Make me a cup of coffee – instantly!
I recently gave a talk on board the lovely ship Sirena, on the history of coffee. Part of the research for it took me off… Read More »Make me a cup of coffee – instantly!
BLOG – View and Search: “The Mostly-Mannered Musings of Richard Hall”
A load of hot air? No, the anniversary of the first manned flight in a balloon, 21 November 1783.
The history of early ballooning neither began nor ended with the first manned flight in a hot-air balloon, designed by the Montgolfier brothers, on 21st… Read More »A load of hot air? No, the anniversary of the first manned flight in a balloon, 21 November 1783.
Christopher Pinchbeck, a much-maligned jeweller and clock maker, died this day 1732.
pinch-beck noun 1. An alloy of zinc and copper used as imitation gold. 2. A cheap imitation. adjective 1. Made of pinchbeck. 2. Imitation;… Read More »Christopher Pinchbeck, a much-maligned jeweller and clock maker, died this day 1732.
Visit to the newly opened British Museum on 8 October 1760
Writing in 1760 my ancestor Richard Hall records in his diary: “October 8 – went with Mr Crouch to see the British Musæum”, He would have… Read More »Visit to the newly opened British Museum on 8 October 1760
A sewing cabinet Jane Austen would have been proud of….
A beautiful example of a japanned (lacquered) sewing cabinet , described as being a Regency piece of chinoiserie, appears on the ever-excellent site of Mark… Read More »A sewing cabinet Jane Austen would have been proud of….
Another look at 18th Century Pronunciation – those difficult words where the spelling doesn’t match the spoken word.
I have touched on this in The Journal of a Georgian Gentleman – clearly my ancestor Richard Hall would not have wanted to be thought… Read More »Another look at 18th Century Pronunciation – those difficult words where the spelling doesn’t match the spoken word.
All fine and dandy, 1787-style, but only if it is striped!
1787 was an interesting time for men’s fashions. I was rather taken with this print, shown courtesy of the Lewis Walpole Library at Yale University,… Read More »All fine and dandy, 1787-style, but only if it is striped!
Another Look at Rabies in the Eighteenth Century
A follow-up to my recent post about obituary notices. Rabies is possibly one of the earliest ailments known to man, and it seems to have… Read More »Another Look at Rabies in the Eighteenth Century
1794 obits re-visited:
O.K., I admit it may be a little obsessive, but I enjoy reading obituaries. Old ones. So a chance to meander through the list of… Read More »1794 obits re-visited:
Bee stings, wasp stings, and can I have some opium please?!
The wasps in the Alicante area of Spain, where I lived for twenty years, were particularly aggressive. You didn´t put out jam to entice them… Read More »Bee stings, wasp stings, and can I have some opium please?!