Dream Anatomy

Dream Anatomy, an online exhibit from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, showcases the library's collection of anatomical drawings, models, and prints.

I remember the first time I saw a 16th-century copy of Vesalius' De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543) in real life — it was so beautiful and so sturdy that I couldn't believe it wasn't a reproduction. If you ever have the chance to see one of these early anatomical texts in person, take it. For now, just enjoy this digital treasure trove.

Curious Expeditions

While doing some background research on a new course about the history of life and death issues, I came across an intriguing blog: Curious Expeditions.

It specializes in documenting strange and extraordinary objects, places, and events. Many of the entries tend toward the macabre — ossuaries, medical museums, mourning jewelry — and might hold some interest for those of you interested in the material culture of death.

In Which I Will Hold My Nose and Vote for Martha Coakley

I do not like Martha Coakley. From the first time I saw this fear-mongering ad back in November, I have not been a fan. The more I read about her, the less I like her. Every time she opens her mouth, I am embarassed to be a Massachusetts Democrat.

I voted against her in December, but I will suck it up and vote for her today. I had a brief moment of thinking that I couldn't possibly vote for someone so odious, but I eventually decided that if there is even a tiny chance that her losing might hurt health care reform, I could not afford to stay home.

I will do the wrong thing for the right reasons and vote for Martha Coakley.

But here's the thing — if Martha Coakley loses today (and she might), I do not want to hear national Democrats talking about how the people of Massachusetts have sunk health care reform. I don't want to hear them whining about needing the 60-vote majority or about how losing the seat is what killed the bill. The Democrats have had an entire year with a 60-vote majority in the senate and they have not accomplished the reforms that Obama promised would be done by August. Coakley losing might be the last straw, but this camel has already been overloaded with 1,000 tons of bullshit.

Loring Silver Bowl at Boston 1775

If your interest in material culture runs toward the finer stuff, check out J.L. Bell's series of posts about Joshua Loring's silver bowl over at Boston 1775.

Hats of the DeAngelis Family

This week's edition of "Kids in Hats" features some good hats from my own family. The dashing fellow in the fur-lined cape and jaunty fedora is my great-great-grandfather, Benjamin DeAngelis. My great-grandfather, Americo Ilario DeAngelis, is the young teenager in the middle of the back row. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1892, so this photograph was probably taken between 1905 and 1910. The other people in the picture are my great-great grandmother, Maria Carmine Venditti, and my grandfather's aunts and uncles: Maria Antonia (the eldest), Andia (the scowling 11-year-old), Giovanni, Manfredo, Italia, and Reno. The man second from the left is Maria Antonia's husband.

Besides Benjamin's sartorial splendor, there are several notable hats in this photo. I am particularly fond of the Pillsbury doughboy look on Italia (bottom left).

Happy Birthday, Graham!

Happy 21!

Name of the Day

Bozoon Peneman

source: Boston Birth Records, 1700-1800

Name of the Day

Sometimes, transcriptions of 18th-century records have hiccups in them. When I come across a typewritten account of a baby named "Jamas," I take it with a grain of salt — it's more likely "James" + a handwriting issue.

Yet, sometimes there is a name so strange that I am forced to accept its legitimacy, if for no other reason than that I can't imagine what else the writer could have been aiming for. For example,

Tregoweth Tilbort

source: Boston Birth Records, 1700-1800

Lost Cause Nostalgia Again

Tami at What Tami Said offers a trenchant critique of the pop-country band Lady Antebellum that may be of interest to some readers (cross-posted at Racialicious).

Though it sounds like Lady Antebellum's Lost Cause Nostalgia doesn't extend much beyond its appellation, I'm glad to see other people calling out the casual romanticization of the antebellum South. This is not a case of over-the-top neoconfederate fantasy like Gods and Generals, but it's important to recognize that casual references that idealize the antebellum South are a symptom of something fairly odious. It's easy to laugh at something as epically ridiculous as Mary Fahl's Going Home, but Lady Antebellum might slip under the radar.


