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Stories

  • Article

The rise and fall of a medical mesmerist

Uncover the fascinating story of the doctor who popularised hypnotism as a medical technique, and could name Dickens among his famous friends.

  • Article

Notes upon arrival

In an effort to feel at home back in the country of her birth, poet Bhanu Kapil recognises the small revelations of nature in a chilly UK spring as a way to reconnect.

  • Book extract

The shape of thought

Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s description of the moment in 1887 when he saw a brain cell for the first time never fails to move neuroscientist Richard Wingate to tears. Here he captures that enduring sense of wonder.

  • Article

Coleridge’s hypochondria

An intense focus on his own bodily sensations led poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge to self-medicate with narcotics. But this fascination also put Coleridge ahead of the medical sensibilities of his day.

All stories (8)

Images

  • The castle at Verneuil near Paris. Etching.
  • A pharmacist and his friend discuss the new tax on medicine; with four other scenes. Photomechanical reproduction of a wood engraving by H. Maigrot.
  • The yearly Ommegang pageant in Antwerp, 1685. Engraving by G. Bouttats.
  • An innkeeper adds water to his wine as his customer, a baker, kisses the landlady. Engraving by J. Lagniet, ca. 1663.
  • A Christian man being shaved while a Turk sharpens his scimitar on a whetstone behind, surrounded by representations of virtues and proverbs; representing the exposure of Europe to a Turkish invader. Engraving.
  • A Christian man being shaved while a Turk sharpens his scimitar on a whetstone behind; representing the exposure of Europe to a Turkish invader. Engraving.
  • A drunken street brawl between four young colporteurs and a man, with two accompanying couplets. Etching, 16th century (?).
  • The Duke of Marlborough bursting out of his tomb to protest against a song about him which had become popular in France in 1782. Etching, 1783.
  • "The adventures of Mr Preso": a condom holding an ice cream, a bunch of flowers, a heart and a banana; advertisement for condom cards. Colour lithograph by Pascal Blondeau, 1994, for ADIS, Association Départementale d'Information sur le SIDA et de Solidarité.
  • Saint Mary (the Blessed Virgin) with the Christ Child and Saint John the Baptist. Etching by G. Reni.
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Catalogue

All works (378)