For centuries printing in Britain had been a male dominated industry routed in technology that had changed little since Gutenburg's lifetime. This status altered in the early 1900s, when advancements were made, and a woman invigorated the industry. This individual was Beatrice Warde, who through her expertise and connections to leading figures from the industry, art, culture and politics, became one of the most influential figures in printing and publishing. Her ideas continue to resonate in the twenty first-century, with…

Joseph Wright of Derby painted portraits of provincial businesswomen, Sarah Clayton of Liverpool (1769), and Ellen Morewood of Alfreton (1782), Derbyshire. Although both women were actively engaged in the management of the estates and collieries they owned, and invested in local transport infrastructures, the portraits are markedly different in appearance. To understand why, this illustrated presentation explores their lives, business ventures and legal troubles in a masculine world. Dr Peter Collinge is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and…

Brief Encounter Erasmus Darwin makes a short trip to Matlock Bath resulting in the discovery of a new mineral. Erasmus Darwin often met with his friend Josiah Wedgwood at Matlock Bath, which was a convenient Derbyshire location to "take the waters". On one occasion he visited the establishment of a lapidarist, Thomas Pearson, where he purchased a mineral with which he was not familiar. He informed a fellow mineral enthusiast of the find which ultimately resulted in the discovery of a…