#books

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The deaf blacksmith who married in 1576 – and the history of sign as a legal language

The medieval church’s acknowledgement that signs were equivalent to a spoken language was transformative for deaf people.

by Rosamund Oates

https://theconversation.com/the-deaf-blacksmith-who-married-in-1576-and-the-history-of-sign-as-a-legal-language-276686?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%209%202026%20-%203699037833&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%209%202026%20-%203699037833+CID_4dad2f3a225cc1558f32f04d20318006&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=The%20deaf%20blacksmith%20who%20married%20in%201576%20%20and%20the%20history%20of%20sign%20as%20a%20legal%20language

Sign language at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=sign+language

Detail of an historiated initial 'S'(sponsus) of a man placing a ring on a woman's finger. By James le Palmer / anonymous illustrator British Library Royal MS 6 E VI, fol. 104 A historiated initial S from a medieval illuminated manuscript, painted in blue, pink, ochre, and olive green. Within the curved body of the letter, two figures face each other: on the left a young man in a blue tunic, on the right a woman in a white veil and rust-coloured garment. Between them, the man places or holds a small ring, their hands meeting at the centre. Both faces are simply rendered with calm expressions. The initial is framed by a blue and pink border with a dark speckled ground filling the background behind the figures. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Omne_Bonum_Royal6EVI104_Anulus.jpg

Captured in the Prague Castle Archives during the 1940s, this photograph features an archivist (often identified as a woman) examining the "Velká Knihovna" (Great Library)

These massive, hand-scribed volumes are primarily medieval choir books, that were intentionally crafted at this scale so an entire congregation or choir could read the music and lyrics from a single vantage point during services.
@BluebellRaven

These massive, hand-scribed volumes are primarily medieval choir books

One of several honesty booksellers in Hay-on-Wye, Wales

‘Hay-on-Wye is a destination for bibliophiles in the United Kingdom, with two dozen bookshops, many selling specialist and second-hand books… Richard Booth opened his first shop there, called The Old Fire Station, in 1962… by the 1970s Hay had gained the nickname "The Town of Books".’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay-on-Wye#Book_town

A window completely full of books. Any gaps between the eight piles of books have been filled with more books. Most books have their spines horizontal, but some are vertical. White stencil lettering on the window reads INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER RECEPTION.

The Madrid Codices: Leonardo da Vinci's treasure trove digitised by Spain's National Library

On 13 February 1967, the Spanish National Library announced the discovery of the Madrid I and II codices, two manuscripts by Leonardo da Vinci that had remained poorly catalogued for more than a century. But they are being digitised to make them accessible to the public.

By Lucia Blasco

https://www.euronews.com/culture/2026/02/20/the-madrid-codices-leonardo-da-vincis-treasure-trove-digitised-by-spains-national-library

Leonardo da Vinci at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1629

Leonardo da vinci, Double manuscript page on the Sforza monument. The left page is devoted to mechanical studies — five carefully rendered technical drawings arranged vertically, each showing wooden joining or clamping mechanisms in three-quarter perspective. They appear to depict interlocking beams, bolt fastenings, and timber joints of increasing complexity, with short annotating notes flanking each drawing on both sides. The right page is dominated by a large, commanding drawing of what appears to be the lower torso and hindquarters of a horse rendered as a structural armature — a grid of horizontal and vertical ribs forming a curved, basket-like framework that captures the swelling volume of the animal's form. The gridded surface suggests a mold or internal scaffolding for casting, with the waist cinching inward before flaring out again at the haunches. Dense blocks of mirror-script text surround the drawing on the left and bottom, and a folio number — 157 — is visible in the upper right corner. A faint institutional stamp appears near the bottom center. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Madrid_(Leonardo)#/media/File:Leonardo_da_vinci,_Double_manuscript_page_on_the_Sforza_monument.jpg

RE: https://wandering.shop/@susankayequinn/116060625953503894

My story "Ancestors, Descendants" is among brilliant stories by @sarenaulibarri @tkrex @ana , Renan Bernardo, & Danielle Arostegui.

It's my one awards-eligible story for 2025.

@susankayequinn our awesome editor made the anthology free for the season! Hope you'll read it!

https:/lnk.to/BGFAwards

A White Historian Claimed That Black People ‘Had No History.’ This Trailblazing Scholar Dedicated His Life to Proving Otherwise

Carter G. Woodson, the “father of Black history,” founded the celebration now known as Black History Month in 1926. A prolific writer and activist, he viewed his efforts to educate the public as a “life-and-death struggle”

by Meilan Solly

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/a-white-historian-claimed-that-black-people-had-no-history-this-trailblazing-scholar-dedicated-his-life-to-proving-otherwise-180988144/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550

Carter G. Woodson at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3835

The formal portrait shows Dr. Carter Woodson in a suit and patterned tie, representing him as a distinguished scholar and educator. During the dawning of the twentieth century, it was widely-presumed that people of African descent had little history besides the subjugation of slavery. Of course, it is obvious today that Africans have significantly impacted the development of the social, political and economic structures of not just the United States but also the world. Credit for the evolving awareness of the true place of blacks in history can, in large part, be bestowed upon one man, Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Dr. Woodson's parents had been enslaved, so he understood the importance of a proper education. Though he didn't begin his formal education until the age of 20, he earned his high school diploma, bachelor's and master's degrees in the span of a few years. Then, in 1912, he became the second African American to earn a PhD from Harvard and was the first person of enslaved parents to earn a PhD in history! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_G._Woodson#/media/File:Dr._Carter_G._Woodson_(1875-1950),_Carter_G._Woodson_Home_National_Historic_Site,_1915._(18f7565bf62142c0ad7fff83701ca5f6).jpg

"The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death."
Salomé (1893)

Oscar Wilde’s Portraits, Poems, Letters and Manuscripts Head to Auction 125 Years After His Death

Other rare items, available for purchase in February, include illustrations, theater programs, telegrams and newspapers

by Christian Thorsberg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oscar-wildes-portraits-poems-letters-and-manuscripts-head-to-auction-125-years-after-his-death-180988023/

Oscar Wilde at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/111

"The Climax" by Aubrey Beardsley, created in 1893 as an illustration for Oscar Wilde's play "Salome". This is one of Beardsley's most famous and controversial images, depicting the moment when Salome kisses the severed head of John the Baptist (Jokanaan). The illustration shows: Salome as an elongated, stylized figure with elaborate hair The severed head she's holding Dramatic black and white contrast, flowing Art Nouveau lines, and decorative patterns The pond/pool of blood at the bottom rendered in stark black Organic, decorative elements including the elaborate pattern in the upper left corner https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/42704/pg42704-images.html