BOOKS ON decoration and design seldom get reviewed, in part because their primary purpose is to beguile through pictures - indulgent and somehow suspect. But that's precisely why such books delight; people are largely absent from their photographs, allowing unnatural perfection and a dreamy, melancholy atmosphere to prevail. Here are some treats for the eye.

IT MIGHT be the world's oldest passport photograph. A faded but reasonably distinct image of the head and shoulders of a middle-aged man, discovered in the Paris flea market, is claimed to be the oldest "photograph" of a person.

Handbags are hot once again as classic designs go on show, and on sale, to Nineties accessory fans. By John Windsor

Barefoot through the bazaar,

WHEN I was married, which feels like several incarnations ago - the sort of thing you might uncover after hypnosis - preparing for the start of the new school year was like the mobilisation of the Russian Army for the First World War. Six weeks was the bare minimum to allow supplies and transport to be in a stage approaching combat readiness. Everything had to be bought, name-taped, washed, ironed and ready almost before the end of the summer term.

Sir: Your statement that "tomorrow the President of the Board of Trade opens what amounts to an arms bazaar for South Africa" (leading article, 26 May) is a complete travesty. What I am actually doing is launching a campaign promoting a range of sectors, of which arms is not one - as your own news report makes clear.

After years of hard work, Liz Tilberis landed her dream job as editor-in-chief of the US fashion bible, 'Harper's Bazaar'. And then her doctors told her she had ovarian cancer. In this extract from her powerful new book, she tells of her battles with her body

Pat Yale tangles with Turks off the tourist trail in Urfa, and finds herself where east meets west

If there are files about him to be seen, says David Aaronovitch, he want to know whats in them

Rummaging is undoubtedly a great British tradition and many of us are never happier than when we're up to our neck in bric-a-brac at the local car boot sale. Generations have been reared on the historic jumble sale tradition. It's all part of the something for nothing, could- be-worth-a-few-million-in-a-couple-of-thousand-years, Antiques Roadshow mentality.

IT'S SNOWING steadily. The traders of Namche Bazaar have covered over their displays of Tibetan trinkets, carpets and outdoor gear with plastic sheets and are sheltering in shop doorways.

MEMBERS of a United States wrestling team went shopping at a Tehran bazaar yesterday, attracting Iranian well-wishers eager to have their photos taken with the first American sports team in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

D J Taylor heads for the Antipodes and unloads the secret cargoes of British life

Monday's book