The “Trapeze Disrobing Act”
Strongwoman Charmion used Thomas Edison’s experiments with moving pictures to encourage women to embrace strength and physical activity.
How Los Angeles Started Its Sprawl
Victorian values and Anglo(phile) aesthetics shaped the city’s infrastructure and architecture in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
How Bill Russell Changed the Game, On and Off the Court
NBA player and coach Bill Russell was a leader and legend, fighting for civil rights even as racists harassed him from the sidelines.
The Marriage Myths of Jadwiga of Poland
Crowned rex Poloniae, King of Poland, as a ten-year-old, Jadwiga soon had a decision to make: should she marry for love, or should she marry for politics?
See Jane Use a Speculum
In the pre-Roe era, a collective of women known as The Janes took reproductive health into their own hands.
“Everybody Look What’s Going Down”: The Sunset Strip Riots
In 1966, tired of being harassed by the police for their counterculture ways, the teens of Sunset Boulevard fought back through protests and music.
In The Debs Archive
The papers of American labor activist and socialist Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926) offer a snapshot of early twentieth-century politics.
Staying Cool with Hand Fans
Fans are much more than convenient cooling devices. They make fashion statements, serve as status symbols, and silently spread political propaganda.
Kolkata and Partition: Between Remembering and Forgetting
In West Bengal’s capital city, suppressing the painful history of the 1947 Partition allows for the celebration of moments of endurance and success.
Lipstick’s Complex History
From antiquity to the present, the laws governing the wearing of lipstick have been shaped by gender, class, safety, and religion.