Art
Restoring Alexander Pope’s Glinting Grotto to Its Former Glory
Nothing remains of Alexander Pope's 18th-century villa except its grotto, which has experienced three centuries of quiet decay alongside the River Thames in Twickenham, England.
England
Art
Debuting the Collection of Britain's Mother of Modern Witchcraft
In 2013, a blue plaque, the historic marker of British heritage, was bestowed, for the first time, on the home of a witch.
Art
Digging Through Victorian Trash for Bone Toothbrushes and Broken Dolls
"Rubbish doesn't lie," explained Tom Licence, a senior lecturer in history at England's University of East Anglia who is behind What the Victorians Threw Away.
Art
The 19th-Century Lady Who Used Audubon's Birds for Wallpaper
In 1827, when Lady Isabella Hertford finally installed the hand-painted Chinese wallpaper the Prince of Wales had gifted her two decades earlier, she thought it didn't have enough pizzazz for her drawing room at Temple Newsam in Leeds, England.
Books
Witch Marks, Curses, and Magic in the Neglected History of Medieval Graffiti
The ornamentation of medieval churches is often associated with the elite, but carved right into the structure of the building are less visible traces of the lower and middle class: graffiti.
Art
Secret Skulls Found in a Victorian Painting of a 16th-Century Magician
A ring of human skulls originally circled 16th-century magician John Dee in a painting by the English artist Henry Gillard Glindoni.
Art
Reassembling the Lost Library of a 16th-Century Magician Who Spoke to Angels
Scholar, Courtier, Magician: The Lost Library of John Dee opens today at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in London.
Art
For First Public Project in the UK, Theaster Gates Builds a Sanctuary in a Bombed-Out Church
BRISTOL, UK — On Saturday night here, in a concert hall whose former life as a church moved him to sing hymns, artist Theaster Gates gave a site-specific performance that brought many audience members to tears and prompted others to walk out.
Art
When Rotting Whales Were Toured as Sideshow Spectacles
In researching her new art project, Fiona Tan discovered an odd pamphlet advertising "The Exhibition of Jonah, the Giant Whale caught off Trondheim, Norway."
Books
A Tale of Cats and Boarding School, Written by a 10-Year-Old Queen Victoria
A red notebook in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle reveals a whimsical tale of a motherless girl exiled to boarding school, written in diligently neat script by a 10-year-old Queen Victoria.
News
Historian Finds Magna Carta in a Victorian Scrapbook
Imagine holding a copy of the Magna Carta, folding it up, and forgetting about it.