Close-up of a painting: a flying squirrel with a large dark eye holds a morsel in its paws. A fine gold chain runs from it, with crumbs nearby and the edge of white fabric behind.

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Flying squirrel on a gold chain, detail of a painting

A young man in a dark velvet jacket sits at a polished table holding a gold chain attached to a squirrel, against a red drape.

NB! · Art · Mores · Nature

Portrait of Henry Pelham with a pet flying squirrel by John Singleton Copley, 1765

A pet squirrel will surprise no one, but a domestic flying squirrel on a golden lead is a great rarity, even by the standards of the eighteenth century. 1765, John Singleton Copley, portrait of his half-brother Henry Pelham

NB! · Humour

Every Joke Contains a Grain of Joke 😄

An elongated grey-pink sculpture hangs upside down, with long fibrous strands radiating from its centre. A slatted glass ceiling is above; a stuffed bear is visible below.

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Suspended sculpture with fibrous tendrils in a museum hall

Sculpted bust of a bearded man with curly hair and a bowed head, set against red fabric and an ochre wall.

NB! · Faith · Art · Observations

Sculpture of Saint Paul by François Marchand, Made Around 1540

A sculpture of Saint Paul of incredible beauty by François Marchand, c. 1540. What a strong, expressive scar on the face, and what a serene pose

NB! · Cinema · Observations · Humour

I hardly know which of these rare shots is the more impressive: Roman legionaries on the approaches to Hadrian's Wall, or French infantry at Waterloo?

Four panels: a white swan on water, a marble bust of a bearded man, and a woman in a floral headband, first smiling, then looking puzzled.

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Collage: a swan, an antique bust and a woman in a floral headband

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Pop Culture

Yesterday was the birthday of Henry VIII of England, who, one suspects, may be the most frequently invoked ruler in popular culture, somewhere in the vicinity of Genghis Khan, King Arthur and Caesar

Five people stand on the grass under a spreading tree on a sunny day. A woman in a red dress speaks into a microphone while the others listen. A wooden house is visible in the distance.

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Five people on a meadow under a tree, a woman speaking into a microphone

NB! · Cinema · People

Chaplin Was First

Cover illustration of La Vie Parisienne: a figure in a dark coat and boots stands on a centaur's back and kisses him.

NB! · Archive · Art · Mores · Paris

Georges Léonnec drew a centaur and a rider for the cover of La Vie Parisienne in 1924

The centaur's kiss on the cover of La Vie Parisienne. 1924, drawing by Georges Léonnec

NB! · Faith · Art

John the Baptist and the Lamb

John the Baptist and the Lamb. José de Ribera