Today, we live in a world where we can "see" anything that catches our fancy, whether it's a treasure housed in a museum in some distant part of the world, or a glimpse of the wonders of another planet, or the creatures hidden in a drop of water. The Victorian audience, however, could see such things only if they appeared in print. A typical Victorian reader wasn't likely to travel to a museum where she could gaze upon a collection of figureheads, or fossils, or fans. Hence, one key role of the illustrated Victorian magazine was to bring its readers glimpses of "marvels" and "wonders." Magazines abounded with "roundup" articles of objects, curiosities, and antiquities, often lavishly illustrated with engravings.
As photography became the preferred means of magazine illustration in the 1890's, magazines like The Strand actively sought for curiousities that could be presented to their readers with this "new" medium. Hence you'll find articles on artists who create figures out of fungi, coconuts, and even matchbooks. Eventually The Strand created a "curiosities" section for reader photos of quirky things, such as potatoes that looked like people.
Another type of article that was popular in Victorian magazines was the "how it was made" feature. This type of article generally looked at a particular type of object, such as thimbles or shoes, and examined how the object had been made throughout history - again with lots of illustrations of "curious" examples of the object. Magazines also ran features on archaeological discoveries and antiquarian objects of interest, or items of historical interest such as a queen's cradle or a king's chair.
This section brings together Victorian articles that focus on "objects," including roundups of a specific type of object (e.g., "sundials"), historical looks at objects, examinations of how things were made, explorations of antiquities and archaeological finds, and eye-popping accounts of contemporary curiosities. Rather than try to separate articles into such categories as "roundups" vs. "how it was made," we've simply grouped them by object type - e.g., furniture, textiles, jewelry, antiquities, etc. In short, this section is our very own Victorian "cabinet of curiosities!"
- Objects, Curiosities & Antiquities
- Antiques & Antiquities
- Books, Paper & Printed Items
- Clocks, Watches & Sundials
- Flags, Emblems & Symbols
- Furniture & Household Items
- Gems, Jewelry & Regalia
- Glass, Pottery, Dishware & Utensils
- Odds & Ends
- Textiles, Needlework, Lace & Clothing
- Toys & Games
- Victorian Curiosities
- Odd Victorian Inventions
- • See also History: Origins & Evolutions for information on the origins and evolutions of processes and systems, such as writing and calendars.
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