As early books on alchemy are recorded as being sold from the Green Dragon in St Paul’s Churchyard, it’s fair to assume there might be some connection between the pub and the science (unless it was a very clever marketing ploy in 1652).

The most famous Green Dragon has to be the Hobbit alehouse in the Shire in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The Green Dragon Tavern in Boston was a favourite haunt of Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty, and the headquarters of the leaders of the American Revolution.

To find out more about dragons on pub signs, why not download now A Book About Pub Names by Elaine Saunders. For a free extract, articles and details of how to buy click here

A Book About Pub Names on TV

2011-01-07T09:12:00.003Z

Yesterday I spent a great day in London presenting a segment on pub history for a Canadian TV channel.

Filming took us around Bishopsgate in the City of London, visting pubs like Dirty Dicks and the Magpie. Both pubs have interesting and suprising stories behind them, more details of which can be found in A Book About Pub Names

It was fascinating to see how television history programmes are put together and how many filming hours go into every minute of transmission time. Sadly, we had torrential rain throughout which made it far more difficult for the crew to keep mikes and camera lenses dry.

More details of the filming will follow but, in the meantime why not follow the link to download A Book About Pub Names today?

Great pub sign photos

2009-09-23T16:52:00.002+01:00

Colourlovers has just posted a great collection of pub sign photos picked up from Flickr. The derivations of most are pretty obvious although there are a couple of interesting variations on a theme.

Another blog, Existing Visual showed similar photos but includes the sign for the Lion & Snake, presumably in Lincoln.

If anyone has any idea how or why this pub got its name, I'd be fascinated to know. Leave a comment here or email me through my website at Complete Text where you're also find extracts from A Book About Pub Names, free pub history articles and details of how to buy.

The Snowdrop Inn

2009-09-21T10:40:00.003+01:00

This week I came across the sad story of The Snowdrop Inn in Lewes. Whilst you might assume that the inn takes its name from the local snowdrop growing industry, nothing is further from the truth and it actually commemorates a natural disaster in the town.

On the 27th December 1836 Lewes was gripped by a terrible snowstorm that had been raging since before Christmas. Many roads in the South East were impassable and the mail had been unable to get through 10ft snowdrifts for days.

The present Snowdrop Inn stands in the shadow of a cliff and was once the site of a row of workers' cottages. Snow had piled on the clifftop for a week and, on the morning of the 27th, the pile gave way, bringing an avalanche of snow and rocks down on to the houses.

Townspeople spent a day digging families out but there were eight fatalities. When the inn was built it was named to commemorate the rare event of an avalanche in Britain. For the full story from Secret Britain, click here

Labour In Vain

2009-09-15T08:43:00.006+01:00

Pub signs are not always PC. The Nag's Head sometimes displays a picture of a horse but often shows a woman scolding her husband, and this is not the only example.

The sign for a Staffordshire pub called the Labour In Vain showed a black boy in a tub being scrubbed by a white couple. The sign was removed by the brewery in 1993 after complaints. It was replaced by a picture of a farmer sowing seed that was immediately eaten by a flock of birds. The original sign was then hung in the pub garden but is to be reinstated this week.

Apparently the pub was originally a hiring station for people seeking work, pubs often acting as unofficial employment agencies at one time.

For the full story from The Sentinel Newspaper see here

Time for a hero

2009-09-04T12:10:00.009+01:00

After last week's villain, it's appropriate that we talk about a well-loved hero in this post.

John Manners, the 18th Century Marquis of Granby, pursued a military career, eventually becoming the commander of the British army during the Seven Years War. In 1760 he led the cavalry charge at Warburg, galloping into battle ahead of his troops. As can be seen from the pub sign shown, his hat (and wig) blew off, leaving us with the expression "to go into something bald headed".

Throughout the campaign he showed incredible bravery; leading from the front and fighting beside ordinary soldiers. He also showed intense concern for the welfare of his men. At the time, there were no pensions for soldiers invalided out of the army so, rather than let his men starve, the Marquis bought pubs for every one of his disabled non-commissioned officers. His generosity put him £37,000 in debt at his death (£4million today). However, he earned the undying respect of his men and many of those pubs were named in his honour

If you know of any other pub sign heroes that deserve a mention, please email me with details. If you want to find out more about the ones I've discovered, why not order A Book About Pub Names at the link on the right?

