Table of contents

INTRODUCTION:

• Presentation
• Historical Map - Europe 1900 A.D.
• Historical background
• Sherlock Holmes' cultural references

TRANSPORTATION:

• Landau
• Hansom cab
• Train
• Sailing ship
• Steamboats
• Dogcart

COMMUNICATION:

• Lighthouse
• Telegram
• Newspaper

ENERGY AND LIGHTING:

• Gas
• Oil lamp
• Lantern
• Lamps

CULTURE:

DRUGS

• Cocaine
• Opium
• Cigarette

DRESSCODE

• Breastpin
• Albert Chain

EDUCATION

• University degree
• American Encyclopaedia
• Encyclopaedia Britannica

TECHNOLOGIES SEEN ON THE STREETS

• Fire engine
• Scissors-grinder

TECHNOLOGY BOUNDARIES

• Flight

WEAPONS:

• Life preserver
• Pistol
• Jezail
• Rifle
• Revolver

HOUSE & OFFICE UTENSILS AND TECHNOLOGIES

• Kettle
• Bell pull
• Sewing machine
• Typewriter
• Doorbell
• Plumber's smoke rocket
• Gasogene

MEDICAL UTENSILS AND CHEMICALS

• Vitriol
• Forceps
• Artificial knee-caps
• Stethoscope

INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT

• Hydraulic stamping machine / Hydraulic press

OTHER UTENSILS AND TECNOLOGIES

• Magnifying lens
• Hunting Crop
• Wax vestas (matches)
• Watch
• Cigar holder
• Handcuffs
• Camera
• • Photograph

THE END

• • The end
  • A - Z 

A - Z

ARTIFICIAL KNEE CAPS
BELL PULL
COCAINE
DOGCART
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
FORCEPS
GASOGENE
HANSOM CAB
JEZAIL
KETTLE
LIFE PRESERVER
MAGNIFYING LENS
NEWSPAPER
OIL LAMP
PHOTOGRAPH
REVOLVER
SCISSORS-GRINDER
TRAIN
UNIVERSITY MEDICAL DEGREE
VITRIOL
WAX VESTAS
ZEPPELIN

The end

As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of his problems, and she is now the head of a private school at Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success.

THE END

Life preserver

But when I gave him every particular that had occurred, he tried to bluster and took down a life-preserver from the wall. I knew my man, however, and I clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike.

(Adventure XI, pg. 160)

“The “life-preserver” consists of a stout piece of cane about a foot long, with a ball of five or six ounces of lead attached firmly to one end by catgut netting, whilst the other end is furnished with a strong leather or catgut loop to go round the wrist and prevent the weapon flying from or being snatched from the hand.

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Pistol

An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do you think would happen if I did break it, Mr. Holder? There would be a noise like a pistol shot.

(Adventure XI, pg 155)

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History and evolution (timeline)
History and evolution (with pictures)

Jezail

I had remained indoors all day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and the Jezail bullet which I had brought back in one of my limbs as a relic of my Afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence.
(Adventure X, pg. 131)

In the novel, this is the weapon that would have woulded Dr. Watson during his military service in Afghanistan.

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About the weapon

Fire engine

The station-master had not finished his speech before we were all hastening in the direction of the fire. The road topped a low hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in front of us, spouting fire at every chink and window, while in the garden in front three fire-engines were vainly striving to keep the flames under.

(Adventure IX, pg. 130)

Horse pulled steam powered fire pump from the early 1900.

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Hydraulic stamping machine / Hydraulic press

"'I say a night's work, but an hour's would be nearer the mark. I simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soon set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as that?'

(Adventure IX, pg. 122)

This we have now been doing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations we erected a hydraulic press.

(Adventure IX, pg. 123)

A huge hydraulic press designed by Stevenson that had lifted the metal tubes of a bridge at Bangor, was one of the exhibits in the Great Exhibition of 1851 in the Chrystal palace.

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Kettle

Then suddenly another sound became audible--a very gentle, soothing sound, like that of a small jet of steam escaping continually from a kettle.
(Adventure VIII, pg. 116)

Early kettles would have been made of iron and by the 19th century copper was a common material. In the mid 1900s alluminum and stainless steel kettles started to be manufactured.

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Bell pull

"Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there. You will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy myself as to this floor."

(Adventure VIII, pg. 111)

The bell pull is one element of a complex interior mechanical network which typically in Victorian times involved a range of bell pulls in different rooms; moreover, these bell connections link to a central bank of bells in a room where servants would await commands.

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University medical degree

The last squire dragged out his existence there, living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper; but his only son, my stepfather, seeing that he must adapt himself to the new conditions, obtained an advance from a relative, which enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to Calcutta, where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he established a large practice.
(Adventure VIII, pg. 103)

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1900s medical education system

Vitriol

There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal.

(Adventure VII, pg. 92)

Vitriol, or sulfuric acid, was known since ancient times by islamic alchimists around 900 AD. In 1831, British vinegar merchant Peregrine Phillips patented the contact process, which was a far more economical process for producing sulfur trioxide and concentrated sulfuric acid. Today, nearly all of the world's sulfuric acid is produced using this method.

