I just visited the slightly uninspiringly titled ‘Points of View’ exhibition at the British Library, which is an exhibition of nineteenth century photography. I’ve been very impressed with the BL’s temporary exhibitions since they moved to the new site; they obviously have an absolutely staggering amount of stuff in their collections and they do a [...]
Posts tagged with ‘C19th’
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13 August 2009 – 11:00 pm
::: Early Advertising of the West, 1867-1918 :::
Endless amounts of fascinating ephemera. Check out some of the sample searches on the right. via Coudal, I think.
(del.icio.us tags: advertising USA C19th )
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1 January 2009 – 10:00 pm
Solargraphs show half a year of sun – New Scientist
'These pinhole photographs, exposed for six months, capture the journey of the sun from the winter to the summer solstice.' Cool and completely beautiful.
(del.icio.us tags: Bristol photography )
What killed Dr Granville’s mummy? – New Scientist
interesting little article about a Victorian mummy dissection
(del.icio.us tags: Egypt mummies C19th [...]
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31 December 2008 – 10:00 am
BibliOdyssey: Monograph of Spiders
''Monographie der Spinnen' was the first ever German monograph on spiders and one of the earliest publications anywhere devoted solely to spiders.'
(del.icio.us tags: illustration spiders C19th )
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8 November 2008 – 10:00 pm
BibliOdyssey: Exotic Moths
Old moth illustrations.
(del.icio.us tags: moths C19th )
Peregrine Falcon Acting Pretty Cocky Since Being Taken Off Endangered Species List | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source
"There was a time when many of us feared we would never see this majestic creature again, when we did everything in our power to ensure that this [...]
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29 October 2008 – 10:00 am
MTMG Victorian Sports Personality of the Year 2008 « More Than Mind Games
‘In 1876, on May 25, at David M’Garrick’s Benefit he carried off the Egg Diving (12 eggs thrown in, 2 dives allowed); first dive, 9; second dive, 10; total, 19; and the following day, May 26, he met Mr. Charles O’Malley on level [...]
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5 September 2008 – 11:01 am
Charles Darwin’s Beagle Diary - 5th September 1833
‘This is a dark picture; but how much more shocking is the unquestionable fact, that all the women who appear above twenty years old, are massacred in cold blood. I ventured to hint, that this appeared rather inhuman. He answered me, “Why what can be done, they breed so.”‘
(del.icio.us [...]
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30 August 2008 – 11:01 pm
Billys and Charleys | MetaFilter
Great post at Metafilter: 'In 1857, hundreds of strange objects suddenly started appearing in London antique shops: coins and medals, vases and statues, all made out of soft metal with weird designs and cryptic lettering. They were the work of two illiterate London mudlarks, William Smith and Charles Eaton, who managed [...]
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
27 August 2008 – 1:23 pm
The final chapter of The Origin of Species — Darwin’s ‘Recapitulation and Conclusion’ — states the case for evolution as well as any short account I have ever read. It’s tightly written, it argues a case, it summarises all the different kinds of evidence and shows clearly why they are important. It’s pithy, confident: great stuff.
Which [...]
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11 August 2008 – 11:00 am
THE ORWELL PRIZE
'The Orwell Prize, Britain’s pre-eminent prize for political writing, is publishing George Orwell’s diaries as a blog. From 9th August 2008, Orwell’s domestic and political diaries (from 9th August 1938 until October 1942) will be posted in real-time, exactly 70 years after the entries were written.'
(del.icio.us tags: GeorgeOrwell diaries 1930s )
Charles Darwin’s Beagle [...]
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9 August 2008 – 11:00 pm
the nonist: Vin Mariani
The C19th tonic wine and its celebrity endorsements.
(del.icio.us tags: cocaine wine C19th )
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22 July 2008 – 11:00 pm
cursivebuildings
Old stereoscopes animated to give a sense of depth. Via Metafilter.
(del.icio.us tags: C19th photos stereoscopic )
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2 July 2008 – 11:00 pm
The Royal Society – Article
Interesting. 'It is widely believed that Charles Darwin avoided publishing his theory of evolution for many years… This essay demonstrates that Darwin's delay is… overwhelmingly contradicted by the historical evidence.' via Carl Zimmer
(del.icio.us tags: C19th CharlesDarwin evolution history )
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9 May 2008 – 10:00 am
Charles Darwin’s Beagle Diary: 9th May 1833
After a period of being a bit dull, Darwin's Beagle diary livens up as he goes ashore and meets some gauchos. "I here found out I possessed two or three things which created unbounded astonishment. — Principally a small pocket compass."
(del.icio.us tags: C19th CharlesDarwin Uruguay history )
Millais at the Tate
13 January 2008 – 12:15 am
I went to see the Millais at the Tate today. After my scathing comments about the Pre-Raphs last year, it may not surprise you that I was a bit half-hearted about visiting this. But I’ve got a Tate membership, so I didn’t have to pay, and the exhibition is about to close; so I thought [...]
Moby Dick
6 January 2008 – 11:39 am
I thought I ought to reread some of those Great Novels which are sitting on my shelves and I haven’t read for years. I’m not sure why I picked up Moby Dick in particular, but after a few pages I was thinking oh, man, I’d forgotten how funny this book is, and so brilliantly written. [...]
All Persons Visiting the Whale
5 December 2007 – 10:32 am
More from the ephemera collection at the British Library. You might also want to look at the Wonder of the Sea and American Jack, the Frog Man. Not to mention A.H. Minting, the Marvellous Spiral Ascensionist.
The Mammoth Brigade of Black Comedians
5 December 2007 – 10:25 am
More fascinating stuff from the British Library collection; this poster is from 1892.
Did he who made the lamb make thee?
28 November 2007 – 3:34 pm
Today is William Blake’s 250th birthday. Happy birthday, William.
The Chimney-Sweeper
A little black thing among the snow,
Crying ‘weep, weep’ in notes of woe!
‘Where are thy father and mother? Say!’
‘They are both gone up to the church to pray.
‘Because I was happy upon the heath,
And smiled among the winter’s snow,
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And [...]
Darwin waxing lyrical
24 October 2007 – 10:58 am
Charles Darwin was in an unusually poetical mood 175 years ago today:
The night was pitch dark, with a fresh breeze. — The sea from its extreme luminousness presented a wonderful & most beautiful appearance; every part of the water, which by day is seen as foam, glowed with a pale light. The vessel drove before [...]
A bit of Dickens
1 September 2007 – 10:04 am
I’m just reading Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend (main comment so far: there are about a million characters and I can’t remember who is who), and came across this little gem. Silas Wegg has been offered some money to go and read a book for Mr Boffin, who’s illiterate.
“Half a crown,” said Wegg, meditating. “Yes. (It [...]
The funniest thing on the internet
22 August 2007 – 12:57 pm
I was googling around for pictures of Satan the other day for the Satanic Verses post, and found myself at the Art Renewal Center, which, to be fair, is an extremely good source for pictures of fine art. In fact, I think I’ve been there before and assumed that was their entire raison d’être. But [...]
Shelley the lost Victorian
6 September 2006 – 1:00 pm
Well, I’ve finished Richard Holmes’s Shelley:The Pursuit. I didn’t find it as gripping as his superb biography of Coleridge, but it became more enjoyable as it went along. Mainly, I think, because Shelley became much more likeable as he matured personally, politically and poetically. Not that he became less radical, or completely lost the restlessness [...]