Historical Highlights 106

Hello, readers! I hope you’re ready for every type of historical highlight, from recovering stolen books to translating philosophy, from a fun map of Roman roads to digitized recipes. (Not to mention walking tours, Piggly Wiggly, and an evocative description of Edinburgh.) Let’s get started.

In recent news, “Washington National Cathedral Will Remove Windows Honoring Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee”

Hurrah! After forty years, “Lambeth Palace retrieves stolen collection of extraordinary rare books” 

The Library of Congress has put the papers of Alexander Hamilton online.

The city of Warsaw, Poland has released a self-guided tour and interactive apps to help you learn more about Chopin’s life and times.

Don’t miss this map of Ancient Roman roads imagined as a Tube network.

I never knew how the U.S. got the nickname “Uncle Sam.”

On the other hand, the origin of Piggly Wiggly’s name remains a mystery.

A walking tour of a forgotten Toronto neighbourhood highlights the history of immigration.

Children living in the Ward c. 1911. Photo from the City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1244, Item 8029.

The Nova Scotia Archives has digitized 1000 handwritten and early printed recipes. (Following them could be challenging unless you know that “pearlash” is baking powder and “saleratus” is baking soda.)

Why preserve ephemera in archives?

Here’s an article that might make you pause to think: “Arabic translators did far more than just preserve Greek philosophy”

What we can learn from Home Owners’ Loan Corporation maps is fascinating. (Spoiler: “racist effects lasted for decades”)

The 1937 Home Owners’ Loan Corporation map of Oakland, Calif.CreditNational Archives and Records Administration, Mapping Inequality

Lastly, if this doesn’t make you want to visit Edinburgh, I don’t know what will.

Have an excellent weekend! (It’s my birthday tomorrow and I have lots of fun plans up my sleeve.)

Leave a Reply