Hands-On History
@handsonhistory.bsky.social
Getting hands-on with history through artifacts and material culture 🫳📜🏺🧭🖼⚔️🧮🗿👑👈
All photos/footage by me unless stated otherwise. Profile picture: hand detail from embroidery at Hardwick Hall, UK. Banner: San handprints in the Cederberg, South Africa.
All photos/footage by me unless stated otherwise. Profile picture: hand detail from embroidery at Hardwick Hall, UK. Banner: San handprints in the Cederberg, South Africa.
Before photographs became commonplace, miniature portraits were all the rage (for those who could afford to commission them!).
#arthistory #portraits #painting
#arthistory #portraits #painting
November 28, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Before photographs became commonplace, miniature portraits were all the rage (for those who could afford to commission them!).
#arthistory #portraits #painting
#arthistory #portraits #painting
Stone hand axes are some of the oldest tools in human history - even older than our species, Homo sapiens!
Art by Gabriel Ugueto, gabrielugueto.com
Art by Gabriel Ugueto, gabrielugueto.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Stone hand axes are some of the oldest tools in human history - even older than our species, Homo sapiens!
Art by Gabriel Ugueto, gabrielugueto.com
Art by Gabriel Ugueto, gabrielugueto.com
🧤Wearing gloves when handling rare books actually increases the potential for damage, especially for thin or brittle papers that become far more difficult to handle when the sense of touch is dulled.
Other materials/formats have different rules - always listen to your librarian!
Other materials/formats have different rules - always listen to your librarian!
November 18, 2025 at 1:51 AM
🧤Wearing gloves when handling rare books actually increases the potential for damage, especially for thin or brittle papers that become far more difficult to handle when the sense of touch is dulled.
Other materials/formats have different rules - always listen to your librarian!
Other materials/formats have different rules - always listen to your librarian!
The Curta was a handheld mechanical calculator invented by Curt Herzstark while he was imprisoned by the Germans during WWII. It did addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division - no electricity needed! 🧮
November 11, 2025 at 1:32 AM
The Curta was a handheld mechanical calculator invented by Curt Herzstark while he was imprisoned by the Germans during WWII. It did addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division - no electricity needed! 🧮
Uranium has been used to colour glass since the Roman Empire, but this iconic green, glowing glass was especially popular around the turn of the 20th century. During the Second World War, production halted in the USA so that uranium could be used for the development of nuclear weapons.
October 7, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Uranium has been used to colour glass since the Roman Empire, but this iconic green, glowing glass was especially popular around the turn of the 20th century. During the Second World War, production halted in the USA so that uranium could be used for the development of nuclear weapons.