The Victorian Hand
@victorianhand.bsky.social
@ukri.org AHRC Standard Research Grant project (2024-28) exploring historical & contemporary understandings of the human hand. Hosted by @lcflondon.bsky.social & @lancasteruni.bsky.social & co-led by @jbhist.bsky.social & medhistoryman.bsky.social
✊ From the late 19th century, socialist movements adopted the raised fist as a symbol of unity and strength.
One of the first depictions was by Hungarian artist Mihály Biró in 1912. His image of a fist emerging from factories toward parliament in Budapest visualised the power of collective action.
One of the first depictions was by Hungarian artist Mihály Biró in 1912. His image of a fist emerging from factories toward parliament in Budapest visualised the power of collective action.
November 7, 2025 at 11:47 AM
✊ From the late 19th century, socialist movements adopted the raised fist as a symbol of unity and strength.
One of the first depictions was by Hungarian artist Mihály Biró in 1912. His image of a fist emerging from factories toward parliament in Budapest visualised the power of collective action.
One of the first depictions was by Hungarian artist Mihály Biró in 1912. His image of a fist emerging from factories toward parliament in Budapest visualised the power of collective action.
General registration is now open for our upcoming conference The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment and Identity at London College of Fashion, 8-9 January!
Visit our website to register: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
Visit our website to register: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
November 5, 2025 at 2:57 PM
General registration is now open for our upcoming conference The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment and Identity at London College of Fashion, 8-9 January!
Visit our website to register: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
Visit our website to register: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
This month’s suitably spooky blog post is from our Research Associate, who has been speaking with the dead in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research!
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
October 31, 2025 at 5:02 PM
This month’s suitably spooky blog post is from our Research Associate, who has been speaking with the dead in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research!
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
We are delighted to announce that the plenary speakers for our upcoming conference are Dr Sarah Jackson, Professor Peter J. Capuano and Caroline Seymour!
Visit our website for more information: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
Visit our website for more information: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
October 27, 2025 at 4:09 PM
We are delighted to announce that the plenary speakers for our upcoming conference are Dr Sarah Jackson, Professor Peter J. Capuano and Caroline Seymour!
Visit our website for more information: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
Visit our website for more information: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
In colonial India, William Herschel introduced fingerprinting in the 1850s to authenticate identity on legal documents.
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
October 24, 2025 at 10:52 AM
In colonial India, William Herschel introduced fingerprinting in the 1850s to authenticate identity on legal documents.
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
We’re launching our #handoftheweek series!
This week is Dr Hippolyte Baraduc, who tried to photograph the human soul via 'the most perfect organ after the brain', the hand.
Baraduc’s photos blend science and occult, showing how hands were seen as windows onto the inner self in the 19th century.
This week is Dr Hippolyte Baraduc, who tried to photograph the human soul via 'the most perfect organ after the brain', the hand.
Baraduc’s photos blend science and occult, showing how hands were seen as windows onto the inner self in the 19th century.
October 17, 2025 at 2:27 PM
We’re launching our #handoftheweek series!
This week is Dr Hippolyte Baraduc, who tried to photograph the human soul via 'the most perfect organ after the brain', the hand.
Baraduc’s photos blend science and occult, showing how hands were seen as windows onto the inner self in the 19th century.
This week is Dr Hippolyte Baraduc, who tried to photograph the human soul via 'the most perfect organ after the brain', the hand.
Baraduc’s photos blend science and occult, showing how hands were seen as windows onto the inner self in the 19th century.
How might hands reveal an inner self – a soul, a character, an identity?
Join us on 12 November at Lancaster University to explore this question with Professor Alison Bashford (University of New South Wales) as she presents her book, Decoding the Hand.
Tickets: thevictorianhand.uk/alison-bashf...
Join us on 12 November at Lancaster University to explore this question with Professor Alison Bashford (University of New South Wales) as she presents her book, Decoding the Hand.
Tickets: thevictorianhand.uk/alison-bashf...
October 7, 2025 at 10:06 AM
How might hands reveal an inner self – a soul, a character, an identity?
Join us on 12 November at Lancaster University to explore this question with Professor Alison Bashford (University of New South Wales) as she presents her book, Decoding the Hand.
Tickets: thevictorianhand.uk/alison-bashf...
Join us on 12 November at Lancaster University to explore this question with Professor Alison Bashford (University of New South Wales) as she presents her book, Decoding the Hand.
Tickets: thevictorianhand.uk/alison-bashf...
