Category Archives: Uncategorized

Randomness Follows

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

This wild-looking mechanical contraption is a typewriter. It was designed in 1867 and then patented in 1870. For the time, the Malling Hansen Writing Ball was a technological marvel and years ahead of its time. The unique functionality of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Tech, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Mystery of the Big Book

Posted on December 30, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Over the years, the photograph above has appeared on numerous blogs and websites, usually captioned as “man with large book at Prague Castle, 1940s” or “c. 1940s: Man with books.” However, bibliophiles and antiquarians have long questioned the image’s description … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Europe, History, Libraries, Museums, Photography, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Answer is Still 42

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Although the wildely popular comic sci-fi novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was published in the UK in 1979, it wasn’t released in the colonies until 1980. This year, legions of fans in North America are celebrating the 42nd anniversary … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, History, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Direction of Travel

Posted on November 25, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

When I ran across Christian Nolle’s terrific periodical Directions of Travel I thought that some of you other travel and map geeks might need to know about the project. Nolle’s fascination with air travel and maps began when he was … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Europe, History, Maps, Public Transport, Tourism, Travel Writing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Tunneling

Posted on November 14, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled on the interesting video below on the history of tunnel books. Over the years, I’ve owned and sold a number of travel related 19th century tunnel books and have long been fascinated by this blend of art … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Film, History, Libraries, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Taking Flight

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

One of the immense pleasures that the city of Philadelphia offers is its myriad of murals. Along with a prolific cadre of street artists, Philly is also home to the amazing Philadelphia Mural Arts Program which sponsors fantastic paintings all … Continue reading →

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It’s Edgar Allan Poe Season

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

There are many excellent illustrated volumes of Edgar Allan Poe stories, but this  1944 edition with illustrations by German-American artist Fritz Eichenberg is special. Eichenberg was a German artist who emigrated to America in the 1930s; his speciality was wood … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Uncategorized, USA, Writing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Where do you find book recommendations

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I don’t know about you, but I’m picky when it comes to book recommendations. It’s certainly helpful to have friends with highly developed reading tastes who make book suggestions. And of course there are the book review sections of trustworthy … Continue reading →

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Death and Mayhem in National Parks

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Over recent months, it seems that there has been a story about tourists in Yellowstone National Park being gored by bison, mauled by bears, bitten by wolves, or scalded by steaming pools every week. In most cases the deaths and … Continue reading →

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A TV Dictionary

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

The TV DICTIONARY is a collaborative project with a very simple premise: each entry attempts to capture the essence of a TV series using a single word in a short video that combines the dictionary definitions of that word with … Continue reading →

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