Res Obscura
Why did clothing become boring?
An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like...
2 weeks ago
An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like when they didn't
Patterns in Humanity
Global crime
How do crime rates vary around the world? And how reliable is the data?
3 weeks ago
How do crime rates vary around the world? And how reliable is the data?
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, November 22, 2024 (Roman Naming Conventions)
Hey, folks. Another Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the science fiction body armor post...
4 weeks ago
Hey, folks. Another Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the science fiction body armor post ready to go this week, but in addition to the continued work on the book project, I was asked to write a review of the now-out-in-the-USA Gladiator II and that consumed a fair bit of...
Global Inequality...
Trump and the Rise of Asia
My interview with "Atlantico"
2 weeks ago
My interview with "Atlantico"
Dreams of Space -...
Distant Worlds (1932)
An early children's science fiction book about spaceflight.
Borrowing from a book-seller...
a week ago
An early children's science fiction book about spaceflight.
Borrowing from a book-seller description:
Friedrick Mader, "the German Jules Verne" according to Sam Moskowitz, was a popular author of fantastic romances in post-World War One Germany. DISTANT WORLDS is his only novel...
History Today Feed
How Iran Won the West
How Iran Won the West
JamesHoare
Tue, 11/26/2024 - 09:40
3 weeks ago
How Iran Won the West
JamesHoare
Tue, 11/26/2024 - 09:40
African History...
The intellectual history of Ethiopia and Eritrea: Ge'ez manuscripts and scholars (ca. 200-1900CE)
The unique manuscript collections of Ethiopia and Eritrea written in the Ge'ez script are arguably...
a week ago
The unique manuscript collections of Ethiopia and Eritrea written in the Ge'ez script are arguably the best-known works of literature produced in pre-colonial Africa.
Classical Wisdom
Does FREE WILL Exist?
And if not, what are the consequences?
a week ago
And if not, what are the consequences?
African History...
The 'hidden founders' of African studies in Europe: African intellectuals in the Holy Roman Empire...
In June 1652, the Ethiopian scholar Abba Gorgoryos reached the city of Nuremburg in what was then...
3 weeks ago
In June 1652, the Ethiopian scholar Abba Gorgoryos reached the city of Nuremburg in what was then the Holy Roman Empire (modern Germany) where he met Hiob Ludolf, an envoy and linguist whom later generations of ‘Ethiopists’ would regard as the founder of Ethiopian studies in...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The Art of the Interesting
3 weeks ago
The Art of the Interesting
Dr Alun Withey
News Just In: Dr W Joins TikTok – @dralun7
Yes, it’s true – I’ve finally joined the 21st century and decided to try something new. I am still...
a week ago
Yes, it’s true – I’ve finally joined the 21st century and decided to try something new. I am still only setting things up, so please be patient with the extremely cheesy and clunky vids as I try to work out what I’m doing! I’ve only got a couple of videos up at the moment too, …...
A Collection of...
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part II
Last week, we started our nitpicking of Gladiator II (2024) by looking at the problems with the...
a week ago
Last week, we started our nitpicking of Gladiator II (2024) by looking at the problems with the films chronology and its portrayal of the Roman army of the early third century, both in its equipment and in its battle tactics. This week, we’re going to move forward to the main...
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?
Classical Wisdom
Healthy Skepticism for Better Debates
Philosophical Tools for the Holidays
3 weeks ago
Philosophical Tools for the Holidays
TheCollector
10 Historic Landmarks in Argentina You Should Visit
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4 weeks ago
Trying to Understand...
La politique de l’épuisement et l’épuisement de la politique.
Another of my essays in French.
3 weeks ago
Another of my essays in French.
Flashbak
The Beautiful Ludlow Typography Specimen Books c. 1958
Letters are beautiful. From specimens of chromatic woodtype to the groovy letter people and 16th...
3 weeks ago
Letters are beautiful. From specimens of chromatic woodtype to the groovy letter people and 16th Century writing templates typography and calligraphy turn visual language into something beautiful. Beginning in the early 20th Century, the Ludlow Typograph Company (1906 to late...
Flashbak
Arthur Rackham’s Fantastic Illustrations for The Tempest, 1926
Full fathom five thy father lies Of his bones are coral made: Those are pearls that were his eyes:...
3 weeks ago
Full fathom five thy father lies Of his bones are coral made: Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. – William Shakespeare, The Tempest, illustrated by Arthur Rackham 1926 Arthur...
Classical Wisdom
Would You Kill the Fat Man?
Ethical Philosophy for Fun
2 weeks ago
Ethical Philosophy for Fun
History Today Feed
The UN Declaration of Human Rights
The UN Declaration of Human Rights
JamesHoare
Tue, 12/10/2024 - 09:05
a week ago
The UN Declaration of Human Rights
JamesHoare
Tue, 12/10/2024 - 09:05
Dreams of Space -...
Robert Goddard: Father of the Space Age (1963)
After a Thanksgiving break I am back with Robert Goddard: Father of the Space Age. Even if there...
3 weeks ago
After a Thanksgiving break I am back with Robert Goddard: Father of the Space Age. Even if there are not a lot of illustrations of space flight this book was very important to me at the time. I remember finding it in the school library and then getting my own paperback copy...
Open Culture
How Medieval Islamic Engineering Brought Water to the Alhambra
Between 711 and 1492, much of the Iberian Peninsula, including modern-day Spain, was under Muslim...
a week ago
Between 711 and 1492, much of the Iberian Peninsula, including modern-day Spain, was under Muslim rule. Not that it was easy to hold on to the place for that length of time: after the fall of Toledo in 1085, Al-Andalus, as the territory was called, continued to lose cities over...
Flashbak
A Fabulous Collection of Antique Espresso Coffee Machines
“I saw an ‘historical’ espresso machine for the first time in Arezzo in 1988 whilst visiting the...
4 weeks ago
“I saw an ‘historical’ espresso machine for the first time in Arezzo in 1988 whilst visiting the oldest antiques market in Italy,” says collector Enrico Maltoni. His interest in antique espresso coffee makers became a labour of love means. He’s written extensively on the subject...
A Collection of...
Collections: The Problem with Sci-Fi Body Armor
This week we’re covering the winning topic from the latest ACOUP Senate poll, which is a look at...
3 weeks ago
This week we’re covering the winning topic from the latest ACOUP Senate poll, which is a look at some of the odd designs and mechanics for futuristic science fiction body armor, particularly rigid ‘hardsuits.’ Naturally, this post isn’t going to cover every variety of armor that...
History Today Feed
Books of the Year 2024: Part 1
Books of the Year 2024: Part 1
JamesHoare
Thu, 11/28/2024 - 09:32
3 weeks ago
Books of the Year 2024: Part 1
JamesHoare
Thu, 11/28/2024 - 09:32
Classical Wisdom
Gladiator Combat
Fact or Hollywood Fiction?
4 weeks ago
Fact or Hollywood Fiction?
TheCollector
What Are Djinn? (Powers, Tales, & Etymology)
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3 weeks ago
Global Inequality...
Devant la guerre
On E. H. Carr's "The twenty years' crisis 1919-39"
2 weeks ago
On E. H. Carr's "The twenty years' crisis 1919-39"
Flashbak
Take Your Best Shot: Vintage Fairground Shooting Gallery Photos
During their first participation in Paris-Photo in 2006, Lumiere des Roses shared a series of...
a week ago
During their first participation in Paris-Photo in 2006, Lumiere des Roses shared a series of fairground photos of men with guns at the shooting gallery. These snapshots were taken mostly in the 1920s and 1930s. Many looks remarkably fresh. When I was just a baby my mama told...
History Today Feed
Books of the Year 2024: Part 2
Books of the Year 2024: Part 2
JamesHoare
Tue, 12/03/2024 - 08:59
2 weeks ago
Books of the Year 2024: Part 2
JamesHoare
Tue, 12/03/2024 - 08:59
Trying to Understand...
The Year of Failing To Understand.
Not your usual end-of-year review.
4 days ago
Not your usual end-of-year review.
Classical Wisdom
Where did the time go?
Important Notice
3 weeks ago
History Today Feed
‘The Tafts’ by George W. Liebmann review
‘The Tafts’ by George W. Liebmann review
JamesHoare
Mon, 11/25/2024 - 11:01
3 weeks ago
‘The Tafts’ by George W. Liebmann review
JamesHoare
Mon, 11/25/2024 - 11:01
African History...
The intellectual history of East Africa (ca. 900-1950 CE): from the Swahili coast to Buganda to...
The intellectual history of pre-colonial Africa is dominated by studies of the scholarly traditions...
2 weeks ago
The intellectual history of pre-colonial Africa is dominated by studies of the scholarly traditions of Ethiopia, West Africa, and Sudan, where a large corpus of extant manuscripts have been collected from the old scholarly centers of Timbuktu, Djenne, Gondar, and Harar.
Open Culture
Arthur C. Clarke Predicts the Rise of Artificial Intelligence & Questions What Will Happen to...
We now live in the midst of an artificial-intelligence boom, but it’s hardly the first of its kind....
a week ago
We now live in the midst of an artificial-intelligence boom, but it’s hardly the first of its kind. In fact, the field has been subject to a boom-and-bust cycle since at least the early nineteen-fifties. Eventually, those busts — which occurred when realizable AI technology...
Trying to Understand...
L'Étrange défaite: Réalité et réalisme
Another of my essays in French.
a week ago
Another of my essays in French.
History Today Feed
The Failure of the Leipzig War Crimes Trials
The Failure of the Leipzig War Crimes Trials
JamesHoare
Mon, 12/16/2024 - 11:23
6 days ago
The Failure of the Leipzig War Crimes Trials
JamesHoare
Mon, 12/16/2024 - 11:23
Classical Wisdom
A Book 100 Years in the Making
Dear Classical Wisdom Reader,
3 weeks ago
Dear Classical Wisdom Reader,
TheCollector
How Did Philosophers of Different Eras Perceive Happiness?
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3 weeks ago
African History...
Taming and domesticating the wild: the War-Elephants of ancient Aksum and Kush
In his 1668 description of the West African kingdom of Benin, the Dutch writer Olfert Dapper...
a week ago
In his 1668 description of the West African kingdom of Benin, the Dutch writer Olfert Dapper reported that “The king shows himself only once a year to his people, going out of his court on horseback, accompanied by three or four hundred noblemen on horseback.”
