The surreal fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli (1890 – 1973) pushed boundaries as a fashion designer, transforming functional items of clothing into unique style statements. Her evening suits embody the height of 1930s haute couture,…
Monty Don’s Italian Gardens
Monty Don travels through northern Italy to discover how plants, trade, wealth, and spectacle transformed the country’s gardens. From Padua’s historic botanical garden and the merchant villas of the Veneto…
Unboxing Mysterious Eye Miniatures | Secret Tokens of Forbidden Love 👁️
From clandestine romance and the Prince of Wales to pearls, tears, precious stones and the incredible skill of miniature painters, discover the history behind these beautiful, uncanny objects — and…
An automatic copying device in 1890
the Automatic Cycostyle Gestetner, from 1890s.
The OLDEST SURVIVING Animated Feature Film | The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
Long before Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, director Lotte Reiniger created a breathtaking silhouette-animated fantasy inspired by One Thousand and One Nights. In this video, we explore the…
How French Houses Reveal Where You Are
“En France, une maison n’est jamais seulement une maison.” In France, a house is never just a house. Look closely at the stone, the roof, the shutters, the windows and…
What does a 1920s BIRTHDAY CAKE taste like?
a 100 year old recipe, the history of birthday cake, and why we put candles on them.
BBC Archive: 1975: A Nun’s Life
Tuesday Documentary: Chastity, Poverty and Obedience, originally broadcast on BBC One, 27 May, 1975.
American Experience: Billy The Kid: The True Story of the Notorious Outlaw
Demonized by the lawman that killed him, the Kid was soon mythologized by a never-ending stream of dime store novels and big-screen dramas, portrayed by everyone from Paul Newman to…
Transforming a Colonial Library in Nairobi
Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise…