Archive · Art · Books · Museums · People

Émile Zola's photographic legacy and the exhibition of his photographs in Royan

Few people know it, but Émile Zola was a keen photographer. He devoted the last years of his life to this pursuit, creating thousands of remarkable pictures which unquestionably deserve attention as early monuments of the photographic art. Last year the French seaside town of Royan held a large exhibition

NB! · Archive · Faith · Monarchies · Heritage · Saint Petersburg

Arrival of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna at the site of the foundation of the church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky (Nikolo-Bargradsky) at the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society

Arrival of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna at the site of the foundation of the church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky (Nikolo-Bargradsky) at the Imperial Palestine Society. The church was blown up in 1932

NB! · Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies · Saint Petersburg · Humour

Grand Dukes Vladimir Alexandrovich and Alexander Alexandrovich, Duke Nikolai Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg and Duke Albert of Saxe-Altenburg amuse themselves with a camera in Saint Petersburg of the 1860s as best they can

NB! · Archive · Art · Paris · People

Gustave Caillebotte walks his dog in Paris in 1892

Hand-coloured engraving of French drummers and horsemen entering the fortress gate of Moscow, with flames rising above the walls and towers.

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Art · Moscow · Observations

Anonymous French engraving of the French entry into Moscow in 1812

Note the appearance of Moscow's fortress walls, more reminiscent of the Western European Middle Ages, in the anonymous French engraving "The French Entering Moscow". I am especially fond of the drawbridge beside the Kremlin

NB! · Archive · Museums · Saint Petersburg

The Hermitage in Photographs by Lev Borodulin, 1966

Archive · Nature · Humour

Monkey at sea mistaken for a person, rescued by boat, swims away again

In 1950 a solitary male proboscis monkey was spotted far out in the South China Sea. The passengers of a cruise liner mistook the animal for a human being, and a boat was lowered to go to its assistance. The monkey clambered aboard, rested for a while, but then leapt

Black and white photograph of a spotted dog on a window balcony beside a birdcage, with a lace curtain showing a female figure.

Archive · Art · Paris

André Kertész photographed a concierge's dog in Paris in 1926

Good Morning! Photograph by André Kertész, The Concierge's Dog, 1926, Paris

Archaeology · Archive · The East · London · Museums · Heritage

Layard found the Library of Ashurbanipal in 1849 and brought over 25,000 tablets to England

This Is How the British Museum Displays the Library of Nineveh. The legendary Library of King Ashurbanipal was discovered by the Englishman Austen Henry Layard in 1849. He managed to unearth one part of the vast library, which had been kept in the north-west palace on the banks of

Archive · Observations · Mores · Pop Culture

Wedding of Madge Elliott and Cyril Ritchard in 1935 and possibly the longest bridal veil

Stumbled upon this photograph by chance and may have found the longest wedding veil in history; its owner was the British-born Australian dancer and actress Madge Elliott. In September 1935 Madge married the Australian actor Cyril Ritchard. The dress and veil were created by the English couturier Peter Russell.

NB! · Archive · People

Chekhov in Yalta, 1901

NB! · Archive · In the Press · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Good Lord, how touching!

Good Lord, how touching! A memorial notice of the death of Harold Godwinson, the last Saxon king of England, in the Hastings Observer