These all dated from an earlier time, and Columbus knew they represented the wishful thinking of a brief era.

But the tea set, by Gorham, was from a brief era at the turn of the century when the firm didn't label its sterling.

Or to put it another way, our brief era of big surpluses seems to have been a fluke.

This initiated a very brief era of competition between American and British fur traders.

My youngest child is almost grown, and I am astonished at how brief this era, almost past, has been.

But before this brief era of innovation passes, it is worth looking at these ventures into novelty.

During the brief era of that line-up, they toured UK.

After a brief winning era in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team suffered through 14 consecutive losing seasons.

These acts earned the king the respect of the general populace, and the country enjoyed a brief era of peace.

The brief era of cooperation on the economy, fraying around the edges for days, all but fell apart in Washington yesterday.