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Flight of the Langoustine, by Pierre Diamantopoulo at Hove Plinth

Flight of the Langoustine sculpture by Pierre Diamantopoulo

I love “Flight of the Langoustine,” at Hove Plinth, a production of Hove Civic Society. It was created by Pierre Diamantopoulo MRSS. It was inaugurated in September 2023. The location is on the Hove Promenade. […]

The Extinct Animals Model-Room at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham. Illustrated London News. Published 31 December 1853.

Studio for Crystal Palace Dinosaurs: Enter The Extinct Animals Model-Room

The famous engraving of New Year’s Eve Dinner in Iguanodon, published in Illustrated London News on 07 January 1854, appeared only one week after readers of the popular weekly magazine were given a glimpse inside […]

“The New Crystal Palace at Sydenham,” The Illustrated London News, 21 August 1852.

New Crystal Palace at Sydenham – 1852 – First Look

In August 1852, The Illustrated London News published a first look at the new Crystal Palace attraction at Sydenham. This included a design vision for the revised glasshouse and the pleasure gardens in which that […]

Close-up bottom row. “A Reverie at the Crystal Palace” in Punch magazine, 1854, volume 26, pages 250-251. Published 17 June 1854.

Reverie at the Crystal Palace – 1854 poster in Punch magazine

No-one was surprised when Punch magazine celebrated the grand opening of the Crystal Palace in Sydenham, with opening ceremonies on 10 June 1854. Illustrated London News, its competitor on the weekly magazine market, did the […]

Punch's Almanack for 1855 cartoon titled, "A visit to the antediluvian reptiles at Sydenham – Master Tom strongly objects to having his mind improved".

Punch 1855 Cartoon Visiting Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Punch, or The London Charivari, was a British weekly magazine famous for its illustrated commentary and satire of politics and culture across the nineteen century and twentieth century. Mr Punch became a cultural icon: part […]

St Paul's Cathedral, London, UK, and close-up of Queen Anne's statue at West Entrance

Did You Say ‘Alligator’? Mystery Animal Outside St Paul’s Cathedral

There’s a mystery animal outside St Paul’s Cathedral in central London. What is it? The best, first historical source describes it as an alligator. Seriously? To locate it, visit St Paul’s Cathedral churchyard. Move to […]

Portraits of Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin. 1840. By George Richmond

Darwin in London – Commemorative Plaques and Family Baptism Records

During research concerning Charles and Emma Darwin’s life at number 12 Upper Gower Street, Bloomsbury, London, I identified several errors and vagaries in biographical material found in standard reference works. This note communicates corrections and […]

Highlights

New Evidence on Dobzhansky 1936 “Jesup” lectures

Who says nothing exciting ever happens in historical research? This letter reports on a recent important find regarding the population geneticist, Theodosius Dobzhansky, and his famous 1937 book, Genetics and the Origin of Species. Most historians […]

Professor Cross's Phrenological Chart, 1892

Phrenology Consultation with Professor Cross

Professor W. Cross was a phrenologist who gave popular public performances at London’s Royal Aquarium in the 1880s and 1890s. Phrenology was the quack medical practice of studying bumps on the head under the false pretence of […]

New Yorker cartoon showing a museum guide instructing a visitor in the Sanford Hall of Birds, American Museum of Natural History, at the opening of the "Biology of Birds" exhibition.

Ernst Mayr and the Biology of Birds Exhibit at AMNH

When Ernst Mayr arrived in New York in 1931, he carried considerable intellectual baggage.

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