French fancies
* Folding fans are thought to have arrived in France in 1533 with Catherine de’ Medici – an Italian who, through marriage, would become Queen of France. With summer here, […]
The world in your palm
Those who believe the world is flat may well struggle with the instruments of science presented on the following pages. The 5th BC discovery that Earth is round provided the […]
Accept my love
The invention of a cheap and easy colour printing process, along with the Victorian tendency for sentimentality and the introduction of the Penny Post, all worked together to create a […]
When the penny drops
Do you remember the elaborate charity collection tubs that would stand near the checkouts in most supermarkets? What fun it was to watch mum’s change zig-zag or spiral away. So […]
Scenes of Japan
Utagawa Hiroshige was a prolific travel blogger who was also a success in the world of fast-fashion, with somewhere between 600 and 1000 designs for disposable hand-held fans. That’s to […]
Drinking games
I know of a person who would amuse himself by piercing a hole in someone’s can of Coke, causing an annoying dribble when they tipped it up to drink. You […]
Profile Vics
With any new and exclusive technology, there inevitably comes the moment when it is seized upon by the masses and it becomes ordinary and everyday. For photography, that moment came […]
More than meets the eye
On blogs scattered across the Internet there are tales told of the plucky and resourceful Victorian women who would fight off the unwanted attentions of ‘mashers’ with their hatpins. While […]
Letters on letter boxes
The 1850s saw the introduction of the post box on the streets of Britain, which brought with them, not only the convenience and encouragement of the postal service, but another […]
The Luddite, the poacher and the thieves
On 13th May 1787 the first ship of convicts sailed from Portsmouth, arriving in Botany Bay, Australia the following January. Over the next eighty years, Britain and Ireland transported around […]