Selling sex in Renaissance Italy was not without its risks. Or its social stigma.

These etchings depict some of the most famous sex workers in 17th century Italy.

While prostitution was legal in many places, there were strict rules around how they were allowed to operate.

1/5 For instance, in Mantua and Parma, sex workers were ordered to wear a white cloak in public.

In Milan, the cloak was black, and in Ferrara, Bergamo and Venice it was yellow.

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What’s the point of museums?

Truthfully, we’re asking ourselves the same question.

🧵 When our founder, Henry Wellcome started collecting in the 19th century, the aim then was to acquire vast numbers of objects that would enable a better understanding of the art and science of healing throughout the ages.

Brook Advisory Centres provided relatable sex-education information to young people, but their popular material sometimes resulted in criticism from politicians and the media. [THREAD]
#SexEd #HealthEd #SexualHealth Information on contraception and sexuality for young people has always been a contentious topic in the UK. Even today, sex education and relationships at school are hotly debated, and new guidance remains desperately limited.

Love them or loathe them, face coverings have been used to protect us from all sorts of harmful material in the air for a very long time. [Thread] #facecoverings #facemask Face coverings as a way of protecting respiratory health go back at least 2,000 years. The Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder used animal-bladder skins as masks to filter dust from toxic minerals used at the time for pigmentation in decorations. #facecoverings

Happy birthday William Shakespeare, born #OTD in 1564! Despite being 456 years old, the Bard is still as relevant as ever because, like us, he too lived through an age of epidemics. #ShakespearesBirthday Outbreaks of plague hit London repeatedly during Shakespeare’s professional life from between 1592-1609. Whenever more than 30 deaths were reported in a week, the London authorities closed the playhouses. #ShakespearesBirthday

Quarantine was once the only tool in the fight against infectious disease. As countries across the globe move towards isolation to stop the spread of Coronavirus, the role of quarantine, even in today’s world of vaccines and antibiotics, is once again proving highly effective. To prevent the Black Death spreading in the 14th century, all ships thought to be infected were isolated for 40 days to prevent the spread of the disease. In fact, the word quarantine comes from the Italian quaranta giorni, meaning “40 days”.

Meet six extraordinary figures in the history of medicine that you’ve probably never heard of, whose contributions range from discovering the causative agent of syphilis to advancing techniques for the study of living cells. Portraits by artist Sam Falconer. [THREAD] Paira Mall (1874-1957) was a doctor and linguist. In 1911 he was financed by Henry Wellcome to travel throughout India and the Far East in search of a diverse range of artefacts relevant to the history of medicine. 1/6

Sex education and sexual enlightenment is good for everyone. But what happens when that discussion is censored on social media, where the word vagina is an ‘offensive’ term? @WhoresofYore looks at the battleground of sexual censorship on the internet. [THREAD] #SexualHealthWeek The West has a very long history of censoring sex. In 1580 for example, politician William Lambarde drafted the first bill to ban “licentious” and “hurtful... books, pamphlets, ditties, songs, and other works that promote the art of “lascivious ungodly love”. 1/17

We just discovered this baking book in our collection from 1910 and it's properly floured our dough #GBBO It's got 19 - NINETEEN - different recipes for Genoese sponge. And over 400 different recipes for 'gateaux and dessert cakes'.

It’s a sad fact that receiving a genuine compliment can make some people feel really uncomfortable. So here's a few useful tips on taking a compliment well. #NationalComplimentDay Don’t bat a compliment away like it’s a Wimbledon tennis ball with words like “it was nothing” or “I’m not, really”. Absorb your greatness in the eyes of another. You deserve it. #NationalComplimentDay

During his life Edward Lovett (1852-1933) amassed a huge collection of objects mostly relating to his passion for folklore, charms, amulets and superstitions. #InternationalMuseumDay #IMD2018 #welovett #wehaveacharmforthat [THREAD] Lovett worked for much of his life at the Bank of Scotland in London, rising to the rank of Chief Cashier, but in his leisure time he took great pleasure in his collecting trips to the working-class areas of London. #InternationalMuseumDay #IMD2018 #welovett #wehaveacharmforthat