Description
Dodd, Mead & Company, Published 1978. Hardcover, 95 pp.; 24 cm; First Edition (with full number line); illustrated with black-and-white photographs throughout.
Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
112
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Catalog notes
Condition & notes
In Very Good condition with a Very Good dust jacket. Yellow cloth-covered boards with brown lettering ("BELLS BELLS BELLS" stamped in three increasing sizes) on the front cover and brown lettering on the spine; mild bumping to the edges and mild shelf wear. Binding tight; pages clean and unmarked. Pop art illustrated dust jacket (vibrant bell silhouettes in yellow, lime, cyan, red, and magenta against a black ground) is price clipped, with a 1-inch tear to the paper at the top edge near the spine, a few other smaller nicks and tears, light creasing along the edges, and mild shelf wear with some color loss along the edges and spine hinges. Now in an archival quality (removable) Brodart cover.[From front jacket flap] Although bells play an important part in our lives (from baby rattles to wedding bells to funeral bells), we seldom give much thought to their origin and uses. But the making and ringing of bells did have a beginning, and the story is a fascinating one. Even more interesting are the customs, myths, and tales about bells that developed in many different countries as their popularity grew. Tracing the history of bells around the world, the author includes such topics as handbell ringing and contemporary bellringing in the United States, as well as the stories of the Liberty Bell, Big Ben, and other well-known bells. Change ringing is explained, as are the processes by which bells are cast, hung, and rung. In her research, the author visited bell foundries, interviewed carillonneurs as well as ringers of all ages, and attended concerts of all types of bells.The author's archival photographs include images supplied by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry of London, the historic foundry that cast both the Liberty Bell and Big Ben. A late-career work by Bernadine Bailey (1901-1995), the prolific Wellesley- and Sorbonne-educated children's author of more than 90 nonfiction books, whose own background as a pianist and organist informed her lifelong interest in bells.Contents: What the Bells Tell Us; The Earliest Bells and Their Uses; The Casting, Tuning, and Hanging of Bells; Bellringing, An Art, Profession, and Hobby; Carillons; The World's Most Famous Bells; "The Ringing Island"; The Liberty Bell; Index.