Category Archives: History

Scandal at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

As I have probably mentioned a few times, one of my favorite places in Philly is the amazing Philadelphia Museum of Art. In fact, I usually drag every out of town visitor there whether they express any interest in going … Continue reading →

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Detour for Free This Summer

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

The very popular location-aware travel guide app Detour usually cost $5, but for the rest of this summer it’s absolutely free. With 16 U.S. and international cities currently covered, including NYC, Boston, San Francisco, Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, and Paris, the audio walking … Continue reading →

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Summer Reads Pt 1

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

For some reason, I receive requests for reading recommendations from followers of TBTP. It may be because I’m in the book trade, who knows why. Anyway, I thought that I would share a short list of books that I have … Continue reading →

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Happy Bookstore Birthday

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

This week New York City’s beloved Strand Bookstore celebrated its 90th anniversary. Although book shops seem to be going out of business daily in NYC, the Strand—and its 90 year-old owner Fred Bass—are still going strong.

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Time Travel

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

New York City’s Museum of Modern Art is currently showing an extraordinary short film titled “New York 1911”. Created from a restored nitrate print, the nine minute film enables the viewer to virtually time travel to turn of the century … Continue reading →

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Really Big Books

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Thanks to the British Library, bibliophiles and map geeks can now view the second largest atlas in the world online. The colossal book was a gift from Dutch merchant Johannes Klencke in 1660 to King Charles II of Great Britain. The massive … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Asia, Books, ebooks, Europe, History, Libraries, Maps, Middle East, Museums, Photography, Tech | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Historical Inaccuracies

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

h/t Tom Gauld   

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All Roads Lead To Rome

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

University of Chicago geography major Sasha Trubetskoy created this clever metro map-styled visualization of major Roman roads circa 125 AD. Although he admits to taking some liberties with road names, it’s a brilliant idea. You can learn more about his … Continue reading →

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It’s Still 1984

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Brian D. Butler
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Helen Keller was an anti-fascist activist

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Somehow all of the films and plays about Helen Keller managed to leave out that she was a life-long Socialist and a rabid anti-fascist. She supported groups such as the ACLU and the NAACP. On May 9, 1933, disgusted by … Continue reading →

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