James_AL_Downs
@magiclantern.bsky.social
Writer: 'Anton Walbrook' (2020) 'Joseph Pike' (2018) & 'A Carnal Medium' (2012), photohistorian, archivist of Middle East collections at Exeter University, runs the Digital Archive of the Middle East (https://dame.exeter.ac.uk/), collector & bibliophile
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
Happy Christmas to all those celebrating!
A Mughal virgin and child, by Ghulam Shah Salim before 1605, after an engraving by Flemish artist Bernard van Orley (1492-1542). Dedication to Prince Shah Salim who became the emperor Jahangir 1695–27.
A Mughal virgin and child, by Ghulam Shah Salim before 1605, after an engraving by Flemish artist Bernard van Orley (1492-1542). Dedication to Prince Shah Salim who became the emperor Jahangir 1695–27.
December 25, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Happy Christmas to all those celebrating!
A Mughal virgin and child, by Ghulam Shah Salim before 1605, after an engraving by Flemish artist Bernard van Orley (1492-1542). Dedication to Prince Shah Salim who became the emperor Jahangir 1695–27.
A Mughal virgin and child, by Ghulam Shah Salim before 1605, after an engraving by Flemish artist Bernard van Orley (1492-1542). Dedication to Prince Shah Salim who became the emperor Jahangir 1695–27.
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
It's a busy day in Bethlehem and nobody really notices the couple who have come to be counted. As imagined by the great Pieter Bruegel.
December 24, 2025 at 4:19 PM
It's a busy day in Bethlehem and nobody really notices the couple who have come to be counted. As imagined by the great Pieter Bruegel.
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
We’ve been busy to close out the year. Check out some of our recent publications including Lori Allen’s review of Annemarie Jacir’s Academy Award nominated film, Palestine 36!
“Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History”
“Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History”
Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History
Annemarie Jacir’s epic portrayal of the revolt that never ended.
buff.ly
December 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM
We’ve been busy to close out the year. Check out some of our recent publications including Lori Allen’s review of Annemarie Jacir’s Academy Award nominated film, Palestine 36!
“Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History”
“Palestine 36 and the Hard Facts of History”
Christmas Eve mail - at 550 pages, the third and final issue of Transactions of the Royal Historical Society for 2025 fairly thumped on the doormat
December 24, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Christmas Eve mail - at 550 pages, the third and final issue of Transactions of the Royal Historical Society for 2025 fairly thumped on the doormat
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
December 23, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Some time off now, so have found a quiet corner; hopefully I'll get some reading, and writing, done over the break
December 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Some time off now, so have found a quiet corner; hopefully I'll get some reading, and writing, done over the break
Loving the new flyer for next year's (50th anniversary) Magic Lantern Society convention
December 23, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Loving the new flyer for next year's (50th anniversary) Magic Lantern Society convention
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
Oh for the days when your job was to count the smiles in The Iliad
December 22, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Oh for the days when your job was to count the smiles in The Iliad
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
If you find yourself in the spirit of magic, pre-order Sylvia Plath and the Supernatural for your university or your own library. Thank you to everyone who is able to do this.💜⬇️
www.cambridge.org/gb/universit...
www.tgjonesonline.co.uk/Product/Dork...
www.waterstones.com/book/sylvia-...
www.cambridge.org/gb/universit...
www.tgjonesonline.co.uk/Product/Dork...
www.waterstones.com/book/sylvia-...
Sylvia Plath and the Supernatural | Cambridge University Press & Assessment
www.cambridge.org
December 22, 2025 at 10:39 PM
If you find yourself in the spirit of magic, pre-order Sylvia Plath and the Supernatural for your university or your own library. Thank you to everyone who is able to do this.💜⬇️
www.cambridge.org/gb/universit...
www.tgjonesonline.co.uk/Product/Dork...
www.waterstones.com/book/sylvia-...
www.cambridge.org/gb/universit...
www.tgjonesonline.co.uk/Product/Dork...
www.waterstones.com/book/sylvia-...
Giving this a rewatch over the break. I mentioned it in a published article years back on the BBC series The Mad Death but feel it deserves much more appreciation. Some VFX might look a little dated but it's still genuinely unsettling, made all the more convincing by the 70s Scottish setting
December 22, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Giving this a rewatch over the break. I mentioned it in a published article years back on the BBC series The Mad Death but feel it deserves much more appreciation. Some VFX might look a little dated but it's still genuinely unsettling, made all the more convincing by the 70s Scottish setting
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
And furthermore, not all archives and primary evidence have been collected by official archive repositories. Under represented communities, ephemera, oral histories.
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Seems like it's worth posting this one again.
December 22, 2025 at 2:09 PM
And furthermore, not all archives and primary evidence have been collected by official archive repositories. Under represented communities, ephemera, oral histories.
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
I'm watching The Wrong Trousers and it's bonkers to watch it now, since a provincial museum in the north of England in an animation from 1993 has better security than the Louvre.
December 22, 2025 at 2:19 PM
I'm watching The Wrong Trousers and it's bonkers to watch it now, since a provincial museum in the north of England in an animation from 1993 has better security than the Louvre.
