Chris Dobson

Art History from a Different Perspective

Welcome to the Online Shop:

This page is where you will shortly be able to purchase publications from Chris Dobson, both as traditional printed publications, and in the new e-book format for direct downlad (see below). MP3 audio downloads will also be available shortly.

You will be able to purchase all formats using the Paypal 'buy now' buttons on the page. In the case of the printed publications, these are sent out first class recorded post in the UK, and standard airmail for Europe and the rest of the world, but e-books and MP3s will be available for download immediately.

San Romano
The Art of War

by Christopher Dobson

Release date 2nd edition: Spring 2012

Full colour. Language: English

To be available as an eBook and printed publication.

Prices: Available shortly

This is the second edition of the printed book first published in 2001 (ISBN: 0-9541633-0-3). It has been updated with new information and new illustrations.

San Romano, The Art of War is about the three great battle paintings by the Florentine artist, Paolo Uccello. It starts with the background to their creation: the Battle of San Romano, fought in the valley of the Arno river, on June 1st 1432, between Florence, and her 'Old Enemy' Milan and her allies. The book goes on to explain how the panels were painted, and that hidden within their imagery and perspective is a story of political rivalry, theft and murder. And by using documents recently unearthed in the archives of Florence, which shed new light on who commissioned the paintings, not only does it give us two entirely new names for the paintings, it also gives us clues to further lost works by Paolo Uccello.

In 2005, Chris was employed as a consultant for the TV programme "The Battle of San Romano", part of the series, The Private Life of a Masterpiece, produced for the BBC. He appeared in the programme, also shown on TV in the USA in late 2008.

Art and Arms
Florence, City of the Medici

The 2003 International Arms and Armour Conference Proceedings

ISBN: 0-9541633-1-1, 2003, Editor Christopher Dobson

148 Pages, 83 black and white illustrations, languages: English and Italian.

Price: £15.00 plus postage and packing

This publication contains papers from the main presentations at the 1st International Arms and Armour Conference, held in Florence in 2003:

General: David Edge, 'Treasures of the Medici in the Wallace Collection'.

Western Martial Arts: Gary Stewart, 'Hiding in Plain Sight, and Introduction to Francesco Alfieri's "La Scherma"', Matthew Easton, 'Fior di Battaglia, the Martial treatise of Fiore dei Liberi (c.1409)'.

Armour: Chris Dobson, 'As Tough as Old Boots? A Study of Hardened Leather Armour, Part 1: Techniques of Manufacture', Dr Alan Williams, 'The Armours of Cosimo de' Medici and His Contemporaries'.

Documents: Professor Marco Morin, 'Some Venetian Documents Related to Arms Production in the Grand Duchy in the 17th Century'.

Arms and Armour eBook 1

Armour of the English Civil Wars

by Christopher Dobson

Release date: Spring 2012

Full colour. Language: English

Price: £14.99

The release date of this eBook has been re-scheduled to allow for the inclusion of extra material. Most of the illustrations have never been published before. It is packed with information about the armour in use in England during the Civil Wars of the 17th Century, and will be essential reading for students of the Civil Wars, from those collecting antique armour, to living history enthusiasts reconstructing this pivotal period of English history.

This eBook sets the scene with a brief description of the armour in circulation before the outbreak of war, and then goes into detail about the armour used by the various types of troops on both sides of the conflict. It covers armour made by armourers working in England, and also equipment imported from the Continent: personal arms brought to England by veterans of the Thiry years' war, and muntions purchased on an industrial scale by King and Parliament. It concludes with a short section on post-war armour.

The fine detail covered will help collectors to get more out of their antique pieces, and living history enthusiasts to reconstruct their equipment with more confidence.

More details available shortly.

Arms and Armour eBook 2

What do Armourers' Marks
Really Mean?

by Christopher Dobson

Release date: Summer 2012

Language: English

Price: Available shortly

This eBook is revised and expanded from the article which first appeared in the Spring 2005 Park Lane Arms Fair catalogue. Much new research has been done since then, and this is reflected in this publication.

There is much here to interest museum curators, collectors of armour, and also general enthusiasts. As ever, this publication is full of fine academic detail, made easily accessible to the general public, without in any way 'dumbing down' the material.

More details available shortly.