Lmst

What Came First, Blues or Jazz?

"Blues came before jazz, but their stories are deeply connected. The Delta blues inspired New Orleans jazz and shaped modern music."

https://www.thecollector.com/what-came-first-blues-jazz/

#music

100 years on, T.S. Eliot’s The Hollow Men is a poem for our populist moment

His 1925 poem "The Hollow Men," published 100 years ago, bridges the nihilism of "The Waste Land" (1922) and his spiritual rebirth, reflecting his evolving faith journey.

by Luke Johnson

https://theconversation.com/100-years-on-t-s-eliots-the-hollow-men-is-a-poem-for-our-populist-moment-269487

Eliot at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/599

#books #literature #poetry

T.S. Eliot with his sister and his cousin

by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1934

The photograph is a vintage black-and-white snapshot from 1934, taken outdoors in what appears to be a garden or courtyard with tall brick buildings in the background. Three people sit at a table set for tea.

On the left, Eliot in a suit sits facing the camera, hands resting on the table. In the center, Eliot's cousin wearing a dark coat and hat sits slightly turned to the side, holding a cane. On the right, Eliot's sister in a patterned dress looks downward, her expression quiet and reserved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot#/media/File:Thomas_Stearns_Eliot_by_Lady_Ottoline_Morrell_(1934).jpg

Esther Lederberg (December 18, 1922 – November 11, 2006) pioneered bacterial genetics, discovering lambda phage and F factor, inventing replica plating and furthered the understanding of the transfer of genes between bacteria by specialized transduction. She founded Stanford's Plasmid Reference Center. Despite groundbreaking work, she never got tenure and her discoveries are often credited to her Nobel laureate husband.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Lederberg

#microbiology #womeninStem

“From the chintz-covered drawing-rooms… straight into hell”

Evadne Price's "Not So Quiet...Stepdaughters of War," inspired by a real ambulance driver's diary, powerfully depicts war's horrors. Lucy Scholes calls it "a shattering denunciation of the jingoism that kept the war machine turning."

By John Mark Ockerbloom

https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/29/from-the-chintz-covered-drawing-rooms-straight-into-hell/

More about it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_So_Quiet:_Stepdaughters_of_War

#books #PublicDomainDayCountdown

Cover of the book Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War is a 1930 novel by British author Evadne Price writing under the pseudonym "Helen Zenna Smith".

The image shows the cover of the novel Not So Quiet… by Helen Zenna Smith. The design uses a stark, graphic style in black and red on a cream background. At the top, the title is printed in large, bold, uneven lettering: “NOT SO QUIET…”, with quotation marks placed dramatically before and after.

The central illustration is abstract and wartime-themed: a silhouetted rifle hangs from the left, and concentric red arcs radiate outward like shock waves or explosions. Near the bottom right, small black silhouettes suggest figures or shapes caught in the blast zone. The landscape at the bottom is a jagged black horizon, evoking a battlefield.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_So_Quiet:_Stepdaughters_of_War#/media/File:Not_So_Quiet.jpg

Meet the Forgotten Female Artist Behind the World’s Most Popular Tarot Deck (1909)

https://www.openculture.com/2025/10/meet-the-forgotten-female-artist-behind-the-worlds-most-popular-tarot-deck.html

#art

The Strength tarot card by Colman-Smith shows a figure dressed in a white robe with roses petting a lion.

How Monet Created His Famed Water Lily Pond

Monet believed his Giverny garden was his "most beautiful work of art"

by Verity Babbs

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-bites-monet-water-lily-pond-2711440

Below, video of Claude Monet at Work which was filmed at 1914 from BBC channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnOCI8MUmbw

#art #painting

“The road leads back to you”

"Georgia on My Mind" by Hoagy Carmichael is likely about the state, not his sister. Ray Charles' version became Georgia's official song. Legend says Carmichael paid royalties to lyricist Stuart Gorrell after omitting him from copyright, but both names appear on the 1930 record.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/28/the-road-leads-back-to-you/

#music #publicDomainDayCountdown

From Dylan Thomas’ shopping list to a note from Sylvia Plath’s doctor: newly uncovered case files reveal the hidden lives of famous writers

Exclusive: Hardship grant applications to the Royal Literary Fund, including unseen letters by Doris Lessing and a note from James Joyce saying that he ‘gets nothing in the way of royalties’, show authors at their most vulnerable

By Ella Creamer

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/28/from-dylan-thomas-shopping-list-to-a-note-from-sylvia-plaths-doctor-newly-uncovered-case-files-reveal-the-hidden-lives-of-famous-writers

#books #literature

Nora Summer's iconic portrait of Dylan Thomas. Taken in Blashford in 1937, it was soon to gain an international circulation.

Dylanis is wearing a distinctive thick, cable-knit cardigan with a textured pattern, and what appears to be a scarf around his neck.

He was photographed from the side, looking downward with his eyes cast down, holding a cigarette to his lips. His hair is characteristically curly and somewhat disheveled.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas#/media/File:Dylan_Thomas_icon_Blashford_1937.jpg

@deborahh you’re very welcome!

Explore 1,100 Works of Art by Georgia O’Keeffe: They’re Digitized and Free to View Online

https://www.openculture.com/2025/10/1100-works-of-art-by-georgia-okeeffe.html

#art

Lake George Reflection by Georgia O'Keeffe, oil on canvas

@framedways. It is there for its Thanksgiving illustration.