We are pleased to annouce that Dr Ross Cameron @rosscmrn.bsky.social has joined The Victorian Hand team as a Public Engagement Fellow at @lcflondon.bsky.social!
Watch this space for upcoming annoucements about public engagement activities and ways to get involved with The Victorian Hand.
Watch this space for upcoming annoucements about public engagement activities and ways to get involved with The Victorian Hand.
September 30, 2025 at 2:09 PM
We are pleased to annouce that Dr Ross Cameron @rosscmrn.bsky.social has joined The Victorian Hand team as a Public Engagement Fellow at @lcflondon.bsky.social!
Watch this space for upcoming annoucements about public engagement activities and ways to get involved with The Victorian Hand.
Watch this space for upcoming annoucements about public engagement activities and ways to get involved with The Victorian Hand.
Time feels tangible in these casts...
Over on the Victorian Hand project blog, our Research Associate @helenvmurray.bsky.social reflects on her trip to Watts Gallery to research their extensive collection of plaster cast hands..
www.thevictorianhand.uk/blog-touchin...
Over on the Victorian Hand project blog, our Research Associate @helenvmurray.bsky.social reflects on her trip to Watts Gallery to research their extensive collection of plaster cast hands..
www.thevictorianhand.uk/blog-touchin...
September 23, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Time feels tangible in these casts...
Over on the Victorian Hand project blog, our Research Associate @helenvmurray.bsky.social reflects on her trip to Watts Gallery to research their extensive collection of plaster cast hands..
www.thevictorianhand.uk/blog-touchin...
Over on the Victorian Hand project blog, our Research Associate @helenvmurray.bsky.social reflects on her trip to Watts Gallery to research their extensive collection of plaster cast hands..
www.thevictorianhand.uk/blog-touchin...
🙋Don't forget! The call for abstracts for our conference on The Hand closes at midnight tonight!
All abstracts should be sent to victorianhand@fashionarts.ac.uk
We can't wait to go through all the incredible submissions we've received, so we can hand-craft a fantastic programme.
Watch this space!
All abstracts should be sent to victorianhand@fashionarts.ac.uk
We can't wait to go through all the incredible submissions we've received, so we can hand-craft a fantastic programme.
Watch this space!
September 22, 2025 at 12:57 PM
🙋Don't forget! The call for abstracts for our conference on The Hand closes at midnight tonight!
All abstracts should be sent to victorianhand@fashionarts.ac.uk
We can't wait to go through all the incredible submissions we've received, so we can hand-craft a fantastic programme.
Watch this space!
All abstracts should be sent to victorianhand@fashionarts.ac.uk
We can't wait to go through all the incredible submissions we've received, so we can hand-craft a fantastic programme.
Watch this space!
Touch transcends time...
Last week, @helenvmurray.bsky.social was getting some haptic shivers whilst exploring spiritual hands in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research.
Meanwhile, we're levitating with excitement to receive your abstracts for The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity.
Last week, @helenvmurray.bsky.social was getting some haptic shivers whilst exploring spiritual hands in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research.
Meanwhile, we're levitating with excitement to receive your abstracts for The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity.
September 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Touch transcends time...
Last week, @helenvmurray.bsky.social was getting some haptic shivers whilst exploring spiritual hands in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research.
Meanwhile, we're levitating with excitement to receive your abstracts for The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity.
Last week, @helenvmurray.bsky.social was getting some haptic shivers whilst exploring spiritual hands in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research.
Meanwhile, we're levitating with excitement to receive your abstracts for The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity.
3 weeks to go until the deadline for abstracts for our conference The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity (8-9 Jan 2026).
Are you getting yours ready?✍
Send abstracts and bios to victorianhand@fashionarts.ac.uk by 22 September 2025. We can't wait to hear from you!
Are you getting yours ready?✍
Send abstracts and bios to victorianhand@fashionarts.ac.uk by 22 September 2025. We can't wait to hear from you!
September 1, 2025 at 10:46 PM
3 weeks to go until the deadline for abstracts for our conference The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity (8-9 Jan 2026).
Are you getting yours ready?✍
Send abstracts and bios to victorianhand@fashionarts.ac.uk by 22 September 2025. We can't wait to hear from you!
Are you getting yours ready?✍
Send abstracts and bios to victorianhand@fashionarts.ac.uk by 22 September 2025. We can't wait to hear from you!
🙌Call for Papers🙌
We are excited to invite abstracts for an interdisciplinary conference on The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity, at @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social on 8-9 Jan 2026
Send abstracts of 300 words to victorianhand@fashion.arts.ac.uk by 22 Sep - please circulate among your networks!