Villains on pub signs

2009-08-20T13:01:00.003+01:00

The British seem to love their vilains and many of them have been commemorated in pub signs. One of these is the Wicked Lady of Markyate, shown on the pub sign to the left. In the 17th Century, Lady Katharine Ferrers was married off at 14 to a man she didn't love and turned to highway robbery out of boredom and to repay her gambling debts.

Markyate stood on what is the present day A5, the main coaching route between London and Birmingham. Nearby St Albans had 400 beds and stabling for 1400 horses so traffic was heavy along this road and Lady Katherine wasn't the only robber operating. At around this time, Earl Marlborough was robbed of 500 guineas, over £60,000 today.

She is reputed to have given some share of her haul to the poor but she was no female Robin Hood. She mercilessly shot anyone who fought back and, one night in 1660, she was fatally wounded. The Wicked Lady pub stands on Ferrers Lane, Wheathampstead at the site of the shooting.

Highway robbery peaked in the 17th Century after which coaches carried armed guards. To save carrying large sums of money, wealthy travellers lodged their valuables with banks or used the strongrooms offered by larger coaching inns. However, memories of this time remain in the names of pubs honouring Dick Turpin, Lady Katharine and their like.

Elephant & Castle

2009-07-08T10:44:00.002+01:00

If you enjoy history, I've just discovered a very interesting blog called Jane's London which contains lots of great photos and comment on old London.

Amongst the discussion is one on the derivation of the name of the Elephant & Castle which is both a pub and an area of London south of the river. The chief theory is that it is an English corruption of Infanta de Castille, the courtesy title of Princess Maria Anna of Spain who was identified as a bride for Charles I. However, the marriage fell through when Charles refused to convert to Catholism and he married a French princess on the way back home to England. It's unlikely pubs would have been named in honour of his ex-fiance, however. Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII is a more likely candidate - she was also an Infanta, much loved in England and the names could honour her.

Knights travelling to the Crusades in the Holy Land in the 12th Century encountered Persian knights who rode into battle and fought from castle-like structures on the back of elephants. These descriptions made their way into Medieval bestiaries - illustrated stories of mythical animals that weren't always anatomically correct.

Many church carvers used these bestiaries as inspiration. The 13th Century cathedral at Exeter has an elephant with a castle on its back (although the elephant has horse's legs), as does the 15th Century Ripon Cathdral. Similar carvings would have been familiar to pilgrims therefore and, as landlords often used church imagery for their pub names, it wouldn't be unusual to find Elephant & Castle migrating onto a pub sign.

Henry III also maintained a private zoo at the Tower of London in the 13th Century. The zoo contained an elephant and the story could have gone around England about the "elephant at the castle"

More mundanely, it could also be a trade sign. Top quality knives had ivory handles. The coat of arms of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers has three elephants on it, one of which carries a castle on its back. The pub could have been a meeting place for cutlers.

The fascinating thing about pub names is that there is no real right answer. Everything is open to debate whilst standing at the bar.

Adapted from A Book About Pub Names by Elaine Saunders. Click here to read a free extract and find details of how to buy.

The Worshipful Company of Brewers

2009-06-30T09:05:00.005+01:00

The Worshipful Company of Brewers was granted its royal charter in 1437 although the society had formed 150 years earlier. They were constantly at odds with the Lord Mayor, Richard “Dick” Whittington who fined them for drawing too much water from the river or for overcharging. When he discovered that the Brewers could afford to eat swans at their feast (and he couldn't), he demanded that they sell their beer for a penny a gallon the following day.

By the time the Brewers Company was formed in the 15th Century there were 269 brewers in London alone, producing ales with names like Mad Dog, Angels’ Food and Lift Leg. Unusually, it was a trade dominated by women, who not only brewed for their families but also ran large breweries. Ale-wives or brewster-wives, also kept inns with more home comforts and even medical attention available, and were therefore well patronised.

Predictably, an industry that placed women in positions of power gathered its share of disapproval. In Scotland at least, laws were passed to prevent women working in alehouses but, although they were largely ignored, by the 16th Century women had lost their hold on the brewery trade, and would not play a real part again until the First World War.

Taken from A Book About Pub Names by Elaine Saunders. For a free extract, free articles and details of how to buy, visit Complete Text

Quaichs or Quaighs

2009-06-15T09:45:00.011+01:00

The quaigh or quaich (pronounced quake) is a shallow cup, usually carved from wood and with two handles. Some had a silver coin set in the base. It was used amongst Celtic peoples from earlies times to give visitors a welcome drink or a farewell dram, usually of whisky.

In the late 17th Century they became fashionable novelties when silversmiths began producing them in precious metals. Many were given as wedding presents. In these quaichs, the couples initials were inscribed on the handles whilst the clan crest or family emblem was set into the base.

The wooden quaich pictured above is exhibited at Inverness museum, Scotland, which holds several examples including a beautiful silver one.

Taken from A Book About Pub Names by Elaine Saunders. For a free extract, free articles and details of how to buy click here

The Maypole

2009-05-15T09:54:00.004+01:00

On 1st May villages celebrated the return of spring and the beginning of another farming year by putting up a maypole to dance around. As the dancers were single, this acted as an early form of dating agency with celebrations often culminating in young couples disappearing into the dark together!

The girls crowned a May Queen whilst the men were represented by a Robin Hood-like figure or a green man. This takes the festival back to the very earliest of pagan times when it was believed that the god of the forest or spirit of nature controlled the soil's fertility.

Pubs near the site of the maypole sometimes took the name, presumably implying that it was a place for entertainment and enjoyment throughout the year.

The Moon

2009-03-31T13:18:00.003+01:00

Centuries ago, the Moon's phases had far greater significance than today and it has always been a source of pagan imagery. In farming, April has the Seed Moon which heralds the time for planting. August has the Corn Moon when the crops swell and September has the Harvest Moon.

Because the population were once so attuned to the seasons, many pagan images make it onto pub signs - for example, the Sun and the Green Man.

The 9th Earl of Northumberland was a gifted astronomer who mapped the moon in the 16th Century, long before Galileo. The Percy crest carries a white crescent or half moon and pubs close to Percy estates could take the name as a mark of homage.

However, pubs may take the name of Moon simply because it's such an easy image to draw on a sign and instantly recognisable.

Summarised from A Book About Pub Names by Elaine Saunders. Available here.

Pub 4 Us update

2009-03-07T13:37:00.002Z

Back in January I mentioned that Brian Colburn had set up a new website called Pub 4 Us which hopes to collect information on pubs, taverns and mircrobreweries worldwide. He hopes to build it into a resource so that people new to an area can find the best drinking places around.

This site is now building with new articles and features added regularly but Brian would still like to hear from you with your reviews and recommendations.

Brian has also started a Facebook group called Pub4Us and would no doubt welcome extra input there too.

www.completetext.com

We Three Kings...

2009-03-01T20:47:00.005Z

Just to show that pub signs don't need to be serious, here's a picture from the Three Kings pub in London's Clerkenwell.

As you'll see, it's an unusual take on a traditional theme and shows the three kings as Henry VIII, Elvis and King Kong.

Whilst it perhaps isn't what signwriters would have been painting centuries ago, it is a reflection of the present times. Plus it gives passers by something to smile at.

If it's still there a hundred years from now, our contemporary musical and film culture will be reflected in it, giving a historical clue to future drinkers. It's a lovely looking historic pub too and very well patronised.

Online sources claim that Three Kings was the badge of the Mercer's Company or the mark of Cologne, the source of the finest linens. However, I've not been able to verify either. There is also the connection with the nativity to consider.

However, a learned Oxford paper and Bible encyclopedias say that the Magi, or three kings, were three out of 24 saints adopted as patron saints for travellers, taking us back to the earliest inns as refuges for pilgrims

Adapted from A Book About Pub Names available from Lulu.com or CompleteText.com

Dun Cow

2009-02-12T09:07:00.000Z

Although the Dun Cow doesn't sound a particularly romantic choice for Valentine's Day, there is a loving theme to this pub name.