Classical Wisdom
Beyond Stoicism
New Event: January 7th, 2025
6 days ago
New Event: January 7th, 2025
TheCollector
Who Are the Young British Artists? An Overview of the Movement
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3 weeks ago
History Today Feed
Who was Thorkell the Tall?
Who was Thorkell the Tall?
JamesHoare
Wed, 11/27/2024 - 10:20
3 weeks ago
Who was Thorkell the Tall?
JamesHoare
Wed, 11/27/2024 - 10:20
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...
TheCollector
Volksgeist: Who Was Johann Gottfried Herder?
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3 weeks ago
Wrong Side of...
Will the last young professional to leave Britain turn off the lights?
'Get out as early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself’
2 days ago
'Get out as early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself’
TheCollector
It’s Complicated: Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson’s Scandalous Romance
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3 weeks ago
Trying to Understand...
Candles and Kalshnikovs.
Please help us not to understand.
3 weeks ago
Please help us not to understand.
TheCollector
What Are Salvador Dalí’s Composition Techniques?
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2 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Homer, Heracles, and Virgil
a week ago
Homer, Heracles, and Virgil
TheCollector
Cubism and Collage: How Picasso and Braque Revolutionized Art
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a week ago
Flashbak
Rain Gods And Prayers to The Great Mystery: Portraits of Native Americans by Edward S. Curtis
The passing of every old man or woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred...
3 weeks ago
The passing of every old man or woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rites possessed by no other… Consequently the information that is to be gathered, for the benefit of future generations, respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of...
TheCollector
Comic Books in WWII: When American Comics Went to War
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3 weeks ago
Flashbak
Visualising The Revolution: A Gallery of Posters from the Paris Uprising of May 1968
The politics of anarchists and communists was marked in hundreds of posters and flyers distributed...
2 weeks ago
The politics of anarchists and communists was marked in hundreds of posters and flyers distributed around France in May 1968. The movement’s visual culture is key to its understanding. These artworks and others like them were distributed in Paris and parts of the country amid...
History Today Feed
Death of a Turkey Legend
Death of a Turkey Legend
JamesHoare
Sun, 12/08/2024 - 00:00
2 weeks ago
Death of a Turkey Legend
JamesHoare
Sun, 12/08/2024 - 00:00
Open Culture
99-Year-Old Dick Van Dyke Sings & Dances in a Touching New Coldplay Video, Directed by Spike Jonze
There’s one thing right with our world, and it’s Dick Van Dyke. Appearing in a new Coldplay music...
a week ago
There’s one thing right with our world, and it’s Dick Van Dyke. Appearing in a new Coldplay music video, Mr. Van Dyke dances barefoot and sings knowingly a little off-key—before reflecting on a century of life on this planet. What is love? Is he afraid of dying? What does luck...
CrimethInc.
News from the Front: The Reflections of a Russian Anarchist in Rojava : On the Collapse of Assad,...
The toppling of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was many years overdue. Yet the tragedies in...
3 days ago
The toppling of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was many years overdue. Yet the tragedies in Syria are not over. Israel has bombed hundreds of locations around the country and seized a considerable amount of land in the southwest, while Turkish proxy forces are threatening...
History Today Feed
China’s Communist Comic Books
China’s Communist Comic Books
JamesHoare
Thu, 12/05/2024 - 09:29
2 weeks ago
China’s Communist Comic Books
JamesHoare
Thu, 12/05/2024 - 09:29
TheCollector
The Enigmatic Harper Lee: 10 Facts
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3 weeks 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...
Flashbak
Denim: The Fabric That Built America
Denim was G.I. in wartime America. Originally used as heavy industry, utility workwear, these images...
3 weeks ago
Denim was G.I. in wartime America. Originally used as heavy industry, utility workwear, these images mostly from the 1940s, show how the fabric became synonymous with American grit and productivity. The look was born in 18th Century Europe. Bleu de Gênes was the rough fabric...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Classics Gifts!
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
The Feather Thief: The Story of Dead Birds, Museum Heist, and a Flute
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2 weeks 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
What Is Traditional Lakota Art of the Great Plains?
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2 weeks ago
TheCollector
Pablo Picasso’s Composition Techniques Explained Through 6 Works
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a week ago
Open Culture
The Engineering of the Strandbeest: How the Magnificent Mechanical Creatures Have Technologically...
Life evolves, but machines are invented: this dichotomy hardly conflicts with what most of us have...
a week ago
Life evolves, but machines are invented: this dichotomy hardly conflicts with what most of us have learned about biology and technology. But certain specimens roaming around in the world can blur that line — and in the curious case of the Strandbeesten, they really are roaming...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Free Will: A Fairy Tale?
a week ago
TheCollector
Who Were the Pilgrims?
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
The World’s Most Prestigious Art Fairs (By Continent/Region)
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2 weeks ago
Open Culture
What Ancient Greek Music Sounded Like: Listen to a Reconstruction That’s “100% Accurate”
Between 750 BC and 400 BC, the Ancient Greeks composed songs meant to be accompanied by the lyre,...
2 weeks ago
Between 750 BC and 400 BC, the Ancient Greeks composed songs meant to be accompanied by the lyre, reed-pipes, and various percussion instruments. More than 2,000 years later, modern scholars have finally figured out how to reconstruct and perform these songs with (it’s claimed)...
TheCollector
The Art of Collage and Assemblage in Modern Art
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a week ago
TheCollector
10 Historic Christmas Towns in the US to Visit
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a week ago
TheCollector
1950s American Culture: Suburbia, the American Dream, & Inequality
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4 weeks ago
TheCollector
The Colombia Banana Massacre of 1928: The Shocking Story
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Was Catherine of Aragon the Wife King Henry Loved Most?
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2 weeks ago
TheCollector
10 Must-See Exhibitions in Europe This Year (2025)
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a week ago
TheCollector
What Is Platonic Love in Simple Words?
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a week ago
Open Culture
Hear the Evolution of Electronic Music: A Sonic Journey from 1929 to 2019
It’s easy to get the impression that enthusiasts of electronic music listen to nothing else. (Not...
a week ago
It’s easy to get the impression that enthusiasts of electronic music listen to nothing else. (Not that it isn’t true for some of them, who tend to relegate themselves to smaller subgenres: consult Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music for a map of the sonic territory.) And it’s...
Trying to Understand...
In the Shallows Of The Deep State.
But is there anything there?
a week ago
But is there anything there?
Open Culture
Watch the Surrealist Glass Harmonica, the Only Animated Film Ever Banned by Soviet Censors (1968)
The Soviet Union’s repressive state censorship went to absurd lengths to control what its citizens...
a week ago
The Soviet Union’s repressive state censorship went to absurd lengths to control what its citizens read, viewed, and listened to, such as the almost comical removal of purged former comrades from photographs during Stalin’s reign. When it came to aesthetics, Stalinism mostly...
Open Culture
Binge-Watch Classic Television Programs Free: The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Lone Ranger, Dragnet, That...
Earlier this week, we featured the 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke’s performance in Coldplay’s new music...
a week ago
Earlier this week, we featured the 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke’s performance in Coldplay’s new music video, full of visual references to the sitcom that made him a household name in the early nineteen-sixties. And a household name he remains these six decades later, though one does...
Flashbak
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein And His Wife Marie: A Love Story
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (1910–1983) was an American self-taught artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
a week ago
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (1910–1983) was an American self-taught artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He left a vast archive of poetry, apocalyptic paintings, paintbrushes made with his wife’s hair, drawings, notebooks, audio tapes and hundreds of sculptures made from chicken bones,...
Open Culture
A Simple, Down-to-Earth Christmas Card from the Great Depression (1933)
The Smithsonian sets the scene for this Christmas card sent in 1933, a few years into the Great...
6 days ago
The Smithsonian sets the scene for this Christmas card sent in 1933, a few years into the Great Depression. They write: Despite the glum economic situation, the Pinero family used a brown paper bag to fashion an inexpensive holiday greeting card. They penned a clever rhyme and...
Open Culture
Watch The Insects’ Christmas from 1913: A Stop Motion Film Starring a Cast of Dead Bugs
Kind Reader, Will you do us the honor of accepting our holiday invitation? Carve five minutes from...
5 days ago
Kind Reader, Will you do us the honor of accepting our holiday invitation? Carve five minutes from your holiday schedule to spend time celebrating The Insects’ Christmas, above. In addition to offering brief respite from the chaos of consumerism and modern expectations, this...
TheCollector
What Are the Main Themes of Modern Essentialism?
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3 weeks ago
Flashbak
François Brunery’s Portraits of Pontificating, Pissed and Pouting Priests – c. 1890-1926
These photographs of priests and cardinals were taken by Francesco Bruneri, known as François...
3 weeks ago
These photographs of priests and cardinals were taken by Francesco Bruneri, known as François Brunery (1849 – 1926), and used as the basis for his work as a painter of so-called “Cardinal Paintings”. His work depicting cardinals of the Catholic church in comical or embarrassing...
TheCollector
Parmigianino Altarpiece Back On View After 10-Year Conservation
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3 weeks ago
Flashbak
Meet Queen Cat, Secret Cat and Dunce Cat From Kittens and Cats: A First Reader (1911)
The cat is regal in Kittens and Cats: A First Reader, 1911. The premise is simple: dress up your...
2 weeks ago
The cat is regal in Kittens and Cats: A First Reader, 1911. The premise is simple: dress up your cat, take a picture and give it a witty caption. So we get to meet Hero Cat, Queen Cat, Party Cat and the very much of its time Dunce Cat. Author Eulalie Osgood Grover … Continue...
Classical Wisdom
Who cares about Homer, anyway?
What the legendary blind bard tells us about ourselves in the here and now
2 weeks ago
What the legendary blind bard tells us about ourselves in the here and now
A Collection of...
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part I
This week, I want to talk a bit about the recent release of Gladiator II. Now I’ve written a review...
2 weeks ago
This week, I want to talk a bit about the recent release of Gladiator II. Now I’ve written a review of the film for Foreign Policy, which you can find here (behind the paywall). I also discussed it with Jason Herbert and Sarah Bond over at Historians at the Movies, which is a...
