Joanna Koerten’s Scissor-Cut Works Were Compared to Michelangelo
And then, snip by snip, she was cut out of the frame of Renaissance art history.
Album Cover Artwork Was Super Boring before Alex Steinweiss
Inspired by the Bauhaus and WPA posters, the midcentury designer all but invented the modern record-album cover.
How Leonard Woolf Critiqued Bloomsbury from Within
A literary scholar argues that Leonard Woolf has been unfairly neglected—perhaps because his anti-imperialism implicated his friends.
The Benin Bronzes and the Cultural History of Museums
What an 1897 exhibition at the British Museum can tell us about how African artworks were perceived in an era of imperialism.
How Tribute Bands Celebrate Music History
They're not just cheese! For some people, seeing a band play note-for-note covers of classic songs goes beyond nostalgia.
Black Camerawoman Jessie Maple’s Fight to Join a Union
Her climb into filmmaking began with programs designed to train African Americans. But to succeed, she needed to break into a mostly white male union.
What Is Jazz Poetry?
The form flourished in the 1950s, as poets and musicians inspired each other to new heights.
Victorian Knitting Manuals Collection
The first manuals for knitting were printed in the 1830s. Those interested in the history of knitting will find them a rich primary source for research.
The Newsletter Boom, 300 Years before Substack
Some journalists are turning to newsletters to get their work out. But they're not hand-copying them onto folded paper, like people did in the 1600s.
How to Dress for Dystopia
Some nineteenth-century novelists predicted horrible futures, with perfectly horrible clothing to match.