For our first image collection of this Halloween season, we’re going with a classic and iconic figure: the witch, appropriately accessorised with her (or in some cases, his!) broomstick. Let’s see what’s happening in this scene! “Shall we go to Malkin Tower?” asked Mistress Nutter, shuddering. “No; to the summit of Pendle Hill,” rejoined Mother…
Category: Visual Tropes
Image Collection of the Week: Victorian mansplaining
Some visual representations of Victorian mansplaining from the British library corpus for your perusal…
Visual Tropes Gallery of the Week: Men falling off of things
Men. Now, I don’t want to come across as sexist or anything, but it’s time someone came out and said it: the problem with men is, that they are always – and I mean, CONSTANTLY – falling off of things. You literally can’t take them anywhere. Especially not anywhere that involves a moderately elevanted surface,…
Caturday, vol. III: the cattening
Today’s Caturday collection has been compiled with the assistance of my own two felines, who have been industriously wrecking the place while I work. Thank you, Kaylee and River! Previous Caturday posts can be found here.
Visual tropes collection of the week: Fainting and Swooning
You know, if my extensive education in feminism and gender issues has taught me anything, it’s that women of all walks of life have one thing in common: fainting at the slightest provocation. Amirite, ladies? Of course, it’s not unheard of for a gentleman to indulge in a swoon, too – and who’s to judge? …
Warning! Women on bikes
This week’s image collection is inspired by Kate Beaton’s fabulous cartoons riffing on vintage cautionary literature for ladies, although these velocipedestriennes don’t seem too concerned about The Dangers of Cycling… I think this last image is my favourite, though…
Visual Trope Gallery of the Week: Fisticuffs and skirmishes
The novels that have been indexed by the British Library Labs collection are typically embellished with illustrations featuring attractive scenery, frolicking cherubs, or decorous ladies making polite conversation in parlours. However, a little rummaging turns up a wide variety of images on other themes, some of which are quite bizarre and occur more frequently than…
The Sea of Books 