Browse Items (716 total)

Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert on April 10, 1840. She is actually credited with popularizing the use of a white gown at weddings, as it was popular among higher classes but not with others at the time. The selection of white as the…

This book details how to pull off simple magic tricks as well as how to communicate with spirits. Published in 1855, we can get a sense as to the fascination Victorians had of the supernatural and how this fascination inspired many writers in the…

Many of Thomas Hardy's works take place in Wessex, which is named after the Anglo-Saxon kingdom that existed before the unification of England. Many real towns in southern and southwestern England have been renamed in Hardy's Wessex, and this map may…

This photograph comes from the edition of "Wessex Tales" that was published in 1912. It shows the hangman's cottage, which Gertrude visits in order to cure her arm.

When I was looking for my Omeka items, I discovered that I was mistaken about the original publication of "An Imaginative Woman." I came across this image, which is an original illustration that accompanied "An Imaginative Woman" in Pall Mall…

I chose to include this ornamented opening letter of "An Imaginative Woman" because I find's Goodman and Hardy's artistic choices blend to make a sly comment on the story through a simple letter "W." The box contains what appears to be tangled…

I love that this illustration was included in the publication of "An Imaginative Woman" because this image truly shows Ella in the foreground of this narrative. Her position on the desk that emulates intellect and curiosity, and the target of her…

This is the cover page from the Illustrated Police News, a sensationalist tabloid that would seek to satisfy the morbid curiosities of its readers. On this date in 1876, the cover featured illustrations of murderous apparitions. We see in the middle…

This bold and bright poster presents two different scenes of leisure made more widely available by the railway. The artist has selected a range of vivid colors, a choice made possible by the growing availability of lithographic printing. The poster…

This artifact is a newspaper advertisement for stereoscopes, and stereoscope slides that depict numerous objects and scenes, including a scene that shows a ghost. This advertisement shows a merging of Victorian literature and storytelling with the…