TheCollector
Battle of Poitiers, by Charles de Steuben, 1837, via Wikimedia Commons
undefined
9 months ago
Patterns in Humanity
Man the Hunter
Are our stereotypes about hunter-gatherer societies outdated? Seems not.
a year ago
Are our stereotypes about hunter-gatherer societies outdated? Seems not.
TheCollector
When Was the Battle of Little Bighorn?
undefined
3 months ago
TheCollector
10 English Words Borrowed from Indigenous Languages of the Americas
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
What Caused the First Opium War in China?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Why Are There Two Virginias?
undefined
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Monsters and Myths
a year ago
TheCollector
10 Must-Visit East Coast Historic Landmarks
undefined
2 weeks ago
A Collection of...
Referenda ad Senatum: November 1, 2024: Ancient Weapons, Lost Works and Roman Spooky-Stuff!
Welcome back! At last, the hiatus has ended and we are back to regular weekly posts. As we’ve done a...
a month ago
Welcome back! At last, the hiatus has ended and we are back to regular weekly posts. As we’ve done a few times before, this week I am breaking the hiatus by taking a chance to answer a few shorter questions posed by my patrons over at Patreon who are the Patres et Matres...
Dreams of Space -...
Collier's Encyclopedia Space Articles (1959)
This is a pamphlet distributed to schools to convince student and teachers to buy their...
a year ago
This is a pamphlet distributed to schools to convince student and teachers to buy their encyclopedia. It was also a nice "free" classroom supplement for teachers trying to teach about the coming space age.
This last essay is actually from 1952, it is a nice...
TheCollector
Cotton & How It Changed the World
undefined
8 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Do Individuals Move the Course of History?
Or Do They Just Ride the Wave?
2 months ago
Or Do They Just Ride the Wave?
TheCollector
How Did the Capetian Dynasty Turn France Into a Superpower?
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
8 Artists Who Defined the Roaring Twenties
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
10 Countries With the Best Second-Language English Proficiency to Relocate To
undefined
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Alexander Nevsky: Savior of the Kievan Rus’?
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
12 Perfect Christmas Gifts From Dianne B, A Postcard Set from 1983
In 1983, photographer Peter Hujar (1934–87) created Twelve Perfect Christmas Gifts from Dianne B, a...
a month ago
In 1983, photographer Peter Hujar (1934–87) created Twelve Perfect Christmas Gifts from Dianne B, a mini-portfolio of 12 postcards. Eight are by Huja, plus four in colour by Neil Winokur and a sleeve by Ken Tisa. The postcards for maverick boutique owner Dianne Benson are lovely...
TheCollector
The Metaphysics of Stoicism: 3 Key Tenets
undefined
10 months ago
TheCollector
Which Are the Best-known Castles and Churches in Trieste?
undefined
10 months ago
TheCollector
The Titans: The Greek Gods Before the Olympians
undefined
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
4 Key Techniques of 20th-Century Photography
undefined
9 months ago
TheCollector
New York’s Jewish Museum Workers Ratified Their First Contract
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Lisa Schiff Art Collection Could Hit the Auction Block
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
How Fur Trade Resulted in All-Out War: The Algonquin vs. The Iroquois
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
Lou Salomé: Friedrich Nietzsche’s Über-Woman
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
The Wonder Of Soviet Bus Stops
“The bus stops are disappearing so fast. If I come back a year from now, they could be gone,...
3 months ago
“The bus stops are disappearing so fast. If I come back a year from now, they could be gone, demolished, or rebuilt. These pictures may be all that’s left in the end. I want to give them some kind of immortality.” — Christopher Herwig, Photographer and Soviet Bus Stop Hunter ...
TheCollector
Arthur Schopenhauer’s Idealism: Is Our World Just a Dream?
undefined
2 weeks ago
Flashbak
Liverpool Kids: Surviving Inner City Life In 1975
Paul Trevor’s photographs of Liverpool in 1975 formed part of The Survival Programme, which featured...
7 months ago
Paul Trevor’s photographs of Liverpool in 1975 formed part of The Survival Programme, which featured pictures, interviews, drafts and other materials made by member of the Exit Photography Group – Nicholas Battye, Chris Steele-Perkins and Paul Trevor. Created between 1974 and...
TheCollector
Immoral Art: Hume’s “Rough Heroes” Problem
undefined
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Joachim Murat: First Horseman of Napoleon’s Empire
undefined
4 months ago
Flashbak
Ernest Hemingway’s Guide to Writing A Book From Start to Finish
“The more he learns from experience the more truly he can imagine” – Ernst Hemingway on writing,...
8 months ago
“The more he learns from experience the more truly he can imagine” – Ernst Hemingway on writing, 1935 In his October 1935 column for Esquire magazine called Monologue to the Maestro: A High Seas Letter, Ernest Hemingway (July 21, 1899–July 2, 1961) shared his tips for writing...
TheCollector
Rat Collection by Banksy Comes Up for Auction
undefined
6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Why Read Modern Books?
