Coming soon…
The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India
William Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania
Images of Empire: Butcher’s Famous Cameras
W. Butcher & Sons, Ltd., Camera House, London E.C. Patriotic imagery of empire was used to sell British made cameras, here the Empire Cinematograph, circa 1915.
Planting the Seeds of Empire
Arguably, the seeds of Empire were sown as far back as the reign of King Henry VII (b. 1457 d. 1509, reign 1485 to 1509), the last king of England to win his crown on the battlefield. During the reign of Henry VII, Britain’s navy was significantly strengthened, great steps were made in the direction of realising absolute monarchy, diplomatic foreign policy led to [...]
The Great British Library
For one of the world’s great cities, London was relatively late in establishing a great public library. The initial collection of books from which the library grew came from Sir Hans Sloane (b. 1660, d. 1752), a physician and Fellow of the Royal Society. He had amassed a large collection covering many fields, listed in 46 catalogues. On his death he wished the collection [...]