TheCollector
How Accurate Were the Fight Scenes in Gladiator?
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2 weeks ago
History Today Feed
Sarah Mae Flemming and the Forgotten Women of Civil Rights
Sarah Mae Flemming and the Forgotten Women of Civil Rights
JamesHoare
Mon, 12/09/2024 - 09:58
a week ago
Sarah Mae Flemming and the Forgotten Women of Civil Rights
JamesHoare
Mon, 12/09/2024 - 09:58
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...
Classical Wisdom
Sappho
Fragments of Poetry
a week ago
TheCollector
The State of Franklin? A Forgotten Almost-State in the US
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
What Did Fascist Architecture Look Like?
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
7 Works by Romaine Brooks You Should Know
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2 weeks ago
TheCollector
The Titans: The Greek Gods Before the Olympians
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2 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
Virgil and the Aeneid
Rome's Greatest Epic
2 weeks ago
Flashbak
A Native’s Look At New York City In The 1980s
Photographer Ronnie Ginnever shares more of her pictures New York, this time from the late 1970s and...
2 weeks ago
Photographer Ronnie Ginnever shares more of her pictures New York, this time from the late 1970s and 1980s. You can see her great photos form the city in the 1960s here. Now she takes us back to the MUDD club, shows us Susann Dalton’s jacket for the Palladium and we buy some...
TheCollector
5 Great European Christmas Markets Worth Traveling For
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a week ago
Open Culture
The Sinking of the Britannic: An Animated Introduction to the Titanic’s Forgotten Sister Ship
We all know about the Titanic. Less often do we hear about the Britannic—the sister passenger liner...
a week ago
We all know about the Titanic. Less often do we hear about the Britannic—the sister passenger liner that the British turned into a hospital ship during World War I. Launched in 1914, two years after the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Britannic featured a number of...
Flashbak
Hunter S Thompson Sets Fire To His Christmas Tree (1990)
“’NO, HUNTER, NO! PLEASE, HUNTER, DON’T DO IT!'” – Hunter S. Thompson’s secretary Deborah Fuller...
5 days ago
“’NO, HUNTER, NO! PLEASE, HUNTER, DON’T DO IT!'” – Hunter S. Thompson’s secretary Deborah Fuller before the writer torched his Christmas Tree In January 1990, Sam Allis was on assignment for TIME magazine at writer Hunter S. Thompson’s (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) home...
Open Culture
The Ingenious Engineering of Leonardo da Vinci’s Self-Supporting Bridge, Explained
The video above from Sabins Civil Engineering promises to reveal “the MAGIC behind Da Vinci’s Self...
5 days ago
The video above from Sabins Civil Engineering promises to reveal “the MAGIC behind Da Vinci’s Self Supporting Bridge.” That sounds like a typical example of YouTube hyperbole, though on first glance, it isn’t at all obvious how the fragile-looking structure can stay up, much less...
TheCollector
The Defining Style of the 1930s: What Is Art Deco?
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5 days ago
TheCollector
How Did Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving Capture a Nation?
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
10 National and State Parks in the US Where You Can See Ancient Redwoods
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
6 Things You Should Know About Pop Art
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Wallis Simpson: A Look Beyond Scandal
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2 weeks ago
TheCollector
6 Surrealist Techniques You Probably Haven’t Heard of
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2 weeks ago
TheCollector
Beauty That Kills: Was Renaissance Makeup Deadly?
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2 weeks ago
TheCollector
Emperor Lucius Verus: Life, Death, Reign
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2 weeks ago
Open Culture
An Illustrator Creates a Kindle for Charles Dickens, Placing 40 Miniature Classics within a Large...
For a design class project, Rachel Walsh, a student at Cardiff School of Art and Design, set out to...
a week ago
For a design class project, Rachel Walsh, a student at Cardiff School of Art and Design, set out to explain the concept of a Kindle to Charles Dickens. Recognizing that Dickens, a 19th-century author, wouldn’t understand modern terms like ebooks, downloads or the internet, she...
TheCollector
Roman Military Ranks: From Legionary to General
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a week ago
TheCollector
The Incredible Story of Cadmus: The First Hero of Greek Mythology
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4 weeks ago
TheCollector
6 Inquisition Cases From Colonial Mexico
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3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Understanding Gnostic Salvation in Christian Gnosticism
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2 weeks ago
Flashbak
48 Hours In The Life of Andy Warhol, 1981
In spring of 1981, Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was setting up Myths, a...
a week ago
In spring of 1981, Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was setting up Myths, a portfolio of ten screenprints featuring fictional characters: The Star (Greta Garbo in her titular role in the 1931 film Mata Hari), Uncle Sam, The Witch (Margaret Hamilton, star of the...
TheCollector
The Hidden Meaning of Plato’s Cave Allegory
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a week 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
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Authoritarian vs. Democratic Socialism: What’s the Difference?
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a year ago
TheCollector
Explore Ancient Rome by Visiting These 6 Sites
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11 months ago
African History...
A history of the Rozvi kingdom (1680-1830)
From Changamire's expulsion of the Portuguese to the ruined cities of Zimbabwe.
a year ago
From Changamire's expulsion of the Portuguese to the ruined cities of Zimbabwe.
Classical Wisdom
Can We Choose NOT to Be Harmed?
How can we train Resilience?
a year ago
How can we train Resilience?
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.
Classical Wisdom
Do You Listen Well?
Lessons on Listening from Plutarch
a year ago
Lessons on Listening from Plutarch
TheCollector
Caravaggio: The Scandalous Crimes of a Baroque Artist
undefined
11 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Into the Waste Land
Nothing connects.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
A Short Essay About A Long-Playing Record
One I bought fifty years ago.
7 months ago
One I bought fifty years ago.
TheCollector
What Makes Citizen Kane the Greatest Film of All Time?
undefined
a year ago
Res Obscura
LLM-based educational games will be a big deal
For the first time, digital games can make qualitative assessments of learning. Here's what that...
7 months ago
For the first time, digital games can make qualitative assessments of learning. Here's what that might look like.
Trying to Understand...
War Is Complicated.
And not just the fighting bit.
a year ago
And not just the fighting bit.
weird medieval guys
Explore medieval life and death with these 5 brilliant interactive maps!
Travels, murders, and......eels?!!
a year ago
Travels, murders, and......eels?!!
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Mothers of the Ancient World
7 months ago
Mothers of the Ancient World
TheCollector
Nietzsche’s Crusade Against the Philosophers
undefined
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Teach Your Children ....
Not to be afraid of moral relativism.
a year ago
Not to be afraid of moral relativism.
Trying to Understand...
Honesty: What's In It For Me?
First, do lots of harm.
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Do We Need Dress Codes?
Are standards elevating or elitist?
a year ago
Are standards elevating or elitist?
A Collection of...
Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great?
This week, in part as a follow-on to our series on the contest between Hellenistic armies and Roman...
7 months ago
This week, in part as a follow-on to our series on the contest between Hellenistic armies and Roman legions, I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about Alexander III, who you almost certainly know as Alexander the Great. But I want to discuss his reign with that title, ‘the...
Trying to Understand...
Too Much of Not A Lot
Winning the day and losing the war.
a year ago
Winning the day and losing the war.
weird medieval guys
Why did medieval people invent so many collective nouns?
A pride of lions, a paddling of ducks, and....a herd of harlots?
a year ago
A pride of lions, a paddling of ducks, and....a herd of harlots?
Dreams of Space -...
One, Two (1965)
The next few posts are some of my favorite picture books. The 1st from 1965 is a very basic counting...
a year ago
The next few posts are some of my favorite picture books. The 1st from 1965 is a very basic counting book about spaceflight. I hope that you find it as charming as I do.
DeCaprio, Annie and David Krieger. Illustrated by Nydorf, Seymour. One, Two. New York: Wonder Books. (24 p.)...
Dreams of Space -...
The Young Adventurer's Pocket Book of Space Travel (1954)
Another illustration intensive book. This one is only 3" tall and 2 " wide so you might have missed...
a year ago
Another illustration intensive book. This one is only 3" tall and 2 " wide so you might have missed it :) . It was a premium with Mickey Mouse Weekly magazine. Evidently the magazine came with some pages that you could fold up into a tiny book. The others I have found evidence of...
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Socii
This week, as an addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V),...
a year ago
This week, as an addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V), we’re going to take a look at how Rome handles those parts of Italy it controls but which it does not inhabit. These are Rome’s ‘allies’ (socii), a euphemistic label for the...
TheCollector
7 Unusual Writing Systems From Around the World & How They Developed
undefined
11 months ago
Trying to Understand...
China And Russia Walk Into A Room.
And don't say a word about Europe.
6 months ago
And don't say a word about Europe.
Classical Wisdom
Are Protests the Best Way to Say Nay?
Can Mobs Make the Change They Want to See?
7 months ago
Can Mobs Make the Change They Want to See?
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.
African History...
Persian myths and realities on the Swahili coast: contextualizing the 'Shirazi' civilization.
Why geneticists found what archeologists and historians had failed to locate.
a year ago
Why geneticists found what archeologists and historians had failed to locate.
TheCollector
What Is a Good Argument According to Aristotle?
undefined
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Let's Hear It For The "Underlying Causes."
Here's the answer. What was the question again?
a year ago
Here's the answer. What was the question again?
Dreams of Space -...
Johnny's Space Trip (1954)
A re-run--
Back to the imaginative past and Johnny's Space Trip. This 1954 fictional book captures...
a year ago
A re-run--
Back to the imaginative past and Johnny's Space Trip. This 1954 fictional book captures the spirit of doing it for yourself as Johnny and his friends build (and dream of) a spaceship for a journey from their backyard. It is pure fantasy but as you will see there is a...
History Today Feed
On the Spot: Eugene Rogan
On the Spot: Eugene Rogan
JamesHoare
Tue, 05/14/2024 - 09:43
7 months ago
On the Spot: Eugene Rogan
JamesHoare
Tue, 05/14/2024 - 09:43
TheCollector
The Life of Aldous Huxley — Author of “Brave New World”
undefined
11 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Useless in Gaza
As always, if you don't know what you're doing.
a year ago
As always, if you don't know what you're doing.
African History...
A history of the Buganda kingdom.
government in central Africa.
a year ago
government in central Africa.