Now Available: Night Drew Her Sable Cloak
a year ago
Now Available: Night Drew Her Sable Cloak
History Today Feed
‘The Damascus Events’ and ‘Sea of Troubles’ review
‘The Damascus Events’ and ‘Sea of Troubles’ review
JamesHoare
Mon, 05/27/2024 - 07:00
6 months ago
‘The Damascus Events’ and ‘Sea of Troubles’ review
JamesHoare
Mon, 05/27/2024 - 07:00
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, August 4, 2023
Hey all, Fireside this week, as I look to take a bit of time to focus on getting some writing done...
a year ago
Hey all, Fireside this week, as I look to take a bit of time to focus on getting some writing done and some syllabi written before the semester begins in earnest later this week. Also before we dive in I want to note that it appears that Patreon has been having some trouble...
TheCollector
10 Lesser-Known Greek Gods & Goddesses
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Oxyrhynchus: History’s Most Revealing Rubbish Dump
undefined
8 months ago
History Today Feed
Paracelsus: Revolutionary or Mystic?
Paracelsus: Revolutionary or Mystic?
JamesHoare
Thu, 11/07/2024 - 09:38
a month ago
Paracelsus: Revolutionary or Mystic?
JamesHoare
Thu, 11/07/2024 - 09:38
TheCollector
The Silla Burial Mounds: Treasures of Korea’s Ancient Past
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
9 Historical Places to Visit in Cornwall
undefined
6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Gladiator Combat
Fact or Hollywood Fiction?
4 weeks ago
Fact or Hollywood Fiction?
TheCollector
Who Was Rosalba Carriera?
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
10 Unmissable Masterpieces in the Louvre
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
How to Read Film Like a Language
undefined
a month ago
Flashbak
Looking For Tibet And A Llama At England’s Pestalozzi Children’s Village – 1959 – 1965
We love to hear from our readers and earlier this year got a call from Len Clarke who told us about...
11 months ago
We love to hear from our readers and earlier this year got a call from Len Clarke who told us about his memories of the Pestalozzi Children’s Village in East Sussex, England, in the 1960s. Len had seen an image on Flashback of a group of Tibetan children playing ball at the...
Res Obscura
Role-playing with AI will be a powerful tool for writers and educators
Or, how well can GPT-4 simulate an acid trip in 1963?
a year ago
Or, how well can GPT-4 simulate an acid trip in 1963?
TheCollector
Baroque Art & Architecture: 6 Frequently Asked Questions
undefined
11 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
Some Day I'll Be an Aerospace Engineer (1967)
A "career book' today to inspire young people to pursue engineering. This is a little later in the...
a year ago
A "career book' today to inspire young people to pursue engineering. This is a little later in the space race but they did have a clear plan laid out for creating the engineers they might need. The school library was usually full of these career books to inspire academic...
TheCollector
Kalimantan: Indonesia’s Hidden Gem for Animal Lovers
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
London Olympics and Tony Blair’s Decision on Parthenon Marbles
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
“The Whole World Is Watching”: The 1968 Chicago Riots at the DNC
undefined
10 months ago
TheCollector
How Did Switzerland Become a Country?
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
UFOs in Art History: Is It a Spaceship or a Cloud?
undefined
7 months ago
TheCollector
Why Did the Germans Struggle in the Battle of Crete?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
It’s Complicated: Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson’s Scandalous Romance
undefined
3 weeks ago
History Today Feed
The Golden Age of Medieval Nostalgia
The Golden Age of Medieval Nostalgia
JamesHoare
Fri, 02/23/2024 - 00:00
10 months ago
The Golden Age of Medieval Nostalgia
JamesHoare
Fri, 02/23/2024 - 00:00
TheCollector
Brooklyn Museum Adds Art by Black and Asian-American Artists
undefined
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Missile Will Always Get Through.
But who is prepared to admit it?
2 weeks ago
But who is prepared to admit it?
TheCollector
6 Lesser-Known Geoglyphs Outside of Nazca
undefined
11 months ago
History Today Feed
Calling Time on BC and AD
Calling Time on BC and AD
JamesHoare
Thu, 07/25/2024 - 09:01
5 months ago
Calling Time on BC and AD
JamesHoare
Thu, 07/25/2024 - 09:01
TheCollector
Is There More to Life Than This? Beyond the Material World
undefined
6 months ago
TheCollector
The Psychology of Drawing: What Is the HTP Test?
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
Who Was Osama bin Laden?
undefined
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
What Is the History and Significance of Diwali?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Romania in WWII: An Important Part of the Eastern Front
undefined
9 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
I See The Earth! (1968)
I See The Earth! was a young adult/adult book about what technology would be like in the future. It...
over a year ago
I See The Earth! was a young adult/adult book about what technology would be like in the future. It included exploring and farming the ocean, monorails, huge cities and space exploration. The illustration in the margins are small but I rather enjoyed the space flight...
TheCollector
10 Unique Pigments That You Have Never Heard Of
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
Edie Sedgwick: Who Was Andy Warhol’s Protégé Starlet?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Cardinal Wolsey: A Life In 9 Artworks
undefined
a year ago
History Today Feed
‘As Gods Among Men’ by Guido Alfani review
‘As Gods Among Men’ by Guido Alfani review
JamesHoare
Tue, 02/06/2024 - 11:03
10 months ago
‘As Gods Among Men’ by Guido Alfani review
JamesHoare
Tue, 02/06/2024 - 11:03
TheCollector
7 Famous Works by Henri Rousseau
undefined
9 months ago
TheCollector
New British Museum Book Brings Egyptian Pharaohs to Life
undefined
4 months ago
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, August 16, 2024
Fireside this week! I find I have my thoughts more or less together for the last part of the...
