Wellcome Collection

24/03/2023

It’s frustratingly easy to trick yourself into thinking you’re simply going to bounce back with 100 per cent health once your cancer treatment is over.

23/03/2023

Why are dates the perfect fruit to eat on an empty stomach?

Dates contain tonnes of fibre, as well as protein, vitamins and minerals. When consumed in moderation, dates can also contribute essential nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium, iron and manganese. They are also high in polyphenols, which are antioxidant compounds that protect the body from inflammation.

And for those who are fasting this month, dates are super easy to digest, making them a quick source of energy and nutrients that can help the body’s blood glucose levels quickly return to normal, without causing a sugar spike.

Ramadan Mubarak to those who celebrate ☪️ 🤲

Image: Two banana plants (Musa species) and a date palm tree. Coloured engraving, c. 1827. Date: [1827] Reference: 27948i

21/03/2023

Would you handle a chamberpot with this much care?

Would you handle a chamberpot with this much care?

This one's inscribed with a poem that goes: "Dear lovely Wife. Pray, rise & p**s" and ends: "We'll laugh and p**s and then to bed."

Stunning 💦 💖

[Video description: This short, behind-the-scenes reel starts by asking the question: "Would you handle a chamberpot with this much care?" It then shows a member of staff removing a chamberpot from a cabinet, while a second member of staff measures, labels and catalogues it before placing it in a box.]

20/03/2023

In Japan, spring is marked by flying a kite 🪁

The Japanese have a proverb: "Hatsu hana, koino mono, hoshi meguri" which means: "The first flower, the first love, and the first star are all best seen in the sky". Flying a kite is a reminder to look up at that sky, and enjoy spring's wonder and sense of hope 🌸

Unsurprisingly, kite-flying is a popular motif in Japanese art, as seen in this 19th-century print by Utagawa Yosh*tora (active 1850–1880).

The work is full of movement: strings tangle and vie against each other, creating a dizzying sky-scape of soaring, fluttering rectangles. The figures in the first image all appear completely absorbed in their kite-flying, while others bend and toil to get their kites afloat. In the background, we see jewel-toned water, a red setting sky, houses and a watchtower.

The work is split into three panels, and the style in which it's made is known as ukiyo-e.

Ukiyo-e prints (which feature relatable everyday images like landscapes, portraits, historical events and scenes from daily life) were made by carving into a wooden block, applying ink to the block, and then pressing it onto paper to create the final image.

These prints were popularised in the Edo period (1603-1867) and produced in large numbers making them relatively affordable, as well as accessible to a wide range of people, including tourists.

So, this is your PSA to take a moment and look up at that big, wondrous sky. Spring is here and better days are coming 🌈

Credit: Kite-flying at a boys' festival in early spring. Colour woodcut by Yosh*tora, 1865. Wellcome Collection.

19/03/2023

Heather Spears (1934 – 2021) drew hundreds of mothers.

She first started selling drawings to make a living as a single parent, catering to the summer tourist trade by sketching portraits in Bornholm, Denmark. But she noticed she had difficulty drawing babies’ faces.

So, she started visiting a local hospital to hone her skills at sketching infants, and subsequently produced hundreds of pencil and chalk drawings in the labour and neonatal intensive care units.

She drew mothers in childbirth, holding their newborns, attempting to breastfeed... These are just a few of those sketches, which we’ve recently catalogued for our collection.

Image credits: Heather Spears. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

17/03/2023

Being successfully treated for one type of cancer doesn't always stop the brain from finding other cancers to worry about.

Comic by Alex Brenchley

16/03/2023

An army of grandmothers have been trained as stand-in therapists. Their goal? To relieve people in Zimbabwe of a condition called “kufungisisa”.

Kufungisisa roughly translates as “thinking too much.” It’s a Shona term that points to issues with mental health, but it has a physical dimension too, and is sometimes accompanied by headaches and dizziness.

The salve for kufungisisa is talking therapy which, in Zimbabwe, is more often than not delivered by a friendship bench friend – an occupation usually taken up by a nice granny.

They offer counselling sessions outside in the sunshine and fresh air on benches just like the one pictured here, working with clients to find possible solutions to their problems ☀️

In a country where in 2019 there were just 12 psychiatrists serving a country of 16.5 million, these friendship benches – and their grannies – deliver a vital community-led social service.

Image: Thomas S.G. Farnetti. GB. London. Wellcome Collection. Being Human, Wellcome Collection's permanent exhibition. 2019. CC BY NC.

