Strange book of the day

Lots of colourful fish, book published in 1719. You can view it online.

Amplify’d from www.rarebookroom.org

In 100 plates containing 460 brilliantly colored engravings that represent a dazzling multitude of fishes, along with crustaceans, grasshoppers, a dugong, and a mermaid, Louis Renard’s Fishes, crayfishes and crabs, of diverse coloration and extraordinary form displays the most fantastic evocation of exotic aquatic life ever produced. Read more at www.rarebookroom.org

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/aWj3k8

Korea by J.D. Coulson

The entire book can be viewed here

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cAIvva

If you don't see me I'm reading comics

Occasionally I do remember that Comics.com exists and then I am hooked. My childhood dream was to spend a lazy summer afternoon with a huge pile of comics next to me. With a laptop and Comics.com that dream comes true :)

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bCKMHb

Four kids when smiling wasn't trendy

Shame that this blog is not updated more often. If you are into history or old photos it is an interesting read.

Amplify’d from datedimages.genpics.org

This photograph shows four children, probably siblings, carefully posed by the photographer on and around a couple wooden chairs — the younger boy kneeling on a kitchen chair, and the youngest girl seated in a high-chair. Despite the photographer’s best efforts, the expressions on the children are of suspicion and confusion. The older girl has one hand draped around the forearm of the younger boy, while the older boy holds one of the little girls hands — both quite awkwardly. The children neither understand nor approve of these arrangements, but Momma is probably off to one side, urging them to behave, so they try their best.

I don’t know who the photographer was, or exactly where this was taken, but I have noted that it was taken in December of 1851. It is a fine daguerreotype from just a dozen years after the introduction of photography to the public, so there was still a lot of experimenting going on to find pleasing poses. This photographer didn’t bother with any props beyond the chairs needed to raise the younger children to the heights of their standing siblings. This image provides a good view of children’s clothing from the early 1850s. Read more at datedimages.genpics.org

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cwGg8R

Panama by Edith A. Browne

This book, published in 1913, is here

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9sNn80

The Inns of court by Gordon Home

You can view the  entire book here

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/aurq2X

More about social networks

This time we are mostly talking about those online. I am not an expert but in the past 14 years online (even before social media as such) I've been watching the ways people interact, forms groups and develop loyalties online, in my case entirely with the on and off curiosity of a layman. So I can just imagine the amount of material that is available to psychologists and social scientists.

Amplify’d from www.newscientist.com

Now the study of human behaviour is heading the same way. Social scientists have long had to rely on crude questionnaires or interviews to gather data to test their theories; methods marred by reporting bias and small survey sizes. For decades, the field has been looked down upon by some as a poor cousin to the hard sciences. The digital age is changing all that - practically overnight, the study of human behaviour and social interactions has switched, from having virtually no hard data to drowning in the stuff. As a result, an entirely different approach to social science has emerged, and studies based on it are appearing with increasing frequency. The impact has been remarkable. Read more at www.newscientist.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/82m2

Mulberry Street, New York City

I love old photos and this is a very good old photo :)

Amplify’d from www.wdl.org

This photolithograph from the Detroit Publishing Company documents the busy street life of New York City’s Lower East Side at the start of the 20th century. Between 1870 and 1915, New York’s population more than tripled, from 1.5 million to 5 million. In 1900, when this photo was taken, foreign-born immigrants and their children constituted a staggering 76 percent of the city’s population. Often described as the Main Street of Little Italy, Mulberry Street was dominated from the 1890s by immigrants from Italy. These immigrants jostled for space and economic opportunity with other recent arrivals to the city, including Jewish, Russian, and Austro-Hungarian immigrants, as well as native-born and older immigrant groups such as the Dutch, English, Irish, and Germans. Read more at www.wdl.org

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/apdm6a

The high-road of empire ; water-colour and pen-and-ink sketches in India (1905)

The entire book can be viewed here
And this is also my test of posting to Amplify by email :)

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cJGvkf

The Chemistry of Social Networks (Video)

A more general look at social networks (not just those on the internet)

Amplify’d from bigthink.com

The Chemistry of Social Networks

Nicholas Christakis Physician & Social Scientist, Harvard

Like atoms in a molecule, we’re all linked together. Studying the complex matrix that results can illuminate everything from bucket brigades to Bernie Madoff. Read more at bigthink.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/c0lk8r

An alternative history of art

I'm trying to read this at the moment, it basically states that there has been a plot to hide some of the art that came out between 1850 and 1910 although the author claims is some of the best art ever. Obviously it is not talking about the Impressionists. I am still sceptical at this stage but I am reading on.

Amplify’d from www.artrenewal.org

See more at www.artrenewal.org

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/akOoUA

Animals in the First World War

There are 124 photos of the forgotten and accidental heroes of the Great War.

You can see them all here.

http://www.gwpda.org/photos/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=2

Amplify’d from www.gwpda.org

British soldier playing with mascot cat Read more at www.gwpda.org

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cujx7E

Austria and Hungary by G.E. Mitton (1914)

The full book can be found here

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from M F's posterous

Birds of Britain illustrated by H.E. Dresser

The full book can be found here

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from M F's posterous