Disability in Late 18th-Century London
A mezzotint in Winterthur’s collection called Mirth and Friendship shows a perfectly normal scene in mid-18th-century London—a group of men drinking in a tavern. Perfectly normal, that is, except that one of the men is seven and a half feet tall. His name was Edward Bamford, and he was a hatter and family man who became a minor celebrity after his death in 1768. Join Esme Krohn, Fellow, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture as she explores how this print shows the complicated and often contradictory realities of being disabled in 18th-century England. Registration required. Free.