Category Archives: history
GUEST POST: Mike Crump on Robert Liston and the Spectacle of Surgical Amputation
Today’s post comes from Mike Crump, a brilliant young neuroscientist doing impressive brain research at Oxford (which is far too complicated for my humble art historical mind to fully understand, let alone articulate to you, so I won’t embarrass myself trying). When not discovering awesome brain things, Mike is interested in the dark corners of the history of science and medicine. He’s written a great article for the blog about a ridiculously interesting Victorian surgeon, Robert Liston, who was one […]
Categories: Guest Post, history • Tags: guest post, history, medicine, science, surgeon, victorian era
19th Century Mug Shots from New Zealand
This slideshow displays a sample of the amazing 19th century mug shots that formed part of a show I curated at the New Zealand Police Museum last year, Suspicious Looking (available here as an online exhibition). Until then, these incredible images had never before been shown to the public. What is it about old mug shots that is so utterly compelling? When we look at them, do we try to see evidence of their criminal nature written in their expression? […]
Categories: history, Museums • Tags: criminal, history, mug shot, museum, new zealand, photography, police, victorian era
The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things 