kittivanilli

Jewelry made from the world’s largest diamond is to go on display June 30 at Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The Cullinan Diamond, which weighed 3,106 carats in its rough state, was discovered at the Premier Mine near Pretoria, in South Africa in 1905.

The diamond was cut by I.J. Asscher and Company of Amsterdam. Nine principal stones, 96 smaller stones, and nine carats of unpolished fragments were produced. The two largest gems form part of the Crown Jewels—one is set at the head of the Sovereign’s Scepter and the other into the Imperial State Crown.

The other seven were mounted in various settings for Queen Mary, wife of George V.

[article] [photos]

11:59 am \ comments

One of the world’s oldest and most famous diamonds, the Beau Sancy, has sold for $9.7m (£6m) at auction in Geneva—twice its reserve. The 35-carat gem was worn by Marie de Medici at her coronation as queen of France in 1610.

After being worn at Marie de Medici’s coronation, the diamond was pawned by Mary Stuart to finance the fight by her brother, the future Charles II, for the English throne, following the English Civil War. Later still it was the centerpiece in the crown of the first king of Prussia.

10:34 am \ comments

# beau sancy # diamond # gems # history

» Map’s Hidden Marks Illuminate and Deepen Mystery of Lost Colony

Theories abound about what happened to the so-called Lost Colony on Roanoke Island, ranging from sober scholarship to science fiction. It was the second English settlement on North Carolina’s coast, but it was the first to include civilians. The colony’s governor, John White, returned to England for supplies, but an attack by the Spanish Armada delayed his return for three years. When he did return, the settlers had vanished.

The shroud of mystery may finally be lifting. The British Museum’s re-examination of a 16th-century coastal map, created by White, using 21st-century imaging techniques has revealed hidden markings that show an inland fort where the colonists could have resettled after abandoning the coast. The analysis suggests that the symbol marking the fort was deliberately hidden, perhaps to shield it from espionage in the spy-riddled English court. An even more tantalizing hint of dark arts tints the map: the possibility that invisible ink may have marked the site all along.

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# history # roanoke # north carolina

» For Caretakers, a Rent-Free Life in New York’s Historic Homes

Dream job.

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# history

jorrty:

Kariatides (by k-rlitos)

(via veronicles)

1:29 pm \ comments

# architecture # history # greece # caryatids # acropolis

oldhollywood:

Edison Studios, circa 1907–1914 (Bronx, NY) (via)

A silent film studio in action - relatively simple, three-sided sets could be built side by side to make maximum use of the space, with two or more films shooting simultaneously.

1:56 am \ comments

# film # vintage # history # new york

kateoplis:

World’s biggest collection of airship memorabilia goes on sale

10:58 am \ comments

# history

Opening March 31, Titanic Belfast will contain nine galleries which tell the ship’s story, from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s to her tragic sinking and then re-discovery by Robert Ballard in 1985. Occupying the top two floors, with views over the slipways where Titanic and her sister ships were built, is a 1,000-seat banqueting suite. Its focal point is a 10,000 piece near-replica of Titanic’s Grand Staircase built by Oldtown Joinery in Bellaghy. The attraction also includes detailed, full scale reconstructions of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class cabins; temporary exhibits; education and community facilities; catering and retail space; and an underground car park. The opening of Titanic Belfast will be followed by the Titanic Festival, a commemoration of the Titanic’s sinking 100 years ago next month.

(Source: BBC)

3:08 pm \ comments

# history # titanic # belfast # ireland

» Celebrating Colossus, the codebreaking computer

Testimonials from the last living engineers who worked on the wartime code-cracking machine Colossus have been gathered for a film celebrating their work.

The codes cracked by the device helped ensure the success of the Normandy invasion that led to the Allied victory in World War II.

Colossus is regarded as being the world’s first digital, electronic computer, but the story of its creation is not widely known because it was broken up after the war.

3:00 pm \ comments

# history # world war ii # computers # technology

A new publication by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland shows photographs taken in the extermination camp during World War II alongside pictures of the same locations today.

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# history # world war ii # holocaust # auschwitz-birkenau # poland

Twenty-one German soldiers entombed in a perfectly preserved World War I shelter have been discovered 94 years after they were killed. The men were part of a larger group of 34 who were buried alive when an Allied shell exploded above the tunnel in 1918 causing it to cave in.

Thirteen bodies were recovered from the underground shelter but the remaining men had to be left under a mountain of mud as it was too dangerous to retrieve them. Nearly a century later French archaeologists stumbled upon the mass grave on the former Western Front during excavation work for a road building project.

Many of the skeletal remains were found in the same positions the men had been in at the time of the collapse, prompting experts to liken the scene to Pompeii. (Photo: BNPS)

2:00 pm \ comments

# history # world war i

A daguerreotype of Abraham Lincoln, taken at the age of 37 while Lincoln was still a lawyer and a Congressman-elect from Illinois. (Photo: The Art Archive/Alamy)

Louis Daguerre and the Pioneers of Photography

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# abraham lincoln # photography # history # vintage # black and white

The Senator, a 3,500-year-old bald cypress in central Florida, burned and collapsed last week. At 118 feet, it was one of the tallest trees east of the Mississippi. Investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the fire. Arson remains a possibility, although it had been initially discounted. Two other possible theories are being considered: the tree was struck by lightning long before Monday (maybe as long as two weeks) and slowly smoldered from the inside, or friction from the wind caused it to combust.

1) In this 1920s image, two men gave an indication of the girth of the Senator, named after Senator M.O. Overstreet, who donated land for a park in 1927. (Florida State Archives)

2) The tree in 2004 (Steven D. Barnes/Orlando Sentinel)

3) The tree, burning and charred. The only one in Big Tree Park to catch fire, it was equipped with a lightning rod to protect it from the elements. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

4) Steve Wright of the Seminole County Fire Department, left, and D.M. Shaw of the State Department of Agriculture assessed the tree remains. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press)

(Source: The New York Times)

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# history # trees # florida

thetruthisviral:

Colorizations and restorations of the best photos from the good ol’ days.

(via shoebian)

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# history # vintage

» On political discourse: The Caning of Senator Charles Sumner

On May 22, 1856, the “world’s greatest deliberative body” became a combat zone. In one of the most dramatic and deeply ominous moments in the Senate’s entire history, a member of the House of Representatives entered the Senate chamber and savagely beat a senator into unconsciousness.

(Source: thesemicullen)

12:38 pm \ comments

# history

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