John Theibault
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jtheibault.bsky.social
John Theibault
@jtheibault.bsky.social
2.1K followers 700 following 540 posts
Thirty Years War. Digital Humanities. Other Stuff.
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jtheibault.bsky.social
Can confirm. A delightful performance.
September 22, 2025 at 12:37 AM
jtheibault.bsky.social
How come no one told me the “Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt” at the Jewish Museum in NY was so good?
Highlight for me: Elizabeth of Bohemia as Esther ca 1632, one of a trio of images by Gerrit van Honthorst. (The other two depict Amalia von Solms and Elizabeth’s daughter)
A woman holding a scepter, wearing an orange dress and a red cape.
July 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
Greetings @cathfletcher.bsky.social and @apettegree.bsky.social
I've been traveling in New Zealand and I thought you might be happy to hear that not only are your new books on sale here, they are next to each other in the shop's front window at Scorpio books in Christchurch.
The display window at a bookstore. Written on the window is the phrase "...is a home of invention" Books displayed include "The Roads to Roam" and "The Book at War."
March 28, 2025 at 7:09 AM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#StainedGlassSunday Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville.
A central stained-glass window of Christ triumphant with three lunette stained glass windows overhead.
March 2, 2025 at 8:18 AM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#FensterFreitag A belated rude picture from the celebrations of the Super Bowl win in Philly.
A faux-tudor facade with two windows. Beneath the windows are two homemade banners. The one on the left is blown by the wind and unreadable. The one on the right has Saquon Barkley and Patrick Mahomes in a rude pose with the legend "Saquon Deez!"
February 28, 2025 at 3:27 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#StainedGlassSunday Santisimo Sacramento, Madrid
Two triangular modern stained-glass windows. Windows are mostly abstract with Biblical scenes in the lower center.
February 23, 2025 at 12:41 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#StainedGlassSunday Kehinde Wiley at the Walters Art Museum
A stained glass window depicting a black man wearing a white shirt, white vest, black pants, and white sneakers with a green background and a yellow halo-like disc behind the head.
February 16, 2025 at 1:28 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#ValentinesDay
My talk on Tuesday went fine. I closed with this image as an early Valentine's Day message...
An illustrated manuscript page depicting two cherubs at a font. One holds a crown, the other a hear. They are surrounded by blue drapery. Three cherubs are in the clouds above them, with a thick beam of sunlight streaming down to the cherub holding a heart.
February 14, 2025 at 2:25 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#FensterFreitag for the day of the victory parade.
A pair of multi-paned windows set in a classical-style marble facade. Inside the windows are mylar balloons spelling "Go Eagles" with the "Go" in black and the "Eagles" in green.
February 14, 2025 at 1:40 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
I'm giving a talk tomorrow at Philobiblon. 6:15 at the Ethical Society.
This wonderful page will figure prominently. (I use the image on the right for my banner here)
Two pages from a manuscript album. The page on the right says "Zur Erinnerung a den 20 Aprilis 1632 vor Engolstadt. Ferdinand v Zinneck Lieutenant." The page on the left shows a battle scene with cavalry clashing in front of a burning city wall.
February 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#StainedGlassSunday Fireman's Hall Museum #Philly
A stained glass window depicting a fireman combating flames.
February 9, 2025 at 12:40 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#StainedGlassSunday
Lowe's Mill, Huntsville, AL.
A round Stained Glass window depicting the sun with planets orbiting around it and symbols for the planets around the edge.
February 2, 2025 at 1:13 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#FensterFreitag #Philly
A multi-paned window set in a white frame with green shutters in a red-brick building. Inside the window is a six-pointed star.
January 31, 2025 at 12:29 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
If you see this post, quote post with a bridge from your gallery.

Pittsburgh, last year.
A yellow-painted automobile bridge over a river viewed from slightly to the left on one end with a conspicuous yellow metal pedestrian staircase to the bridge in the foreground.
January 26, 2025 at 8:58 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
#StainedGlassSunday Prime of Peace Church, St. Augustine
Modern stained-glass window of Christ and Prince of Peace.
January 26, 2025 at 2:19 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
Not as much of.a thing here as at Mastodon, but it seems to be making inroads.
#FensterFreitag
The MetLife building with a mirror image reflection in a glass-fronted building on the left hand side.
January 24, 2025 at 4:13 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
For those too young to remember...
Goes way, way back on Twitter.
An old manuscript depicting a cat with an incendiary device strapped to its back.
January 20, 2025 at 4:02 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
I guess #StainedGlassSunday has become a bit of a thing here. Certainly more so than #FensterFreitag. I'll do my part with a photo I posted earlier on Mastodon (where the Sunday photo prompt appears to be #SilentSunday)
A stained glass window with three panels depicting an angel.
January 19, 2025 at 9:05 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
Can't say that I've got a definitive answer. Thanks for asking.
You might be interested: here's the whole page. (as I slowly reveal the multitude of fun stuff in this album amicorum, which I am scheduled to talk about in February.)
A page in an old manuscript with a watercolor of the coat of arms of David Kaesborer, Goldsmith of Ulm. The coat of arms is a blue shield with bright gold disc; Above the shield is a man holding a golden bowl.
December 10, 2024 at 6:02 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
Got a good response to my query. Here's the handwriting in case I have misread it.
17th century handwriting saying "Glück darf nit Kunst!"
December 9, 2024 at 9:33 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
Hmmm. #FensterFreitag usually gets around 300 uses every Friday at Mastodon. I wonder if it's going to get traction here too. (I see a couple of people have posted photos both places.)

Here's a window from earlier this summer in Seu d'Urgell.
A view out a window at dusk. Outside the window is a stuccoed building with three windows and a white light. In front of the window is a table with two wine glasses.
November 22, 2024 at 12:36 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
I like the value-added slug on this one.
Two mushrooms between mossy rocks, one with a slug on top of it.
October 10, 2024 at 1:26 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
Time for one of my small hobby horses... Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Invisible Adjunct announcing that she was leaving academia and ending her blog. People posting about the jobs crisis in academia today might have been in elementary school then. Nothing has changed.
Gentle Readers, A few months ago, I made a vow to myself that this would be my last semester as an invisible adjunct. Since I've failed to secure a full-time position in my final attempt at the academic job market, what this means, of course, is that I made a vow to leave the academy. Six more weeks of teaching, and I head for the nearest exit.
March 23, 2024 at 2:10 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
Since @drkarrschmidt.bsky.social shared a page from her lovely album amicorum on bsky today, I thought I'd link to this image from an album amicorum that sold at auction today (alas, not to me). Lorentz Otto von Ottersbach escaping rebelling Upper Austrian peasants in 1626. #30yearswar
A page from an autograph book signed by Lorentz Otto von Ottersbach with a watercolor image of him swimming in the Danube river to escape from rebelling peasants in 1626.
March 20, 2024 at 6:38 PM
jtheibault.bsky.social
Hmmm. I was wondering if what I saw on the Delaware and Raritan canal last week was evidence of beavers or just beginning Boy Scouts learning to use an ax.
The base of a tree presumably gnawed by beavers so that the trunk has fallen into water.
February 27, 2024 at 1:17 PM