Time for the headline act on the #HistoryFest’s equivalent of the Pyramid Stage …

Earth appearing as a bright crescent behind the Moon’s surface

OH. MY. GOD.

THIS IS THE EARTHSET PHOTO FROM ARTEMIS II. IM SPEECHLESS.

In last week’s assemblies, for International Women’s Day, I spoke about my Nan.

Born in Barnsley in 1895, she lived until 1994 - one year short of a telegram from the Queen.

No statues. No history books. Just quiet courage, hard work, and the sort of strength that holds families together.

Absolutely fascinating talk at the IHR this evening on newly catalogued legal records at the National Archives. Many thanks to Dan Gosling for such an insightful session. I’m very much looking forward to exploring these resources further in my own research.

Rose Water Vase
Persian
17th century

(Ackland Museum)

Mary refuses to be distracted by multiple angels, pigeon, & God the Father hanging out in her living room. Good parenting skills, by Cornelis de Bailleur, whose day is today.

A long strapless ballgown of pink and green striped silk arranged in a mitred effect. It has broad hips that look like c18th paniers and self coloured buttons centre front

Apparently French designer Marie Louise Bruyère was not that keen on Dior’s post war ‘New Look’. Here in 1947, though, is her full hipped ballgown, perhaps reminiscent of c18th France and a different period of excess @ngvmelbourne.bsky.social #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Side view of a mannequin wearing a red chiffon evening dress with floaty layers and a large ruffle detail at one shoulder with a long scarf type drape at the back

Farewell Valentino, a long life lived at the heart of the couture world. He began his career apprenticed to Jean Dessés, becoming part of the shared DNA of generations of makers. Here a late #1980s chiffon in his signature red @metmuseum.org #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Front view of a bright emerald green sleeveless chiffon dress covered with a symmetrical pattern of dark metallic geometric embroidery

It is a jewel in dress form, an emerald seemingly engraved with architectural geometric motifs but in fact embroidered in sinuous swirls. A dress in which to shimmy as the band plays faster, #1920s #PalaisGalliera #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

The bear was trying to take possession of the honey reserves owned by the bees. The outcome was not good for the bear.

BL Harley 3448; Flore de virtu e de costumi (Flowers of Virtue and of Custom); 15th century; Italy, N. (Padua?); f.10v

Six arch shaped stained glass artworks, each featuring a different image of a bird, plant or animal in individual colours

UK based stained glass artist Harriet Love #Womensart.

Paolo Veronese (1565-70), Sposalizio mistico di santa Caterina

Gallerie dell’Accademia #Venezia

As we approach the Winter Solstice, here's what Stonehenge looked like in the 16th century.
#WinterSolstice
BL Add MS 28330; Lucas De Heere, Corte Beschryvinghe van Engheland, Schotland, ende Irland; 1573 CE-1575 CE; England (London); f.36r

That’s so interesting. I hadn’t noticed that about the drape. You’d think I’d watched enough episodes of the Sewing Bee to spot that. 🪡🧵

Cartography couture at The British Library Secret Maps exhibition. Lady Mountbatten’s post-war lingerie, cut from printed silk maps of Italy.

😂

Spotted in BBC History Dec 2025: “A 2025 study sponsored by Microsoft sought to identify those occupations most at risk from GenAI. Historians came second, behind interpreters and translators. Dredge operators, last on the list.” 😳

Not Just the Tudors - How to Run a Stuart Household - BBC Sounds Margaret Baker’s Receipt Books: Unearthing 17th Century Domestic Life

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Portrait of a girl, c. 1625-35

Attributed to the British School

(Royal Collection, HM CIII)

Excellent news — it looks as though the British Library’s online catalogue for manuscripts and archives will soon be back.

A wonderful day at Lambeth Palace Library yesterday. The librarians could not have been kinder or more helpful. I still miss the old library, but the new wing — light, calm, beautifully designed — is a joy.

Screenshot of the Viabundus website.

A neat tool I just came across: Viabundus, a digital road map of northern Europe 1350-1650, that lets you calculate contemporary travel routes/times. In 1500, going Amiens → Köln by horse took almost 7 days and 13 toll payments.

#medievalsky

www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...

C.S. Lewis responding to a letter from an American schoolgirl asking him for some writing advice.

(Worth reading? ✅️)

Highly recommend ‘The House at Number 48’ on BBC Sounds — a haunting and fascinating journey into the past, beginning with a suitcase and ending in some remarkable revelations.

📢 Reminder about our CFP for the Mobility and Migration Seminar in collaboration with @ihr.bsky.social!

Please see below for more information on the CFP, abstracts are due on 15th November! Please share widely!

English embroiderer and Pre-Raphaelite artist's model Jane Morris was born #OnThisDay in 1849. It is believed that the embroidery of intertwined floral sprays for this c. 1878 blue silk bag with a metal mount was designed and worked by Morris. V&A collection. #fashionhistory

Delighted to see the open access publication of Crossings: Migrant Knowledges, Migrant Forms -- a superb volume featuring artists, poets, scholars, and a short essay by me on Dutch- and French-speaking women in 16th-century London telling their stories of migration. punctumbooks.com/titles/cross...

Would anyone like to take a guess at the word before “kebob”? Which predates OED - ms is 1660

We invite applications for British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships 2025. The scheme supports established and senior researchers in the humanities and social sciences wishing to complete research through a sustained period of leave for one year. Apply now: https://bit.ly/3VMeTZ9

I’m very tempted by this one-day course at the British Library: