Evaluating the Manufacturing and Retailing Practices of H. J. & D. Nicoll through a c. 1860 Boy’s Suit

A boy’s suit of fawn wool sold by H. J. & D. Nicoll of London, dated c. 1860, in the Fashion Museum, Bath, raises a number of issues. Combining the long trousers worn by adolescents with a jacket associated with younger boys, it marks a turning point in age-related dress codes. Mass produced but with hand stitching, it presents evidence of the exploitative practices Nicoll had been charged with in Henry Mayhew’s Morning Chronicle letters in 1850. The prominent labelling of the suit relates to Nicoll’s publicity strategies and to the importance of boys’ clothing for ready-to-wear retailers. A comparison of the suit with other surviving garments and with marketing documents illuminates the way that Nicoll positioned itself within the retail market. The rarity of this survival and the scarcity of information on a high-profile and long-lasting retailer make this an important case study for investigating the origins of the ready-to-wear clothing trade in Britain.     

J.G.A. Pocock and the idea of the ‘Cambridge School’ in the history of political thought

This article offers a reinterpretation of the origins and character of the so-called ‘Cambridge School’ in the history of political thought by reconstructing the intellectual background to J.G.A. Pocock's 1962 essay ‘The History of Political Thought: A Methodological Enquiry’, typically regarded as the first statement of a ‘Cambridge’ approach. I argue that neither linguistic philosophy nor the celebrated work of Peter Laslett exerted a major influence on Pocock's work between 1948 and 1962. Instead, I emphasise the importance of Pocock's interest in the history of historiography and of his doctoral supervisor, Herbert Butterfield. By placing Pocock's intellectual development in these contexts, I suggest, the autonomy of diverse versions of the ‘Cambridge’ approach can more readily be perceived.     

Dr. C.E. Brown-Séquard, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S., London: the casting of the die

In 1858 Dr. Brown-Séquard arrived in London. During his stay there, he was appointed physician at the National Hospital for the Paralysed and Epileptic (now the National Hospital), and was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physician's of London, as well as Fellow of the Royal society. During this time he also published his 'Course of Lectures on the Physiology and Pathology of the Central Nervous System' an early exposition of what is now know as 'his' syndrome. During his time in London, Dr. Brown-Séquard made many well-known acquaintances, amongst others Charles Darwin, T.H. Huxley, and Louis Pasteur. Three years after his appointment as physician at the National Hospital, he left London. Increasingly, he was to abondon fashionable practice to concentrate on his study of what are now known as the endocrinal glands. In this way, he became a pioneer of the study of endocrinology.     

Frogs as a part of the Eneolithic diet. Archaeozoological records from the Czech Republic (Kutná Hora-Denemark site, Řivnáč Culture)

Within the site of Kutná Hora-Denemark (Kutná Hora distr., central Bohemia – Eneolithic, ?ivná? Culture, 3000–2800 BC), 893 frog bones or bone fragments were present in five archaeological features. All identified specimens are of the Common Frog (Rana temporaria Linnaeus, 1758). Males predominate, according to humeral morphology, and only adult individuals are present. The most important findings come from feature 36, where an accumulation of 739 frog bones (MNI = 123) were found, of which 10% (NISP) were burned. This and other contextual evidence indicates that they relate to activity of the Eneolithic people in the settlement. The predominance of hind leg bones and other circumstantial evidence suggest that the frogs were part of the human diet. Behavioural studies of this species suggest that the frogs were gathered from small ponds during the months of March or April. Similar findings are rare.