15/03/2023

Hubris, greed, capitalist hysteria – these aren't the words we associate with tulips... 🌷🤓

But in 1630s Holland that was certainly the case, where – from 1634 to 1637 – the country was gripped by tulipmania. The price of bulbs was so extraordinary at the time that a single tulip viceroy was traded for:

1) four fat oxen
2) eight fat pigs
3) twelve fat sheep
4)two hogsheads of wine
5) four tuns of beer
6) two tuns of butter
7) 1,000 pounds of cheese
8) a bed
9) a suit of clothes
10) a silver cup
11) and... a large quantity of wheat and rhye.

Yes, all that for flowers 💐

A newspaper report in 1841 said confidence in the tulip market stalled, before it eventually collapsed in February 1737. The situation was so bad that many merchants were reduced almost to beggary.

So, all of that is to say: happy spring!

For more stories like this one, pick up Kate Summerscale's Book of Phobias and Manias, available in our on-site shop or any good bookstore.

You can also read an extract of Summerscale's book online 🔗
https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/Y0U4GBEAAA__16h6

Image credits:
1) Purple striped tulip (Tulipa species): flower and leaves. Watercolour. Wellcome Collection.

2) Four flowers: a chrysanthemum, an auricula, a tulip and a morning glory. Coloured lithograph, c. 1850, after Guenébeaud. Wellcome Collection.

13/03/2023

Monday.

Credit: Head of a man expressing acute pain. Pencil drawing after Charles Le Brun.

10/03/2023

All people handle conversations around cancer differently. There's no 'right' way to do it, but talking openly can be a big help.

Comic by Alex Brenchley

09/03/2023

"And a little bit of rubber"

Some very practical advice for all the lovers out there today 💛

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/a3vfzwzg/items

Credit: A condom embodied within the word love; celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Terrence Higgins Trust. Colour lithograph, 1993. Wellcome Collection.

08/03/2023

In addition to her remarkable contributions to science, Honor Fell (1900–86) was a woman who supported other women.

Famous for developing techniques that advanced the study of living cells, Fell's breakthroughs led media outlets at the time to dub her as the woman “cultivating life in bottles”.

But less well known is that she helped to advance a number of other women's careers – at a time when it was rare to see women in senior positions in any industry.

Fell was appointed as the director of the Strangeways Laboratory in Cambridge in 1928. And during her time as director, she used her position to champion the work of other women – notably, the Australian zoologist Margaret Hardy – as well as refugees fleeing World War Two.

[Alt text: Honor Fell’s portrait is coloured in bright reds, pale yellows and light blues. There are streams of cells, test tubes and bones flowing out of a microscope. There is also an illustration of a building – the exterior of the Strangeways Laboratory in Cambridge.]

Artwork by Sam Falconer

07/03/2023

To be a scientific glassblower you need to be a problem-solver and a logical, creative thinker. You need patience, dexterity – and you must be able to control your breath 😮‍💨

Gayle Price, pictured, is all of these. In her studio at Leicester, she creates the glassware that enables the work of chemists, physicists and medics 🧪

Working with glass rods and flames burning at more than 1,200°C heat, she twists and turns spirals into precise symmetrical shapes.

Read this piece from our archive (and go on a cool virtual tour of Gayle's studio where you can whizz around her workspace):

https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/WvQF4SIAAFNX_7Uf

03/03/2023

‘Scanxiety’ is a well-known term in the cancer community for all the feelings associated with follow-up scans. These feelings can last for days or even weeks before *and* after the scan is over.

Comic by Alex Brenchley

02/03/2023

This poster is of a French pharmacy in the 1950s – a time when drugs were not just bought at the pharmacy, but sometimes made there too 💊

It is part of a series of educational posters created by Rossignol (now, the skiwear company) depicting everyday life in France.

So what exactly are we looking at?

On the left, a pharmacist dressed in a white lab coat takes medicines out from a safe to make prescriptions (there is a sign for ‘Ordonnances’ - prescriptions).

In the centre, a customer brings a new prescription, and the pharmacy assistant stamps a record book.

On the right, a pharmacist makes up medicines from liquids in bottles. And in the foreground a customer buys manufactured and packaged medicines (one medicine is called "Curamodia").

France: customers in a pharmacy. Colour process print, 195-. Date: [between 1950 and 1959?] Reference: 675128i Part of: Tableaux d'élocution.

28/02/2023

Imagine if your meds were dispensed from a jar like this... 😍

Made in Italy around 1740, these large, lidded apothecary jars are incredibly ornate – and certainly a step up from the plastic twisty-cap ones used nowadays.

First off, let's look at the handles: they're made with entwined snakes painted white and blue, with the blue creating a lustre that mimics a snake's scales.

Then there's the blue and white motifs depicting ancient Roman battles 🏹

But our favourite detail is the small face at the base, which appears to be a (very cute!) dispensing hole. Our notes suggest this hole was probably a devil's face, but to us it looks like a cuddly lion 🦁

Maker: Grosso Place made: Albisola, Savona, Liguria, Italy

Credit: Pharmacy vase, Italy, 1740. Science Museum, London.

