From the Guardian
"The tragedy of silent cinema is that we have so little of it. Of all the films made in the silent era, no more than 20% are extant, and even fewer of those are available to be seen by the public. But happily, that isn't the end of the story. Those missing reels have not all been burned, re-used or left to rot. New discoveries are being made all the time, and each lost film that is returned to the fold has something to teach us about cinema at the beginning of the last century – and the best of them are a delight to watch as well."
Showing posts with label 20th century. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 20th century. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Lost Hitchcock film to be given Hollywood premiere in New Zealand archive
From the Indy
"Thirty years after his death, a film by Sir Alfred Hitchcock will once more enjoy a Hollywood premiere after a copy of what is believed to be the earliest surviving film from his back catalogue was found in New Zealand."
"Thirty years after his death, a film by Sir Alfred Hitchcock will once more enjoy a Hollywood premiere after a copy of what is believed to be the earliest surviving film from his back catalogue was found in New Zealand."
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Photo : Hatton Locks
Hatton Locks heritage workshops and offices on the Grand Union Canal. More photos at Hatton Locks can be seen here.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Hilarious and Surprising Predictions of the Future…From the 1960s!
From Singularity Hub
"Nothing should make a futurist more wary than looking at the history of the profession and seeing how hilarious its mistakes have been. Jetpacks, flying cars, death rays…the future isn’t quite what the past hoped it would be. Of course, when predictions do come true it can be really shocking."
(Videos galore included)
"Nothing should make a futurist more wary than looking at the history of the profession and seeing how hilarious its mistakes have been. Jetpacks, flying cars, death rays…the future isn’t quite what the past hoped it would be. Of course, when predictions do come true it can be really shocking."
(Videos galore included)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Silent movie scores found at Birmingham central library
From Birmingham News Room
"Staff at Birmingham City Council making preparations for their move to the Library of Birmingham building in 2013 have uncovered what could be the UK’s largest collection of silent movie scores, including a unique Charlie Chaplin theme tune."
"Staff at Birmingham City Council making preparations for their move to the Library of Birmingham building in 2013 have uncovered what could be the UK’s largest collection of silent movie scores, including a unique Charlie Chaplin theme tune."
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Huguette Clark: New York's billionaire recluse dies, aged 104
From the Guardian
"For 80 years her life was set in aspic, preserved as if in a time warp in an ever-shrinking social world that ended with her death this week aged 104 in a hospital room accompanied only by the nurses caring for her and her beloved French dolls."
"For 80 years her life was set in aspic, preserved as if in a time warp in an ever-shrinking social world that ended with her death this week aged 104 in a hospital room accompanied only by the nurses caring for her and her beloved French dolls."
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Libya 1911: How an Italian pilot began the air war era
From the BBC
"Italy recently said it was ready to join in Nato's air attacks on targets in Libya - and with the announcement came a sense of history repeating itself.
It was in Libya, almost exactly a century ago, that a young Italian pilot carried out the first ever air raid."
"Italy recently said it was ready to join in Nato's air attacks on targets in Libya - and with the announcement came a sense of history repeating itself.
It was in Libya, almost exactly a century ago, that a young Italian pilot carried out the first ever air raid."
Monday, April 18, 2011
Coal miner to future Queen : Kate Middleton's family tree
The BBC have an interesting infographic showing the comparative family trees of the royal couple ahead of their marriage in a few days. Kate Middleton's family tree is interesting as on one side of her family are coal miners and general labourers up until the end of the First World War and manual workers up until the mid part of the 20th century.
It should be noted though that this isn't that unusual. The 1920s saw a great social upheaval with many families moving up (and down) the "social scale".
It should be noted though that this isn't that unusual. The 1920s saw a great social upheaval with many families moving up (and down) the "social scale".
Monday, March 28, 2011
How De Valera asked UK to smear IRA chief Sean Russell
From the BBC
"Newly released documents suggest that the man who helped found the Irish Free State, Eamon de Valera, covertly co-operated with Britain to crush the IRA."
