Bristol Celebrating Abolition of the Slave Trade, 1808

When I lived in Bristol there were a lot of stories of how the bells of St Mary Redcliffe rang merrily when the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was defeated. I’ve not been able to find that, but the press seems to have been silent when the Act was finally passed. But this is … Continue reading →

Batavia: The Historic Dutch Ship And its Blood-Curdling History

Originally posted on ALK3R:
Moored at Bataviawerf, in Lelystad, in the Netherlands, is an authentic replica of a 17th-century ship named Batavia that once belonged to the Dutch East India Company. The replica was created by master-shipbuilder Willem Vos, who carries an extraordinary mission — to reconstruct famous ships from the golden age of…

English Utopia in the Art of Helen Allingham

Originally posted on A R T L▼R K:
On the 28th of September 1926, Victorian water-colourist and illustrator Helen Allingham, born Helen M. E. Paterson, died in Haslemere, Surrey, England. Her career “was circumscribed by, relied upon, and exceeded accepted norms of landscape painting in the nineteenth century. She painted out-of-doors, for example, a…

Banned Books Throughout History

Reblogged on WordPress.com Source: Banned Books Throughout History

Messing with Hogarth

The Royal Society for Public Health has commissioned an update of Hogarth’s famous cartoon ‘Gin Lane’ to publicise the problems of public health. This is from the I paper: Hogarth’s satirical cartoon, published in 1751, blamed excessive consumption of gin for child neglect, disease, prostitution and debauchery. Thomas Moore’s Gin Lane 2016, commissioned by the … Continue reading →

Anthony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ at Crosby Beach

I am amazed to discover this collection of statues modelled on Gormley’s own body have been standing staring out to sea for a decade now. Locals seem to have no idea how many there are; they tell me to count them. There are 100 of them that toured several cities before being installed here, just … Continue reading →

The Dawn of Air Travel

Forget about the Wright Brothers, the first flight was in England, a beautiful machine called Ariel. This is from a lovely illustrated book on a 19th century family of publishers who are still in business, Ackermann 1783-1983, and is one of the many strange items associated with this printing house: In 1843 Ackerman & Co. published … Continue reading →

Rita McBride”s ‘Portal’ – Liverpool Biennial

This is a work of art that covers 2 of my favourite things – industrial archaeology and art that you can wander round. It is in what was Toxteth Reservoir, built in 1853 in response to the latest outbreak of cholera, and to provide water for firefighting down on the docks, where most building and … Continue reading →

Liverpool Biennial – ABC Cinema

After struggling to focus on my writing over the summer, I waited till the schools were back and prices down to escape to Liverpool for the tail end of their festival, in the hope of kick-starting my brain. My first stop was this GradeII listed Art Deco cinema, now gloriously ruinous, dimly lit, with artworks … Continue reading →

Happy first day of autumn

Originally posted on bluebird of bitterness:
To creatures of all descriptions bluebird of bitterness View original post