Glove
A grey left handed glove with three ribs along the back of the hand. There is a button and buttonhole on the underside of the wrist. Print on the inside of the glove states that it is a mens size eight, ...
Hare and Hounds
This is an oil painting of a hunting scene on a japanned tin tray. It was painted by an artist of the English Provincial School and dates from about 1860. Size of tray Height 548mm, Width 708mm.
Hat
Black top hat made by John Clarence Forsythe, c.1938.
Horn beaker
This tapered beaker is decorated with a scene of a coach and a manor house. This type of beaker had the advantage of being light, washable, and inexpensive. Its transparency highlights the decoration, ...
Horn beaker
This tapered beaker is decorated with a coach, buildings and trees, and with initials I.P. and J.F. on the side. This type of beaker had the advantage of being light, washable, and inexpensive. Its transparency ...
Horn beakers - four examples
L to R:
Beaker with a coach and a gentleman riding his horse, with buildings beyond
Beaker with a coach and various buildings, including an inn, and a leaf design around the rim
Beaker with a ...
Hunningham. Red Lion with drinkers outside
Three men drinking outside The Red Lion, Hunningham. Terrier dog. 1930s
In the Lion's Den
This is an oil painting on canvas depicting a circus trainer in a travelling cage with a lion, a tiger and three liger cubs. Ligers are the offspring of lions and tigers, which only mate together in captivity. ...
John Gerarde, The Herball, 1597 - garden detail on title page
Shakespeare set scenes in gardens such as this
Many scenes in Shakespeare’s plays are set in gardens. The formal lay-out of beds and hedges seen on this title-page engraving were familiar to ...
John Gerarde, The Herball, 1597 - portrait, on back of title-page, p.B6v.
John Gerarde, herbalist: a contemporary of Shakespeare.
The large linen ruff was a fashion imported from the Netherlands, but adopted by all who could afford the starches needed to create such an accessory. ...
John Gerarde, The Herball, 1597 - title-page
An owner of a volume contemporary with Shakespeare has replaced a missing title-page.
The decorative title-pages of books have occasionally been damaged, or removed by their owners. This copy of ...
Kirkdale Cave, Yorkshire
This is a watercolour of an important archaeological excavation at Kirkdale Cave in Yorkshire. It is by an artist of the English School and dates from about 1824. On the reverse an inscription reads 'The ...
Letter to Tailor
A letter from the essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1885) to his tailor Thomas Garthwaite, with instructions for a new set of clothes. Carlyle has attached a textile sample to show which material ...
Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, 1634 - shipwreck illustration , pl. XLI, p. 341
Shipwrecks and storms at sea were often in the news in Shakespeare's London.
The storms of the Mediterranean sea were notorious. Shakespeare included them in his plays of The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth ...
Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, 1634 - Sir John Harington, title page, detail.
A courtier: Sir John Harington, Shakespeare's contemporary.
Sir John Harington, son of Henry VIII's treasurer, was godson to Queen Elizabeth I. He was educated at Eton College and Cambridge before ...
Master George
This is an oil painting on canvas depicting the horse Master George. It was painted in 1870 by an artist from the English School. A painted inscription along the bottom reads 'MASTER GEORGE, 12 HANDS ...
Michael Drayton, Polyolbion, 1613 - Musicmakers by the River Severn - plate between p.54 & p.55
Country music making in Shakespeare's time.
Queen Elizabeth I was skilled on the virginals, (a keyboard instrument, popular for accompaniment of singers), and all classes of society were encouraged ...
Moving Toy - barber and customer
This tin model of a barber and his customer operates by a clockwork mechanism. When the key is wound, the barber appears to be cutting his customer's hair (although the customer is bald!)