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Found object: 6:53pm, 2 October 2009

From the Manuel Typographique, utile Aux Gens de Lettres, published in 1766. That was a good year for quaint pointy hands. (Though of course they weren’t quaint back then.)

(From Old Books)


Found object: 7:28pm, 18 September 2009

Because clearly something had to be done about that spate of unofficial histories.

(Internet Archive)


Top 10 magical grimoires

Selected by Owen Davies, professor of social history at the University of Herefordshire. Davies has "written extensively about the history of magic, witchcraft and ghosts".


Found object: 6:26pm, 25 April 2009

“Computers. How they were invented – how they work – what they can do, both now and in an exciting future.”

I wonder if K. N. Dodd Ph.D predicted that computers in his “exciting future” would mainly be used for looking at people in various stages of undress, grammatically-challenged cats, and grammatically-challenged cats with clothes on.

(Martin Isaac)


My micro life: 2:40pm, 23 December 2008

Knew it was a great second hand bookshop when I saw the boxes of books on the stairs and smelt the body odour and passive aggression


Digitised copies of Charles Sturt’s sketches and diary

Some beautiful images here drawn by Sturt during his exploration of the Murray, along with Sturt's notes.


Open Library

Another way to access the mind-bogglingly huge archive of full text digitised books at the Internet Archive; very neat site design and great options for refining searches.


Pirates and printers

A brief account of book smuggling in the British Isles in the late eighteenth century.