"Newly released documents suggest that the man who helped found the Irish Free State, Eamon de Valera, covertly co-operated with Britain to crush the IRA."
Britain from the air in times gone by
From the Telegraph
"The Aerofilms Collection is a collection of historical aerial photographs, now owned by English Heritage, which dates back to 1919. A project is currently underway to digitise the oldest and most important images, with many expected to be viewable online by the end of the year." Click to access the gallery.
"The Aerofilms Collection is a collection of historical aerial photographs, now owned by English Heritage, which dates back to 1919. A project is currently underway to digitise the oldest and most important images, with many expected to be viewable online by the end of the year." Click to access the gallery.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Dirt: the filthy reality of everyday life
From the Guardian
"Dirt, the Wellcome Collection's riveting new show, opens with a shocker: a window so filthy not an inch of glass is visible beneath the grime, a thick brown substance that twinkles repulsively in the gallery lights. It is gutter dirt, pavement dirt, the dirt of cities blown with dust and litter. It causes immediate recoil."
"Dirt, the Wellcome Collection's riveting new show, opens with a shocker: a window so filthy not an inch of glass is visible beneath the grime, a thick brown substance that twinkles repulsively in the gallery lights. It is gutter dirt, pavement dirt, the dirt of cities blown with dust and litter. It causes immediate recoil."
- Photo gallery - exploring the visual history of our complex relationship with dirt and disease includes a fascinating selection of 19th and 20th century poster and advertising campaigns
Monday, February 28, 2011
Bletchley Park Turing archive saved after campaign
From V3
"A campaign to save a collection of Alan Turing's most important works has succeeded in purchasing them for Bletchley Park.
The collection contains offprints of 15 of Turing's 18 published papers assembled by his friend and colleague Max Newman. It includes Turing's first published paper, as well as his initial plans for computing and artificial intelligence."
"A campaign to save a collection of Alan Turing's most important works has succeeded in purchasing them for Bletchley Park.
The collection contains offprints of 15 of Turing's 18 published papers assembled by his friend and colleague Max Newman. It includes Turing's first published paper, as well as his initial plans for computing and artificial intelligence."
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Civil Rights on the Flip Side: Vintage Gospel 45s Show a Surprising Number of Civil Rights Songs on Their “B” Sides
From News Wise
"A surprisingly large number of “B” sides on old 45s of gospel songs address the subject of civil rights, the Vietnam War and other social issues, according to a Baylor University researcher who is overseeing a preservation effort called the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project.
The recent discovery “tells us that the gospel community was much more involved in the civil rights movement than we previously thought — outside of Mahalia Jackson and Dorothy Love Coates, who we knew were very involved,” said Robert Darden, an associate professor of journalism at Baylor and a former gospel editor for Billboard magazine."
"A surprisingly large number of “B” sides on old 45s of gospel songs address the subject of civil rights, the Vietnam War and other social issues, according to a Baylor University researcher who is overseeing a preservation effort called the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project.
The recent discovery “tells us that the gospel community was much more involved in the civil rights movement than we previously thought — outside of Mahalia Jackson and Dorothy Love Coates, who we knew were very involved,” said Robert Darden, an associate professor of journalism at Baylor and a former gospel editor for Billboard magazine."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Hoodlums in bloomers: The female army of shoplifters that ransacked West End shops and hid loot in their knickerbockers
From the Daily Mail
"The air was thick with smoke and a huge number of empty wine and beer glasses were scattered about the bar of The Canterbury Arms Club in Waterloo, South London. It was December and a group of young men and women were getting into the festive spirit.
Though 1925 had been a bad year for many, for these revellers it had been lucrative. Their business — if that was the right word — was booming, and they had good reason to celebrate."
"The air was thick with smoke and a huge number of empty wine and beer glasses were scattered about the bar of The Canterbury Arms Club in Waterloo, South London. It was December and a group of young men and women were getting into the festive spirit.
