Coco de mer

Coco De Mer: The Magical Derrière of the Sea

Once viewed as a precious item of mysterious origin, the seed of the coco do mer palm, though better understood today, remains a rare and valuable commodity.
Members of the Goldwyn Cover Girls in bakery in a scene from the film 'Palmy Days', 1931.

Queer Representation in Pre-Code Hollywood

Before the establishment of the Hollywood Production Code in the 1930s, filmmakers deployed gender and sexuality stereotypes for glamour, humor, and drama alike.
Aerial view of Old Port of Marseille, France

Marseille: Independent, Industrial, and Mediterranean

From Caesar’s Commentaries to the modernism of Le Corbusier, the port city of Marseille has preserved a sense of individuality and industry.
The Sam and Ruth Van Sickle Ford House

Organic and Unusual: The Architecture of Bruce Goff

Both choice and circumstance forced Bruce Goff to forge his own path as an architect, freeing him to develop an individualistic yet natural approach to design.
Shadowbox with a wedding photograph of a bride and groom, surrounded by the bride's veil

First Comes Love

A top divorce lawyer collected strangers’ marriage certificates and other wedding-related ephemera—a testament to her perhaps surprising faith in matrimony.
San Pier Maggiore altarpiece

When the Bishop Married the Abbess

When a new bishop was installed in the see of medieval Florence, he was also expected to marry—at least symbolically—the abbess of San Pier Maggiore.
The Mansion of Happiness, 1894

Bring on the Board Games

The increasing secularism of the nineteenth century helped make board games a commercial and ideological success in the United States.
Negril, March 11, 1982

Mashup at the Intersection of Deco and Hip-Hop

Archived at Cornell University, a collection of flyers promoting dance-inspiring DJ sets in the Bronx established the visual identity of a new cultural era.
Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha: The Longest Trip

Accessible only by ship, the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha hosts a resilient human population—and heck of a lot of rock lobsters.
West County Recycles, Richmond, CA

Did “Big Oil” Sell Us on a Recycling Scam?

Our focus on recycling to save the planet may be missing the mark.