Res Obscura
Centuries of Childhood
The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories...
6 months ago
The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories about it?
Trying to Understand...
We Are All Civilisational States
It's just that some people don't realise it.
a year ago
It's just that some people don't realise it.
African History...
a brief note on Ethnicity and the State in Africa
the evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy in the precolonial Great Lakes.
7 months ago
the evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy in the precolonial Great Lakes.
TheCollector
Genoa vs. Venice: A Historic and Layered Rivalry
undefined
a year ago
TheCollector
Orange Free State, South Africa: A History
undefined
11 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Tolkien and the Classics
Plato, Cicero... Bilbo?
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The Mother Goddess of Rome
And Her Controversial Religion
7 months ago
And Her Controversial Religion
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...
African History...
Guns and Spears: a military history of the Zulu kingdom.
Popular history of Africa before the colonial era often divides the continent’s military systems...
a year ago
Popular history of Africa before the colonial era often divides the continent’s military systems into two broad categories —the relatively modern armies along the Atlantic coast which used firearms, versus the 'traditional' armies in the interior that fought with arrows and...
TheCollector
The Good and Bad in Nolan’s Oppenheimer (Critic’s Review)
undefined
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Understanding What's Happening in France.
The kinetic phase may come next.
a year ago
The kinetic phase may come next.
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.
Trying to Understand...
The Threat of Back to Normal
Global power has always been distributed.
a year ago
Global power has always been distributed.
Trying to Understand...
Games Nations Play.
But they forget the people and the Street.
7 months ago
But they forget the people and the Street.
TheCollector
6 Assassinations That Changed History
undefined
7 months ago
Trying to Understand...
If We Had More Than a Hammer ...
We might not be in this mess.
a year ago
We might not be in this mess.
African History...
A history of the south-western Saharan towns of Tichitt, Walata, Wadan and Chinguetti (800-1912)
Trade and civilization on west-africa's desert frontier
a year ago
Trade and civilization on west-africa's desert frontier
weird medieval guys
The Medieval Monks Who Lived on Top of Giant Pillars
A history of the monastic high life
a year ago
A history of the monastic high life
Trying to Understand...
One Way Or Another ....
We're going to get you.
a year ago
Dreams of Space -...
Dream to Meet(1958)
A very pictorial Russian book, Dream to Meet, is basically the size of a paperback book but loaded...
a year ago
A very pictorial Russian book, Dream to Meet, is basically the size of a paperback book but loaded with illustrations. I thought you would enjoy these images.
Lyapunov, B. Illustrated by Seleznev, E. Навстречу Мечте (Dream to Meet.)
Moscow: All-Union Educational Pedagogical...
Trying to Understand...
The Year's Midnight.
Kindness can be a revolutionary act.
over a year ago
Kindness can be a revolutionary act.
African History...
a brief note on contacts between ancient African kingdoms and Rome.
finding the lost city of Rhapta on the east African coast.
6 months ago
finding the lost city of Rhapta on the east African coast.
TheCollector
The American Patriot War: “The Americans Are Coming!”
undefined
a year ago
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
Dreams of Space -...
Blast Off (1973)
This is also one of my favorite picture books, very hard to find, so I would like to share the full...
a year ago
This is also one of my favorite picture books, very hard to find, so I would like to share the full book with you. And Blast Off!
Cain, Linda C. and Susan Rosenbaum. Illustrated by Dillon, Leo and Diane. Blast Off. Lexington, MA: Ginn. (24 p.) 1973.
TheCollector
Amun: The Egyptian God of Creation & King of the Gods
undefined
11 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
Let's Fly to the Universe (1962)
A rescan project, but a rescan of a reprint. I blogged about this book in 2012...
a year ago
A rescan project, but a rescan of a reprint. I blogged about this book in 2012 here:
https://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2012/12/flying-in-space-1961.html
I think it is Czech, but may be a difference Russian language. I got a Russian reprint of this and still find it a very...
TheCollector
Who Are the Most Famous Sorceresses of Greek Mythology?
undefined
a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part Ib: Subjects of the Successors
This is the second part of the first part of our four part look at the context between the...
11 months ago
This is the second part of the first part of our four part look at the context between the Hellenistic army and its Macedonian phalanx and the Romans with their legions. Last week, we looked at the weapons, organization and fighting style of the Macedonian phalanx, the infantry...
Trying to Understand...
They Say They Want Rearmament ....
We-ell, you know ....
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Ukraine In NATO Would Be A Disaster ...
But not necessarily for the reasons you think.
a year ago
But not necessarily for the reasons you think.
History Today Feed
How the CCP is Closing China
How the CCP is Closing China
JamesHoare
Mon, 05/13/2024 - 10:47
7 months ago
How the CCP is Closing China
JamesHoare
Mon, 05/13/2024 - 10:47
weird medieval guys
Medieval Muslims loved their cats so much
Cat shelters, cat shoes, cat jewellery, and more from the Islamic Middle Ages
a year ago
Cat shelters, cat shoes, cat jewellery, and more from the Islamic Middle Ages
Classical Wisdom
Why Did Rome Fall?
& Which Lesson Should We Take Away?
a year ago
& Which Lesson Should We Take Away?
Global Inequality...
The life of Maynard K.
A review of Zach Carter’s “The Price of Peace”
6 months ago
A review of Zach Carter’s “The Price of Peace”
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...
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic, Part V: The Courts
This is the fifth part of our five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV) on the structure of the...
a year ago
This is the fifth part of our five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries BC, the ‘Middle Republic.’ Last time we looked at the odd but very important role played by the ROman Senate as the central...
Dreams of Space -...
Техника Молодежи (Youth Technology) Issue 4 (1973 )
“ХОРОВОД КОСМИЧЕСКИХ ЛАБОРАТОРИЙ ‘Round Dance of Space Laboratories’
A re-run from a few years ago....
a year ago
“ХОРОВОД КОСМИЧЕСКИХ ЛАБОРАТОРИЙ ‘Round Dance of Space Laboratories’
A re-run from a few years ago. I really like this 1973 issue of Youth Technology. The issue was dedicated to Soviet past and future in space. It has some great illustration of what they had done and what they...
A Collection of...
Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great? Part II
This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (Part I), who you almost...
7 months ago
This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (Part I), who you almost certainly know as Alexander the Great. Last week, we looked at the sources for Alexander’s life, the historiography (that is, the history-of-the-history) of his modern reception and...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Plato Vs Aristotle
7 months ago
History Today Feed
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and the Making of Stars
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and the Making of Stars
JamesHoare
Tue, 05/07/2024 - 12:09
7 months ago
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and the Making of Stars
JamesHoare
Tue, 05/07/2024 - 12:09
TheCollector
The Banana Wars: How the US Plundered Central America
undefined
7 months ago
TheCollector
Emperor Nero’s “Golden House”: What Was the Domus Aurea?
undefined
11 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The Best of the Best
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Their Enemies The Russians
But what about the rest of us?
a year ago
But what about the rest of us?
African History...
A history of the Loango kingdom (ca.1500-1883) : Power, Ivory and Art in west-central Africa.
Africa's past carved in ivory
a year ago
Africa's past carved in ivory
History Today Feed
How Did Christianity Change the Roman Empire?
How Did Christianity Change the Roman Empire?
j.hoare
Thu, 12/07/2023 - 09:29
a year ago
How Did Christianity Change the Roman Empire?
j.hoare
Thu, 12/07/2023 - 09:29
Flashbak
A Shagtastic Tour of Swinging Britain in 1967
Among British Pathé’s newsreel films made for UK cinemas up until 1970 vis this wonderful time of...
7 months ago
Among British Pathé’s newsreel films made for UK cinemas up until 1970 vis this wonderful time of Swinging Britain capsule from 1967. Shot on 35mm film and backed by the lilting holiday camp music, a narrator these videos are not a little kitsch. In Swinging Britain we take an...
TheCollector
Plato: A Complete Overview of His Life, Work, and Philosophy
undefined
11 months ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Ancient Greek and Phoenician Colonization
Davis senatum consuluit a.d. III Idus Octobris apud aedem Patreontis; de colonis Graecis et Punicis...
a year ago
Davis senatum consuluit a.d. III Idus Octobris apud aedem Patreontis; de colonis Graecis et Punicis verba fecit… This week we’re taking a brief look, by ACOUP Senate request, at Greek and Phoenician colonization in the ancient Mediterranean. In particular, the focus requested was...
African History...
Roads and wheeled transport in African history.
Why the kingdoms of Kush and Dahomey used wheels while Asante did not.
12 months ago
Why the kingdoms of Kush and Dahomey used wheels while Asante did not.
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...
Classical Wisdom
The Tragedy of Ajax
Greece's Second Greatest Soldier?
7 months ago
Greece's Second Greatest Soldier?
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
African History...
Life and works of Africa's most famous Woman scholar: Nana Asmau (1793-1864)
On the contribution of Muslim women in African history.
7 months ago
On the contribution of Muslim women in African history.
TheCollector
Vyacheslav Molotov: 6 Facts about Stalin’s Closest Confidant
undefined
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
How About a Victory for the Left Occasionally?
Here are a few modest ideas.
a year ago
Here are a few modest ideas.
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?
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.
Trying to Understand...
Peter Pan goes to Ukraine
Some people never grow up.
over a year ago
Some people never grow up.
weird medieval guys
Why is medieval art so weird?
Listen now (73 min) | In this inaugural episode of the Weird Medieval Guys podcast, Olivia and Aran...
a year ago
Listen now (73 min) | In this inaugural episode of the Weird Medieval Guys podcast, Olivia and Aran discuss why medieval art is so intriguing to modern viewers and what makes so much of it so weird. Also discussed are Galaxy Quest, Mel Gibson's crimes against the Middle Ages, and...
African History...
A history of the Majeerteen Sultanate: 1700-1927.
Maritime trade and diplomacy in the northern Horn of Africa.
a year ago
Maritime trade and diplomacy in the northern Horn of Africa.
Trying to Understand...
Will it Bend or Will it Break?
The international system, that is.
a year ago
The international system, that is.
Trying to Understand...
The Third World War Has Been Cancelled.
It was all too difficult, finally.
5 months ago
It was all too difficult, finally.
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part I: Aristocrats, Retainers and...
For the next few posts, I want to take a look at how some ‘tribal’ peoples raised armies, in...
6 months ago
For the next few posts, I want to take a look at how some ‘tribal’ peoples raised armies, in contrast to the way that ancient (or later) states raised armies. As moderns, we are so familiar with the way that states function that the far older systems of non-state organization and...
Classical Wisdom
Plato On Knowledge
What is True?
8 months ago
Dr Alun Withey
Creams, Clothes and Cases: The material culture of pre-modern travel.
I am currently on study leave, getting on with research for my new project on the history of travel...
10 months ago
I am currently on study leave, getting on with research for my new project on the history of travel preparations. One thing that I’m particularly interested in is the material culture of travel, and what sorts of things were available for travellers as they got ready for their...
A Collection of...
Gap Week: April 19, 2024 (Manor Lords First Impression)
Hey folks, this week is a bit of a gap week as I am heading out to the annual meeting of the Society...
8 months ago
Hey folks, this week is a bit of a gap week as I am heading out to the annual meeting of the Society for Military History (and, indeed, by the time you read this, I will be there). Normally, I post the abstract of my conference talk for these sorts of things, but since I …...
History Today Feed
An Exhibition on Rational Dress for Victorian Women
An Exhibition on Rational Dress for Victorian Women
JamesHoare
Sun, 05/19/2024 - 00:00
7 months ago
An Exhibition on Rational Dress for Victorian Women
JamesHoare
Sun, 05/19/2024 - 00:00
Trying to Understand...
Round Two? There Is No Round Two.
Game pretty much over in Ukraine.
a year ago
Game pretty much over in Ukraine.
Classical Wisdom
Empedocles
The Philosopher God?
a year ago
African History...
Kingdoms at the forest's edge: a history of Mangbetu (ca. 1750-1895)
The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has...
7 months ago
The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has a long and complex history shaped by its internal cultural developments and its unique ecology between the savannah and the forest. Among the most remarkable states that emerged in...
Res Obscura
Why I love etymologies
Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words...
7 months ago
Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words matters
Trying to Understand...
And Now for Something Completely Different.
Am I me? Are You you? ?
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Reality Would Like A Word.
Paging Tom and Daisy Buchanan
a year ago
Paging Tom and Daisy Buchanan
Global Inequality...
2x2 geopolitics
Wars and ideology simplified
5 months ago
Wars and ideology simplified
Classical Wisdom
Essential Classics
Memorial Sales Ends
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
Classical Wisdom
The Two Trojan Wars
Secret Origins
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Events Listing
Ancient Women, Marcus Aurelius, Economics and Resilience...
a year ago
Ancient Women, Marcus Aurelius, Economics and Resilience...
Classical Wisdom
Do We Need Passports? Or Borders?
Watch now (23 sec) | Crossing with Radiohead
a year ago
Watch now (23 sec) | Crossing with Radiohead
Global Inequality...
The end and the beginning of history
Three ways of thinking about Lea Ypi’s Free
5 months ago
Three ways of thinking about Lea Ypi’s Free
TheCollector
Top Five Painters To Watch in 2024
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11 months ago
TheCollector
6 Key Artists of the New Objectivity Movement
undefined
10 months ago
Res Obscura
How well can AI imitate a 17th century doctor?
Arcadio Huang is ill in 1710s Paris. Can GPT-4 and Gemini find a cure?
10 months ago
Arcadio Huang is ill in 1710s Paris. Can GPT-4 and Gemini find a cure?
TheCollector
Who Was the Real Mona Lisa?
undefined
10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Who’s in the Tomb?
A Macedonian Mystery: The Tombs of Aigai
7 months ago
A Macedonian Mystery: The Tombs of Aigai
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Origins of Stoicism
5 months ago
TheCollector
Who Were the 4 Key Players of the Risorgimento?
undefined
11 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Should We Own Stuff?
The Wealth and Gold of Ancient Georgia
a year ago
The Wealth and Gold of Ancient Georgia
TheCollector
UNESCO Creates a Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Artifacts
undefined
a year ago
Dreams of Space -...
Bozo and His Rocket Ship -Capitol Record-Reader (1947)
Here an old piece of "rocket" ephemera. Back when there were these big black round things called...
9 months ago
Here an old piece of "rocket" ephemera. Back when there were these big black round things called "records," there were children's record-readers. My mom had some of these from here childhood so I actually read some of them. You would put a stack of records on (this one had 4...
Flashbak
A Book of Dreams: 25 Vintage Visions To Awaken Your Mind
We’re dreaming today with collector Robert E Jackson. Triggered by the undertow of memory and fed by...
7 months ago
We’re dreaming today with collector Robert E Jackson. Triggered by the undertow of memory and fed by desire, our dreams are visions of other lives, possible clues to the future. “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the...
TheCollector
What Is a Medieval Morality Play?
undefined
7 months ago
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.
African History...
The radical philosophy of the Hatata: a 17th century treatise by the Ethiopian thinker Zara Yacob
the historical context of the Hatata in African philosophy.
8 months ago
the historical context of the Hatata in African philosophy.
Classical Wisdom
Artemisia of Caria
Commander, Queen, and Eva Green
a year ago
Commander, Queen, and Eva Green
Trying to Understand...
Another Of My Essays In French
And some odds and ends.
5 months ago
Flashbak
Waiting For A Miracle: Kiev in 1998
In 1998, Juri Nesterov was in Kiev, the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It was a city of...
7 months ago
In 1998, Juri Nesterov was in Kiev, the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It was a city of hope. In 1991, After 57 years as the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union, the city became the capital of independent Ukraine. In the picture...
Classical Wisdom
Emotions: Better Out or In?
Can Catharsis Help... or Harm?
7 months ago
Can Catharsis Help... or Harm?
Classical Wisdom
Jews in the Roman Bathhouse
Is it time to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Greco-Roman society?
a year ago
Is it time to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Greco-Roman society?
History Today Feed
The Scandalous Success of the Daily Mail
The Scandalous Success of the Daily Mail
j.hoare
Mon, 01/01/2024 - 13:07
11 months ago
The Scandalous Success of the Daily Mail
j.hoare
Mon, 01/01/2024 - 13:07
Trying to Understand...
Everything is (Somewhat) Connected.
But some things are more connected than others.
a year ago
But some things are more connected than others.
Classical Wisdom
12 Ancient Greek Terms that Should Totally Make a Comeback
Eudaimonia, Arete, and much more...
a year ago
Eudaimonia, Arete, and much more...
Trying to Understand...
It's War, Josep, But Not As We Know It
Trying to understand what Ukraine is all about.
over a year ago
Trying to understand what Ukraine is all about.
History Today Feed
‘The Wild Men’, ‘The Men of 1924’ and ‘A Century of Labour’ review
‘The Wild Men’, ‘The Men of 1924’ and ‘A Century of Labour’ review
JamesHoare
Tue, 01/30/2024 -...
10 months ago
‘The Wild Men’, ‘The Men of 1924’ and ‘A Century of Labour’ review
JamesHoare
Tue, 01/30/2024 - 10:13
TheCollector
Why Did Ukraine Make Stamps of Banksy’s Art?
undefined
a year ago
African History...
The myth of Mansa Musa's enslaved entourage
"Stories about his [Mansa Musa's] journey have numerous anecdotes which are not true and which the...
a year ago
"Stories about his [Mansa Musa's] journey have numerous anecdotes which are not true and which the mind refuses to admit".
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Blindspots and Biographies
a year ago
Blindspots and Biographies
History Today Feed
‘Spice’ by Roger Crowley review
‘Spice’ by Roger Crowley review
JamesHoare
Tue, 06/18/2024 - 09:03
6 months ago
‘Spice’ by Roger Crowley review
JamesHoare
Tue, 06/18/2024 - 09:03
Dr Alun Withey
Should I Stay or Should I go?: Encouraging travel in the early modern period.
Travel today is often portrayed as a healthy activity, good for body, mind…and what’s left of the...
6 months ago
Travel today is often portrayed as a healthy activity, good for body, mind…and what’s left of the spirit! A good holiday is generally viewed as a tonic, and holiday company advertisements extol the virtues of ‘getting away’, encountering new places, people and cultures and (if...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, May 31, 2024 (Academic Departments)
Fireside this week! I am spinning up to write a Teaching Paradox series on Imperator later this...
6 months ago
Fireside this week! I am spinning up to write a Teaching Paradox series on Imperator later this week, but not quite ready to get started yet. I’m also thinking, perhaps before that, of doing a short post or set of posts on the organization of non-state ‘tribal’ societies in...
TheCollector
Who Won the First Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War?
undefined
7 months ago
Trying to Understand...
So They Want Negotiations, Now.
Have they any idea what they are talking about?
a year ago
Have they any idea what they are talking about?
Dreams of Space -...
Moon Trip (1958)
Some of you are familiar with the Ley-Polgreen 4 book "Adventures in Space series (Man-Made...
a year ago
Some of you are familiar with the Ley-Polgreen 4 book "Adventures in Space series (Man-Made Satellites, Space Pilots, Space Stations and Space Travel)."
This is about a 4 book space series you may never have seen. Michael Chester and William Nephew also did a great series of...
African History...
a brief note on Africa in 16th century global history.
the international relations and manuscripts of Kongo
9 months ago
the international relations and manuscripts of Kongo
TheCollector
Ancient Egypt Under the Achaemenid Persian Empire: A Brief Overview
undefined
12 months ago
Classical Wisdom
The First Biographers
...and the Surprising Legacy of Ancient Literature
a year ago
...and the Surprising Legacy of Ancient Literature
Trying to Understand...
The Modern World Is Boring.
Where are the heroes and the adventures now?
6 months ago
Where are the heroes and the adventures now?
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
African History...
a brief note on the history of Music in Africa
plus an overview of Ethiopian musical traditions
a year ago
plus an overview of Ethiopian musical traditions
History Today Feed
The Death of Caspar Hauser
The Death of Caspar Hauser
j.hoare
Sun, 12/17/2023 - 00:00
a year ago
The Death of Caspar Hauser
j.hoare
Sun, 12/17/2023 - 00:00
Dr Alun Withey
The Troublesome Gibbet of John Haines, the ‘Wounded Highwayman’ of Hounslow.
For this post, I am going to wander into the world of crime in the late eighteenth century, and the...
