Category Archives: History

Friet, Frite or Fries It’s Friday

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

With its breathtaking Gothic city center, stunning Begijnhof, awe-inspiring medieval churches, wonderful museums and magnificent Belgian beer, Bruges has more than enough tourist magnetism to draw massive crowds. But to top it all off there’s the Friet Museum (Musée de … Continue reading →

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Time Travel London

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

The terrific video (see below) titled “Wonderful London 1924 & 2014” offers a unique opportunity to time travel between 1924 and 2014. The video was produced and directed by Simon Smith after he stumbled upon a series of short documentary … Continue reading →

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Paris 1900 – 2014

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

The clever folk at the website Golem 13 have created a marvelous set of photomontages that marry images from vintage Paris postcards with the same contemporary scenes photographed last month. You can see the complete series of images here. all … Continue reading →

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No papers, No problem

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

Düsseldorf-based, Polish-born photographer Josef Schultz traveled throughout Europe for years documenting abandoned passport control points, border posts and military check points. In his resulting series “Übergang”, Schultz digitally manipulated the landscape by removing commercial signage and by subtly blurring the … Continue reading →

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Do You Miss The Clickety Clack

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

I never thought that I’d pine for the clickety-clack of my ancient Smith Corona or the satisfying feel of the carriage return, but this wonderful poster from the folks at Pop Chart Lab has me all sentimental. The chart, called … Continue reading →

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12 Years a Slave

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

Earlier this week, 12 Years a Slave was named Best Picture of the Year by the Academy Awards. The film also won the Oscar for the best adapted screenplay. If you were moved by Solomon Northrop’s heartbreaking story, you can … Continue reading →

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Snippets of Europe

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

Illustrator, teacher and Fulbright scholar Emma Fick has created a marvelous digital sketchbook of her life and travels in Europe. “Snippets” is a charming, whimsical and introspective pictorial journal of observations of European culture and life on the road from … Continue reading →

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We Share Their Grief

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

This March 11th will mark the 10th anniversary of the horrendous Madrid train bombings in which 192 innocent people from 17 different nations were murdered by terrorists. Paris-based, Italian photographer Ciro Prota has organized a moving photographic memorial book to … Continue reading →

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The Allure of Old Books ( & maps )

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

The Peculiar Underworld of Rare-Book Thieves The Allure of the Map What is the oldest book in the world? The Library of Congress by the numbers. What happens when Oxford’s Bodleian Library and the Biblioteca Vaticana collude?

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Sarajevo: Rescue and Revival

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

On January 15th in Sarajevo, a new library opened to the public :  the reborn Gazi Husrev Bey Library which is home to a priceless collection of rare books and manuscripts dating from 1106. The original library was established in 1537 … Continue reading →

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