1. Bezoar stones: undigested matter found in the gastrointestinal tract of deer, goats, porcupines and other animals, once prized as magical cure-all stones, worn by royalty Arabian doctors had been using bezoars since the 8th century, and brought them into western medicine in the 12th century as an antidote to arsenic, a favorite poison used to… Continue reading at the publisher's website.
1. An old French Bank for Sale in the town of Nevers (two hours from Paris) An intriguing listing (asking price 1 544 000 €). Found on Patrice Besse. 2. Continue reading at the publisher's website.
So I found this peculiar collection on Flickr by a guy in California called Frank Kelsey. He’s been collecting for 30+ years – he’s also got impressive collections of vintage ashtrays, matchbook covers and baseball cards – but it’s his sugar cube wrappers that had me really enamoured. My guess is there aren’t that many… Continue reading at the publisher's website.
Cauldrons ready? 1. Vintage ephemera from the Talking Board Historical Society Time to get your boards out. More imagery here. Continue reading at the publisher's website.
Whilst looking recently at an old nautical map of the North Shore coastline of Massachusetts, one tiny island caught our eye because of its mysterious sounding name: Great Misery Island! Further inspection of the map showed that the island had no towns, roads or any other topographical features apart from in the south west corner,… Continue reading at the publisher's website.
1. Photographing the Williamsburg Bridge Riders A few of my favourite shots from the Instagram account of Adam DiCarlo found via Kottke. 2. How Kodak invented the “snapshot” 3. Continue reading at the publisher's website.
1. Just a Female Street fight duel with sand-filled socks Published in “Le Petit Journal” November 1st 1902: There are Apaches of both sexes as seen recently in the rue du Général-Morin. Louise Henin, a beautiful girl of twenty, became mortally angered by Andrée Merle, twenty-three years, for reasons difficult to specify. Continue reading at the publisher's website.
Every Thursday, Spitalfields antique market in London spans a historic covered marketplace that transforms itself into a maze of stalls bearing jewellery, clothing, housewares, and more. At the jewellery stalls, a shrewd buyer can find gold, silver, gemstones, and more. And, if they are lucky, and know what they’re looking for, they can find something… Continue reading at the publisher's website.
Even Hitler couldn’t rob Paris of its style. In 1945, the end of the war was in sight, the French capital had already been liberated of the Nazi occupation and it was time for Paris to relaunch its fashion industry. There was just one problem– the industry couldn’t afford enough fabric to actually create new fashion.… Continue reading at the publisher's website.