The Development of Fireproof Construction in Brussels Between 1840–1870

Abstract

Fireproof mill construction had been developed in England at the end of the 18th century. In Brussels, the first large fireproof building was constructed in 1844–1847. All at once, the backlog of 50 years was eliminated. Moreover, for Brussels, the experimental period just started. Not bound by traditions, new techniques and materials were soon adopted. The evolution of the construction history of fireproof building in Brussels is discussed by going more deeply into the construction of six buildings, erected between 1844 and 1870.     

The Tale of Tea and Salt

ＴｈｅＴａｌｅｏｆＴｅａａｎｄＳａｌｔ￥／／Ｉｎａｎｃｉｅｎｔｔｉｍｅｓ,ｔｈｅＸａａｎｄＮｕｔｒｉｂｅｓｍａｄｅｔｈｅｉｒｈｏｍｅｓｏｎｔｈｅｏｐｐｏｓｉｔｅｂａｎｋｓｏｆａｒｉｖｅｒ,ｌｉｎｋｅｄｏｈｌｙｂｙａｓｕｓｐｅｎｓｉｏｎｂｒｉｄｇｅ．Ｔ...     

From Peru to Ichaboe: The dynamics of a shifting guano frontier, 1840–5

The guano frontier originated as a geographic space for a socio-cultural resource central to the identity, lifestyle and worldview of the indigenous Peruvians. Colonisation in combination with advances in understandings of plant nutrition and fertiliser science, however, shifted guano’s meaning from its original roots and turned it into a globally tradable commodity. The geographical frontier, under the influence of post-independence politics and nationalisation, firstly became an economic frontier and, secondly, a political boundary. With discoveries on Ichaboe and other neighbouring islands on the southwest coast of Africa, this frontier shifted and a race for monopoly control ensued. The dynamics of the struggle for monopoly control over the guano frontier on the Namib coast challenges some of our fundamental historiographic tenets of frontiers, their very natures, triggers and movements. This article suggests the extension of a socio-ecological model in which resource demand and depletion, coupled with changes in the extension of knowledge and legal boundaries, all played roles.     

‘The Epitheatrical Cartoonist’: Matthew Somerville Morgan and the World of Theatre,Art and Journalism in Victorian London

This article examines the vibrant cultural milieu inhabited by one of Victorian Britain's most famous cartoonists, Matthew Somerville Morgan. Morgan is well-known as the cartoonist who attacked Queen Victoria's withdrawal from public life (and her associations with John Brown), and the lifestyle of Albert, Prince of Wales, in the short-lived rival to Punch: the Tomahawk. Likewise, his post-1870 career in New York as cartoonist of the ‘Caricature War’ over the 1872 Presidential elections, and involvement with ‘Buffalo’ Bill Cody have been well-studied. However, his involvement with the world of the 1860s Victorian stage – and the social circles in which he moved – have not been given close attention. This broader social, cultural, and economic context is essential to understanding Morgan's role as a cartoonist-critic of politics, class, gender and art in Victorian Britain. Special attention is given to the ways in which Morgan's work as a theatrical scene-painter informed his other pursuits, including his political cartoons for Fun, the Comic News and the Tomahawk. So central was the theatre to Morgan's life story that he may be appropriately described as an ‘epitheatrical’ figure. Indeed he is one of the most spectacular exemplars of the interconnected worlds of journalism, high art and theatre in Victorian London. The theatre provided him with the artistic and journalistic connections needed to raise himself above his lower-class origins; to move in ‘clubland’ and fashionable bohemian society; and to win an influential place in the key political and cultural debates of his age.     

Paris——City of Romance

<正>Believe it or not,a friend of mine's sister just went to France with her husband to cap-ture the magic and amour