Guy of Warwick was a 13th Century figure a bit like Robin Hood - half-fact, half legend. He was a lowly knight in love with a high born lady and, in order to prove himself to her, he embarked on a series of battles against mythical beasts. One of these beasts was a dun cow belonging to a giant which doesn't, on the face of it, sound particularly heroic.

Websites claim that a horn from this cow is held at Harwich Castle but an archaeology website says the castle no longer exists and the town's website makes no mention.

Guy of Warwick married his lady-love but, sadly, the story does not have a happy ending. He felt so guilty about his violent past that he eventually went on pilgrimage and lived the rest of days as a hermit.

The most famous Dun Cow is surely in Sedgefield, Co Durham, claimed by former Prime Minister Tony Blair as his local.

If you have any more love stories connected with pub names, I'd love to hear them. Either post here or contact me through my website, Complete Text

Taken from A Book About Pub Names by Elaine Saunders. For a preview, free articles and details of how to buy, visit Complete Text at the link above.

Red and White Dragons

2009-02-03T09:31:00.000Z

I found an interesting discussion about the significance of Red and White Dragons on a blog at The Hedge Druid under the title Dyserth.

Whilst researching A Book About Pub Names I found the emblem of the White Dragon may have been brought into Britain by German and Scandanavian settlers in the Fifth Century. They settled in the east and gradually made their way westwards, eventually coming into conflict with the Red Dragon carrying Celts in Wales. The White Dragon was retained as the emblem of Wessex, the land of King Alfred the Great but has never been adopted as part of the Royal coat of arms.

The Red Dragon is synonymous with Wales, the word meaning warrior in Celtic. It is bound in Arthurian legend, and adopted by the Welsh kings from whom the House of Tudor is descended. Pendragon means chief warrior and Uther Pendragon was the father of King Arthur, bringing us back to legend again. Some say the badge was originally taken from Roman banners and retained by the Welsh kings to show their continued authority after the departure of the Roman armies.

Fuller discussions of both pub names can be found in the book itself.

The Hedge Druid contends that Red and White forces are in opposition and are the male and female earth energies. The Red dragon represents male energy and can be aligned with the Red Lion, the lion being the symbol of a king.

This is a theory I had not encountered when writing A Book About Pub Names. As many pub names have their origin in pagan imagery, this is certainly a theory I will be researching for inclusion in the second edition. If anyone else has any other theories, I'd be glad to hear them. Either post here or contact me through my website, Complete Text, where you'll also find a free extract from the book and free pub-related articles.

Elaine Saunders
Author - A Book About Pub Names

Pubs4us.com

2009-01-18T16:21:00.000Z

I've just been contacted by Brian Colburne of California who's setting up a new website called Pub 4 us.

He's an enthusiast for pubs, taverns and microbreweries, and his site is dedicated to promoting and cataloguing the best he finds on his travels. However, he's also looking for owners to register details of their own pubs and breweries so visitors new to an area can discover traditional taverns for themselves. He's also asking pub-goers to make their own recommendations.

There'll also be some fun stuff in the way of quizzes and articles (one of which I've contributed - details below). So why not register with the site now and help it grow?

Good luck to Brian in his endeavour with Pub 4 Us and in promoting all that's great about the traditional pub.

----------------

Brian's posting Barmaids & Skinkers, an article on the old trades and occupations connected with the pub and brewery trades. This was extracted from A Book About Pub Names, available from LULU.com You can also find a copy of Barmaids & Skinkers at www.completetext.com under the "free articles" tab.

Speed The Plough

2009-01-03T17:22:00.000Z

The first Monday after the 6th January heralded the end of the Christmas holidays and a return to work so was designated Plough Monday by farm labourers.

Special prayers including the words God speed the plough were said for the new farming season and the ploughs blessed before being dragged through the village in celebration. Ploughmen dressed in white and decorated their ploughs which were then pulled from house to house by plough bullocks - young strong men who often demanded money under duress rather than appealing to the householders' better nature. Failure to pay could see a front garden or path ploughed up.

