toys
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Miscellaneous Christmas Photographs Collection (Naughty Christmas Elves Edition) #2
A kind reader sent us a box of photographs that appear to be “naughty” Christmas elves. They are pretend mugshots with their personal information. There are brief details of their individual crimes on the rear side. We have no idea who created them and for what purpose, but we think they are fantastic. We hope…
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Miscellaneous Christmas Photographs Collection (Festive Decorations Edition) #1
Since archiving some of our Christmas photographs, we have been inundated by our readers sending their own Victorian era photographs. They don’t quite fit into any existing series, but we have verified some of them and we agree that they are worthy of inclusion. So for consistency we have clumped them together in a miscellaneous…
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Mr Baker the Blind Toymaker Collection (Festive Toys Edition) #4
Today we continue with more fascinating images of Mr Baker’s toys. I particularly like the ‘Merry Christmoth’ in photograph #3. However, the festive insect costume in photograph #10 really sings with that Christmas cheer. Enjoy! TVUP
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Mr Baker the Blind Toymaker Collection (Festive Toys Edition) #3
We return to the thoroughly strange handmade toys by Mr Baker. This time we thought you’d appreciate some good old-fashioned creepy Victorian Christmas toys; the type of toys that hide at the bottom of the box, waiting to terrify some little nippers and ruin their Christmas. We have also included a photograph of Mr Baker…
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The Most Popular Children’s Toy in 1899 Collection #2
Today we archive more ‘knights on hogback’. We discussed in the last post how this phenomenon became the hobby of the parents. If you were to visit rural communities in the north on any given Sunday, you would find children bashing each other and adults doing the same but much more vehemently. Before long the…
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The Most Popular Children’s Toy in 1899 Collection #1
We should clarify right away that the title of this collection is a little bit misleading. The toys were actually the most popular for parents who would goad their children into playing with them. Regular visitors to our blog may recall previous collections where parents use their children for their own amusement. So what on…
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Domingo’s Haunted Puppet Show Collection #2
Following on from the last collection, we have discovered a little more about Alfred Byrne and his puppet shows. From a young age, Alfred had an incredible flair for creating puppets, costumes and stage designs. However, owed to the harsh living conditions he experienced in a small town in the northeast of England, with two…
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Domingo’s Haunted Puppet Show Collection #1
Alfred Byrne’s entertainment name was Domingo. We can see him in photograph #10 with some of his creations. He performed his shows in underground theatres across the country and was popular among bohemian circles. The stories he told tended to be a mix of nihilism, gallows humour and scathing social commentary. He attacked royalty, parliament,…
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Skink Magazine; The Victorian BDSM Catalogue Collection #1
When we think about the Victorians, we tend to focus on the stuffy and inflexible norms we find among polite society. No foul language, no bad manners and certainly no kink. But dig only a few inches deeper and we find that this was only part of the story. Although often well hidden, there were…
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