Egyptology History eBook

Internet Archive has John A. Wilson’s 1964 book Signs and Wonders upon Pharaoh: A History of American Egyptology - freely available and browse worthy.  The title focuses on American Egyptology but there is contextual information about work by archeologists from other countries as well. All over the world – Ancient Egypt has fascinated people and the finds are more than just objects in museums. They have influenced architecture, art, fashion…concepts of beauty and culture. Enjoy the sample images below (click to enlarge) and browse the book directly by following the link above.

Louis Raemaekers’ World War I Cartoons

There are two books of Louis Raemaekers’ World War I cartoons available on Internet Archive. He was a Dutch editorial cartoonist noted for his anti-German stance that moved to London in 1915. His collected cartoons published in Raemaekers Cartoons (1917) were quickly translated into 18 languages and distributed worldwide in neutral countries – the US being one of those neutral countries. Themes that appear often in the cartoon are the death of culture/civilization, widows, and controlling Germans (represented by the Kaiser and bulky men with German helmets).

Raemaekers Cartoons

According to the Wikipedia entry for him:He toured the US in 1917 shortly after the US declared war on Germany, giving lectures and interviews….by October 1917, more than 2,000 American newspapers had published his cartoons. The popularization of his work is regarded as the largest propaganda effort of the First World War.

America in the War

America in the War was published in 1918. The cartoons often depict Uncle Sam riding to the rescue and troops fresh to the battle…but there is often a hint that the war was more challenging than they anticipated.

In Beaver World eBook

In Beaver World was published by Enos A. Mills in 1913 and it is available on Internet Archive. I enjoyed the pictures and drawings….his observations about beavers he observed extensively near his home in Colorado. I’ve included several sample images from the book below.

Enos Mills was, according to the Wikipedia article about him, the main figure behind the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915. He gave speeches, published books on nature and hired/trained nature guides. He encouraged people of all ages to get outside and into nature. His methods of nature interpretation are still taught to students in the field of interpretation. He died relatively young (52 years) in 1922….his legacy a national park and his books.

eBotanical Prints – June 2023

Twenty-one more books were added to the botanical print collection this month. I took a break from the Australian Orchid Review in June…found a lot of variety. The earliest book is from 1736….the most recent from 2020. Seven of the books are ‘nature prints’ (a process in which an object as a leaf or flower) is pressed into a plane surface to make either a direct printing surface or a matrix); the image made via nature print this month were from the mid to late 1800s. I found more recent volumes for the publication from the Arnold Arboretum; I’d added the bulk of the volumes to my list of botanical eBooks back in 2021.

My favorite image from the books this month is the nature print of Cucurbita Pepo from Carlo Perini’s Flora dell'Italia setentrionale e del Tirolo meridionale : rappresentata colla fisiotipia V3.

My favorite image from the books this month is the nature print of Cucurbita Pepo from Carlo Perini’s Flora dell'Italia setentrionale e del Tirolo meridionale : rappresentata colla fisiotipia V3.

The whole list of 2,654 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the June 2023 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the June 2023 eBotanical Prints!

Flowers from Nature * Everard, Anne * sample image * 1835

English wild flowers * Burgess, Joseph Tom * sample image * 1868

Backyard Foraging * Madigan, Carleen * sample image * 2009

Ectypa vegetabilium * Ludwig, Christian Gottlieb * sample image * 1760

Flora dell'Italia setentrionale e del Tirolo meridionale : rappresentata colla fisiotipia V1 * Perini, Carlo * sample image * 1854

Flora dell'Italia setentrionale e del Tirolo meridionale : rappresentata colla fisiotipia V2 * Perini, Carlo * sample image * 1854

Designing with wild flowers : a textbook of practical methods for teachers and students  * Smith, Nettie Sylvia * sample image * 1927

Flora dell'Italia setentrionale e del Tirolo meridionale : rappresentata colla fisiotipia V3 * Perini, Carlo * sample image * 1854

Plant analysis, distemper color, bookcover designing, carpet designing, oilcloth and linoleum designing, wallpaper designing, the American vignola, color harmony  * International Textbook Company * sample image * 1905

