Author: Kate van Riper

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Suffering Suffragists
While today, we take the idea of universal suffrage for granted, the right to vote in the United States has a long and complex history that continues to this day. The women’s suffrage movement officially began in Seneca Falls in 1848 and, after a long, hard-fought campaign, culminated with the ratification of the 19th Amendment...
An Art Nouveau Partnership in the Belle Époque
The Belle Époque was an explosion of optimism and cultural innovation and artistic endeavours. The Belle Époque, lasting from the 1870s up to WWI, was at its height in Paris during the 1890s and 1900s. It was a great time for art and theatre, and they converged to great success at the Theatre de la...
The Charming Bouquinistes of Paris
This lithograph, by artist Paul Jeffay (1898-1957) depicts the Left Bank of Paris, France, on what appears to be the Quai de la Tournelle. The main focus of the piece is on the bouquinistes, green boxes that line the Seine in the center of Paris, out of which booksellers sell used and antiquarian books. In...
Not a Gravy Boat
At first glance, you might think this is a sauce bowl or pitcher used at the dinner table. However, it is something quite different all together, and would most definitely be an unwelcome addition to a table spread. The bourdalou, in fact, was a type of chamber pot that was specifically used by women up...
The Great Moon Hoax of 1835
In August of 1835 a curious report made its way to the pages of a New York newspaper. A series of six articles entitled “Great Astronomical Discoveries Lately Made by Sir John Hershel… At the Cape of Good Hope [From Supplement to the Edinburgh Journal of Science]” were published in The Sun. Today, this event is known as the...