1. This staircase from the Eiffel Tower is for Sale
It’s not every day that a chunk of one of the world’s most famous monuments goes on sale. But on November 27, Paris auction house Artcurial will be selling off a 24-step piece of original staircase from the Eiffel Tower, removed in 1983 to help lighten the structure while installing a new elevator between its second and top floors. For now, the giant corkscrew of metal sits on display in Artcurial’s courtyard, drumming up interest for the sale.
Found on City Lab, view the auction details here.
2. The Scola Tower
The Scola Building is a former military building located just beyond the northeastern tip of Palmaria (island) in Porto Venere, in the province of La Spezia, Italy. The tower is pentagonal in shape with an average wall thickness of about 4 feet, which accommodates up to eight people (eight soldiers, including a captain and a master “bombardero”) and ten cannons, and guards the Bay of Palmaria. During the Napoleonic Wars, it was damaged by the British, leaving it in a state of total neglect for the first half of the 19th century. Used for target practice by the Marina Militare and scheduled for demolition in 1915, it was saved by catching the interest of a local official at the Ministry of Education, and it was eventually decided to convert the tower to a lighthouse.
Found on Wikipedia.
3. An Orrery at the Library of Dunham Massey, England
An orrery is a clockwork model of the solar system, or of just the sun, earth, and moon.
Need.
Dunham Massey is a Georgian house in England, run by the National Trust, open for visitation.
4. Lee Miller’s Roommate
Lee Miller & Tanja Ramm share breakfast in bed at Lee’s studio, Paris, 1931, photographed by Miller’s father. Tanja was an American model living in Paris, but more information on her is hard to come by. Her story seems to have been lost over time and overshadowed by her more famous roommate. We’re always intrigued by a forgotten muse…
In addition to participating in the Parisian art circles of the 1920s, Man Ray supported himself with portraiture and fashion photography for magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue. Above and below are some of his portraits of Tanja (some including Miller).
A Man Ray sandwich (and self-portrait with Miller and Ramm).
Found on Pinterest.
5. Bored Couples
In the late 80s, early 90s, Martin Parr took on a rather fascinating subject.
6. Bubblewrapped
No further explanation needed.
Found here.
7. Chris Labrooy
8. Artist Yves Klein wrote a book about Judo
You are probably familiar with his art (IKB, Anthropometrie, Leap Into the Void)…
Find the book here.
9. Hyde Park’s own shepherd taking his sheep along the Serpentine Lake, 1938
His dog has taken to the water to stop the sheep from swimming off.
Photo by George W. Hales, found on Pinterest.
10. Hand-colored platinum print photos of Oglala Sioux chiefs. 1899.
From top to bottom:
1. Bone Necklace, Council Chief.
2. Shout At.
3. Left Hand Bear, Chief.
4. Strikes With Nose, Chief.
11. Waiting for the Sunday boat, 1902
Found on The Shorpy.
12. Radio set assembling room. 1925
Found on Once Upon a Time.
13. The iPhone wasn’t the first Apple-supported phone
In 2005, Steve Jobs introduced the Motorola ROKR, which they named the iTunes Phone, which was a collaboration between Motorola and Apple, being the first mobile phone with iTunes player built-in.
