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Nadine Akkerman

@misswalsingham.bsky.social

2.6K followers 2.1K following 140 posts

Archival detective, author, biographer, cryptographer, editor, spymistress. Prof in early modern lit & culture at @unileiden.bsky.social

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Nadine Akkerman @misswalsingham.bsky.social · Dec 8

What a line-up @anneapplebaum.bsky.social Yuval Noah Harari, @elegantfowl.bsky.social @soniapurnell.bsky.social @questingvole.bsky.social 🥂 Excited that my book #Spycraft @yalebooks.bsky.social , co-written with Pete Langman, is included in SUCH good company by @economist.com !

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 6d

Lady costumed for the masque, as a rather racy Flora. Painted in miniature by Isaac Oliver. Today is his day.

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John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 7d

Purse made of a walnut shell covered with embroidered silk, England, 1600-1650. (Victoria & Albert Museum, London)

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John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 7d

Cup & case, probably made in West Yorkshire, 1692-94 By Francis Place The 'capuchine' [so-called from its resemblance to a cloaked Capuchin friar] was developed in the late 17th century specifically for drinking the new coffee and chocolate. (V&ALondon) #InternationalCoffeeDay

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Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 7d

“It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.”
― Jane Goodall

💙 RIP to a real one. My childhood hero

Jane Goodall with monarch butterfly scarf

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Art Herstory @artherstory.bsky.social · 8d

An example of a cut-paper artwork by #JoannaKoerten, held by the @britishmuseum.bsky.social -

Pendant of cut-paper work between two sheets of glass with St Anthony of Padua among trees, birds, animals and putti with an inscription. In a gold frame with a pendant loop.

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Art Herstory @artherstory.bsky.social · 8d

This 17th-Century Female Artist Was Once a Bigger Star Than Rembrandt. Why Did History Forget About Johanna Koerten and Her Peers? -
by Meilan Solly for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this...

This 17th-Century Female Artist Was Once a Bigger Star Than Rembrandt. Why Did History Forget About Johanna Koerten and Her Peers?

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts spotlights 40 women who found fame in the Low Countries between 1600 and 1750, including Koerten, Judith Leyster and Clara Peeters

www.smithsonianmag.com

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Paul Thomas @paulthomasuk.bsky.social · 15d

You can get it from Westwood Books and there are even a couple of 1st Edition signed hardbacks that I had put aside but forgot if you search it on the site

Spycraft: Tricks and Tools of the Dangerous Trade from Elizabeth I to the Restoration, Nadine Akkerman & Pete Langman

New Paperback A fascinating exploration of the devious tricks and ingenious tools used by early modern spies—from ciphers to counterfeiting, invisible inks to assassination Early modern Europe was a...

www.westwoodbooks.co.uk

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Pete Langman @elegantfowl.bsky.social · 15d

Wanted: Spycraft from @YaleBooks has escaped from the Tower disguised as a paperback ... track it down at a bookseller near you today!

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Pete Langman @elegantfowl.bsky.social · 16d

On the day the paperback edition of Spycraft @YaleBooks is released from close confinement in the Tower, here's an extract to whet the appetite ... www.the-emigre.com/column/the-c...

The Counterfeiting of Robert Gray — The Emigre

An extract from Spycraft: Tricks and Tools of the Dangerous Trade from Elizabeth I to the Restoration, out this week in paperback.

www.the-emigre.com

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John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 20d

Old Woman Reading Mid-17th century
Dominicus van Tol, active Leiden, c. 1635–1676. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)

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Nadine Akkerman @misswalsingham.bsky.social · 21d

Just arrived in Gloucester! Are you in tonight’s audience? #Spycraft www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/events/spycr...

Spycraft: From Elizabeth I to the Restoration - Gloucester History Festival

£12 / £7 Livestreamed Forget 007, England’s wildest spies were the Elizabethans. Unmask the hidden world of espionage with Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman’s thrilling journey through codes, ciphers a...

www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk

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Daniel F Gosling @thegozfather.bsky.social · 24d

Interested in London trades in the 16th Century? Court of Requests proceedings in REQ 2 have you covered. One way to find a bunch of cases (over 500) is to search REQ 2 for "citizen and". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_a...

Search results: "citizen and" | The National Archives

The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone...

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

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John Carter Brown Library @jcblibrary.bsky.social · 27d

We created a reading group in 2024 focused on key classic and new texts from a variety of perspectives on the making, unmaking, challenges and potential in "archives."

We will meet next on Friday, September 19 at 2 p.m.

Interested? Complete the Google form: jcblibrary.org/events/criti...

The images shows a black and white photo of an archive with lights and worn boxes with numbers on them.

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Art Herstory @artherstory.bsky.social · 27d

Coming up for auction, Sept 13,
Hargesheimer auction at Drouot.com -

Ginevra Cantofoli, Self-portrait of the artist at the easel with a brush / Allegory of painting

drouot.com/en/l/3025356...

