The Contingent Object of Contemporary Art

Book Description

In this book, Martha Buskirk addresses the interesting fact that since the early 1960s, almost anything can and has been called art. Among other practices, contemporary artists have employed mass-produced elements, impermanent materials, and appropriated imagery, have incorporated performance and video, and have created works through instructions carried out by others. Furthermore, works of art that lack traditional signs of authenticity or permanence have been embraced by institutions long devoted to the original and the permanent.

Buskirk begins with questions of authorship raised by minimalists' use of industrial materials and methods, including competing claims of ownership and artistic authorship evident in conflicts over the right to fabricate artists' works. Examining recent examples of appropriation, she finds precedents in pop art and the early twentieth-century readymade and explores the intersection of contemporary artistic copying and the system of copyrights, trademarks, and brand names characteristic of other forms of commodity production. She also investigates the ways that connections between work and context have transformed art and institutional conventions, the impact of new materials on definitions of medium, the role of the document as both primary and secondary object, and the significance of conceptually oriented performance work for the intersection of photography and the human body in contemporary art.

Buskirk explores how artists active in the 1980s and 1990s have recombined strategies of the art of the 1960s and 1970s. She also shows how the mechanisms through which art is presented shape not only readings of the work but the work itself. She uses her discussion of the readymade and conceptual art to explore broader issues of authorship, reproduction, context, and temporality.

Customer Reviews:

Why you should buy this book.......2005-04-29

In plain English, this book is one of the best ways to learn about Contemporary Art and understand the fundamental trends of installations, performance and cutting edge art today. My background: I never studied Art, but took classes in Philosophy/Aesthetics and have done a fair amount of commercial and fine art photography. The reading is very dense and this book covers a number of ideas that have driven contemporary art. Get out your reading glasses because the type is fine and it may take several reads to fully comprehend what is being said.

Examples of the artists covered include Janine Antoni, Felix Gonzales-Torres and many others who will no doubt influence generations of artists in the future. It's a hard read, but completely worth every minute -- buy this book -- I was extremely satisfied and still think about the concepts it contains often. I continue to send copies to friends who are trying to figure this out. It is not a stock item, so you may have to be patient.

You will not see modern art the same way after you read this enlightening book.

Useful and Current.......2004-06-30

I just finished this book and i found it very good. The five chapters take specific topics such as: 'Medium and Materiality' and 'Context as Subject' and flesh them out in relation to a larger thesis on the idea of the 'contingent object.' Also i found it useful that when they mentioned artwork, they generally had a picture (B+W) of it (unlike some books which dont provide a picture or show a different piece altogether! ) A good overview of the interrelations between minimalism, performance, conceptual art and contemporary art. Asks lots of questions but doesn't attempt to answer them all (i find this useful, others may find it annoying) Recommeneded if you want to know more about some of the background for some contemporary art theory and practices. Good balance of female and male artists.

The Contingent Object of Contemporary Art

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The Contingent Object of Contemporary Art
M Buskirk
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQTKAQ

Contingent Object of Contemporary Art, The

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Contingent Object of Contemporary Art, The
Martha Buskirk
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OR0UOU

Book Description

This anthology presents material selected from the collection of Angel Hair magazine and books edited by Anne Waldman and Lewis Warsh between 1966 and 1978. Included are substantial sections of writing--in some cases entire books--from an impressive range of poets including Clark Coolidge, Alice Notley, Hannah Weiner, Robert Creeley, Bernadette Mayer, Kenward Elmslie, Tom Clark, Joanne Kyger, Bill Berkson, Ted Greenwald, Lorenzo Thomas, John Wieners, Joe Brainard, Ron Padgett, as well as Waldman and Warsh, among many others. From the nascent St. Mark's Poetry Project on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Bolinas and Boulder, Angel Hair published an idiosyncratic cross-section of innovative writing in distinctive format, becoming one of the longest-lived and most influential publishers on the small press scene. The anthology of literary writings is supplemented with brief memoirs by more than twenty writers, and the book also includes an annotated checklist by Aaron Fischer and Steven Clay that comprises a citation and photograph of each of the approximately eighty books, magazines, broadsides and catalogues issued by the Press.

Angel Hair Sleeps with a Boy in My Head: The Angel Hair Anthology.

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Angel Hair Sleeps with a Boy in My Head: The Angel Hair Anthology.
Anne and Lewis Warsh, Emilie Clark, Clark Coolidge, Lyn Hejinian. Waldman
Manufacturer: Granary Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UWUNAU

Book Description

Tom is not your average tourist. When he sneezes, he blows the leaves off every tree in Central Park. When he walks downtown, he snarls traffic. And he sleeps on top of the Empire State Building! But Tom loves the big city, and he's determined to land a job there. Can he find a way to fit in? Torres's snappy text and sleek, comic book-style illustrations is sure to delight readers young and old. In six volumes. spectacularly drawn. . .[with] a Where's Waldo?-meets-Tintin look. --Publisher's Weekly

Book Description

To make great animation, you need to know how to control a whole world: how to make a character, how to make that character live and be happy or sad. You need to create four walls around them, a landscape, the sun and moon - a whole life for them. You have to get inside that puppet and first make it live, then make it perform.

Susannah Shaw provides the first truly practical introduction to the craft skills of model animation. This is a vital book in the development of model animation which, following the success of Aardman's first full-length film 'Chicken Run',is now at the forefront of modern animation.

Illustrated in full colour throughout you are shown step by step how to create successful model animation. Starting with some basic exercises, readers will learn about developing a story, making models, creating sets and props, the mechanics of movement, filming, post production and how to set about finding that elusive first job in a modern studio.

* A full-colour, practical introduction to the craft skills of model animation
* Benefit from the advice of top international animators such as Nick Park and Tim Hittle
* The only book to provide a model animator with all they need to know to work in a modern studio

Customer Reviews:

Concise guide for anyone interested in stop-motion.......2005-09-25

While it is not a substitute for hands on experience it will get you up to speed. This book is a fantastic introduction to anyone interested in this subject. Students of the art will get a basic primer to all facets of the stop-motion process. If it is not provided as college course reading you should pick up a copy for your self studying.

Great Illustrated Instructions.......2005-09-11

As a visual person, I learn well when I see things demonstrated visually. That's why I like this book; lots of nice four-color photos of armatures, puppets, techniques for building them in great detail. What other book provides a close-up image of an armature joint? The language is a bit difficult to understand at times, because it is written and published in Britian, but that just confirms its authenticity. England is a world stop-motion mecca as home to Aardman Animations, creators of "Wallace and Gromit." I highly recommend this book to anyone interested specifically in stop-motion puppet animation.

Excellent informative book.......2004-01-14

I am in the middle of producing my own stop motion film and this book has really helped guide my production.... from creating armatures to set construction to animation... this book has a little of everything for those of us who have chosen this "lost art" of stop motion animation. This is a great book for anyone that is serious about getting their stop motion film made... I am constantly referring back to it because it is loaded with useful information. So I would definetly reccomend this book to anyone interested in making their own stop motion animation.

Great Book.......2003-12-26

This is a truly wonderful book, Susannah and Focal Press should be applauded for putting out a stop motion book in these CGI saturated times. I couldn't fault it in any way and I would say it should be a must have for any stop motion enthusiast. Susannah definately knows her stuff, I found it easy to follow the tips were great and there is heaps of information to study.

Sub Par.......2003-12-01

I had high expectations for this book. I have studied almost every stop motion book there is and I have to say this is nothing special. There are a few tips in it that I found enlightening but not enough to hold the whole book. Although the author seems knowledgable in the field, she does not put her instructions across clearly. I found it difficult to follow in that she gives a bit of info and then directs you to looks in later chapters, when writing instruction/how-to books it is wise to put things in order so thats the more basic blocks of info are placed at the beginning so you can refer BACK. And perhaps this book may be a tad more useful to readers in the UK, as the author refers mostly to UK companies and retailers for supplies. Over all I feel that there are a few things in this book that are useful and can not be found in other books. Perhaps if you already have a collection (such as myself) it is nice to own to compliment other books, but as a stand alone it falls short of being very helpful.

Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation

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Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation
Susannah Shaw
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQ2T4K

Entertainment, Education, and the Hard Sell: Three Decades of Network Children's Television
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Entertainment, Education, and the Hard Sell: Three Decades of Network Children's Television
Joseph Turow
Manufacturer: Praeger Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Media Studies | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Children | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 027590735X

Book Description

Cancer and You explains what cancer is, in a clear unassuming way, and thus encourage the reader to be less frightened of confronting the disease. The main causes of cancer are discussed and changes in lifestyle which could significantly lessen the risk of developing cancer are indicated. This book provides useful information for anyone on how to stack the odds against cancer

Customer Reviews:

Clarity itself.......2007-07-18

I confess I often find military history very hard to follow with all those ridges, flanks, obstacles and maps that never seem to correspond to what you are reading. This book is clarity itself and explains the campaigns from a number of points of view, giving clear assessments, which one can agree or disagree with, but will surely respect as having been made thoughtfully. An admirable little book.

Excellent Overview .......2007-04-03

This book languished on my "to read" stack, always getting pushed down as "better books" arrived. On trips through the area, I would resolve to read this next but never did. After hearing the author speak on Johnston, resolve became action. I must confess this is the "better book" and should have been read sooner.

This is what a campaign overview should be. Intelligently written, directly to the point with enough detail to sustain the story without slowing the narration. Mr. McMurry has an excellent in-depth understanding of the subject. This allows him to combine information and insight that informs and entertains at the same time. He easily places the campaign within the context of the war and the people within their inter-personal histories. The personalities and how they relate or fail to relate is the heart of the CSA's problem and the seeds of the questions we still ask. The Confederate Army of Tennessee is a study in management failure; McMurry gives these problems a national perspective by linking them to Davis' personality. This provides an answer to the South's inability to find new generals that was crippling her by 1864.

The maps are campaign level and linked to the chapter. They were detailed enough to meet the needs of movement but do not provide a campaign level picture. There are no battle maps, this is a campaign overview and battle maps, while nice, are not required. I found the author to be to hard on Grant in saying that his 1864 strategy failed. Few would consider it a resounding success but total failure is overly harsh. The North is winning because they fond at least two good fighting generals. The South is losing because they cannot find more than one.

If you require a well written, intelligent and fun to read overview of the Atlanta Campaign, this is it.

For God's Sake, Get Some Maps!!!!.......2006-12-13

This book is extremely well written and a great read. It also provides a good overview of the entire campaing. Perhaps the best part however, is the analysis of all the principal players and grand strategies. My one complaint which, seems to be problematic in most military books, is the lack of adequate maps. There are only about 4 in the entire book and they are pretty horrible. None of them show troop positions and movements which, I find to be crucial to fully grasping the situation. I actually had to make my own maps and pencil in troops based on his descriptions just ot get a visual. Needless, to say this was very painstaking and annoying. Overall however, it's a good book.

latest monday morning quarterbacking,complete with former privates appointed armchair generals........2006-09-29

this is a digest since all the facts of the Atlanta campaign couldn't be covered in 200 pages. From the start when the author suggested that the liberation of Andersonville Prison in southern Georgia would have given the Yankees another couple of thousand soldiers i had to question it since Andersonville was a "humanitarain disaster". Indeed if Sherman had freed up this camp he would have had such a handful he wouldn't have been able to fight Johnson's army at all. That is why he choose to ignore it,he knew what was there but he never mentioned it and only sent a light cavalry raid to attempt it.Twelve thousand internees living virtually in their own sewage would not have been a positive addition to his army.Joe Johnson was a counter-puncher and we'll never know what he would have done,cause even at Richmond when he struck the Yanks a few miles from Richmond,he was wounded and Lee took over.The private confederate soldier may have griped at Johnson but at as they say,"a griping soldier is a happy soldier",not like the silent fear the troops had when Hood took over. I've read the memoirs of CSA soldier Sam Watkins and according to him Joe Johnson was loved like a father cause despite the marching and entrenching he spared his soldiers lives.Hood was represented by some accounts as addicted to painkillers and became more aggressive the more body parts he lost.A fine brigade commander but as the "Peter Principle" states,promoted beyond his capacity.His promotion shows how desperate the Confederacy was in fact.Nevermind the northern 1864 elections,the south was even more in need of a victory.On the other hand the author does point out that Hood tried to attack the Yanks when they were moving before they could get entrenched,so his attacks at Atlanta were not completely insane,unless you were in the attacking formation.The fog of war always bad was even worse,during the Civil War remember there are no walkie-talkies so a commander must count on a certain amount of chaos in troop movements. Johnson on the other hand kept things pretty simple and compact and the Confederate Army was an intact force when Hood took it over.When Hood was relieved after his failure to defeat Sherman it was little more than a "third column". I did like the way the author stressed the different railroad connections and their importance in the campaign,strategy over tactics. unfortuneately for the confederate army the north was alot better equipped to implement theirs.

Joe Johnson, Hood, and Sherman at Atlanta........2006-03-28

Another book that tackles the subject of who lost Atlanta. Joe Johnson certainly set the stage by retreating and not seriously contesting Sherman's movements toward one of the South's largest cities. Johnson thought Sherman would charge his entrenched positions, and Sherman had no desire to take thousands of casualties. So the move toward Atlanta was one of feints and flanking movements which resulted in Sherman moving closer to Atlanta and Johnson giving up valuable real estate.

This is a nicer book than Atlanta will Fall, because it is less harsh on Joe Johnson. It is charitable to both Johnson and Hood, although it does point the finger at both for losing Atlanta. Hood is depicted as a cavilier soldier who aggressiveness would result in thousands of Army of Tennessee soldiers deaths.

This is a short read, and although a little revisionist, it backs its arguments up with solid facts, as noted in the Appendixes. A good, solid read about Sherman's drive to Atlanta.

Atlanta 1864: Last Chance for the Confederacy.

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Atlanta 1864: Last Chance for the Confederacy.
RICHARD M.: McMURRY
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UD4EAO

Atlanta 1864: Last Chance for the Confederacy. (Book Reviews).(Brief Article): An article from: Journal of Southern History

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Atlanta 1864: Last Chance for the Confederacy. (Book Reviews).(Brief Article): An article from: Journal of Southern History
John F. Marszalek
Manufacturer: Southern Historical Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008EUWEC
Release Date: 2005-07-29

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Southern Historical Association on February 1, 2002. The length of the article is 594 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Atlanta 1864: Last Chance for the Confederacy. (Book Reviews).(Brief Article)
Author: John F. Marszalek
Publication: Journal of Southern History (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 2002
Publisher: Southern Historical Association
Volume: 68 Issue: 1 Page: 187(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Atlanta 1864: Last Chance for the Confederacy
Richard M. McMurry
Manufacturer: UNIV OF NE + PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UCVGJ2

Book Description

What if modern society put a priority on the material security of its citizens and the ecological integrity of its resource base? What if it took ecological constraint as a given, not a hindrance but a source of long-term economic security? How would it organize itself, structure its industry, shape its consumption?

Across time and across cultures, people actually have adapted to ecological constraint. They have changed behavior; they have built institutions. And they have developed norms and principles for their time. Today's environmental challenges -- at once global, technological, and commercial -- require new behaviors, new institutions, and new principles.

In this highly original work, Thomas Princen builds one such principle: sufficiency. Sufficiency is not about denial, not about sacrifice or doing without. Rather, when resource depletion and overconsumption are real, sufficiency is about doing well. It is about good work and good governance; it is about goods that are good only to a point.

With examples ranging from timbering and fishing to automobility and meat production, Princen shows that sufficiency is perfectly sensible and yet absolutely contrary to modern society's dominant principle, efficiency. He argues that seeking enough when more is possible is both intuitive and rational -- personally, organizationally, and ecologically rational. And under global ecological constraint, it is ethical. Over the long term, an economy -- indeed a society -- cannot operate as if there's never enough and never too much.

Customer Reviews:

A powerful argument, with loads of insight and examples.......2006-10-19

This is a very well-written book, whose importance cannot be emphasized strongly enough. It deserves to be read widely, not only by academics and policy makers, but by all those who are concerned with the status quo and know that something has to change in our way of doing things, but have a hard time seeing how. As a whole, the book presents a detailed and compelling response to those who think there is ultimately no better way to solve the world's problems than to create better technologies, expand the economy, and let the markets solve the problems of displaced or hidden costs to the environment.

Princen shows, first, that the logic of efficiency (according to which maximizing goods and minimizing costs tends to be the ultimate argument for doing things) is only one among many approaches to good reasoning, and that its predominance came about as a result of a good deal of struggle and support by a wide range of institutions. It is also deceptive, in that there are always hidden costs and unexpected outcomes when a given efficiency is instituted. Suppose, for example, that we achieve the goal of more fuel efficient cars. Does that guarantee we will have less pollution and use less gas? Maybe it will mean more people will drive more often (using more energy and creating greater pollution in total even if not individually) and there will be a greater need for roads and higher numbers of fatalities on these roads. Moreover, such an achievement may help obscure and prolong some the many problems that are at least in part caused and supported by global fuel dependency and the need to constantly find new oil sources and to transport oil across the world: oil spills, destruction of ecosystems, not to mention worldwide conflict and economic inequality, even religious strife. The point is that we live in a complex world, where maximizing one variable can have an unexpected impact on other variables; or worse, where the choice of which variable gets maximized can be deliberately picked in order to obscure other outcomes that are less palatable. The "logic of efficiency" and "cost-benefit analysis" approaches to decision making are in the end not efficient and rarely take into account the real costs of the practices they endorse.

