M.J. Rose

The explanation is more ominous than you might think…

via Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. 128, f.74r

Objects of Intrigue: 16th Century Rocket Cats

by Allison Meier

(From Atlas Obscura)

“Why are these animals in a 16th century manuscript wearing jet packs? That’s the mystery Mitch Fraas, Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries’ Kislak Center for Special Collections, set out to decipher. It turns out the truth is a bit macabre, but the illustrators obviously took some whimsical joy in depicting these rocket cats and birds. Fraas told Atlas Obscura more about these fire-fueled cats:

Just about a year ago, a friend sent me a link with a picture from one of our manuscripts here at Penn. I gaped… was that really a picture of a cat and a bird propelled by rocket packs!? This seemed pretty unlikely for a 16th century manuscript, but within a week I had turned up another half dozen examples of similar illustrations. So, what’s the deal with these rocket creatures?…”

For the complete piece click here to go to Atlas Obscura.

HAPPY ALMOST HALLOWEEN!

To get you in the mood…

First, behold the spiritualist era spirit photographs of William Hope, here.

Next, catch up on the history and use of the Ouija board here.

And, did you know that an entire novel “by a deceased Mark Twain” was written entirely via Ouija? —

Yep, and here it is in its entirety.

Also…

Ghostwriter and Ghost: The Strange Case of Pearl Curran & Patience Worth

“In early 20th-century St. Louis, Pearl Curran claimed to have conjured a long-dead New England puritan named Patience Worth through a Ouija board. Although mostly unknown today, the resulting books, poems, and plays that Worth “dictated” to Curran earned great praise at the time. Ed Simon investigates the curious and nearly forgotten literary fruits of a “ghost” and her ghostwriter…”

 

See the rest at the Public Domain Review, here.

A long view of the precious beauty of a simple book, and a new experience of thinking about the passage of time…

“In its essence, Future Library is hopeful – it believes there will be a forest, a book, and a reader in 100 years.” — Margaret Atwood

Growing A Book For One Hundred Years

(The Blog of the Long Now)

“It started with a seed planted in the mind of Scottish artist Katie Paterson when she made the connection between tree rings and chapters of books. Now several years in the making, Paterson’s vision will unfold over the next century in her artwork Future Library–an ambitious and evolving piece that will outlive Paterson and most of us living today…”

For the rest click here. For a video on the project click here.

For information on the related project: The Manual of Civilization, click here.