NB! · Art · People
Alexandr Radayev
Archive · Art · Monarchies · Saint Petersburg
Explanatory sheet for the great fireworks of 1755 in honour of Empress Elizabeth I
Depiction of the Great Firework Displayed in Saint Petersburg on the Evening of the New Year 1755 upon the River Neva Before the Winter House of Her Imperial Majesty. The explanatory sheet states that the great firework was given in honour of Her Imperial Majesty Elizabeth I, Autocrat of All
NB! · Cinema · People · Pop Culture · Society Pages
A 23-year-old Drew Barrymore in a Dior gown from John Galliano's collection at the premiere party for the 1998 costume romance "Ever After: A Cinderella Story"
Books · Education · People
When asked about her lack of an academic degree, the American writer and historian Barbara Tuchman replied that Herodotus, Thucydides, Gibbon, Macaulay and Parkman had held no doctorates
In her words, the demands of a conventional academic career can dull the imagination, smother enthusiasm and stifle the style of one's prose.
NB! · Art
Boy Building a House of Cards, Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin, 1735
Faith · Mores · Society
Henry Ford Dismissed 800 Workers for Missing Work on Orthodox Christmas in 1914
In 1914 Henry Ford dismissed some 800 workers who failed to report for work on 7 January, when the Orthodox Church celebrates the Nativity of Christ. At that time this amounted to roughly 8% of all his workforce. Ford issued an order stating that if these men had chosen America
NB! · Faith · Art
An Angel Looks In at the Window
An angel looks in at the window. The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. Fresco in the Scrovegni Chapel, Giotto di Bondone, 1305
NB! · Faith · Art · Museums
Crozier head with the Archangel Michael and the dragon, 1220s–1230s, Limoges
Aristocracy · Observations · Society
Editors debated how to describe the Rothschilds' ethnicity and settled on Ashkenazi Jews
Wikipedia's article on the Rothschilds: "Jewish family" replaced with "European family" The article's edit history contains a lively discussion among editors about why the Rothschilds suddenly became a family with a "European background" instead of a "Jewish" one,
NB! · Faith · Art · People
“The Adoration of the Magi”, by the sixteenth-century Flemish painter Jan Mostaert, who worked at the court of Margaret of Austria in the Southern Netherlands
Monarchies · Observations · People · Humour
Catherine II twice taken out of the palace in the first days after the overthrow of Peter III
I love the French language for its elegance. How do you like this subtle, refined characterisation of Catherine the Great: "usurpatrice"? It is known that in the first days after the overthrow of Peter III, Catherine II slept badly; she was even twice got out of bed and
Archive · Faith · Art · Observations
Merry Christmas to all! ❤️
Illustration from the Magnificent Hours of Notre-Dame, 1378/80.