#HistoricalDocuments
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caromein.bsky.social
New study compares state-of-the-art Handwritten Text Recognition engines—PyLaia, IDA, and TrOCR—for digitizing historical documents. Findings highlight the impact of language models and diverse datasets on recognition accuracy.
Read more: rdcu.be/elLLR
#DigitalHumanities #HTR #HistoricalDocuments
Assessing advanced handwritten text recognition engines for digitizing historical documents
rdcu.be
May 13, 2025 at 7:28 AM
drkarencummings.bsky.social
My review of a new book from the wonderful John Wintrip: A History of Parish Registers, an excellent addition to the bookshelf whatever your level of expertise.

www.professionalfamilyhistory.co.uk/review-the-h...

#Genealogy #FamilyHistory #LocalHistory #ParishRegisters #HistoricalDocuments
May 15, 2026 at 7:54 AM
citizendundus.bsky.social
Henry VIII opening the Parliament of misfit toys.
#historicaldocuments
jdmccafferty.bsky.social John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · Dec 18
Henry VIII at the opening of Parliament in 1523 from The Wriothesley Garter book c.1530

(Royal Collection Trust, HM Charles III)
December 18, 2024 at 5:26 PM
riandraegon.bsky.social
For history buffs.

#medicalrecords
#historicalrecords
#medievaldeathrecords
#historicaldocuments
February 3, 2026 at 12:35 AM
kryton3298.bsky.social
Conversation Between the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) and President Nixon - history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve10/d101

history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve10/d76a
August 22, 2025 at 12:21 PM
itbodes.bsky.social
Beneath the Lincoln Memorial, another potential disaster is brewing for the Park Service.

#archives #HistoricalDocuments
Rare Lincoln Documents Exposed to Unsafe Heat in New Exhibit, NPS Staff Say · City Cast DC
Beneath the Lincoln Memorial, another potential disaster is brewing for the Park Service.
dc.citycast.fm
July 16, 2026 at 5:04 AM
citizendundus.bsky.social
Carry yourself with the confidence of a young man holding a tiny owl on a stick and wearing a loaf on his head.
He's wishing the owl was bigger.
#historicaldocuments
jdmccafferty.bsky.social John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · Dec 21
A little quirkiness.

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino

A Young Man with an Owl on a Stick, ca. 1630s

(RISD Museum)

The artist d. #otd 21 Dec 1666.
December 21, 2024 at 7:08 PM
citizendundus.bsky.social
I think the lion may be concerned about whatever's happened to his hair.
Also I'm not sure Jerome has been feeding him enough.
#historicaldocuments
liamsims.bsky.social Dr Liam Sims @liamsims.bsky.social · Dec 21
Saint Marcella seems unfussed by whatever St Jerome is discussing with her (probably Biblical Hebrew). His lion doesn’t look especially fierce either. In his the first Italian edition of Jerome’s letters, printed at Ferrara in 1497. Now @theulspeccoll.bsky.social SSS.4.13.
December 21, 2024 at 7:04 PM
citizendundus.bsky.social
Tiny man riding a cat.
#historicaldocuments
December 12, 2024 at 5:20 PM
atomicanalyst.bsky.social
On June 9, Gen. William Odom, National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski’s military assistant, sent him a SECRET memorandum responding to Brzezinski’s concerns these false alarms were creating public perception and political problems and recommending President Jimmy Carter take four key actions.
A digital copy published in Foreign Relations of the United States of "Memorandum From the Military Assistant to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Odom) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)" dated June 9, 1980 and with the subject line "Missile Attack Warning System Deficiencies (S)." Link: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v04/d191 "As you noted on Saturday,2 this latest erroneous attack warning by the NORAD–SAC computer system is creating not only operational problems for us but also public perception and political problems.3 I recommend a number of steps for preempting some of the adverse criticism and also for getting some important things done. (S) First, a commission to investigate must be set up at once. The JCS and SAC cannot be left to review the problems alone. The Defense Science Board might provide the umbrella. To be compelling to public critics, it cannot be Harold Brown’s in-house review. You might consider Schlesinger to head the review. That appointment could achieve two things at once. First, Schlesinger’s prestige and Republican background could help turn the matter into a bi-partisan affair. Second, it could take Schlesinger out of the public debate the remainder of the summer. He can be expected to become more vocal against the Administration. (S)" Continuation of Odom's SECRET memorandum: "Second, [2 lines not declassified] I am attaching a memo (Tab A) in which I made the case against this option. [1 line not declassified] Brown, for some reason, [4 lines not declassified] if he knew that we have an [less than 1 line not declassified] option [less than 1 line not declassified] he would give the President fits. He also promised that the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) would be looking into the matter. [1 line not declassified] Third, the President should sign the targeting PD [less than 1 line not declassified] soon. [1 line not declassified] The PD, properly backgrounded to the press, should help diffuse the NORAD issue. You will recall that I have frequently referred to the SIOP and the NORAD–SAC plan for war as having many of the characteristics of the German and Russian war plans of 1914. They were based on the assumption that the war would be short. They could not be reversed once commenced. They set in motion enormous forces and actions, the consequences of which planners had only the vaguest notion. And they were not related to the war aims of any party involved. Although we cannot dismantle the SIOP system, we can surely begin serious problems [sic] to give us less cataclysmic options. (TS) Fourth, the SCC on COG/C3I, scheduled for this week, can be both politically and operationally useful in this present situation. Any investigation by an outside commission will soon determine that NCA survivability is doubtful if the present system is stressed by a Soviet strike at our C3I. The COG/C3I study recommendations would launch the first serious program to increase NCA survivability since the 1950s. (TS) In summary, the President can, in the next ten days, take four significant steps. ..." Link: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v04/d191 Continuation of Odom's SECRET memorandum: "If you like this general approach, then we should arrange for Brown to brief the President on the PD by Wednesday at the latest. [1 line not declassified] The COG/C3I is on track. The investigating commission should be raised with Brown today, and a decision can be taken on how to proceed by Wednesday when the PD is discussed. (TS)" Link: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v04/d191
June 6, 2026 at 1:53 PM
whoamiftr.bsky.social
I love these sessions. Not only do you keep your palaeography eye in (if you attend regularly), but you also get to explore a variety of records you might be unfamiliar with.
#History
#OldHandwriting #Palaeography #HistoricalDocuments
manuscriptmondays.bsky.social Key to the Past @manuscriptmondays.bsky.social · Apr 7
Palaeography Class - Monday 13th April 7.30-9pm

