Sue Wilkes
@suewilkesauthor.bsky.social
8.6K followers 6K following 3.5K posts
FRHistS. Europhile. Author of Regency Spies, A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England, and more. Young Workers of the Industrial Age, out now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sue-Wilkes/a/1893
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Reposted by Sue Wilkes
fernmonkey.bsky.social
My friend Sascha is a professional musician and he's lost a viola bow on the way to Heathrow. Please signal boost to help him get it back.
Lost viola bow on the way from Honor Oak Station to Heathrow Terminal 2. The bow slid from its bow case somewhere along the way, possibly on the train. TFL contacted already.
It weighs 68.2 grams and has got a stamped DODD next to the frog. If any info on this, please pm me.
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
katestrasdin.bsky.social
Is it cake? Or is it an actual dress? The mid #1770s bringing confection to fashion with candy pinks, powder blues and minty greens. It even has little net bells tinkling around the hem, LACMA #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
A view of the stomacher of a pale pastel shaded 18th century gown embellished with silk floss A detail of the hem of the striped pastel 1770s dress that shows net and ribbon trimmed bells applied to the skirt A full length view of the 1770s dress raised à la polonaise in pinks blues and greens
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
mimicofmodes.com
They have a shoe on display that is said to have been Catharine Van Rensselaer Schuyler's wedding slipper ... I would date it later (1775-1785) and suggest it belonged to a daughter's wedding or was worn later in her life. 🗃️🪡
A single woman's high heeled shoe in beige silk, with a narrow buckle and slender heel.
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
oldbluedoor.bsky.social
Silk Spencer, Met’s date is 1804–1814, probably British. Click through to see details of all those tassels, which would have given the garment a wonderful sense of movement when worn. #DressHistory
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
crowdsourceherbook.bsky.social
This exciting book, passed down the female line, is a remarkable witness of women in #botany around 1900. For her botany guides, author Frances Theodora Parsons worked with several women artists - illustrators, photographers, and a binding designer. #herbook #bookhistory
#24 Fannie’s How to Know the Wild Flowers (1895)
This book was kindly shared by Chris Kraus. Type of ownership mark #1: inscriptionTranscription: “To Fannie from Mother in memory of Bessie AnEaster Gift Apr 10- 1898” Type of ownership mark #2: bookp...
csherbook.hypotheses.org
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
johnraimo.bsky.social
Looks like an utterly gorgeous exhibit .... "Jewish Worlds Illuminated: A Treasury of Hebrew Manuscripts from The JTS Library" (Grolier Club, NYC September 17, 2025 – December 27, 2025; #bookhistory, #skystorians) www.printmag.com/daily-heller...
The Daily Heller: Jewish Books Lettered, Typeset and Illuminated – PRINT Magazine
'Jewish Worlds Illuminated' is the most extensive display ever of the The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary's manuscript treasures.
www.printmag.com
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
vanessabraganza.bsky.social
Very excited to be teaming up once again with my editors at Smithsonian Magazine on a story about a brave young woman who broke a barrier for all women who became published writers. This one will be out next year!

@smithsonianmag.bsky.social #women #herstory
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
saracharles.bsky.social
Homegrown madder pigment. It's wonderful to create medieval pigment from something grown in your garden #bookhistory #medievalpigments #medievalsky
Madder pigment in an oyster shell Dried madder roots in a bowl on some scales Madder pigment being mulled on a glass slab Madder pigment surrounded by examples of dried paint on paper and parchment
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
hutchinsondave.bsky.social
I think the people running these firms have always known this was coming. That’s why they’ve been desperately trying to shoehorn AI into everything to make as much money as they can before the Fall. They’re all counting on it sweeping away the competition and leaving them standing.
abeba.bsky.social
"Concerns over an AI bubble bursting have grown lately, with analysts recently finding that it’s 17 times the size of the dotcom-era bubble and four times bigger than the 2008 financial crisis." futurism.com/artificial-i...
Bank of England Warns of Impending AI Disaster
The Bank of England has sounded the alarm, warning of an intensifying risk of a "sudden correction" due to an AI spending frenzy.
futurism.com
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
mjcarty.bsky.social
Unusual but lovely to see a rose blooming in my garden in October!
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
digitdan.bsky.social
Finds from today's short outing. A nice ox shoe, a few rosehead nails/spike, and a few other bits. By far the coolest thing is one half of a belt or sash buckle. I believe it's from the late 1800s. Haven't been able to find a match yet.
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
thefnl.bsky.social
Happy Birthday to the wonderful NLS!
natlibscot.bsky.social
🎪 The mayhem begins!

Celebrate with us! Doors open at 10am at George IV Bridge (Edinburgh) and Kelvin Hall (Glasgow). Be among the first 500 at each site to get your special edition centenary comic, created by Beano!

#NLS100 #Beano
A sign reading ‘It’s our birthday! 100 today’ in front of the National Library of Scotland building in Edinburgh.
suewilkesauthor.bsky.social
I am always surprised by how hard - by today's standards - old school textbooks are, too.
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
cathnoakes.bsky.social
Just found the Ladybird book of the hovercraft from 1969. The level of detail is quite impressive including calculation of lift force and a full description of the electrical system.
Page from a ladybird book with calculation on the horsepower needed to maintain hovercraft lift.
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
londontopsoc.bsky.social
We have just joined BlueSky! Since our foundation in 1880, we have reproduced an unrivalled selection of historic maps, plans and views of London. We also publish books and monographs containing original research. See more of what we have to offer at: londontopsoc.org
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
juliawalworth.bsky.social
A new academic year & the Upper Library is finally re-opened. The exhibition this term features Merton's 'newest' medieval manuscript (MS 329) acquired this year with the generous help of @thefnl.bsky.social. Booklet of 14th-century astronomical tables! Eclipses, conjunctions and more!
suewilkesauthor.bsky.social
I watered the raised beds, too, as they are bone dry. No sign of any rain for the next week, either.
suewilkesauthor.bsky.social
Spent the afternoon planting up hanging baskets with winter pansies. #gardening
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
rebeccasear.bsky.social
“More than half of the work done by women in the period between the 16th and 18th centuries took place outside of the home, and around half of all housework and three-quarters of care work was conducted professionally for other households” [England]

phys.org/news/2025-10...
A woman's place was not in the home: Challenging the assumptions about women's work in early modern history
New research has revealed that women played a fundamental role in the development of England's national economy before 1700.
phys.org
Reposted by Sue Wilkes
publicdomainrev.bsky.social
Before we're even passed the title page of this 1825 manual on astrology and the occult, we encounter an instance of the dark arts at work — this second edition has been cunningly labelled the “seventh” to make it look like a runaway success: publicdomainreview.org/collection/t...