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  • Article

Deadly doses and the hardest of hard drugs

The invention of the modern hypodermic syringe meant we could get high – or accidentally die – faster than before. Find out how this medical breakthrough was adapted for deadly uses.

  • Article

Vivekananda’s journey

How a young Indian monk’s travels around the world inspired modern yoga.

  • Article

The healing power of the physic garden

Having experienced the healing power of plants and gardens, Iona Glen goes in search of present-day “physic gardens” and their origins in history.

  • Article

Drawing the human animal

We might try to deny our animal instincts, but this series of extraordinary 17th-century drawings suggests they are only too apparent.

All stories (5)

Images

  • Death of Saint Francis Xavier, holding a crucifix and looking at the sky; angels and cherubs emerging from the clouds. Etching by the Comte de Caylus and woodcut by N. Le Sueur after L. Gimignani.
  • An itinerant medicine vendor selling his wares with the aid of assistants and snakes to a captivated audience, Tianjin, China. Engraving by P. Lightfoot, 1858, after T. Allom.
  • An itinerant medicine vendor selling his wares with the aid of assistants and snakes to a captivated audience, Tianjin, China. Engraving by P. Lightfoot, 1858, after T. Allom.
  • A sheet of sketches showing war defences and victims during the Chinese Campaign, 1860, China. Tinted lithograph after Lt. Col. Crealock, 1860.
  • Temple of Confucius (Kong Miao), Peking: Hall of Great Accomplishment (or Great Perfection Hall, Dachengdian), interior with altar and tablet to Confucius. Photograph by John Thomson, 1871.
  • Temple of Confucius (Kong Miao), Peking: Hall of Great Accomplishment (or Great Perfection Hall, Dachengdian), interior with altar and tablet to Confucius. Photograph by John Thomson, 1871.
  • Yongquan monastery, Drum Mountain, near Fuzhou, China: Buddhist priests. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869.
  • Yongquan monastery, Drum Mountain, near Fuzhou, China: Buddhist priests. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869.
  • Canton, Kwangtung province, China: a lady holding a parasol. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869.
  • Amoy (Xiamen), Fukien province, China: a rock incised with an inscription. Photograph by John Thomson, 1870/1871.
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Catalogue

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