Trouble Above – Futility Closet.
I have fully considered the project of these our modern Dædalists, and am resolved so far to discourage it, as to prevent any person from flying in my time. It would fill the world with innumerable immoralities, and give such occasions for intrigues as people cannot meet with who have nothing but legs to carry them. You should have a couple of lovers make a midnight assignation upon the top of the monument, and see the cupola of St. Paul’s covered with both sexes like the outside of a pigeon-house. Nothing would be more frequent than to see a beau flying in at a garret window, or a gallant giving chaos to his mistress, like a hawk after a lark. There would be no walking in a shady wood without springing a covey of toasts. The poor husband could not dream what was doing over his head. If he were jealous, indeed, he might clip his wife’s wings, but what would this avail when there were flocks of whore-masters perpetually hovering over his house? What concern would the father of a family be in all the time his daughter was upon the wing?
– Joseph Addison, Guardian, July 20, 1713
“The main house on the estate was a 32-room mansion, and Wright had three artificial lakes constructed, the 9,000+ acres lavishly landscaped and reeking of wealth and means. Perhaps the most famous addition to the palatial properties was the underground conservatory/smoking room with aquarium windows, an epic statue seemingly rising out of the manufactured lake on the underwater dome that gave the glorious below-ground room a ballroom-like appearance.” Read more: Witley Wonder Underwater Ballroom | Atlas Obscura.
While writing book reviews, I often look for images that will illustrate of compliment the post. These are two I didn’t use but I had to share just the same.
I also want to give a “shout-out” to treselegant, whose amazing blog led me to research images such as these.
Late in life Arthur Conan Doyle pursued an interest in the possibility of spiritualism and existence beyond the grave. He was widely criticized for this, but a writer to the Graphic raised a redeeming point:
Although we may misbelieve mediums and
With doubt and suspicion our minds may be filled,
Sherlock Holmes, we must grant, reappeared in the Strand
A number of times after having been killed.
Indeed, Holmes had returned against his creator’s wishes. “I never thought they would take it so much to heart,” Conan Doyle once wrote of Holmes’ death. “I got letters from all over the world reproaching me on the subject. One, I remember, from a lady whom I did not know, began ‘You beast’.”
The home which Conan Doyle built in Surrey has been saved from development! Thanks to the banding together of fans and preservationists around the world.
But there is still plenty to do. Please visit the Undershaw Preservation Trust’s site to find out how you can help – from the UK or abroad.
This photo was found in Cumberland Co. Illinois. I assume it was taken by Northway Studios (Greenup) as they did most of the professional photography in that area. Looks like they have a keyhole shaped filter that they laid over the negative during developing. Look at her cool shoes!
I found this photo at The Paris Market in Savannah. At first glance I thought it was a wedding photo, but now I think it might be a father and a daughter, perhaps for her prom or coming out party.
From near Effingham, Illinois.
“I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Bronte was born today in 1816.
From the New York World’s Fair in 1939. Here is a link to some more about Goodrich and the fair.
A group of fun-loving folks out for a day in the snow.
I found this photo at a garage sale and I liked it because it was clearly a vintage photo of a big band. Upon closer inspection, I think it may be the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The lead trombonist looks like him, and the musicians’ big band music stands say “GM”. Any experts out there who might know?
I found this photo on an old scrap book page. The page label said this was a car rally in 1915.
This is another of the photos I found at The Paris Market in Savannah. It is marked 1915.
I found this photo yesterday at The Paris Market in Savannah.
“I couldn’t imagine what Fox thought they were doing, contemplating such a jagged protagonist for a prime-time drama. I only knew that I wanted the role very much.” – Hugh Laurie on Dr. House
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This gallery contains 5 photos.
literaryflack: Black Orchids is a Nero Wolfe double mystery by Rex Stout published in 1942 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. Stout’s first short story collection, the volume is composed of two novellas that had appeared in abridged form in The … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
todaysdocument: Edgar Allan Poe: January 18, 1809 – October 7, 1849 Pioneering author Edgar Allan Poe joined the Army at the age of 18 in an act of desperation after suffering the strain of surviving on his own for two months … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
decoarchitecture: Interior Details, Paramount Theater, Oakland, Californiaby twelves More details – gilding, murals, light fixtures, sculpture, and more.
… Books are yours
Within whose silent chambers treasure lies
Preserved from age to age; more precious far
Than that accumulated store of gold
And orient gems, which, for a day of need
The Sultan hides deep in ancestral tombs.
These hoards of truth you can unlock at will.
