Category Archives: Uncategorized

Victorian Vegetarianism

Posted on September 30, 2017 by allennz

In the 19th century, vegetarianism was linked to a much more radical agenda which incorporated not just health issues but moral, spiritual and political agendas. In the UK the Vegetarian Society was set up in the 1840s and while the … Continue reading →

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Captain Cook and Doctor Priestley: A Library Tale for Our Times

Posted on September 9, 2017 by allennz

Originally posted on The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog:
Heritage volunteer Tony Scaife imagines a secret meeting of great minds in 18th century Leeds… Having borrowed a copy of Peter Whitley’s Lord North: The Prime Minister Who Lost America from…

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Something completely different

Posted on September 1, 2017 by allennz

This is from the collection “Illustrations from the Lights of Canopus” (1847) which can be found at the wondrous Public Domain Review website: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/illustrations-from-the-lights-of-canopus-1847/ The Anvār-i Suhaylī or Lights of Canopus — commonly known as the Fables of Bidpai in … Continue reading →

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Book(s) of the Month

Posted on June 29, 2017 by allennz

Since my earlier post on Phrenology, I have been reading a couple of books about similarly obscure causes which would have been part of the package of most self-respecting radicals of the the Victorian period. Both involve challenges to medical … Continue reading →

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Cartoon of the Week: Going to the Opera in 2000 (a view from 1882)

Posted on May 18, 2017 by allennz

Source: The Public Domain Review. This is a great site, see http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/page/16/?time=19th-century  

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Trumpery and Fake News

Posted on May 12, 2017 by allennz

The surname Trump is a burden that the US President must carry with him, and he must be used to hearing about ‘trumpery’. He will probably discard it as ‘fake news’. Given his track record on understanding history, he will … Continue reading →

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