History
The earliest known examples of toast racks date from the 1770's. They have been made in large quantities since then and are still being made today.
Design
The toast rack's design and shape follows prevailing fashion. The dividers were often made from silver wires and these in-turn were soldered to either a wire-work or solid base that sat on four feet. Sometimes the base is separate and was used to dispose of any crumbs that fell. Some ingenious designs were made including expanding or folding types (so as to take up less space). Others had incorporated egg-cups or receptacles for jam or marmalade.
A designer renowned for his innovative take on the toast rack was Christopher Dresser (1834 - 1904), who studied at the Government School of Design in Glasgow from the age of 13 and is widely thought of as the 'father of modern design'.
Modern designs are often made from stamped and folded stainless steel sheet or from welded stainless wire.
Manchester Metropolitan University's Fallowfield Campus main building is often referred to as "The Toast Rack", due to its resemblance to the said device. An affluent block of streets in South West London (SW18) is referred to as "The Toast Rack" by many estate agents, based on what it looks like
2008年11月22日星期六
Dictation machine
History
Dictaphone was cylinder dictation machine from early 1920s.
Transcribing dictation with a Dictaphone wax cylinder dictation machine, in the early 1920s.
Shortly after Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, the first device for recording sound, in 1877, he thought that the main use for the new device would be for recording speech in business settings. (Given the low audio fidelity of earliest versions of the phonograph, recording music may not have seemed to be a major application.) Some early phonographs were indeed used this way, but this did not become common until the mass production of reusable wax cylinders in the late 1880s. The differentiation of office dictation devices from other early phonographs (which commonly had attachments for making one's own recordings) was gradual. The machine marketed by the Edison Records company was trademarked as the "Ediphone".
Electric microphones generally replaced the strictly acoustical recording methods of earlier dictaphones by the late 1930s. In 1945, the SoundScriber and Gray Audograph, which cut grooves into a plastic disc, was introduced, and two years later Dictaphone replaced wax cylinders with their DictaBelt technology, which cut a mechanical groove into a plastic belt instead of into a wax cylinder. This was later replaced by magnetic tape recording. While reel-to-reel tape was used for dictation, the inconvenience of threading tape spools led to development of more convenient formats, notably the Compact Cassette, Mini Cassette, and Microcassette.
A Sony Mini Cassette dictation recorder.
An Olympus digital voice recorder
Digital dictation became possible in the 1990s as falling computer memory prices made portable voice recording devices affordable. In the 1990s, improvements in voice recognition technology allowed some dictation to be made via computer, although as of 2007 the technology is not robust enough to replace human transcription in most cases.
Despite the advances in technology, analog media are still widely used in dictation recording for their flexibility, permanence, and robustness.
Dictaphone was cylinder dictation machine from early 1920s.
Transcribing dictation with a Dictaphone wax cylinder dictation machine, in the early 1920s.
Shortly after Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, the first device for recording sound, in 1877, he thought that the main use for the new device would be for recording speech in business settings. (Given the low audio fidelity of earliest versions of the phonograph, recording music may not have seemed to be a major application.) Some early phonographs were indeed used this way, but this did not become common until the mass production of reusable wax cylinders in the late 1880s. The differentiation of office dictation devices from other early phonographs (which commonly had attachments for making one's own recordings) was gradual. The machine marketed by the Edison Records company was trademarked as the "Ediphone".
Electric microphones generally replaced the strictly acoustical recording methods of earlier dictaphones by the late 1930s. In 1945, the SoundScriber and Gray Audograph, which cut grooves into a plastic disc, was introduced, and two years later Dictaphone replaced wax cylinders with their DictaBelt technology, which cut a mechanical groove into a plastic belt instead of into a wax cylinder. This was later replaced by magnetic tape recording. While reel-to-reel tape was used for dictation, the inconvenience of threading tape spools led to development of more convenient formats, notably the Compact Cassette, Mini Cassette, and Microcassette.
A Sony Mini Cassette dictation recorder.
An Olympus digital voice recorder
Digital dictation became possible in the 1990s as falling computer memory prices made portable voice recording devices affordable. In the 1990s, improvements in voice recognition technology allowed some dictation to be made via computer, although as of 2007 the technology is not robust enough to replace human transcription in most cases.
Despite the advances in technology, analog media are still widely used in dictation recording for their flexibility, permanence, and robustness.
Tanagra figurine
The Tanagra figurines were a mold-cast type of Greek terracotta figurines produced from the later fourth century BCE, primarily in the Boeotian town of Tanagra. They were coated with a liquid white slip before firing and were sometimes painted afterwards in naturalistic tints with watercolors, such as the famous "Dame en Bleu" ("Lady in Blue") at the Louvre (illustration). Scientists wonder why a rural place like Tanagra has produced such fine and rather "urban" style terracotta figures.
