Subject: ‘Arts and Crafts’

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The glass bottle

Posted in Arts and Crafts, Historical articles, History, Medicine on Tuesday, 26 November 2019

This edited article about bottles originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 675 published on 21 December 1974.

Milkman, picture, image, illustration

The Milkman

Can you imagine a world without bottles?  It’s hard to visualise a way of life without any bottles at all; and it would have been very hard for our ancestors to have done so at any time in the last 350 years or so.

For the bottle is one of the oldest forms of container. Egypt and Mesopotamia had glass bottles about 2,000 years ago, but even if we ignore them and think of Europe, English glassmaking dates back to Tudor times. Medicine bottles were being made then by glassmakers in the well-wooded Sussex Weald. There they could obtain the wood which was the necessary fuel for their ovens.

Tudor bottles were of irregular shape – no two were exactly alike – because they were not blown in moulds. It was only when the craftsmen began to blow the soft molten glass in moulds that it became possible to turn out quantities of bottles of identical size and shape. Even then, for many years, only the bodies of bottles were “mould blown”; the necks were made separately and stuck on by hand.

In England, the seventeenth century saw glass bottles replacing stoneware and traditional leather bottles, especially for wine. Wine bottles were often marked with a prunt or seal – a misleading term because this did not seal the bottle in the ordinary sense, but was a glass circle applied to the shoulder of the bottle, with the owner’s initials or badge moulded in it.

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In 1821 Brighton Pavilion was completed at a cost of £502,797 6s. 10d.

Posted in Architecture, Arts and Crafts, British Towns, Famous landmarks, Historical articles, History, Royalty on Saturday, 30 January 2016

This edited article about architecture originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 439 published on 13 June 1970.

Brighton Pavilion, picture, image, illustration

General view of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, East Sussex.

If a certain Doctor Richard Russell had not very fervently advised sea-water as a cure for many ills, George Prince of Wales, later King George the Fourth, would never have come to Brighton to try the cure for himself. Nor would he have ever dreamt of building for himself a small palace, or pavilion, of Eastern design down by the sea.

Brighton – or Brighthelmstone as it was then called – was a simple fishing town when the Prince of Wales arrived there on Sunday, September 7th, 1783. He was twenty-one years of age. He liked the place, and came to it again the following year when he rented a house.

The Prince was extravagant, and so vast had grown his debts that in 1786 he decided to close his London residence of Carlton House and go to Brighton to lead a simple, and healthy life.

This time he rented a house on that part of the town known as the Steyne, the rent being £150 a year. This house was to be changed and changed again until finally it became his dream home, the fantastic Royal Brighton Pavilion as we know it today.

When first he rented his “house” the Prince of Wales had secretly married a Mrs. Fitzherbert who lived in a house nearby. They were happy enough at first, but George Prince of Wales was a restless man, and forgetting his resolution of economy, he decided to rebuild the house as a “Marine Pavilion”. The actual owner of the house was one Thomas Kemp. Brighton’s Kemp Town of today is named after him.

The well-known architect, Henry Holland, was given the commission to design the new house on the old site. 150 workmen were employed, and in a remarkably short time a classically simple residence was built. The grounds were laid out by two pupils of that great landscape designer Lancelot – “Capability” – Brown. Everything was as it should be – no mad “new ideas” or revolutionary designs. Although one touch which forecast the growing romantic ideas of George, Prince of Wales, was that he had in his bedroom . . . a glass so situated as to afford the Prince an extensive view of the sea and the Steyne as he lay in bed.

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The best pictures from educational trade cards, 117

Posted in Ancient History, Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Best pictures, Boats, Customs, Educational card, Historical articles, History, Legend, Leisure, Politics, Sea, Ships, Theatre on Thursday, 26 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows Croesus showing his treasures to Solon.

Croesus, picture, image, illustration

Croesus showing his treasures to Solon, 6th Century BC

The second picture shows the Marriage of the Doge and the Adriatic.