10 months ago
For this post, I am going to wander into the world of crime in the late eighteenth century, and the grisly fate that befell many who committed the heinous crime of highway robbery. (Full disclosure: I’m not an historian of crime, gibbets or highwaymen…perhaps the case I’m about...
Trying to Understand...
A Fistful of Clockwork Oranges
What's it going to be, then?
a year ago
What's it going to be, then?
Classical Wisdom
Socrates' Wayward Student
...and the Philosophy of Pleasure
a year ago
...and the Philosophy of Pleasure
African History...
a brief note on themes in African art.
Cartography, Culture and History in the artwork of the Bamum kingdom.
5 months ago
Cartography, Culture and History in the artwork of the Bamum kingdom.
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, July 12, 2024
Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the start of the Imperator Teaching Paradox series ready for...
5 months ago
Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the start of the Imperator Teaching Paradox series ready for this week, but it has been a bit stubborn and I do not want to derail my book writing/revising schedule in order to push it out before it is ready. So that will almost certainly...
Trying to Understand...
Service to what nation?
Why people should stop talking about conscription.
5 months ago
Why people should stop talking about conscription.
History Today Feed
‘Age of Wolf and Wind’ by Davide Zori review
‘Age of Wolf and Wind’ by Davide Zori review
JamesHoare
Wed, 05/29/2024 - 10:27
6 months ago
‘Age of Wolf and Wind’ by Davide Zori review
JamesHoare
Wed, 05/29/2024 - 10:27
TheCollector
What Were Julius Caesar’s Greatest Achievements
undefined
11 months ago
Res Obscura
When technology follows art
From optics to machine learning, artists have played an important, if underrated, role in the...
a year ago
From optics to machine learning, artists have played an important, if underrated, role in the history of technology
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
The Story of Thebes
a year ago
TheCollector
11 Greek Mythological Creatures
undefined
11 months ago
TheCollector
Monstrous Births: Artistically Understanding the Mystery of Birth
undefined
a year ago
Dreams of Space -...
Into Space: Man's First Controlled Space Flight (1961)
A bit of ephemera today. This is a pamphlet from a Revell Model Kit. They issued this kit quickly to...
a year ago
A bit of ephemera today. This is a pamphlet from a Revell Model Kit. They issued this kit quickly to take advantage of the excitement about this launch. So they had to include a booklet to explain why this slightly inaccurate model was so special. Imagine opening the model kit...
Dreams of Space -...
Satellites As A Hobby (1962)
Satellites as a Hobby was a children's book from Hammond (the atlas people) They commissioned and...
a year ago
Satellites as a Hobby was a children's book from Hammond (the atlas people) They commissioned and created a space map in 1958 (see Sept 8, 2011 blog post). They reused these illustration in several publication which may explain why they seem a little "dated" for 1962. This book...
Patterns in Humanity
The case for prisons
The purpose of prisons, and the evidence of their efficacy
3 months ago
The purpose of prisons, and the evidence of their efficacy
Patterns in Humanity
Sweden's immigration taboo
Immigration data kept behind closed doors
4 months ago
Immigration data kept behind closed doors
African History...
The complete history of Kano (999-1903)
journal of African cities chapter 9
a year ago
journal of African cities chapter 9
TheCollector
Homo Habilis: The First Humans?
undefined
11 months ago
Flashbak
Vanity Fair’s Bifurcated Girls: The Article That Introduced America To Girlie Magazines, 1903
Bifurcated Girls is a salacious illustrated story that first appeared in the June 1903 issue of...
7 months ago
Bifurcated Girls is a salacious illustrated story that first appeared in the June 1903 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. That’s not the glossy publication we know today, rather the a short-lived pulp magazine published by the Commonwealth Publishing Company of New York City...
TheCollector
How Did Comuna 13 Transform Medellín?
undefined
7 months ago
Dr Alun Withey
The Health Risks of Travel in Early-Modern Britain
As I start to make some progress on my new research project on travel, health and risk I am turning...
a year ago
As I start to make some progress on my new research project on travel, health and risk I am turning my attention to the sorts of things that early modern travellers were fearful of. As a bit of a nervous traveller myself, it’s quite comforting to know that there is actually a...
History Today Feed
The Prophecies of Merlin
The Prophecies of Merlin
JamesHoare
Mon, 04/22/2024 - 11:22
8 months ago
The Prophecies of Merlin
JamesHoare
Mon, 04/22/2024 - 11:22
Classical Wisdom
Sparta and… Scotland?
Laconic wit through the centuries
a year ago
Laconic wit through the centuries
TheCollector
‘Ain Ghazal: One of the Oldest Places in Human Civilization
undefined
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Little People With Agency.
No, not that Agency.
3 months ago
Trying to Understand...
The West is Weak Where it Matters ...
...and some of the consequences are not obvious.
a year ago
...and some of the consequences are not obvious.
African History...
A history of Women's political power and matriliny in the kingdom of Kongo.
In the 19th century, anthropologists were fascinated by the concept of matrilineal descent in which...
a year ago
In the 19th century, anthropologists were fascinated by the concept of matrilineal descent in which kinship is traced through the female line. Matriliny was often confounded with matriarchy as a supposedly earlier stage of social evolution than patriarchy. Matriliny thus became a...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, June 28, 2024
Fireside this week! My hope in terms of the upcoming schedule is to have my usual July 4th post next...
5 months ago
Fireside this week! My hope in terms of the upcoming schedule is to have my usual July 4th post next week (we’re discussing political philosophy in an election year, so I am sure everyone will be very chill; regardless let me repeat you will be civil) and then after that to dive...
Global Inequality...
Marx Truncated
A review of Shlomo Avineri’s “Karl Marx”
6 months ago
A review of Shlomo Avineri’s “Karl Marx”
Flashbak
Photos of Iggy Pop And The Stooges Playing NYC Club Ungano’s in 1970
In August 1970, American photographer Bud Lee (1940-2016) took photographs of Iggy Pop and the...
6 months ago
In August 1970, American photographer Bud Lee (1940-2016) took photographs of Iggy Pop and the Stooges performing at brothers Nick and Arnie Ungano’s basement club on New York’s West 70th Street between Amsterdam and West End Avenues. The ban were celebrating the release of their...
Trying to Understand...
NATO's Phantom Armies.
And the ghost of Carl von Clausewitz.
7 months ago
And the ghost of Carl von Clausewitz.
Classical Wisdom
The Mysterious Phaistos Disk
And the Palace where it was found...
a year ago
And the Palace where it was found...
Trying to Understand...
No Cheers for Authoritarianism
Remind me what it was, exactly ....
a year ago
Remind me what it was, exactly ....
African History...
A history of the Damagaram sultanate of Zinder: ca. 1730-1899.
Politics, Guns, and Trade in the pre-colonial Sahel
a year ago
Politics, Guns, and Trade in the pre-colonial Sahel
A Collection of...
Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVb: Antiochus III
This is the second part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa)...
8 months ago
This is the second part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa) look at the context between the Roman military system based on the manipular legion and the Hellenistic military system structured around the Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the...
Dreams of Space -...
Cosmodrome (1987)
Cosmodrome is a paper cut-out book that you could use to build a cosmodrome. Admittedly it is...
a year ago
Cosmodrome is a paper cut-out book that you could use to build a cosmodrome. Admittedly it is published in 1987 so it is way out of scope for my blog. But it has some great visuals and so I think it is worth sharing. I have never had the nerve to cut this out and build it. Most...
Classical Wisdom
[Video] Roundtable Discussion with Mary Naples
Watch now (60 min) | Cult of the Capture Bride: How Ancient Women Took Power
a year ago
Watch now (60 min) | Cult of the Capture Bride: How Ancient Women Took Power
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...
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.
Dreams of Space -...
The Conquest of Space (1962?)
I last blogged about this book in 2015 so it is time for a revisit. I got a second copy that has a...
a year ago
I last blogged about this book in 2015 so it is time for a revisit. I got a second copy that has a couple of things I had not seen before. The Conquest of Space is a 1962 (?) Australian stamp album. It is intended for children to collect paper stamps they get in Nestle chocolate...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Plutarch and Pleasure
a year ago
Dreams of Space -...
Yuri's Night is April 12th!
Dream About Gagarin (1961)
Celebrating "Yuri's Night." This is the celebration of Yuri...
a year ago
Dream About Gagarin (1961)
Celebrating "Yuri's Night." This is the celebration of Yuri Gagarin 1st manned flight into space in Vostok 1, which completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961. So this book is also from 1961 suggesting that children should dream of this...
Dreams of Space -...
Searching In Science (1965)
To continue with my post from last week, Searching in Science was another science textbook that also...
over a year ago
To continue with my post from last week, Searching in Science was another science textbook that also issued booklets of content. These were more astronomy than manned space flight but also had some very nice illustrations.
The Moon
The Milky Way and The...
Classical Wisdom
Have We Become Anti-Human?
Is this a problem? And Can/Should it be Helped?
a year ago
Is this a problem? And Can/Should it be Helped?
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....
African History...
The Dahlak islands and the African dynasty of Yemen
a complete history of a cosmopolitan archipelago in the red sea (4th-19th century)
a year ago
a complete history of a cosmopolitan archipelago in the red sea (4th-19th century)
Flashbak
New York City’s NIGHT Magazine – 1978-79
Launched in September 1978, Anton Perich’s self-financed NIGHT magazine showcased New York City’s...
5 months ago
Launched in September 1978, Anton Perich’s self-financed NIGHT magazine showcased New York City’s mix of fashion, art, and music at clubs like Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager’s Studio 54 and Howard Stein and Peppo Vanini’s Xenon, where nightlife and performance met. Distribution...
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...
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part III: Going To War With the Army...
This is the third and final part of our three-part (I, II, III) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more...
6 months ago
This is the third and final part of our three-part (I, II, III) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly, non-state agrarian peoples – particularly the Celtiberians, Gauls and also many Germanic-language speaking peoples on the Rhine and Danube- raised armies to fight the...
Trying to Understand...
Macron is Safe for the Moment
But the future worries me.
a year ago
But the future worries me.
African History...
