Do these two woodcuts constitute the earliest printed image of Jerusalem? Recently acquired by the
Hood Museum of Art, the prints are dated to around the 1460s. They are the only known surviving fragments of what was a much larger depiction of the cycle of the Passion, originally composed of twelve sheets measuring about 44 by 44 inches. The images and xylographic inscriptions refer to a number of scenes from the Life of Christ, other saints, and pilgrimage routes. The entire arrangement would have likely served as a visual aid on the walls of a church or convent to guide the viewer on a spiritual journey.
The iconography and identification of specific buildings, as well as the spatial representation of the city, are similar to the images and inscriptions published in the
Liber chronicarum, also known as the
Nuremberg Chronicle, of 1493—a copy of which can be found in Rauner Library. In each case the Dome of the Rock, the Qubbat as-Sakhrah (completed in 691 C.E.), is inaccurately identified as Solomon’s Temple. The woodcuts can be viewed by students and faculty members at the museum, while the early publication is available in Rauner Library.
According to the introduction of A.A. Milne's classic story, Winnie-the-Pooh's name was a hand me down from a swan. Milne writes "...we took the name with us, as we didn't think the swan would want it anymore. Well, when Edward Bear said that he would like an exciting name all to himself, Christopher Robin said all at once... that he was Winnie-the-Pooh."
