Category Archives: Uncategorized

Mariana Starke

Posted on 27/05/2018 by

Miss Starke (sometimes given the ‘courtesy’ title of Mrs) had the great good fortune to have relatives who needed nursing in a benign climate abroad. (Less good luck for the relatives, obviously.) As a consequence, instead of staying in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, France, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Uncategorized, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Object of the Month: May 2018

Posted on 19/05/2018 by

How many bear jugs does one person need in his or her life? The answer, in the case of Dr J.W.L. Glaisher (about whom I have written before), appears to be at least twelve. This is the number bequeathed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Cambridge, History, London, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Burkat Shudi

Posted on 15/03/2018 by

I had been vaguely aware for some time that there existed in London in the eighteenth century a harpsichord-maker called Burkat Shudi. On 12 March I noticed that his date of birth was 13 March 1702. On 13 March I … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Cambridge, London, Museums and Galleries, Music, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Elphamy

Posted on 02/03/2018 by

Some of you may know that as well this blog, I also have a Twitter account (@Prof_hedgehog), via which I occasionally share thoughts with the universe, but more regularly tweet about things that happened #OTD, including a Saint of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bibliography, Botany, Gardens, History, Natural history, Printing and Publishing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Plant of the Month: February 2018

Posted on 18/02/2018 by

‘In regard to plants, no one has treated this subject [natural selection] with more spirit and ability than W. Herbert, Dean of Manchester, evidently the result of his great horticultural knowledge.’ Charles Darwin, in On the Origin of Species I … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Botany, Gardens, Natural history, Printing and Publishing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mr and Miss Morris

Posted on 10/02/2018 by

I did something the other week which I’d never achieved before: I went to the end of a London Underground line! I have to say that I was a bit disappointed that the Victoria Line remained resolutely Underground until Walthamstow … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, History, Literature, London, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Printing and Publishing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Legacy of Sir J.E. Smith

Posted on 08/02/2018 by

A terrific bargain available once a month in London is a ‘Treasures Tour’ and visit to the Library of the Linnean Society, in Burlington House, Piccadilly. (I have now managed one way and another to get inside the Royal Astronomical … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Gardens, History, London, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments