Osborne Ink | Matt Osborne | Substack

Originally posted last May. Regular posting will resume next week.
Between 1640 and 1661, George Thomason of London collected over 22,000 books, pamphlets, and tracts, recording them as entries in his catalog. It is a key primary source for understanding the moment when the printing press was turned loose on the English...

It’s time for another roundup of everything I’ve been writing all over the intertubes. Another fun month of premium content lies ahead. Consider a premium subscription to support this work. All paid annual subscriptions to Osborne Ink come with a free...

This is the audio version of my essay on the history of the idea of a “modern heaven” with angels and aliens in it, and how American religion and literature internalized that idea in the 19th century.
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Emanuel Swedenborg had his first great spiritual vision on Easter weekend in 1741 at the age of 53, when the Son of God appeared to him.
He was already known as a psychic, demonstrating his powers on public occasions. Philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote about his displays of clairvoyance, such as his vision of a great fire that was really burning in faraway Stockholm. Swedenborg developed...