Doge, picture, image, illustration

Marriage of the Doge and the Adriatic in Venice

The third picture shows a Winter Carnival in St Petersburg in 1765.

carnival, picture, image, illustration

Winter Carnival in St Petersburg in 1765

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 100

Posted in Architecture, Art, Artist, Arts and Crafts, Best pictures, Castles, Disasters, Educational card, Exploration, Heroes and Heroines, Historical articles, History, London, Rivers, Royalty, Ships, War on Thursday, 26 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows the Royal reception of Francis Drake on his return to London from South America in 1581.

Francis Drake, picture, image, illustration

The Reception of Francis Drake to London from South America in 1581

The second picture shows the burning of the Chinese fleet at Canton.

Canton, picture, image, illustration

Burning of the Chinese fleet at Canton

The third picture shows Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, meeting with artists.

Burgundy, picture, image, illustration

Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, meeting with artists, 1450

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 99

Posted in Ancient History, Animals, Arts and Crafts, Astronomy, Best pictures, Educational card, Historical articles, History, Inventions, Literature, Philosophy, Plants, Rivers, Science, Transport, Travel, War on Thursday, 26 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows Hannibal crossing the Rhone with his army and elephants, 218 BC.

Hannibal, picture, image, illustration

Hannibal crossing the Rhone with his army and elephants, 218 BC

The second picture shows Ancient Egyptian papermakers.

papyrus, picture, image, illustration

Ancient Egyptian papermakers

The third picture shows Aristotle, Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist.

Aristotle, picture, image, illustration

Aristotle, Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 92

Posted in Africa, Ancient History, Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Arts and Crafts, Best pictures, Boats, Educational card, Famous news stories, Heroes and Heroines, Historical articles, History, Politics, Royalty on Thursday, 26 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows the Marble junk at the Summer Palace in Peking.

Peking, picture, image, illustration

Marble junk at the Summer Palace in Peking

The second picture shows Victor Schoelcher bringing news of their freedom to the slaves of Martinique, c.1848.

abolition, picture, image, illustration

Victor Schoelcher bringing news of their freedom to the slaves of Martinique, c1848

The third picture shows Pompeii and the Temple of the God Apollo.

temple, picture, image, illustration

The Temple of the God Apollo at Pompeii

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 91

Posted in America, Animals, Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Best pictures, Famous landmarks, Farming, Fashion, Historical articles, History, Weapons, Wildlife on Thursday, 26 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows buffalo hunting in North America.

hunt, picture, image, illustration

Hunting buffalo in North America

The second picture shows the Pailou arch in Peking.

Peking, picture, image, illustration

Pailou arch in Peking

The third picture shows Panama Hats being made.

Panama Hats, picture, image, illustration

Panama Hats Being Made

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 88

Posted in Ancient History, Architecture, Art, Arts and Crafts, Best pictures, Customs, Educational card, Geography, Historical articles, History, Leisure, Religion, Science on Thursday, 26 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows Caliph Mamun making the first measurement of the Equator.

Caliph Mamun, picture, image, illustration

Caliph Mamun Makes the First Measurement of the Equator

The second picture shows a Druid priest performing a human sacrifice.

Druid, picture, image, illustration

Druid sacrifice

The third picture shows a public art gallery.

Gallery, picture, image, illustration

Enjoying the Fine Arts

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 86

Posted in America, Archaeology, Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Best pictures, Educational card, Famous landmarks, Historical articles, History, Rivers, Travel on Wednesday, 25 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows a group of tourists in the Athenian countryside.

tourists, picture, image, illustration

Group of tourists in the Athenian countryside

The second picture shows Brooklyn Bridge, New York.

New York, picture, image, illustration

Brooklyn Bridge, New York

The third picture shows an Italian goldsmith’s workshop in the 16th Century.

gold, picture, image, illustration

Goldsmith's workshop, Italy, 16th Century

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 84

Posted in America, Animals, Arts and Crafts, Birds, Educational card, Famous battles, Historical articles, History, Industry, Nature, Plants, War, Wildlife on Wednesday, 25 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows the Battle of Tippecanoe.

battle, picture, image, illustration

The Battle of Tippecanoe

The second picture shows doll makers.

dolls, picture, image, illustration

Dressing and painting dolls

The third picture shows Perroquets Aras and Fleur de la Passion.

birds, picture, image, illustration

Perroquets Aras and Fleur de la Passion

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.