midjourney
-
A Murder of Scarecrows Collection #1
Between 1869 and 1875 there was such a profession as a human scarecrow. Because the bird population had temporarily increased owed to industrial displacement, farmers and other landowners experimented with tougher security measures. The idea was to employ poor people to march around their land wearing terrifying costumes, hoping this would deter what one farmer…
-
Victorian Hoax Photography Collection #2 (Ghost Edition)
Today we are sharing more Victorian hoax photography, except today the theme is ghosts. As with last time, photograph #1 is the best example of a ghost hoax we have in our archives. You can use it as a yardstick for how utterly terrible the other attempts are. We particularly like photograph #3; you can…
-
Victorian Hoax Photography Collection #1 (Yeti Edition)
Hoax photography was once a lucrative industry. Most of us are familiar with the ‘fairies at the bottom of the garden’ photographs. To a modern audience they look ridiculous, but to many Victorians they were evidence of paranormal activity. So today we bring to you some hoax photography of the mythical yeti and take a…
-
Chinatown in Victorian England Collection #1
England has traded with many countries over the years, both near and far. One of the most iconic is perhaps China which has set up shop in many parts of England using the ports to bring quality goods and produce. The photographs in this collection were taken in Liverpool’s Chinatown around the 1890s. While they…
-
The Strange World of Victorian Taxidermy Collection #1
Today we bring to you the first collection of Victorian taxidermy which was kindly photographed and sent to us by a collector. Taxidermy was accessible to anyone who could find an unwilling subject. Oftentimes poorer Victorians would hunt or steal animals and then turn them into strange objects. They would then be sold or kept…
-
Victorian Arthouse Cinema Stills Collection #1
Today we present some fascinating stills from an early example of arthouse cinema. The movie is called Witch House and was released in the underground theatre and cinema network in 1899. Photograph #9 is of the visionary director and producer Conrad Pitt who inspired a huge shift towards avant-garde narratives and techniques. The Victorian movies…
-
The Rebel Artists Collection #2
Today’s collection is one of the the most precious in our archives and demonstrates the importance of documenting the fringes of any society so that no life is forgotten. Stencilling as an act of rebellion goes back hundreds of years and we are glad that it had found its way into Victorian life. The images…
-
The Rebel Artists Collection #1
At The Fellowship of the Victorian Underground, we try our best to remain politically impartial. However, at the same time our role is to shine a torch on the road less travelled. As the King’s Coronation approaches, we thought it was a good time to show some alternative artists who dared to ridicule power. In…
-
The Deathly One Man Boat Race
Today we take a look at the peculiar, if not disastrous, One Man Boat Race of 1864. A total of 57 people set off from the beaches of Blackpool in tiny one man boats headed for New York. They were only allowed to take one umbrella, a useless map, a flask of tea, tobacco, one…
-
The Siblings of Saint Rupert Collection #1
On this day, precisely 150 years ago, a secret society known as The Siblings of Saint Rupert held its first ritual. Precious nothing was known about the siblings until an anonymous collector sent us these images which were rigorously analysed and verified by numerous experts. You will notice that on each of the photographs there’s…
Welcome to the Victorian Underground Project 