4 months ago
Fireside this week! I find I have my thoughts more or less together for the last part of the Imperator series, but I have not yet gotten them into a satisfying order – a common hazard of writing – so they will have to wait for next week. It’s not yet clear to me if … Continue...
TheCollector
When Was the Era of Japan’s Bakufu?
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
Ralph Waldo Emerson: Bio, Nature, & the Birth of Transcendentalism
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
Ancient Egyptian Structure Discovered Near Giza Pyramids
undefined
7 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Caligula's Forgotten Legacy
The Nemi Ships
a year ago
TheCollector
The Strange Story of How Greece Joined the Entente in WWI
undefined
7 months ago
TheCollector
5 Quotes by Karl Marx Explained
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
Who Were ‘The Cambridge Five’?
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
Top 10 Depictions of Witchcraft in Art
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
Tunisian Bardo Museum Reopened Recently
undefined
a year ago
History Today Feed
Death of a Samurai Legend
Death of a Samurai Legend
JamesHoare
Thu, 06/13/2024 - 09:11
6 months ago
Death of a Samurai Legend
JamesHoare
Thu, 06/13/2024 - 09:11
Trying to Understand...
One Of My Essays In Dutch.
I’m pleased to say that one of my readers in the Netherlands has been kind enough to produce and...
11 months ago
I’m pleased to say that one of my readers in the Netherlands has been kind enough to produce and send to me a translation into Dutch of my recent essay “What’s Left and What’s Left?” The translator has elected to remain anonymous, but I’m extremely grateful, and please join me in...
TheCollector
10 History-Rich But Affordable US Cities You Can Move to
undefined
3 weeks ago
Trying to Understand...
A Wasting Asset?
Europe turns away from America.
a month ago
Europe turns away from America.
TheCollector
Who Is the Most Famous Centaur?
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
Twenty Drawings by Kahlil Gibran, 1919
“Speak to us of Beauty” – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet In 1919, Lebanese-American artist, poet and...
2 months ago
“Speak to us of Beauty” – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet In 1919, Lebanese-American artist, poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran (January 6, 1883–April 10, 1931) published the collection Twenty Drawings, the first and only time a selection of his paintings had appeared in print....
TheCollector
What Was the Dreyfus Affair?
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
The FBI Repatriates Looted Japan Artifacts
undefined
9 months ago
TheCollector
What Are the Recurring Symbols in Hilma af Klint’s Work?
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
Why Does Nietzsche Reject Morality?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Aristotle’s Poetics: A Brief Overview
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
El Lissitzky’s Soviet Pressa Exhibition in Cologne, 1928
At his peak, El Lissitzky (23 November 1890 – 30 December 1941) was arguably the most renowned...
3 months ago
At his peak, El Lissitzky (23 November 1890 – 30 December 1941) was arguably the most renowned artist of the Soviet avant-garde, more so than his friend Kazimir Malevich, Vladimir Tatlin, and Alexander Rodchenko. A trained architect, El Lissitzsky was the artist the USSR’s...
TheCollector
8 Facts About the Norse Goddess Freyja
undefined
9 months ago
TheCollector
10 Ancient Sites in New Mexico You Should Visit
undefined
a week ago
TheCollector
Children’s Drawings of Gladiators Discovered in Pompeii
undefined
6 months ago
TheCollector
Sri Lanka’s Top 6 Must-See Historic Sites
undefined
7 months ago
TheCollector
10 Ghost Towns in California You Need to Explore
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
Operation Barbarossa: When Nazi Germany Tried to Invade the USSR
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
Get to Know Claudius Ptolemy & His Geocentric Model of the Universe
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
7 of the Biggest Palaces Ever Built
undefined
4 months ago
Classical Wisdom
On the Nature of the Gods: Cicero
Do the gods exist? If so, what is their nature? And how do they interact with the world of human...
a year ago
Do the gods exist? If so, what is their nature? And how do they interact with the world of human beings, if they care about them at all?
TheCollector
7 Times the Parthenon Was Transformed and Destroyed
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
The Cultivation of Christmas Trees by T. S. Eliot
Bored with Christmas cards, Richard de la Mare (1901–86), son of the poet Walter de la Mare and...
a year ago
Bored with Christmas cards, Richard de la Mare (1901–86), son of the poet Walter de la Mare and director of production at London-based publisher Faber & Gwyer (later Faber and Faber), hit upon the idea of sending poetry pamphlets, each featuring the work of well-known writers and...
History Today Feed
Catching Nessie on Film
Catching Nessie on Film
JamesHoare
Thu, 05/16/2024 - 09:41
7 months ago
Catching Nessie on Film
JamesHoare
Thu, 05/16/2024 - 09:41
TheCollector
9 Times Virginia Woolf Made a Lasting Impact on Art
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
René Girard on Sacrifice & Violence: Why Does Scapegoating Happen?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
10 Facts About the Extraordinary Choreographer Pina Bausch
undefined
9 months ago
TheCollector
7 Facts about Francis Drake, the English Pirate-Hero
undefined
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The Lives of Exiles
9 months ago
TheCollector
George Lindemann Family Returned Looted Items to Cambodia
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Lord Balfour’s Portrait Slashed by Pro-Palestine Activists
undefined
9 months ago
TheCollector
Aristotle on Knowledge, Truth, and Error (6 Arguments)
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
How Did Rothko Seek to Transcend the Visible World?
undefined
2 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Sacred Flames and Divine Philosophers
a year ago
Sacred Flames and Divine Philosophers
Overcoming Bias
How Every Empire Falls
On the radio yesterday, I heard the soulful song That’s How Every Empire Falls, written by RB Morris...
a month ago
On the radio yesterday, I heard the soulful song That’s How Every Empire Falls, written by RB Morris sometime before 2005, and performed at various times by Morris, John Prine, and Marianne Faithfull.