The money was originally used to maintain farming equipment throughout the year but the plough bullocks preferred to spend it on a specially brewed plough ale. The resulting drunkenness dragged the festival into disrepute and by the 19th Century, it had all but died out.

God speed the plough as a blessing is thought to have been brought over to England by the Danes but the first written record of the phrase is in a 15th Century song. Speed The Plough is still sometimes seen as a pub name and arose either from the local tradition or the popular song.

Taken from A Book About Pub Names by Elaine Saunders. Available as a lavishly illustrated e-book download through LULU. Or read an extract and related articles at Complete Text.

Pub signs commemorating wars

2008-11-12T11:21:00.000Z

During Remembrance Week it's good to discover that pub signs provide a pictorial link to conflicts across the centuries..

The Alma pictured arose during the Crimean War, fought between Russia and four allied forces, including Britain. It was the first war covered by journalists and their front line reports prompted Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole to travel to the Ukraine to nurse wounded soldiers.

The Battle of Alma was the first of the war and fought in 1854. There were 10,000 casualties. Pubs were given this name as a commemoration of the battle, by returning soldiers who retired to pubs or by landlords who had lost a son in battle..

This splendid picture from the Alma in Wandsworth not only shows a soldier in the thick of battle but also imaginatively has a hole where the cannon ball blasted through. Sometimes an Alma pub sign might show a woman which could have been inspired by Matthew Prior's poem of 1718 (Alma the Queen of the Body Castle plagued by evil desires) or by Spenser's Faerie Queene of 1590 (in which Alma was the mistress of the House of Temperance).

The Alma pub in Spelman Street London was a once a haunt of prostitutes and where Jack the Ripper may have found some of his victims.

Extracted from A Book About Pub Names by Elaine Saunders http://www.completetext.com/

Photo by Ewan M from http://flickr.com/search/?q=alma+pub+sign or visit his Pubology blog at http://pubology.wordpress.com/

How Stained Glass Inspired Pub Names

2008-10-29T15:07:00.000Z

The medieval stained glass windows at York Minster are currently undergoing complete renovation. These windows are the largest surviving expanse of stained glass in the world and were created in the early years of the 1400s. However, they were not solely for decoration. Not only did they have a very important role in the religious teaching but they were also used in the marketing of cathedrals, believe it or not.

In the Middle Ages, most people were illiterate, including those from wealthy families. Monks and clerics were amongst the few who learned to read because their education involved in depth study of the Bible. Many clerics acted as secretaries for wealthy, illiterate patrons giving us the word clerk. (We still describe a vicar as a Clerk in Holy Orders.)

When reading passages from the Bible or telling stories to their congregations, clerics used the pictures in the stained glass windows as visual aids. There people found illustrations of Noah, St Peter, the saints and God himself, together with countless scenes from fables and parables. For example, the East Window of York Minster contains a panel showing God surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists: an eagle, an angel, a lion and a calf.

During the Middle Ages, and after the murder of Thomas A Beckett in Canterbury cathedral, pilgrimages to religious sites became fashionable. Visitors left donations for the upkeep of shrines so places of pilgrimage like York Minster, Westminster Abbey and St Albans cathedral encouraged these visits because often the donations were substantial.

Pilgrims were shown around the cathedral, the monks using the pictures in the stained glass windows to illustrate their stories - the reason many large windows have smaller figures or scenes drawn at eye level. An example of this is also at York and shows a monkey's funeral, a fox stealing a chicken and a dog chasing a stag, amongst others. As pilgrimages were the forerunners of modern package tours, the cathedrals probably did all they could to increase the visitor attractiveness of their site because more enjoyment meant more visitors and more money, the reason these pilgrimage sites became so wealthy.

Originally, religious houses provided overnight accommodation for travellers but, as the traffic increased, enterprising locals opened roadside inns to serve the over-spill. They took religious names to imply a monastic connection - names like Angel, Lamb (of God) and Ship (the Ark). The sign maker no doubt copied the picture from the local church windows as it was an image travellers could immediately identify. These names, and many more inspired by the Bible, are still with us today, even though we are often unaware of the religious connection.