The pyramids of ancient Nubia and Meroe: death on the Nile and the mortuary architecture of Kush
a complete history of an African monument
a year ago
a complete history of an African monument
Dr Alun Withey
Medicine on the Move: Early Modern Travel and Remedies
As my new project on the history of travel, health risk and preparation begins to get underway, one...
a year ago
As my new project on the history of travel, health risk and preparation begins to get underway, one of the things that I am thinking about is the place of travel within early modern medical remedy culture. What kinds of conditions could befall travellers? What did early modern...
Dr Alun Withey
Barbers and (the lack of!) Polite Advertising
Over the past few years, I have spent much time looking at ‘polite’ advertising in the 18th century....
over a year ago
Over the past few years, I have spent much time looking at ‘polite’ advertising in the 18th century. During this period, a whole range of retailers advertised their goods and services to appeal to ladies and gentlemen of taste. Without discussing anything so base as price or...
Trying to Understand...
I Hate My Job And I Want To Cry.
Tried chopping wood and carrying water?
11 months ago
Tried chopping wood and carrying water?
Classical Wisdom
Art of the Etruscans
Romans before the Romans
8 months ago
History Today Feed
Robert the Bruce: Born To Be King?
Robert the Bruce: Born To Be King?
JamesHoare
Mon, 06/17/2024 - 11:11
6 months ago
Robert the Bruce: Born To Be King?
JamesHoare
Mon, 06/17/2024 - 11:11
African History...
The desert town of Southern Africa: A history of Khauxanas 1780-1906
A view of pre-colonial Namibia from the khoisan town of ||Khauxa!nas.
a year ago
A view of pre-colonial Namibia from the khoisan town of ||Khauxa!nas.
Trying to Understand...
You And Whose Army?
NATO would do well to stay out of Ukraine.
a year ago
NATO would do well to stay out of Ukraine.
Dreams of Space -...
Wonders of Space Travel (1954)
I have not blogged about this pamphlet since 2010 so here is a more complete scan. Wonders of Space...
a year ago
I have not blogged about this pamphlet since 2010 so here is a more complete scan. Wonders of Space Travel was a pamphlet that came enclosed in the May 8th issue of Lion Weekly (#116) in 1954.
Lion Weekly was a magazine for children with comics and stories. (from Wikipedia...
African History...
A history of the west African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem before 1900
The legacy of west African travel to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
a year ago
The legacy of west African travel to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Constantine and the Queen of Carthage
a year ago
Constantine and the Queen of Carthage
Flashbak
Arnaldo Putzu and His Fabulous Hand-Painted Covers for Look-In Magazine And Movie Posters
You might not know the name Arnaldo Putzu (1927 – 2012) but chances are that if you grew up in the...
5 months ago
You might not know the name Arnaldo Putzu (1927 – 2012) but chances are that if you grew up in the 1960s and 1970s you’ve seen his work on movie posters and magazine covers. Born in Rome, Putzu studied at the Rome Academy and discovered a love of portrait painting. After...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Lost and Found
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The Myth of the Minotaur
Journey Into the Labyrinth
a year ago
Journey Into the Labyrinth
Dreams of Space -...
Man-Made Moons (1960)
Another book re-scanned. This one has some wonderful graphics and book design. The design is meant...
a year ago
Another book re-scanned. This one has some wonderful graphics and book design. The design is meant to be an example of isotype graphic design. This was a visual language created to unite the world without using words at all: International System Of Typographic Picture Education,...
Dreams of Space -...
Looking Into Science (1965)
Here is a re-post, with new scans, of one of my most popular series of books. There was a 1965...
over a year ago
Here is a re-post, with new scans, of one of my most popular series of books. There was a 1965 textbook for children call Looking Into Science. They reused the contents in a series of booklets that I would like to share with you. There were a large number of these booklets...
Dr Alun Withey
Are Beards Over? A Historical Perspective.
Recently I spoke with the Guardian journalist Tim Dowling for an excellent article he was writing...
over a year ago
Recently I spoke with the Guardian journalist Tim Dowling for an excellent article he was writing (published last week) about whether beards are finally ‘over’, and I thought it would be interesting to reflect on some of this. Since re-emerging around 2014, gaining popularity...
Res Obscura
Why Early Modern Books Are So Beautiful
Three theories
a year ago
Dreams of Space -...
Hombres Del Espacio (1960)
So a fun one today. This is so silly and dated that I almost feel like apologizing, but I won't....
a year ago
So a fun one today. This is so silly and dated that I almost feel like apologizing, but I won't. This is the story of the exploration of space and has to be seen! It might have been assembled from stills from a Spanish film (I don't recognize it so feel free to tell me). But...
Classical Wisdom
Aristotle on Luck
Do You Feel Lucky?
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Dido: Queen of Carthage
Doomed Lover of Ancient Myth
a year ago
Doomed Lover of Ancient Myth
weird medieval guys
The coolest medieval woman you've never heard of
Christine de Pizan on Circe, Medusa, and other virtuous ladies
a year ago
Christine de Pizan on Circe, Medusa, and other virtuous ladies
Dreams of Space -...
New Treasury for Young Readers (1963)
More or less a "housekeeping" post today. I wanted to scan this book after finding the other one...
10 months ago
More or less a "housekeeping" post today. I wanted to scan this book after finding the other one just for balance. Some fine illustration is a lost bit of space flight for children.
New Treasury for Young Readers. Reader’s Digest. Pleasantville, NY. Reader’s Digest Association....
African History...
A complete history of Jenne: 250BC-1893AD
Journal of African cities chapter 6
a year ago
Journal of African cities chapter 6
Dreams of Space -...
The Great Experience (1963)
I have been collecting these books for such a long time that it is rare to come across one I haven't...
a year ago
I have been collecting these books for such a long time that it is rare to come across one I haven't seen. I know there are still many out there but my language skills are poor enough that I rarely find the many books that exist in other languages. So I present today The Great...
Flashbak
Evelyn Richter’s Street Photography Reveals the Reality of Life in East Germany
For photographer Evelyn Richter (1930–2021) East Germany was not computers being towed by the...
4 months ago
For photographer Evelyn Richter (1930–2021) East Germany was not computers being towed by the bikini-clad proletariat, Western holidaymakers, badly disguised secret police and being on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall. A self-described “documentarian and historian”, Richter...
Classical Wisdom
Religion in the Olympics
The Olympics: Do they Unite or Divide Us?
4 months ago
The Olympics: Do they Unite or Divide Us?
African History...
a brief note on African travel literature in history
a Swahili document on south-central Africa.
6 months ago
a Swahili document on south-central Africa.
A Collection of...
Gap Week: December 29, 2023 (Year In Review)
Hey folks! I had planned to do a Fireside for this week with a sort of ‘year-in-review’ musing, but...
11 months ago
Hey folks! I had planned to do a Fireside for this week with a sort of ‘year-in-review’ musing, but between the holidays and the whole pedant household coming down with a nasty cold, I’m a bit short of the time and energy to put together a full fireside with...
African History...
a brief note on the intellectual contributions of African scholars in the diaspora
the biography of a West African mathematician in Cairo.
8 months ago
the biography of a West African mathematician in Cairo.
Trying to Understand...
People, States and Borders.
And other dubious ideas.
4 months ago
African History...
Join me on Notes
"On the Zanzibari envoy to 11th century china and the recent Swahili-Persian DNA study"
a year ago
"On the Zanzibari envoy to 11th century china and the recent Swahili-Persian DNA study"
Res Obscura
Historical maps probably helped cause World War I
On cartography as historical argument
a year ago
On cartography as historical argument
Trying to Understand...
The Evils Of Professionalism
In politics, anyway.
6 months ago
African History...
A social history of the Lamu city-state (1370-1885)
Journal of African cities chapter 5
a year ago
Journal of African cities chapter 5
Classical Wisdom
Marcus Aurelius VS Diogenes
Comparing the Stoics and the Cynics...
a year ago
Comparing the Stoics and the Cynics...
Dreams of Space -...
Telstar: Communication Break-through by Satellite (1962)
Sorry to skip a week, it may happen again next week.
Here is a straight history book of an current...
a year ago
Sorry to skip a week, it may happen again next week.
Here is a straight history book of an current (at the time) and wonderful event in global communication. We has lost track of how satellites have changed our lives and made the earth a smaller place. It is a little dull in...
Dreams of Space -...
Utazas a vilagurbe/ Into Space (1978)
A little out of my defined time period but too good not to share. This pop-up book was part of the...
a year ago
A little out of my defined time period but too good not to share. This pop-up book was part of the burst in Russian children's publishing in 1978. It was originally published in Russian but I have seen copies in English and this one in Hungarian. The pop-ups are wonderful and...
TheCollector
Battle of Thebes: How Alexander the Great Destroyed the Great City
undefined
11 months ago
African History...
The complete history of Gondar: Africa's city of castles (1636-1900)
Journal of African cities chapter 8
a year ago
Journal of African cities chapter 8
Dr Alun Withey
How Much?! Barbers & the Price of Shaving.
One of the central themes of my new book is how the practice of shaving has changed over time and,...
over a year ago
One of the central themes of my new book is how the practice of shaving has changed over time and, more importantly, who has been responsible for it. From the second half of the eighteenth century, individual men began to take more responsibility for shaving themselves, helped on...
Trying to Understand...
Ukraine and the end of "Europe."
Nation-states were the problem: supranationality was not the answer.
over a year ago
Nation-states were the problem: supranationality was not the answer.
TheCollector
Who Was Clement of Rome?
undefined
11 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup
Last Chance!
a year ago
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...
Dreams of Space -...
Out of This World (1953)
Happy Friday the 13th (in October too). Don't worry, you have gotten really lucky today.
Out of...
a year ago
Happy Friday the 13th (in October too). Don't worry, you have gotten really lucky today.
Out of this World was one of my favorite "discoveries" when I first started collecting these books. It is a massive 160 pages of games, jokes, riddles, and space facts. I last blogged about...
Dreams of Space -...
What the Moon Is Like (1963)
Happy 2023, this book is 60 years old this year and still seems as fresh as ever since we are...
a year ago
Happy 2023, this book is 60 years old this year and still seems as fresh as ever since we are exploring the Moon again.
What the Moon is Like is another book by the children's science writer Franklyn Branley. He wrote many children's non-fiction books with a variety of...
African History...
The heroic age in Darfur: a history of the pre-colonial kingdom of Darfur ca. 1500-1916.
