Category Archives: Europe

Are you ready for fore edge Friday

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

  This example for Fore Edge Friday comes from the second edition of The Canterbury Tales of Chaucer to Which are Added an Essay on His Language and Versification, and an Introductory Discourse, Together with Notes and a Glossary by English … Continue reading →

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Go Medieval On Them

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Medieval Memes  is a clever, fun project by  the Dutch National Library which takes illustrations from medieval manuscripts in its collection and lets anyone who wants make memes out of them to then share. The reason this is great is … Continue reading →

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all the trains are gone

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The illustration above, appeared in The Fatal Lozenge which was Edward Gorey’s first published “alphabet book”. In the book series, each letter of the alphabet is represented by a character which appears in a four line poem and each poem … Continue reading →

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Amazing Stories in Amazing Stories

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled upon a link to this issue of Amazing Stories magazine from 1927. What jumped out for me was the inclusion in this issue of H.P. Lovecraft’s of The Colour Out of Space  and H.G. Wells’  The War of the Worlds. … Continue reading →

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The Reader

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Books are only human after all

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Rooting through my image files I came across this little series of paintings by British artist and illustrator Jonathan Wolstenholme. He is widely known for his amazingly detailed works deriving from a love of old books and of the paraphernalia … Continue reading →

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Call For The Dead

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Last week, Viking announced that this year—which happens to be the 60th anniversary of the publication of John le Carré’s first novel, Call for the Dead—they will publish the late writer’s twenty-sixth, and likely last, novel, Silverview. Silverview will be … Continue reading →

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Waving Not Drowning

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

By now nearly every human being on the planet has seen one version or another of the iconic painting above. What do most of us really know about this sublime work of art ? When woodcut artist Katsushika Hokusai made his famous … Continue reading →

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Paris on the Precipice

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

As the lockdown comes to a close in Paris, the French street artist JR celebrates  its most iconic landmark by transforming the Esplanade of Trocadero into a monolithic chasm. Check out the video below on this fabulous project that was … Continue reading →

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Living in the Wild West (of Iceland)

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

At some point during every trip that I take to Iceland I entertain the fantasy of moving to a small coastal town and opening a little bookshop. But reality always wins out when I remember what Icelandic winters are like. … Continue reading →

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