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![2E9HHJ0 MESSRS HARDING HOWELL & CO Author Ackermann, Rudolph 27.20. Place of publication: [London] Publisher: For No3 of ACKERMANN'S REPOSITORY of ARTS ,c Pub March 1809, 101 Strand, LONDON., Date of publication: [March 1809] Item type: 1 print Medium: aquatint and etching with hand-colouring Dimensions: sheet 13.9 x 22 cm Former owner: George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qyXmWBZb2Q2UdJZEnKwfx6-230-80.jpg)
Curious Questions: Who opened the first ever department store?
Forget the mid-19th century institutions of Harrods, Macy's or Bloomingdale's — the oldest department store in the world was founded in London in the 1780s. Martin Fone tells the story of Harding, Howell’s & Co Grand Fashionable Magazine.
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Curious Questions: What's the difference between a labyrinth and a maze?
You may never have thought to ponder what distinguishes a labyrinth from a maze. But as Martin Fone explains, it's something of a minefield.
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Curious Questions: Can you hear the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights — or Aurora Borealis — are among the planet's most extraordinary natural phenomena. Even stranger than their ethereal glow, however, is the fact that they can be heard as well as seen. Martin Fone explains more.
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Curious Questions: What was the first ever vinyl LP?
Music-lovers who replaced their records with CDs three decades ago can still barely believe vinyl's unlikely resurgence — but the fresh interest in this old medium is still going as the first ever vinyl LP turns 75. Martin Fone charts the history of vinyl long-play records.
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Curious Questions: Why is pancake day called 'Shrove Tuesday'?
Martin Fone investigates how Shrove Tuesday got its name — and also unveils the history of the day that precedes it, Collop Monday.
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Curious Questions: Why do we call a waterproof rain coat a mackintosh?
Scotland has turned out endless inventors of great genius in the past few hundred years, and Charles Macintosh — the man who brought waterproof clothing to the world — was as successful as any of them. Martin Fone tells his story.
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Curious Questions: How does Witches' Broom form in trees?
Martin Fone looks into one of the most curious — and curiously named — natural phenomena visible on a country walk in Britain.
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Curious Questions: Can you trust expiry dates on food?
Best before and use-by dates claim to show us when our food is likely to have gone off — but how are they figured out, how did we do without them, and do we really need them? Martin Fone investigates and finds a tale of dodgy food, dodgier dates, and an unlikely side-hustle run by the legendary gangster Al Capone.
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Curious Questions: Do Brussels sprouts come from Brussels in Belgium?
As healthy as they are divisive, Martin Fone takes a look at the humble Brussels sprout. Why do we eat them at Christmas? Does anybody eat them during the rest of the year? And do they really come from Brussels?
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Curious Questions: Who started the first charity shop?
Charity shops have become a staple of British high streets in the past decade, and more and more of us are doing our shopping there — particularly as times are tight. But what's the story behind them? Martin Fone unearths the history of the charity shop.
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Curious Questions: Is there a 'right' way up to use aluminium foil?
As we prepare to embark upon the season of wrapping leftover foodstuffs, Martin Fone answers a question that's been bugging us for years: is it dull side up and shiny side down, or the other way around?
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Curious Questions: Did mince pies really once contain meat?
Martin Fone investigates the most traditional seasonal food of all: mince pies.
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Curious Questions: How do sycamore seeds spin?
A chance encounter with Nature's answer to the helicopter prompts Martin Fone to ponder how sycamore seeds managed to fall to earth so gracefully.
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Curious Questions: How did a Swedish lighthouse genius and the 'father of advertising' make the Aga a country house must-have?
No English country house is complete, or so it sometimes seems, without an Aga at the heart of the kitchen — yet it's a Swedish invention whose roots are rooted in a tragic explosion, as Martin Fone discovers.
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Curious Questions: Is there any such thing as coincidence?
Just when you were musing about the nature of coincidences, along comes Martin Fone to explain exactly what they are — and what they aren't.
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Curious Questions: Why is the pork pie associated with Melton Mowbray?
Martin Fone tells the tale of a true British culinary classic: the pork pie.
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Curious Questions: Was Captain Webb the first to swim the channel?
Captain Matthew Webb was famously the first man to successfully swim the English Channel — or was he? Martin Fone investigates.
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Curious Questions: When and why did we start bathing in the sea?
Despite the British love of seafaring, voluntarily taking a dip in the sea was almost unheard of until relatively recently. Martin Fone takes a look at how a bit of canny marketing helped change that.
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Curious Questions: What is the world's oldest extant rowing race?
The annual Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has been a fixture on the sporting calendar of Britain for almost two centuries — but there is a far older example still going, Doggett's Coat and Badge, which boasts an unbroken record of winners for more than three centuries examples. Martin Fone explains.
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Curious Questions: Which came first — the plastic flower pot or the garden centre?
Martin Fone takes a look at the curiously intriguing tale of the evolution of nurseries in Britain.
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Curious Questions: How did the strawberry become the ultimate summer fruit?
Martin Fone tells a tale of fruit, sensuality and espionage as he digs in to the tale of the strawberry we know and love.
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Best summer gins for sipping on long, hot afternoons (or for drowning your sorrows on cold, rainy ones)
From floral and fruity gins to wines that you can drink without a pang of conscience, we've rounded up some of the best new drinks on the market, perfect for an al fresco drink as the height of summer approaches.
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Curious Questions: When did the first passenger jet take off?
'Nowadays we travel to all parts of the globe, often within a day and often without changing planes,' says Martin Fone, as he muses on the birth of commercial air travel exactly 70 years ago.
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Curious Questions: Did a mining disaster lead to the invention of Father’s Day?
This weekend marks Father's Day across the world, prompting Martin Fone to take a look at the origins of this day of celebration. The tale he discovered is not what he expected....
![2E9HHJ0 MESSRS HARDING HOWELL & CO Author Ackermann, Rudolph 27.20. Place of publication: [London] Publisher: For No3 of ACKERMANN'S REPOSITORY of ARTS ,c Pub March 1809, 101 Strand, LONDON., Date of publication: [March 1809] Item type: 1 print Medium: aquatint and etching with hand-colouring Dimensions: sheet 13.9 x 22 cm Former owner: George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qyXmWBZb2Q2UdJZEnKwfx6-800-80.jpg.webp)