Tanagra figures depict real women — and some men and boys — in everyday costume, with familiar accessories like hats, wreaths or fans. Some character piece may have represented stock figures from the New Comedy of Menander and other writers. Others continued an earlier tradition of molded terracotta figures used as cult images or votive objects. Typically they are about 4 to 8 inches high.
The coraplasters, or sculptors of the models that provided the molds, delighted in revealing the body under the folds of a himation thrown round the shoulders like a cloak and covering the head, over a chiton, and the movements of such drapery in action.
Discovery
Tanagra figures had not been much noted before the end of the 1860s, when ploughmen of Vratsi in Boeotia, Greece, began to uncover tombs ranging in date over many centuries. The main finds especially from the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE were secured in 1874. Inside and outside the tombs of the Hellenistic period — 3rd to 1st centuries BCE — were many small terracotta figures. Great quantities that were found in excavation sites at Tanagra identified the city as the source of these figures, which were also exported to distant markets. In addition, such figures were made in many other Mediterranean sites, including Alexandria, Tarentum in Magna Graecia, Centuripe in Sicily and Myrina in Mysia.
The figures appealed to 19th century middle-class ideals of realism, and "Tanagra figures" entered the visual repertory of Europeans. Jean-Léon Gérôme created a polychromatic sculpture depicting the spirit of Tanagra, and one French critic described the fashionable women portrayed in the statuettes as "the parisienne of the ancient world".Oscar Wilde in his play An Ideal Husband (1895), introduces the character of Mabel Chiltern with (amongst further description) "she is really like a Tanagra statuette, and would be rather annoyed if she were told so." Under the pressure of collectors' demands, Tanagra terracottas began to be faked
Olmec figurine
Baby-face figurines
The "baby-face" figurine is a unique marker of Olmec culture. These small hollow ceramic figurines are easily recognized by the chubby body, the baby-like jowly face, downturned mouth, and the puffy slit-like eyes. The head is slightly pear-shaped, likely due to artificial cranial deformation.These genderless figurines often wear a tight-fitting helmet not dissimilar to those worn by the Olmec colossal heads.
The bodies are generally not rendered with the detail shown on the face. They are usually naked, without genitalia.
The figurines are hollow, ceramic, usually white-slipped, and have been consistently found in sites that show Olmec influence. Given the sheer numbers of baby-face figurines unearthed, they undoubtedly fulfilled some special role in the Olmec culture. What they represented, however, is not known.
Some hollow-ware figurines combine the seated, pudgy "baby-face" body with a stylized adult head. See also this Commons photo.
An "elongated man" figurine, dark green serpentine.
Elongated man
Another common figurine style features standing figurines in a stiff artificial pose and characterized by their thin limbs, elongated, bald, flat-topped heads, almond-shaped eyes, and downturned mouths. The figurines' legs are usually separated, often straight, sometimes bent. Toes and fingers, if shown at all, are frequently represented by lines.
It has been theorized that the elongated, flat-topped heads are reflective of the practice of artificial cranial deformation, as found in the Tlatilco burials of the same period or among the Maya of a later era.No direct evidence of this practice has been found in the Olmec heartland, however.
The ears often have small holes for ear flares or other ornaments. These figurines may have therefore once worn earrings and even clothes made of perishable materials. It has been proposed that these figurines had multiple outfits for different ritual occasions – as Richard Diehl puts it, "a pre-Columbian version of Barbie's Ken".These figurines are usually carved from jade and well under 1 ft (30 cm) in height. For another example, see this Commons photo.
Offering 4 at La Venta
At the La Venta archaeological site, archaeologists found what they subsequently named Offering 4. These figurines had been ritually buried in a deep, narrow hole, and covered over with three layers of colored clay. At some point after the original burial, someone dug a small hole down just to the level of their heads and then refilled it.
Offering 4 consists of sixteen male figurines positioned in a semi-circle in front of six jade celts, perhaps representing stelae or basalt columns. Two of the figurines were made from jade, thirteen from serpentine, and one of reddish granite. This granite figurine one was positioned with its back to the celts, facing the others. All of the figurines had similar classic Olmec features including bald elongated heads. They had small holes for earrings, their legs were slightly bent, and they were undecorated - unusual if the figurines were gods or deities – but instead covered with cinnabar.
