November 2014
Monthly Archive: November 2014
Modern Design for a Modern World: Art Deco in Paris
!['Detail: House' in Le Dessus du Panier. Paris: 1914](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/detail_house_le_dessus_du_panier_1914_copy.jpeg?itok=ttyUzSW8)
In the years between the World Wars a new design style emerged which embraced the imagery of industrialization. This style, known as Art Deco, responded to the social and technological developments that had come out of the First World War, and celebrated all things modern.
Pacifist Males & Warrior Females
About a hundred year ago, mass produced colour lithographs proliferated across the South Asian subcontinent creating new imaginary communities through a shared visual imagery. In this new kind of visual culture, hero images seemed to flip traditional gender roles by being dominated by warrior females and pacifist males. Written by Deepali Dewan
Photography in the Field: equal parts business & pleasure
![Landing - A giant petrel attempts to land at Robert Point, Antarctica | Photo by Thomas Cullen A large white bird (a giant petrel) comes in for a landing on a rough, rocky ridge; another such bird sits nearby.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/tc_landing_-_resized.jpg?itok=m8Rxrwfj)
Guest blogger Thomas Cullen shares his thoughts on photography in the field.
Staying in Style: Books on Fashion
!['London Head Dresses' in The Fashions of London & Paris, 1801 Three headdresses, 1801](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/magazine_of_fashion_1801_dragged_0.jpg?itok=l_vDkw6i)
October saw another Fashion Week in Toronto come and go - one of many events that mark the seasons of the fashion calendar.
Unfrozen in Time: From the Erebus and Terror to the ROM
![Watercolor of the grave of G.S. Malcolm A.B., who died of frostbite during the search for Franklin. Photo by Dorea Reeser Watercolor of the grave of G.S. Malcolm A.B., who died of frostbite during the search for Franklin. Photo by Dorea Reeser](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/dorea_reeser_botany_adam_white_scrapbook_15.jpg?itok=jASmIHuI)
Today’s blog post is a glimpse of a tale that is largely untold. It is the story of the exploration of the Canadian Arctic, as seen by Adam White in his botanical scrapbooks. These scrapbooks were donated to the University of Toronto, and came to the ROM together with what is now the ROM’s Green Plant Herbarium. What do these scrapbooks have to do with Franklin, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror? It’s a fantastic story!
Weapon Wednesday: Bagh Nakh--making humans into tigers
The blades, like the tiger claws they are named for, are made to slash though an opponent and, in modern history, is most often associated with the Hindu Marati warrior Shivaji. Written by Aruna Panday
Franklin Found! Clues in an Arctic Mystery
!["The Fox on a rock off Buchan Island", in Captain M'Clintick, A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and his Companions. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1860 The ship 'Fox' foundered on a rock off Buchan Island](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/narrative_of_the_discovery_of_the_fate_of_sir_john_franklin_ship.jpg?itok=Z_oilrhn)
The recent discovery of one of the Franklin expedition’s lost ships has provided new evidence in a mysterious chapter in early Arctic exploration.
What exactly is a LOT?
![Specimens are preserved, sorted into LOTS, identified, and catalogued Several fish in a jar](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/twitter_collection_specimen_with_ecological_data_historical_b_1.jpg?itok=lAMWBTY2)
In the past 100 years, the Ichthyology section at the ROM has amassed over one million fish specimens from around the world in one of the largest fish collections in North America. These specimens are preserved, sorted into LOTS, identified, catalogued and shelved like books in a library.