In the early 1960s, a young agriculture historian named M. L. Ryder had the idea to use parchment manuscripts to research medieval sheep breeds. He surveyed manuscript illuminations for evidence of the colors,… Continue reading
A few days ago, when I was looking at the Hollywood costume sketches at the Brooklyn Museum, I noticed this wonderful dress diary in their archives. The diary’s owner, Ida Jackson, was born… Continue reading
What do you do when there’s no Wikipedia page? In my last three posts, I have given you some small samples from the 1936 book, The Romance of French Weaving. There are so… Continue reading
Today is Bastille Day, and while the crowds outside are celebrating with music and fireworks, let’s slip down a cool dim hallway to lose ourselves in a treasury of French craftsmanship. From 1732… Continue reading
Today I am going to let M. Paul Rodier show us The Romance of French Weaving with a little tour of Paris on the thirteenth century. The king, Louis IX, later known as… Continue reading
Here’s a little puzzle to start things off: La chaine est soie, la trame poil de chèvre, matiere qui fournit la chèvre du Thibet et que nous connaissons sous le nom de cachemire.… Continue reading
Back in 2012, I was reading the Iliad with an online group, and I was amazed when I got to these lines about the famous Helen: She [Iris] came on Helen in the… Continue reading
At the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Pooler, Georgia, among all the aircraft and equipment, is an exhibit that shows the stories of pilots downed behind enemy lines. One… Continue reading
Three years ago when I was photographing this dress from the 1800s, I got to wondering how it would look by candlelight, the way it was seen when it was new, 170 years… Continue reading
This is an old photograph I got in an antique store. It captures the essence of what I try to preserve in this blog – ordinary people, finding a sense of competence in… Continue reading
