With Lonely Planet naming the half-timbered pub ‘a Manchester institution’, the Old Wellington Inn, as Manchester’s oldest holding, represents the heart of the city. The building plays a significant role in the development of Manchester as its past inhabitants have been known to have founded its first bank, developed its cotton industry and built its […]
After a long-lasting battle with illness, Sir Gerald Kaufman, father of the House of Commons and the UK’s oldest sitting MP, passed away 26 February 2017. Kaufman, the son of Polish, Jewish immigrants, was born in Leeds in 1930. After attending Leeds Grammar School, he studied philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford- […]
It’s 6:30 am, and you’ve just arrived at the Bryant & May match factory in the East End of London for a long fourteen-hour shift of dangerous, monotonous work, ending the day with measly wages of just 1 shilling and 9 pence per 100 boxes of matches you wrap. Not only this but ridiculous fines […]
As you sit at a desk trying to recall a mountain of information learnt in three hours each week for the last few months, it’s tempting to dream about pastures sunny. In this issue, we’ve provided you with the perfect fodder for those forgetful exam moments, though we’d recommend saving it for after you’ve walked […]
Trigger warning: sexual assault In 1970, black revolutionary Angela Yvonne Davis was prosecuted for three capital felonies including first-degree murder, though she was not present when any violence took place. Davis was a professor of philosophy at UCLA just a year before, where she was fired on the grounds of being a communist. President Richard […]
Buried in an alcove of the Reading Room in Chetham’s library is an unassuming wooden desk. This desk was the station from which the founders of Marxism constructed their ideology during their time in Manchester. It was during the summer of 1845 that Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx worked from this desk, diligently developing the […]
In 1970, black revolutionary Angela Yvonne Davis was prosecuted for three capital felonies including first-degree murder, though she was not present when any violence took place. Davis was a professor of philosophy at UCLA just a year before, where she was fired on the grounds of being a communist. When Pêro Vaz de Caminha arrived […]
When Pêro Vaz de Caminha arrived in Brazil on the 22nd of April 1500 aboard Pedro Alvares Cabral’s voyage of ‘discovery’, he was awestruck. The letter he wrote to the Portuguese King Manuel I is in stark contrast to those written by other explorers of the period. Caminha admired the innocence of the natives who […]
Slave advert from the 18th century. At this time, adverts were very literal descriptions and pictures, as seen here, were very rare. Wikimedia Commons Car advert, late 19th century. Adverts began to regularly carry accompanying images and slogans. Winton Motor Carriage Company Chanel No.5 advert, 1937. This was one of the first ads to carry […]
The Manchester Art Gallery’s In Translation is a new collaborative exhibition displaying selected works from the Empire Marketing Board alongside new commentaries and pieces derived from the artists’ collective Ultimate Holding Company’s workshops with foreign female immigrants to the North West. The Empire Marketing Board existed in the interwar period between the years 1926 to […]
Professor Frank Mort has suggested Peter Wildeblood as an Undiscovered Hero of History. Xan Atkins discovers that he was one of the first men to publicly declare his homosexuality in the UK. Historically the participation of women in warfare as direct combatants has been very rare. Until recently, women have been prohibited from enlisting in […]
Take credo, says Niall Ferguson, economic historian and current professor of History at Yale University. Credo is the Latin for ‘I believe’ and is the root of the English word credit. This is Ferguson’s foundation in his Channel 4 documentary series The Ascent Of Money in which he aims to prove that money is the […]
As Britain suffers from railway strikes, collapsing franchises, and unreliable trains, Japan celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of their much beloved Shinkansen. October has been a month of wild fanfare honouring the service of the bullet train. Emotional commercials and commemorative merchandise are abundant. For Japan, the Shinkansen is more than just an engineering marvel. The […]
We are all familiar with the faces of the famous splashed across billboards, TVs and magazines dubiously endorsing all manner of products from face creams to funeral services. Alex Hulmes looks at celebrity branding through history. Slogans are some of the most memorable media we have, with most of us being able to repeat them […]
