This advertisement appeared in the November 1968 issue of School Library Journal; I’d wager that “forgot” is in shock quotes because they weren’t truly forgotten (Sojourner Truth, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, etc), but for the most part the books in this collection were somewhat obscure, given the subject matter and the educational system at the time. […]
Search results for: the book of knowledge
The Petroleum Tree, 1957
View Full-Size Image Here we have the Tree of Petroleum, the family structure of what comes from crude oil and ends up in your car, on your body, and in your food. It’s rather creepy to have a whole branch devoted to wax that goes into all the various parts of your body, but […]
Meeting With A Buffalo, 1910s.
Click for full image “A Terrible Meeting With A Buffalo”, from The Book of Knowledge, 1910s. Caption text here.
Jack’s Wonderful House, 1910s.
Click for full image A whimsical interpretation of the human body as a house, with Jack’s study at the top, and various windows and doors for sensory input to enter through. From a series of articles in The Book of Knowledge, 1910s. The articles may be an adaptation of this book, although I was unable […]
Submarine Point-Of-View, 1910s.
Click for full image My impression of a submarine’s visual acuity was similar to a telescope: Square-jawed 1950s movie stars peering into a binocular-like apparatus suspended from the ceiling, ordering torpedoes to be fired. During and prior to WWI, submarines were just coming into their own, and would soon be the secret weapon to turn […]
Orthographic Ireland, 1910s.
Click for full image“Bird’s Eye” view of Ireland, an orthographic map of the Irish Isles. From The Book of Knowledge, 1910s.
Build Your Own Magic Lantern, 1910s
From the encyclopedic series The Book Of Knowledge comes this bit of practical information: “How To Build A Magic Lantern“. These are what we’d call today a “slide projector”. At the time, however, slides were images on largish pieces of glass, and the light source was an open flame. The instructions rely on store-bought lenses, […]
The Old Woman Tossed in a Basket, 1910s
An illustration of the Mother Goose rhyme The Old Woman Tossed in a Basket, from The Book Of Knowledge.
Sans-Souci Palace, 1900s
A few years ago I bought a small box containing ‘magic lantern‘ slides, small glass plates with photographs on them, at an antique store in Minnesota. They’re essentially for use in the slide-projector of the late 19th century and early 20th century, a way to share photos with an audience. Five plates are in […]
Prospectors and Underground Treasures
Once we’ve gotten past the dip compasses, the next two pages are the most important (at least according to this catalog) books for any prospector to have. And, thanks to the advances in modern technology, both books have been scanned (one by Microsoft, the other by Google), so if you’ve got a dip needle and […]