This took place around the year 1585 as. However, these are not a genuine ship, but a good working model of Augsburg which can be hiking on special occasions over the table. Thus the elector could impress his guests. But we also learn from them something that is historically significant: At that time the power of the emperor was no longer as great as in the Middle Ages. The ship should show with his movement that one can lead a state scientific or mechanically (a bit like God obviously dominates the world). The state also needs to be just a competent helmsman!
The 100 objects that are presented in the book, ranging from the first stone tools from East Africa to the modern credit card. There are respectively the historical background, comments by experts or artists and references to further literature leading to the individual objects.
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I liked the book very much. You learn a lot about the history and how it is sometimes exploited for political purposes. Sometimes the development of a society is reflected in its objects again. So Abd al-Malik has marked the first Caliph coins course a portrait of him show. Just one year later, the religious forces had enforced and there is place images only verses from the Koran on the coins.
