Composite and multiple-text manuscripts are traditionally studied for their individual texts, but recent trends in codicology have paved the way for a more comprehensive approach: Manuscripts are unique artefacts which reveal how they were produced and used as physical objects. While multiple-text manuscripts codicologically are to be considered as production units, i.e. they were originally planned and realized in order to carry more than one text, composites consist of formerly independent codicological units and were put together at a later stage with intentions that might be completely different from those of its original parts. Both sub-types of manuscripts are still sometimes called "miscellanies", a term relating to the texts only. The codicological difference is important for reconstructing why and how these manuscripts which in many cases resemble (or contain) a small library were produced and used. Contributions on the manuscript cultures of China, India, Africa, the Islamic world and European traditions lead not only to the conclusion that "one-volume libraries" have been produced in many manuscript cultures, but allow also for the identification of certain types of uses.

During the late eighteenth century, a musical–cultural phenomenon swept the globe. The English square piano—invented in the early 1760s by an entrepreneurial German guitar maker in London—not only became an indispensable part of social life, but also inspired the creation of an expressive and scintillating repertoire. Square pianos reinforced music as life’s counterpoint, and were played by royalty, by musicians of the highest calibre and by aspiring amateurs alike. On Sunday, 13 May 1787, a square piano departed from Portsmouth on board the Sirius, the flagship of the First Fleet, bound for Botany Bay. Who made the First Fleet piano, and when was it made? Who owned it? Who played it, and who listened? What music did the instrument sound out, and within what contexts was its voice heard? What became of the First Fleet piano after its arrival on antipodean soil, and who played a part in the instrument’s subsequent history? Two extant instruments contend for the title ‘First Fleet piano’; which of these made the epic journey to Botany Bay in 1787–88? The First Fleet Piano: A Musician’s View answers these questions, and provides tantalising glimpses of social and cultural life both in Georgian England and in the early colony at Sydney Cove. The First Fleet piano is placed within the musical and social contexts for which it was created, and narratives of the individuals whose lives have been touched by the instrument are woven together into an account of the First Fleet piano’s conjunction with the forces of history. View ‘The First Fleet Piano: Volume Two Appendices’. Note: Volume 1 and 2 are sold as a set ($180 for both) and cannot be purchased separately.

ARCHIE AND ME VOL. 2 is the second of a chronological collection of titles featuring the classic series. This is presented in the new higher-end format of Archie Comics Presents, which offers 200+ pages at a value while taking a design cue from successful all-ages graphic novels. For 161 issues, Archie's craziest interactions with Riverdale High principal Mr. Weatherbee were showcased in this classic series. Now the first dozen are collected here!

The Eleventh Doctor showed the Bad Wolf Empress a.k.a. Rose Tyler the truth about the hypocrisy of her empire. Meanwhile, the Eighth Doctor and the original Rose attempted to destabilize the empress’s army, but were thwarted by her second-in-command, D’Pau, who had secured his own army of Sontarans…!

Picking up right where volume three left off! Battle Pope is in big trouble when God finds out about the time he spent with Mary over Christmas. Fire and brimstone fly as the stage is set for the battle of the millennium, BATTLE POPE vs. GOD! Now presented in FULL-COLOR! Collects BATTLE POPE #12-14