Category Archives: History

Plantin and Moretus

Posted on 30/10/2016 by carolinemmurray

Not quite a Proustian moment, as no madeleines were dunked in lime-flower tea, but the other day a friend with unexpected time on his hands in Belgium enquired of the world via Twitter what was interesting in Antwerp. Immediately, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, Biography, Gardens, History, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Bambini

Posted on 13/10/2016 by carolinemmurray

Anyone who spends any time mooching around art galleries cannot fail to be struck by the quite remarkable ugliness of many infant Jesuses. I’m not talking about the extreme stylisation – derived from the Byzantine tradition – of Virgin and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Cambridge, History, London, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Object Of The Month: September

Posted on 23/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

For one reason and another (one being the Christmas craft fair events for charity, which are looming), I am busier with knitting at the moment than usual. Hedgehogs and Christmas puddings are lining up unseasonably early, though I guess I … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Exploration, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The King’s Faithful Servant

Posted on 16/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

Rustat Road in Cambridge is where, in a former century, one used to go and pay one’s water rates to the Cambridge Water Company. I haven’t been able to find a picture of the building online, but I have a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Cambridge, History, London, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Details, Details …

Posted on 05/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

In the Eremitani Museum in Padua the other day, I was struck (as so often) by some of the details in the paintings on display as much as by the overall effect of a particular composition. Take this clog (left), … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, History, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Il Primo Orto Botanico

Posted on 03/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

The Botanical Garden of the University of Padua, set up by a decree of the Republic of Venice in 1545, is the oldest in the world. Well, actually, the University of Pisa founded its in 1544, but it moved site … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Gardens, History, Natural history, Venice | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The Dotterel

Posted on 27/08/2016 by carolinemmurray

I was dining at the Reform Club the other night (not something that happens to me particularly often). I didn’t get to see Alexis Soyer’s legendary kitchens – do they indeed still exist? – but we did take coffee in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge, History, Natural history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Object of the Month: August

Posted on 22/08/2016 by carolinemmurray

The apotheosis of Nelson was already well under way in 1836, when one George Gunning, of Frindsbury in Kent, presented a snuffbox to the Fitzwilliam Museum. Books, prints, portraits, medals and ceramics preserved the great naval hero in the public … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Cambridge, History, Museums and Galleries, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Bourns

Posted on 18/08/2016 by carolinemmurray

The word ‘bourn’ has two main meanings: it is either a brook (cf. northern and Scots ‘burn’) or it is a destination, limit, or boundary (as in ‘… That undiscovered country, from whose bourn / No traveller returns’). As a … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Cambridge, History | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Plant of the Month: August

Posted on 11/08/2016 by carolinemmurray

When everything else is looking a bit tired and dusty, there are some plants which you can rely on to go on and on. They are mostly ‘daisies’, Asteraceae, and mostly introductions from hotter climates, and my favourite is Cosmos. … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Gardens, History, Natural history | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment