Photographer Page

British Library

Hall stands with two Inuit people on his first trip to the Arctic between 1860-1862 in this illustration.

Jane Austen’s beloved 1813 novel depicts the troubles of a rural English family of the gentry class in the early 19th century. It opens with a famous line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” The couples in the novel, of which an early edition is pictured, embody Austen’s attitudes toward courtship in the Regency period. Some are partnerships based on affection; others are more practical. She also shows what can happen to those who marry without careful consideration.

A group of upper-class girls receives a singing lesson. In the background, one girl paints while another embroiders in this 19th-century engraving.

A ball at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, with ladies and gentlemen in their finest attire is shown in an 1827 color engraving by John Nash.

This portable desk was used by Austen when she was writing her novels. Her glasses and case rest on its surface.

Printed accounts of Stump’s trial were popular in Germany and across Europe, but many were lost to time. One of the few that survived is a 16-page illustrated pamphlet published in London, England, in 1590. It has become the leading source of information on Stump (called Stubbe in this version) and his ordeal.

A map of Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands.

Newspapers reported firsthand accounts of the chaos and terror in Port Royal caused by the 1692 earthquake.