Social history

Map of Algiers, c1700. It was here that Icelanders, including Ólafur Egilsson, were sold into slavery. (Culture Club/Getty Images)

Barbary pirates: kidnapped in Iceland

An aquatint shows barbers at work, with varying degrees of success. (Wellcome Collection)

At the edge of reason: shaving and razors in 18th-century Britain

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The NASA Space Pen

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School history: the hidden success story

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Thin horse

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The Real Jim Hawkins: Ships’ Boys in the Georgian Navy

Protection for historical buildings

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Young politician

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George III at the end of his reign. He

Uncertainty and unrest: the madness of the Regency period . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Liar, liar

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Christopher Clayton Hutton smuggled everything from currency to forged ID discs into German PoW camps. (Public domain)

My history hero: Christopher Clayton Hutton (1893–1965) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The plague, Sir Walter Ralegh and Jerusalem . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Talk like a lady

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The price of smoke

A pregnant woman receives a piece of beef

“A taste for husbands’ buttocks”: the bizarre history of pregnancy cravings