Interpretations abound. Perhaps this particular formation represents a council of some sort -- the fifteen other figurines seem to be listening to the red granite one, with the celts forming a backdrop. To the red granite figurine's right, there seems be a line of three figurines filing past him. Another researcher has suggested that the granite figure is an initiate.
As the name implies, Offering 4 is one of many ritual offerings uncovered at La Venta, including the four Massive Offerings and four mosaics. Why such works would be buried continues to generate much speculation.
A small jade were-jaguar figurine. Stand-alone were-jaguar figurines are rare - most were-jaguar figurines show a were-jaguar baby accompanied by a human adult. Height: 8.6 cm (3.4 in).
"Were-jaguar" motif
The so-called were-jaguar motif runs through much of Olmec art, from the smallest jade to the some of the largest basalt statues. The motif is found inscribed on celts, votive axes, masks, and on "elongated man" figurines.
Also termed, somewhat more neutrally, the "composite anthropomorph"or the "rain baby",the were-jaguar's body, if shown, is baby- or child-like. Its eyes are almond-shaped - or occasionally slit-like.Its nose is human. Its downturned mouth is open, as if in mid-squall. The upper lip is everted and toothless gums are often visible. Olmec motifs associated with the were-jaguar include a cleft on the head or headdress, a headband, and cross-bars.
Most were-jaguar figurines show an inert were-jaguar baby being held by a adult.
Olmec eagle transformation figure, 10th–6th century B.C. Jade (albite), with cinnabar. Height: 4.5 in. (11.4 cm).
Transformation figures
Many other Olmec figurines combined human and animal features, including this were-eagle (left). Although figurines showing such combinations of features are generally termed "transformation figures", some researchers argue that they represent humans in animal masks or animal suits, while others state that they likely represent shamans.
This transformation figure, from FAMSI, displays bat features. Most common, however, is the jaguar transformation figurine (see Commons photo), which show a wide variety of styles, ranging from human-like figurines to those that are almost completely jaguar, and several where the subject appears to be in a stage of transformation.
Naturalistic figurines
Despite the many stylised figurines, Olmec-period artisans and artist also portrayed humans naturalistically with "a most extraordinary realistic technique.The lead photo for this article shows a number of tiny naturalistic figurines.
A jade fetal-style figurine from Guerrero, Mexico. Height: 3.8 in (9.5 cm).
Dwarf or fetal-style figurines
Another pervasive Olmec figurine type features crouching figurines with thin bodies and over-large oval heads with small noses and receding chins.Some researchers such as Miguel Covarrubias generally characterise these figurines as "dwarfs". many others, also including Covarrubias, see evidence of "what looks like pre-natal posture".In a 1999 article, Carolyn Tate and Gordon Bendersky analysed head-to-body ratios and concluded that these figurines are naturalistic sculptures of fetuses, and discuss the possibility of infanticide and infant sacrifice
Venus figurines
History of discovery
The Venus of Brassempouy
The first Upper Paleolithic representation of a woman was discovered about 1864 by the Marquis de Vibraye, at Laugerie-Basse (Dordogne), where initial archaeological surveys had already been undertaken; Vibraye named his find the Vénus impudique, a knowing contrast to the "modest" Venus Pudica Hellenistic type, the most famous of which is the Medici Venus. The Magdalenian "Venus" from Laugerie-Basse is headless, footless, armless but with a strongly incised vaginal opening.Another example of such a figure being discovered and recognised was the Venus of Brassempouy, found by Édouard Piette in 1894 (but not originally labelled as a "Venus"). Four years later, Salomon Reinach published a group of steatite figurines from the caves of Balzi Rossi. The famous Venus of Willendorf was excavated in 1908 in a loess deposit in the Danube valley, Austria. Since then, hundreds of similar figurines have been discovered from the Pyrenees to the plains of Siberia. They are collectively described as "Venus" figurines in reference to the Roman goddess of beauty, Venus, since the prehistorians of the early 20th century assumed they represented an ancient ideal of beauty. Early discourse on "Venus" figurines was preoccupied with identifing the race being represented; and the steatopygous fascination of Sartje Baartman, the "Hottentot Venus" exhibited as a living ethnographic curiosity to connoisseurs in Paris early in the nineteenth century.
Description
The majority of the Venus figurines appear to be depictions of females that follow certain artistic conventions, on the lines of schematisation and stylisation. Most of them are roughly lozenge-shaped, with two tapering terminals at top (head) and bottom (legs) and the widest point in the middle (hips/belly). In some examples, certain parts of the human anatomy are exaggerated: abdomen, hips, breasts, thighs, vulva. In contrast, other anatomical details are neglected or absent, especially arms and feet. The heads are often of relatively small size and devoid of detail.
