After the constraints of the World War Two, the British embraced modern design like never before. From spindly-legged furniture to fabrics based on atomic design, quirkily patterned pottery to abstract graphics, they wanted everything around them to reflect the bright new post-war world.
This book traces the development of modern design in the 1950s, from its first genteel beginnings at the Festival of Britain to the shops brimming with slick products at the end of the decade.
Looking at both well-known classics and popular favourites, the work of famous designers and anonymous...
After the constraints of the World War Two, the British embraced modern design like never before. From spindly-legged furniture to fabrics based on...
The boy scout movement, started by Lieutenant General Baden-Powell (1857 - 1941) in 1907, has had an enduring impact on British society, providing boys from the age of six upwards with 'instruction in good citizenship.' Using scout archive material, original photographs, advertisements, objects and personal recollections, this book traces the history of the scouting movement from its roots in the Edwardian era when Baden-Powell ran an experimental camp held at Brownsea Island, Dorset attended by a handful of boys. Moving through the decades, the story unfolds of a movement which is a...
The boy scout movement, started by Lieutenant General Baden-Powell (1857 - 1941) in 1907, has had an enduring impact on British society, providing boy...
Gardening became a popular pastime in Victorian Britain with the rise of suburban gardens and a passion for the outdoors. New plant introductions from abroad brought a greater variety of plants, while improvements in technology made gardening more accessible. Gardening books and magazines spread the appeal and debate raged over the merits of colour and order versus wild and natural. The large and impressive gardens of country houses were emulated in suburban settings as the appeal of gardens and gardening spread to the masses, while the creation of public parks introduced green spaces to...
Gardening became a popular pastime in Victorian Britain with the rise of suburban gardens and a passion for the outdoors. New plant introductions f...
When war broke out in 1939 the Women's Land Army was already organised and ready for action. Women who had served in the WLA in the First World War returned to service with their daughters, ready to fill in for the male labourers who had gone abroad to fight. Livestock was tended, fields were ploughed, harvests were reaped and everything possible was done to keep Britain self-sufficient. Neil Storey and Molly Housego tell the story of the Women's Land Army, how it was organised, what its members did and what training was provided, and describes the work of the Timber Corps of the WLA, also...
When war broke out in 1939 the Women's Land Army was already organised and ready for action. Women who had served in the WLA in the First World War re...
In 1809-10 thanksgiving ceremonies and feasts across the nation ushered George III into his fiftieth year as king. This was the first British celebration of a royal jubilee, and set the mould for the five that have since followed: processions, fireworks, construction of monuments, the striking of special coins and medals, and, of course, the sale of commemorative mugs. Queen Victoria celebrated her golden and diamond jubilees in 1887 and 1897 amid throngs of patriotic British subjects from all over the world, and celebrations were also held for George V's silver jubilee in 1935. Following her...
In 1809-10 thanksgiving ceremonies and feasts across the nation ushered George III into his fiftieth year as king. This was the first British celebrat...
It is safe to say that selling sex constituted a significant, and visible, part of urban culture in Georgian England. Alongside the rise of the 'polite society' of Jane Austen's novels, the city of London, so described in 1758, had long been portrayed as a centre of vice and debauchery. In the shadows of the fashionable public parks and gardens, in alleyways along the banks of the Thames, even at church doors, there lurked a world of criminality and prostitution for which the bawdyhouse became one of the most potent symbols.
The book will explore what is was like to run, work in, and...
It is safe to say that selling sex constituted a significant, and visible, part of urban culture in Georgian England. Alongside the rise of the 'po...
This book explains the history of British occupational c.1750-1950 - a period that saw the decline of many traditional forms of employment, the emergence of new jobs and the reorganisation of various roles to meet the changing demands of the workplace and wider society. Dress is a potent expression of human existence and the diverse occupational gear worn over reflects vividly the daily working lives of past generations. Drawing on historical material and new internet resources, this guide demonstrates the adaptation of regular clothes for manual tasks, development of civilian uniforms and...
This book explains the history of British occupational c.1750-1950 - a period that saw the decline of many traditional forms of employment, the emerge...
From mythical legends -dragons, unicorns, mermaids, sea serpents, griffins, yales, and wyverns -to contemporary tall-tales such as big cats on the moors and the Loch Ness Monster, the British imagination has ever been stalked by fantastic beasts. These creatures find their origins in folklore, literature, heraldry and religion and are vividly transmitted to us in countless manuscript illuminations, woodcuts, sculptures, engravings, carvings and paintings. Julia Cresswell here outlines and investigates the legendary beasts of Britain, including famous examples such as St. George's dragon...
From mythical legends -dragons, unicorns, mermaids, sea serpents, griffins, yales, and wyverns -to contemporary tall-tales such as big cats on the moo...
The pleasure steamer reached its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: hundreds of vessels, most of them paddle-powered, plied the lakes, waterways and coast of Britain, most often ferrying daytrippers from urban areas to the coast. Presenting a serene alternative to rail travel, they had the added advantage of dropping passengers off directly at the main attraction of any resort, the pier, which owed its very existence to the steamers, which needed somewhere to dock offshore. Andrew Gladwell here explores the rise and fall of these attractive ships, the companies that...
The pleasure steamer reached its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: hundreds of vessels, most of them paddle-powered, plied ...
Boat races and regattas are mainstays of the British summer - but where did these races originate and how have they become so important a part of our culture? Historian, writer and novice sculler Julie Summers here explains the history of British rowing as a competitive sport from the early nineteenth century to the present day. She then profiles the three most famous rowing events: the Boat Race, rowed on the incoming tide from Putney to Mortlake in spring; Henley Royal Regatta, which takes place on the first weekend of July; and the Olympic Games, which have yielded some of the greatest...
Boat races and regattas are mainstays of the British summer - but where did these races originate and how have they become so important a part of our ...
