libraries – Allison Thurman

newbie not newbie: my history with horror

I never thought of myself as a horror fan.

I grew up with “horror” meaning either 1) gore, like the projectile vomit in “The Exorcist” or bleeding walls in “The Amityville Horror, or 2) something so terrifying it kept me awake. I particularly remember one sleepless week after finishing Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” (I know, but I was fourteen and lived with a big black cat at the time, after reading that book he was terrifying!)

Then I read through NPR’s 100 best horror stories and realized not only have I read and enjoyed about half the list but that my definition of horror was incredibly narrow.

I’ve read du Maurier’s “Rebecca” and Jackson’s “Haunting of Hill House” multiple times to savor the wrongness creeping in. I didn’t know “psychological horror” was a genre and now I find myself writing it.

Dracula, Carmilla, Lestat and Louis… well, I never found vampires scary. Quite the contrary. Being “the things that others fear” sounded like a good deal to my insecure teenage self. Many years post-goth and I still love vampires.

Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer giving the 2 finger salute — Except for the sparkly kind. Via.

The inclusion of Strieber’s “Communion” tickles me because while as non-fiction it’s controversial to say the least, it’s compulsive reading if you take it as fiction, with an “extraordinary intruding on ordinary” vibe that still gives me the chills.

So I’m going through this list with my library card (tangential: I forgot how much I loved the library! Online renewal and automatic download of e-books makes them even better!) because it turns out I am something of a horror fan.

An 11 year old Kirsten Dunst as child vampire Claudia in Interview with the Vampire: I want more

What’s a genre you never thought you would (or did) enjoy, until you did?

Prague’s pretty libraries

The first library I remember was the small local branch in the town where I grew up. Housed in a narrow storefront, my memories are vivid despite its small size and lack of air conditioning. The high ceiling, with paint peeling off its old-fashioned tiles, made it seem huge and grand – almost like a holy place, a temple of learning.

Thus started my lifelong love of beautiful libraries, and my desire to see more of them.

Strahov Monastery’s library was among the first places I visited, and I wouldn’t have known about it had my friend Charlotte not suggested it. Big oversight on my part! The collection dates to the twelfth century and endured its share of burning and plundering over the centuries. The current theological hall dates to the seventeenth century and is mouthwateringly beautiful: the globes, the lower shelves jutting out to form benches, the gilded book covers, and of course the high, vaulted ceilings – I want it all. You can’t go in but there’s a small doorway with a big view:

theological hall at Strahov Monastery — Pretty globes all in a row!

Baroque writing desk — We all need a desk like this, right?

The philosophical hall was completed in the late eighteenth century and is a gorgeous two floor Baroque blow-out with sliding ladders:

Strahov Monastery's Philosophical Hall — Again you can only peek in, but this angle catches a lot of what makes it great. Photo by Charlotte Dries.

The collection is open to the public via a separate, modern reading room. I didn’t visit but I’m pleased that the monastery makes this treasure trove available.

About a week and much walking and blistered feet later, we went to the Klementinum, home of Prague’s National Library. Originally founded by the Jesuits in 1556, it’s possible Edward Kelley confessed to one of the priests here so this was another “setting” visit. Turns out most of the original Dominican monastery has been built over, but the existing structure houses a beautiful Baroque library. They didn’t permit photography of the room itself (do check out the site), but the attached astronomical tower had plenty to see:

Room sized camera obscura with measuring tools — In the 19th century Meridian Hall, a room-sized camera obscura, was used to determine noon with the use of human-sized quadrants.

clockwork mechanism of the astronomical tower's carillon — Clockwork mechanism of the astronomical tower’s carillon

Prague's skyline — Fantastic view from the top of the tower

The library shelves were curiously empty, with paper “place marks” filling multiple empty slots. Turns out many of the rarer volumes are currently being digitized through Google Books.

I’m always looking for more beautiful libraries. Please feel free to share your favorites in the comments!

Biweekly links 12-22-2015

Historical links: necklaces from the Cheapside Hoard being mounted for display. Source: AstleyClarke.com

Merry/Happy [insert holiday here]!

First glimpse of lost library of Elizabethan polymath John Dee – delicious animated images of marginalia and pop-up elements in books from Dee’s famous library. A sneak preview of an upcoming exhibit at the Royal College of Physicians that I’d give my eyeteeth to attend. Here’s hoping they do an exhibit catalog!

How much do you know about Elizabethan money? I only got 50%, maybe you can top me.

Where there’s a quill … help to unpick manuscripts from the days of Shakespeare – a crowdsourcing project in which volunteers transcribe 400 year old documents. I love it when technology intersects with primary sources in an effort to make them available to everyone! Check out Shakespearesworld.org to get started.

The Studiolo of Francesco de’ Medici – a secret room created in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio, it’s a beautiful example of a study/cabinet of curiosities popular in the sixteenth century.