Sam Brown
@samuscript.bsky.social
PhDing at UCL on Arabic in England pre-1635. Northerner. Sometime documentary producer. Human 🦜 perch.
www.lifeandotherstories.co.uk
www.lifeandotherstories.co.uk
If there's anything more exciting than seeing a book you work on in an exhibition, it's surely being invited to talk about it. Very excited for this event next month!
📷 Lancelot Browne's annotated copy of Avicenna in Arabic at the @rcpmuseum.bsky.social exhibition, 'A body of knowledge'.
📷 Lancelot Browne's annotated copy of Avicenna in Arabic at the @rcpmuseum.bsky.social exhibition, 'A body of knowledge'.
November 4, 2025 at 12:12 PM
If there's anything more exciting than seeing a book you work on in an exhibition, it's surely being invited to talk about it. Very excited for this event next month!
📷 Lancelot Browne's annotated copy of Avicenna in Arabic at the @rcpmuseum.bsky.social exhibition, 'A body of knowledge'.
📷 Lancelot Browne's annotated copy of Avicenna in Arabic at the @rcpmuseum.bsky.social exhibition, 'A body of knowledge'.
Here’s @drallotment.bsky.social & @mattsymonds.bsky.social talking about EBDO, @fredschurink.bsky.social talking about CEBEME, and @annalujz.bsky.social who has been instrumental to both projects, on our final DH panel. Very excited to play with both data sets over the coming weeks! #BuiltWithBooks
September 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Here’s @drallotment.bsky.social & @mattsymonds.bsky.social talking about EBDO, @fredschurink.bsky.social talking about CEBEME, and @annalujz.bsky.social who has been instrumental to both projects, on our final DH panel. Very excited to play with both data sets over the coming weeks! #BuiltWithBooks
Here is Ted Simonds from @lampallib.bsky.social talking about
Sion College Library’s donors. His research is piecing together stories of people & books, both on & off the pages of the Book of Benefactors, and emphasised (for me!) how much bookish networks overlapped in the period. #BuiltWithBooks
Sion College Library’s donors. His research is piecing together stories of people & books, both on & off the pages of the Book of Benefactors, and emphasised (for me!) how much bookish networks overlapped in the period. #BuiltWithBooks
September 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Here is Ted Simonds from @lampallib.bsky.social talking about
Sion College Library’s donors. His research is piecing together stories of people & books, both on & off the pages of the Book of Benefactors, and emphasised (for me!) how much bookish networks overlapped in the period. #BuiltWithBooks
Sion College Library’s donors. His research is piecing together stories of people & books, both on & off the pages of the Book of Benefactors, and emphasised (for me!) how much bookish networks overlapped in the period. #BuiltWithBooks
Here is Joe Nankivell from @tcdlibrary.bsky.social talking about his very exciting project to digitally reconstruct the library of François Fagel. I think everyone in the audience left eager to play with his website, & wondering whether they could make their own digital bookshelves… #BuiltWithBooks
September 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Here is Joe Nankivell from @tcdlibrary.bsky.social talking about his very exciting project to digitally reconstruct the library of François Fagel. I think everyone in the audience left eager to play with his website, & wondering whether they could make their own digital bookshelves… #BuiltWithBooks
Here is @biblioraphic.bsky.social talking about evidence of how the Cotton Library was bound (red, green, blue, black, ancient and archival bindings!). There are Cotton MSS in my own research, so I’m very excited to learn more from Raphaëlle/ask her millions of questions #BuiltWithBooks
September 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Here is @biblioraphic.bsky.social talking about evidence of how the Cotton Library was bound (red, green, blue, black, ancient and archival bindings!). There are Cotton MSS in my own research, so I’m very excited to learn more from Raphaëlle/ask her millions of questions #BuiltWithBooks
Here is @ellenwerner.bsky.social giving a fantastic paper about two Manchester apothecaries whose reading she is tracing through their books at @chethamslibrary.bsky.social. I obviously love early modern books and reading, but as a northerner myself, I find Ellen’s research particularly satisfying!
