Category Archives: collections and archives

Standing stones

Posted on June 23, 2014 by things magazine

We can only assume these old photographs taken by the Colonial Office and held at The National Archives are of the Bako National Park in Borneo. The rock formations shown in these undated images must surely have been lost to … Continue reading →

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Recognition Models: battleships edition

Posted on May 19, 2014 by things magazine
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Friday round up

Posted on January 31, 2014 by things magazine

Syracuse University Libraries is host to a number of digital collections; The Plastics Collection; Street & Smith Dime Novel Covers; Belfer Audio Archive; Marcel Breuer Digital Archive; The Gerrit Smith Broadside and Pamplet Collection; The Ronald G. Becker Collection of … Continue reading →

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Experimental jetsetting with no stars

Posted on January 3, 2014 by things magazine

Experimental Travel is the art of travelling in new ways, including such sub-genres as Aerotourism (‘in which a tourist visits the local airport and explores it without going anywhere’) and Erotourism (‘in which a couple travels separately to the same … Continue reading →

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Firing blanks

Posted on December 1, 2013 by things magazine

Other things. The subconscious overtones in The Tiger Who Came to Tea /old comics scrutinised and fetishized for their print quality at 4CP (Four colour process) / made on the Isle of Wight, the Enfield 8000 Thunderbolt, a forgotten electric … Continue reading →

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Little Blue Books

Posted on October 16, 2013 by things magazine

This superb ephemera collection from Kindra Murphy pointed us towards the publishing phenomenon that is the Little Blue Books. More information about these eclectic volumes can be found at the extensive site dedicated to the books and publisher, Emanuel Haldeman-Julius: … Continue reading →

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Oscilloscope

Posted on October 15, 2013 by things magazine

Why is the number 1,729 hidden in Futurama episodes? / What are These Giant Concrete Arrows Across the American Landscape? / the above image is from this stunning collection of Czech Matchbox labels / Maurice Evans is a fireworks collector, … Continue reading →

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Keeping the flame

Posted on October 12, 2013 by things magazine

The Mir and Buran space programs, two flickr sets / Matchboxes from the Subcontinent, a collection gathered in Bangalore by Matt Lee / related, Flame / on manipulation in architectural photography, including Julius Shulman’s notorious ‘portable garden‘, the means by … Continue reading →

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Covered

Posted on September 30, 2013 by things magazine

Choose your own adventure: smartphone manufacturer’s edition / fun with flexi discs / tiny microscopic worlds created by Takahiro Iwasaki (at Bored Panda, a site which revels in digital esoterica / speaking of which, Clive Thompson’s new book looks at … Continue reading →

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In search of lost time capsules

Posted on September 9, 2013 by things magazine

The Lost Coaster, amusement parks on fire / The Elusive Fetish Encyclopedia is a tumblr about modern future / Blog to the Old Skool, ‘collecting obscure & long forgotten 91-95 old school hardcore’ / Moonbase Central, toys, games and ephemera … Continue reading →

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Sounds inducing fury

Posted on August 5, 2013 by things magazine

This conceptual design for a ‘building eraser‘, i.e. a robot that automatically scrubs out unwanted structures has shades of I, Robot. Robot demolition is actually a thing – Swedish industrial giant Husqvarna manufactures a whole range of automated machinery for … Continue reading →

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I walk on concrete / I walk on sand

Posted on July 22, 2013 by things magazine

Bob Mazzer’s portfolios of life on the Tube in the 80s and 90s is doing the rounds (posted at Spitalfields Life, linked via MeFi). Flickr is the place to go for countless sets of old London imagery: City of London … Continue reading →

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The death of curiosity

Posted on July 12, 2013 by things magazine

We’re entering an era when the luxury of looking, collecting, curating and arranging is becoming an antiquated occupation. Glancing through the richly illustrated pages of Curiosity: Art and the Pleasures of Knowing (we haven’t visited the accompanying exhibition yet) and … Continue reading →

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Architecture and objects

Posted on June 17, 2013 by things magazine

ATP Iceland includes a visit to the exhibition Life on a NATO Base / How I learned to love clutter / links to ambient sound recordings from around the world / Curve live in London, Town and Country Club, 27 … Continue reading →

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Archives and experiences

Posted on June 5, 2013 by things magazine

The Alan Fletcher Archive, a treasure trove of work from one of Britain’s best-known graphic designers, beautifully organised and presented, from Pelican covers through to the simple girl’s guide to living room, and much, much more (via Phaidon) / (related, … Continue reading →

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Slight return

Posted on April 16, 2013 by things magazine

Graphic design from the 1920s to the 1970s is a new blog devoted to printed design and ephemera from the golden era of visual culture, a large chunk of which is travel related. A companion site to Travel Brochure Graphics, … Continue reading →

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Soupy twist

Posted on March 15, 2013 by things magazine

There are many gems at Bonhams’ upcoming Aviation and Space History Sale in New York, including ephemera, artefacts, historic photos and stunning imagery. A selection: signed image of the Mercury Capsule, Soviet surface-to-air missile engine (‘apparently unfired’) / Wally Schirra … Continue reading →

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On the right track

Posted on January 16, 2013 by things magazine

The ‘most murderous place in television crime drama is Cabot Cove, the fictional hometown of Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote. Fletcher was solving five cases a year in Cabot Cove, which CBS, who broadcast the programme, said had a … Continue reading →

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The original postcard versions

Posted on January 14, 2013 by things magazine

Postcards, new year’s cards and much, much more at the colossal collection of Japanese postcards at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Above, From an Airplane (Hikoki kara), late Meiji era. We also like this: To Tomita Beach, circa 1936. … Continue reading →

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One of these things is not like the other thing

Posted on January 4, 2013 by things magazine

Happy new year. We’ve had a gratifying amount of feedback to our last post of 2012, a short discussion of the internet of things and the realm of the superficial, the analogy of the curiosity cabinet and its potentially damaging … Continue reading →

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