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A Compendium of Curious Contraptions

£14.99

Guess what some of the most unusual objects from history were used for in this book by archaeologist Anna Goldfield!

In Stock

ISBN: 9781916745032 Category: Children's - Non-Fiction Tags: Children's / Teenage general interest: General knowledge & trivia, Children's / Teenage general interest: Machines & how things work, Educational: Social sciences, social studies
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Description

An illustrated guide to some of the most bizarre objects from history by archaeologist Anna Goldfield, including a guessing game for kids to play!

Each page contains a mystery item from the past, with a set of clues as to what it was used for. Readers can take a guess before unfolding a giant flap to reveal the answer. Without giving too much away, the book contains Inuit snow goggles, designed to protect eyes from the blinding glare of the ice, an ancient Chinese earthquake detector featuring several metal frogs, and err.. the Royal fistula – an item used to perform delicate surgery on the rear end of King Louis XIV of France.

Kids will delight in trying to work out the purpose of the beautiful objects, brought to life by Mexican illustrator Paula Zamudio, and will learn a lot about the cultures that created them – from ancient Rome to Polynesia, and Mesopotamia to Viking Scandinavia.

Additional information

Weight 0.68 kg
Dimensions 28.8 × 23.6 × 1.8 cm
Author

Goldfield, Anna

Publisher

Neon Squid

Imprint

Neon Squid

Cover

Hardback

Pages

64

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

909 (edition:23)

Readership

Children – juvenile / Code: J

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✨JANUARY BOOK CLUB ✨

Huge thank you to everyone who has joined us for our book clubs throughout 2025! Next year, we're kicking off with Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Suntano. Booksellers Lydia and Lily will be hosting this one and they can't wait to see you all! 📚

Tickets and more information available on our website, via the link in our bio, or ask in-store and our booksellers can get you registered. As always, there are three sessions with complimentary tickets available if needed. 🎟️

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WHAT ARE OUR BOOKWORMS GIFTING THIS SEASON?

Get some inspo from our booksellers for the ultimate winter gift this year - if you really can't decide, don't forget we have Christmas Eve boxes available to order and have shipped to you too!

#bookhaul #indiebookstore #bookrecs #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #booktok #indiebookshop

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CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS! ❄️🎅

We have extended our opening hours over the christmas period to aid in your gift shopping (or for a quick drink refuel drink between busy markets!).

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FESTIVE MENU UPDATE 🎄☕

We have a wide variety of seasonal offerings on the menu this December, from Christmas club sandwiches to mince pie blondies, there is something for eveyone!

We are also now serving Mulled Wine and Baileys (either on its own or in a hot drink) which are the perfect finishing touch to a day full of christmas shopping!*

*Alcohol is only served from 12pm Thurs-Sun (until NYE). We operate Think 25 policy and reserve the righ to refuse service to anyone without ID.

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House of Books & Friends is thrilled to welcome Rhonda Carrier and Tracey Davies on Thursday 29th January at 6pm to discuss their new book, ‘Wayward Women: Sex, Friendship and the Midlife Reset‘.

Tickets at the link in our bio!

As always, we have a limited amount of complimentary tickets for this event for anyone who needs it. Please contact us directly at bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.com or call 07597365380.

About the book

Wayward Women is a unique, searingly honest, devastatingly raw two-person memoir about the friendship, travels and sex lives of two fiftysomething women finding their way again after divorce.

It’s an entertaining, emotional and geographical journey that bounces around the world from Florida to India, Lapland to Hong Kong, as the authors -both leading travel writers – relay their experiences as midlife women – love, loss, parenthood, divorce, menopause – along with the tales of the inspirational women they meet along the way, and the growth of their friendship.

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We’ve had the pleasure of hosting The Inspiring Leadership Podcast here at House of Books & Friends before, so we're always looking forward to seeing which guests appear and what takeaways each episode brings.

Well, in this latest episode, guest John Amaechi OBE delivers a book-full of insights, quite literally, as he’s also just released a new title. John shares his thoughts on perseverance, mental health, growth mindset, his favourite side of social media, and even reveals the book that has had the most profound impact on his life and way of thinking.

And for those who want to dive even deeper, John’s brilliant new book, It’s Not Magic, is available now.

Listen or watch the episode on YouTube now; link in bio 🔊


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