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Smithsonian Online
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Hamza. Giants, sorcerers, villains, dragons, spies and heroes all converge in The Hamzanama, a series of spellbinding tales from Persian oral tradition that date back more than 1,000 years. Amir (commander) Hamza, uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, traveled the world with his soldiers spreading the teachings of Islam, battling infidels and gaining converts with displays of strength, such as lifting elephants as easily as pillows. So fantastic were the exploits of Hamza and his men that the Indian Mughal emperor Akbar, who ruled from 1556 to 1605, ordered the tales to be the subject of the first royal manuscript illustrated during his reign. “The Adventures of Hamza,” a Web site from the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, is an introduction to this grand epic through the fascinating illustrations commissioned by Akbar. Here, visitors meet Hamza’s steed, Ashquar, a scarlet three-eyed horse born of a demon and fairy; Umar, a cunning and brilliant spy; and Zumurrud Shah, a deadly giant who is Hamza’s perennial enemy.
—www.asia.si.edu/exhibition/online.htm |
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Industrial drawings. It’s anyone’s guess just how many millions of pinched toes, corns, callouses and other painful foot problems have been averted over the years by Charles Brannock (1903-1992). Born into the shoe business, Brannock sketched out his ideas for a foot-measuring instrument while still in college and, with an Erector set, made a prototype. The Brannock Device (patented 1928) soon became the industry standard for measuring feet. Brannock’s initial sketches of his invention are featured in “Doodles, Drafts and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian,” an online exhibition featuring industrial drawings in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Industrial drawings, as this Web site points out, are used for working out ideas, convincing others of the worthiness of an invention, organizing and controlling manufacturing and recording ideas—such as in patent applications. “Doodles, Drafts and Designs” explains how industrial drawings visually document American creativity. In addition to Brannock, other innovators featured on this site include Howard Head, founder of the Head Ski Co.; Ida Cohen Rosenthal, inventor of the “Maidenform” bra; Earl Tupper, inventor of Tupperware; and Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith, creators of “Crayola” crayons. —www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/doodles/ |
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