27/02/2023

A lovely bunch of roses to start the day 💐

Credit: Artist and date unknown. Pink roses in a vase. Watercolour. Wellcome Collection.

24/02/2023

Surviving cancer doesn't always mean you have to live each second like it’s your last.

Comic by .

23/02/2023

Zoom in now. Because this image just keeps on giving 🍆

We recently acquired this print as part of a batch of 19th century po*******hy (yes, p**n), which we’re developing to better capture the history of sexuality, kink and fe**sh 👀

Now, what are we looking at?

It’s a black-and-white print which appears unremarkable at first – with its grand palatial background and Roman emperor vibes, it looks a bit like any other old depiction of a bygone era.

But look a little closer, and you’ll see so much more 🍑

Firstly, there’s the man in the black robe, surrounded by naked women. He is proudly handling his impressive appendage, pointing to a statue behind him in the square.

On the left of the image, there is a king sitting on a throne. He is ej*******ng into an enormous bowl while holding court with a sceptre in one hand and a woman’s ge****ls in another.

The queen meanwhile appears to be having her own fun – though doing what exactly we can’t tell.

To the right, there is an enormous phallus-shaped statue. The fountain of semen erupting from the tip resembles the globs of molten wax that dribble down the sides of a lit dinner candle 🕯️

Meanwhile, scenes depicting various sexual positions from a variety of angles litter the image – there are couples, threesomes and crowds copulating in the public square, the steps and beyond.

Oh, and on the table, there's a fruit bowl with some pears in it 🍐

22/02/2023

Meet the man who made glasses for Elton John, Cher, and even Superman (the one played by Christopher Reeve).

Lawrence Jenkin has been in the eyewear business for 80 years and is one of the last traditional spectacle makers in the business. A legend of his industry, he is now providing inspiration and practical support to a new generation of glasses designers.

Read more about him, his legacy and his successors in the article linked below.

https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/Y8aTQREAAKREABfR

Images: © Carmel King

21/02/2023

Bovril pancakes – yay or nay? 🥞

Here’s a recipe for savoury pancakes from 1939. Created by Bovril, they were distributed in copies of Woman & Home magazine.

This leaflet is one of ten collectible Bovril-based recipes. Others in our collection include: 'Golden Goblins', 'Mince-aroni' and 'Savoury scram'.

If anyone gives this recipe a go, let us know how it turns out 👨‍🍳

Image credits: Make savoury pancakes: they'll make your name as a cook! / Bovril Limited. Bovril Limited Date: [1939?]

[Alt text: A recipe leaflet with illustrated instructions on how to make pancakes filled with a sauce made from Bovril beef extract. The first image has a header which reads: ‘Make savoury pancakes: They’ll make your name as a cook!’ The illustrations show a lady – dressed in a green dress and white apron – going through the steps to make savoury pancakes.

The (abbreviated) instructions read:

Have a look in the larder for cold meat, left-over potatoes, vegetables etc.
Mix pancake ingredients together.
Chop up cold meat and veg. Season.
Melt some butter in a saucepan along with two teaspoons of Bovril, and then stir in the meat and vegetables.
Spread the savoury mixture onto each pancake.
Serve with greens and gravy.]

20/02/2023

Flashes of light, spotted vision, seeing things like they're reflected in a broken mirror...

This painting by Debbie Ayles captures an aura migraine and the feeling of claustrophobia and panic sufferers can experience.

Elements of the lounge where Debbie's migraine started seem to overlap, and the view is compacted into a flat, dense space.

Debbie's migraine lasted three days, causing her pain and desperation. But the work also draws on colour to convey beauty and vibrancy, despite these being painful to see during the migraine.

Credit: View of a lounge during a migraine. Debbie Ayles.

17/02/2023

Writing can be a way of keeping fit too.

Comic by Alex Brenchley.

16/02/2023

Storing plant specimens can be smelly business. Even more so when there are thousands of them. And they’ve been kept in a basement for over a hundred years.

This photo is of the entrance to the medicinal plants room in our old stores, (the former storage facility for our historic collection) alongside a jar of some of the plant specimens stored there.

On the door, there is a note instructing staff to “vent for 10 minutes before entering.” 👃

The image beside it is of two glass jars of chamomile flowers. You may have noticed that the two bottles look almost identical – that’s because they’re stereoscopic images. Hold a stereoscope up to this photo and you’ll see them come to life in 3D.

You can view it in all its 3D glory in ‘Objects in Stereo’ – a photography exhibition capturing the objects in our historic collection.

