Cut-glass chandeliers were among the most sought-after luxury products of the 18th century. Only the super-rich could afford to buy them. Thus, chandeliers were often designed to match the interior of a room, meaning that they were custom-designed. Regency Explorer interviews an elegant chandelier from 1815 about the makers, customers, and the influences from fashion, science and politics. Regency Explorer: You look splendid! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Chandelier: You are flattering me. I was made in 1815 in London. Unfortunately, it is lost in time which glassmaker created ..read more

Gaming table in a country house. Would you have dared to play Whist with strangers? Whist was one of the most popular card games in Georgian England. It began its career as a plain game for common men. With the rise of the coffee houses in London, the gentry picked up the game. Reputedly it was Lord Folkestone who brought the game into fashion in high society around 1728, when he adopted it as a challenging strategic card game requiring good memory, sympathetic partnering and psychological acumen. The rules of Whist were written down in Edward Hoyle’s “ A short treatise on the game of whist ..read more

Of course there were clocks, cannons and sundials in the 18th century. There also was an elaborate instrument that seems to be a mix of all of them: the meridian cannon – a sundial with a little cannon announcing 12 o’clock noon with a loud bang. What looks like a pyrotechnic gadget to amuse your guests or annoy your neighbours is actually a scientific instrument to measure true solar time correctly in an age where many timepieces lost or gained 15 minutes a day. The meridian cannon was popular from around the 1750ies to the 19th century. Here is small instrument from around 1800: “Canon di m ..read more

Sit back and enjoy photos of beautiful or interesting fans made between 1770 and 1815. Occasionally a plot bunny hops in, inspiring you to make use of fans in your Regency Novel. You can click on each photo to enlarge it. The fan below, made in 1770 in France, is painted with a “bergerade”-motive. The central painting shows elegant figures in a park or garden, possibly escaping the formality of court life to enjoy a flirt. Very much “Marie Antoinette at Petit Trianon”. Plot bunny: A fan like this could be carried by a more conservative lady, frowning upon revolutionary France. This fan (below ..read more

There is magic in a box! In the 18th century, a closed box with a peephole offered entertainment and wonder. Through the peephole you could take a closer look at the objects on display inside the box. Scenes on display were, e.g., street views, military actions, religious themes, etc; it could also be sexually explicit. The box was made of paper and was foldable, due to its accordion-like shape. Lighting was provided by slits so that candlelight could fall on the object. Paper peepshow: “Nativity Scene – in the Temple” , 1740-50, made in Augsburg/ Germany So-called “peepshows” -or: perspectiv ..read more

In 1804, Britain is uneasy. The short peace of Amiens ended the previous year, and now war is escalating in Europe again. Napoleon keeps a large army at the Northern coast of France. The British government builds small defensive forts to protect the coasts of south east England and Ireland against the threat of a French invasion. In December, Spain will again declare war on Britain. What can you read to distract the mind in these difficult times? In 1804, 73 new novels wait for readers, and of these, 14 % are Gothic. The output of new Gothic novels is in decline (1803: 24 % of 79 novels were ..read more

It’s Christmas Eve, about 200 years ago. The church organ has broken down in a small town in Austria. The aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars still haunts the people. In this night, a very special song is born. Nobody knows yet that it is to become one of the most popular carols in the world. The popular Christmas carol “Silent Night” (German: “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”) is an Austrian carol from the years 1816 – 1818. The lyrics were written by Austrian assistant priest Josephus Franciscus Mohr in 1816, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The music was composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gru ..read more

Transparencies – translucent hand-coloured prints or drawings – became common from around the 1770s. Their popularity peaked from the 1790ies until well into the early 19th century. Transparencies were displayed at home or, in larger size, at nearly every kind of festivity from assemblies and dinners to astronomical lectures and theatres. You would find them at fairs, pleasure gardens and public celebrations. How were transparencies made? The simplest way was to add varnish from both sides to the highlights of an image you had painted on paper or a light textile, so that the material became t ..read more

In 1709, Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the piano. From the second half of the 18th century, keyboard instruments underwent many improvements: When London became a major centre of piano building in the mid-1760s, inventive companies such as Broadwood hit the market with the so-called square piano. It was built in a form resembling the clavichord. Compact and less expensive than wing-shaped grand piano, the square piano quickly became the keyboard instrument of choice in the late 18th century – – the one Jane Austen’s heroines would play. However, competition for the square piano arose on the ..read more

Art had long been the domain of men. However, from about 1760, women in Britain and France made a splash in painting, engraving and even, sculpturing. Most famous are today the painters Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Angelika Kauffmann, both superstars of their time. However, many more women made careers in the art scene. Let me introduce you to 10 British female artists from all ranks of life. In the 18th century, women were excluded from academy-based artistic training. Female artists usually grown up in artistic households. They supported the family business. Training and encouragement were pr ..read more