Caroline Adams will be teaching her next Palaeography class using church records.
Documents provided in advance
Guided, friendly session via Zoom
Full transcription shared afterwards

£10 pay as you go

Email manuscriptmondays@gmail.com
April 8, 2026 at 3:49 PM
wordsfromtaiwan.bsky.social
The #CIA in 1972: "Taipei may see such a capability as a potentially useful hedge for the unknown exigencies of the future, when #Taiwan may be alone and facing great risks. We believe, however, that Taipei will take pains to conceal its intentions, [...] determined to keep its weapons option open."
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v17/d266
December 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
tipsymermaid.bsky.social
Holiday season reads! One of the books I couldn't bear to leave behind when I moved to Mexico, though it's been several years since I actually reread it 🫣 It's apparently taken on an antique appearance. Kinda works with the vibe though #ChristopherMoore
#HistoricalDocuments
#PineCoveShenanigans
November 30, 2024 at 5:30 PM
calvin5040.bsky.social
Republicans be like...:

#CanadianBaconMovie #Galaxyquest #MichaelMoore #Repubicans #Canada #UnitedStates #HistoricalDocuments
December 26, 2024 at 5:48 AM
citizendundus.bsky.social
It was one of the cyclist's better parties.
Everyone liked my painting.
#historicaldocuments
mrcwarwick.bsky.social Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · Dec 18
Nothing says 'Traditional Victorian Christmas' more than a tenured gorilla in red pants painting post-apocalyptic London through an ornamental arch decorated with bicycling pharaohs

The 1888 Christmas edition of 'The Cyclist' entering into the #MerryAndBright festive spirit

#ArchiveAdventCalendar
Front cover of the 1888 Christmas edition of the Victorian magazine 'The Cyclist', incorporating a year book for 1889 (document reference: MSS.328/C/5/CYCX/5). The illustration on the front cover is of a reclining gorilla in a pair of red pants, painting a landscape that is visible through a massive arch decorated with images of ancient Egyptian figures riding bicycles and tricycles. The landscape through the arch is a post-apocalyptic swamp which contains some broken pillars and the dome of St Paul's Cathedral. A red sun is either rising or setting behind the swampy view. The caption on the front cover reads 'Professor Gorilla's report being the Cyclist 'Xmas No. for 1888 and year book for 1889. Iliffe & Son 98, Fleet St., London & Coventry. Price One Shilling'.
December 18, 2024 at 5:44 PM
crisveijk.bsky.social
A Policy Exchange report claims the ICJ is "transforming UNCLOS into something which it was never intended to be", as GHG emissions "seem very different from the kinds of pollution States Parties had in mind in 1982".

