mikl-em's combine

Incredible. Hermann Schnauss, Electrograph of a Brass Wire Gauge, 1900. via branchandblaze

(via thegameofart)

“Still Life With Cineraria” Leo Schneider-Seenuss. Germany, born in 1868. Via poboh (from whom I posted several this week) the last of my 19th Century paintings mini-theme. Next: robots!

“Die Rosenpflückerin” Anton Romako. Austrian (1832 - 1889) via poboh

1877’s “The Customs” by Antonio Mancini (1852-1930), via soyouthinkyoucansee

I’ll be posting 19th Century paintings for the rest of the week. Starting with Caspar David Friedrich’s “Caroline on the stairs”. German Romantic Painter (1774 - 1840) via poboh

A glimpse of the first photographic self-portrait by Robert Cornelius from 1839. Via fuckyeahhistorycrushes:

In 1839, a year after the first photo containing a human being was made, photography pioneer Robert Cornelius made the first ever portrait of a human being.

On a sunny day in October, Robert Cornelius set up his camera in the back of his father’s gas lamp-importing business on Chestnut Street in Center City, Philadelphia. After removing the lens cap, he sprinted into the frame, where he sat for more than a minute before covering up the lens. The picture he produced that day was the first photographic self-portrait. It is also widely considered the first successful photographic portrait of a human being.

[…] the words written on the back of the self-portrait, in Cornelius’ own hand, said it all: “The first light Picture ever taken. 1839.” 

(via oldenglishmiscellany)

The rare pink katydid, a condition so rare that the condition was not noticed by scientists until 1887. Via archiemcphee:

“Flamingos aside, you do not get to see the color pink in the animal kingdom a great deal. A notable exception is the pink katydid. Yet this is by no means a separate species – this coloring affects around one in 500. You may have already guessed that the condition is something similar to albinism.

Known as erythrism, the condition causes a curious reddish pigmentation. It can affect the body of an insect as well as its skin, and it is so rare that it was not noticed by western scientists until 1887. The reason for this oversight was perhaps due to the inclination of the insect to remain perfectly still during daylight hours.

You may also be wondering where this insect got its unusual name. It sounds like a scientific designation but in fact it comes from the noise that the insect makes which forms a song of sorts - katy did katy did katy did. There are literally thousands of species of katydids and many look like leaves or other shrubbery, some have even evolved to look like slime mold.”

Visit The Ark in Space to learn more about and view more wonderful photos of pretty pink katydids. These two were photographed by Richard Whitby (top) and janetandphil (bottom).

I have this print! Radiolarians from the book “Royal Natural History” (1893) by Richard Lydekker (1849-1915) Mineral skeletons ftw, via witchsauce:

(via lucifer-ous)

In 1899 Samuel Goss invented this musical bicycle. I wonder why it didn’t catch on? Maybe he didn’t tune it? via mudwerks & MAKE | Samuel Goss’s Musical Bicycle 1899

My invention relates to bicycles, and has for its object to provide a combined bicycle and musical instrument whereby the rider when so disposed may treat himself and others in his immediate neighborhood to a musical accompaniment as he rides along.

Albumen print of the ruins at the end of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad Bridge. Circa 1861-65 by Alexander Gardner. via the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photographs Collection (and tuesday-johnson). Ah my hometown.

Alexander Gardner (October 17, 1821 – December 10, 1882) was a Scottish photographer who moved to the United States in 1856, where he began to work full-time in that profession. He is best known for his photographs of the American Civil War, American President Abraham Lincoln, and the execution of the conspirators to Lincoln’s assassination.

Sepia octopus. (Eight-armed Cuttle-fish) [Class 6. Vermes; Order 2. Mollusca] [1804-1806] via NYPL & compendium-of-beasts

(via mudwerks)

“The Vampires, or The Landlords of San Francisco” by G. Frederick Keller from San Francisco’s “The Wasp” (Volume 9) 1882 via winca

For over a decade in the late nineteenth century, San Francisco’s The Wasp buzzed about the powerful and the pretentious, stinging both with relish. For the scholar investigating the contested terrain of western and national politics and race relations, it remains one of [UC Berkeley’s] The Bancroft Library’s most valuable and delightful resources.

(via mudwerks)