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St. Barbara
Today, almost three weeks late, I present St. Barbara, another spurious Roman saint. She is said to have been born in the mid-3rd century, her father was wealthy, overbearing and pagan. He kept her...
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Seasons Greetings from Furniture and Woodwork
Snow brings the snowman, not the other way round. Snow also brings eye injuries, excuses from railway companies and, most importantly, sledging. Behold this festive transport, replete with carved lion...
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Into each life some rain must fall
If, like me, you have been a victim of Britain’s unpredictable and frequently inclement weather you may have observed two things: British people have a tendency to discuss the weather frequently...
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Forecasting rain
T.301-1934, ‘Clouds’ furnishing fabric designed by Duncan Grant for Allan Walton Textiles, 1932 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London The V&A’s Textiles and Fashion collection holds tens of...
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A very brief history of staying dry
As I said in the first post, to stay dry is a very human wish (unless of course you subscribe to the ‘aquatic ape’ theory put forward by some natural historians); so how did people keep the rain off in...
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Objects Alive
This morning the Clothworkers’ Centre enjoyed a visit from a group of Canadian academics, part of a research group called Object Lives, funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of...
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Trench coats: from real mud to Nostalgia of Mud
‘Rustic’ linen smock-shirts were worn by farmhands well into the 19th century. These garments were woven in such a way that they would shrink and tighten when damp, giving them a degree of water...
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Clothworkers’ Object Study Day, 27th May
At the end of May we welcomed visitors to a series of talks given at the Clothworkers’ Centre by V&A staff, the second of our Clothworkers’ study days. In these talks, we showcased some of the...
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New acquisition: Hunter ensemble, A/W 2014
This waterproof ensemble was donated to V&A this earlier year by welly company Hunter, it takes pride of place in our rainwear display in the fashion gallery. It formed part of Hunter’s spectacular...
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New acquisition: Storm umbrella
Umbrellas have been used to keep dry since distant antiquity, their basic shape has not changed a great deal throughout history. During the course of my research I found that each year, on average,...
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New acquisition: Brionvega RR126 ‘radiofonografo’
This radiogram is a musical pet, or at least that’s how it was described when it appeared in Italy in 1966, the product of the imaginations of the Castiglioni brothers, Achille (1918-2002) and Pier...
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More Than Meets the Eye: Transformers, me and the MoC
Transformers are alien robots hailing from the planet Cybertron, a metallic world riven by aeons of civil war between Heroic Autobots and Evil Decepticons. The differences between these two factions...
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New acquisition: LEGO Death Star
A quick note about a new acquisition made by the MoC this month: a LEGO Star Wars Death Star. Overall view of the Death Star © Victoria and Albert Museum, London The eagle-eyed and long-remembering...
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New acquisition: Moon Shoes
For regular readers of the V&A blog, this post could appear like a deliberate follow-on from our last space-themed bulletin. I assure you all, this is merely a coincidence and we at the MoC have...
View ArticleObjects Alive
This morning the Clothworkers’ Centre enjoyed a visit from a group of Canadian academics, part of a research group called Object Lives, funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of...
View ArticleTrench coats: from real mud to Nostalgia of Mud
‘Rustic’ linen smock-shirts were worn by farmhands well into the 19th century. These garments were woven in such a way that they would shrink and tighten when damp, giving them a degree of water...
View ArticleClothworkers’ Object Study Day, 27th May
At the end of May we welcomed visitors to a series of talks given at the Clothworkers’ Centre by V&A staff, the second of our Clothworkers’ study days. In these talks, we showcased some of... The...
View ArticleNew acquisition: Hunter ensemble, A/W 2014
This waterproof ensemble was donated to V&A this earlier year by welly company Hunter, it takes pride of place in our rainwear display in the fashion gallery. It formed part of Hunter’s spectacular...
View ArticleNew acquisition: Storm umbrella
Umbrellas have been used to keep dry since distant antiquity, their basic shape has not changed a great deal throughout history. During the course of my research I found that each year, on average,...
View ArticleNew acquisition: Brionvega RR126 ‘radiofonografo’
This radiogram is a musical pet, or at least that’s how it was described when it appeared in Italy in 1966, the product of the imaginations of the Castiglioni brothers, Achille (1918-2002) and...
View Article