Though 1925 had been a bad year for many, for these revellers it had been lucrative. Their business — if that was the right word — was booming, and they had good reason to celebrate."
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Pioneering Edsac computer to be built at Bletchley Park
From the BBC
The Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (Edsac) was a room-sized behemoth built at Cambridge university that first ran in 1949."
"The first recognisably modern computer is to be rebuilt at the UK's former code-cracking centre Bletchley Park.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Finger may point to solution in Amelia Earhart disappearance riddle
From the Guardian
"The riddle of Amelia Earhart's disappearance has only grown more complex in the 73 years since the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic went missing attempting to fly around the equator.
One theory had it that she crashed into the sea after running out of fuel during her expedition over the Pacific Ocean. Others claimed that Earhart was executed by the Japanese for spying, was pressed into making propaganda broadcasts from Tokyo during the war, or that she secretly returned to the US under an assumed identity."
"The riddle of Amelia Earhart's disappearance has only grown more complex in the 73 years since the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic went missing attempting to fly around the equator.
One theory had it that she crashed into the sea after running out of fuel during her expedition over the Pacific Ocean. Others claimed that Earhart was executed by the Japanese for spying, was pressed into making propaganda broadcasts from Tokyo during the war, or that she secretly returned to the US under an assumed identity."
Monday, December 13, 2010
Sidney St: The siege that shook Britain
From the BBC
"A hundred years on, the Siege of Sidney Street still resonates. The third of January 1911 was the day two Latvian anarchists held out in an East End tenement for seven hours against more than 200 armed police and a detachment of soldiers.
The might of the Empire turned against two desperate young Jewish men in an ordinary street. Thousands of Londoners came to watch. Winston Churchill, Home Secretary was at the scene too, in his distinctive Astrakhan collared coat: a stray bullet passed through his top hat."
"A hundred years on, the Siege of Sidney Street still resonates. The third of January 1911 was the day two Latvian anarchists held out in an East End tenement for seven hours against more than 200 armed police and a detachment of soldiers.
The might of the Empire turned against two desperate young Jewish men in an ordinary street. Thousands of Londoners came to watch. Winston Churchill, Home Secretary was at the scene too, in his distinctive Astrakhan collared coat: a stray bullet passed through his top hat."
Friday, December 10, 2010
Iron-eating bug is gobbling up the Titanic
From AOL News
"Nearly 100 years after it struck an iceberg and sank, the Titanic has a new enemy: iron-eating bacteria.
A newly discovered microbe dubbed Halomonas titanicae is chewing its way through the wreck of the famous ship and leaving little behind except a fine dust, researchers report in today's issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology."
"Nearly 100 years after it struck an iceberg and sank, the Titanic has a new enemy: iron-eating bacteria.
A newly discovered microbe dubbed Halomonas titanicae is chewing its way through the wreck of the famous ship and leaving little behind except a fine dust, researchers report in today's issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology."
Thursday, December 9, 2010
BBC chief Reith's abdication verdict revealed
From the BBC
The corporation's then director general Sir John Reith made the comments after Edward's historic 1936 radio address."
"The head of the BBC believed a "miserable, second-rate American woman" was behind the abdication of Edward VIII, archive documents reveal.
The corporation's then director general Sir John Reith made the comments after Edward's historic 1936 radio address."
Monday, November 29, 2010
Computer identifies the most boring day in history
From the Telegraph
"Computer programmer William Tunstall-Pedoe has calculated that to be the most objectively dull day since 1900.
On that day a general election was held in Belgium, a Turkish academic was born and an Oldham Athletic footballer called Jack Shufflebotham died. Apart from that nothing much happened. "
"Computer programmer William Tunstall-Pedoe has calculated that to be the most objectively dull day since 1900.
On that day a general election was held in Belgium, a Turkish academic was born and an Oldham Athletic footballer called Jack Shufflebotham died. Apart from that nothing much happened. "
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