Oriental Lacquer The Chinese Triumph and Japanese Mastery
Henry Coleman May notes that Chinese lacquer emerged early in Ming era and reached peak under Emperor Chien Lung. The Japanese adopted the craft from China and later surpassed Chinese works in refinement. In China lacquer decorated large screens and panels, while Japan focused on smaller objects. The craft divides into painted and carved forms, often inlaid with pearls ivory jade and other stones.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Japan
China
Lacyuer
Chien Lung
Holland
Portugal
Oriental Art
Henry Coleman May
Scribner's
The Curious Banana Tree
A damaged excerpt notes that when a healthy banana tree is cut above ground during the wet season it rarely dies. Nine times out of ten it sends a new shoot from the trunk center and grows quickly, reaching green leaves within forty eight hours. The trunk remains not hard.
Banana Tree Growth and Windbreak Technique Described
A. Hyatt Verrill explains in St. Nicholas how banana leaves push upward from the center of the trunk, forming continuous growth even after cutting. He notes fruitless shoots often grow taller and sturdier, used by natives as windbreaks for other crops.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
A. Hyatt Verrill
St. Nicholas
Creature Emerges From Fire In Ancient Text
Aristotle notes a winged creature forming from chalcitis limestone after prolonged burning. The entity appears while the material smolders, then dies as soon as it is removed from the furnace.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cyprus
Governor Stewart Pardons Eight Convicts On Lawn
Missouri Governor Stewart questioned eight convicts mowing the statehouse lawn. Seven claimed innocence while the eighth confessed to stealing a hog and was pardoned to protect others from contamination.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Stewart
Missouri
Statehouse
Safety First Exchange Quips About Hidden Orchestra
A playful exchange obsesses over a restaurant concealing an orchestra and hints at the surprise of hearing it perform. The banter contrasts bold sounds with a Cervantes quip about pride and peril in love or life.
Glaciers Of Alaska Awe Passengers On Steamer Voyage
A frozen panorama unfolds as a ship nears a vast Alaska glacier. Ice towers rise in blue translucent walls while a mammoth cave looms a thousand feet. rumbling ice, wind and distant thunder mingle with distant bugle calls as passengers gaze, then the glacier slides back from sight.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John A. Sleggh
Leslie’s
Awake Advice on Safe Posture and Rest
Fragmentary health note warns against kneeling sleeping or resting in awkward positions. It cautions lying seated for long periods and sleeping standing risks, noting dangers to the nervous system and potential head injury. Ancestral advice from a periodical page appears as a miscellaneous mental health tip.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Iinsance News
Remarkable Lakes and Salt Crusted Mangishlak Sea
Five ib lakes are noted on the Mangishlak sea region. One lake is covered with salt crystals strong enough for crossing by man and beast. The lake water remains tiny white like driven snow and displays colors from violet to rosy red due to seaweed pigments. A fragrant scent of vegetation rises from this scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mangishlak
Viletea
Night in the gs chamber state and the Czar Paul
A fragment describes a harsh night in a chamber state and notes Czar Paul building a stormy pace of walking and freezing hours. It hints at a taste for the ugliest man in the scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paul
Madeira Island Roads Narrated as Roadless
In the Madeira lands there are no wheeled vehicles for the roads are too rough making travel nearly impossible for carts carriages and other transport.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Madeira Island
Madeira Lands
One Cure Stated For Health By Source
A fragment notes a claim of a single treatment or cure for health needs. Details are sparse but emphasize a sole solution presented by the source.
Our Drying Earth The shrinking world water record
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes a centuries long loss of surface water. It cites Russian and Sven expeditions showing desert advance across continents and vanishing rivers and lakes. It warns evaporation alone cannot explain the vast underground moisture feeding an unseen reservoir.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sven
Nile
Egypt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Malayan Tree Dwellers on Tall Bamboo Homes
The Aan or tree dwellers of the Malay peninsula construct huts high in trees, accessed by bamboo ladders that are withdrawn for safety. Their homes are rough bamboo shacks with rattan floors bound to branches. they are said to be lighter in complexion than Malays and reportedly lack formal religion or written language.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Malay Peninsula
A Japanese Custom and Its Welcoming Room
In Japan the well to do often keep a single chamber called the chamber of the inspired view. It centers on a beauty view such as cherry blossoms, a river scene, a miniature garden, or autumn foliage. The room is used for theater parties and refined gatherings.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Japan
River Tinte in Spain Changes Water to Yellow Hue
A historic note describes the Tinte River in Spain whose waters turn a yellow color and harden into a stone-like crust. The river's hue withers plants and dyes roots and soils yellow. fish reportedly live in its stream despite the unusual conditions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Spain
Napoleon and His Mother Scene at St. Cloud
A fragmentary account describes Napoleon with his mother soon after his rise as Emperor at St. Cloud. She pleads for him to honor the mother who bore him, offering her hand in farewell or blessing as he contemplates his path.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Napoleon
St. Cloud
Greenheart wood touted as strongest material for ships
An article extols greenheart wood as sturdier than steel, noting its true form in British Guiana. It cites navy tests for armory plates and potential use in Panama Canal lock gates, while contrasting with Indonesian teak from Samoa and a Demerara supply.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
British Guiana
Dutch Guiana
Navy Department
Samoa
Panama Canal
B. H. Gainfort
Demerara
Guiana
Manchester Ship Canal
Locating the Trouble in a Child's Street Play
A fragment from a 19th or early 20th century newspaper notes a boy named Jimmy playing outside and rushing home in apparent distress. His mother calls out to him and urges him to come indoors, while he is described as eager yet flustered about some imminent fate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jimmy
Happy Home
Willy
Tiny Chinchilla Description Sparks Curiosity
A fragment describes a small chinchilla with a short silklike body and fineness of fur finer than floss. The text notes its nearly one inch length and a soft undyed marabou color, resembling delicate feathery texture.
A Different View on a Compliment as Human Comet
A fragmentary dialogue notes a woman praising the speaker as human comet. The line challenges how a term of endearment can be misconstrued in social exchanges.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Cervantes
United States National Bank
Newberg
Sara Ceorreth
Oregon
Idaho
Boys’ Department
Evening Telegram
Portland, Or
J. L. van Blaricom
Alaska
Leck
F. H. Griffeth
Lone Fir Dairy
State Dairy and Food Commissioner
R. B. Lyle
Indiana
Greenheart
Emerson
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!