It’s the episode you’ve been waiting for: Napkin Folding! Inspired by a British how-to book on the topic from the late 1800s, we’ll talk about the surprising ways that this fine-dining flourish relates to origami, mathematics, and even NASA’s telescope technologies. Hear how it all unfolds—from tablescapes to outer space—on this deliciously elaborate new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #159 - Math & Science Books
Usually if you walk into the Brattle with an introductory math textbook you’ll receive a polite ‘no thank you.’ However, it’s a slightly different story when that textbook was published in 1695. In today’s episode, we’re looking at a still-pretty-accurate antique trigonometry book, written in Italian and complete with engraved illustrations and folding diagrams. We’ll talk about what makes technical volumes valuable—aside from sheer age—and why Brattle is less math-phobic than most secondhand book shops (an academia-rich location, strong employees, and Ken’s background in chemistry play a part). Learn how it all adds up on today’s tangential #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #81 - One Book Collections
Perhaps amassing 2000 copies of Walden isn’t exactly what Thoreau meant when he exhorted us to ‘Simplify, simplify,’ however, some collectors do simplify their libraries by collecting different editions of a single book. Books like the Bible, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and the works of Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Dante Alighieri have been published so often, with such a variety of bindings, languages, and illustrations, that a collection of even one of these books would be impossible to ever complete. We’ll take a look at a few of these monomaniacal collections on this week’s brattlecast.
Brattlecast #69 - Stop the Presses!
It’s a macabre but fascinating area of American history: presidential assassinations. In this episode we’ll focus on a recently acquired collection of old newspapers covering these tragic dramas, from the gunshots and presidential demise, to the arrest and execution of the assassin, to the funeral procession, public mourning, and political aftermath. Especially interesting is the way that contemporary newspaper coverage occasionally differs from our received historical accounts of these events, and the way that violent national traumas can crystallize over time into a sort of half-true American mythology.
Brattlecast #62 - We Wish You a Merry Podcast
What’s under the tree this year? Collectible editions of classic holiday literature! From A Christmas Carol to The Grinch that Stole Christmas, we’ll take a look back at the first editions of these beloved tales that have become ubiquitous in popular culture, and have even helped to shape the way that we think about Christmas itself. Plus, a letter from Charles Dickens, written from Boston’s Parker House Hotel on Christmas Eve, in this fun and festive #brattlecast