Patterns in Humanity
Racial Homicide Disparities Since 1910
Drawing from uniform crime reports since 1933 and vital statistics since 1910, I document the...
a year ago
Drawing from uniform crime reports since 1933 and vital statistics since 1910, I document the evolution of black-white homicide disparities in the United States since the early 20th century.
TheCollector
J.S. Bach & Sons: The Composer’s Legacy and Family
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
10 Oldest National Parks in the United States
undefined
a month ago
Flashbak
Rare Photographs of Siouxsie and the Banshees in Japan, 1982
Siouxsie and the Banshees toured Japan playing three gigs in Tokyo late-March, early-April 1982. The...
a year ago
Siouxsie and the Banshees toured Japan playing three gigs in Tokyo late-March, early-April 1982. The band had recently released their fourth album Juju (1981) and were working on their fifth A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982). While other punk bands had imploded, Siouxsie and the...
TheCollector
Mystery at Cheviot Beach: The Strange Disappearance of Harold Holt
undefined
2 weeks ago
Flashbak
Disappearing NYC: 1980s Store Fronts on New York’s Upper West Side
“I moved to the Upper West Side in August, 1978, and immediately loved it with all my heart,” writes...
2 months ago
“I moved to the Upper West Side in August, 1978, and immediately loved it with all my heart,” writes Stephen Harmon, a retired lawyer who first lived on New York City’s West End Avenue and 73rd street. “I am a photographer and set out to preserve it on film because I knew the...
Trying to Understand...
Can't Do, Won't Do!
But striking poses is fun and easy.
11 months ago
But striking poses is fun and easy.
TheCollector
The Great Game: British Empire vs. Tsarist Russia in Afghanistan
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
What Are the Iconographic Elements of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism?
undefined
6 months ago
Trying to Understand...
The Sense Of An Ending.
But right back where we started from.
4 months ago
But right back where we started from.
TheCollector
Sorites Paradox: Why Traditional Logic Is Not Omnipotent
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
10 Historic Small Towns in Georgia You Should Visit
undefined
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Did Nietzsche Hate Christianity?
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
Edmund Dulac’s American Weekly Covers – 1924-1951
Edmund Dulac is remembered today as one of the founding fathers of the Golden Age of Illustration,...
5 months ago
Edmund Dulac is remembered today as one of the founding fathers of the Golden Age of Illustration, roughly from 1875-1925, writes Albert Seligman. His luxurious Gift Books of the early 20th century were covered in vellum and issued in signed limited editions with tipped-in color...
Flashbak
The Cocaine Consumer’s Handbook, 1976
The Cocaine Consumer’s Handbook was published in 1976 and 1980. This user guide to knowing cocaine...
6 months ago
The Cocaine Consumer’s Handbook was published in 1976 and 1980. This user guide to knowing cocaine was presented in the tone of an educational reference book. The drug was illegal – still is, of course – and publishing a book on it is risky. But it an effort to produce the...
TheCollector
What Did Ralph Waldo Emerson Think of Poetry?
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
Yuefenpai: 8 Facts About the Iconic Chinese Calendar Advertisements
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
Action! 4 Films Inspired by History’s Natural Disasters
undefined
9 months ago
Flashbak
American Noir: Mugshots And Crimes From A Small Pennsylvanian Town (1930s – 1950s)
Small Town Noir is a study of life and crime in New Castle, western Pennsylvania. The site compiles...
7 months ago
Small Town Noir is a study of life and crime in New Castle, western Pennsylvania. The site compiles the mugshots of criminals who lived in the town in the 1930, 40s and 50s, with notes on their offences. The mugshots were pulled from the rubbish when the town’s police department...
TheCollector
Third-Party Candidates: The Outsiders in US Elections
undefined
3 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Things Are Falling Apart ...
And the centre's not looking too good, either.
a year ago
And the centre's not looking too good, either.
Res Obscura
Before psychedelic therapy for wartime trauma, there was narcosynthesis
Notes on using AI to analyze three World War II-era films about drugs and PTSD
a year ago
Notes on using AI to analyze three World War II-era films about drugs and PTSD
Trying to Understand...
NATO's Phantom Armies.
And the ghost of Carl von Clausewitz.
7 months ago
And the ghost of Carl von Clausewitz.
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part IIIb: Imperium
This is the second section of the third part of our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa) on the...
a year ago
This is the second section of the third part of our planned five part series (I, II, IIIa) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries, the ‘Middle’ Republic. Last week we discussed the overall structure of the ‘career path’ for a Roman politician...
TheCollector
Who Were the Successors of Constantine the Great?
undefined
a year ago
Patterns in Humanity
The Dark Ages
A quantitative assessment of Europe's decline, slumber and awakening
2 months ago
A quantitative assessment of Europe's decline, slumber and awakening
TheCollector
Davy Crockett: The Life of the American Folk Hero
undefined
10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Banned Book Week Begins...
