SALON NO. 28: FREAKS AND SPECTACULARS
SALON NO. 28: FREAKS AND SPECTACULARS
SALON NO. 28: FREAKS AND SPECTACULARS
SALON NO. 28: FREAKS AND SPECTACULARS

Shock and Awe in the 19th century City
with Ross MacFarlane & Peter Berthoud

6.30pm Thursday June 25th 2015
Westminster Arts Library
35 St Martins Street
London WC1

BUY TICKETS HERE  (Ticket includes a round of freakishly spectacular Salon Gin Punch.)

The Victorian appetite for sensationalism rivalled our own. But unencumbered by sensitivity towards disability or difference and enthralled by notions of the foreign, the public appetite transformed central London into a wonderland of freak shows, dioramas, panopticons and exotica. Our ringmasters, Wellcome Library’s Ross MacFarlane and pre-eminent London guide Peter Berthoud guide us on a whirlwind ride through its dubious delights.

A soundtrack for the city will be provided by The Clerkenwell Kid. Hendricks will be on hand to roll your coaster.

The Victorian appetite for sensationalism rivalled our own. But unencumbered by sensitivity towards disability or difference and enthralled by notions of the foreign, the public appetite transformed central London into a wonderland of freak shows, dioramas, panopticons and exotica. Our ringmasters, Wellcome Library’s Ross MacFarlane and pre-eminent London guide Peter Berthoud guide us on a whirlwind ride through its dubious delights.

A soundtrack for the city will be provided by The Clerkenwell Kid. Hendricks will be on hand to roll your coaster.

More details to follow..

Ross MacFarlane is Research Engagement Officer at the Wellcome Library As an archivist, he has worked at a number of London institutions including King’s College, Tate Britain, the Royal Society and the Reform Club. He has researched, lectured and written on such topics as the history of early recorded sound, freak shows and notions of urban folklore in Edwardian London. He has led guided walks around London on the occult past of Bloomsbury and on the intersection of medicine, science and trade in Greenwich and Deptford.

Peter Berthoud is one of London’s most knowledgeable walkers and talkers. He is a London obsessive. He spends virtually all his time walking in, writing about or reading about the city. His background is in education and youth work management. His interests range from art to pubs, history, maps, photography & architecture. He is also an award winning, City of Westminster Guide and a member of the City of Westminster Guide Lecturers Association.

SALON FOR THE CITY is an ANTIQUE BEAT production sponsored by HENDRICKS GIN