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The Backstreet Regents @RegencyNights

Curator of the Quirky, the Curious, and the Crazy aspects of Regency life. Creator of #FashionableVerse. Site contains humour. Well, whimsy at least.

Joined January 2022
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  • Followers 1,564
325 Photos and videos
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The Backstreet Regents@RegencyNights
19 Mar 2023
A cartoon from 1832, showing the dangers of pumping raw Sewage into the Thames. I’m just so glad that our Government would never allow this to happen today… (Warning: tweet may contain irony) #EndSewagePollution @Jamie_Woodward_ #SewageScandal
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It’s Dr Johnson’s birthday and I can’t help wondering if he’s the only person ever to have both written a Dictionary and inspired a Brown Ale (from a Brewery he was "intimately connected" with, no less), as we raise a tankard in his honour. #otd #SamuelJohnson
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The Backstreet Regents retweeted
Sir John Soane's Museum 🏛️🖼️@SoaneMuseum
10 Sep 2024
On John Soane’s birthday, here’s London as he knew it! 🎈🏙️ Made from the roof of the Museum in June 1813 by one of Soane's pupils, this drawing – much like every view of London and every birthday – is a snapshot from an ongoing story, never to be repeated quite the same! 🎁
A drawing of the London skyline made from the roof of no. 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the summer of 1813, looking east towards of the city and the towering dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.

ALT A drawing of the London skyline made from the roof of no. 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the summer of 1813, looking east towards of the city and the towering dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.

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Did you know Charles Dibdin (1745 - 1814) was “the pre-eminent Musical Showman of his age”? If not, you may be unaware of the Advantage of Toping (drinking yourself silly), which he celebrated in song and deed. He was also, amazingly, one of Jane Austen's favourite composers !
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The Backstreet Regents retweeted
Bodleian Libraries@bodleianlibs
2 Sep 2024
Stretching from #London Regent street to Westminster abbey, this 7m long panorama was published in 1849. The level of detail that illustrator R. Sandeman and engraver G. C. Leighton put into this #Victorian view is astonishing. Digitised on Digital Bodleian. G.A. Lond. 16° 187
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I don’t often comment on Modern Female Taste, but I'd venture to say this Phaetona (or female driver of a Phaeton carriage) is very much in the vanguard !!
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If you ever find yourself in 1830s London, why not treat yourself to an exhilarating ride on Mr H. Thorrington’s famous Suspension Railway? You’ll be AMAZED, you’ll be THRILLED, you'll MARVEL at just how much fun you can have for a single shilling.
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It’s 1826, and a Doctor examines a woman’s urine sample, in which the image of a baby indicates she’s pregnant. The woman’s Mother is furious (“I told you to be careful”) and the Father scarpers, before anyone notices. That’s my interpretation anyway, though others are possible.
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Bo Peep was a hide-and-seek type game, enjoyed by children during the Regency. According to this scurrilous satire, George IV indulged in a slightly more adult version of the game, living up — or down — to his reputation as the "King of Cuckolds" !
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The Regency public risked life and limb when they ventured on to this precursor of the Ferris Wheel. But, it seems, that’s just the way they liked it ! (Sports of a Country Fair, by Thomas Rowlandson: 1810)
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The Backstreet Regents retweeted
Helena Dix FRAM@HelenaDix
6 Jul 2024
These knives in the 16th century were engraved with musical scores along the blade and used during banquets& parties. Each knife had a part of the engraved music corresponding to a specific vocal range, allowing guests to sing together after meals. Sing for your supper INDEED!
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Oh, if only we knew how much practice the Regents put in to make their dancing seem so effortless and elegant... “BOBBIN about to the FIDDLE — a Familly Rehersal of Quadrille Dancing, or Polishing for a trip to Margate.”
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Sometimes a print has just the perfect title. And this is one of those times: “Mrs Sperling murdering flies — assisted by her maid, who received the dead and wounded.” — By the inimitable Regency artist Diana Sperling.
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In the days before effective copyright laws, the market was flooded with quick knock-offs of the type of prints the Backstreet Regents delight in. This print satirises a notorious Publisher of copied prints, William McCleary, snuffing out the careers of more talented artists.
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The Backstreet Regents retweeted
David Minkin@Davidminkin
2 Nov 2023
Does this look like it’s 200 years old? I just managed to acquire this beautiful French tunnel book from 1827. ⏳ #antique #antiques #vintage #ephemera #oldbooks #Victorian #books #booklovers #books #booklover #conservation #history #historia #peepshow #tunnelbooks
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A pleasingly bonkers vision of the new Regent’s Park, London — imagined as a playground of the Randy Regent himself, in a splendid set of Cuckold's horns, surrounded by the cream of Regency Society. Best contemplated after a few drinks, in my experience.
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If you’ve ever wondered whether Sailors actually said “Shiver my Timbers”, this print from 1800 suggests that they did. They also used to say “Splice my Old Wig”, but this didn’t catch on, for some reason. @OED
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The Backstreet Regents retweeted
Sir John Soane's Museum 🏛️🖼️@SoaneMuseum
22 May 2024
William Hogarth: never not relevant! 👀🗳️ #GeneralElection
Filippo Lorenzin@fi_lor
22 May 2024
William Hogarth, "Election Propaganda" (1754 - 1755) on display at @SoaneMuseum #GeneralElection
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I’m pondering the truth of this statement, as I head out to cast my vote… "He that lyes most loud, is most believed"
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The Duchess of Devonshire demonstrates the “most approved method of securing votes”, in support of Fox’s election campaign of 1784. And now I’m wondering — how many sweet kisses would it take to change your mind about who to vote for in our own upcoming election?? #elections2024
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"With Black, Brown, and Fair, I have frolick'd 'tis true, But I never lov'd any, dear Mary, but you." I don’t know if these words would cut much mustard in today's dating scene, but they do at least hint at the cosmopolitan nature of parts of Regency England.
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