Temples Of Luxury

"This two volume collection of British primary sources examines luxury institutions such as hotels and department stores in the long nineteenth century. This period was marked not only by an increase of individual consumerism but also by the institutionalisation of opulent, often purpose-built spaces of consumption. This edition seeks to explore a fascinating but hitherto often neglected side of the British nineteenth century by bringing together a collection of annotated primary texts and visual material documenting these "temples of luxury" as they were seen by their contemporaries"--

This two-volume collection of British primary sources examines institutions such as hotels, inns, arcades, bazaars, co-operatives, shops and department stores in the long nineteenth century, which were often coded as ‘luxurious’. This period was marked not only by an increase of individual consumerism but also by the institutionalisation of opulent, often purpose-built spaces such as the much-admired new grand hotels, supposedly an American invention, and department stores, modelled on the French grands magasins. These environments were tied to leisure (no longer a prerogative of the upper classes) and thus to modernity. In addition to addressing the luxurious side of these institutions, including architectural innovation and interior decoration, we also consider the other side of luxury, examining the experience of staff and period debates over the morality of consumption. This edition seeks to explore a fascinating but hitherto often neglected side of the British nineteenth century by bringing together a collection of annotated primary texts and visual material documenting these ‘temples of luxury’ as they were seen by their contemporaries.

This volume examines hotels, inns, restaurants, and travelling on luxurious trains and ships. The volume also explores social rituals, consumer culture, and issues of class and gender as well as the institutions of travelling for health, education, or any other purpose.

The book provides highlights on the key concepts and trends of evolution in History of Temples and Churches in China, as one of the series of books of “China Classified Histories”.

The beautiful State of Maharashtra is blessed with thousands of temples which include those dedicated to Jyotir Lingams, Shakti Peetams and Ashta Vinayak. With Temples of Maharashtra – A Travel Guide, we embark on a spiritually fulfilling journey to some of the most sacred places of worship that dot the map of the State with tremendous diversity, traversing along rugged mountain ranges and banks of holy rivers to rural interiors and the urban expanse of metropolitan cities. Pilgrimages are a way of life for the spiritually inclined Hindus, who believe that Bhakthi is the pathway that will lead them to Moksha or salvation With an aim to assist the religious tourist in planning and executing visits to these pilgrimage sites with comparative ease, the contents of this book are entirely information-driven with useful details about location, temple timings, myths, legends, specific description of the deity, history, architecture and festivals of the prominent temple sites in Maharashtra.

This comprehensive survey of indigenous languages of the New World introduces students and general readers to the mosaic of American Indian languages and cultures and offers an approach to grasping their subtleties. Authors Silver and Miller demonstrate the complexity and diversity of these languages while dispelling popular misconceptions. Their text reveals the linguistic richness of languages found throughout the Americas, emphasizing those located in the western United States and Mexico while drawing on a wide range of other examples from Canada to the Andes. It introduces readers to such varied aspects of communicating as directionals and counting systems, storytelling, expressive speech, Mexican Kickapoo whistle speech, and Plains sign language. The authors have included the basics of grammar and historical linguistics while emphasizing such issues as speech genres and other sociolinguistic issues and the relation between language and worldview. American Indian Languages: Cultural and Social Contexts is a comprehensive resource that will serve as a text in undergraduate and lower-level graduate courses on Native American languages and provide a useful reference for students of American Indian literature or general linguistics. It also introduces general readers interested in Native Americans to the amazing diversity and richness of indigenous American languages.

Matt Erlin considers books and the culture around books during this period, focusing specifically on Germany where literature, and the fine arts in general, were the subject of soul-searching debates over the legitimacy of luxury.