3 months ago
Banned Book Week Begins...
TheCollector
10 Landmarks That Should Be Considered Wonders of the World
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
French Antique Art Dealers Against New E.U. Import Restrictions
undefined
9 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Aristotle on Friendship
a year ago
History Today Feed
Maria Graham and the Valparaíso Earthquake
Maria Graham and the Valparaíso Earthquake
j.hoare
Mon, 01/15/2024 - 11:12
11 months ago
Maria Graham and the Valparaíso Earthquake
j.hoare
Mon, 01/15/2024 - 11:12
Classical Wisdom
Final Call
Class Begins Tomorrow
11 months ago
TheCollector
Beer Can Art Accidentally Trashed at Dutch Museum
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
Who Was Oscar Wilde?
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
John Martin’s Thrilling Illustrations for Paradise Lost (1827)
“Of Man’s First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death...
a week ago
“Of Man’s First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe” – The opening lines to Paradise Lost by John Milton, illustrated by John Martin John Milton’s (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) epic poem...
TheCollector
Egyptian Cat Goddess: Who Is Bastet?
undefined
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Should We Own Stuff?
The Wealth and Gold of Ancient Georgia
a year ago
The Wealth and Gold of Ancient Georgia
Dr Alun Withey
Finding Your Beard Style in the 19th Century
In the previous post I noted the variety of facial hair styles that were worn by men in the...
over a year ago
In the previous post I noted the variety of facial hair styles that were worn by men in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, depending on factors including status, location and age. Rather than each age having one particular style of facial hair that was ubiquitous, the...
TheCollector
Risorgimento: The Long Road to the Unification of Italy
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
Eastern Enchantment: The Impact of the Arabian Nights on the West
undefined
6 months ago
TheCollector
How Frans Hals Revolutionized Dutch Portrait Painting
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Central African Republic: A History of the Wildest State in Africa
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
5 Female Artists From South America That You Should Know
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
What Would a Day in the Public Baths of Ancient Rome Look Like?
undefined
9 months ago
TheCollector
The Curse of the Tower of Babel & the Gift of Tongues
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Who Are Hecate’s Parents?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
The Lebanese Civil War: A Complex & Devastating Conflict
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence? From Descartes to Turing
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
American Photographs: A Journey Down The Blue Highways, 1970s
You see, I’ve been through The desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In...
2 months ago
You see, I’ve been through The desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name ‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain – America, A Horse With No Name We don’t know where British … Continue reading "American...
TheCollector
Is Fear Driving Contemporary Politics? Hobbes’ Leviathan Revisited
undefined
12 months ago
African History...
A complete history of Abomey: capital of Dahomey (ca. 1650-1894)
Urbanism in the forest region.
a year ago
Urbanism in the forest region.
History Today Feed
Sex Before Sex Education
Sex Before Sex Education
JamesHoare
Thu, 12/19/2024 - 12:10
3 days ago
Sex Before Sex Education
JamesHoare
Thu, 12/19/2024 - 12:10
TheCollector
7 Rules of Art Collecting: How to Collect Sculptures
undefined
6 months ago
Res Obscura
Kikkuli!
Why do some people from the distant past become memes?
a year ago
Why do some people from the distant past become memes?
TheCollector
The Life of Aldous Huxley — Author of “Brave New World”
undefined
11 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Myths and Metamorphoses
6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
Advice from the Ancients
11 months ago
TheCollector
Who Was Rosa Luxemburg and Why Was She Important?
undefined
5 months ago
Flashbak
Charles Green Shaw Cocktail Book of Rhymed Recipes (1930s)
This great little book created by Charles Green Shaw in the 1930s features black and white...
a week ago
This great little book created by Charles Green Shaw in the 1930s features black and white illustrations and poetic recipes for various cocktails. A leading figure in early American abstraction, Charles Green Shaw (May 1, 1892 – April 2, 1974) was an American painter, poet,...
TheCollector
How Did Francisco Goya Criticize the Spanish Society?
undefined
5 months ago
Flashbak
SoHo And New York City In The 1980s
Gérard Monger has been taking photos for more than 56 years. “I wanted to become a photojournalist,”...
4 months ago
Gérard Monger has been taking photos for more than 56 years. “I wanted to become a photojournalist,” he tells us, “but I became a computer scientist. I lived for a long time in the suburbs of Paris, Colombes and then Maisons Laffitte. Now I live in the center of France in Nevers....
TheCollector
5 Iconic Photographs by Ansel Adams
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
Nuclear Weapons During the Cold War: Power and Proliferation
undefined
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Tolkien and Plato
a year ago
TheCollector
The Roman Question: The Pope vs. the New Nation of Italy
undefined
11 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Electra: Powerful or Pathetic?
Which Playwright did it better?
5 months ago
Which Playwright did it better?
Flashbak
In the Night Garden: The Magical World of George Shiras
George Shiras (1859 – 1942) began photographing in 1889, and was the first to use camera traps and...
a month ago
George Shiras (1859 – 1942) began photographing in 1889, and was the first to use camera traps and flash photography when photographing animals. Shiras, a lawyer who became a politician, borrowed a hunting technique he learned from the Ojibwa tribe called jacklighting, when fire...
