The Society for Renaissance Studies, the Ashmolean Museum, and the Modern European History Research Centre at the University of Oxford are sponsoring a conference, "Early Modern Merchants as Collectors," which will meet at the Ashmolean on June 15-16, 2012. As the organizers explain, "This interdisciplinary conference will explore early modern merchants as
collectors across a wide range of geographical regions and collecting
categories, investigating whether there are any patterns connecting
these merchant-collectors of the early modern period and what
theoretical frameworks can be applied to them." A full list of speakers, topics, and abstracts is now available on the conference website. Please also check there for information about lodging, registration, and other details.
The Princeton University Library has digitized a number of posters from the Interborough Rapid Transit Subway Company . The posters, designed by the public relations firm Ivy Lee, were displayed in subway cars to provide information to riders about changes in fares and routes, safety issues, and other matters of interest. The collection consists of 385 images dating from 1918 to 1932; many of them provide financial information about rates, company dividends, and a general look at an early rapid transit system. October 29, update: Jonathan Rees over at "More or Less Bunk" was moved by this post to go off in search of a better site, and found the massive collection of the London Transport Museum , which displays over 5,000 items in a searchable collection .
