Phillip Webster

"Something ineffable happens when you write down a thought: You think something you did not know you could or would think and it leads you to another thought… the process of writing itself leads to previously unthought thoughts [and] crystallizes half-formulated or unformulated thoughts"
- Lynn Hunt

TOMORROW, Weds 28 May, online - it's going to be great! My PhD student @pdwebster.bsky.social is one of the speakers - using 19th-century modes of reconstruction (toy theatres!) to recreate the lost Pike's Opera House, Cincinnati. Imaginative methods & thought-provoking questions... Sign up free 👇

Featuring the research of my PhD student @pdwebster.bsky.social! Phillip is working on the lost Pike's Opera House, Cincinnati, exploring #reconstruction through non-digital 19th-century practices (toy theatres, extra-illustrated books, parlour theatricals etc). A brilliant project. All welcome.

More than ever, history and historians need a collaborative and co-ordinated approach 26th February 2025

We are increasingly concerned about the crisis in UK Higher Education. Read our joint statement with @royalhistsoc.bsky.social , History UK and the @histassoc.bsky.social https://buff.ly/4hSg16N #history #skystorians

Congrats to my @ihr.bsky.social PhD student @pdwebster.bsky.social on passing his MPhil to PhD progression today, for his project on the lost Pike's Opera House, Cincinnati, using 19th-century modes of creative reconstruction. Many thanks to examiners @helennicholson1.bsky.social & Cynthia Johnston.

I hope this is the new logo for all the IHR merch.

I've never noticed any Pony Express adverts in the Cincy papers, so I was excited to find this today in the Daily Commercial, Apr 1, 1861. Although, it only existed for 1.5 yrs it survived in the collective imagination in dime novels and Wild West stories of all kinds in the 19th/20th centuries.

Please enjoy John Leech's delightfully odd depiction of Faustulus discovering Romulus and Remus from Gilbert Abbott à Beckett's "The Comic History of Rome." Leech, also created the illustrations for "A Christmas Carol". Stumbled upon when looking through the Lincoln family's book collection.

Centre for the History of People, Place and Community The Centre for the History of People, Place and Community fosters engaged, innovative research into placed histories across all regions and periods.

Who are we? Part of @ihr.bsky.social, we support research into #place & #history across the UK, with an emphasis on collaboration and engagement. We're home to @vchlondon.bsky.social & @layersoflondon.bsky.social. We run events & training. Follow us for news & info! www.history.ac.uk/research/cen...

Looks like we might be snowed in again here. I know how I'm going to stay entertained...time to get crazy with some fireside games and giant puppets!

#parlorgames
#snowedin
#winterwonderland

Breaking out the toy theaters for New Years as is tradition.

If anyone's looking for an 'artistic' hair cut in Cincinnati I've got a great recommendation for you.

Daily Dramatic Review, Feb.4, 1861

#cincinnatihistory

Don't forget about "Lucky Stiff"!

Just down the street at Wood's you could see the inimitable Maggie Mitchell in a new play entitled The Attorney and the Actress. Mitchell was a huge star for the latter half of the 19th c. and counted both J.W. Booth and Abraham Lincoln among her admirers. (2/2)

#cincinnatihistory #theatrehistory

OTD in 1859 renowned tragedian and master elocutionist James Murdoch was appearing at Pike's Opera House in The Stranger, in a company managed by Charles Barras who would go on to fame a few years later as the creator of The Black Crook on Broadway. (1/2)

The Gale Sisters, who would all die tragically the following year in one of the most gruesome stage accidents in history, were performing a pas de deux. And in Pike’s exhibition hall Frederic Edwin Church’s iconic landscape "The Heart of the Andes" was on display as part of its national tour. (2/)

OTD in 1860 was a great night to visit Pike’s with Emma Waller portraying Ophelia a few years before she’d portray the melancholy Dane herself and the future acclaimed tragedian and war hero William Sheridan as the Ghost. (1/2)

Image shows text about IHR London Summer School 2025 that can be found via the link in the message. Use the discount code REBELS10 to get 10% off ticket prices at checkout until 13 December 2024

The full IHR #London #SummerSchool 2025 programme is now live! Join us in July 2025 as we explore London’s history through its #REBELS. 10% discount still available until 13/12/24! https://buff.ly/4fUSvVX

OTD in 1861 you had two great choices for a night at the theatre in Cincinnati. You could see J.A.J. Neafie in “Metamora” or head over to Wood’s Theater to check out an up and comer with a very famous last name, John Wilkes Booth in “The Marble Heart.”

#cincinnatihistory #theatrehistory

If anyone needs me I'll be training with Capt Sherer this weekend.

#skystorian #militaryhistory #cincinnatihistory

(From the Cincinnati Daily Commercial c.1861)

Hello BlueSky! Hoping to connect with #skystorians here.

I’m writing a dissertation examining toy theaters, parlor theatricals and scrapbooks as forms of reconstruction and how they can be used to reanimate lost performance spaces like the mostly forgotten Pike’s Opera House in Cincinnati.