He was once so eye-wateringly rich, he bought Leicester Square when it was under threat of redevelopment, just to give it to the nation.
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“The Fiends We Are Fighting”
Now that the handwringing over the millions killed in the First World War has momentarily quietened, here’s a story that in all probability will not get told again, as it does not play the tidy vision of civilised nations fighting like gentlemen. This was behaviour of medieval barbarity — the kind that ISIL would exact,… Continue reading “The Fiends We Are Fighting”
“In consequence of having had the screw put on…”
Every once in a while you bump into something you weren’t looking for, but the happenstance makes you smile. Although FH Lewisson of Auckland, New Zealand has been dead this many a long year, you have to have hoped that this small businessman’s direct, impassioned and charming appeal from Ocotber 1879 worked and he was… Continue reading “In consequence of having had the screw put on…”
Staff Sargeant Reckless
Mr Ed’s braver brother… http://nypost.com/2014/08/10/meet-the-first-horse-to-become-a-marine-sergeant/
A million men died — and it wasn’t in World War One
A cynic could play cliché bingo in Britain today. “Ultimate sacrifice”, “pals’ battalion”, “over the top”, “the mud”, “No Man’s Land”, “over by Christmas”, “lions led by donkeys”, “four years of trench warfare.” We are treating 100 years’ tick tock like a sentimentalist Victorian treated the deserving poor. It’s like one of those signs as… Continue reading A million men died — and it wasn’t in World War One
Secrets of the Cosmetic Art (Part 3)
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?