September 11, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Here is @ellenwerner.bsky.social giving a fantastic paper about two Manchester apothecaries whose reading she is tracing through their books at @chethamslibrary.bsky.social. I obviously love early modern books and reading, but as a northerner myself, I find Ellen’s research particularly satisfying!
I had put *far* too much time into designing the programmes and conference bookmarks (zero regrets). As we prepared for people to arrive on day one we were tracking the printing order via FedEx. Cannot describe the relief and excitement I felt opening this box during the first panel… #BuiltWithBooks
September 11, 2025 at 8:51 PM
I had put *far* too much time into designing the programmes and conference bookmarks (zero regrets). As we prepared for people to arrive on day one we were tracking the printing order via FedEx. Cannot describe the relief and excitement I felt opening this box during the first panel… #BuiltWithBooks
And day 2 of #BuiltWithBooks was also a joy (so much so that I’ve spent most of today recovering from the excitement!). Thank you to all our speakers and attendees for making it a huge success - cake and merch for the win, but nothing beats a room full of interesting, generous book historians.
September 11, 2025 at 5:11 PM
And day 2 of #BuiltWithBooks was also a joy (so much so that I’ve spent most of today recovering from the excitement!). Thank you to all our speakers and attendees for making it a huge success - cake and merch for the win, but nothing beats a room full of interesting, generous book historians.
Such a fantastic first day at our @livesandletters.bsky.social Built with Books symposium. Heading home to finish my paper (😅) full of ideas and excited for day two. #BuiltWithBooks #EarlyModern #BookHistory
September 9, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Such a fantastic first day at our @livesandletters.bsky.social Built with Books symposium. Heading home to finish my paper (😅) full of ideas and excited for day two. #BuiltWithBooks #EarlyModern #BookHistory
📣 Exciting Bedwell news 📣 I’m thrilled to have assisted with a new exhibition at Bruce Castle Museum, ‘Getting the Measure of William Bedwell: Maths, Measurement and the Arabic World’. Top tip: pair your visit with a walk around the corner to see his church for full WB/early modern Tottenham vibes.
August 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM
📣 Exciting Bedwell news 📣 I’m thrilled to have assisted with a new exhibition at Bruce Castle Museum, ‘Getting the Measure of William Bedwell: Maths, Measurement and the Arabic World’. Top tip: pair your visit with a walk around the corner to see his church for full WB/early modern Tottenham vibes.
Can anyone with much better Arabic palaeography skills than me transcribe this? It is the end of a note written by a Moroccan in a European album amicorum. I’m trying to work out if the name we have for the person who wrote it comes from the inscription itself or another source, but struggling…
June 19, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Can anyone with much better Arabic palaeography skills than me transcribe this? It is the end of a note written by a Moroccan in a European album amicorum. I’m trying to work out if the name we have for the person who wrote it comes from the inscription itself or another source, but struggling…
My conference tattoo may be fading, but the research, conversations and unadulterated geekery of FEATHERS’ Scribes and Inky Fingerprints will be with me for quite some time. If you weren’t here I’m afraid you really did miss out…
May 9, 2025 at 6:09 PM
My conference tattoo may be fading, but the research, conversations and unadulterated geekery of FEATHERS’ Scribes and Inky Fingerprints will be with me for quite some time. If you weren’t here I’m afraid you really did miss out…
If someone would like to pay me to move to Leiden that would be delightful, thank you
May 5, 2025 at 5:58 PM
If someone would like to pay me to move to Leiden that would be delightful, thank you
You know you’ve found your people when a stranger pulls a rare book out of their bag to compare with your homemade tote because both title pages feature the same printer’s device #RenSA25
March 25, 2025 at 12:50 PM
You know you’ve found your people when a stranger pulls a rare book out of their bag to compare with your homemade tote because both title pages feature the same printer’s device #RenSA25
Home after a truly fantastic #RenSA25. Loved sharing my own work (once the paper was finished 😅), saw so much stimulating research and discussion, and loved Boston. But the company of amazing ECR pals is what really made it a really special trip. Fugit hora when you’re having fun ❤️
