Category Archives: History

How Random Is This

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

New York City’s amazing Metropolitan Museum of Art is probably my favorite museum in the world and I’ve been to hundreds. It’s also one of the most visited museums in the world with nearly 2 million guests annually. The Met … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, USA, Asia, Art, Middle East, History, Museums, Architecture | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

when the dying speak, they cannot lie

Posted on September 24, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I was sad to read of the passing of the great English author Hilary Mantel. Here in the colonies we became acquainted with her powerful prose through the Wolf Hall trilogy. I thought that I would share this piece from Hilary Mantel’s essay … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Freedom of Speech, History, Theater, Writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Which Countries Still Have A Monarchy

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

With all of the hubbub about the death of Queen Elizabeth II and Charles’ ascension to the throne, I wondered what countries still maintained a monarchy. Low and behold, the excellent website Visual Capitalist has a helpful graphic that answers … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, History, Maps | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

How do you define museum ?

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

After a vote at their 26th general conference on August 24th, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) has refined their official definition of the term “museum,” that they previously established nearly half a century ago. The updated definition—which now incorporates … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, History, Museums, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Ballad of Holland Island

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I recently had the opportunity to road trip along the Mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S. in the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The highlight was a visit to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, on Assateague Island, which has stunning beaches, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Film, History, Music, USA | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Journey Through Swiss Railway History

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

It has been my good fortune to have traveled extensively throughout Switzerland by train. IMHO the Swiss railway network is unparalleled for its engineering and for the beauty of the geography that it covers. So, I was happy to learn … Continue reading →

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The Very Definition of Irony

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

  Even if you do not live in North America you are probably aware that the United States has been experiencing a wave of book bannings and attempts by a vocal neo-Fascist Christian Nationalist minority to censor both library books … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, History, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A Night at the Garden

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

As we face an existential crisis which challenges whether the United States will remain a democracy or sink into a cesspit of neo-Fascist, Christian White Nationalist repression, it is worth remembering our history and examining how close we came in … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, History, USA | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A Hieroglyphic Travel Guide

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to Travel Between The Pages may recall that my niche market as a bookseller has long been travel guides and travel literature. I recently discovered this unique 1815 travel guide to Madeira and the Caribbean that is illustrated with … Continue reading →

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Marginal Medieval Memes

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Even if you don’t geek out over illuminated manuscripts as much as I do, there’s a good chance that you will be entertained by the short video below. It’s likely that you’ve seen images from medieval manuscripts depicting both real … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, History, Libraries | Tagged , , | 1 Comment