The political marginalization of the Darfur region since the creation of colonial Sudan has resulted...
5 months ago
The political marginalization of the Darfur region since the creation of colonial Sudan has resulted in one of the continent's longest-standing conflicts, which threatens to destroy the country's social fabric and its historical heritage. Just as the plight of modern Darfur...
Flashbak
‘Look at Me’: Scot Sothern’s powerful photographs of life on LA’s streets
In amongst the crowds drifting along Hollywood Boulevard there’s an old guy sitting on an orange...
7 months ago
In amongst the crowds drifting along Hollywood Boulevard there’s an old guy sitting on an orange bucket. He’s wearing dirty jeans and a grey hoodie. The guy’s in his seventies. Weather-worn. Grizzled beard. Walking stick. Back trouble caused by “old spinal injuries and bad...
Classical Wisdom
Origins of Latin Literature
...and the Master of Roman Comedy
a year ago
...and the Master of Roman Comedy
Trying to Understand...
A Short Service Announcement.
From this week, and on an experimental basis, I’m enabling paid subscriptions for those who may be...
a year ago
From this week, and on an experimental basis, I’m enabling paid subscriptions for those who may be interested. The essays themselves will continue to be entirely free, and I don’t have plans to produce subscriber-only material. I’ve also set up a Buy Me a Coffee cup.
TheCollector
Why Did the Germans Struggle in the Battle of Crete?
undefined
a year ago
weird medieval guys
An 800 year prayer book that's decorated with puns
Plus a little history of manuscript illustration
a year ago
Plus a little history of manuscript illustration
Classical Wisdom
[Ebook] The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Meditations (or Things to One’s Self) of Marcus Aurelius...
a year ago
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Meditations (or Things to One’s Self) of Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) gives you a prescribed way in which you can actually reduce genuine suffering in your life because Rome’s great “philosopher king” lays out a very compelling, very...
Dr Alun Withey
Beard Fashions and Class
Over the past few centuries, fashions in facial hair have changed substantially. In the mid...
over a year ago
Over the past few centuries, fashions in facial hair have changed substantially. In the mid seventeenth century many men wore the ‘Van Dyke’ style of a small, pointy beard and moustaches. By the end of the 1600s, beards were in decline, leaving many men with just moustaches. The...
Dreams of Space -...
Women's Day -August (1953) Part 2
Another article that appeared in this August 1953 issue is about the current fictional space flight...
over a year ago
Another article that appeared in this August 1953 issue is about the current fictional space flight programs on TV: Rocket-Bye Baby.
African History...
a brief note on the long history of African diplomacy.
historical links between west africa and the Maghreb.
5 months ago
historical links between west africa and the Maghreb.
TheCollector
Does Nietzsche Believe in Free Will?
undefined
a year ago
African History...
The kingdom of Ndongo and the Portuguese: Queen Njinga and the dynasty of women sovereigns...
The effects of early colonial warfare in central Africa
a year ago
The effects of early colonial warfare in central Africa
African History...
How Africans wrote their own history: Debates and dialogues between four west African historians in...
Facts, myths and royal propaganda.
a year ago
Facts, myths and royal propaganda.
Patterns in Humanity
Immigration and crime: Denmark
Are immigrants overrepresented in crime? If so, which immigrants? And why?
4 months ago
Are immigrants overrepresented in crime? If so, which immigrants? And why?
African History...
The forgotten ruins of Botswana: stone towns at the desert's edge.
At its height in the 17th century, the stone towns of the ‘zimbabwe culture’ encompassed an area the...
6 months ago
At its height in the 17th century, the stone towns of the ‘zimbabwe culture’ encompassed an area the size of France. The hundreds of ruins spread across three countries in south-eastern Africa are among the continent’s best-preserved historical monuments and have been the subject...
Dreams of Space -...
Das Neue Universum, Volume 67 (1950)
Das Neue Universum (The New Universe) was a German science annual series aimed at older...
a year ago
Das Neue Universum (The New Universe) was a German science annual series aimed at older children.
From the German Wikipedia site (translated) : "The New Universe is a German children's literature series with themes in the fields of knowledge , research , adventure and...
Dreams of Space -...
The Man Who Sold The Moon (1951 edition)
This is a 1951 paperback collection of 4 Robert Heinlein stories. Normally I would not blog about a...
a year ago
This is a 1951 paperback collection of 4 Robert Heinlein stories. Normally I would not blog about a science fiction collection but I found this charming. I imagined some older avid child finding this collection and devouring it. Both the title and cover have a lot of appeal and...
Dr Alun Withey
Packing the Essentials!: Preparing to Travel in the 18th Century.
Now that Covid restrictions have finally been lifted, and summer is at least theoretically here –...
over a year ago
Now that Covid restrictions have finally been lifted, and summer is at least theoretically here – it’s raining outside as I write! – many people are returning to travel and undertaking the holidays that have had to be postponed over the past couple of years. The pandemic aside,...
Flashbak
Armand Henrion: The Artist Who Always Painted Himself As A Clown
Armand Henrion (1875 – 1958) was a Belgian-born artist. He contributed to the Expressionist...
5 months ago
Armand Henrion (1875 – 1958) was a Belgian-born artist. He contributed to the Expressionist movement, worked in France and became a French citizen. And he liked to paint self-portraits – hundreds of them – in which he is dressed as a clown (more Pierrot than Bozo). Pierrot...
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...
Dreams of Space -...
Building Reading Skills (1951)
Today is a series of school spelling workbooks. What does that have to do with space? They chose an...
a year ago
Today is a series of school spelling workbooks. What does that have to do with space? They chose an aerospace theme for their series of books and since spaceflight was the trend for children they "branded" them. Truly these are pretty dull books even with a couple of space...
Dr Alun Withey
Cuts, Rashes & Chatter! The Pain of the 18th-century Shave!
Unless there are particular reasons, for example a skin condition, or a faulty razor, shaving today...
over a year ago
Unless there are particular reasons, for example a skin condition, or a faulty razor, shaving today is usually a pretty mundane – if not a pleasant – experience. Indeed, the rise of traditional barbershops over the past few years, offering shaving as an experience, together with...
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Provinces
This is the second and (in theory) last addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II,...
a year ago
This is the second and (in theory) last addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V, A1). Having discussed how Rome handles those parts of Italy it controls but which were not part of the Roman Republic itself, we now look at how the Romans...
Trying to Understand...
Externalising Our Hatreds.
It's Ukraine and Gaza. Again.
a year ago
It's Ukraine and Gaza. Again.
Dreams of Space -...
Moon Fleet Log Book (1966)
The Moon Fleet Log Book was a book distributed by Wall's Ice Cream to collect space cards that came...
over a year ago
The Moon Fleet Log Book was a book distributed by Wall's Ice Cream to collect space cards that came with the ice cream. There were spaces for 24 cards. This book was incomplete but still worth sharing with you.
Trying to Understand...
The Past Is Another Country.
A book review from the future.
5 months ago
A book review from the future.
African History...
A muslim kingdom in the Ethiopian highlands: the history of Ifat and Adal ca. 1285-1520.
During the late Middle Ages, the northern Horn of Africa was home to some of the continent's most...
6 months ago
During the late Middle Ages, the northern Horn of Africa was home to some of the continent's most powerful dynasties, whose history significantly shaped the region's social landscape. The history of one of these dynasties, often referred to as the Solomonids, has been...
Trying to Understand...
Don't Confuse Me With Facts.
They know what they think.
a year ago
They know what they think.
Dreams of Space -...
Exploring Space (Hebrew) (1960)
The Hebrew version of Exploring Space. If you notice it opens right to left. So you will see a few...
a year ago
The Hebrew version of Exploring Space. If you notice it opens right to left. So you will see a few pages where the Hebrew version "switches" sides. Because this is such a charming book I have loaded the whole thing. As an additional treat I own some of the original illustration...
weird medieval guys
What does a biblically accurate angel actually look like?
Sexy? Scary? Both?
a year ago
History Today Feed
Radical Conservatives and the Federal Union
Radical Conservatives and the Federal Union
JamesHoare
Tue, 08/13/2024 - 09:21
4 months ago
Radical Conservatives and the Federal Union
JamesHoare
Tue, 08/13/2024 - 09:21
Dreams of Space -...
Women's Day -August (1953) Part 3
From the same 1953 Women's Day issue comes my final posting from this "space packed" issue. For an...
over a year ago
From the same 1953 Women's Day issue comes my final posting from this "space packed" issue. For an early Christmas present to yourself or a craft project to make the perfect present for someone else, here are the plans for making some nifty space helmets!
Res Obscura
How well can GPT-4 simulate an acid trip in 1963?
An experiment with historical simulation
a year ago
An experiment with historical simulation
A Collection of...
Collections: The Philosophy of Liberty – On Liberalism
It is once again the week of July 4th and so, as is customary here, I am going to use this week’s...
5 months ago
It is once again the week of July 4th and so, as is customary here, I am going to use this week’s post to talk about the United States or more correctly this week about the political philosophy the United States was founded on: liberalism. Now an immediate clarification is...
Classical Wisdom
Five Reasons Why Socrates Was A Terrible Husband
Should you meet your heroes?
7 months ago
Should you meet your heroes?
weird medieval guys
Why medieval artists drew ancient Romans in medieval clothes
Or, how the French stole Julius Caesar in 1200 AD
a year ago
Or, how the French stole Julius Caesar in 1200 AD
TheCollector
Horse Archers: The Feared Unit of Ancient and Medieval Warfare
undefined
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
What is Love? And From Where did it Come?
All the ways to say LOVE, according to the Greeks
10 months ago
All the ways to say LOVE, according to the Greeks
African History...
Empire building and Government in the Yorubaland: a history of Oyo (1600-1836)
Why Africa's internal political processes explain African history better than external actors.
over a year ago
Why Africa's internal political processes explain African history better than external actors.
Dreams of Space -...
Women's Day -August (1953) Part 1
Women's Day magazine also got involved in the spaceflight fad in the early 1950s. This 1953 (August)...
over a year ago
Women's Day magazine also got involved in the spaceflight fad in the early 1950s. This 1953 (August) issue had a number of space related articles including: Will Your Child Visit The Moon? The article makes the case to the mothers of America that travel into space and the Moon is...
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