We are excited to invite abstracts for an interdisciplinary conference on The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity, at @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social on 8-9 Jan 2026
Send abstracts of 300 words to victorianhand@fashion.arts.ac.uk by 22 Sep - please circulate among your networks!
August 15, 2025 at 2:41 PM
🙌Call for Papers🙌
We are excited to invite abstracts for an interdisciplinary conference on The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity, at @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social on 8-9 Jan 2026
Send abstracts of 300 words to victorianhand@fashion.arts.ac.uk by 22 Sep - please circulate among your networks!
We are excited to invite abstracts for an interdisciplinary conference on The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, Identity, at @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social on 8-9 Jan 2026
Send abstracts of 300 words to victorianhand@fashion.arts.ac.uk by 22 Sep - please circulate among your networks!
New publication (not on hands, but on emotions and senses) from project leads @jbhist.bsky.social and @medhistoryman.bsky.social. It's completely Open Access and free for anyone to read.
@jbhist.bsky.social & I are excited to see that our new article on the Royal Military Exhibition of 1890 has been published Open Access by @ihr.bsky.social. This takes a sensory & emotions history approach to the topic of late Victorian popular militarism.
academic.oup.com/histres/adva...
academic.oup.com/histres/adva...
Exhibiting Tommy Atkins: senses, spectacle and military modernity in late Victorian Britain
Abstract. This article considers the conjunction of senses, emotions and objects in the Royal Military Exhibition of 1890 to deepen our understanding of po
academic.oup.com
July 21, 2025 at 9:53 AM
New publication (not on hands, but on emotions and senses) from project leads @jbhist.bsky.social and @medhistoryman.bsky.social. It's completely Open Access and free for anyone to read.
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
We argue that the emotional sensorium of the RME cultivated positive 'prosthetic feelings' about the army & encouraged imaginative investiment in the figure of Tommy Atkins. We put embodied experiences at the heart of discussions about the rise of popular militarism in the age of New Imperialism.
July 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
We argue that the emotional sensorium of the RME cultivated positive 'prosthetic feelings' about the army & encouraged imaginative investiment in the figure of Tommy Atkins. We put embodied experiences at the heart of discussions about the rise of popular militarism in the age of New Imperialism.
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
@jbhist.bsky.social & I are excited to see that our new article on the Royal Military Exhibition of 1890 has been published Open Access by @ihr.bsky.social. This takes a sensory & emotions history approach to the topic of late Victorian popular militarism.
academic.oup.com/histres/adva...
academic.oup.com/histres/adva...
Exhibiting Tommy Atkins: senses, spectacle and military modernity in late Victorian Britain
Abstract. This article considers the conjunction of senses, emotions and objects in the Royal Military Exhibition of 1890 to deepen our understanding of po
academic.oup.com
July 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
@jbhist.bsky.social & I are excited to see that our new article on the Royal Military Exhibition of 1890 has been published Open Access by @ihr.bsky.social. This takes a sensory & emotions history approach to the topic of late Victorian popular militarism.
academic.oup.com/histres/adva...
academic.oup.com/histres/adva...
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
The reviews for Emotions & Surgery have taken a while to come but are now beginning to appear. It's so gratifying in difficult professional times to read someone as eminent as Prof. Mick Worboys describe it as a 'landmark work ... that compellingly revises the history and historiography of surgery'😇
Our latest issue, 67.1, is now live on Project Muse! muse.jhu.edu/issue/55087
July 4, 2025 at 12:13 PM
The reviews for Emotions & Surgery have taken a while to come but are now beginning to appear. It's so gratifying in difficult professional times to read someone as eminent as Prof. Mick Worboys describe it as a 'landmark work ... that compellingly revises the history and historiography of surgery'😇
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
I'm most grateful to Amber Vella, an AHRC-funded PhD student at Leicester, for her most generous review of Emotions & Surgery in Medical History. It's deeply satisfying to have it described as a 'fantastic intervention in the history of surgery'. Thank you 🙏
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Book Review
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
July 4, 2025 at 12:24 PM
I'm most grateful to Amber Vella, an AHRC-funded PhD student at Leicester, for her most generous review of Emotions & Surgery in Medical History. It's deeply satisfying to have it described as a 'fantastic intervention in the history of surgery'. Thank you 🙏
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
Please get those applications in if you are interested in becoming part of our project team!