I love this video. Seriously, try to keep a straight face past the 2:15 marker. It gets me every time.

Name of the Day

While doing data entry for the recent posts on Boston names, I came across some strange appellations. Like our old friends Wigglesworth Switser and Belcher Noyes, most of the interesting names result from the use of a surname as a first name.

For example,

Spiller Munden

 
source: Boston Birth Records, 1700-1800

Hot Baby Names for 1710, Continued

I've compiled the name data from the Boston Birth Records for the years 1710-1715 in order to get a better picture of the popularity of given names as mentioned in my earlier post. I have a much larger sample this time: 818 girls and 885 boys.

Top 25 Names in Boston, 1710-1715

Pat Robertson on the Haitian Revolution

Apparently, the most successful slave rebellion in the history of the American colonies succeeded because its leaders made a pact with the devil. Juan Cole offers an informed dissection of this racist version of history.

Donate to the Red Cross here.

Go, Nancy!

Today, Professor Nancy Cott will use her expertise as an historian of marriage in America to testify for marriage equality in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

As someone who has personally cowered under the withering gaze of the formidabe Prof. Cott, I extend my sympathies to the attorney who will have to cross-examine her. I'm sure the anti-Prop 8 legal team chose her for her world-class expertise, but it's her presence that will make her an amazing witness. For someone who is barely 5 feet tall, she can be incredibly intimidating — she has this way of smiling that conveys her infinite patience for your mindboggling stupidity.

If the reports about pro-Prop 8 lawyer Charles Cooper's opening statement are correct, he'll be seeing a lot of that smile.

Hot Baby Names for 1710

Over the past few weeks, the onomasts on the internet have been publishing their lists of the top baby names of the past decade and their predictions for 2010's hot trends.

Reading these lists got me wondering about the top names of 1710. I'm usually on the lookout for unusual names (Orange Wedge, Belcher Noyes, Fanny Forward, etc.) and pass over the Johns and Marys without comment. But what better way to engage the  modern interest in classic (and faux-classic) European baby names than to run the numbers for the 18th century?

Without further ado, the top baby names of 1710 Boston*:

1. Mary
2. Elizabeth
3. Sarah
4. Abigail
5. Susanna
6. Hannah
7. Ann/Anna
8. Rebecca
    Lydia

10. Jane

      Martha

12. Johanna

      Katherine

      Lucy

      Margaret

      Mercy

      Ruth

1. John

2. William

3. Thomas

4. James

5. Samuel

    Joseph

7. Nathaniel

8. Jonathan

9. Richard

    Henry

    Daniel

10. Abraham

      Benjamin

      Ebenezer

      Edward

      Francis

      Josiah

      Robert

Beware the Tassel

This daguerreotype (ca. 1855) of George Leverett Stowell is part of the Library of Congress' American Memory Collection. If you click through, you can view over 700 early daguerreotypes in their online exhibit, America's First Look Into the Camera. Be careful, though. They might force you to wear a monkey-armed coat and a hat left over from the BPOE parade.

Age at Death

It's common knowledge that children under the age of 5 suffered terrible mortality rates in the 18th and 19th centuries. Recently, I have been wondering whether infants were commemorated with gravestones at a rate proportionate with the frequency of their deaths. I'm still not sure whether they were, but I have been crunching some numbers.

Back from Break

I've been enjoying a leisurely vacation, but now I'm back from my travels and looking forward to blogging regularly once more. I hope to start up the presses over the next few days.

In the meantime, enjoy this horrifying artifact: a tooth and ear pick excavated at Jamestown, VA and featured in National Geographic in 2002:

Don't mix up the ends.

In Which a Classy Hat Brightens Up a Dull Backdrop

According to the Duke University Digital Collections, Hugh Magnum was an itinerant photographer who carted his mobile portrait studio all over the upper South between 1890 and 1922. Some of the photos in the collection show his outdoor setup. The juxtaposition between this little girl's elaborately trimmed hat and her makeshift surroundings struck me as particularly stark.