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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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House of Books & Friends is excited to welcome Rozie Kelly to the store on 16th April at 6pm to discuss her book, Kingfisher, which has just been longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026. As well as a discussion on her book, there will also be a Q&A, plus the chance to get your books signed by Rozie. Rozie will be in conversation with Sara Hunt, publisher at Saraband.

Tickets and info can be found at the link in our bio πŸ–€

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March 8th marks International Women’s Day! This is a day to celebrate the achievements of women and is a call for gender equality. At House of Books and Friends we have taken the opportunity to recommend books FOR women BY women that are available both in-store and online, in order to raise awareness for women’s issues, but also just to showcase talented women writers.♀️

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With International Women's Day coming up, we thought we'd draw your attention to Virago, a publishing house which has been uplifting female authors for over 50 years! We stock plenty of their editions instore, swipe to read a little about them! πŸ’œπŸ’œ

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House of Books & Friends is thrilled to welcome Sheena Kalayil on Thursday 30th April at 6pm to discuss her book, β€˜The Others’, recently longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Tickets and info available at the link in our bio 

About the book

Secrets, lies and love as the DDR collapses. 

It is 1989, and in a small Baltic city in East Germany, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, three young people from vastly different backgrounds become friends. Armando is a factory worker from Mozambique, Lolita is a medical student from India, and Theo is an East Berliner who dreams of being a writer.

When Armando and Lolita make a grisly discovery, they find themselves caught up in the politics of Theo’s homeland more than ever before. While a quiet revolution sweeps through Eastern Europe, and the Berlin Wall teeters, the three find themselves entangled in a poignant love triangle which threatens their futures.

As the world order shifts, their three lives are bound together in a web of love, lies and fears, leaving each irrevocably changed.

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Congratulations to all the publishers and authors who have made it on to the Women's Prize for Fiction! A special shoutout to three titles on the list:

Marcia Hutchinson, who hosted the launch of The Mercy Step here at HOBAF πŸ’š
Rozie Kelly, who's title Kingfisher was one of our booksellers favourite books from 2025 🐦
Sheena Kalayil, published through Fly on the Wall Press, who may be visiting us very soon...πŸ‘€

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MEET OUR BOOKSELLERS πŸ“šπŸΌ

Would you trust THESE faces to make HOBAF the welcoming hub of books and brews it is? We are lucky they stayed so cute, as well as so curious about what makes a community like ours shine 🌟


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