Sunday evening shelfie, fit for a Scottish Sabbath (click to enlarge if remotely interested)
December 21, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Sunday evening shelfie, fit for a Scottish Sabbath (click to enlarge if remotely interested)
At Lopwell dam on the Tavy
December 21, 2025 at 3:57 PM
At Lopwell dam on the Tavy
The 100 foot high Whitelady waterfall at Lydford Gorge today
December 21, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The 100 foot high Whitelady waterfall at Lydford Gorge today
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
When viewing the fake article in Google scholar on my university network, there is a link to access the article via my uni's library. That link sends me to a library page that makes fake article appear real... Turns out library page is made programmatically from info on Google scholar 🤦
December 21, 2025 at 1:48 AM
When viewing the fake article in Google scholar on my university network, there is a link to access the article via my uni's library. That link sends me to a library page that makes fake article appear real... Turns out library page is made programmatically from info on Google scholar 🤦
I began working in a university library in 1987 & studied Librarianship & Information Science at college in the 1990s so am fully behind all this - but the principle remains: researchers should not blindly cite sources they have not consulted
December 21, 2025 at 8:43 AM
I began working in a university library in 1987 & studied Librarianship & Information Science at college in the 1990s so am fully behind all this - but the principle remains: researchers should not blindly cite sources they have not consulted
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
No one can unconvince me that the study of paleography and codicology greatly enhances ones understanding of history and the transmission of ideas. Any history student should try to read 12th century handwriting at least once. And hold in their hands an 800 year old manuscript.
December 19, 2025 at 9:38 AM
No one can unconvince me that the study of paleography and codicology greatly enhances ones understanding of history and the transmission of ideas. Any history student should try to read 12th century handwriting at least once. And hold in their hands an 800 year old manuscript.
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens was first published on this day (19 December) in 1843.
Take a peek with us into this 1849 edition of 'A Christmas Carol', with beautiful illustrations by John Leech!
📽️ Reserve 828.8/DIC-13 IS
#OnThisDay #OTD #AChristmasCarol #CharlesDickens #RareBooks
Take a peek with us into this 1849 edition of 'A Christmas Carol', with beautiful illustrations by John Leech!
📽️ Reserve 828.8/DIC-13 IS
#OnThisDay #OTD #AChristmasCarol #CharlesDickens #RareBooks
December 19, 2025 at 10:13 AM
'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens was first published on this day (19 December) in 1843.
Take a peek with us into this 1849 edition of 'A Christmas Carol', with beautiful illustrations by John Leech!
📽️ Reserve 828.8/DIC-13 IS
#OnThisDay #OTD #AChristmasCarol #CharlesDickens #RareBooks
Take a peek with us into this 1849 edition of 'A Christmas Carol', with beautiful illustrations by John Leech!
📽️ Reserve 828.8/DIC-13 IS
#OnThisDay #OTD #AChristmasCarol #CharlesDickens #RareBooks
Playing a dangerous game
slow day in the office so figured we'd start some beef with museums
December 19, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Playing a dangerous game
I rarely listen to The Food Programme but this morning's episode 'Dates: a user's guide' was fascinating, including reference to medicinal use of dates in Tunisia which are chewed then placed on a wound
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The Food Programme - Dates: A User's Guide - BBC Sounds
Dan Saladino finds out how the date became one of the most revered cultivated fruits
www.bbc.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I rarely listen to The Food Programme but this morning's episode 'Dates: a user's guide' was fascinating, including reference to medicinal use of dates in Tunisia which are chewed then placed on a wound
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 1726:
Fiction hates coincidences. Just because it happens in real life doesn't mean it will work in fiction. In 1379, in Yorkshire, there was born a girl named Diot Coke. This, although actually true, still doesn't mean you can use her name in your historical novel.
Fiction hates coincidences. Just because it happens in real life doesn't mean it will work in fiction. In 1379, in Yorkshire, there was born a girl named Diot Coke. This, although actually true, still doesn't mean you can use her name in your historical novel.
December 19, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 1726:
Fiction hates coincidences. Just because it happens in real life doesn't mean it will work in fiction. In 1379, in Yorkshire, there was born a girl named Diot Coke. This, although actually true, still doesn't mean you can use her name in your historical novel.
Fiction hates coincidences. Just because it happens in real life doesn't mean it will work in fiction. In 1379, in Yorkshire, there was born a girl named Diot Coke. This, although actually true, still doesn't mean you can use her name in your historical novel.
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
Shirokuro, a Japanese restaurant in NYC's East Village, where the interior mimics a hand-drawn black-and-white sketchbook.
December 19, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Shirokuro, a Japanese restaurant in NYC's East Village, where the interior mimics a hand-drawn black-and-white sketchbook.
Reposted by James_AL_Downs
Interested in conducting original research with our internationally significant collections? ✍️📚
Applications for Library Visiting Research Fellowships at @glasgow.ac.uk are open!
Apply here: gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/li...
Closing date: 5/01/2026
#UofGLibraryFellows
Applications for Library Visiting Research Fellowships at @glasgow.ac.uk are open!
Apply here: gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/li...
Closing date: 5/01/2026
#UofGLibraryFellows
December 19, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Interested in conducting original research with our internationally significant collections? ✍️📚
Applications for Library Visiting Research Fellowships at @glasgow.ac.uk are open!
Apply here: gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/li...
Closing date: 5/01/2026
#UofGLibraryFellows
Applications for Library Visiting Research Fellowships at @glasgow.ac.uk are open!
Apply here: gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/li...
Closing date: 5/01/2026
#UofGLibraryFellows
For #FontsOnFriday here's one in St George's church, carved from a single piece of local Portland Stone in the 1760s by William Gilbert, brother of the church architect
December 19, 2025 at 9:48 AM
For #FontsOnFriday here's one in St George's church, carved from a single piece of local Portland Stone in the 1760s by William Gilbert, brother of the church architect