TheCollector
The Mid-19th Century California Gold Rush
undefined
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
What's Left ... And What's Left?
A (probably-doomed) attempt at a bit of clarity.
a year ago
A (probably-doomed) attempt at a bit of clarity.
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Battle of the Historians
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Quick Notification
In Search of Homer
2 months ago
History Today Feed
Why the Oracle of Delphi Still Beguiles
Why the Oracle of Delphi Still Beguiles
j.hoare
Wed, 12/13/2023 - 10:08
a year ago
Why the Oracle of Delphi Still Beguiles
j.hoare
Wed, 12/13/2023 - 10:08
TheCollector
History of Tea: The Drink that Conquered the World
undefined
10 months ago
TheCollector
What Are the Top 7 Sights to See in Milan?
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
5 Interesting Historic Events That Happened on Christmas Day
undefined
yesterday
Trying to Understand...
And Now for Something Completely Different.
Am I me? Are You you? ?
a year ago
History Today Feed
James I: A Foreign King on the English Throne
James I: A Foreign King on the English Throne
JamesHoare
Tue, 05/21/2024 - 08:46
7 months ago
James I: A Foreign King on the English Throne
JamesHoare
Tue, 05/21/2024 - 08:46
Res Obscura
Simulating History with Multimodal AI: an Update
Generative AI offers a new, more engaging (and, hopefully, more empathetic) way of teaching history....
a year ago
Generative AI offers a new, more engaging (and, hopefully, more empathetic) way of teaching history. But how to use it?
Overcoming Bias
No Meta Status Orgs
In health and medicine, we have many government agencies, and private philanthropies, devoted to...
a month ago
In health and medicine, we have many government agencies, and private philanthropies, devoted to many specific medical conditions, and also to studying and reforming medicine in general, at a meta level.
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part II: Government Without States
This is the second part of our (planned) three part (I) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly,...
6 months ago
This is the second part of our (planned) three part (I) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly, non-state agrarian peoples raised armies to fight the Romans (and others) in the third through first centuries BC. Last time, we looked at the subsistence basis of these societies...
TheCollector
Artist Ibrahim Mahama Covers London’s Barbican in Purple Fabric
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
What Made Tintoretto the Greatest Master of the Renaissance?
undefined
7 months ago
TheCollector
How Were Plato and Aristotle Interpreted During the Renaissance?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
The Rise and Fall of the Akkadian Empire
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
What Makes a Celt & Did They Ever Inhabit Britannia?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Is There Democracy Without Voting? Elections by Lot in Ancient Athens
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Interview with Dr. Mark Solms on Freud & Surrealism
undefined
5 months ago
Flashbak
It’s About Time: The Forgotten Song That Made The Beach Boys Cool Again
The Beach Boys were no longer a hit band when Bob Burchman sat in his car in early July 1970,...
4 months ago
The Beach Boys were no longer a hit band when Bob Burchman sat in his car in early July 1970, listening to a tape that Dennis Wilson had given him. Bob wasn’t a Beach Boys fan — he preferred Sly Stone or Marvin Gaye or Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell or The Beatles — but Dennis, an...
History Today Feed
‘The Green Ages’ by Annette Kehnel review
‘The Green Ages’ by Annette Kehnel review
JamesHoare
Tue, 11/19/2024 - 08:36
a month ago
‘The Green Ages’ by Annette Kehnel review
JamesHoare
Tue, 11/19/2024 - 08:36
TheCollector
An In-Depth History of Health Insurance in the United States
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
Mary Magdalene Portrait Attributed to Raphael on View in France
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
Jamestown: The Myth & Mystery of America’s First Permanent Colony
undefined
7 months ago
Trying to Understand...
The Year's Midnight.
Kindness can be a revolutionary act.
over a year ago
Kindness can be a revolutionary act.
TheCollector
6 Inventions to Thank the Aztec, Maya, & Inca For
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
The Beatles Created a Painting While Touring in Japan
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Remedios Varo: The Surrealist Artist in 7 Works and 7 Facts
undefined
7 months ago
TheCollector
Cain’s Marriage: Who Did the Biblical Killer Marry?
undefined
6 months ago
TheCollector
How to Read Renaissance Maps (7 Tips)
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
The 5 Most Ridiculous Ways the CIA Tried & Failed to Kill Fidel Castro
undefined
a week ago
Trying to Understand...
Out Of Control.
Fear the worst, hope for the best.
2 months ago
Fear the worst, hope for the best.
African History...
The Swazi kingdom and its neighbours in the 19th century: from the rise of Zulu to the British
an island in the maelstrom
a year ago
an island in the maelstrom
TheCollector
The Great Wall of Amazonian Pictographs Nobody Knows About
undefined
5 months ago
History Today Feed
How ASEAN Lost its Way
How ASEAN Lost its Way
JamesHoare
Wed, 01/24/2024 - 09:53
11 months ago
How ASEAN Lost its Way
JamesHoare
Wed, 01/24/2024 - 09:53
Classical Wisdom
Would You Kill the Fat Man?
Ethical Philosophy for Fun
2 weeks ago
Ethical Philosophy for Fun
TheCollector
Hidden Gospels: What Books Were Removed from the Bible (and Why)?