Arnoldia -  v.76:no.3 (2019) * Arnold Arboretum * sample image * 2019

Arnoldia -  v.76:no.4 (2019) * Arnold Arboretum * sample image * 2019

Arnoldia -  v.77:no.1 (2019) * Arnold Arboretum * sample image * 2019

Arnoldia -  v.77:no.2 (2019) * Arnold Arboretum * sample image * 2019

Arnoldia -  v.77:no.3 (2020) * Arnold Arboretum * sample image * 2020

Arnoldia -  v.77:no.4 (2020) * Arnold Arboretum * sample image * 2020

Arnoldia -  v.78:no.1 (2020) * Arnold Arboretum * sample image * 2020

Arnoldia -  v.78:no.2 (2020) * Arnold Arboretum * sample image * 2020

Vegetabilium omnium generum icones * H.W.S * sample image * 1736

Impressions of Seedlings V1 * Coulson, John * sample image * 1899

Impressions of Seedlings V2 * Coulson, John * sample image * 1899

Impressions of Seedlings V3 * Coulson, John * sample image * 1899

Sethos I at Abydos

Sethos I is the name sometimes used for the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I. He ruled from 1290-1279 BC and was the father of Ramesses II. There are 4 volumes about work done in 1925-1926 at Abydos when the painted reliefs were copied by Amice M. Calverley with the assistance of Myrtle F. Broome and edited Alan H. Gardiner. The publication was financed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. with as many colored plates as possible. They were originally published beginning in the 1930s and made available on Internet Archive in 2022 by The Electronic Publications Initiative of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Perusing these depictions of the reliefs on a big screen monitor is a treat…certainly better than a crowded museum!

Sethos 1. The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos, Volume I: The Chapels of Osiris, Isis and Horus, 1933

Sethos 2. The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos, Volume II: The Chapels of Amen-Re', Re'-Harakhti, Ptah, and King Sethos, 1935

Sethos 3. The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos, Volume III: The Osiris Complex, 1938

Sethos 4. The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos, Volume IV: The Second Hypostyle Hall, 1958

Byam Shaw Illustrations

There are 6 eBooks I’ve browsed recently on Internet Archive that feature Byam Shaw illustrations. I enjoyed the richness of details and colors. These books are well worth browsing!

Steel, Flora Annie, The adventures of Akbar, 1913

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Guinevere, 1892

Hope, Laurence, The garden of Kama and other love lyrics from India , 1914

Poe, Edgar Allen, Selected Tales of Mystery, 1909

Hadden, James Cuthbert, The Operas of Wagner, 1908

Bunyan, John, Pilgrim's progress from this world to that which is to come, 1905

I always enjoy finding out a little more about the artist when I find books like these. Wikipedia is where I look first. This time I found that Byam Shaw was active prior to World War I and died in his 40s during the influenza epidemic. The Wikipedia article mentioned a semi-autobiographical painting (My Wife, My Bairns and My Wee Dog John); a quick Google search found an article about it on the Humber Museums website.

International Studio eBooks

I first browsed a series of International Studio digitized magazines in 2013…enjoying all of them available at the time. They were from the early 1900s. Recently, I found more of them that had been digitized in 2022 from the 1920s and those are the ones I am featuring today.

International Studio - vol 67 (1919)

International Studio - vol 76 (1923)

International Studio - vol 77 (1923)

International Studio - vol 78, no. 317 (1923)

 I like looking at magazines to understand what was ‘new’ or ‘important’ at the time; it’s a perspective of the period from people living then rather than historical analysis from authors that did not experience it directly. Even the ads are interesting; the way products are described…the brands that still exist (maybe were ‘new’ at the time) and brands long gone. Ads were often the main color images inside the magazines!

According to a Wikipedia entry, the magazine was the American edition of The Studio published in London. The American publication continued until 1931.  As I was writing this post, I realized there were some additional ones that I haven’t browsed yet…some additional browsing to enjoy!

NASA Images from the 1960s

I did a lot of my growing up in the 1960s; the US space program had an impact on my education and perspective of the world so when I found 3 books of images from NASA in the 1960s available on Internet Archive for easy browsing- I savored the memories of seeing some of those images in newspapers and magazines shortly after they were taken. The images looking back at Earth from space were so different than the previously available aerial photographs taken from planes or balloons. Now we take for granted the satellite imagery in our everyday lives (for example, Google Maps satellite view). The NASA programs in the 1960s were steps along the technological path. A lot has happened in the past 50 years!

(click on the sample images to see a larger version…and the link to look at the whole book of wonderful images)

Exploring space with a camera (1968)

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 3, 2023

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

100 Top Photographers Sell Prints to Benefit Ocean Conservation – Enjoy the photography….and participate in the fundraiser for the oceans.

Methane must fall to slow global heating – but only 13% of emissions are actually regulated – I was surprised that so little is regulated…and even when regulation exists it is sometimes not fully implemented.

Capping Oil & Gas Wells in Texas Could Create Tens of Thousands of Jobs - CleanTechnica – A way to reduce methane!

280,000 Photos Used to Create Highly-Detailed Image of the Moon – So many images…stitched together…colorized. The blog post includes a short description of how it was done.

Talking puppy or finger puppet? 5 tips for buying baby toys that support healthy development – Not surprisingly…in most cases, traditional toys provide better interactions and experiences then technological toys for 0-2 year olds.

Beatrix Potter’s famous tales are rooted in stories told by enslaved Africans – but she was very quiet about their origins – Thought provoking. There is considerable evidence that Beatrix Potter knew about the Brer Rabbit stories (books from her father’s library) and that she used the stories to create Peter Rabbit!

Chronic stress can inflame the gut — now scientists know why – Chemical cues produced in the brain….immune cells in the gut. For people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) (includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), stress might make treatments less effective…and can prompt flareups in patients what previously were responding well to medication.

Increased droughts are disrupting carbon-capturing soil microbes, concerning ecologists -- ScienceDaily – There is a need to understand how microbes respond to the disruption of drought in both agricultural and natural areas. Right now, soil holds more carbon that plants and the atmosphere combined….so it is important that we understand enough to effectively intervene if the soil starts releasing more of its stored carbon.

Getting to the Root of Skin Healing | The Scientist Magazine® - Research that indicates that hair follicle transplantation might accelerate wound closure, reducing scar formation, and remodeling existing scar tissue.

Antarctic ocean circulation has slowed dramatically – New research shows that collapse of the South Atlantic circulation will happen sooner than the North Atlantic!

eBotanical Prints – May 2023

Twenty more books were added to the botanical print collection this month. The first one is a monograph about oxalis, the next three are journals from the California Botanical Society from 1916-1936, then 16 volumes of the Australian Orchid Review from 2006 - 2009. For the orchid volumes, I picked sample images that demonstrated the publications’ photography – particularly of orchids growing in natural settings and slipper orchids. There are Australian Orchid Review volumes I’ll browse in June as well.

The whole list of 2,633 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the May 2023 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the May 2023 eBotanical Prints!

Monographie der amerikanischen Oxalis-Arten  * Zuccarini, Joseph Gerhhard * sample image * 1825

Madroño : a West American journal of botany V. 1: no. 1-3 (1916-1922) * Jepson, Willis Linn (editor); California Botanical Society * sample image * 1922

Madroño : a West American journal of botany V. 2 (1930-1934) * Jepson, Willis Linn (editor); California Botanical Society * sample image * 1934

Madroño : a West American journal of botany V. 3 (1935-1936) * Jepson, Willis Linn (editor); California Botanical Society * sample image * 1936

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (June/July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2008 - 2009 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (February/March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (April/May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (February/March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (August/September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (June/July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 - 2008 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2006 - 2007 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2006 (February/March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2006

Australian Orchid Review 2006 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2006

13 'The Spell of…. ' (eBooks)

The Spell of… books were published in the early 1900s by L.C. Page and Company of Boston – travel books with a few colored plates and drawings…more photographs…of the places they are about. Often the endpapers have scenic drawings. I’ve selected 13 that I have browsed recently for the slice of place and time they represent.

Mason, Caroline Atwater - The Spell of Italy (1909)

Hallays, Andre - The spell of Alsace (1919)

McCrackan, William D. - The spell of Tyrol (1914)

 Anderson, Isabel - The spell of Japan (1914)

Addison, Julia de Wolf - The Spell of England (1912)

Call, Frank Oliver -  The Spell of French Canada (1926)

 Mills, Enos A. - The Spell of the Rockies  (1911)

Call, Frank Oliver - The Spell of Acadia (1930)

McCrackan, William D. - The Spell of the Italian Lakes (1918)

 Mansfield, Milburg Fracisco - The spell of Algeria and Tunisia (1924)

George Catlin eBooks

George Catlin is well-known for his portrayals of Native American customs and individuals in the mid-1800s – at a time they were already being impacted by European cultures but were still living in much the same way as they had in the past. I have featuring 4 Catlin books available on Internet Archive; there are more than these four…all worth browsing. The books blend history and art!

O-Kee-pa : a religious ceremony; and other customs of the Mandans (1867)

Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians V1 (1876)

Last rambles amongst the Indians of the Rocky mountains and the Andes (1868)

Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium (1852)

George Catlin also published Shut your Mouth (also available from Internet Achive) based on his observations of Native American practice of encouraging nose breathing over mouth breathing…and that their teeth were always straight. He is quoted: “there is no person in society but who will find... improvement in health and enjoyment..." from keeping his or her mouth shut.

Mound City Glass (historical catalog)

The 1889 catalog of the Mound City Glass Company in St. Louis, Missouri showcases ornamental glass offerings. They did beveling, sand blasting and embossing….as well as having a stock of plate glass.

Catalogue from the Mound City Glass Co.

 Old catalogs reflect the availability and popularity of wares…become a historical record of consumerism of the period. In the late 1800s, the country had a wide range of housing from sod structures to the first skyscrapers. People needed windows to provide light inside those structures so improvements in plate glass production during the 1800s was welcomed. The type of glass produced by the Mound City Glass company must have been popular for anyone with enough money to purchase it…letting light in along with providing a decorative element.

There isn’t much information about the company other than the catalog. The address on the catalog was in downtown St. Louis…maybe the offices/showroom rather than where the glass work was done.  I assume that the ‘mound city’ in the name came from Cahokia mounds which are on the eastern side of the Mississippi across from St. Louis. There are places in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and South Dakota named Mound City; the one in Missouri is on the other side of the state - north of Kansas City close to the Missouri River; the one in Illinois is in far southern Illinois on the Ohio River which is their border with Kentucky; it doesn’t seem likely that either one would have been the location of the original manufacturing facility.

eBotanical Prints – April 2023

Twenty-one more books were added to the botanical print collection this month, and all are about orchids: the Australian Orchid Review from 2009 - 2012. I picked sample images that demonstrated the publications’ photography – particularly of orchids growing in natural settings. Most times people see orchids are in cultivated settings: conservatories, green houses, flower arrangements. Seeing them in the wild is a challenge. The ones native to North America are often small or rare…or both! The Australian Orchid Review has articles primarily on Australian orchid growing…and native orchids of Australia and its nearest neighbors.  I’ll continue browsing more volumes in May!

The whole list of 2,613 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the April 2023 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the April 2023 eBotanical Prints!

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2012 - 2013 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2011 - 2012 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2010 - 2011 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2009 - 2010 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Japanese Pottery

James Lord Bowes was a wealthy Liverpool (UK) wool broker that became an authority on Japan and its art. He published his 3-volume work about Japanese Pottery in 1890, the year he also opened the first museum in the western world dedicated to Japanese art. The books are available as eBooks from Internet Archive. Their publication in 1890 makes them historical…and they were, from the being, about art. Enjoy them from both perspectives!

William Burton and Pottery

William Burton was a chemist that worked at the Wedgewood Company and then Pilkington’s Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles. There are 4 books available on Internet Archive that he authored about pottery featured in this ‘book of the week post.’ It seems he was interested in more than the chemistry of pottery; he was also attuned to all the aspects of creating it…and enjoyed the beauty of the finished product too.

He does not have a Wikipedia entry of his own…but there is a paragraph about him in the Pilkington’s article. He evidentially was manager of the company – employing many artists and commissioning work from other artists of the time.

