Gaslight resources

Topics for the Lecture and Slice of Life series.
Discussion about historical events, people, items, etc. that can add to the flavor to any historical game setting.
Discussion and sharing of links and resources.
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RobH
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Gaslight resources

Post by RobH » Fri Aug 30, 2013 12:32 pm

As there's a 1920s resources thread I thought I'd start one for the the 1890s Gaslight setting as well.
Spiritualistic seances were popular at the time and might provide useful settings, starting points or characters. The excellent Archive.org has books on the subject from the period:
  • A defence of "the scientific basis of spiritualism"from 1891.
  • Noted biologist Alfred Russel Wallace wrote a book all about talking with the spirits of the dead published in 1892.
  • A longer one by Wallace published in 1896 splendidly subtitled "Revised edition, with chapters on apparitions and phantasms".
  • And from 1892 an exposé of fraud and trickery used by mediums, written by an ex-medium.

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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by KeeperMurph » Fri Aug 30, 2013 1:33 pm

Great I idea

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RobH
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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by RobH » Fri Aug 30, 2013 2:40 pm

Floor plans of a large London house of the period, such as exist in terraces in the best neigbourhoods.
Servants' rooms in the basement, coachman's accomodation over the stable at the back, maid's room up on the top floor. There's even a designated beer store in the basement.
British style floor-numbering of course, so "Ground floor" and "First floor" are what are called 1st floor and 2nd floor etc respectively in America.

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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by RobH » Fri Aug 30, 2013 3:43 pm

A beautifully illustrated 1896 medical catalogue of surgical instruments and sundry medical appliances, including everything from scalpels and syringes to operating tables, artificial limbs and microscopes.

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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by Keeper Dan » Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:45 am

RobH, you are a marvel of information. Thank you for sharing all of this. :rock:
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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by RobH » Mon Sep 02, 2013 9:41 am

An 1883 book about housing called 'Our Homes, and how to Make Them Healthy' contains, among a huge amount of detail about lighting, ventilation, drains and sanitation, furniture, servants' bedrooms and much much more, floor plans of.... .

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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by RobH » Mon Sep 02, 2013 10:21 am

Where else would you expect to find stuff about Victorian London than at VictorianLondon.org?

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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by Keeper Dan » Mon Sep 02, 2013 7:13 pm

RobH, you're a force of nature! I love it! :cthulhudance: :yay:
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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by RobH » Tue Sep 03, 2013 10:53 am

Street photography:

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Re: Gaslight resources

Post by RobH » Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:15 pm

High resolution scan of a map of London made in 1890.
Printed in Germany but all the street and place names are in English; I think the key works as follows: solid black lines ("Oberirdische") are overground railways, paired dashed lines ("Unterirdische") are underground railways, and the thin castellated lines ("Strassenbahnen") are tramways.
Everything's picked out with great clarity; there are slaughterhouses, workhouses, Pentonville prison, Bethlehem Lunatic Asylum (formerly "Bedlam"), gasworks by the river and canals to allow for easy coal deliveries... just add tiny hansom cabs jostling through the streets.

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