Category Archives: History

“read some books, pay attention”

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

“The line in the song ‘feed your head’ is both about reading and psychedelics. I was talking about feeding your head by paying attention: read some books, pay attention.” Grace Slick explains what she meant. Still good advice after all these … Continue reading →

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Chortle at some nonce words and neologisms

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Who knew that Dr.Seuss coined the term “nerd” way back in 1950 in his now canceled book If I Ran the Zoo. Well, it seems that Dr. Erica Brozovsky was aware of the origin of the now ubiquitous nonce word. In the … Continue reading →

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Treasures from the Library

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

One month from today, the New York Public Library will be launching its first ever permanent exhibition. Treasures will offer rotating highlights from the NYPL’s collection of 56 million items spanning 4,000 years of history. For more than 125 years, The New … Continue reading →

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Not the 36 Views of Mt. Fuji

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I imagine that most folks are well acquainted with the iconic series of Japanese woodblock prints titled Thirty -Six Views of Mount Fuji. Even those who are unfamiliar with the work of Katsushika Hokusai who was a 19th century Japanese … Continue reading →

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Inspired by Jose Saramago

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Frequent visitors to Travel Between The Pages are well aware of my appreciation for the writing of the late Ursula K. Le Guin. If memory serves, I first discovered her work in the magazine Amazing Stories. The first of her … Continue reading →

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Serpentine Saturday

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The wavy patterns on the edges, covers, and endpapers on this tooled and blind-stamped, half-bound book are from Carew’s Survey of Cornwall . This edition was printed in London by Thomas Bensley for J. Faulder and Rees and Curtis in 1811, although Carew’s … Continue reading →

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Primary Source

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

It’s now possible to read one of the oldest books of English literature in the world  online.The Exeter Book is a 1oth century anthology of poetry in Old English and one of  only four manuscript books containing virtually all the English … Continue reading →

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Freedom is a Fable

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Freedom, A Fable: A Curious Interpretation of the Wit of a Negress in Troubled Times.Illustrated book with offset lithographs on paper and laser-cut pop-up paper silhouettes, 1997. I have always been emotionally moved by Kara Walker’s powerful art work, especially … Continue reading →

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Restoring Rome

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

During the past few weeks, I have been pondering a story from the news about a project to restore parts of the ancient Roman Colosseum and open those areas to tourists. The story claimed that for the first time ever, … Continue reading →

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Always Check Your Bookmarks

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Researchers recently discovered an unassuming bookmark in a 19th century French novel that featured three sketches by Vincent Van Gogh. In 1883,  the artist gave a friend the book and more than a century later, researchers discovered that the novel … Continue reading →

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