This is an unsourced, ahistorical claim refuted by even US records. Embarrassing.
A quote from a recent report by Policy Exchange, a Conservative thinktank purporting to analyse international law. https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Litigating-Climate-Change.pdf "Renegotiate UNCLOS This is perhaps the most ambitious of our proposals. UNCLOS resulted from a decades-long effort by the international community to codify the law of the sea. On the whole it has been a success for participating States. However, the ICJ through the Climate Change Advisory Opinion has implicitly invited claimant States to invoke UNCLOS in suits for alleged injuries arising from climate change, a development that risks transforming UNCLOS into something which it was never intended to be and delegitimizing the Convention in the eyes of many States party. Therefore, we recommend that, in concert with peer States, the United Kingdom launch an effort to clarify the ambit of UNCLOS in climate matters and to prevent the compulsory dispute settlement mechanisms in UNCLOS from being used to adjudicate matters which exceed the Convention’s scope. Otherwise, the ICJ’s implicit invitation to litigants to avail themselves of UNCLOS and the litigation opportunities afforded by Part XV, section 2, of the Convention will be taken up with great enthusiasm, with unfortunate results." Excerpt from p. 34 of the Policy Exchange Report: "Article 194(2) is one of the several UNCLOS provisions that the Advisory Opinion says entails a stringent due diligence standard.62 Moreover, in concluding that ‘the term “activities” in Article 194, paragraph 2, encompasses activities which produce [greenhouse gas] emissions’,63 the Advisory Opinion greatly enlarges the scope of activities that a litigant might attack by invoking that UNCLOS provision. States, in adopting Article 194(2), intended to impose legal responsibility, e.g. when an oil spill originating in State A spreads beyond ‘the areas where [State A] exercise[s] sovereign rights’. No doubt adjacent areas—e.g. neighbouring State B’s territorial sea, or the high seas immediately past the outer limits of State A’s Exclusive Economic Zone—are concerned in Article 194(2); environmental effects of pollution, or at least their geographic scope, are broadly forecastable on that understanding of the provision, and causal linkage between such effects and injuries is conceivably determinable, even if parties likely will contest it. By contrast, the injuries and the scope of responsibility that Article 194(2) embraces according to the Advisory Opinion now would seem very considerably larger, harder to forecast, and almost inevitably to be bedevilled with uncertainties about causation. Greenhouse gas emissions, considering their global spread, long-term effects, and differentiated impact on different States, seem very different from the kinds of pollution States Parties had in mind in 1982 when they concluded UNCLOS. Now, however, if judges and arbitrators treat the Advisory Opinion as governing law for the interpretation of UNCLOS that difference does not matter." An excerpt from 'US Priority Interests in the Environmental Activities of International Organizations' (Dec 1970) FRUS 1969-76 vol E-1, doc 303 (https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve01/d303): "R.2 Deterioration of the Marine Environment. While the high seas, like the atmosphere, is a commons, international cooperation to control the. deterioration of the marine environment must take account of prevailing sovereign rights regarding territorial waters and the adjacent seabed. Most ocean pollution problems affect coastal waters; but the obvious inter-connections with the rest of the ocean, as well as the interactions of the oceans and the atmosphere, make any division of the marine environment somewhat arbitrary. The first six projects listed below are specifically concerned with pollution, whereas the other three reflect a continuing need for cooperative research on the indicated topics. *M1 Preventing Pollution from Ship Operations and from Dumping *M2. Studies of Oceanic Pollution Effects *M3. Monitoring Pollutants Affecting Ocean Quality *M4. Inventory of Ocean Pollution Sources *M5. Analysis of Economic Impact of Ocean Pollution Standards *M6. Development of Control Technology M7. Sustaining Yields of Marine Living Resources M8. Air-Sea Interactions Affecting Weather Forecasting M9. Man-made Ecological Upset of the Sea" Excerpt from: Memo NSC-U/DM-109B from Kenneth Rush to Richard Nixon (14 May 1974) FRUS 1969-76 vol E-3, doc 12, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve03/d12 "Dispute settlement Our substantive position with respect to all our proposals regarding areas beyond the territorial sea includes compulsory dispute settlement. We are authorized to place major emphasis on compulsory dispute settlement as a general principle applicable to all disputes arising under the Law of the Sea Treaty (subject to the sovereign immunity of warships, other government vessels and state aircraft, and leaving our options open regarding compulsory dispute settlement in the territorial sea and straits). (NSDM 225)."
July 10, 2026 at 8:17 PM
gistef.bsky.social
SAVE THE PAGE The Danish convention of 1916 disagrees.https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1917/d881
Historical Documents - Office of the Historian
history.state.gov 3.0 shell
history.state.gov
January 19, 2026 at 9:39 PM
copyeditorcurtis.bsky.social
Here’s what I’ve been up to: helping create the world’s first and only Guide to Public Archives:

