martin klasch: history

Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

September 1, 2009

History: 1939

Vis pistol - "Production started in the state armory Fabryka Broni in Radom in late 1935, and the following year it was introduced as the standard weapon of Polish infantry and cavalry officers."

Invasion of Poland (1939)

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September 7, 2008

Cartoon: Rhapsody of Steel

Rhapsody of Steel
In this post from January ASIFA said: "Today we scanned a read-along storybook adaptation of John Sutherland's industrial film, Rhapsody of Steel (1959). Sutherland's studio was very influential in the mid-1950s, employing some of the best designers in the business. This film is no exception."

There is also a QuickTime link in the post!

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September 5, 2008

History: Bulgarian Umbrella

Bulgarian umbrella

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History/News: The Markov Case

image found here
The Markov case - Piccadilly circus
(article in The Economist)

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May 14, 2008

Google Docs: The Piraeus Lion

I just had to try this Google service - Google Documents.

Vintage street art: The Piraeus Lion

The Piraeus Lion "...was originally located in Piraeus, the ancient harbour of Athens (Greece). It was looted by Venetian naval commander Francesco Morosini in 1687 as plunder taken in the Great Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire..." / "The lion was a famous landmark in Piraeus, having stood there since the first or second century AD."

"The statue, which is made of white marble and stands some 3 m (9 ft) high, is particularly noteworthy for having been defaced some time in the second half of the 11th century by Scandinavians who carved two lengthy runic inscriptions into the shoulders and flanks of the lion. The runes are carved in the shape of an elaborate lindworm dragon-headed scroll, in much the same style as on rune stones in Scandinavia. The carvers of the runes were almost certainly Varangians(*), Scandinavian mercenaries in the service of the Byzantine Emperor who had been sent to Greece to put down a revolt by the local people."

"The inscriptions were not recognised as runes until the Swedish diplomat Johan David Åkerblad identified them at the end of the 18th century." / "The inscriptions are heavily eroded due to weathering and air pollution..." / "This has required translators to reconstruct some of the runes, filling in the blanks to determine what words they represented."

"Erik Brate's interpetation from 1914 is considered to be the most successful one.":

"They cut him down in the midst of his forces. But in the harbor the men cut runes by the sea in memory of Horsi, a good warrior. The Swedes set this on the lion. He went his way with good counsel, gold he won in his travels.

The warriors cut runes, hewed them in an ornamental scroll. Æskell (Áskell) [and others] and ÞorlæifR (Þorleifr) had them well cut, they who lived in Roslagen. [N. N.] son of [N. N.] cut these runes. UlfR (Úlfr) and [N. N.] colored them in memory of Horsi. He won gold in his travels."

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* "The Varangians or Varyags (Old Norse: Væringjar...)" / "...were Vikings, Norsemen, mostly Swedes, who went eastwards and southwards through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine mainly in the 9th and 10th centuries."

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Quotes from Wikipedia. Images from Wikipedia (the drawn version and the runes copied on paper), Swedish Museum of National Antiquities, (The copy of the sculpture set indoors), mararie's Flickr photostream (The original in Venice)
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May 4, 2007

Animation: The Bayeux Tapestry

Have a look at this nicely made animation of the Bayeux Tapestry. Perhaps preferably the larger screen version. To resize, click the YouTube symbol and then the button on the far right below the screen.

Via Cynical-C blog

March 4, 2007

Documentary: Cinema Europe

Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood
Article in Wikipedia

The first three episodes of this 1996 six-part documentary about the birth of cinema and the development of European cinema up to the time of the surge of the Nazis. This wonderful ducumentary is presented in the blog Videos with Bibi.

Episode 1: Where It All Began, Episode 2: Art's Promised Land, Episode 3: The Unchained camera

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May 28, 2006

History: Brazil goes Åtvidaberg

It's the summer of 1966. The Brazilian national football team has been invited to the Swedish town of Åtvidaberg by the AB Facit company, at the time a large successful producer of calculators and typewriters. It is all a part of the Brazilian team's training program for the World Cup in England later in the summer. They have just played a training game against Åtvidaberg FF and now it's relaxation and party time. Singer Lill Lindfors is entertaining, Pelé, guys in viking helmets are there and meat is being grilled over the Churasqueiras...

View the clip

Via Josephzohn gås blogger

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