Charles Darwin considered it to be one of the most formative journeys of his life. His diary and scientific journal of his time aboard the HMS Beagle, now best known as The Voyage of the Beagle, was a bestseller. It was also on this voyage that the first seeds of his masterwork, Origin of Species, were planted. Now thanks to Cambridge University the entire sketchbooks of Conrad Martens, a shipmate of Darwin's on the HMS Beagle, are available online. Martens made the drawings between the summer of 1833 and the early months of 1835. They "vividly bring to life one of the most famous...
The publishing history of some pretty successful authors by age (infographic)
Click image below to open interactive version (via Blinkbox Books) and explore further the careers of some of the world’s most successful authors. Sort by age of first published book, age at breakthrough book or by total number of books of published.
Photoshoot in the Library: Benjamin Von Wong goes to work inside the world’s oldest monastic library
Think Beauty and the Beast and a library beyond your wildest imagination. Then think about how lucky photographer Benjamin Van Wong was to be able to carry out the first creative photoshoot held inside the library at Admont Abbey in Austria. Completed in 1776 Stift Admont is the oldest monastic library in the world, some have dubbed it the “eighth wonder of the world.” It holds 200,000 books and is adorned with priceless frescoes and needless to say made a perfect backdrop. Model Jen Brook, Clothes by Polish designer Agnieszka Ospia, Hair and makeup Bianca Kristin Woltsche More on the shoot at Benjamin Van Wong's blog, What...
Of Interest: Library of Unrequited Love, On Used Bookstores, Lauren Ipsum, Lou Reed, Mrs. Darwin’s Recipe Book and more
Welcome to the first installment of Of Interest for 2015. Lots of good stuff to kick off the New Year. Pictured above: The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry Published by Maclehose Press. Translated from the French by Siân Reynolds. One morning a librarian finds a reader who has been locked in overnight. She starts to talk to him, a one-way conversation that soon gathers pace as an outpouring of frustrations, observations and anguishes. Two things shine through: her shy, unrequited passion for a quiet researcher named Martin, and an ardent and absolute love of books. Bestseller in France. Buy: Publisher |...
Cream of Wheat and the Golden Age of Illustration
From 1903-1928 The Cream of Wheat Co. ran a national advertising campaign to promote their "breakfast porridge." The campaign featured American illustrators and appeared in the leading periodicals of the day. Lucky for them their campaign ran during the time of Americas Golden Age of Illustration. They hired the likes of N. C. Wyeth, James Montgomery Flagg, Jessie Willcox Smith and J. C. Leyendecker to help spread the word. By the time Cream of Wheat was acquired by Nabisco in 1962 the campaign was long forgotten. In 1980 Dave Stivers, the archivist at Nabisco Brands, hit the jackpot. In a group of metal lockers at the former headquarters...