Quantcast
Channel: The History Press blog
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 750

The Friday Digest 20/09/13

$
0
0

THP Friday digest


The Friday Digest brings you the best of the week's history news gathered from the experts:

 

Artist's impression of proposed tomb for Richard III

 

* The saga of Richard III's burial continues to roll on as a new design for his tomb has been revealed by Leicester Cathedral. The plans include a raised tomb featuring a deeply carved cross laid on an inlaid floor featuring a large white York rose. 

 

Europe Plunges into War. FWW animated map


* These twenty animated historical maps showing the history of the First World War are really useful as an introduction to a very complex topic.

* The remarkable story of Tommy Keele: the First World War soldier who spent two years of the war as 'First Girl', playing female parts in theatres behind the lines for the entertainment of sex-starved soldiers. 

 

Old King Cole, seen here next to a 1p coin, was the smallest printed book in the world (c) National Library of Scotland 

* A book no bigger than a grain of rice is part of a new exhibition of miniature books at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

 

Professor Foster with his overdue library book. (c) Alan Lewis


* A university professor has been spared a fine of more than £8,500 after discovering he was in possession of a library book that was forty-seven years overdue.

 

Book shelf. Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/39136843@N05/3709418364/
 

* The Guardian asks what's the worst book on your bookshelves

* Rae Earl makes a compelling argument for why she wants her diaries burned after her death

* A glimpse into the wonderful world of Roald Dahl and his inspirations

* Publishing Perspectives asks if books should tell you how long it will take to read them.

* The eighteenth century: when reading became fashionable

* Joshua Safran shares how a library card changed his life

 

Novel novels … Six books that resist generic categories and divert from formal expectations. Image from http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/12/man-booker-shortlist-2013-decade

 

* Just what is the Man Booker Prize

*  2013: Why this is the best Man Booker shortlist in a decade.  

*  A map of the settings (both real and imagined) for every Booker prize contender since 1969.

The Man Booker Prize has extended its criteria and will from next year accept any novels originally published in English by a UK publisher. These changes have caused more than a little consternation and the Bookseller has rounded up some of the media coverage

  

1925: Edward Johnston's instructions for the correct proportions of the redesigned Underground bullseye to incorporate the new typeface  Image courtesy London Transport Museum

 

* Enjoy a pictorial history of the London Underground and its graphic legacy. There are some really fantastic posters in here; if anyone knows where I can get hold of a print of the 'It's cooler/warmer below' posters, then please let me know!

 

1921


* From Regent's Park to the British Museum: a London tour in Tube posters 
 

How to dress like a Georgian. Images copyright of Beverley Eikli 2013 ©

 * Everyone likes to look their best and Historical Honey have a post on how to dress like a Georgian showing the (many) layers that Georgian women had to wear. I had no idea that the clothing was so complex! 


Julia Domna - wife of Severus and mother of Caracalla. Image (c) Antikensammlungen: Richard Stoneman


* Janet Stephens, the 'hairdo archaeologist' talks about solving the ancient fashion mystery of how exactly these elaborate hairstyles were held together.


Anne Boleyn and her 'B' necklace. Image from Historical Honey


* From Elizabeth I's miniature to Anne Boleyn's 'B' necklace, which historical items would you most like to own


Museum of London: London Street Photography. Image from http://www.urban75.org/blog/museum-of-london-london-street-photography/


* Museum curation is an essential part of preserving history and heritage and the Museum of London's #AskaCuratorDay answered some very interesting questions.



East End CAD drawing for York Minster Revealed. Image from http://www.yorkminsterrevealed.org/about.html




The Metropolitan Police Historical Vehicle Collection (c) Neil Paterson


Plans are being considered for the first complete London police museum which would bring together artefacts from the Met's 184 year history which are currently scattered all over London. The pieces could include evidence from Jack the Ripper's murders, death masks, the first truncheons and vintage police cars.


Community theatre: the Globe on Tour production of Henry VI performed at the site of Towton battlefield. Image from http://www.historytoday.com/julian-humphrys/more-just-field


* More than just a field: Julian Humphries emphasises the importance of saving Britain's historic battlefields


English Heritage logo

* English Heritage and History Extra  are asking whether you are concerned that our heritage is sometimes dumbed down to 'theme park' status ahead of a special public debate which will ask what the future holds for our past. The debate - The Future Care of Our Nation's Heritage - is part of a two-day conference to mark the 100th anniversary of the landmark 1913 Ancient Monuments Act and will bring together leading figures from public life, the heritage sector and academia. Join the debate on twitter here: #debateheritage.

 
Sheffield electricity substation


* The UK's 'brutalist architecture' is celebrated as four post-war buildings get listed status

 

Jeff Carney in uniform and the Berlin Wall. Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23978501 

* Jeff Carney: the extraordinary story of the lonely US airman turned Stasi spy.

 

Idealised depiction of family life in 1700s (c) Getty images

 

* You would assume that medicine has moved on since the 1700s, but we are still using fertility statistics that are 300 years old. Perhaps it is time for an update! 


Image from http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/strange-and-delightful-facts-about-british-history


* Buzzfeed shares 19 strange and delightful facts about British history.  


Terra Nova in 1912. Image from http://www.history.com/news/wreck-of-robert-falcon-scotts-ship-terra-nova-discovered?cmpid=INT_Outbrain_HITH_HIS&obref=obnetwork


* A century after Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated trek to the South Pole, SS Terra Nova, the ship that brought him to Antarctica has been found off the coast of Greenland


Korean War Veterans along with their family members are seen past the Korean War Veterans Memorial Medals and certificates that were presented to them during the 11th Annual Cultural Day Event and celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice at Parkside Place in Upper Gwynedd on Saturday afternoon. September 14,2013. Photo by Mark C Psoras/The Reporter


* Sixty years after the Korean War, the veterans were honoured in a ceremony on Saturday afternoon at Parkside Place in Upper Gwynedd. Here 273 Korean War Veterans of Montgomery County received medals commemorating their service from the Korean government. 


streetlife10



* A stunning collection of street photography from nineteenth-century London from photographer John Thomson.


Jan Steen, The Morning Toilet, 1663 (Wikimedia Commons)


* Joanne Bailey muses on the history of beds, marital sex, and adultery... 


Laser mapping of the interior of the Tower of Pisa. Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23856662


* The interior of the Tower of Pisa has been mapped in 3D using a hand-held spring-mounted laser scanner. The people involved in the project are hoping that their work can be used for future projects and conservation work. 


Image from http://usvsth3m.com/post/61428366438/19-puritan-baby-names-that-were-truly-awful


* 19 truly awful Puritan baby names - I can't imagine why Die-Well Sykes isn't still popular today!

 

Packing up: Personlised luggage in the luggage room, some of which were made of wood (c) Getty Images 

* An extremely eerie look at the shipping magnate's forty-bedroom mansion that has been left untouched for over twenty-five years.  

 

Which history and publishing stories have you enjoyed reading this week?


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 750

Trending Articles