“You must sometime fight it out or perish”

Dr. Luella Axtell, a Marinette physician and civic advocate, promoted public health, the environment, and women’s rights. Her book Grow Thin on Good Food offered sensible diet-and-exercise advice ahead of its time.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/27/you-must-sometime-fight-it-out-or-perish/

#books #PublicDomainDayCountdown

Cover image of the book Grow Thin on Good Food by Luella E. Axtell, M.D.

he book cover shown is a plain, deep red hardback with a textured surface. Centered near the top, the title “GROW THIN ON GOOD FOOD” is printed in bold, gold uppercase lettering. Beneath it, also in gold, is the author’s name: “LUELLA E. AXTELL, M.D.”

52 Years Later, Agatha Christie’s Forgotten Final Book Remains Untouched

By Florencia Aberastury

https://www.cbr.com/agatha-christie-postern-of-fate-deserves-adaptation/

Agatha Christie at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/451

#books #literature

Illustration by Arthur Ferrier of Tommy and Tuppence from the December 1923 issue of The Grand Magazine and the first-known image of the characters.

The drawing shows a stylish young couple in early-1920s fashion. Tommy stands on the left, dressed in a neat suit with a bow tie, his posture upright and confident. Tuppence stands beside him, slightly angled toward him, wearing a fashionable cloche hat and a long, elegant coat. Her expression is lively and self-assured.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_and_Tuppence#/media/File:T&T1923.jpg

@GeePawHill I have no idea, haven’t read it

Happy Thanksgiving Day to those in the US!

The Illustrated Version of “Alice’s Restaurant”: Watch Arlo Guthrie’s Thanksgiving Counterculture Classic

https://www.openculture.com/2025/11/the-illustrated-version-of-arlo-guthries-alices-restaurant.html

#holiday

"Woman carrying a large pumpkin and a bowl full of berries smiles at a turkey, which seems to know what's in store, and, his eyes wide with fear, takes off flying. Content: "The 'Average Man' talks of his adventures in fame," "Are You Asking Too Much of Life?" by S. Parkes Cadman, and items by S. S. Van Dine, Edgar A. Guest, Albert Payson Terhune, and Octavus Roy Cohen. Artist: Edmund Davenport Source: eBay seller askmatzen. Restoration by: magscanner" - Internet Archive

One of the World’s Oldest Calculators Was Up for Auction. Then, Scientists Rallied and Temporarily Blocked Its Sale

French scholars argued that the 17th-century Pascaline should go to a public collection and stay within the country. But a Paris court may take months to make a final decision on the device’s fate

by Margherita Bassi

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-of-the-worlds-oldest-calculators-was-up-for-auction-then-scientists-rallied-and-temporarily-blocked-its-sale-180987748/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550

Origin of modern calculating machines by J. A. V. Turck at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69386

#books #calculating_machines

Photo of a 'Pascaline', the mechanical calculator invented and manufactured by French scientist Blaise Pascal between 1642 and 1652.

Pascaline made for French currency which once belonged to Louis Perrier, Pascal's nephew. The least significant denominations, sols and deniers, are on the right

The machine is a rectangular brass box with a row of circular dials set into its top surface. Each dial has a central window displaying a numeral and is surrounded by a toothed wheel marked with digits. The wheels increase in size from right to left, reflecting the denomination system: the least significant units—sols and deniers—are on the right, with larger currency units to the left.

Small metal tabs or spoked pointers allow the user to rotate each wheel, triggering the internal gear mechanism that performs addition (and limited subtraction). The front edge of the device shows slots and indicator openings related to the carry mechanism.

From J. A. V. Turck (1921) Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Western Society of Engineers, Chicago, USA, p.10, fig.1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascaline#/media/File:Pascaline_calculator_front.png

“No-one in the room but the corpse”

Charles Williams, a lesser-known Inkling who influenced Lewis, Tolkien, and Eliot, debuted with War in Heaven, a supernatural thriller mixing mystery, Christian themes, and a mystical quest for a powerful artifact.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/26/no-one-in-the-room-but-the-corpse/

#books #publicDomainDayCountdown

Charles Walter Stansby Williams

Williams is shown from the chest up, seated and facing slightly to his right while looking toward the camera with a thoughtful expression. He wears round spectacles, a dark suit, and a neatly knotted tie. His hair is combed back, slightly tousled on top.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Williams_(British_writer)#/media/File:Charles_Walter_Stansby_Williams.jpg

Arthur Conan Doyle explored men’s mental health through his Sherlock Holmes stories

Many of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories examine male characters facing emotional catastrophe, betrayal and moral dilemmas.

by Emma Linford

https://theconversation.com/arthur-conan-doyle-explored-mens-mental-health-through-his-sherlock-holmes-stories-246728?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20November%2026%202025%20-%203594036692&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20November%2026%202025%20-%203594036692+CID_fa1700c951d65f231bfdf9e15bf4362e&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Arthur%20Conan%20Doyle%20explored%20mens%20mental%20health%20through%20his%20Sherlock%20Holmes%20stories

Conan Doyle at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/69

#books #literature

Arthur Conan Doyle in 1914

by Walter Benington

Conan Doyle is seen from the chest up, seated and angled slightly to his left while looking directly at the camera.

He wears a dark suit with a high-collared shirt and tie, and his neatly groomed mustache is prominent. His hair is combed back, and the lighting highlights the contours of his face.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle#/media/File:Arthur_Conan_Doyle_by_Walter_Benington,_1914.png

@chessert Another good reason to re-read it once we post it at our website.

#OTD in 1859, Wilkie Collins’s novel, The Woman in White, begins serialization in the magazine "All the Year Round". This magazine was edited by Charles Dickens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_White_(novel)

The novel at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/583

#books #literature

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