Porcelain, a sketch of its nature, art, and manufacture (1906)

A history and description of English earthenware and stoneware (to the beginning of the 19th century) (1904)

Josiah Wedgwood and his pottery (1922)

A history and description of the old French faïence, with an account of the revival of faïence painting in France (1903)

Nimrud: The Queens’ Tombs

The 4 tombs were discovered in the late 1980s in Iraq. The war that started during the excavation caused security issues that rushed the excavation of the last 2 tombs…and then the turmoil of the war caused the site and the institutions where artifacts were stored to be looted. A bank where the most valuable finds were held was bombed twice (in 1991 and 2003); the vault survived both bombings but the 2nd bombing caused enough damage that flooding then destroyed some of the objects. Much of Nimrud itself was destroyed by ISIL in 2015. There have been few international publications and no exhibitions.

So – the book was all new news to me; it was very much like looking at a catalog of King Tut’s tomb…but an entirely different culture (and gender). The book was published by the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in 2016. Hopefully enough artifacts have survived to be exhibited at some point.

Nimrud - the Queen's Tombs by Muzahim Mahmoud Hussein, edited by McGuire Gibson and translated by Mark Altaweel (2016)

There are many wonderful images in the book. I selected 4 samples, but the book is well worth browsing in its entirety. The last image – the crown of Queen Hama – as found and after cleaning….bothered me. They said that the crown was filled with soil but elsewhere said that it was found atop her head. I wonder if there is any of that soil saved…whether it was the decomposed head of the queen rather than simply ‘soil.’ It reminded me that sometime archaeology – even when done with all the best practices and intended to help us under the past – is still very close to ‘grave robbing.’

eBotanical Prints – March 2023

Twenty more books were added to the botanical print collection this month and most are about orchids: 19 volumes of the Australian Orchid Review from 2012 to 2015. I picked sample images that demonstrated the publications’ photography and drawings. I’ll continue browsing more volumes in April! The very first volume on the list is the only one not from Internet Archive; it is a recently published book - Pollinator-Friendly Parks - that I am using as a reference as I reduce the ‘turf’ in my yard. It is available free from the Xerces Society.

The whole list of 2,592 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the March 2023 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the March 2023 eBotanical Prints!

Pollinator-Friendly Parks * Frischie, Stephanie; Code, Aimee; Shepherd, Matt; Black, Scott; Hoyle, Sarah; Selvaggio, Sharon; Laws, Angela; Dunham, Rachel; Vaughan, Mace * sample image * 2021

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 - 2016 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2016

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 - 2015 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 - 2014 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Nazca Pottery of Ancient Peru

Max Uhle’s The Nazca Pottery of Ancient Peru is included in the Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Sciences from February 1914. The same volume includes plates with Edward K. Putnam’s The Davenport Collection of Nazca and other Peruvian Pottery; I selected two of the Nazca plates as sample images. Nazca is most famous for the lines in the plain northwest of the city of Nazca in southern Peru; seeing the pottery adds another perspective on the culture that created the drawings etched into the Earth’s surface.

Nazca Pottery of Ancient Peru

 Max Uhle was a German archaeologist who worked in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia in the early decades of the 20th century. Over the course of a very long career, he did field work and initiated archeological museums in South America. Most of the funding for field work came from the United States. Based on a biography by John Howland Rowe published in 1954, he spent most of his professional life in South America only returning to Germany in 1942 when Peru expelled Germans. He died in 1944.

Amid the High Hills

Sir Hugh Fraser published Amid the High Hills in 1923…100 years ago. He explains in the preface that the book is a collection of articles – some of which had been published before – and illustrated by friends. All the other books that he published (and that are available on Internet Archive) were career related (he was a British barrister and judge).  The Wikipedia biography cites no sources - is brief and unsatisfying since it doesn’t mention anything about the book except the title; I found myself reading between the lines of the book’s preface to fill in….that Sir Hugh Fraser enjoyed his vacations and friendships beyond the confines of his career that he evidently continued until his death in 1927.  The illustrations that his friends provided (pictures, sketches, photographs) are worth browsing the book; they capture the natural areas as they were in the early 1900s.

Amid the High Hills