Category Archives: Art

A Merry Underground Christmas

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

For more than a century, London Transport has used posters to promote travel around the winter holidays. At Christmas, festive posters would appear on the network to encourage travelling via Underground for Christmas shopping or to get to winter sales, … Continue reading →

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New York On Ice

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

One of the most popular diversions in New York City during the winter holiday season is ice skating in the world famous Central Park. The skating pond in Central Park first opened to the public on December 19, 1858 and … Continue reading →

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The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Social Network

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Up until quite recently, I was a habitual buyer of postcards during my travels. Mind you, I rarely ever sent the postcards to anyone, but rather keep them as reminders of the places that I had visited. When I was young, postcards … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Art, Books, Europe, History, Public Transport, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Deadly Reads

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Some publisher could make a killing by reviving these hidden poison cabinets in the shape of books that were popular in the 17th century.  

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Anywhere, Anytime

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

This is a comic series about all those weird things we readers do. Script by The Wild Detectives Illustrations by  Laura Pacheco

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The Perfect Holiday Gift For Someone On Your List

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Miller High Life’s Gingerbread Dive Bar Kit brings the best of the holiday season together : arts & crafts, gingerbread, dive bars and beer. Almost everyone loves a good gingerbread house and building one is a wonderful seasonal activity. But maybe it’s … Continue reading →

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Love, Desire, Death

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

In the fascinating video below, Peter Schade, the Head of the Framing department at Britain’s National Gallery, shows the process of creating six huge matching frames for the Titian: Love Desire Death exhibition. Matthias Wivel, Curator of 16th-century Italian paintings, … Continue reading →

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Literary Selfies

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Brian D. Butler
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The Driver Is Red

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The moving animated documentary below is about how Israeli Mossad agent Zvi Aharoni tracked down and captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina 15 years after WWII ended. It is a powerful piece of art and history. The rare … Continue reading →

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The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

English author  and naturalist Edward Topsell (1572-1625) first published his book The History of Four-footed Beasts in 1607, followed by The History of Serpents in 1608. Topsell borrowed extensively from Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner’s Historia animalium (“History of Animals”), a five-volume set … Continue reading →

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