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
Anne Brontë: The First Feminist Novelist?
undefined
7 months ago
TheCollector
Interview with Nicolas Party: Pastels, Rosalba Carriera, & More
undefined
10 months ago
TheCollector
10 Most Socially Progressive Countries You Can Move To
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
Dune and Greek Mythology: What’s in Common?
undefined
8 months ago
Classical Wisdom
From Caesar's Back to King Tut's Tomb
From Caesar's Back to King Tut's Tomb
4 months ago
From Caesar's Back to King Tut's Tomb
TheCollector
Dutch Influence in Alsatian Art: 5 Artists Known for Their Still-Lifes
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
King Charles XIV John (Bernadotte): Marshal of France, King of Sweden
undefined
a month ago
TheCollector
The Vikings in Iceland: Their Story in Sagas and Archaeology
undefined
10 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the History of Presidents’ Day in the US?
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
Submerged Bridge in Spanish Cave Built Nearly 6,000 Years Ago
undefined
3 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
Beyond Mars (1960)
Here is the last book in the "space quartet", Beyond Mars. It takes a large survey of the next steps...
a year ago
Here is the last book in the "space quartet", Beyond Mars. It takes a large survey of the next steps in space including: solar sailing, travel to Saturn via long distance trips to the outer solar system, multi-year hibernation travel, hydroponics, and visiting other solar...
TheCollector
7 Incredible Wartime Advancements From World War I
undefined
9 months ago
Flashbak
Manhattan Noir: John Fensten’s Photographs of New York City in the 1980s
John Fensten (American, New York, 1936-2001) studied acting with the world-renowned Actor’s Studio...
2 months ago
John Fensten (American, New York, 1936-2001) studied acting with the world-renowned Actor’s Studio with Lee and Susan Strasberg in the late 1950s, early 1960s. He appeared on the critically acclaimed CBS television anthology drama series Playhouse 90. And was a longtime resident...
History Today Feed
How to Revive Wassailing
How to Revive Wassailing
j.hoare
Wed, 01/03/2024 - 09:24
11 months ago
How to Revive Wassailing
j.hoare
Wed, 01/03/2024 - 09:24
TheCollector
6 Key Battles of the Wars of the Roses
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Top 5 Places to See the Northern Lights
undefined
5 months ago
Dr Alun Withey
Health and the Habitual Traveller in the 19th Century
Recently I’ve been contributing to a new series of stories, drawing on the archives of Lloyds’...
over a year ago
Recently I’ve been contributing to a new series of stories, drawing on the archives of Lloyds’ Register – a fantastic archive, with a wealth of sources on many aspects of maritime, but also broader social, history. The full series can be found here:...
TheCollector
7 Artists of German Expressionism You Should Know
undefined
6 days ago
TheCollector
Casta Paintings in Colonial Mexico: How Accurate Were They?
undefined
10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Featuring Stephen Fry!
6 months ago
TheCollector
Rome’s Worst Nemesis: What was the Sassanian Empire?
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
Who Was Clement of Rome?
undefined
11 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Let's Be Enemies
Since it seems to be the fashion these days.
a year ago
Since it seems to be the fashion these days.
TheCollector
Who Is Ai Weiwei?
undefined
6 months ago
TheCollector
The Baroque in Latin America: From Colonial Times to the Present
undefined
5 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Love and Death
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The Epics Collection
5 months ago
TheCollector
Why Do Anti-Natalists Oppose Birth?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
11 Events in the 19th Century that Changed the World
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
What Impact Did Realism Have on Society?
undefined
8 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
Cosmonaut-2 (1964)
Cosmonaut-2 was a Russian pamphlet for older children about Gherman Titov. It has some lovely...
over a year ago
Cosmonaut-2 was a Russian pamphlet for older children about Gherman Titov. It has some lovely illustration about the 2nd manned Russian space launch. At age 25 Titov remains the youngest man to fly in Earth orbit. Vostok 2 was launched on August 6, 1961.
Cosmonaut-2, 1964. 38 p....
TheCollector
Siege of the Sogdian Rock, 327 BCE: Alexander’s Winged Men
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
What Are Emperor Nero’s Contributions to Rome?
undefined
10 months ago
History Today Feed
‘Church Going’ by Andrew Ziminski review
‘Church Going’ by Andrew Ziminski review
JamesHoare
Mon, 12/02/2024 - 10:19
2 weeks ago
‘Church Going’ by Andrew Ziminski review
JamesHoare
Mon, 12/02/2024 - 10:19
TheCollector
How Did Bebop Influence Jazz?
undefined
6 months ago
TheCollector
When Did World War II Start and End?
undefined
a year ago
Flashbak
The Yule Goat: Photographs of Finland’s Nuuttipukki (1928)
“Good Thomas brought Christmas and bad Nuutti took it away” – Finnish saying On January 13, it’s...
a week ago
“Good Thomas brought Christmas and bad Nuutti took it away” – Finnish saying On January 13, it’s Saint Knut’s day in Finland, which usually marks the end of the Christmas season. And the Nuuttipukki is at your door. The strange, goat-like creature is a thirsty man dressed in...
Trying to Understand...
Books To Help Us Understand The World?
Well, a few, anyway. And a bit.
a year ago
Well, a few, anyway. And a bit.
TheCollector
7 Historical Places to Visit on the Isle of Skye
undefined
9 months ago
Flashbak
Music of the Squares David Ramsay Hay and the Reinvention of Pythagorean Aesthetics
Understanding the same laws to apply to both visual and aural beauty, David Ramsay Hay thought it...