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Gas

These are the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat. Also, by the way, that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid on in his house."

(Adventure VII, pg. 90)

All the energy used to light the streets and houses came from gas.

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Chronology of the UK gas industry

Forceps

A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination.

(Adventure VII, pg. 87)

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Instrument's description

Wax vestas (matches)

He is a professional beggar, though in order to avoid the police regulations he pretends to a small trade in wax vestas.

(Adventure VI, pg. 77)

In 1832, William Newton patented the "wax vesta" in England. It consisted of a wax stem that embedded cotton threads and had a tip of phosphorus. Variants known as "candle matches" were made by Savaresse and Merckel in 1836.

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Dogcart

"Now, Watson," said Holmes, as a tall dog-cart dashed up through the gloom, throwing out two golden tunnels of yellow light from its side lanterns. "You'll come with me, won't you?"

(Adventure VI, pg. 75)

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All types of carriages and description

Oil lamp

Ordering my cab to wait, I passed down the steps, worn hollow in the centre by the ceaseless tread of drunken feet; and by the light of a flickering oil-lamp above the door I found the latch and made my way into a long, low room, thick and heavy with the brown opium smoke, and terraced with wooden berths, like the forecastle of an emigrant ship.

(Adventure VI, pg. 73)

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History of oil lamps

Lighthouse

"I didn't know what to do, so I came straight to you." That was always the way. Folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds to a light-house.
(Adventure VI, pg. 72)

New Brighton lighthouse around the 1900s.

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History

Opium

Isa Whitney, brother of the late Elias Whitney, D.D., Principal of the Theological College of St. George's, was much addicted to opium.
(Adventure VI, pg. 72)

       

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Content

Steamboats

It is conjectured that he may have been hurrying down to catch the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and the extreme darkness he missed his path and walked over the edge of one of the small landing-places for river steamboats.

(Adventure V, pg. 70)

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Newspaper

As I waited, I lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a heading which sent a chill to my heart.

(Adventure V, pg. 70)

An London newspaper called "Evening News", from July 21st, 1881.

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Newspapers in the Industrial Revolution

Rifle

"'Ku Klux Klan. A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to the sound produced by cocking a rifle.
(Adventure V, pg. 69)

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Sailing ship

"There is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man or men are is a sailing-ship. It looks as if they always send their singular warning or token before them when starting upon their mission.
(Adventure V, pg. 68)

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Sailing ships in the 19th century

American Encyclopaedia

Kindly hand me down the letter K of the 'American Encyclopaedia' which stands upon the shelf beside you.

(Adventure V, pg. 68)

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Watch

In the latter, as may be remembered, Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man's watch, to prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time--a deduction which was of the greatest importance in clearing up the case.

(Adventure V, pg 60)

The pocket watch was a common accessory in the 1900s.

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Cigar holder

"Is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears thick-soled shooting-boots and a grey cloak, smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his pocket. There are several other indications, but these may be enough to aid us in our search."

(Adventure IV, pg. 55)

The habit of smoking cigars developed around the end of the 1800s and beginning of the 1900s. The image above shows an antique 1900s cigar holder.

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Telegram

We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the maid brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran in this way:

(Adventure IV, pg. 44)

Telegrams were a very common method of communication in the Victorian Era. The telegram in the image above was sent by Mr Ronald Ross to his wife in November 1902, having just found out he’d been awarded a Nobel Prize.

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Sewing machine

The sewing-machine, of the hand type, leaves a similar mark, but only on the left arm, and on the side of it farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the broadest part, as this was.

(Adventure III, pg. 40)

The sewing machine that became popular in the 1850's both commercially and domestically.

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History

Typewriter

"Do you not find," he said, "that with your short sight it is a little trying to do so much typewriting?"
(Adventure III, pg. 35)

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- Description and history

Doorbell

Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we had  ever set eyes upon each other before.

(Adventure II, pg. 33)

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- Description and History

Handcuffs

"I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands," remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. "You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins. Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say 'sir' and 'please.'"
(Adventure II, pg. 32)

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- Image source
- History of handcuffs

Revolver

I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness--such an absolute darkness as I have never before experienced.

(Adventure II, pg 31)

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- History of the revolver

Magnifying lens

Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine [...]

(Adventure II, pg. 30)

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- Description and History

Lantern

This also was opened, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate. Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us down a dark, [...]

(Adventure II, pg. 30)

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- History of lighting

Hunting Crop

"Ha! Our party is complete," said Holmes, buttoning up his pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack.
(Andventure II, pg 29)

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Artificial knee-caps

"I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it was a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had ever heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross."

(Adventure II, pg. 26)

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Encyclopaedia Britannica

"Is to copy out the "Encyclopaedia Britannica." There is the first volume of it in that press. You must find your own ink, pens, and blotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair. Will you be ready to-morrow?"

(Adventure II, pg 24)

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Camera

"Oh, he has his faults, too," said Mr. Wilson. "Never was such a fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera when he ought ot be imporving his mind, [...]

