Art · Observations · Mores · Humour
The Modern Venus, or a Woman of Modern Fashion in Her Natural State. 1786. Who could have imagined that a satire on the standards of beauty of the late eighteenth century would be so precisely realised in our own day?
Books · Observations · Mores · Society
Is there no amusement here? Why, yes. There, across the road, is the lecture-room, from which sheaves of light pour out, and then three times a week, or more often, there are evening services for the ladies. For the young gentlemen there are the counting-house, the store and
Books · Monarchies · Mores · People · Saint Petersburg
Within ten days of her accession to the throne, Catherine II had invited Denis Diderot to come to Russia. She even proposed that he move the publication of the "Encyclopédie", which kept running into bans in France, to Riga or Saint Petersburg. But Diderot did not take up
London · Monarchies · Mores · People · Humour
Prince Philip's aunt and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna's niece, Queen Louise of Sweden (1889-1965), née Battenberg, often visited London, and once a bus very nearly ran her down. After this unpleasantness, Queen Louise, when walking the streets of London, always carried with her a small card
NB! · Archive · Architecture · Mores · Paris
Books · Mores · People
The fundamental principle of the intelligentsia's ethos is intellectual freedom, freedom as a moral category. The cultivated person is unfree only in respect of his own conscience and his own thought. Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachev, “Letters on the Good and the Beautiful”.
Monarchies · Heritage · Mores · Humour
Does the bust of Peter the First in Brussels stand on the spot where the Tsar was sick after a drinking bout in April 1717? The bust is said to have been accompanied by a Latin inscription: "On 16 April 1717, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon,
NB! · Art · Museums · Mores
A brooch of bird's claw with silver-mounted citrines: a tribute to the Victorian fashion for Scotland's cultural heritage and for historicism. 1860-70s. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
Art · Mores · Society · People
A Striking Statement by the Photographer Eric Pickersgill: the Series Removed. People have fused with their devices swiftly and irreversibly. At first, personal gadgets were very convenient helpers: they solved everyday tasks, made it easier to keep in touch with loved ones, to store and pass on information, to take
Faith · Observations · Mores · Rome
Thanks to a photograph of the menu from the first supper of Leo XIV with the cardinals at the Casa Santa Marta, we know that the new Pope also has a very good taste in wine. Take note of the wines the Pope himself drinks with his supper of courgette
Books · Observations · Mores · Humour
What is more, the sister has no fear of public censure and is ready to pursue her brother's love in spite of everyone around her. The displeasure of people at such conduct she calls envy. Of all places, here is where I never expected to find a fiery
NB! · Observations · Mores · Humour