13/02/2023

Yesterday we said goodbye to In Plain Sight, an exhibition all about vision with accessibility at its heart ❤️

Next up: an exhibition on milk, which will be opening at the end of March🥛

Expect to see lots and lots of cow creamers – if you don't know what they are, you'll have to come find out!

12/02/2023

Making of the Mati Armour

Mati Armour is a sculptural garment made of over 400 copper plaques, each embossed with a different stylised eye 👁️

And today is the *last day* you’ll be able to see (and touch) this piece in In Plain Sight, an exhibition all about seeing, vision and perception.

[Alt text: A video of a woman – artist Alexandra Zsigmond – creating the Mati Armour. In the first frame, she is clipping holes into a copper plaque. In the next, she is laying out a few dozen plaques into the form of a robe. In the last scene she is connecting three plaques together with metal rings while wearing protective eyewear. Throughout the clip, Zsigmond describes her work in a voice over.

“This piece that I’m working on now for the Wellcome Collection in London is a piece of wearable armour that protects one both from the evil eye and from infectious diseases. The gown is composed of over 400 individual metal plaques and they are all joined together with metal rings. I was interested in the idea of embodying the protection that they give you. It’s going to be shown as part of an exhibition called In Plain Sight, which is about the history of perception and seeing through objects.”]

Video Credit: and Resonant Pictures; Sara Sowell
Art credit: Alexandra Zsigmond

11/02/2023

This is Elizabeth Blackwell (1821 - 1910) – the first woman to graduate from an American Medical School. And as you could imagine, it was not easy.

At the time, gaining a medical degree as a woman was considered so outlandish that a professor said that Blackwell would have better chances of gaining admission by disguising herself as a man.

And in some ways, he was right. Blackwell was rejected by over 10 universities. And when she was finally accepted it was only because people thought her application was a joke.

The university faculty were opposed to her gaining admission, but were conflicted about turning down an otherwise qualified candidate. So, they put the decision to vote, allowing students to decide.

The students – thinking it was a prank – unanimously voted Blackwell in.

The obstacles didn’t end there. During her lectures, curious locals would come in to stare at her. And one embarrassed professor even advised that she stay at home on days when he was teaching reproductive anatomy.

Despite all this, she graduated first in her class and won the respect of both her fellow students and faculty staff.

Blackwell went on to promote preventative medicine among laypersons and established a medical school to teach women who – like herself – struggled to gain admission to other colleges.

[Alt text: A drawing of Elizabeth Blackwell reclining in a chair with her face gently resting on her hand.]

Image: Elizabeth Blackwell. Process print by Swaine. Reference: 12369i

10/02/2023

The collateral damage of cancer treatment extends to all activities, including a night of live entertainment.

09/02/2023

This is your last chance to see In Plain Sight, an exhibition we’ll miss as much as these fashion moments from the 70s, 80s and 90s 🕺

So, if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, see this as a sign to drop by Wellcome Collection before this five-star exhibition closes.

You'll learn more about the symbolism behind the eye, the biases in our visual perception and the connections between eyewear and identity.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll leave thinking that we should all give tie-dye another moment ☮️

[Alt text: A carousel of images of various style icons featured in the What We Wore style archive created by Nina Manandhar. In the first image, a black-and-white photo from the late 70s, Mulenga Nkonga is pictured wearing a pair of round metal-rimmed glasses, a white halterneck top and wide flares. In a coloured photograph from the 80s, DJ Harvey is wearing a pair of mirrored aviators along with his Stetson hat and tie. A young Don Letts in a 70s is pictured in thin frames, a black turtleneck sweater paired with a white zip-up jacket. And finally, the last image is of fashion designer Carri Munden, who is pictured busily typing something away in her flip phone while wearing a tie-dye jumper and thick plastic-rimmed glasses.]

Image 1: Mulenga Nkonga, Cairo Road, Zambia, 1974. Courtesy of Mulenga Nkonga
Image 2: DJ Harvey, Cambridgeshire, 1980. Courtesy of DJ Harvey.
Image 3: Don Letts, London, 1973. Courtesy of Don Letts
Image 4: Carri Munden, London, 2006. Courtesy of Carri Munden

All part of the What We Wore style archive by .

08/02/2023

Hemianopia is when you lose sight in half of your visual field. This painting, ‘Soup’ by artist Katya Solyanko gives a sense of what it’s like to live with this condition.

Following a road traffic accident in 2011, Solenko was left with hemianopia, which means she only has the right side of her visual field.

This brightly-coloured acrylic painting shows a dinner table scene from the diner’s viewpoint. The right-half of the bowl is visible, their right hand - but the left part of the image is just made up of a grey stripe, giving the viewer the feeling of partial blindness.

Image credit: Soup, 2018 © Ekaterina Solyanko.