3 weeks ago
Understanding the same laws to apply to both visual and aural beauty, David Ramsay Hay thought it possible not only to analyse such visual wonders as the Parthenon in terms of music theory, but also to identify their corresponding musical harmonies and melodies, writes Carmel...
TheCollector
What Was the Gospel of Thomas?
undefined
4 months ago
Flashbak
Édouard Manet’s Illustrations of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’, 1875
The French poet and essayist Charles Baudelaire (1821-67) introduced Edgar Allan Poe to French...
a month ago
The French poet and essayist Charles Baudelaire (1821-67) introduced Edgar Allan Poe to French readers in 1847. Baudelaire, who saw Poe as a “sacred soul” and something of a kindred spirit, translated many of the American writer’s words into French, including Poe’s poem The...
Trying to Understand...
Don't Give Peace Too Many Chances.
Nothing is more dangerous than a flawed peace treaty.
over a year ago
Nothing is more dangerous than a flawed peace treaty.
A Collection of...
Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triump, Part IIb: Handfuls of Maniples
This is the second part of the second part of the second part of our four part look at the great...
10 months ago
This is the second part of the second part of the second part of our four part look at the great third and second century BC contest between the Romans and the heirs of Alexander, asking the question, “What can defeat a Macedonian sarisa-phalanx?” Last time, we started looking at...
TheCollector
Why Did Vincent van Gogh Cut Off His Ear?
undefined
6 months ago
TheCollector
Aspasia of Miletus: More Than Pericles’ Romantic Partner?
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
Who Was Ho Chi Minh?
undefined
7 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Another Of My Essays in French
And some bits and pieces of news.
11 months ago
And some bits and pieces of news.
African History...
a brief note on the Intellectual history of Africa
the Jabarti diaspora of North-Eastern Africa.
10 months ago
the Jabarti diaspora of North-Eastern Africa.
TheCollector
5 Unusual Items in Ai Weiwei’s Installations
undefined
8 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
The Jolly Jump-ups Journey Through Space (1952)
Sorry for the delays in posting, I have been on a short vacation. So today is one of my favorite...
10 months ago
Sorry for the delays in posting, I have been on a short vacation. So today is one of my favorite (and obscure) fictional pop-up books about space. A really beautifully illustrated 1952 book with some amazing text to accompany it, The Jolly Jump-ups Journey Through Space!
Clyne,...
Patterns in Humanity
The Effects of Immigration in Denmark
First, I briefly summarize statistics on the fiscal impact of immigration in Denmark, taken from an...
a year ago
First, I briefly summarize statistics on the fiscal impact of immigration in Denmark, taken from an official government report.
TheCollector
Place of Gold: The Complex Story of Johannesburg
undefined
3 months ago
TheCollector
10 London Museums You Should Visit
undefined
5 months ago
History Today Feed
‘Broken Archangel’ by Roland Philipps review
‘Broken Archangel’ by Roland Philipps review
JamesHoare
Mon, 06/24/2024 - 10:22
6 months ago
‘Broken Archangel’ by Roland Philipps review
JamesHoare
Mon, 06/24/2024 - 10:22
TheCollector
Dust Bowl Troubadour: Who Was Woody Guthrie?
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
What Are the Four Waves of Feminism?
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
What Was the Ancient Greek Pankration?
undefined
10 months ago
TheCollector
Olafur Eliasson to Turn Urban Billboards into Abstract Art
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
What to See on Vienna’s Long Night of Museums
undefined
2 months ago
TheCollector
An American Revolution Drawing Found in a NY Apartment
undefined
8 months ago
TheCollector
Rosemaling in America: Norwegian-American Folk Art (Origins & History)
undefined
a week ago
Overcoming Bias
The Two Big Games
Imagine a business meeting which will decide if a new project goes forward, or decide key priorities...
2 weeks ago
Imagine a business meeting which will decide if a new project goes forward, or decide key priorities about it.
TheCollector
Aristotle’s Model of Communication: 3 Key Elements of Persuasion
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Was Saint Augustine the First Philosopher of History?
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
A History of the United States Senate
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Thomas Gainsborough: 7 Facts You Need to Know
undefined
10 months ago
TheCollector
Alexander the Not-Feeling-Great: How Did Alexander the Great Die?
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
6 Things You Didn’t Know About Emblemata
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
6 Micronations You Should Know
undefined
4 months ago
TheCollector
How Saint Helena and the True Cross Changed an Empire
undefined
6 months ago
History Today Feed
The Tudor War on Libel
The Tudor War on Libel
JamesHoare
Thu, 10/24/2024 - 09:19
a month ago
The Tudor War on Libel
JamesHoare
Thu, 10/24/2024 - 09:19
TheCollector
6 Artworks Inspired by Gabriel García Márquez’s Famous Novel
undefined
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The First Philosopher?
And the Boundless Universe
6 months ago
And the Boundless Universe
TheCollector
What’s the Best Time of Year to Visit the Parthenon?
undefined
5 months ago
TheCollector
Germanus of Auxerre and His Connection to Arthurian Legends
undefined
10 months ago
Trying to Understand...
The Performance is Over
Even if the artists don't realise it.
a year ago
Even if the artists don't realise it.
Full Width 
Shortcuts 
Sign Up 
Log In 
Articles 
Reading List 