Category Archives: History

The Traveler’s Eye

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Hand-tinted tourist postcards are just a sample of the delightful items that make up the current exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Asian Art  in Washington, DC.  Titled “The Traveler’s Eye”, the show includes travel souvenirs, maps, photographs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, History, Museums, Photography, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Printing Is An Art Form

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

London’s Folio Society has been publishing beautifully crafted editions of great literature for nearly seven decades. Each book is a treasure of typography, printing, illustration and binding. They recently produced this wonderful video profile of master printer Stan Lane. If you … Continue reading →

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We Remember

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Brian D. Butler
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The End of an Era

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

Yesterday the German rail company Deutsche Bahn ended sleeper train service between Berlin and Paris. Once a mainstay of continental travel, the overnight route ran for nearly eighty years. Demand for the night train, which took 12 hours on the … Continue reading →

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Postcards from Chernobyl

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

Just yesterday I saw a story online about the return of brown bears to the Chernobyl region after an absence of more than a century. The 1986 nuclear disaster may have been a catastrophe for people, but may ironically be … Continue reading →

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Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Brian D. Butler
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Breaking Down Walls

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

Airbnb is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a short animated film inspired by a true story. “Wall and Chain” recounts the story of two former border guards, one from each side of divided … Continue reading →

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London Obsessions

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

I’m a fanatical museum goer, and I’ve visited all of London’s important cultural institutions, but I’m a lazy slacker compared to Jo Hunt, Mary Rees and Linda Smither. These three Londoners share an obsession to visit every museum in London. … Continue reading →

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House of Wax

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

On London’s Southwark Street, just south of the River Thames, you’ll find Alex Chinneck’s unnerving, life-size project, A pound of flesh for 50p. Starting as a full-scale, two-story house made out of 8,000 wax bricks, the sculpture will eventually be … Continue reading →

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Vienna Waits For You

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

The last time that I visited Vienna I was disappointed (and a bit disoriented) to be deposited at the Wien Meidling station in the far southwest of the city. So I was pleased to hear that the new Wiener Hauptbahnhof … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Europe, History, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment