Lonely Souls
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Skink Magazine: The Victorian BDSM Catalogue Collection #4
These photographs were taken last year by a private collector of Victorian ‘love maids’. We are thankful to them for allowing us to archive the images here. These dolls were referenced in the classified section of Skink. They asked people to write to the Southern Exchange (abbreviated to SEX) for more information. It is a…
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A Day Out at Louse Park of Lancaster Collection #3
The Queen Victoria Moth House, situated on the grounds of Louse Park, was undoubtedly the most popular photography location for visitors. The ladies were often seen forming huge queues to enter the moth house alone and have their photos taken by one of Mr Bailey’s apprentices. As you can see from this collection, the results…
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A Day Out at Louse Park of Lancaster Collection #2
Maxwell Bailey was a professional photographer specialising in artistic portraits. Every Sunday he would visit Louse Park which was part of Lord Arthur Allen’s estate; an important figure in 19th century zoology. The park was themed to Lord Allen’s specialist area which was, surprise surprise, insects (although it should be noted that Lord Allen never…
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Asylum Artwork by Peter Trout Collection #2
You may have noticed that compared to the other asylum artworks, Mr Trout’s are fairly clean. There are no desperate scratches or manic scribbles; the subjects are at least fathomable in a literal sense. We believe that this is because Mr Trout had a background in illustration. It is possible that after the trauma he…
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Asylum Artwork by Peter Trout Collection #1
Today we begin archiving the artwork of Mr Peter Trout. Mr Trout had carved a living out of painting medical illustrations. He had graduated aged 16 at a technical college in Oxford where he excelled in the artform. He worked extensively with universities and book publishers across the world. After visiting the theatre with his…
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Victorian Insect Hatting Collection #2
It’s been a while since we first archived the collection of ‘insect hatters’. We have so many new and ongoing collections that we’re struggling to get them up. We don’t have much more information on this peculiar pastime. We do know that this collection of photographs was taken in Dewsbury where these gentlemen gathered monthly…
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Post-mortem Photography (All That Remains) Collection #2
You may remember that when we archived the first collection of post-mortem photography, we promised one more collection centred around widows and their late lovers. A few weeks ago somebody (who wishes to remain anonymous) contacted us with the above images and supporting evidence of their authenticity. It was sometimes the case that the grieving…
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Birds of Paradise Collection
The Birds of Paradise was a gentlemen’s club of the traditional type based in Newcastle. It became a meeting place for lonely bachelors who came together to curse the world and drown their sorrows. One night a gentleman called Alfred Beach (photograph #10), who was very drunk at the time, began talking about how easy…
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Post-mortem Photography (My Sleeping Beauty) Collection #1
Most people with a keen interest in Victorian history will have come across post-mortem photography (more commonly known as death photography). It was a style of photography which flourished during the latter part of the 19th century. Most post-mortem photographs floating around the public domain tend to depict deceased family members in an early stage…
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The Gentlemen’s Moth Appreciation Society of England Collection #1
The Gentlemen’s Moth Appreciation Society of England was founded in 1768. It was the governing body of all 57 registered moth societies across the country until its abrupt disbanding in 1900. This society converged around a shared, often lifelong love of the moth. While many of us are terrified by the mere mention of this…
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