James Bolton was a naturalist in the 1700s that published books about plants, fungi, and birds. He was a talented illustrator. The week’s eBook is his book about birds. He was a keen observer of the birds themselves and their nests. The book is available on Internet Archive.
Harmonia ruralis, or, An essay towards a natural history of British song birds V1 and V2
Syad Muhammad Latif’s book with descriptions and drawings of historical buildings of Agra (including the Taj Mahal) as they were in the 1890s is the ‘book of the week.’ The drawings were the high point for me; I’ve included four samples in this post with many more to be viewed by following the link to the book on Internet Archive. Most of the drawings are the exterior of structures but there are also a few interiors.
Agra historical & descriptive with an account of Akbar and his court and of the modern city of Agra
Robert Falcon Scott led two expeditions to Antarctica; the expedition records for both are available on Internet Archive.
Scott wrote the expedition record for the first after he returned to Britain in 1904.
The second expedition (Terra Nova) began in 1910. He died in March 1912 in Antarctica. The expedition record was arranged by Leonard Huxley and published in 1914. Volume 1 provides the journals of Scott and Volume 2 provides the reports of the journeys and the scientific work undertaken by Dr. E.A. Wilson (who died with Scott) and the surviving members of the expedition. Both volumes are illustrated by photographs taken by Herbert G. Ponting (the first professional photographer included in an Antarctic expedition) and other members of the expedition. There are also a few color plates and sketches made by Dr. Wilson.
All three books are well worth browsing. The pictures/illustrations prompt some reading as well. These are as close as it gets to firsthand descriptions of what happened.
Henry W. Nichols’ Restoration of ancient bronzes and cure of malignant patina was published in 1930 and documents the process used by Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History to restore ancient Egyptian bronzes (and some from Mesopotamia too) in their collection. They used the Fink electrochemical process which was inaugurated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The author was the curator with a geology and chemistry background responsible for the work on a total of 360 bronzes from 1926 to 1929. The before and after images contained in the book are dramatic. The book is available from Internet Archive.
Cecil J. Allen and John R. Hind’s My Book of Ships was published in 1928 in London – well after the Titanic sank in 1912. It is interesting that the Titanic is not mentioned in the book although page 47 is damaged (it appears that half a page was cut out) and is in the chapter about wrecks and salvage.
The book is illustrated with photographs and color illustrations. It is all history now but at the time it was published it was a little history but focuses on the state of the art for ships. It is well worth browsing!
L’art Vietnamien was written by Louis Bezacier, a French archaeologist and art historian. It was published in 1955.
As I browsed the book, I found myself wanting more illustrations; the ones that were there acted to stimulate my interest but not satisfy it. I also wondered how much of Vietnam’s art history was damaged or destroyed in the battles that followed. The author first began his work in Vietnam in 1935 and published for at least 20 years after that…but this book is the only one that is currently on Internet Archive.
I enjoyed browsing the illustrations of golf courses in Britain published in 1910 (available on Internet Archive). It was authored by Bernard Darwin and illustrated by Harry Rountree. According to Wikipedia, the author was the grandson of Charles Darwin; he was the first journalist to cover golf on a daily basis…and he was a high-standard amateur golfer too. The illustrator (according to Wikipedia) was born in New Zealand but moved to London to pursue his career as an illustrator in 1901; he became well know for animal illustration…and British golf courses/golfing caricatures. Enjoy browsing this ‘book of the week.’
I recently happened upon an article in The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities - Bulletin 75 published in 2003 about two Chinese bridges. One was built in 1594 and the other in 1640. Both still fulfil their original function.
Bridges somehow draw my attention.
Perhaps because they represent people working together on a project that required combined talents and skills…as physical manifestation of the level of communication humans are capable of.
Perhaps because their continued existence indicates that relationships have been sustained since bridges are often the first to be destroyed in war. Since these bridges are 100s of years old that is significant.
Perhaps the artistry of the construction – the arches – over water (or low places) is their appeal.
