So this is a cool illustration of everyone's favorite truth-telling symbol-reader, the alethiometer. This particular rendition was released as part of a brochure by Philip Pullman himself when His Dark Materials was released as a two-part stage play. This formidable theatrical attempt was launched in 2004 by the National Theatre, along with a pamphlet that explains the history of the alethiometer as well as how to use it.
Sadly I did not get to see the play, and the brochure is now tragically out of print. Still, I just had to share because I've never seen an illustration this detailed and it's coming from the author himself.
As for the picture, I should note I found a copy of it lurking in a copy of Discovering the Golden Compass by George Beahm. It is meant to serve as a lead-up to the release of The Golden Compass movie (and please see my big retrospective if you're interested in that), and while I just picked it up in a used bookstore a month or two ago thinking I might need it for research, I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the Pullmanverse. For a tie-in book, it is very comprehensive, covering all sorts of things from the books themselves to the audio presentations to the upcoming film, and also features lots of cool illustrations. It was also very fun to read, and best of all, it features a twenty-plus page autobiography by Pullman titled "I have a feeling this all belongs to me," which I'm not sure is available on the web anymore.
But speaking of alethiometers, I was rereading The Subtle Knife, and a curious modern analogy hit me.
Lyra's speed and accuracy with the alethiometer is remarked on again and again. She's a natural,, as quick as a bird, her hands dart around so fast you can barely see them. Older people, on the other hand, are slow, ponderous, require books and manuals to operate it, etc ....
A certain parallel with the way younger and older people text, no? Anyway, I posted the thought on social media and it got a lot of laughs, so there.
But to close out, this is a video reviewing one of the original replicas that were produced some dozen years ago when the film came out. It is courtesy of the ever-popular Noble Collection, though once again, sadly it is unavailable because apparently they have since lost or forfeited the rights to sell it. A few are still available out there in the dark corners of the web, or maybe even Ebay. Still, they seem to be about as rare and unseen as the alethiometers in Lyra's own world.
And I personally can't deal with a square one as designed on the HDM series, but that's just me ...
And as Always
Stay Dusty My Friends
#HisDarkMaterials #TheBookOfDust #PhilipPullman
#BuildingTheRepublic #PullmanStudies #JordanScholarship
#InDustWeTrust #DownAndDusty #TheGreatProject
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