Walter Crane (1845–1915), mostly known for his children’s book illustrations, was also a strong supporter of the socialist cause throughout his life . In this 1907 publication, Crane began to blend his political views with his artistry to produce a rather interesting take on the standard children’s book reader. The child’s socialist reader Giant Monopoly…
Category: Digitization
A New Digitization Work-stream …
In collaboration with Preservation Services Collection Care, Imaging Services has established a new programmatic work-stream: the Widener Library, digitization of ReCAP items committed to retain program. As the name suggests, this project is connected to the ReCAP (Research Collections and Preservation Consortium) program, to which Harvard Library is a dedicated partner. ReCAP’s mission is to…
The Nubian Pyramids
Frédéric Cailliaud’s travel accounts and drawings were pivotal contributions to the development of Egyptology in the 19th century. Cailliaud, born in 1787, became a prominent French naturalist, mineralogist, and conchologist. From 1815 to 1827, he travelled extensively throughout Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia, collecting minerals and making observations. He rediscovered the ancient emerald mines of Mount Zubarah and long…
A hundred years later …
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Western countries, driven by the pursuit of natural resources, economic gain, and a “civilizing mission,” embarked on a period of intense territorial expansion and exploration. Among their many endeavors was the discovery and collection of plant species previously unknown to the West. Governments and institutions dispatched botanists…
It takes two to Tango!
The Tango craze of the early 20th Century is captured in this unique publication by Samuel Beach Chester, Secrets of the Tango. He states in the beginning of the book: Secrets of the Tango Full of illustrations and diagrams! Watch your feet! Watch your steps! * This post was originally posted by Todd Bachmann on…