Posts by Madeleine Muzdakis

Madeleine Muzdakis

Madeleine Muzdakis is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and a historian of early modern Britain & the Atlantic world. She holds a BA in History and Mathematics from Brown University and an MA in European & Russian Studies from Yale University. Madeleine has worked in archives and museums for years with a particular focus on photography and arts education. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, film photography, and studying law while cuddling with her cat Georgia.
History
March 21, 2021

Learn How the Affordable Kodak Brownie Camera Made Photography Accessible

The start of the 20th century marked the advent of popular personal photography. Previously, commercial photography studios were the only ones producing prints, as the barrier to entry was high; the materials needed were large, expensive, and required experience. The glass plate negatives and large format cameras were better suited to studio use than photography on the fly.

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History
March 18, 2021

Get to Know Montmartre, Paris’ Legendary Artist Neighborhood on a Hill

On a hill overlooking Paris lies the neighborhood of Montmartre. During La Belle Époque—a period of French history dating between 1880 and 1914—the sloped streets were home to some of the world's most legendary artists. This area has long been central to Parisian history, from the revolutionary Paris Commune to the iconic cabaret Le Chat Noir. Paris is a city saturated in the arts, and a pilgrimage to Montmartre is almost obligatory for traveling creatives.

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History
March 9, 2021

What Happened at Seneca Falls? Learn About the Gathering of Great Minds for Women’s Rights

Packed into a historic church, speakers protested taxation without representation. Although this may sound familiar, the year was not 1776. Rather, it was 1848 and about 300 delegates of both genders had crowded into the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York. For several days, this mill town hosted luminaries such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Frederick Douglass.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.