-
18. A Letter From the Reservation
By Heidi Katter The letter pictured above, penned in 1877, comes from the hand of a clerk working for the Indian Agency upon a Native American reservation in the United States. Over five hundred pages of letters survive from either the head agent or his clerk, both of whom the federal government charged to oversee…
-
17. Massialot’s Knowledge of December Cuisines
By Weiao Xing (@WeiaoX) Starting with pigeon bisque and casserole, filled with veal loin and ortolans, and embellished by apple fritters and crème brûlée, a wintry feast was prepared by chef de cuisine François Massialot on 27 December 1690. This lavish banquet, originally held at the Duke of Aumont’s palace, exemplifies ‘Another great Entertainment for the…
-
16. Le Cochon Noir (‘The Black Pig’) Songbook
By Sam Young (@samyoung102) Le Cochon Noir is a booklet of anticlerical songs produced in Marseilles in 1902 by the songwriter Eugène Besson. [i] Though humorous in tone, Besson’s songs are sharp in their condemnation of the Catholic clergy. Priests are ridiculed throughout as gluttons (the title song refers to a cleric’s black robes), liars…
-
Malika Zekhni – Historian Highlight
By Malika Zekhni, interviewed by Alex White Historian Highlight is an ongoing series sharing the research experiences of historians in the History Faculty in Cambridge. We ask students how they came to research their topic, their favourite archival find, as well as the best (and worst) advice they’ve received as academics in training. History is…
-
15. A Lump of Coal
By Ben Shread-Hewitt (@HewittShread) Coal in your stocking might be the sign of a bad Christmas, but it could be worse. In Edward I’s London, being found with coal in your stockings might mean death. In the 14th century, air pollution was a growing problem in England’s capital city. Increasing populations and local deforestation were…
doinghistoryinpublic.org 