Best of
Language

1950

Dictionary of the Underworld


Eric Partridge - 1950
    It includes the vocabulary of "crooks, criminals, racketeers, beggars, tramps, convicts and the commercial underworld, the drug traffic, the white slave traffic and spivs", gathered from many countries and from obscure sources.

Indians in Overalls


Jaime de Angulo - 1950
    The Pit River tribe had lived in the barren high country for thousands of years and, despite the harsh climate and difficult living conditions, they had developed an extraordinary complex language and a rich mythology.As he traveled with the tribe and learned the spoken language, he observed gambling games and shamanistic practices, and he collected some of the marvelous stories told around the fire in the winter lodges. Of all the people he worked with, he felt closest to the Achumawi, among whom he discovered “the spirit of wonder, the recognition of life as power. . .”"One of the most outstanding writers I have ever encountered." — William Carlos WilliamsJaime de Angulo (1887-1950) was a Paris-born Spanish novelist and linguist. His other works include Coyote Man and Old Doctor Loon, Coyote's Bones, and The Lariat: and Other Writings.

The History and Technique of Lettering


Alexander Nesbitt - 1950
    This comprehensive, well-illustrated volume offers readers a fascinatingly detailed historical overview as well as a practical course in lettering techniques. Subjects include early writing forms; Roman lettering; runes and medieval hands; the Carolingian minuscule and derivative types; humanistic writing and derivative fonts; the effects of the Industrial Revolution on lettering; and much more. Hand-lettered illustrations accompany the text, along with comments on the stylistic and historic position of each style. The second portion of the book offers a 65-page practical course in lettering, including thousands of insights and technical hints for achieving numerous classic styles of letter formation.Perfect for anyone wishing to learn the history of lettering, or to study exquisite specimens of the major lettering styles from the Greeks to the present day, this volume also offers an outstanding resource for students who need a supplementary text that covers not only letter forms and their history but also layout and other techniques.

Natural History, Volume V: Books 17-19


Pliny the Elder - 1950
    The contents of the books are as follows. Book 1: table of contents of the others and of authorities; 2: mathematical and metrological survey of the universe; 3-6: geography and ethnography of the known world; 7: anthropology and the physiology of man; 8-11: zoology; 12-19: botany, agriculture, and horticulture; 20-27: plant products as used in medicine; 28-32: medical zoology; 33-37: minerals (and medicine), the fine arts, and gemstones.The Loeb Classical Library edition of Natural History is in ten volumes.