This amazing opportunity closes today so please get your applications in before the deadline! #history #publicengagement #GLAM #UKRI #AHRC #culturalheritage
Quick reminder that we're looking for a 3-year F/T Public Engagement Fellow to lead on some really amazing events. The call closes on 24 June, so please get your applications in if you fit the bill. We're really excited about this opportunity and think you will be too!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
June 24, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Please get those applications in if you are interested in becoming part of our project team!
This amazing opportunity closes today so please get your applications in before the deadline! #history #publicengagement #GLAM #UKRI #AHRC #culturalheritage
Quick reminder that we're looking for a 3-year F/T Public Engagement Fellow to lead on some really amazing events. The call closes on 24 June, so please get your applications in if you fit the bill. We're really excited about this opportunity and think you will be too!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
Public Engagement Fellow (The Victorian Hand Project) at University of the Arts London, London College of Fashion
Discover professional service job openings, including the Public Engagement Fellow (The Victorian Hand Project) role, on jobs.ac.uk. Apply today for more information on this position.
www.jobs.ac.uk
June 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
This amazing opportunity closes today so please get your applications in before the deadline! #history #publicengagement #GLAM #UKRI #AHRC #culturalheritage
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
Currently transcribing some letters written by Richard Owen held at LU library. One of the gems contained therein is Owen's reference to his relationship with East Sheen neighbour Edwin Chadwick in the 1880s: 'Neighbour Chadwick I see & listen to, weekly; but he never gets out of the sewers!’
June 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Currently transcribing some letters written by Richard Owen held at LU library. One of the gems contained therein is Owen's reference to his relationship with East Sheen neighbour Edwin Chadwick in the 1880s: 'Neighbour Chadwick I see & listen to, weekly; but he never gets out of the sewers!’
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
Turning away from the REF-apocalypse for a second, may I remind you all that we are looking for a 3-year F/T Public Engagement Fellow to join our Victoiran Hand project. Please do spread the word to all those lovely folks in Humanities and GLAM looking for work. Deadline is 24 June, so get applying!
Quick reminder that we're looking for a 3-year F/T Public Engagement Fellow to lead on some really amazing events. The call closes on 24 June, so please get your applications in if you fit the bill. We're really excited about this opportunity and think you will be too!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
Public Engagement Fellow (The Victorian Hand Project) at University of the Arts London, London College of Fashion
Discover professional service job openings, including the Public Engagement Fellow (The Victorian Hand Project) role, on jobs.ac.uk. Apply today for more information on this position.
www.jobs.ac.uk
June 13, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Turning away from the REF-apocalypse for a second, may I remind you all that we are looking for a 3-year F/T Public Engagement Fellow to join our Victoiran Hand project. Please do spread the word to all those lovely folks in Humanities and GLAM looking for work. Deadline is 24 June, so get applying!
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
It's a three-year full-time post based at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. If you have expertise in public and community engagement, the creative arts, events organization, or cultural programming, do take a look. Application deadline 24 June 2025. 2/2
June 13, 2025 at 10:38 AM
It's a three-year full-time post based at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. If you have expertise in public and community engagement, the creative arts, events organization, or cultural programming, do take a look. Application deadline 24 June 2025. 2/2
Reposted by The Victorian Hand
We are advertising for a Public Engagement Fellow for our AHRC funded project: 'The Victorian hand: Emotion, Embodiment, and identity, past and present'. 1/2
ual.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
ual.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
Public Engagement Fellow - University of the Arts, Londoninstagramfacebooktwitteryoutube
Job Title: Public Engagement Fellow. College/Service: Academic. Contract: Fixed Term. Salary: £39,644 -£48,394 per annum. Apply by: 24/06/2025, 23:55
ual.tal.net
June 13, 2025 at 10:38 AM
We are advertising for a Public Engagement Fellow for our AHRC funded project: 'The Victorian hand: Emotion, Embodiment, and identity, past and present'. 1/2
ual.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
ual.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
Quick reminder that we're looking for a 3-year F/T Public Engagement Fellow to lead on some really amazing events. The call closes on 24 June, so please get your applications in if you fit the bill. We're really excited about this opportunity and think you will be too!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
Public Engagement Fellow (The Victorian Hand Project) at University of the Arts London, London College of Fashion
Discover professional service job openings, including the Public Engagement Fellow (The Victorian Hand Project) role, on jobs.ac.uk. Apply today for more information on this position.
www.jobs.ac.uk
June 13, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Quick reminder that we're looking for a 3-year F/T Public Engagement Fellow to lead on some really amazing events. The call closes on 24 June, so please get your applications in if you fit the bill. We're really excited about this opportunity and think you will be too!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI861/p...