William Morris, Anti-Capitalist Publisher
By drawing on traditional typefaces for Kelmscott Press, Morris showed that he was unwilling to yield to capitalism’s demands for speed and efficiency.
Dressmaking Liberated American Women—Then Came the Men
The creation of bespoke clothing offered women a way to escape traditional middle-class expectations and gain unprecedented power, until men took over.
Arabic Hebrew, Hebrew Arabic: The Work of Anton Shammas
Within the alienated and antagonist cultures inside Israel’s borders, Arabic and Hebrew—related, but mutually unintelligible languages—cross-fertilize each other.
The Renaissance Lets Its Hair Down
The notion that everybody was going to be hairless in Heaven may not have sat well with Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli.
Opium’s History in China
Opium has been used as a medicinal and recreational substance in China for centuries, its shifting meanings tied to class and national identity.
On Your Mark, Get Set… Print!
The Boston Typesetting Races of 1886 demonstrated the speed of women compositors, helping to lower the barriers to workplace equity for female “swifts.”
Laura Bassi, Enlightenment Scientist
The Italian physicist and philosopher was the first woman to earn a doctorate in science and the first salaried female professor at a university.
Abstinence By Juramentos
Long before Dry January became a thing, Mexicans were using a similar program of temporary abstinence based on a pledge to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
When Intellectuals Split: The Eyre Case
Public intellectuals in Great Britain disagreed on what to do with Governor Eyre after his heavy-handed response to the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica.
Good Times With Bad Music
We've all got our tastes, but can anyone really define what makes music “good” or “bad”?