Cultural

Mark Bryant examines the history of the Second World War’s favorite cartoon pin-up.

Corinne Julius visits a new gallery of jewels at the V&A to see what sparkle they add to our understanding of history.

David Abulafia considers Columbus’ first encounters with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, and shows how they challenged European preconceptions about what it meant to be human.

Manus McGrogan traces the radical posters that flowered on the walls of Paris in the spring of 1968, while a new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London offers a chance to see them.

Continental chefs dominated London’s restaurant world in the nineteenth century, says Panikos Panayi.

Antonio Cazorla-Sanchez introduces a distinctive method of engaging with the past.

Britain’s concerns over binge drinking are nothing new says Luci Gosling, who describes how the brewing industry united to wreck Asquith’s Licensing Bill of 1908.

Patricia Cleveland-Peck finds out how family historians can research the lives of their ancestors in the fast-changing city of Shanghai.

Jeremy Goldberg examines three stories of disputed marriages and discusses definitions of consent and how they impinged on a medieval woman’s right to marry when and whom she chose.

John Styles considers whether the fashion for wearing pocket-watches flourished among working men in the eighteenth century because it was stylish, because they needed to know the time accurately, or for some other reason.