To find out more about how the church affected the naming of pubs, why not order A Book About Pub Names today?

http://www.completetext.com/

The missing pub sign mystery

2008-09-25T21:59:00.001+01:00

There's currently a national outcry over the rate traditional pub signs are disappearing from our streets. However, in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, one of their pub signs literally went missing...for over two years.

St John's Street, Ashbourne has a rare gallows sign stretching from one side of the road to the other, advertising the Green Man and Black's Head Royal Hotel. From the centre, high above the road, once hung a painted sign but it disappeared one day in 2006.

A local councillor, Denise Brown, made it her mission to recover it but, after many false leads, the sign was discovered quite by chance 25 miles away.

This historic landmark has now been returned to Ashbourne although it's still uncertain whether it will be replaced in its original position.

To read the full story of the disappearing Green Man, visit the Derby Evening Telegraph at the link below.
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Mystery-missing-pub-sign-finally/article-351767-detail/article.html

Photograph by Phil McIver, and sourced on http://www.flickr.com

Three Tuns

2008-09-19T14:28:00.000+01:00

The pub sign Three Tuns is sometimes seen, and should depict three large barrels. The tun is now an antiquated measure but a tun barrel once held 252 gallons, usually of wine.

Three tuns appear on the coat of arms of both the Brewers and the Vintners Livery Companies. The Brewers Company archives detail the long running feud between them and Mayor Richard Whittington (of pantomime fame). He was constantly fining them for overcharging or drawing too much water, presumably jealous of their wealth.

The Vintners were similarly wealthy as they controlled all wine trading in earlier centuries - a third of Britain's annual imports. They began as a religious fraternity and, like many Catholic organisations, lost much of their property to Henry VIII during the Reformation. Although they no longer control the wine trade today, they are involved in educational and charitable causes.

The Eagle, Cambridge

2008-09-09T14:40:00.000+01:00

As it's time for students to take up their university places I thought it appropriate to mention a pub with a university theme, namely The Eagle in Cambridge.

The eagle is rich in both heraldic and religious symbolism. Many pub names arose through a church connection or as a way to ingratiate the landlord with the local ruling family, so it's no wonder that many bear the sign of the eagle. It might represent the Resurrection on a former religious house or form part of the coat of arms of the lord of the manor, making it a popular choice country wide.

The world's most scientific Eagle stands adjacent to Corpus Christi College in Cambridge. The Enigma cryptographer and father of modern computer science, Alan Turing, was a visitor to The Eagle during his years at the university. It was also the local for researchers at the Cavenish Laboratory who were working on the structure of DNA.

In 1953, Crick and Watson held a press conference at The Eagle to announce that they had unlocked the secrets of DNA, work for which they were awarded a Nobel prize with Maurice Wilkins. The event is commemorated with a Blue Plaque outside the pub.

Why not buy A Book About Pub Names for more information on this and other popular pub signs?

Mind your ps and qs

2008-05-28T10:59:00.000+01:00

There are lots of blog posts and the moment with ancient laws and surprising facts, one of which concerns the phrase, mind your ps and qs. Apparently, when a fight broke out in a pub and there was a danger of glasses being knocked over the landlord told his customers to mind their pints and quarts - or mind their ps and qs.

Whilst researching A BOOK ABOUT PUB NAMES I came across another derivation. When drinkers bought beer on credit the landlord chalked up the number of pints and quarts "on the slate". Unscrupulous landlords weren't averse to adding a few extra chalk marks so "mind your ps and qs" could actually be a warning to customers to check the bill.

Instead of buying beer on the slate, London market porters once had their consumption notched onto a strip of leather or tab. Hence "running a tab". It's also thought to give us the expression "strapped for cash".

Lots more drinking-related expressions are explored in A BOOK ABOUT PUB NAMES, just one of the chapters giving the history around beer, brewing and drinking. Bryce Eddings of About.com has enjoyed reading it recently and has given it a great review. "I would heartily recommend this ebook to anyone with an interest in beer history and breweriana. The stories of the signs as well as a plenitude of very nice pictures of many of them are endlessly fascinated."

Why not follow the link to the book's sales page http://www.lulu.com/content/1926998 and see whether you agree?

Elaine Saunders www.completetext.com