Category Archives: History

NYC Bookwagons Are Coming Back

Posted on April 17, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Starting this summer, the New York Public Library will be bringing books to residents of the Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan via a new fleet of brand new, strawberry red-colored vans. These new NYPL bookmobiles are designed to help communities … Continue reading →

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History Repeats Itself

Posted on April 14, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Karl Marx wrote that “history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” This reprint from the St.Louis Dispatch September 9, 1923, should be a reminder of the farce playing itself out across the United States and Europe today.

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A Bibliophile’s Treasure

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In a story right out of a librarian’s dream, a previously unknown volume incorporating thousands of summaries of books from over five centuries ago, many of which no longer exist, has been found in  the University Copenhagen Library, where it … Continue reading →

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Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first publication of Kurt Vonnegut’s masterwork Slaughterhouse-Five. Part autobiographical, part science fiction, part satire, Slaughterhouse-Five was Vonnegut’s first bestseller and remains a revered literary classic of the 20th century. After the real-life Vonnegut … Continue reading →

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This Book Is Dangerous (again)

Posted on March 18, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In 1927, Italian Futurist artist and designer Fortunato Depero published his groundbreaking monograph Depero Futurista, or “Depero the Futurist,” which became commonly known as “The Bolted Book” because of its large aluminum fasteners. The avant-garde masterpiece had an imaginative layout, experimental typography, … Continue reading →

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All Roads Lead To Rome (eventually)

Posted on March 16, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Once again, Chicago-based cartographer and artist Sasha Trubetskoy has created an amazing transit-themed map based on the ancient Roman road network. This terrific example, Roman Roads of Iberia, is based on historic sources and covers the period of the First Century BC … Continue reading →

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It’s still Constantinople to me

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

As is often the case in the antiquarian book trade, we can search for a title for weeks with no avail and then years later stumble across a copy when we are not even looking. Many years ago I had … Continue reading →

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New House for the Bauhaus

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

This year marks the centennial of the founding of the Bauhaus movement. This world renowned school of art and design has had a dramatic impact on architecture and design around the world.  On April 6, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar will … Continue reading →

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Coast to Coast by Train and Plane

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

These days it takes about 5 hours to travel coast to coast across North America, but in 1929 the fastest route took at least 48 hours. This very cool map was given to passengers who traveled on Transcontinental Air Transport … Continue reading →

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Fun With Maps

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Those of you who regularly visit TBTP know how fond I am of maps—both real and fictional. New York City-based artist Jake Berman does deep dives into archives and library collections to discover historic plans and engineering documents from municipal … Continue reading →

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