(The following is a repost by Peter Armenti, reference librarian in the Research and Reference Services Division. The post originally appeared on the From the Catbird Seat Blog.) The Library of Congress receives hundreds of questions each year from people seeking help identifying the full text and authors of poems they read years—if not decades—ago. …
(The following post is by Ann Brener, Hebraic area specialist in the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division.) The year is 1547; the place a synagogue in Constantinople, crossroads of Europe and Asia and capital of the burgeoning Ottoman Empire. Constantinople in this period is a vibrant, bustling metropolis, newly revitalized by the conquests of …
(The following is a post by Eve M. Ferguson, Reference Librarian for East Africa, African and Middle Eastern Division.) The name “Zanzibar” often conjures up visions of exotic landscapes populated by Arabian princesses and sultans, palaces by the sea and a vigorous trade of spices, gold and ivory. But for centuries, trade across the Indian …
(The following is a post by Sharon Horowitz, reference librarian in the Hebraic Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division.) Micrography is minute script written into abstract patterns or formed into figurative designs such as the shape of animals, flowers or human figures. This is a Jewish form of embellishment of Biblical texts, developed …
