Monthly Archives: February 2020

Fede Galizia

Posted on 26/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

One of the perks of my part-time employment is that my job description includes an injunction to open the mail, which regularly contains interesting Stuff, not least the beautifully designed and printed catalogues of auction houses trying to tempt us … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

In Ghent

Posted on 22/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

Him Indoors and I are partial to the Flemish Primitives (and indeed to the Flemish in general), so the opportunity of the current exhibition in Ghent, ‘Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution’, offering ‘the largest Jan van Eyck exhibition ever’ and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Plant of the Month: February 2020

Posted on 20/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

Looking back, I discover that I have never written a ‘Plant of the Month’ piece about clematis, which is very odd, given that they are my favourite plants and by far my worst botanical extravagance. At the present count, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Gardens, History, Natural history | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Sir Thomas Gresham and His College

Posted on 13/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

I had for some time been meaning to find out more about Sir Thomas Gresham, but, when embarking on this quest, was diverted almost immediately by the discovery that the first substantial biography of him was written by John William … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, London, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Man in the Moone

Posted on 07/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

What is the oldest published work of science fiction? This is not a question to put to me, as science fiction is a genre to which I am not greatly drawn. There’s H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury, and that other … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, Biography, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary

Posted on 02/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

I have long been attracted by the above-named beast, which I came across for the first time in my previous existence, when skim-reading John Bell’s two-volume work of 1763, Travels from St Petersburg in Russia, to Diverse Parts of Asia. … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Exploration, History, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments