“I have never described any thing without first having seen it with my eyes” – Ulissi Aldrovandi, who shows us dragons and other monsters in his Monstrorum Historia     Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia is a huge 13-volume encyclopaedia of life on Earth. The books cover different subjects: quadrupeds, fish, sea life, birds, serpents, plants … Continue reading "Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia: Dragons And Other Real Monsters" The post Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia: Dragons And Other Real Monsters appeared first on Flashbak.

“I believe in Faeries. It is very natural and not a bit foolish; for in these days we are quickly learning how little we know of any other world than our own.” – Bernard Sleigh, An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland Bernard Sleigh   After doctors drilled a hole in his skull to alleviate pressure caused … Continue reading "An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland by Bernard Sleigh, 1920" The post An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland by Bernard Sleigh, 1920 appeared first on Flashbak.

“I used to be a fireball of energy – if I had two or three days a week to spare where I wasn’t on an assignment I was out with my camera in the city. I covered this city like an archeologist.” – Stephen Salmieri, Coney Island Trips, 1967 – 1972     Between 1967 … Continue reading "Stephen Salmieri: First Photos of Coney Island, 1967 – 1972" The post Stephen Salmieri: First Photos of Coney Island, 1967 – 1972 appeared first on Flashbak.

These images from Centifrons Idolum Iani Hoc est: Metoposcopia Seu Prosopomantia by Johannes Praetorius (1661) attempt to convey the importance forehead topography plays in knowing another’s character. The study of foreheads is known as Metoposcopy, a pseudo-science developed in the 16th century by the Italian Renaissance mathematician, Gerolamo Cardano (Jerome Cardan). He published a treatise … Continue reading "Metoposcopia: How To Spot Character From Forehead Wrinkles, 1661" The post Metoposcopia: How To Spot Character From Forehead Wrinkles, 1661 appeared first on Flashbak.

“My object has not been to write a text-book on firework-making, but rather to trace the art from earliest times, and to give a description of the development and process of manufacture… My excuse for adding another volume to the literature of the art is that I am of the eighth generation of a family … Continue reading "The Fireworks King: Brock’s Pyrotechnics: The History and Art of Firework Making, 1922" The post The Fireworks King: Brock’s Pyrotechnics: The History and Art of Firework Making, 1922 appeared first on Flashbak.