www.instagram.com/reel/DP7LHH2...
whosbehindthenews on Instagram: "Discover something new. Check out Newsjunkie's Guide to Public Archives at the link in our bio! 📜📓🕵#DarkAcademia #Archives #Hist…"
Discover something new. Check out Newsjunkie's Guide to Public Archives at the link in our bio! 📜📓🕵#DarkAcademia #Archives #History #Research #ResearchTools #DigitalArchives #HistoricalDocuments #Library #Vault #Journalism
www.instagram.com
October 19, 2025 at 7:57 PM
gardenhermit.bsky.social
Excerpt from a letter from my grandmother to my grandfather. Contraception advice from 1935. 1/6
#Contraception #History #HistoricalDocuments
#FamilyHistory
#MedicalHistory
#Medicine
#Vasectomy
July 9, 2026 at 9:41 PM
scwmuseum.bsky.social
For more artifacts and stories, explore the Virtual Museum of the Spanish Civil War (link in bio).
#SpanishCivilWar
#History
#HistoricalDocuments
#MedalOfHonor
#Madrid
July 6, 2026 at 8:19 PM
wonkish.bsky.social
I'm doing my part!
A screenshot from Twitter saying "You helped a Community Note earn the status of Helpful, and it's now been seen by over 28900 people on X. Once again, Puerto Ricans are American Citizens. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v03/d902"
October 31, 2024 at 3:16 AM
citizendundus.bsky.social
I mean, I was there, but...there might not have been quite as many sharks.
Hard to tell through all the blood.
#historicaldocuments
#monkeys
benpaites.bsky.social 🏰 Ben Paites 🏛️ @benpaites.bsky.social · Nov 26
As promised, here is my post on aspects of “Gladiator II” that were historically wrong, some possible alternatives and my thoughts on why they may have chosen to do what they did. Alternatively titled, “shark fighting gladiators and the golden denarius”

bpaites.wixsite.com/ben-paites-h...
Gladiator II: What they got wrong
Gladiator II came out in cinemas in the UK on 15 November 2024. Much like it's predecessor, it was a movie rooted in history with a large sprinkling of artistic license. It is clear that some research...
bpaites.wixsite.com
December 14, 2024 at 12:23 AM
tferrer.journa.host.ap.brid.gy
Pues sí, aquí está https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1917/d881
"Al firmar hoy la Convención relativa a la cesión de las Indias Occidentales Danesas a los Estados Unidos de América, el infrascrito Secretario de Estado de los Estados Unidos de América, debidamente autorizado por su Gobierno, tiene el honor de declarar que el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos de América no se opondrá a que el Gobierno danés extienda sus intereses políticos y económicos a toda Groenlandia. Robert Lansing, Nueva York, 4 de agosto de 1916".
January 7, 2026 at 11:34 AM
emnreviews.bsky.social
Adding alt text.

Also, of interest: history.state.gov/historicaldo...
The text of a letter that from Prince Sirik Matak, sent to the U.S. Ambassador John Gunther Dean. This letter was read to Gerald Ford on 16 April 1975 by Henry Kissinger in a cabinet meeting. The transcript of the meeting including that reading is available at https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v10/d234 Letter text: Your Excellency, my dear friend, I sincerely thank you for your letter and for the offer to transport me to freedom. Alas, I cannot leave in such a cowardly manner. As for you and especially your great country, I never for a moment believed that you would have the feeling to abandon a people who have chosen freedom. You have denied us your protection and we can do nothing about it. You are leaving us and I wish you and your country happiness under heaven. But note well that if I die here, in this place and in my country that I love, it is too bad, because we are all born and must die one day. I only made the mistake of believing in you, the Americans. Accept, Your Excellency, my dear friend, my loyal and friendly feelings. Prince Sirik Matak
March 1, 2025 at 6:36 PM
citizendundus.bsky.social
Aristotle: "This is a hare. This is a lion."
Alexander: "Oh, my!"
(Lions not at all the way he imagined them.)
Aristotle sure did point a lot.
#historicaldocuments
#lions
enniusredloeb.bsky.social Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · Dec 15
Aristotle instructing Alexander the Great and pointing to a hare and a lion

BL Add 47680; Secreta Secretorum; England, S. E. (London); between 1326 CE and 1327 CE; f.37r
December 16, 2024 at 1:31 AM