Sir John Tenniel's Illustration of Alice And The Cheshire Cat, From Lewis Carroll'sAlice's Adventures In Wonderland, 1865. (Images Courtesy of University Of British Columbia's Alice 100 Collection.)The release of Tim Burton's feature film version of Alice In Wonderland in March, 2010 has returned media focus to Lewis Carroll's 1865 classic tale once again. And this means that all eyes are also back on the many previous visualizations of the piece, including Sir John Tenniel's nonpareil original illustrations. For as the first sentence of the book concludes: "Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the...
For Cornell Library "The Time Of The Singing Of Birds Is Come"
A Bali Starling, An Endangered Species Whose Song Was Recorded By Linda Macaulay. The goal of poets is to make words sing. And so what better to inspire them than the sublime sounds, expressed so casually, so naturally, so sweetly, by the songbird? It comes as no surprise, then, that nearly every major poet has written a poem in praise of avian warblers. From Catallus to Chaucer to Keats to Collins, all are spellbound by the music of the skies. They try, with all the tools at their command, to conjure up in words the notes that flow so effortlessly...
Winds Of War Stir Nation’s Libraries
Illustrator and theatrical designer Charles Buckles Falls created this lithograph to promote the American Library Association's First World War book drives for soldiers. Donated books were seen as a key to keeping up morale, and stocked temporary wartime libraries, as well as being given directly to soldiers. The most popular books on the frontlines were adventure and detective fiction, biographies, military histories, and travel journals. As the war wound down, soldiers began to request titles on farming, business, engineering, construction and other trades in preparation for the return to civilian life.It was the first, but sadly not the last, modern...
Budget Woes Make Libraries Eat Their Words
A Brief History Of Thyme By Bridget Booher.(All Images Courtesy of Duke University Edible Book Festival.)These are tough times for libraries. Media reports every day tell of city, county, and state governments cutting library budgets in the face of massive revenue shortfalls. But the beginning of the month of April brings the worst news yet. Not just in the US but worldwide, libraries around the globe will literally be slicing up their books to raise money. Those who care about their collections must rally before their rarest delicacies are consumed, and lost forever in the bowels of money hungry citizens....
"King Of Humbug" Takes A Bow At British Library
The Great Showman's Motto Was: "Without Promotion Something Terrible Happens: Nothing!"Banner Created by Mark Coleman for The National Fairground Archive Exhibit: Humbug! Celebrating 200 Years Of P.T. Barnum.As journalist H.L Mencken famously said: "No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." He could have added; "And no one knew that better than P.T. Barnum." This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Barnum, who became the first show biz millionaire by catering to the flip side of the public's attraction to the beautiful. Barnum knew that in a repressive society like that of the...