“Entire townships and villages appear to have been airlifted from their historical and geographical foundations in England, France, Greece, the United States, and Canada and spot-welded to the margins of Chinese cities,” according to Bianca Bosker, author of Original Copies: Architectural Mimicry in Contemporary China. Tianducheng: A Fake Parisian Wonder Originally conceived as an homageContinue reading “Eerie and Glorious Fake Cities Left Empty in China”
Category Archives: History
Tiny building sites: It’s a small world after all
Readers of this blog will understand and share my obsession with small-scale buildings, tiny books, paper towns and jewelry boxes and boudoir ornaments for mermaids. These quirky art forms are uncannily beautiful in their falseness. They also make Mini Materials now offers lovers of miniature the unprecedented opportunity to build their own life-like models ofContinue reading “Tiny building sites: It’s a small world after all”
Dreamy Art of Sublime Fantasy: Odilon Reddon
Odilon Redon’s art is the kind of mystical haze of colour and composition that you would find in the corner of your consciousness as you emerge from sleep. I love his art because of this reason, it hints at hidden worlds of emotion and depth that are located deep within us all. Odilon RedonContinue reading “Dreamy Art of Sublime Fantasy: Odilon Reddon”
Life on an Edwardian Farm
In this series by the BBC, a group of historians and archaeologists recreate the running of a farm during the Edwardian era. This is a fascinating series that was originally aired in 2011 and now resides on countless Youtube channels – for better or worse with regards to copyright. Still, these issues aside this isContinue reading “Life on an Edwardian Farm”
Travel: Yarchen Gar, Tibet
Yarchen Gar also known as the Yaqên Orgyän Temple is located in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, China Geographically remote and nestled in a valley some 4,000 metres above sea level, the temple rarely sees tourists or visitors. The monastery is associated with the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism . At Yarchen Gar there is a concentration ofContinue reading “Travel: Yarchen Gar, Tibet”
Every Picture Tells A Story: King George Military Hospital Chapel, 1915.
A still, melancholy and hushed photo of a vacant military hospital chapel in 1915, prior to the outbreak of the Great War. The King George Military Hospital opened in October 1915 in London. At the height of the Great War, in October 1917, it was said to be the largest military hospital in Britain with 1900Continue reading “Every Picture Tells A Story: King George Military Hospital Chapel, 1915.”
A timeline of 20th century hairstyles
Every Picture Tells a Story: Nico in Paris 1960
This photograph was taken by Mark Shaw for LIFE Magazine in 1960. It features elegant couture, art and decadent modernist Parisian interiors. Nico is posing with a pair of dachshunds in the apartment of legendary Parisian interior designer Henry Samuel. Nico was a young model before she became famous. She went on to be theContinue reading “Every Picture Tells a Story: Nico in Paris 1960”
History: Ancient specs as fascinating historical artefacts
In 2012 while working as a freelance copywriter, I did a series of articles for Direct Sight in the UK about the history of eye glasses. I only just remembered this one, it was incredibly fun to research and write and you can find the original here from 2012. I hope you enjoy it, fromContinue reading “History: Ancient specs as fascinating historical artefacts”
Art: The Horoscope of Prince Iskandar (1411)
A sublime Persian horoscope crafted from lapis lazuli and gold leaf by hand for Prince Iskandar. The Prince was named after Alexander the Great and was the grandson of Tamerlane, the Turkman Mongol conqueror. This horoscope shows the positions of the stars and planets in the sky at the moment of Iskandar’s birth on 25thContinue reading “Art: The Horoscope of Prince Iskandar (1411)”
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