Dr. Peel shared this video with me:
The Construction of the Crystal Palace
One of the quotes from the video states "pre-fabricated parts meant the building went up in only 22 weeks." This got me thinking about pre-fabricated parts. I wonder how advanced the technology was. Was the technology newer? Were these parts built in factories by lower class workers like John Barton?
:)
[Victorian Literature]
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Did you know?
Did you know that the last 30 pages or so of the catalogue are advertisements? (Similar to the post below).
[Victorian Literature]
[Victorian Literature]
Monday, February 21, 2011
Lower Class Housing
I was a little curious as to what the housing life would be like if you were a working class family in Victorian England.
I found this excerpt from Census Helper - Victorian Life
"Most housing was rented, with fewer than one in ten people owning their own home. For the working classes it was only possible to own a home if the area was prosperous and income was stable, and repayments towards ownership would be approximately 10s per month."
I found this picture at National Archives.gov
More Pictures:
A Second Look
It seems like a lot of families would live in one house together.
[Victorian Literature]
I found this excerpt from Census Helper - Victorian Life
"Most housing was rented, with fewer than one in ten people owning their own home. For the working classes it was only possible to own a home if the area was prosperous and income was stable, and repayments towards ownership would be approximately 10s per month."
I found this picture at National Archives.gov
More Pictures:
A Second Look
It seems like a lot of families would live in one house together.
[Victorian Literature]
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Reference Link
I'm posting this link because I want it for my references.
Steampunk - Victorian Women
I'm also working on a theory, which I will divulge later. If anyone has information on this "steampunk movement" can you let me know :)
[Victorian Literature]
Steampunk - Victorian Women
I'm also working on a theory, which I will divulge later. If anyone has information on this "steampunk movement" can you let me know :)
[Victorian Literature]
A Christmas Carol; The 4 Ghosts
The first, Jacob Marley, appears as a ghost entangled in chains of greed. "The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel."
The second, the ghost of Christmas past, appears sort of indistinguishable between a child and an elderly man, possibly representing the parallel between the first times of life and the last times of life. "It was a strange figure--like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child's proportions."
The third, ghost of Christmas present, appears to scrooge as a giant with as much food as he could possibly want, (maybe representing gluttony). “…heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn…immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam. In easy state upon this couch, there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to see…”
The final ghost, that of Christmas yet to come, appears in a hooded cloak, representing images of the grim reaper and death. "It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded."
What do these representations mean?
[Victorian Literature]
The second, the ghost of Christmas past, appears sort of indistinguishable between a child and an elderly man, possibly representing the parallel between the first times of life and the last times of life. "It was a strange figure--like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child's proportions."
The third, ghost of Christmas present, appears to scrooge as a giant with as much food as he could possibly want, (maybe representing gluttony). “…heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn…immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam. In easy state upon this couch, there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to see…”
The final ghost, that of Christmas yet to come, appears in a hooded cloak, representing images of the grim reaper and death. "It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded."
What do these representations mean?
[Victorian Literature]
Monday, February 7, 2011
A Christmas Carol; Stave 1 & 2
In the edition I have, there is a beautiful introduction which talks about Dickens' advocacy for the poor. In A Christmas Carol it becomes clear that he is drawing a clear line between wealth and poverty. Not only does Dickens do this through his descriptions of each class, but also in how they view Christmas. It seems that the poor take pride in Christmas and, even though they have very little, celebrate it with everything they have. The rich still celebrate, but with less emotion and care than the poor.
Also, this is my first time reading the original book. I'm very familiar with the story, but really only the versions presented by Disney (etc.) The actual story is kind of scary (Marley's ghost). In the version I have, there are sort of spooky drawings of the ghost. (Illustrated by Robert Ingpen)
One last thing; Did you know that it was Prince Albert who brought the German tradition of decorating a tree to England? Which is why now we decorate our Christmas trees in December.
[Victorian Literature]
Also, this is my first time reading the original book. I'm very familiar with the story, but really only the versions presented by Disney (etc.) The actual story is kind of scary (Marley's ghost). In the version I have, there are sort of spooky drawings of the ghost. (Illustrated by Robert Ingpen)
One last thing; Did you know that it was Prince Albert who brought the German tradition of decorating a tree to England? Which is why now we decorate our Christmas trees in December.
[Victorian Literature]
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