Name: Poblamiento del Continente Americano
ISBN: 978-9929-687-90-5

Archive · Art · Books · People

Alexander the Great in a glass submarine on a French miniature of the 15th century

Medieval legends attribute to Alexander the Great a passion for exploring the natural world, notably in a glass submarine in which he sat with a cockerel, a cat and a dog. In this miniature from a fifteenth-century French book, "The True History of the Good King", an

Books · Mores · People

Alexander Blok’s poem “She Came in from the Frost, Flushed” of 6 February 1908

What vexed me most was that it was not we who kissed but the doves, and that the days of Paolo and Francesca are past. 6 February 1908, Alexander Blok, "She came in from the frost, flushed..."

Architecture · Books · London · Museums

The circular reading room of the British Museum, home of the British Library until 1997

The British Library building with a dome 45 metres in diameter, built in the 1850s. Or, to be precise, the circular Reading Room of the British Museum, with iron bookshelves running round its perimeter. The total length of the Reading Room's shelving is 25 kilometres. A considerable area

Archive · Books · Mores

Descriptions of male and female appearance and character in the 18th century

Let us remember. The marks of the male character in the eighteenth century: a large head, eyes brown, black-and-yellow or blue and somewhat sunken, a broad belly, long strides and a quiet movement of the body. And above all: men are by disposition diligent, curious, constant, brave, magnanimous

Books · Observations · Science · Nature · Humour

Poem “The Struggle for Existence”, dedicated to Darwin, about a summer on the Istra

I read Yegor Kholmogorov's thorough rebuke of believers in Darwinism, and recalled a poem by the satirist Pyotr Shumakher (1817-1891), dedicated to Darwin himself. The Struggle for Existence (Dedicated to Darwin) I was on the Istra this summer, In a remote, forgotten corner; I lived as a

Fragment of an old printed book page set in old type, with words about Elizabeth and Russia.

Faith · Books · Monarchies · Observations

An old printed text on Elizabeth, who healed Russia with a word

Elizabeth, it is said, healed the ailing fatherland with a single word filled with divine power, saying: Arise and walk, arise and walk, Russia. Shake off thy doubts and fears, and, filled with joy and hope, adorn thyself, rejoice, be exalted. What is there to add? Amen

The East · Books · Science · Education · People

Nikolay Trubetskoy and the concept of the language union in his 1923 article

Those who enjoy studying languages will surely have come across the term Sprachbund, especially if they have ever set about the Balkan tongues. Sprachbund, or linguistic union, describes similarities that arise not from the genetic kinship of languages but from close linguistic and cultural contact. Different languages with no shared

Books · Monarchies · People · Saint Petersburg

Elizaveta Petrovna, as is well known, though a daughter of Peter the Great, was born out of wedlock, like her elder sisters Ekaterina Petrovna and Anna Petrovna: all of them were born to Catherine before the wedding in 1712 and were considered "legitimate

Elizaveta Petrovna, as is well known, though a daughter of Peter the Great, was born out of wedlock, like her elder sisters Ekaterina Petrovna and Anna Petrovna: all of them were born to Catherine before the wedding in 1712 and were considered "legitimated by marriage". Elizaveta had no

Books · Moscow · Observations

I see a great deal about "The Master and Margarita" these days; I once wrote a note on the subject:

On the whole, "The Master and Margarita" is less about mysticism than about people who have got stuck in some other time. Or perhaps it is the novel itself that has got stuck in the wrong time? In the Silver Age, for instance. Otherwise it would be hard

NB! · Archive · Faith · Books · Observations

In a book of 1765 I came across an interesting supposition about the stature of Our Saviour Jesus Christ: three cubits, that is, about 183 cm

Archive · Books · People

The fairy-tale hero Pinocchio had a real-life prototype, as emerged from a letter by the author, Carlo Collodi, who reported that he wished to immortalise the story of a man he had seen in childhood, one Pinocco Sanchez, with wooden prosthetic legs and a

The fairy-tale hero Pinocchio had a real-life prototype, as emerged from a letter by the author, Carlo Collodi, who reported that he wished to immortalise the story of a man he had seen in childhood, one Pinocco Sanchez, with wooden prosthetic legs and a wooden patch in place

NB! · The East · Art · Books · Ethnography

A Tatar Kalmak

A Tatar Kalmak. Engraving from Philippe Avril's "Travels into Divers Parts of Europe and Asia, Undertaken by the French King's Order to Discover a New Way by Land into China", 1693