Mudlark'd. : hidden histories from the River Thames / Malcolm Russell ; foreshore photography, Matthew Williams-Ellis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Russell, Malcolm (Writer on mudlarking), author.

Contributor:

Williams-Ellis, Matthew, photographer.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mudlarking--England--Thames River.

Mudlarking.

Lost articles--England--Thames River.

Lost articles.

Thames River (England)--Antiquities.

Thames River (England).

Thames River (England)--History.

London (England)--Antiquities.

London (England).

London (England)--History.

Antiquities.

England--London.

England--Thames River.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

223 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 27 cm

Other Title:

Mudlarked

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2022.

Summary:

"Mudlark'd combines insights from two hundred rare objects discovered on the foreshore of the River Thames with a wealth of breathtaking illustrations to uncover the hidden histories of ordinary people from prehistory to today. Malcolm Russell tells the stories behind each find, revealing the habits, customs, and artistry of the people who created and used it. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, London was the busiest port in the world, exchanging goods and ideas with people from every continent. The shores of the Thames have long been densely packed with taverns, brothels, and markets, and the river's muddy banks are a repository of intriguing and precious objects that evoke long-forgotten ways of life. With Russell as your guide, a bottleneck of a jug is shown to be a talisman to counter the ill effects of witchcraft. Glass beads expose the brutal realities of the transatlantic slave trade. Clay tobacco pipes uncover the lives of Victorian magicians. A scrap of Tudor cloth illuminates the experiences of Dutch and French religious refugees. These are just some of the stories told in Mudlark'd, which also contains a primer, giving advice on how to mudlark on tidal rivers around the world and outlining the tools and equipment you will need."--Publisher's website.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Enslaved People & Immigrants

Ornatrices

-The enslaved hairdressers of the Roman Empire, revealed by a pin

Hanse

-The merchants who supplied Tudor England, revealed by a ring

Strangers

-The refugees who helped transform England's economy, revealed by lead seals

Black Georgians

-London's eighteenth-century Black residents, revealed by a glass tube

Lascars

-The Indian seamen who manned British ships, revealed by a coin

2. Criminals

Cunning-Folk

-The fight against witchcraft, revealed by a pottery fragment

Coiners

-The forgers transported to Australia, revealed by counterfeit coins

3. Intimates

Sex Workers

-Prostitution in early modern London, revealed by a candlestick

Courting Couples

- The early modern journey to marriage, revealed by a cufflink

4. Believers

Pilgrims

-Medieval religious travellers, revealed by an ampulla

Printers

-The Arts and Crafts movement, revealed by pieces of type

Fascists

-Britain's first fascist organization, revealed by a badge

5. Entertainers

Street Musicians

-London's sonic culture wars, revealed by a Jew's harp

Indigenous North Americans

-Native travellers and performance, revealed by beads

Parachutists

-The aerial entertainers of the Edwardian age, revealed by a clay pipe

6. Queer Folk

Romans The men of antiquity who had sex with men, revealed by a coin

Mollies Sc Macaronis

-Queerness in Georgian London, revealed by lead tokens

Cross-Dressing Women

-The emergence of a lesbian identity, revealed by a button

7. Addicts

Smokers

-Consumers of a new intoxicant, revealed by clay tobacco pipes

Gamesters

-Gambling addicts of Georgian London, revealed by a die

Gin Drinkers

-Imbibers of London's spirit, revealed by a bottleneck

8. Traders

Mountebanks Dentists

-The evolution of oral care, revealed by a tooth

Quacks

-Georgian medical entrepreneurs, revealed by a medicine bottle

Costermongers

-Victorian London's street sellers, revealed by a token

9. Fighters

Forgotten Heroes of the Crimea

-War with Russia, revealed by a clay pipe

Auxiliary Firefighters

-Extinguishing the Blitz, revealed by a button

The Red Army Creating killers in the Second World War, revealed by a round of ammunition.

Notes:

First published by Thames & Hudson Ltd, London.

"Stories of forgotten people, told through lost objects revealed by the changing tides"--Page 4 of cover.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780691235783

0691235783

OCLC:

1281250528