Coast to Coast by Train and Plane

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

These days it takes about 5 hours to travel coast to coast across North America, but in 1929 the fastest route took at least 48 hours. This very cool map was given to passengers who traveled on Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) across the continent. The fold-out map was also designed to be a flight log, travel guide, and souvenir certificate of completing a journey only a privileged few could undertake.

The 48 hour+ transcontinental trip involved daytime flights on loud and uncomfortable Ford Tri-Motor airplanes and overnight travel on luxury sleeper trains.

By 1931, TAT—whose investors included Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh—was taken over by Western Air Express. After losing millions of dollars on the route the concept was dropped.

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Lunar Library

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Last week, a SpaceX rocket launched a lunar landing module from its base in Florida. That would be interesting in its self, but the mission is an Israeli crowdfunded project to land a module the size of a home washing machine on the moon surface. Along with its science experiments, the $100 million project will be depositing a “Lunar Library” on the moon’s surface. This unusual payload is made-up of 25 DVD-sized discs containing among other things the equivalent of 30 million pages of data. This information includes the entirety of the English language version of Wikipedia. I’m not sure who the target audience is for the library, but I don’t think they will need a library card.

 

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Fool The Eye

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

I am always on the lookout for interesting book art. So, I was excited to stumble upon the amazing trompe l’oeil cover art work from Steve Wolfe. Using paper, linen, wood, paint, and ink Wolfe created fabulous copies of famous books that even included details of wear, such as tears, creases, and taped repairs. Sadly, Wolfe died in 2016 at the age of 60, but he left a wonderful body of work. You can find his “books” in museums around the world, but here are a few great examples.

 

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The Wordless Novel

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Created by artist Lynd Ward, God’s Man is the first American wordless novel. Published in 1929 by Jonathon Cape and Harrison Smith in New York, the book is an example of the wordless novel, a narrative genre made of only captionless pictures, usually woodcut and other relief printing techniques. While graphic novels typically use captions and dialogue, wordless novels tell a story without text. The genre began in Germany, with Frans Masereel’s earliest example published in 1918, which inspired Lynd Ward. The genre grew out of the German Expressionism, one of the most influential art movement in the twentieth century. The wordless novel influenced  the development of the later graphic novel.

God’s Man, is comprised of 139 woodblock-prints. The narrative is about an artist who acquires a magic brush that brings wealth and power to the user. The artist begins to suffer from hallucinations when he realizes the world is corrupted by money.

The first printing of God’s Man was published in two versions, a deluxe edition and a trade edition. The signed, limited edition of 409 copies was printed from the original wood engravings, but the first trade edition was printed from electrotype plates made from molds of the original boxwood woodblocks.

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Book Recommendations

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

 

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A Change is Going To Come

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

For decades, U.S. citizens traveling to most European countries have been exempt from visa requirements. Sadly, this ends on January 1, 20121, when all Americans traveling to any Schengen Zone nations will need an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) Visa. This dramatic change is the result of recent EU regulatory changes meant to improve security and address migration issues.

U.S. citizens 18 and older will need to secure the required visa for European travel by completing an online ETIAS registration form. Applicants will have to provide proof of a valid U.S. passport—valid for at least 3 months beyond their European visit—a credit card and an email account. There will be a €7 fee and they will need to answer questions on the following topics:

  • Drug use
  • Terrorism
  • Human trafficking
  • Travel to conflict areas
  • Criminal history
  • Employment history
  • Past European travel information
  • Security information

 

The Schengen Zone nations covered by the visa scheme include:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Spain
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

 

Posted in Europe, Tourism, Uncategorized, USA | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Fun With Maps

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Those of you who regularly visit TBTP know how fond I am of maps—both real and fictional. New York City-based artist Jake Berman does deep dives into archives and library collections to discover historic plans and engineering documents from municipal and regional transit agencies to discover source materials for brilliantly re-imagined maps. Utilizing these historic documents Berman has designed a series of colorful, clever maps that he sells on his website. If you love maps as much as this humble blogkeeper, take a look at the entire collection.

 

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Libros Para el Viaje (Books for the Journey)

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Libros Para el Viaje is the brainchild of Denise Chávez owner of Casa Camino Real Bookstore in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Since the summer of 2018, she has been collecting books and distributing them to refugees at the southern U.S. border with the assistance of the Border Service Corps and the American Booksellers Association. The goal of the project is to simply get books into the hands of both child and adult refugees from Central America and Mexico.

Chávez has been collecting books from publishers, booksellers, writers, and the general public. She has also held pop-up book events in Las Cruces to raise money for the project. You can help too by donating new and gently used books in all genres, but especially Spanish-English dictionaries, English grammar, children’s titles, self-help, fiction, and Spanish language books. Books for the Journey can be reach through Facebook.

 

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Wise Men Fished Here

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In 2005, the legendary Gotham Book Mart in New York City closed its bricks and mortar store. By 2007, the iconic Manhattan bookseller was out of business for good.  Fortunately, the University of Pennsylvania was gifted much of the contents of the Gotham Book Mart, which was founded by Frances Steloff in 1920. To mark the 100th anniversary of the store’s founding, the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University in Philadelphia is hosting an exhibition in honor of Frances Steloff and her famous bookshop.

For decades the Gotham Book Mart was, as Steloff prosaically put it, “the headquarters of the avant-garde.” The exhibition explores the shop’s role in assembling, publishing, and promoting groundbreaking experimental writers, as well as its later years under the ownership of Steloff’s hand-chosen successor, Andreas Brown, focusing on Brown’s passion for postcards and collaborations with graphic artist Edward Gorey.

Like most book lovers growing up in and around New York City, I was drawn to the Gotham. It was a truly legendary bookstore. Where else could you discover small press books, underground zines, banned books,hard to find out of print publications, and more, in a bookshop where Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg and Amiri Baraka had stocked shelves.

If you’re in the Philly area between February and May 20, 2019, the exhibition is well worth a visit at UPenn’s Van Pelt-Dietrich Library at 3420 Walnut Street.

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, History, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Brits are so over Jane Austen too

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

I was somewhat surprised to recently read that a letter writing campaign and a steady barrage of public criticism ended plans for a statue of formerly beloved author Jane Austen. It seems that Winchester Cathedral commissioned sculptor Martin Jennings to create a monument for the 19th century English writer to be placed in its inner close. Despite governmental support from the Winchester City Council and the Hampshire County Council, an extensive letter writing campaign put the kibosh on the project. Personally, I never much liked her maudlin, overly sentimental novels much anyway, but I’ve always thought that Winchester Cathedral was impressive.

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