Timetables, Book-houses, Hidden Rivers
Every now and then you come across one of those sites that makes you realize that the World Wide Web is vital and necessary after all. Airline Timetable Images is one such site. And that web design: {chef’s kiss}
In Persia during the Safavid dynasty there arose a curious institution called the kitab-khana — literally “book-house.” Sometimes the word get translated as “library,” but in that time and place it was something more like a workshop, or set of workshops, where calligraphers and painters and scribes and papermakers and binders all worked together to make gorgeously illustrated books. Apparently it has not been easy to figure out exactly how the kitab-khana worked, and I was recently drawn to this painstakingly detailed scholarly article that tries to reconstruct the scene. An arcane subject, to be sure, but I love books and I love historical detection, so I was strangely fascinated.
Relatedly (I think), I recently saw — and have written about; more on that soon — the big William Blake exhibition at the Tate Britain, and it’s worth noting that Blake and his wife Catherine ran their own kitab-khana, where Blake served as poet, ink-mixer, engraver, and pressman, while Catherine served as colorist and general assistant (and maybe more; we don’t know for sure). Michael Phillips is an artist and historian who has not just reconstructed but also mastered Blake’s printing process. You can see a wonderful video of that process here.
In an earlier edition of this newsletter I mentioned the Museum of London’s exhibit on the hidden rivers of London. A shrewd and determined explorer of these rivers is Tom Bolton, and there’s an interesting interview with him here. I’m endlessly fascinated by the idea of ancient rivers just flowing away beneath the streets of the great city.
STATUS BOARD
- Work: Classes begin today!
- Music: Lots of Nujabes in the background as I prep for the new term.
- Viewing: I’m still doing nothing but reading — maybe I should ditch this category for a while.
- Food and Drink: Texans have a profound love for their Whataburger, something I’ve never really gotten — but I recently learned that that’s because I’ve been ordering the wrong things. I am now becoming a convert. This is probably not good for my heart health.
