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!
Lifestyle
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.
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….
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!
Give us this day our daily bread…
The importance of the humble loaf of bread in Georgian diets is hard to imagine. Out of my ancestor’s household expenses in 1796 totalling just over… Read More »Give us this day our daily bread…
Tin-ware or papier-mâché? No matter, as long as it was japanned.
A few years ago I gave a talk on decorated furniture in the Eighteenth Century – and until I did my research for it I… Read More »Tin-ware or papier-mâché? No matter, as long as it was japanned.
Sewing with Jane Austen
Writing in Mansfield Park, Jane Austen has her heroine Fanny Price remark that she would find solace in “ the room…most dear to her” and… Read More »Sewing with Jane Austen
Two versions of refinement – London Refinement, 1787 and the Refinement of Language, 1802.
Googling the word ‘refinement’ brought up a couple of interesting caricatures: I rather like this fashion print (courtesy of the British Museum) showing what the… Read More »Two versions of refinement – London Refinement, 1787 and the Refinement of Language, 1802.
John Wall – physician, artist and famous businessman, died 27th June 1776.
If ever a man was a product of his century, it was Dr John Wall – physician, artist, entrepreneur, man of vision, and arbiter of… Read More »John Wall – physician, artist and famous businessman, died 27th June 1776.
A lady with a fine muff, what more could you ask for?
A couple of prints from the British Museum, so I must acknowledge their copyright: The Muff was a fashion accessory which got larger and larger… Read More »A lady with a fine muff, what more could you ask for?