March 24, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Home after a truly fantastic #RenSA25. Loved sharing my own work (once the paper was finished 😅), saw so much stimulating research and discussion, and loved Boston. But the company of amazing ECR pals is what really made it a really special trip. Fugit hora when you’re having fun ❤️
Happy World Book Day from my current favourite, a manuscript Qur’an acquired in Surat, in the hefty English binding of Sir Simonds d’Ewes (1602-1650)
March 6, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Happy World Book Day from my current favourite, a manuscript Qur’an acquired in Surat, in the hefty English binding of Sir Simonds d’Ewes (1602-1650)
So pleased I finally made it to the fantastic Endless Stories exhibition at Cambridge UL today. Slightly off topic but - aside from a couple of Bedwell MSS - this doodle study of a cat was a real highlight…
February 15, 2025 at 5:34 PM
So pleased I finally made it to the fantastic Endless Stories exhibition at Cambridge UL today. Slightly off topic but - aside from a couple of Bedwell MSS - this doodle study of a cat was a real highlight…
Today I put a bird feeder *with camera* in our garden and I think it might be the best money I’ve ever spent. I’ve christened it ‘Peck a Manger’ and I apologise in advance if you don’t like birds because this will now be 90% of my social media content… 🐦⬛
January 13, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Today I put a bird feeder *with camera* in our garden and I think it might be the best money I’ve ever spent. I’ve christened it ‘Peck a Manger’ and I apologise in advance if you don’t like birds because this will now be 90% of my social media content… 🐦⬛
My absolute favourite thing in the V&A. Close second is the façade of Paul Pindar’s house, built in 1600 and demolished in the 1890s
November 25, 2024 at 6:47 PM
My absolute favourite thing in the V&A. Close second is the façade of Paul Pindar’s house, built in 1600 and demolished in the 1890s
Ah well here’s a fun one I found recently - it’s from Bedwell’s library, now in the British Library’s Harley collection. He’s added his name - ويليم بادول - to the (Armenian?) waste parchment flyleaves of the Arabic MS, and also adds a date - 1595. Love stumbling across Bedwell in the reading room!
November 23, 2024 at 7:34 PM
Ah well here’s a fun one I found recently - it’s from Bedwell’s library, now in the British Library’s Harley collection. He’s added his name - ويليم بادول - to the (Armenian?) waste parchment flyleaves of the Arabic MS, and also adds a date - 1595. Love stumbling across Bedwell in the reading room!
I think it’s time to introduce Bluesky to my favourite #EarlyModern person, William Bedwell. If you wanted to learn Arabic in England 400 years ago you would head to his vicarage in Tottenham. It was demolished in the 1800s but you can still see where it stood today, near White Hart Lane Station 🔎
November 23, 2024 at 5:30 PM
I think it’s time to introduce Bluesky to my favourite #EarlyModern person, William Bedwell. If you wanted to learn Arabic in England 400 years ago you would head to his vicarage in Tottenham. It was demolished in the 1800s but you can still see where it stood today, near White Hart Lane Station 🔎
Katie is well but longs for summer, and now wants to know why she has never tried Papaya (thanks for that Rascal…). She doubts it is as good as banana though, which has definitely been her favourite this year 🍌
November 21, 2024 at 11:17 AM
Katie is well but longs for summer, and now wants to know why she has never tried Papaya (thanks for that Rascal…). She doubts it is as good as banana though, which has definitely been her favourite this year 🍌
Excited to see so many early modernists joining from the old place, hoorah! If you don’t know me from there I’m Sam, PhDing at UCL where I’m looking at English encounters with the Arabic language pre-1635. When not thinking about marginalia and manuscripts I’m generally waiting on my parrot, Katie.
November 11, 2024 at 9:09 PM
Excited to see so many early modernists joining from the old place, hoorah! If you don’t know me from there I’m Sam, PhDing at UCL where I’m looking at English encounters with the Arabic language pre-1635. When not thinking about marginalia and manuscripts I’m generally waiting on my parrot, Katie.
Feeling joyfully smug about my latest Vinted bargain #BookHistory
August 13, 2024 at 9:30 AM
Feeling joyfully smug about my latest Vinted bargain #BookHistory