Blog

Sojourner Truth was born as Isabella Baumfree, in around 1797, to James and Elizbeth Baumfree in New York. She was sold as a slave and separated from her family aged just nine years old, but went on to become an outspoken advocate for abolition and women’s rights in the nineteenth century. 

The phrase "Bread and Roses" is mostly associated with the Lawrence textile strike of 1912. After a new law reduced the women's working week from 56 to 54 hours, thousands of workers faced pay cuts that were out of their control.

In 1834, the system of relief for the poor in England and Wales was overhauled by the Poor Law Amendment Act. This aimed to re-organise and centralise the administration of poor relief across the country, establishing deterrent workhouses and strict regulation of outdoor relief to reduce escalating relief costs. Within Adam Matthew’s newly released Poverty, Philanthropy and Social Conditions in Victorian Britain, it’s possible to explore the complex details of this new legislation’s implementation, as well as its accompanying social, political and economic repercussions.

If you love nothing more than a smash-hit stage musical to ignite a keen interest in revolutionary history then I’d encourage you to look no further than American History, 1493-1945 where you can find a trove of documents from the Gilder Lehrman Institute on the rise and fall of Alexander Hamilton.

On the evening of 5th March 1770, in a snowy Boston, eight British soldiers led by Captain Thomas Preston confronted a crowd of Bostonians, who had gathered to protest outside the Custom House. Ignoring Preston’s command to disperse, the angry mob closed around, throwing snowballs and oyster shells at them.

This is a special guest blog by Roger Horowitz, a food historian, director of the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society at the Hagley Museum and Library, and editorial board member for Food and Drink in History.

Based on the 13th-century Icelandic saga Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu, Sir George Mackenzie's The Rival Minstrels featured two poets competing for the hand of the most beautiful woman in Iceland, otherwise known as Helga the Fair. This drama, however, was about to be overshadowed by the eruption of a scientific debate which would play itself out on the eighteenth-century stage.

On 16th September 1963, Prime Minister of Malaya Tunku Abdul Rahman declared the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, joining Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah. Indonesian leader Sukarno strongly opposed this union, resulting in the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, or ‘Konfrontasi’.

Mid-January is often regarded as the most miserable time of the year. The indulgences of Christmas have passed, everyone is skint and Dry January is in full swing. In recent years, the UK has witnessed a growing trend towards ‘Veganuary’ for both ethical and environmental reasons.

The legacy of the vampire character is a revealing case study, tracing the ways in which tropes and genres are influenced by societal changes and cultural trends throughout history. Adam Matthew’s Victorian Popular Culture resource provides an insight into how the characterisation of vampires has evolved over the last two centuries.

In a world where Love Island shenanigans and “celebrity” sex exposés dominate headlines, and where “Netflix and Chill” requires no explanation, it’s difficult to imagine that the “Birds and the Bees” conversation continues to stand the test of time.

At Adam Matthew headquarters, the annual debate over what constitutes a Christmas film has been raging. Does it have to be Christmas throughout the narrative? Does Christmas have to be integral to the plot? Does Die Hard count? Vincente Minnelli’s 1944 musical Meet Me in St Louis is a personal favourite, but one that I have struggled to convince my Editorial colleagues is a bone fide Christmas classic, taking place as it does throughout a whole year, but featuring Judy Garland’s iconic and undeniable rendition of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'.

December 10 is Human Rights Day; it celebrates the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations. Certain to find a grand celebration of the Declaration I delved into our resources but was instead side-tracked by a page from "Union Jack" in Service Newspapers of World War Two.

As Development Editor for Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings, I was fortunate to attend recent events celebrating the launch of our online resource at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Prester John, the fictional Asian Christian ruler, dwelt within the western medieval psyche for centuries and features heavily in Medieval Travel Writing. He is the subject of numerous letters and as an artistic subject of the period. How, when there was so little physical evidence for his existence, did his legend persist?

What did the British public think of the Royal Family in 1966? As Olivia Colman takes over the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Claire Foy in the new season of The Crown, documents from Mass Observation Online show how the public viewed their monarch's transition to middle age.

With the focus of a new semester, it’s always an exciting time to hit the road and talk to academics across the country about all things humanities and social sciences. The fact that it’s also conference season again means I have the privilege of exposure to fascinating lectures, great conversations with the academic community, and the opportunity to share the latest news from Adam Matthew Digital.

With the focus of a new semester, it’s always an exciting time to hit the road and talk to academics across the country about all things humanities and social sciences. The fact that it’s also conference season again means I have the privilege of exposure to fascinating lectures, great conversations with the academic community, and the opportunity to share the latest news from Adam Matthew Digital.

I’m not sure if it was the Bake Off Final or my excitement for Bonfire Night that drew me to the brilliantly titled play ‘Guy Fawkes: A Gingerbread Tragedy’.

This Monday, 28th October, marks the hundredth anniversary of the National Prohibition Act becoming law in the United States. Also known as the Volstead Act, the Act prohibited “intoxicating beverages”, regulated the manufacture, sale and transport of alcohol whilst ensuring a supply of alcohol for industry and science. It defined “intoxicating liquors” as “any such beverages which contain one-half of 1 per centum or more alcohol by volume”, a surprisingly low limit for many.

Food & Drink in History: Module I is a treasure trove of culinary surprises, with a whole host of curious recipes.

The newly published Food and Drink in History: Module I is a real treasure trove of content for students and researchers, from a vast range of cookbooks, to documents charting the development and influence of staple brands, to anthropological research into African food cultures. A highlight that I’ve found particularly fascinating to delve into is the collection of MAF files (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries – then known as Ministry of Food) sourced from The National Archives, UK.

Over one hundred and fifty years since its first appearance in print, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management remains an archetypal text in the field of domestic and culinary arts, not simply for its extensive recipes and household management tips, but also for its creation of a persona of domestic excellence that persists, albeit in different guises, to this day. Included within Adam Matthew’s newly released resource, Food and Drink in History: Module I, is a near-complete run of the monthly instalments in which this famed text first appeared.