Whatever it is – enjoy this week’s eBook pick for this article and others in the same volume. Quite of few issues of this periodical are also available on Internet Archive.
A book for children published in 1927…
Rhymes and verses by Clara J. Denton and illustrations by Garnett Cheney, published by Albert Whitman & Co. in Chicago.
I enjoyed the illustrations…thinking about how books for children have changed over the years. The different clothes in the depictions of the children are a sign that these are from an old book, but they still are charming hints at a commonality among childish interests that continue.
Available from Internet Archive.
William Edgar Geil is believed to be the first American to have traveled the entire length of the 2,500-kilometer-long Ming section of the Great Wall of China. The book he published about that adventure was published shortly afterward in 1909 and is available on Internet Archive. It is illustrated with photographs taken by the author…documenting the wall as it existed at the time.
So much has happened in China over the intervening years…and the Great Wall seems to be something that is simply ‘always there.’ I remember two stories about it recently that reminded me that the wall is changing too: it was breached with construction equipment and a study that showed that the encrustations (lichen, moss, cyanobacteria) actually slow down erosion of the wall.
Project Gutenberg has the 1912 version of Clement C. Moore’s Twas the Night Before Christmas illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith. The Santa is more elf like….short, very round…and not dressed in red and white! A little perspective on how the vision of Christmas has changed over the last 100 years….
Hannah (Nannie) Hudson Moore’s 1905 book includes many examples of children in paintings. My favorites are not the princes and princesses (which seem to be the majority). I like the ones that depict children that were obviously well cared for…in poses that look like children! Children then must have moved the way they do now – learning to walk and run…being outdoors…having quiet time indoors. Often the clothes seem cumbersome. How did they play? From another perspective - I always wonder if the children in the pictures managed to grow to adulthood; life expectancy was shorter then with a lot of children succumbing to diseases that are not prevented by vaccines. The book is available from Internet Archive:
In 1897, Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business. Its first serious competition (Sears) had opened the year before.
They also published a book about cooking in 1897 that is available via Internet Archive. The title page indicates it is about more than just recipes: what to eat and how to prepare it, hygienic and scientific cooking!
They also published a book about cooking in 1897 that is available via Internet Archive. The title page indicates it is about more than just recipes: what to eat and how to prepare it, hygienic and scientific cooking!
The illustrations try to show the ideal of food preparation and enjoyment in the late 1800s.
My mother remembers her parents ordering from Montgomery Ward in the 1930s for Christmas presents. I remember looking at their catalogs in the 1960s although I also looked at Sears catalogs.
I remember two other books from Wards.
One was the Wendy Ward Charm Book from the 1960s. It was full of somewhat dated information for teenaged girls; much of it we absorbed then jettisoned the parts that didn’t work for us as we entered the work force in the 1970s (the “I am Woman” era).
The other was the book written by Robert L. May on assignment to Montgomery Ward 1939 – the creation of Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer. I bought a copy for my daughter in the early 1990s from Wards! It can be checked out from Internet Archive here.
The US Work Projects Administration sponsored Writers’ Projects in many states – putting people to work as a step out of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The project in Maine produced a well-illustrated city guide for Portland in 1940. The illustrations are a mix of photographs, painting, and drawings. The book is available on Internet Archive. The images are worth a look as a snapshot of the city at that time (i.e. history) and for the artistry of the illustrations.
I selected 6 sample images from the book. A quick search revealed that the Portland Head Light and Portland Observatory still exist. The Wikipedia article for the city includes a picture of the waterfront that looks quite different from ‘The Twentieth Century City’ image!
Leopoldo Batres, a pioneer of the archaeology of Mexico, published a picture book of the Teotihuacan site as it was in 1906…during early excavations. His reconstruction of the Pyramid of the Sun was evidently flawed but the book is still worth browsing to understand why the place was never ‘lost’ once it was created; the structures are large and dominate the scene even before excavation.
Teotihuacan : memoria que presenta Leopoldo Batres ... año de 1906
Looking at the book reminded me of a trip to Mexico City with my parents in 1966; one of the places we visited was Teotihuacan and I remember it vividly; it was interesting to think about all the changes that had happened at the site in the 60 years between when this book was published and when I visited. This book prompted me to search/read more about recent work at the site; a lot has been discovered there between 1966 and now!
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.
An elegant enigma – A shipwreck discovered 30 feet below the surface 15 years ago…what we know (and don’t know) about it after study of the 1,500 objects recovered including textiles in 4 chests. The name of the ship is still unknown but the construction indicates it was a Dutch trader constructed around 1645 and sank around 1660.
At Peru temple site, archaeologists explore 3,000-year-old 'condor's passageway' – A 3,000 year old sealed corridor in a massive temple complex built by the ancient Chavin culture.
Does Nature Need a Trigger Warning? – A thought provoking post. Predators must be part of our conservation actions…and need to be valued as they are rather than simplistically.
Two-Hundred Years of Written Observations of Kīlauea's Summit Activity – On August 1, 1823, an English missionary visited the summit and published his observations (I found the book online -available on Internet Archive…Chapter 6 begins on page 121…image below). Mark Twain visited in 1866 and trekked across the caldera floor to Halema’uma’u, watching “a heaving sea of molten fire of seemingly limitless extent.” There are several links in the article that are worth following. My favorite is the USGS Views of a Century of Activity at Kilauea Caldera – A Visual Essay.
How Texas is racing to thwart the heat - Unfortunately, planning for heat is not as well-developed in the US as planning for other hazards like flooding so many cities are scrambling to take proactive measures to cool their streets down and protect people from the dangerous impacts of overheating. In urban heat islands, temperatures can be up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than less populated areas. Austin, TX has a climate resilience plan that includes strengthening emergency response and future-proofing new facilities and infrastructure. It also developed an urban forest canopy for the city to ensure cool outdoor spaces. The city has now applied for a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to plant more trees after finding the tree canopy coverage was helping Austin to adapt to hotter temperatures. In 2021, San Antonio became the first city in Texas to participate in a pilot project to lower pavement temperatures by applying a coat of paint that reflects the sun's rays. I was disappointed that other large cities in Texas (like Dallas and Houston) were not mentioned in the article. My impression of Dallas is that there is a lot of concrete.
Detecting spoiled foods with LEDs – A potential improvement in non-invasive monitoring of fruit and vegetable freshness.
Joshua trees are dying. This new legislation hopes to tackle that – A compromise law…sets up a conservation fund and requires the state to develop a conservation plan and companies to obtain a permit from the state to cut down or relocate existing trees.
The looming 840,000 ton waste problem that isn't single-use plastics – Carbon and glass fiber composites used in wind turbine blades, hydrogen tanks, airplanes, yachts, construction, and car manufacturing. "This is a huge opportunity," said Dr Wei. "And not only because various modes of recycling are cost-effective and minimally impactful on the environment. In an era of mounting supply chain disruptions, local recycled products can provide a more immediate product when compared to imports and create a burgeoning advanced manufacturing industry."
National Park Visitors Warned to Be "Prepared to Survive" Heat – My husband and I have avoided trips to the western national parks in summer since the 1980s…primarily to avoid crowds but now ‘excessive heat’ is part of our rationale too.
The ocean's color is changing as a consequence of climate change – The color shifts have occurred in 56% of the world’s ocean based on analysis of data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite, which has been monitoring ocean color for 21 years. Tropical oceans have become steadily greener. Changes in color reflect changes in plankton communities, that will impact everything that feeds on plankton. It will also change how much the ocean will take up carbon, because different types of plankton have different abilities to do that.
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.
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.
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.
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.’
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.
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.
Copyright © 2024, Gwen Morrison. All rights reserved.
Celebrating the whole of life....
Thanks for visiting my blog! Enjoy the photo picks from last month:
Copyright © 2024, Gwen Morrison. All rights reserved.
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