Renaissance Rhinoplasty: The 16th-Century Nose Job
The 16th century was a particularly bad time for noses. In 1566, the famous astronomer, Tycho Brahe, had his sliced off during a duel and was forced to wear a replacement reportedly made of silver and gold. [1] Others lost theirs in similar fights, or to cancerous tumours that ate away the cartilage on their faces. […]
A Morbid Chat with ‘The Chirurgeon’s Apprentice’
‘Death has never been more fashionable, if the popularity of Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris’s work is any guide. This glamorous medical historian’s morbid blog, The Chirurgeon’s Apprentice, has attracted 14,000 loyal adherents (and counting) in the space of 2.5 years, and she recently crowd-funded her own TV documentary to the tune of $32,000 in under 60 days. Medicine’s Dark […]
YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTERY
Children of the 70s and 80s will likely remember Oregon Trail, the computer game where the player assumes the role of wagon leader and guides a group of settlers through the pioneer landscape of 19th-century America. You would hunt bison, shoot rabbits, ford rivers and pick up other settlers as you made your way from […]
Buried Alive: 19th-Century Safety Coffins
In 1822, Dr Adolf Gutsmuth set out to conquer his fear of being buried alive by consigning himself to the grave in a ‘safety coffin’ that he had designed himself. For several hours, he remained underground, during which time he consumed a meal of soup, sausages and beer—all delivered to him through a convenient feeding […]
Ray-Ban’s Predecessor? A Brief History of Tinted Spectacles
A recent conversation with Matthew Ward from History Needs You piqued my curiosity about a pair of spectacles in the Wellcome Collection [pictured left]. At first glance, you may think these oddly tinted glasses belong to the wardrobe department of a whimsical Tim Burton film. And yet, these glasses are over 200 years old, made […]
The Chirurgeon’s Apprentice gets a Facelift!
After 2.5 years of blogging, I’m excited to unveil a brand new look for The Chirurgeon’s Apprentice, complete with a new logo! Each of the symbols in the logo represent a story told on this site: A History of the Barber Pole; Syphilis: A Love Story; The Anatomy of a Broken Heart and The Falciform […]
If I Die Young: A Brief History of Funeral Invitations
I have a confession to make. I’m in love. While recently conducting research on burial shrouds for The Order of the Good Death, I came across some examples of 18th-century funeral invitations. I have to admit, I wasn’t even aware such morbidly ornate ephemera existed till I stumbled upon one in the catalogue of […]
Coffin Collars & Cemetery Guns: Fortifying the Dead against Bodysnatchers
Great Yarmouth, England. 1827. Thomas Vaughan, a former stonemason, rents a house near St Nicholas Church. He and several other men begin ‘resurrecting’ bodies from the local cemetery on the orders of the famous London surgeon, Sir Astley Cooper—who also happens to be the vicar’s son. Over the next two months, Vaughan and his cronies […]
Remembering the Dead: The Bone House in Hallstatt, Austria
The other night, my friend’s mother lost her battle against cancer. He is a funeral director and owner of Elemental Cremation & Burial in Seattle, and has dedicated his career to helping families during some of the darkest moments of their lives. He challenges the status quo in the American funeral industry, and looks for innovative and […]
Books I Love: Gin Lane Gazette
It’s 5 pm and I am sitting at the back of a pub in Soho awaiting the arrival of Adrian Teal, national cartoonist and writer. I’m sipping a G&T in honour of his latest creation, Gin Lane Gazette—which cleverly brings the 18th-century to life through the medium of a fictitious illustrated newspaper. Mr Teal arrives […]