Organised by V&A
This talk is part of the V&A Academy Lunchtime Lecture Series. No booking is required.
Join collector Mark Wallis for a lively illustrated talk which will look at the perils that travellers in Georgian England endured, from coaches overturning in mud or snow to frightened runaway horses, unpredictable inns and robbers on the road, including infamous highwaymen such as Dick Turpin, Jerry Abershaw and 'Galloping Dick' Ferguson. After the talk there will be a chance to examine some original objects from the speaker's private collection of the sort of valuables the highwaymen were after - money, costly watches, sparkling shoe buckles, decorative snuff boxes, among many tempting trinkets - as well as the weapons used to keep the thieves at bay.
Mark Wallis has been collecting antique menswear and accessories since he was a teenager, when he would bring his latest finds to the V&A for authentication. Fifty years later he now sources and lends items to the museum (most recently for the blockbuster exhibition 'Fashioning Masculinities') and he has been commissioned to write a book on his unique collection.
To see our full Summer 2023 Lunchtime Lecture Programme, click 'Download Programme' on the right of this screen.