The question of the steatopygia of some of the figurines has led to numerous controversies. The issue was first raised by Édouard Piette, excavator of the Brassempouy figure and of several other examples from the Pyrenees. Some authors saw this feature as the depiction of an actual physical property, resembling the Khoisan tribe of southern Africa, while others interpreted it as a symbol of fertility and abundance. It must be noted in this context, that not all Palaeolithic female figurines are rotund or have exaggerated feminine features. Also, not all are devoid of facial features.
The Venus of Willendorf and the Venus of Laussel bear traces of having been externally covered in red ochre. The significance of this is not clear, but is normally assumed to be religious or ritual in nature -- perhaps symbolic of the blood of menstruation or childbirth.
All generally accepted Paleolithic female figurines are from the Upper Palaeolithic. Although they were originally mostly considered Aurignacian, the majority is now associated with the Gravettian and Solutrean. In these periods, the more rotund figurines are predominant. During the Magdalenian, the forms become finer with more detail; conventional stylization also develops.
Figurine
A figurine (a diminutive form of the word figure) is a statuette that represents a human, deity, or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay. Modern versions are made of ceramic, metal, glass, wood and plastic.
Figurines and miniatures are sometimes used in board games, such as chess, and tabletop role playing games. Figures with movable parts, allowing limbs to be posed, are more likely to be called dolls, mannequins, or action figures; or robots or automata, if they can move on their own.
Old figurines have been used to discount some historical theories, such as the origins of chess.
Porcelain is considered the finest of materials for figurines and other ceramics. There are many early examples from China where it originated, which drove the experimentation in Europe to replicate the process. The first European porcelain figurines, produced in a process mastered in Germany were known as Meissen ware after the city where it began. Soon the technique was copied in other cities, such as the one depicted to the right from Dresden.
The terms inaction figures (originally used to describe Kevin Smith's View Askew figurines) and staction figures (a portmanteau of statue and action figures coined by Four Horsemen artists to describe Masters of the Universe figures) have been used to refer to figurines of comic book or sci-fi/fantasy characters without movable parts.
Figurines and miniatures are sometimes used in board games, such as chess, and tabletop role playing games. Figures with movable parts, allowing limbs to be posed, are more likely to be called dolls, mannequins, or action figures; or robots or automata, if they can move on their own.
Old figurines have been used to discount some historical theories, such as the origins of chess.
Porcelain is considered the finest of materials for figurines and other ceramics. There are many early examples from China where it originated, which drove the experimentation in Europe to replicate the process. The first European porcelain figurines, produced in a process mastered in Germany were known as Meissen ware after the city where it began. Soon the technique was copied in other cities, such as the one depicted to the right from Dresden.
The terms inaction figures (originally used to describe Kevin Smith's View Askew figurines) and staction figures (a portmanteau of statue and action figures coined by Four Horsemen artists to describe Masters of the Universe figures) have been used to refer to figurines of comic book or sci-fi/fantasy characters without movable parts.
Prehistory
In China, there are extant Neolithic figurines.Prehistoric figurines of pregnant women are called Venus figurines, because of their presumed representation of a female goddess, or some connection to fertility. The two oldest known examples are made of stone, were found in Africa and Asia, and are several hundred thousand years old. Many made of fired clay have been found in Europe that date to 25-30,000 BC, and are the oldest ceramics known.
In Minoan Crete terracotta figurines manifesting facial detail have been recovered from the Iron Age strata.
These early figurines are among the first signs of human culture. One cannot know in some cases how they were used. They probably had religious or ceremonial significance and may have been used in many types of rituals. Many are found in burials. Some may have been worn as jewelry or intended to amuse children.
In China, there are extant Neolithic figurines.Prehistoric figurines of pregnant women are called Venus figurines, because of their presumed representation of a female goddess, or some connection to fertility. The two oldest known examples are made of stone, were found in Africa and Asia, and are several hundred thousand years old. Many made of fired clay have been found in Europe that date to 25-30,000 BC, and are the oldest ceramics known.
In Minoan Crete terracotta figurines manifesting facial detail have been recovered from the Iron Age strata.
These early figurines are among the first signs of human culture. One cannot know in some cases how they were used. They probably had religious or ceremonial significance and may have been used in many types of rituals. Many are found in burials. Some may have been worn as jewelry or intended to amuse children.
