Eighteenth-century trolling, via U Penn researcher Mitch Fraas. The annotation reads: “Greatest nonsense I ever met, under so modest a title” and “[By a Young Lady] who I hope will never write again.”

Eighteenth-century trolling, via U Penn researcher Mitch Fraas. The annotation reads: “Greatest nonsense I ever met, under so modest a title” and “[By a Young Lady] who I hope will never write again.”

Brian Eno with his cat circa 1974.

Brian Eno with his cat circa 1974.

The Arbre du Ténébré in 1961. The most isolated tree in the world, it was struck and killed by a drunken truck driver in 1973.

The Arbre du Ténébré in 1961. The most isolated tree in the world, it was struck and killed by a drunken truck driver in 1973.

A sixteenth-century gardener from Adam Lonitzer’s Naturalis historiae opus novum (Frankfurt, 1551). Read the full book here.

A sixteenth-century gardener from Adam Lonitzer’s Naturalis historiae opus novum (Frankfurt, 1551). Read the full book here.

A detail from Justin Berry’s Dual Horizons, 2012, an artwork composed of two modified vintage paperbacks. Read about the process on our blog: “Landscapes of Possibility.”

A detail from Justin Berry’s Dual Horizons, 2012, an artwork composed of two modified vintage paperbacks. Read about the process on our blog: “Landscapes of Possibility.”

Why did a Nazi think that the ruins at Tiwanaku in Bolivia were built by refugees from the lost city of Atlantis? “Andean Atlantis.”

Why did a Nazi think that the ruins at Tiwanaku in Bolivia were built by refugees from the lost city of Atlantis? “Andean Atlantis.”

Ivan Shiskin, Morning in a Pine Forest, 1878. Shiskin was a 19th century Russian painter associated with the Peredvizhniki, or “Wanderers,” movement of naturalistic paintings of wild scenes.

Ivan Shiskin, Morning in a Pine Forest, 1878. Shiskin was a 19th century Russian painter associated with the Peredvizhniki, or “Wanderers,” movement of naturalistic paintings of wild scenes.

atlasobscura: Today I pulled an eagle out of a drawer. There were three or four other eagles there, also female, but I was looking specifically for her. I recognized the handwriting on the tag, and turned it over for confirmation. Yes. She was lying on her back, neck extended, sharp claws crossed and secured. I carefully lifted her with two hands, and even though she is a skin—a shell, really, her organs and skeleton replaced with stuffing—I felt her weight. I wasn’t prepared for the eagle—for her size, for the impact that holding her in my hands would have on me. Historians talk about material culture, about the importance of engaging non-textual sources in our work and in our teaching, but, holding her, I was almost giddy. It was more than that feeling that you’re looking at the coolest, biggest, weirdest thing in the archive; when you require the white gloves, a bigger book cradle, a stand for viewing large format photographs. She had been alive once. And I felt something. Connected through the feeling of her feathers on my fingers, the proximity to something I’d only ever encountered at a safe distance. (via From the Aviary: Haliaeetus leucocephalus - Vol. 1, No. 2 – The Appendix)

atlasobscura:

Today I pulled an eagle out of a drawer. There were three or four other eagles there, also female, but I was looking specifically for her. I recognized the handwriting on the tag, and turned it over for confirmation. Yes. She was lying on her back, neck extended, sharp claws crossed and secured. I carefully lifted her with two hands, and even though she is a skin—a shell, really, her organs and skeleton replaced with stuffing—I felt her weight. I wasn’t prepared for the eagle—for her size, for the impact that holding her in my hands would have on me.

Historians talk about material culture, about the importance of engaging non-textual sources in our work and in our teaching, but, holding her, I was almost giddy. It was more than that feeling that you’re looking at the coolest, biggest, weirdest thing in the archive; when you require the white gloves, a bigger book cradle, a stand for viewing large format photographs. She had been alive once. And I felt something. Connected through the feeling of her feathers on my fingers, the proximity to something I’d only ever encountered at a safe distance.

(via From the Aviary: Haliaeetus leucocephalus - Vol. 1, No. 2 – The Appendix)

Behind the scenes of a Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber diorama, via.

Behind the scenes of a Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber diorama, via.