> ## Content Index
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# The Freaks and Fascinations of 18th-Century Entertainment
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/the-freaks-and-fascinations-of-18th-century-entertainment/
- Published: 2015-07-16T01:01:20.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:47:06.000Z
- Description: Last week, the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford launched an online portal to over 115,000 open-license images from their collections.
- Author: Allison Meier
- Tags: Art, Archives, Bodleian Library, Digitization, ephemera, University of Oxford, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:08 (2014, 2015, part 2)

![Digital Bodleian (all images courtesy Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized01.jpg)

Exhibition of dancing dogs (1785) (all images courtesy Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford)

Last week, the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford [launched](http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/news/2015/jul-09?ref=hyperallergic.com) an online portal to over 115,000 open-license images from their collections. [Digital.Bodleian](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/?ref=hyperallergic.com) offers non-commercial use of this material, much of which was previously accessible only with a reader’s card.

According to the [release](http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/news/2015/jul-09?ref=hyperallergic.com), this is just the start of 1.5 million images the Bodleian plans to make available. The manuscripts, ephemera, maps, posters, and even a strong showing of games are on a user-friendly platform where images can be annotated or saved to private collections for later viewing and downloading. While there are many previous digitizing initiatives at the Bodleian, such as a [collaboration with the Vatican Library](http://hyperallergic.com/96879/the-vatican-and-oxford-launch-an-ambitious-digital-archive-of-ancient-texts/) and even a [modestly executed trove of portraiture paintings](http://hyperallergic.com/71372/a-trove-of-portraiture-once-hidden-away-in-oxfords-library-goes-online/), this site acts as one navigation for them all.

![Digital.Bodleian homepage (screenshot by the author for Hyperallergic)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/digitalbodleian1.jpg)

Digital.Bodleian homepage (screenshot by the author for Hyperallergic) (click to enlarge)

It’s an overwhelming amount of material if you’re just browsing, but the library’s [Storify timeline](https://storify.com/BDLSS/digital-bodleian-launch?ref=hyperallergic.com) has some tips for getting started and the landing page offers curated collections. There are beautiful [19th-century lithographs of birds](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+30,t+dcterms%5C%3Acontributor%3A%22Gould%2C%20John%2C%201804-1881%22,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+) by John Gould; [the Curzon Collection](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+,t+dcterms%5C%3Asource%3Apoliti004%2A,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+) of over 1,400 satirical cartoons related to Napoleon and the Napoleonic wars; the [archives of Sir Arthur Evans](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+,t+dcterms%5C%3Asource%3A%2Asackler02%2A,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+) connected to the Knossos excavations; the [Gough Map](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+,t+dcterms%5C%3Asource%3Amapsxx002%2A,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+) thought to be the oldest cartographic depiction of the UK; Victorian [entomology works](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+,t+dcterms%5C%3Asource%3AOUM%2A%20%26%26%20%28pests%20%7C%7C%20oestridae%20%7C%7C%20cerambycidae%20%7C%7C%20hemiptera%20%7C%7C%20parasites%20%7C%7C%20hymenoptera%20%7C%7C%20insect%20%7C%7C%20insects%20%7C%7C%20entomology%20%7C%7C%20beatles%20%7C%7C%20entomologists%20%7C%7C%20entomologica%20%7C%7C%20entomological%29,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+) from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History; [19th-century paintings](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+,t+Kalighat%20%26%26%20dcterms%5C%3Asource%3Aorient001%2A,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+) from Calcutta of Hindu deities; and [19th-century board games](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+,t+dcterms%5C%3Asource%3Abodjjo001%2A,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+) (such as [Whittington and His Cat](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+2,t+dcterms%5C%3Asource%3Abodjjo001%2A,rsrs+0,rsps+100,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+8477d0c6-a0e2-42a5-ac29-b6fd6ad94c88,vi+07d4dea2-7db3-4f0a-a8e7-001352f1a0f0) and [The Panorama of Europe](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+3,t+board%20game,rsrs+0,rsps+100,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+a833b129-19ad-4259-8935-d8861d4283d3,vi+8d0c0591-89ee-411a-b7df-62b104fea18a)).

Especially strong is the [John Johnson Collection](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+2,t+dcterms%5C%3Asource%3Abodjjo005%2A,rsrs+0,rsps+100,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+), with Digital.Bodleian concentrated on its 18th-century playbills and advertisements for various forms of amusement, from freak shows to waxworks. It’s one of[ the world’s richest collections](http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/bodley/finding-resources/special/guides/ephemera?ref=hyperallergic.com) of printed ephemera, founded by papyrologist [John de Monins Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%5Fde%5FMonins%5FJohnson?ref=hyperallergic.com).

It’s a captivating and curious insight into what 18th-century Europe considered entertainment. There are [panorama paintings](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+1,t+8ff0a731-6fad-4a6b-a327-2a4120ced41f,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+8ff0a731-6fad-4a6b-a327-2a4120ced41f), [anatomical waxwork](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+4,t+58cc208e-1dd0-4cf8-8baa-e68c5c0fb9b6,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+58cc208e-1dd0-4cf8-8baa-e68c5c0fb9b6) displays, [a solar microscope](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+9,t+89164425-41f6-4de9-b800-313243bf1708,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+89164425-41f6-4de9-b800-313243bf1708), a [house made of iron](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+11,t+b6432964-4798-416f-acbc-bc0f7c58217c,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+b6432964-4798-416f-acbc-bc0f7c58217c), and the more scientifically questionable [“sacred truths attested from the miraculous onyx stone”](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+18,t+f16c4f72-3111-41ee-a7ab-6be9465d8f7a,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+f16c4f72-3111-41ee-a7ab-6be9465d8f7a) and a [Fiji mermaid](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+2,t+9ff0e297-4c71-4bc4-8abb-8d956567a302,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+9ff0e297-4c71-4bc4-8abb-8d956567a302) likely sewn from a monkey and fish. Alongside are human oddities such as the gigantic [“infant Hercules,”](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+17,t+5dddadcb-1caa-4248-90e7-4e204003504f,rsrs+0,rsps+100,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+5dddadcb-1caa-4248-90e7-4e204003504f) [“John Bigg the Dinton Hermit”](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+7,t+443f77f5-c2ca-4fa8-aea5-3f037bbef2ae,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+443f77f5-c2ca-4fa8-aea5-3f037bbef2ae) dressed in Druid clothes, and [Thomas Inglefield](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+17,t+f9c25ef9-9752-4b01-88de-3c172283ff47,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+f9c25ef9-9752-4b01-88de-3c172283ff47) illustrated in the act of drawing — despite possessing no arms or legs. But the most marvelous are the announcements of animals of every shape and provenance: a [“most beautiful female dromedary”](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+14,t+1bac4a1e-fba6-4466-baf5-ef2d45a47ec1,rsrs+0,rsps+100,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+1bac4a1e-fba6-4466-baf5-ef2d45a47ec1) from Egypt; [dancing dogs](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+15,t+1dcf232e-a8c8-4695-88c2-6d47ea56aaf9,rsrs+0,rsps+100,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+1dcf232e-a8c8-4695-88c2-6d47ea56aaf9) (which also perform a court-martial and sentence deserters to death); the [“most astonishing and largest ostrich ever seen in Europe”](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+6,t+131e00e4-0e77-4b2d-a00d-df1535986e06,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+131e00e4-0e77-4b2d-a00d-df1535986e06); a [“calf, alive, with FIVE LEGS”](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+8,t+1260164a-fa24-4467-b1e3-a12396ff6a3c,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+1260164a-fa24-4467-b1e3-a12396ff6a3c); a [“young rhinoceros or real unicorn”](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+10,t+a6955690-4f20-45e0-b01f-7d25a4bf6c2c,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+a6955690-4f20-45e0-b01f-7d25a4bf6c2c); and the [“finest taught horse in the world”](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/?ref=hyperallergic.com#/?p=c+12,t+cfab47de-74e9-43d8-9490-40fb5f8939b3,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+,vi+cfab47de-74e9-43d8-9490-40fb5f8939b3) (which appears to be playing cards). It seems all manner of novel invention, creature, or even something as mundane as a new type of rock was of fascination in the Age of Enlightenment.

Below are a few selections from the John Johnson Collection, just a small taste of the material at Digital.Bodleian.

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized02.jpg)

“Remarkable fungus in the museum of Ashton Lever esq. at Alkrington,” in Gentleman’s magazine (1772)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized03.jpg)

“The Anatomical Waxwork” notice (1748)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized04.jpg)

“Young rhinoceros or real unicorn” (1790)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized05.jpg)

Ticket of Oct. 1799, announcing Anatomy by Mr Cruikshank and Mr Wilson (1799)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized06.jpg)

“To be seen alive, alive O.” (1795)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized07.jpg)

“Mr. Makeen: the Equestrian Hero” (nd)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized08.jpg)

Handbill announcing a calf with five legs (nd)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized09.jpg)

“The Iron House” (nd)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized10.jpg)

Handbill of The Bell Inn announcing “A most surprizing large Warwickshire hog” (nd)

![Digital Bodleian](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/07/bodleiandigitized12.jpg)

Handbill of Glass-warehouse (1785)

*Access over 115,000 images from the Oxford University Bodleian Libraries at* [*Digital.Bodleian*](http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/?ref=hyperallergic.com)*.*