One Tall Cowboy
New York Times of September 18, 1919
TALL TEXAN STOPS TRAFFIC.
Ralph Madsen, 7 Feet 6, Attracts Big Crowd in Times Square
Ralph E. Madsen, the Texas Giant, made his first appearance in New York yesterday and succeeded in tying up traffic wherever he went. Madsen is 7′ feet 6 inches in height. He is 22 years old and a native of Ranger, Texas.
His first Broadway appearance was made shortly afternoon in Times Square, and so great was the crowd which gathered to see him that the traffic policeman asked him either to sit down or move on. Madsen moved and the crowd followed.
The giant is a motion picture actor, and is visiting the Eastern cities in connection with the showing of his films. He called on President Wilson a few weeks ago in Washington.
via blogs.loc.gov
Epic photographic odyssey that documented Native Americans
"An early 1900s a photographer called Edward Curtis had a big idea: to capture on film the last remaining American-Indian tribes before they disappeared completely.
Backed by President Theodore Roosevelt and funded by financier JP Morgan, the charismatic Curtis spent the next three decades circumnavigating the United States documenting the customs of more than 80 tribes.
Ultimately Curtis took more than 40,000 photographs, preserved 10,000 audio recordings and is credited with making the world's first documentary film.
In his book Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis, author Timothy Egan follows the pioneering photographer's journey.
He reveals how Curtis' obsession cost him his marriage and left him penniless. "
via youtube.com
Sixteenth Century Automaton of a Monk
"He walks and moves his arms, head and mouth. This marvelous mechanical monk was probably made in Spain or Germany in the 1560s, but he's still fully functional:
Driven by a key-wound spring, the monk walks in a square, striking his chest with his right arm, raising and lowering a small wooden cross and rosary in his left hand, turning and nodding his head, rolling his eyes, and mouthing silent obsequies. From time to time, he brings the cross to his lips and kisses it. After over 400 years, he remains in good working order. Tradition attributes his manufacture to one Juanelo Turriano, mechanician to Emperor Charles V. The story is told that the emperor's son King Philip II, praying at the bedside of a dying son of his own, promised a miracle for a miracle, if his child be spared. And when the child did indeed recover, Philip kept his bargain by having Turriano construct a miniature penitent homunculus."
Link -via The Oddment Emporium
via neatorama.com
Hell on Wheels : Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway
"The photographic series made by Alexander Gardner in Kansas between mid September and late October 1867 is the earliest and most diverse systematic photo-documentation of the American West. The Kansas series, originally titled “Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division,” is part of a later series titled “Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railroad.” The entire series systematically photo-documented the surveyed railroad line which began at the Mississippi River in St. Louis and ended at the Pacific Ocean near San Francisco, California."
via retronaut.com
Dale Creek Bridge - Wyoming - 1885
Dale Creek Bridge
1885
William Henry Jackson (American, 1843 - 1942)
"At a height of 150 feet, this bridge in Dale Creek, Wyoming, sometimes swayed in strong winds. The longest trestle on the Union Pacific Railroad's line, its soaring height and stilt-like supports still inspire awe. William Henry Jackson hiked partway into the dry, inhospitable creekbed to make this image, pointing his camera upward to maximize the bridge's height and to highlight the Union Pacific's engineering achievement."
1885
William Henry Jackson (American, 1843 - 1942)
"At a height of 150 feet, this bridge in Dale Creek, Wyoming, sometimes swayed in strong winds. The longest trestle on the Union Pacific Railroad's line, its soaring height and stilt-like supports still inspire awe. William Henry Jackson hiked partway into the dry, inhospitable creekbed to make this image, pointing his camera upward to maximize the bridge's height and to highlight the Union Pacific's engineering achievement."
Labors of the Months, 1400s
“The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is a very richly decorated Book of Hours. It was painted sometime between 1412 and 1416 by the Limbourg brothers for their patron Jean, Duc de Berry. Featured here are the Labors of the Months, the section illustrating the various activities undertaken by the Duke’s court and his peasants according to the month of the year.”
February- A typical winter's day. Some peasants warm themselves by the fire, another peasant chops wood, and still another goes to market.
March- Sowing the field. In the background is the Château de Lusignan, a residence of Jean de Berry.
May- Young nobles riding in a procession. In the background is the Hôtel de Neslé, the Duke's Paris residence in Paris.
June- Harvest. In the background is the Palais de la Cité with the Sainte Chapelle clearly identifiable on the right.
…
Source: Public Domain Review
via retronaut.co
