Fauxtography

The fairy photographs taken by cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths in Cottingley, near Bradford, in 1917 and promoted by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – a firm believer in fairies – are among the most

Chartarumludentist Anthony Wilkins [FT458:63] may wish to visit China. While living there in 2005 I found so many discarded playing cards on the ground that I was able to assemble a unique deck of 52

Historical Treasures

What supernatural folklore reveals about human nature

Cuffed, kicked, and camera in hand — David Hoffman’s new book Protest! is the result of 40 years documenting the fight for rights and the force against it. Peter Dench finds out more

The great naturalist Sir Richard Owen coined the term “dinosaur”, wrote the first scientific descriptions of dinosaurs and was a founder of the first Natural History Museum (NHM) and its first directo