As an alternative (not as a replacement, but as a viable but different approach), Princen offers the logic of sufficiency, a principled extension of the commonsense intuition that sometimes enough is enough. Just because we can build faster cars, does that mean we should? Just because we can extract oil from the Alaskan wilderness, does that mean it is incumbent upon us to do so? The answers to these questions are complicated, but sometimes, under the sway of the logic of efficiency, we seem to forget to ask or we assume that the answers are obvious: if it makes things cheaper, or faster, or gets us more of what we want, then of course we should! But we are often unprepared for the "side effects" of such improvements -- like urban sprawl and increased crime, or (to pick another example) the spread of disease that came as a side effect of our convenient and inexpensive new methods for delivering fresh spinach.

What is perhaps most distinctive and worthwhile about Princen's book is that he shows the logic of sufficiency is not just a principle. It underlies what a number of flourishing communities have done in order to avoid the losses to their livelihoods and communities that they saw would follow if they followed the trends of maximizing profits and goods. They saw that in order to maintain their lifestyles they had to draw limits and restrain themselves. He deliberately chooses what he terms "hard cases" -- not those who deliberately isolate themselves from the modern world for ideological or religious reasons -- but companies and communities who, for both reasons of self-interest and as a result of their unique circumstances were led to make decisions that go against the grain of "progress" and "growth" and in the direction of sufficiency and sustainability. Princen sees the stories he tells of such peoples as reason to hope that as the rest of us grasp our own increasing dependence on a precarious and limited set of natural resources we will also begin to think differently and will come also to decide that enough is enough. Thomas Princen has written a very important and hopeful book, full of insight and thoughtful argument that can help guide us through such a transition. Highly recommended.

Princen Presents Powerful Argument Challenging Status Quo.......2005-10-27

Thomas Princen presents a unique view on sustainability, introducing and developing the concept of sufficiency while using a creative and original style of writing.

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The Logic of Sufficiency
Thomas Princen
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OR0YHI

Book Description

Swan Keeper's Handbook: A Guide to the Care of Captive Swans serves as a guide to the care of swans by nonveterinary practitioners in captive settings such as hotels, motels, resorts, golf courses, zoos, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and private collection sites. The book addresses such practical information as history, feeding, breeding, pairing, preparation of temporary pens for introduction to ponds or lakes, predators, habitat development and maintenance, and the overall care of swans (including English Mute, Polish Mute, Black-Necked, Black, Trumpeter, and Mearl) with additional information on other swan species. Includes 259 color photographs.

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The Mute Swan (Shire Natural History)
Janet Kear
Manufacturer: Shire Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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Swan Keeper's Handbook: A Guide to the Care of Captive Swans
Swans of the World: In Nature, History, Myth and Art

ASIN: 0852639481

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The Mute Swan
Olivia E. Henderson
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1419662481
Release Date: 2007-03-09

Book Description

Set in eighteenth century Ireland, The Mute Swan is the story of a nine-year-old boy separated from his parents, as well as any sense of belonging. When he and his older sister are forced to leave their boarding school and live with a mysterious cousin they have never met, they feel further than ever from a reunion with their parents. Will they ever solve the mystery of their parents' whereabouts? What is so peculiar about the woman engaged to their cousin?

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The mute swan
John Fair
Manufacturer: Gavin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Mute Swan (Helm Field Guides)
Michael Birkhead , and Christopher Perrins
Manufacturer: Viking Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0709932596

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The Mute Swan in England
N.F. Tirehurst
Manufacturer: Cleaver-Hulme Press Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VSOKGQ

THE MUTE SWAN IN ENGLAND - Its History, and the Ancient Custom of Swan Keeping

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THE MUTE SWAN IN ENGLAND - Its History, and the Ancient Custom of Swan Keeping
Norman F. Ticehurst
Manufacturer: Cleaver-Hume Press Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CJWOL

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The mute swan in England: Its history, and the ancient custom of swan keeping
Norman F Ticehurst
Manufacturer: Cleaver-Hume Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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The mute swan in northern Michigan
W. L Gelston
Manufacturer: Myers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006YHZ76

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Mute Swans (Creatures in White Series)
Wendy Pfeffer
Manufacturer: Silver Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0382393252

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