(Adventure II, pg 21)

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History of the camera

Breastpin

", [...] rather against the strick rules of your order, you use an arc-and-compass breastpin."
(Adventure II, pg. 20)

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Description

Albert Chain

"[..] He wore rather baggy grey shepherd's check trousers, a not oven-clean black frock-coat, unbottoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced bit [...]"
(Adventure II, pg. 20)

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Description

Flight

"We shall see." He pushed past the servant and rushed into the drawing-room, followed by the King and myself. The furniture was scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and open drawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before her flight. 

(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 17)

Wright's Brothers glider making turn in one of the first sustained and controlled flights in 1902.


Before the invention of the airplane, the zeppelin was the only way of air transportation in the 1900s.

Link --> History of aviation - Wikipedia

Image source --> Wright glider turns
Image source --> Zeppelin

Train

"Indeed! My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She left this morning with her husband by the 5:15 train from Charing Cross for the Continent."

(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 17)

Mechanised rail transport systems first appeared in England in the 1820s. These systems, which made use of the steam locomotive, were critical to the Industrial revolution and to the development of export economies across the world. They have remained the primary form of land transport ever since for most of the world.

Link --> History of rail transport - Wikipedia

Image source --> brownhillsbob.com

Photograph

"You see," remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of the house, "this marriage rather simplifies matters. The photograph becomes a double-edged weapon now. The chances are that she would be as averse to its being seen by Mr. Godfrey Norton, as our client is to its coming to the eyes of his princess. Now the question is, Where are we to find the photograph?"
(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 13)

The first permanent photograph was developed by Thomas Wedgwood in 1790, however, it wasn't until 1822 that an actually clear photograph was made by a French inventor, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Thanks to the evolution of chemstry, the process of photo development evolved throughout the 19th century. In the Victorian Era, many chemical process were invented in order to reveal those photographs, examples of which are the collodium process, gelatin process and lifochrome process.

Scissors-grinder

"There was a group of shabbily dressed men smoking and laughing in a corner, a scissors-grinder with his wheel, [...]"

(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 13)

In the Victorian London it was common to see scissors and knife grinders riding their carts along the streets. The grinding mechanism was fairly simple, it consisted of a pedal moved grinding wheel mounted on a cart. In later models the grinder wheel would be mounted on bicycles in stead of a cart.

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Image Source
Historical references

Lamps

"It was a quarter past six when we left Baker Street, and it still wanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in Serpentine Avenue. It was already dusk, and the lamps were just being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge, waiting for the coming of its occupant."

(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 13)

The first public street lighting with gas was demonstrated in Pall Mall, London on January 28, 1807 by Frederick Albert Winsor, and it's mechanicsm was used for building all sorts of lamps throughout the entire Victorian Era. The street gas lights worked the same way as the house gas lights where the flame from the lighted gas heated up a mantle which became incandescent and gave out light.

Hansom cab

"I was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab drove up to Briony Lodge, and a gentleman sprang out. He was a remarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached-- evidently the man of whom I had heard. He appeared to be in a great hurry, shouted to the cabman to wait, and brushed past the maid who opened the door with the air of a man who was thoroughly at home.

(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 11)

Different from a landau, a hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Hansom.The hansom cab was a popular choice because it was cheap, fast, very light and agile.

Plumber's smoke rocket

"It is nothing very formidable," he said, taking a long cigar- shaped roll from his pocket. "It is an ordinary plumber's smoke- rocket, fitted with a cap at either end to make it self-lighting. Your task is confined to that. When you raise your cry of fire, it will be taken up by quite a number of people. You may then walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten minutes. I hope that I have made myself clear?"

(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 13)

Before the era of pressure testing, in the Victorian Era, plumbers used a smoke rocket to detect leaks in pipes. The smoking device was inserted into a pipe and lit up. Smoke would come out from whichever leaks there were in the pipe.

Landau

"Away they went, and I was just wondering whether I should not do well to follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau, the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under his ear, while all the tags of his harness were sticking out of the buckles. It hadn't pulled up before she shot out of the hall door and into it.

(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 11)

A landau is a four-wheeled convertible carriage suspended on elliptical springs invented in the 18th century. It was largely used in London in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it reached its full development. Until today the landal is a popular choice for the british royal family on ceremonial occasions.

Cigarette

"Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing himself down into an armchair. "You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room." 
(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 4)

The first cigarette-making machine was developed in 1880 by James Albert Bonsack. The machine, which was able to produce 200 cigarettes per minute, vastly increased the productivity of cigarette companies, who went from making approximately 40,000 hand-rolled cigarettes daily to around 4 million.

Stethoscope

"As to your practice, if a gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge on the right side of his top-hat to show where he has secreted his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, [...]" 
(Aventure I, A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA pg. 4)

The first version of the stethoscope was invented in France in 1816 by René Laennec. The device  consisted of a rigid wooden tube and was monaural. The flexible and binaural stethoscope as we know it, and probably the one referred to in the novel, was  invented only in 1852 by George Cammann, who perperfected the design of the instrument for commercial production. The device has become the standard for clinical practice ever since.