Zebras in harness

This is the main attraction. This was the story that first stopped me in my tracks taken from that page of The Graphic published that August Saturday 119 years ago. I was distracted by so many other stories on that page and that led me to share with you the pheasant plucking book, the death… Continue reading Zebras in harness

Did Dickens steal Sam Slick of Slickville?

It was not looking like a success. It was meant to be an amusing satiric picture postcard of a book about the exploits of lower middle class sportsmen who aped their betters. The writing was merely meant to wrap around a series of pictures — for the whole concept originated with an artist. To do… Continue reading Did Dickens steal Sam Slick of Slickville?

Jack Hargreaves; new viewers start here

Jack Hargreaves died 20 years ago. The name is so plain English. It is the sort of name you see rolling up the credits of a black and white movie from the forties. Jack Hargreaves is the source material of history though. More about that later, but first a bit about a life well lived.… Continue reading Jack Hargreaves; new viewers start here

What are zoos for?

That page of The Graphic from 1895 just keeps on giving. Looking across from the pheasants shocker is another piece of news that has echoes today. Right now there is a half-hearted debate about what economists might call the moneytisation of cultural assets. As the first world (yes I know, we’ve discussed this phrase), falls… Continue reading What are zoos for?

More from The Graphic

There was more on that same page of The Graphic dated August 17th 1895 than just a review of a pheasant shooting handbook (see below). Right beside it was the news that a man who wrote the songbook of the American Civil War had just died. As the obituary recalled, George Frederick Root “…is better… Continue reading More from The Graphic

The Unmet Need

Oil is a risky business. It is not surprising to hear a geologist predict that ‘peak oil’ has past. Oil’s future will be inexorable decline. It would not shock you unduly to hear them say oil is now just “a temporary and vanishing phenomenon—one which young men will live to see come to its natural… Continue reading The Unmet Need

“The pheasant flies a great deal faster than he appears to do”

Reading this book review from 1895 will almost certainly anger practitioners of what is now called animal rights. It will cause bird protection societies to tut tut about how unfeelingly cruel were our ancestors. And of course the class warriors will take it upon themselves to behave as the encouraged guard dogs of our morality.… Continue reading “The pheasant flies a great deal faster than he appears to do”