Strange Contests in the Netherlands

By Harry van Biessum

OPEN IMAGES - Harry van Biessum gives a little tour through some of the collection's stranger films, in particular those Dutch newsreels from the 1930s which centred on reporting a wide-variety of bizarre competitions. more

Twilight of the Velocipede: Typesetting Races before the Age of Linotype

By Alex Wright

Before Linotype revolutionised typesetting in the 1880s, compositors set texts by hand — and they set them fast. Alex Wright rediscovers the thrilling world of typesetting races, which drew crowds in the thousands, offered huge cash prizes, and helped women "Swifts" fight for workplace equity. more