Author Archives: corvusfugit

1904: Columbia

A model of the USS Columbia at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904; cropped from a larger photo: The ship to the right may be the Minneapolis. The Columbia was the fourth ship with that name in the US Navy; … Continue reading

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1882: Jumbo

An anecdote from Matthew Scott’s biography of Jumbo the Elephant (1885): Once when I was riding him around in the Zoological Gardens, in London, sitting on his neck, with about a dozen children on a panier-saddle across his broad back, … Continue reading

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1958: Firebird III

The General Motors Firebird III was built in 1958, debuted as a concept car at Motorama in 1959, and was featured at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.

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1776: Equally as Precious to a Black Man

In 1776, Lemuel Haynes, a veteran of the American Revolution and the first black man in the United States to be ordained as a minister, wrote this response to the Declaration of Independence: Liberty Further Extended: Or Free Thoughts on … Continue reading

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1848: The Devil’s Violin

Costume design by Paul Lormier for the 1849 ballet Le violon du diable (source).

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1953: Description

A description of what we would now call a depressive episode from a 1953 story by Jean Ferry, “The Traveler with Luggage”: As a result of incidents still obscure to me, I suffered an absolutely atrocious mental breakdown in the … Continue reading

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1912: Butterflies

Odilon Redon: Evocation of Butterflies (ca. between 1910 and 1912)

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1909: Seascape

Léon Spilliaert: Seascape Seen from Mariakerke (1909)

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1778: Great Indian Fruit Bat

Indian flying foxes are found throughout India. Like others of their species, they are gregarious and tend to form large social groups. With a wingspan of four to five feet, Indian flying foxes are very conspicuous in their open roosts … Continue reading

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1908: I Dreamed I Was my Husband

The following poem appeared in several publications in 1908: A Singular Tragedy I dreamed I was a lady, and I was wooed by Me. (The writer of this story you understand’s a He.) I dreamed (I say) I loved Me … Continue reading

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