I have an idea for academic publishers: why not do the "10 Euro each book campaign" that Palgrave did once? Your book prices are ridiculously absurd. #academicchatter

Another "elephant" of the past, this time from Johann Hartlieb’s Kräuterbuch (Book of Herbs), dating from the middle of the 15th century. #skystorians

An Olympic demonstration sport that was just right for Paris 2024. What a missed opportunity.

Attacking with no boots on the ground.

Would like you all to know that I’m so annoyed with the current state of technology that I’ve been writing my next three novels entirely by hand. Do you know how annoyed I, someone who loved tech so much once upon a time that I worked in tech for years, am to do this?

I don’t have a joke about permanent jobs in academia, because there are no more.

Today is publication day for ‘Fairies: A History’ - so I’ve written a special free post over on ‘All Old Strange Things’ to celebrate 📚🧚 open.substack.com/pub/drfranci...

How to enter the weekend in pure 1789 style: a short 🧵

🎏 They said chances of being attacked on land by a stingray was zero! From Macclesfield Psalter, England, c. 1330-1340, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 1-2005, fol. 68r. 🗃️ #arthistory #art #skystorians #medievalsky #booksky 🏺

Meditating about how clever human activities are on planet earth... This etching is more than 300 years old and still, in 2026, strikes a nerve. Even for #skystorians experienced in the art of observing longue durée.

Hi medievalist friends. We are looking at this 15th c copy of the Image du Monde, in the section on Geometry. Does anyone know what is in the upper right corner of this image? Is it the monk's bed? Does he straight up have star stickers on his bedroom wall?

I like big books an´ I can not lie. #bookhistory #booksky

I for one welcome our new evil ant overlords.

Me, handing out the next batch of posts for the blue skies in the morning...

Jetzt ist es also so weit, dass an einem Historischen Institut Stellen für wissenschaftliche Hilfskräfte ausgeschrieben werden, die „innovative Prompting-Strategien zur Erschließung und Zusammenfassung von Forschungsliteratur“ entwickeln sollen.

Thou mayst not likke yt, but thys is how ye peake performance looketh.

Bring back bloomers, boomers and zoomers! Like this #earlymodern well-dressed man in 1581. What's holding you back?

Eine Kulturstaatsministerbuchmessenichtbesuchsmeldung fliegt durchs bücherlesende Land. #Weimer

Es naht die Buchmessenzeit! Oder wie man es 1606 zur #Buchmesse formulierte: Endlich wieder "Bücher in allerley Künsten".

In 1818, John Williams was prosecuted for stealing 50lbs of rags “for the manufacturing of paper” from a Boston stationary firm. He probably planned on selling them to a different paper maker. Here’s a close up of the watermarks and chain lines on the rag paper used for his indictment documents 🗃️

Es gibt übrigens seit letzter Woche Drohanrufe vom BKM an Leute, die sich kritisch über Weimer äußern. Von Autor*innen über Verbands-Vertreter*innen bis zur Presse. Das zeigt nicht nur, wie krass das Ministerium aktuell drauf ist. Es ist vor allem eine große Gefahr für die Kunst- & Kulturfreiheit.

Performative reading before it became cool. This little satyr surely loved his public reading back then #PerfomativeReading #skystorians

They said, why not start the new book with a spectacular detail like a screaming skull or something, then enter a placeholder text, and wait for the inspiration to finally kick in...

A printed Guidonian hand (of 1611) - a mnemonic device used to assist singers and musicians in learning to sight-sing or play correct. Among other details, you find here the seven syllables used for this practice: ut re mi fa sol la.

Keep Hanging In There, little golden fleece!

"And is this 'blue hole' you refer to with us in the room now?"

I'd have sworn it was a bloke with a leafblower yelling at the cherub for dropping leaves all over the lawn

Nothing says better 'it's finally #springtime!' than a flying putto carrying away flowers and branches for the beginning of the nesting season.

Why watch at home at 1.5x speed when you could get a chip in your brain that downloads everything into your memory instantly as you absorb nutrients in a biopod?

BOOK. HOLSTER.

“Never” says the traditionalist for good reasons. “Always” posts the AI native after having consulted his idea with a LLM of dubious origin. “Use responsibly” smiles the mid-career tenured clever prof publishing 24 papers per annum trying to inspire a new working ethos for the next generations.

Ever wondered how pressmen and compositors at the early-modern Plantin Press structured their careers? 📘🕰️ Join the University of Antwerp as a PhD fellow and dive into the rhythms of labour between 1580–1840 Apply by 1 July 2026 👇 #PhDPosition #EarlyModern #PlantinPress #PrintingHistory #Antwerp

When you have done all the engraving work to contribute to a famous collection in 1674, and then, after the print run, you realize that you forgot to finish the tail of the damn chameleon ... #skystorians #bookhistory #proofreading

It is invalid handle time again in the blue skies!

I'm teaching Louis XIV and Versailles soon, and I will make very clear to students how relevant early modern European court culture is.

Die Top-100-Meisterdenker Deutschlands. Eine selektive Liste:

Jürgen “the man who made generations of proofreaders fear the ‘pubic sphere’ mistake” Habermas died. RIP.

I hope my #sloppelganger is having a good time online, and won't do too much nonsense, while I sign off for an analog weekend.

#BookHistory - this also shows the pernicious effects of the hype around the "digital revolution" (which is older than me, and I'm no spring chicken). Sad to see (but not shocked) authorities being ignoramuses who lack deep knowledge of anything, except fashionable biz speak.

MORE GREEK GODS NEEDED IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS.

Ein Pflichtexemplarregelungsreformgedankenkopfschütteln geht durchs Land. #DNB #Weimer

Entering the weekend like the plant-people did back in 1668: focused, a bit anxious, and however still moving. #skystorians

Weimers Traum:

Weimers Albtraum:

That’s one almost all-explaining anecdote for the future history books.

„Zur Begründung seiner Entscheidung erklärte der Staatsminister, die Sammlung körperlicher Medienwerke bis weit in die Zukunft hinein sei nicht mehr zeitgemäß; die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek solle sich stärker auf die digitale Sammlung konzentrieren.“

It’s easy (more easy than accurate) to dismiss academic critics of generative AI as uninformed or emotive, which is often anyway code for “moralizing.” But it’s remarkable how much gen AI boosterism requires feigning ignorance that theft and impersonation are widely seen as wrong, for good reasons.

Wird es denn wohl zukünftig eine Förderlinie bei der DFG geben, die Mensch-Mensch-Interaktion garantiert? Á la „Antragschreiben und Begutachtung ohne KI-Hilfen“. Von ♥️ zu ♥️.

🎉 Congratulations to Alina Volynskaya @c2dh.uni.lu on the publication of her book, Digital Archives of Science: Revisiting the Vestiges of Knowledge‑Making! The volume builds on the brilliant PhD thesis she completed in the lab between 2020 & 2024. #DH #histSTM www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Need advice (in Latin: consilium)? Why not ask this owl, sitting on a yet empty book, and symbolising wisdom since the goddess Athena had an owl by her side.