Picnic
Etymology
Hunt Picnic by François Lemoyne, 1723
The first usage of the word is traced to the 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Française de Ménage—which mentions 'pique-nique' as being of recent origin; it marks the first appearance of the word in print. The term was used to describe a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. For long a picnic retained the connotation of a meal to which everyone contributed something. Whether picnic is actually based on the verb piquer which means 'pick' or 'peck' with the rhyming nique meaning "thing of little importance" is doubted; the Oxford English Dictionary says it is of unknown provenance.
The word picnic first appeared in English texts in 1748 (OED), and may have entered the English language from this French word or from the German Picknick, which may simply be a parallel borrowing from French. The practice of an elegant meal eaten out-of-doors, rather than a harvester worker's dinner in the harvest field, was connected with respite from hunting from the Middle Ages; the excuse for the pleasurable outing of 1723 in Lemoyne's painting (illustration, left) is still offered in the context of a hunt.
Usage
A typical picnic setup on the ground with picnic basket and red plaid sheet.
In British and American English, the phrase "no picnic" is used to describe a difficult or trying situation or activity. For example, "Driving in rush hour traffic is no picnic."
In established public parks, a picnic area generally includes picnic tables and possibly other items related to eating outdoors, such as built-in grills, water faucets, garbage containers, and restrooms.
Related historical events
After the French Revolution in 1789, royal parks became open to the public for the first time. Picnicking in the parks became a popular activity amongst the newly enfranchised citizens.
Early in the 19th century, a fashionable group of Londoners formed the 'Picnic Society'. Members met in the Pantheon on Oxford Street. Each member was expected to provide a share of the entertainment and of the refreshments with no one particular host. Interest in the society waned in the 1850s as the founders died.
A picnic in front of the Orangerie Kassel, Germany, c. 2003
The image of picnics as a peaceful social activity can be utilised for political protest too. In this context, a picnic functions as a temporary occupation of significant public territory. A famous example of this is the Pan-European Picnic held on both sides of the Hungarian / Austrian border on the 19 August 1989 as part of the struggle towards German reunification.
In the year 2000, a 600-mile-long picnic took place from coast to coast in France to celebrate the first Bastille Day of the new Millennium. In the United States, likewise, the 4th of July celebration of American independence is a popular day for a picnic. In Italy the favourite picnic day is 'Angel's Monday', also known as Pasquetta (= 'little easter'), the day after Easter.
Hunt Picnic by François Lemoyne, 1723
The first usage of the word is traced to the 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Française de Ménage—which mentions 'pique-nique' as being of recent origin; it marks the first appearance of the word in print. The term was used to describe a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. For long a picnic retained the connotation of a meal to which everyone contributed something. Whether picnic is actually based on the verb piquer which means 'pick' or 'peck' with the rhyming nique meaning "thing of little importance" is doubted; the Oxford English Dictionary says it is of unknown provenance.
The word picnic first appeared in English texts in 1748 (OED), and may have entered the English language from this French word or from the German Picknick, which may simply be a parallel borrowing from French. The practice of an elegant meal eaten out-of-doors, rather than a harvester worker's dinner in the harvest field, was connected with respite from hunting from the Middle Ages; the excuse for the pleasurable outing of 1723 in Lemoyne's painting (illustration, left) is still offered in the context of a hunt.
Usage
A typical picnic setup on the ground with picnic basket and red plaid sheet.
In British and American English, the phrase "no picnic" is used to describe a difficult or trying situation or activity. For example, "Driving in rush hour traffic is no picnic."
In established public parks, a picnic area generally includes picnic tables and possibly other items related to eating outdoors, such as built-in grills, water faucets, garbage containers, and restrooms.
Related historical events
After the French Revolution in 1789, royal parks became open to the public for the first time. Picnicking in the parks became a popular activity amongst the newly enfranchised citizens.
Early in the 19th century, a fashionable group of Londoners formed the 'Picnic Society'. Members met in the Pantheon on Oxford Street. Each member was expected to provide a share of the entertainment and of the refreshments with no one particular host. Interest in the society waned in the 1850s as the founders died.
A picnic in front of the Orangerie Kassel, Germany, c. 2003
The image of picnics as a peaceful social activity can be utilised for political protest too. In this context, a picnic functions as a temporary occupation of significant public territory. A famous example of this is the Pan-European Picnic held on both sides of the Hungarian / Austrian border on the 19 August 1989 as part of the struggle towards German reunification.
In the year 2000, a 600-mile-long picnic took place from coast to coast in France to celebrate the first Bastille Day of the new Millennium. In the United States, likewise, the 4th of July celebration of American independence is a popular day for a picnic. In Italy the favourite picnic day is 'Angel's Monday', also known as Pasquetta (= 'little easter'), the day after Easter.
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