Category Archives: History

Bad Bunnies or the World Turned Upside Down

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I have long been intrigued by the variety of marginalia found in medieval European manuscripts. While it’s not uncommon to discover colorful and playful images of mythical creatures, dogs, cats, snakes, snails, or sexualized caricatures or people, I only recently … Continue reading →

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Past Perfect

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I recently ran across the beautiful photochrome print from around 1900 of the Durango-Silverton Railway above the Animas River gorge in southwestern Colorado. It immediately reminded me of a trip that I took on the same railway line a few … Continue reading →

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The sound of liberty

Posted on July 4, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The Memoirs and Poems of Phillis Wheatley celebrates the life and work of the first Black American poet to be published. Although she was an enslaved person, Phillis Wheatley Peters was one of the best-known poets in pre-19th century America. Educated … Continue reading →

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Flamboyant Gothic Meets Street Art

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I love it when historical and modern art forms come together, so of course this amazing project caught my attention. To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos … 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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The Bradbury Chronicles

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

As I have mentioned more than a few times over the years, I was a voracious reader of Ray Bradbury’s novels and short stories as a kid. So, I was excited to see that the American Writers Museum in Chicago … Continue reading →

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Murder At Full Moon

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I don’t remember which book that I read first, Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath, but both had a lasting effect on me and made me a John Steinbeck fan. Over the years, I think that I’ve read every novel and … Continue reading →

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Maps of States

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

MAPS OF STATES Terrance Hayes  A map indicating the state of the union may Yield the statues, static & statutes of grave White men while a map indicating disrepair may Yield colorful groundbreakers uprooting graves.   A map indicating the … 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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Infographic Visionaries

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to TBTP know how I feel about a clever infographic, so you won’t be surprised that I was intrigued by Information Graphic Visionaries. This new book series celebrates historical figures who dramatically changed the way data is organized … Continue reading →

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