Category Archives: History

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

Washington D.C.’s outstanding National Museum of Natural History has decided to give us all a behind the scenes peek at its massive collections. The Smithsonian Institution has allowed photographer Chip Clark unprecedented access to just a small part of its … Continue reading →

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Last Stop Biscuit Town

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

I’m an avid follower of the Londonist blog, where I found the “Tube Map of Lost London”. The nostalgic, alternative map depicts once well known sites and neighborhoods that have been lost to history. Although even I’m old enough to … Continue reading →

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Objects That Changed The World

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

Cambridge University Library is celebrating its 600th anniversary this year with a physical and online exhibition called “Lines of Thought: Discoveries That Changed the World”. The historic library has grown from a small collection of manuscripts kept in a wooden … Continue reading →

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Visites Des Catacombes

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

During recent renovations at the Paris Trinité-d’Estiennes d’Orves Metro station, workers uncovered vintage posters from the early 1950s, hidden for six decades. The RATP will be restoring the find and adding the posters to its archives.

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Decoding Bosch

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

For someone who has been dead for five hundred years, Hieronymus Bosch is getting an awful lot of attention these days. The Noordbrabants Museum in the painter’s home town of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in southern Netherlands has an exhibition featuring forty of … Continue reading →

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Black Books Matter

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

In honor of Black History Month, the National Book Foundation has published a timeline of National Book Award honorees.

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the more noble instinct that aspires

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

I have been a fan of filmmaker and photographer Alex Soloviev ever since I stumbled upon his visual ode to Germany’s capital in Everyday Berlin. His new short film Highland Fairytale is an atmospheric and haunting visit to Catalunya’s most … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Europe, Film, History, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Whiskey War

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

Since 1933, Canada and Denmark have been waging a quiet cold war over a desolate island in the far Arctic—really. The grim, barren 1.2 square kilometer rock has no apparent resources or value. But Hans Island is situated smack in … Continue reading →

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Egypt and Its Monuments

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

A book buyer just requested some images from this fantastic 1908 edition of Egypt And Its Monuments by Robert Hichens with illustrations by Jules Guérin so I thought I’d share them here as well. Over the years, I’ve bought and … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Art, Books, History, Middle East, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A Much Better Use

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

I’m always pleased to discover an abandoned ecclesiastical building that has been transformed for a higher purpose. In this case, the 16th century former Convento de San Augustin in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán Mexico was restored and turned into a public library. … Continue reading →

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