A painting in a dark frame with gold colored trim of a white woman in a gold-colored gown with a blue bow at the left shoulder. She wears dangly earrings and a choker of beads (pearls?) from which hangs a gold-colored cross. Her body is slightly turned toward the left side of the painting; she turns her head over her left shoulder to gaze at the viewer. Her right hand holds a paintbrush; it is lifted up to a barely visible painting in front of her. Her left arm is bent at the elbow; visible in her left hand is a palette with her thumb sticking through, and 4 more paintbrushes.

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History Rage Podcast @historyrage.bsky.social · 28d

🚨 FESTIVAL SPECIAL🚨
Think you know how Mary Queen of Scots was undone? 👑📜 Think again. The Babington Plot is not the story you’ve been told.

🎧 Hear @misswalsingham.bsky.social & @elegantfowl.bsky.social
🎧 Listen now! pod.fo/e/3251ad
🎟️ www.gloucesterhistor...

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History Rage Podcast @historyrage.bsky.social · Sep 6

🚨 FESTIVAL SPECIAL🚨
Forget lemon juice tricks 🍋 — early spies were far more cunning. Some even forged invisible ink letters to keep the game alive!

Hear @misswalsingham.bsky.social & @elegantfowl.bsky.social
🎧 Listen now! pod.fo/e/3251ad
🎟️ www.gloucesterhistor...

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History Rage Podcast @historyrage.bsky.social · Sep 8

🚨 FESTIVAL SPECIAL🚨
In the 17th century, carrying a coded message could cost your life ⚔️📜.

🎙️ @misswalsingham.bsky.social & @elegantfowl.bsky.social uncover the dangers of early spy networks on History Rage
🎧 Listen now! pod.fo/e/3251ad
🎟️ www.gloucesterhistor...

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Professor Claire Jowitt @clairejowitt.bsky.social · Sep 7

🏴‍☠️Practices and Narratives of Early Modern Piracy:
Connecting the Seas, 1550–1800, edited by @susannegruss.bsky.social & Marcus Hartner,
the newest book in @amsterdamupress.bsky.social Maritime Humanities, 1400-1800 book series is out *22 Sept 2025* Available to preorder: www.aup.nl/en/book/9789...

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History Rage Podcast @historyrage.bsky.social · Sep 5

🚨 FESTIVAL SPECIAL🚨
Early espionage wasn't all Walsingham & Cecil 👨‍💼. Women ran networks, spread misinformation, carried secrets — often overlooked. 🕵️‍♀️
🔥 @misswalsingham.bsky.social & @elegantfowl.bsky.social
🎧 pod.fo/e/3251ad
Live 🎟️ www.gloucesterhistor...

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History Rage Podcast @historyrage.bsky.social · Sep 5

Forget gadgets and tuxedos 🎩🍸 — Tudor spies used invisible ink, folded letters and even swallowed secrets in wax balls 😱.
🎙️ Hear @misswalsingham.bsky.social & @elegantfowl.bsky.social

🎧 Listen! pod.fo/e/3251ad
—and live at @GlosHistFest 🎟️ www.gloucesterhistor...

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Nadine Akkerman @misswalsingham.bsky.social · Sep 4

I’ve never had access myself 🤷‍♀️

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History Rage Podcast @historyrage.bsky.social · Sep 4

🚨 COMING TOMORROW🚨
From MQOS’ downfall 👑 to the Gunpowder Plot 💥, espionage shaped Tudor and Stuart politics in ways we rarely hear about.

🎧 Join @misswalsingham.bsky.social & @elegantfowl.bsky.social — live at Gloucester History Festival 🎟️ www.gloucesterhistor...

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Leonard Lloyd @leonardlloyd.bsky.social · Sep 3

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Judith Pollmann @judithpollmann.bsky.social · Aug 29

Leuke vraag. Maar waarom geen historicus in de jury?

Jim Jansen @jimjansen.bsky.social · Aug 28

Voor iedereen die van schrijven en wetenschap houdt: de Robbert Dijkgraaf essayprijs.
En wederom een prachtig thema dit jaar: ‘Hoe helpt het verleden ons de toekomst te begrijpen?’
Inspiratie? Schrijf een essay en wellicht tot ziens op het Gala van de wetenschap: www.newscientist.nl/blogs/schrij...

Schrijf mee met de Robbert Dijkgraaf Essayprijs 2025

Ben je student, oud-student of medewerker van een (hoger) onderwijsinstelling in Nederland of België? Dan nodigen we je graag uit om deel te nemen aan de Robbert Dijkgraaf Essayprijs 2025.

www.newscientist.nl

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · Aug 30

This woman is wearing entire small animal around neck! Cannot believe that is very sanitary. Otherwise lovely portrait from 1573 by Lucas de Heere, whose day has been today.

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