Category Archives: Uncategorized

Fairies and socialism

Towards the end of the 1880’s, improvements in lithographic printing meant it became possible to produce books with coloured illustrations relatively cheaply. And one of the first markets was children’s books – often given the increasing interest in folklore in … Continue reading

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Anarchists, revolutionaries and female spies

I’ve become intrigued by the 1894 story of the anarchist Polti being arrested through the agency of a female detective to whom he showed some documents, and it’s all a little bit strange. The early newspaper accounts mention a female … Continue reading

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Female detectives, spies and assassins…

I’ve been reading Sara Lodge’s book on female police detectives in the nineteenth century, and excellent it is too. Understandably, most of the material that she covers comes from the British Isles so, out of interest, I searched both Trove … Continue reading

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A post card to Miss Tripp

I’m not a serious post card collector, but I’m fascinated by the way people in the late nineteenth century used post cards much in the way we use text messages and emails, and occasionally, when I’ve some spare cash I’ll … Continue reading

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Writing in the nineteenth century

The combination of the penny post and increasing literacy meant that people in the nineteenth century wrote a lot. We are not talking about the good and the great, but about ordinary people writing ordinary letters commiserating a cousin for … Continue reading

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Technology and me in 2024 …

For a long time now, I’ve been doing an annual review of my personal use of technology, so following on from last year’s review here’s the review for 2024. In a sense, not much has changed. I have finally bought … Continue reading

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A nineteenth century hockey playing cult

While researching something else entirely I came across the story of the Agapemone, a nineteenth century quasi christian cult in England. I came across the cult due to the misuse of the laws governing lunacy in England in the mid … Continue reading

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Sewing machines and bicycles

Down at Lake View yesterday, one of the items I documented was an 1867 Britannia sewing machine made in Colchester in England Britannia machines were extensively advertised at the time and at a cost of GBP 9 – which works … Continue reading

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A short door post box in Echuca

In Victoria, there are still quite a few  nineteenth century post boxes around. There’s two common types a cylindrical model with a metal crown on on top and a square design which sometimes has a separate slot for posting newspapers. … Continue reading

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A trip to Lake Tyrell

J had come across some pictures of Lake Tyrell, a salt lake out in Mallee in the west of the state, and thought the landscapes might make a suitable subject for a painting or two. At the same time I’d … Continue reading

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