Not counting Shakespeare or similar classics of literature, and not counting classical music, the oldest media I regularly engage with is re-reading P.G. Wodehouse novels and short stories. The oldest of those is probably Love Among the Chickens first published in 1906, but he really hit his stride in the 20s and 30s and thereafter. Second-oldest regular engagement is probably films of the 40s and sometimes films and TV shows of the 50s, many of the latter being well preserved on film.
This is me, except for the Bible (or any other religious) stuff.
Cool. I would play the Peter Pringle Gilgamesh for my students.
Other than fossils or rocks I have a large stone pestal from about 500 BC as part of my native america artifact collection. I also have a 5" long tooth from a Megladon Shark that I am fond of, perhaps 20 million years old and its not a fossil, its an actual tooth.
I’ve been perusing the online archives of my local newspaper regularly for a FB group that I belong too - mostly articles from the late 1800s - early 1900s. very interesting reading.
I have been archiving, digitizing, and restoring old family photos, many from the 1800’s and early 1900’s. It’s very interesting.
I have a “paperweight” that was originally a prop in the Star Trek episode “The Trouble With Tribbles” on my desk. Also, the splash screen of my computer is the December 24, 1968 Earth Rise from Lunar Orbit. I am the current custodian of a family heirloom in the form of a book from 1856. And I have a nice translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh I enjoy re-reading from time to time.
Can you please tell me the translator and maybe some more info about that edition? I’ve been wanting to read that epic for a long time, but was never sure which edition to choose.
I might or might not hav3 marble column sculpting chippings from Epidaurus, and Mycenae pottery shards.
I used to have what was supposedly one of Joan Crawford’s silent girl-on-girl movies from the 20s and that wasnt as interesting as you think…
My copy is by Bernarda Bryson and technically considered a children’s book. It is not a scholarly work but rather the artist/illustrator’s intent was to make the legend accessible to a wide audience so… maybe “translation” isn’t the right word here. It’s still a good read as an adult. She apparently first published this version in 1967 but mine is a later, hardcover edition given to me by my late sister.
As noted, it’s a not scholarly translation so it’s lacking footnotes and the like, but it also reads as a coherent story. Given that there is no one, single version of the epic in any form I don’t view this as a problem. It’s a good introduction to the legend, giving you the broad outlines in a form enjoyable to read.
There are two main versions of the epic: the Old Babylonian version sometimes referred to Surpassing All Other Kings and Standard Babylonian verison He Who Saw the Deep or He Who Saw the Abyss or He Who Saw the Unknown depending on how the first lines are translated, plus a few other bits of poetry about Gilgamesh and Enkidu. They are not an exact match, as you might expect with some centuries between the two. Like other epic tales/legends/myths/sagas there has been a lot of re-telling and the occasional continuity error.
Think about how many versions/continuities there are of Superman, a character only 85 years old. Consider that the two ancient versions of Gilgamesh are separated by centuries. Pretty much every version found in the ruins of Ninevah and other contemporaneous cities has significant differences from all other versions. This was something noted by the ancient Mesopotamians themselves - He Who Saw the Deep was actually compiled by an individual named Sîn-lēqi-unninni (well, that’s his name transliterated from the cuneiform) from earlier versions. There were at least as many years between the older and newer versions as between us and the first telling of Beowulf.
Don’t wait any longer. Jump in. You’ll probably wind up reading several versions. The version I have serves as a gateway drug into epic, reading as a continuous story in modern English. After that you can get into the more scholarly versions, and if you really go down the rabbit hole, the squabbling between academics over what particular gouges in clay tablets mean. Not to mention the fascinating bits about history you get along the way.
(Personally, I’m just as glad Bryson left out the bit about the maggot dropping out of a dead man’s nose although it really does deliver emotional impact in that particular version.)
Has anyone said “The Dope” yet? I’m going with that. But I have this old dell from like 2005 or 7 as a backup answer.
Many thanks, @Broomstick, for your detailed answer.
I read the Bible frequently because it’s an essential part of my spiritual life. It’s certainly way older than any other media I regularly dip into.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 1860s.
Next would be the Marx Brothers movies. (Surprised, huh? 
) Especially Duck Soup (1933) and Monkey Business (1931).
Bogart movies from the 1940s, especially Casablanca and Maltese Falcon.
Catch-22 (the book). Lord of the Rings (ditto). 1950s.
A Wrinkle In Time. 1962.
Once we get to the mid-1960s, I’ve got a lot of music from that period and onward that I listen to frequently, and movies that I watch.
I listen to classical and jazz…
Classical : Vivaldi would be earliest (had to check dates !), and jazz from 1940s on.
Earliest books : the Moonstone - Wilkie Collins, and Sherlock Holmes.
Not too bothered about art but i do have a copy of Pieter Bruegel’s Children’s Games
(1560 apparently !) on the wall.