Apartments (Insula) in Rome

In Rome and Ostia, most commoners could not afford to live in private villas, and instead dwelled in apartment buildings, or Insula. These buildings were usually two or three stories tall, but could be as high as six stories, with the size and quality of the apartments diminishing as one moved up in floors. Shops and businesses often occupied the ground floors. Insula were built and owned by wealthy men, who acted as landlords and put the spaces out for rent, but were also charged with maintaining them (something that, like the owners of tenements in the 19th century, they usually failed to do). Interestingly enough, despite the huge disparity between these landlords and their tenants, Rome was not generally segregated into strictly rich and poor neighborhoods, and insula often stood alongside homes of the wealthy. 

Life in these buildings wasn’t super fun - insulae had no running water, toilets cellars, or ovens, which meant that dwellers had to use public fountains, public toilets, and had to buy ready-made food from bakeries or street food sellers. The living quarters were dark, cramped, and unsanitary, and had a high risk of catching fire and even collapsing due to shoddy construction from money-pinching landlords or contractors. Because the insula lacked even the most basic necessities, most people were forced to spend the bulk of their social time outside - on the street, in shops and public baths, or in places of entertainment like the coliseum. [x]

Photographs by Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822-1865).

Hawarden gained prominence in the photography world at a time when the art form was dominated by men, and her work allowed other female photographers to gain recognition of their skills. Her work was exhibited in the Photographic Society of London, and was twice awarded the Society’s silver medal. Most of her photographs include portraits of other women, especially her daughters. She took advantage of natural light through the frequent use of mirrors and windows, and some works included elaborate costumes. 

Source

Egyptian Beadnet Dress. c. 2100 -2300 BC. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. [x]

This bead-net dress, presumably meant for an adult woman, was found in pieces and meticulously re-strung by conservationists at the MFA (think macaroni art). It was meant to be worn over a long, stiff linen shift, which was the basis of all Ancient Egyptian garments. While it looks narrow and constricting, clothing in the time period was generally meant to conform to the shape of the body. It is unknown if this particular dress was actually worn, or was made specifically for the burial of the tomb in which it was found. 

The Four Social Zones of Fifth Avenue, a sketch by Reginald Marsh for a 1922 issue of Vanity Fair. This cartoon shows the distinct neighborhoods in 1920’s Manhattan and their clientele - the young artists and bohemians of downtown, the immigrant workers and socialists of midtown, and the upper-class elite of uptown [x]. Click for a better view. 

(Source: fyeahhistorymajorheraldicbeast)

Hello to all the new followers! I hope you enjoy my blog! 

I won’t be updating too frequently in the next few weeks, because I’m studying abroad in London (explainabrag sorry) and I’m finding myself a bit busy, but I’ll try to do a post a week, especially after my history courses begin and I start learning cool stuff.

Exterior shot of the Cotton Club in its heyday
New Years celebration, 1935. Performance by Cab Calloway and his band

Although the Harlem Renaissance is often thought of as an explosion of African American cultural expression and recognition, most of the white New Yorkers who flocked uptown when the sun went down nonetheless a upheld a standard of racial discrimination. The area’s most famous nightclubs, including the Cotton Club (shown above), were whites-only. Banished from the audience, blacks were allowed on stage, and some of the most famous black entertainers of the era - Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, and more - performed at the Cotton Club between 1923 and 1940. 

Children play in Harlem, c. 1920s

Two men dancing, Harlem, 1920s.

According to George Chauncey’s eponymous Gay New York, the Harlem Renaissance of the ’20s provided an opportunity for gay men to create their own social and cultural spaces within the burgeoning nightlife in the neighborhood. 

The program of a March 3rd suffrage rally in Washington D.C, for the event of President Wilson’s inauguration, and a photograph of Inez Milholland on horseback at the actual event.