It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of a love of history, must be in want of a blog.
In 1851, the journalist Henry Mayhew published London Labour and the London Poor, a groundbreaking and influential survey of London's working classes and criminal underbelly. What is particularly striking about the work are the lengthy quotations from the people themselves, describing their lives. The result is a poignant and sometimes humorous portrait of Victorian London's …
Continue reading Gals and bone-grubbers: more Victorian street traders
In 1851, the journalist Henry Mayhew published London Labour and the London Poor, a groundbreaking and influential survey of London's working classes and criminal underbelly. What is particularly striking about the work are the lengthy quotations from the people themselves, describing their lives. The result is a poignant and sometimes humorous portrait of Victorian London's …
Continue reading Cripples and baked potatoes: Victorian street traders
Recently I came across two curious 1840s lithographs from the Library of Congress online image collection. Titled "Stages of Woman's life from the cradle to the grave", both lithographs portray the ideal trajectory of a woman's life according to the prevailing European and North American social norms. The principal feminine virtues depicted are chastity, religion, …
Continue reading Stages of Woman’s life from the cradle to the grave