Month 18 (December 2012)
‘The little Strangs say the “good words,” as they call them, before going to bed, aloud and at their father’s knee, or rather in the pit of his stomach. One of them was lately heard to say “Forgive us our christmasses as we forgive them that christmas against us.”’ –Samuel Butler, Notebooks
Butler on the map
With the Butler Project now three-quarters through we’re celebrating the advent of our latest online resource, Butler on the Map, which now provides access to more than 200 of Samuel Butler’s photographs, via the Project’s website. The photos are pinned on a real-world map, so you can visualize the routes Butler took on his daytrips in the south east and on his European excursions, and you can also compare his views with satellite images of the same locations today.
Horse on Steamer going to Boulogne, 23 December 1892 (Album 5/30/5)
Another brilliant feature of the map (hosted by Historypin) is the ability to group together images on a similar theme as a ‘collection’, which can then be viewed in a slideshow. In readiness for the forthcoming Butler Day I’ve created an ‘Alps and Sanctuaries’ collection documenting the sights in northern Italy that caught Butler’s eye during his travels in the 1880s (visitors at the event will be able to explore this using the new touchscreen computers in the Divinity School at St John’s, where the talks are being held). Once I’d established how to create a collection I couldn’t resist the urge to bring together some of Butler's excellent photographs of animals – which reveal his great empathy for his fellow creatures, as well as his natural eye for comedy.
'Viva il vino!' Souvenir wine cup from Mendrisio, Italy (XI/6/4)
I’ve also finished planning the January exhibition and writing the captions that will accompany each exhibit. I’ve had fun envisaging how such varied artefacts – from literary manuscripts to souvenir crockery – will go together to tell the story of Butler’s adventures in Italy and help to illustrate the talks taking place on the day.
Merry Christmas!