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Dard Hunter
William Joseph "Dard" Hunter was an American authority on printing, paper, and papermaking, especially by hand, using the tools and craft of four centuries prior. Hunter produced two hundred copies of his book Old Papermaking, preparing every aspect of the book himself: he wrote the text, designed and cast the type, did the typesetting, handmade the paper, and printed and bound the book. A display at the Smithsonian Institution that appeared with his work read, "In the entire history of printing, these are the first books to have been made in their entirety by the labors of one man." He…
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Georg Hirth
Georg Hirth was a German writer, journalist and publisher. He is best known for founding the cultural magazine Jugend in 1896, which was instrumental in popularizing Art Nouveau. Hirth was born in Tonna, present-day Thuringia in 1841, studied to be an economist in Gotha and in Leipzig, and after a career working as a journalist he founded the magazine Jugend: Münchner illustrierte Wochenschrift für Kunst und Leben (English: Youth: the illustrated weekly magazine of art and lifestyle of Munich). This publication, which reflected the modernist ideals that were circulating at the time among artists, was instrumental in promoting the style…
In Art Nouveau -
Karel van de Woestijne
Carolus Petrus Eduardus Maria "Karel" van de Woestijne was a Flemish writer and brother of the painter Gustave van de Woestijne. He went to highschool at the Koninklijk Athenaeum (E:Royal Athenaeum) at the Ottogracht in Ghent. He also studied Germanic philology at the University of Ghent, where he came into contact with French symbolism. He lived at Sint-Martens-Latem from April 1900 up to January 1904, and from April 1905 up to November 1906. Here he wrote Laetemsche brieven over de lente, for his friend Adolf Herckenrath (1901). In 1907 he moved to Brussels, and in 1915 he moved to Pamel,…
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Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. Born in Huntington on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and—in addition to publishing his poetry—was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil…
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Robert Barclay
Robert Barclay was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was also governor of the East Jersey colony in North America through most of the 1680s, although he himself never resided in the colony. Early life and education Barclay was born at Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland. His father Col. David Barclay of Urie had served under Gustavus Adolphus, and pursued a somewhat tortuous course through the troubles of the civil war. His mother was Katherine Gordon (1620–1663), the daughter of Sir Robert Gordon,…
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Timothy H. O'Sullivan
Timothy H. O'Sullivan (c. 1840 – January 14, 1882) was a photographer widely known for his work related to the American Civil War and the Western United States. O'Sullivan was born in Ireland and came to New York City two years later with his parents. As a teenager, he was employed by Mathew Brady. When the Civil War began in early 1861, he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Union Army (Joel Snyder, O'Sullivan's biographer could find no proof of this claim in Army records) and, over the next year, was present at Beaufort, Port Royal, Fort Walker, and…
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Vienna Künstlerhaus
The Vienna Künstlerhaus is an art exhibition building in Vienna. It is located on Karlsplatz near the Ringstraße, next to the Musikverein. It was built between 1865 and 1868 by the Austrian Artists' Society (Gesellschaft bildender Künstler Österreichs, Künstlerhaus), the oldest surviving artists' society in Austria. It has served since then as an exhibition centre for painting, sculpture, architecture and applied art. Since 1947 it has also managed a cinema, which is used as one of the screening venues for the annual Viennale film festival. History of the society The society has its roots in the suburb of Laimgrube, now…
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Simmias of Rhodes
Simmias of Rhodes, was a Greek poet and grammarian of the Alexandrian school, which flourished under the early Ptolemies. He was earlier than the tragic poet Philiscus of Corcyra, whose time is about 300 BC, at least if we accept the assertion of Hephaestion, that the choriambic hexameter, of which Philiscus claimed the invention, had been previously used by Simmias. The 10th-century encyclopaedia, the Suda, reports that Simmias wrote three books of Glossai (collections of obscure words) and four books of miscellaneous poems (ποιήματα διάφορα, poiemata diaphora); the latter part of the article in the Suda is obviously misplaced, and…
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Stephenson Blake foundry
Stephenson Blake is an engineering company based in Sheffield. The company was active from the early 19th century as a type founder, remaining until the 1990s as the last active type foundry in Britain, after which it has diversified into specialist engineering. The type foundry began operations in July 1818 by silversmith and mechanic William Garnett and toolmaker John Stephenson, financially supported by James Blake. That November, news came that the breakaway Caslon foundry (formed when William Caslon III left the original firm and acquired Joseph Jackson Foundry in 1792 was put up for sale by William Caslon IV. In…
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La Libre Esthétique
La Libre Esthétique was an artistic society founded in 1893 in Brussels, Belgium to continue the efforts of the artists' group Les XX dissolved the same year. To reduce conflicts between artists invited or excluded, artists were no longer admitted to the society, thus all exhibitors were now invited. The first annual exhibition was opened on 14 February 1894, and the exhibition of 1914 was the last: a year later German troops had occupied Belgium, Brussels included. The Annual Exhibitions, 1894-1913 All exhibitions were accompanied by a bibliophile catalogue, printed at Veuve Monnon, Brussels. 1894 First exhibition, 17 February -…
In Art Nouveau
