Victorian furniture styles
This page describes various different Victorian styles of furniture. The styles vary and include Japanese designs, …
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Teachers' resource: Victorian social life from paintings
The V&A is one of the best museums in the world for learning about the Victorians. This resource contains an introd…
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Victorian dress at the V&A
The V&A's Victorian dress collection represents the fashions worn by the wealthy in the 19th century, and reflects …
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Victorian sentimental prints, drawings & watercolours
Scenes of tender feeling were popular during the Victorian period. They became associated with the home as they wer…
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What the Victorians read at Christmas
The commercialisation of Christmas, which many today consider a bane of modern life, in fact has its origins in the…
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Gender, health, medicine & sexuality in Victorian England
The Victorian period saw the beginnings of a shift in social philosophy regarding legal and customary gender relati…
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Sex & Sexuality in the 19th century
Male anxieties in relation to both physical and mental health in the Victorian era often seem to have concentrated …
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Victorian
During the Victorian age, when Queen Victoria was on the throne from 1837 to 1901, Britain was the most powerful nation in the world, undergoing an industrial revolution, social reform and advances in science, technology and culture. In 1851 the Great Exhibition, housed in the Crystal Palace, had an enormous impact on the development of art and design throughout the Victorian age and led to the founding of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Design for Life
Design for life: a national museum education project
Steam & speed: Other forms of Victorian transport & communication
The other type of railway developed in Britain and then used worldwide was the urban Underground. The first passenger carrying underground railway was opened in London between Paddington and Farringdon on 10 January 1863.
Health & medicine in the 19th century
Early Victorian ideas of human physiology involved a clear understanding of anatomy (at least among experts; but the populace often had hazy knowledge of the location and role of internal organs) allied to a concept of vital forces focused on the hematological and nervous systems that now seems closer to the ancient 'humours' than to present-day models.
Walter Crane cover design for ‘Illustrations of the Victorian Series and Other Wall-Papers’
This design for the cover of a book of wallpapers manufactured by Jeffrey and Co was created by Walter Crane (1845-1915) in 1887. This image shows a winged young man blowing a horn or trumpet, surrounded by swirling acanthus leaves. Walter Crane's monogram - his initials and a crane - can be seen at the bottom right hand corner of the design.
A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Reasons to be Cheerful: The Life and Work of Barney Bubbles
A celebration of the life and work of one of the greatest designers of recent times.
Buy nowEvent - Victorian London
Wed 24 April 2013 14:00
SHORT COURSE: Explore the art, architecture, literature, entertainment, and highs and lows of life in Victorian London –the largest and wealthiest city in the world.
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