Awkward Collection

Charles Darwin, caricatured in Vanity Fair
Caricature of the naturalist Charles Darwin in Vanity Fair Magazine, 1871

Review at Coxheath Camp
A Perspective View of COXHEATH CAMP [near Maidstone, Kent] representing a Grand Review of the Army. (Britain was currently at war with its awkward American colonists)

Princess Diana and Prince Charles visiting the Met Police
Princess Diana and Prince Charles on a visit to the Metropolitan Polices burglary squad. Date: circa 1980s

The dangers of getting a personal tattoo
" First of All, Mary, theres something awful I must get off my chest." The dangers of getting a personal tattoo - A dapper gent has to admit to a previous romantic liason to his new young

The Merry Wives of Windsor - title page - Anne Page and Slender, an inept and unsuccessful suitor. 1862

Model in an outdoor botanical setting (Kew Gardens?) in tunic waistcoat with matching skirt and tights. Date: mid 1960s

Rinking - Roller Skating fun for all ages - When Awkwardness is useful!. Date
Rinking - Roller Skating fun for all ages - " When Awkwardness is useful!". Date: circa 1905

Divers and Diving - 1. and 2. Primitive diving suits, 3. Wreck of the Royal George, from a contemporaneous print, 4. Awkward work, torpedo laying, 5. Electric lamp, 6. An unexpected plunge, 7

Awkward encounter with a prostitute, London
An awkward encounter in Regent Street, London - a man's wife says to him: That girl seems to know you, George ! Date: 1871

Comic postcard, Scotsman in the street - how to pick up a half crown? Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Woman with her hands full on a train - Which shall I drop? Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Four young women and an old man on the beach Date: 20th century

Fashionable woman sending a verbal message via a fool
Fashionable woman sending an urgent verbal message by a fool who has already forgotten every word. Miseries miscellaneous

English gentleman riding a horse on his way to a picnic
English gentleman with whiskers in tam o shanter cap riding a horse on his way to a picnic in the country. A carriage with ladies behind him, and a peasant in smock in the foreground. Mr

Cartoon, The Whitebait Dinner... at Greenwich
Cartoon, The Whitebait Dinner; or, Parties at Greenwich -- rival politicians encounter each other at the traditional summertime Whitebait Dinner in Greenwich, SE London

Cartoon, Unpleasant Duties of Club Life. When the new French chef Victor Achille Petroly is summoned to receive a reprimand, the club members lose their appetite for complaining about the food

Building Site Trauma
An awkward accident on a skyscraper building site: a man is carried aloft by a crane Date: 1915

TENANT FARMER & LAWYER TENANT FARMER & LAWYER
Tenant farmer at the mercy landowners: awkward scene at lawyers office as farmer is refused renewal of his lease Date: 1865

LAWYER / FARMER / LEASE
Awkward scene at lawyers office as farmer is refused renewal of his lease Date: 1865

Court presentation, the convolutions of the train
As a society lady is presented at court, the logistical difficulty of curtseying to the Queen while simultaneously trying to manage her huge train, is captured by an ILN artist

A portly lady is laced into her corset by her maid Date: 1921

Nursing her Constituency by Reginald Higgins
A young female political candidate or M.P. awkwardly nurses a baby while visiting her constituents. Date: 1929

Susi - posing with a metal tray. 1950s

An awkward position - true love never did run smooth circa early 19th century

Shakespeare - The Merry Wives of Windsor - Anne Page (to the bashful Slender): Will t please your worship to come in, sir? circa 1830

Leap Year - Running the Gauntlet! Date: 1904

German Post Office
A rather formidable looking well-to-do lady demands service at a German post office. The manager looks displeased and his assistant wisely keeps his head down. Date: circa 1900

Tango (Finetti) 1914
You might think that enormous hat of hers would make tangoing awkward, but they seem to be managing alright... Date: 1914

Rantzau / Ulrich Brockdorf
COUNT ULRICH BROCKDORFF-RANTZAU German diplomat in an awkward situation over the 1919 Peace Treaty Date: 1869 - 1928

Unbalanced Skaters
Two attractive, fashionable young ladies grasp firmly to an obliging man who does his best to ensure they all remain on their feet. Date: 1935

Renewal of Lease Refused
Awkward scene at lawyers office as farmer is refused renewal of his lease Date: 1865

The first dance
A young couple look awkward as they take to the floor. Artist: Ethel Parkinson Date: 1910

Two middle-aged women with pigeons. Date: circa 1940s

Edwardian golfer in awkward pose
Edwardian golfer in an awkward pose, holding her golf club in a rather unorthodox way. Date: early 1900s

No. 3: People We Don t Envy by George Studdy, 1915
No. 3: The German postman trying to deliver a letter to a ruined Belgium village. Date: 1915

No. 2: People We Don t Envy by George Studdy, 1915
No. II: The Army Service Corps subaltern compelled to deliver a lecture on Supplies to a contingent of men recruited from grocers, butchers, provision dealers etc. Date: 1915

WW1 - Comrades of the war
WW1 - Two comrades of war reunite. A contrast between the two comrades, illustrating their lives and the people they have become after the war. A surprise to both, and perhaps awkward too. Date: 1919

Two scouts outside headquarters, Gambia, West Africa
Two scouts, Christian and Moslem, bound together by the Brotherhood of Scouts. Seen here shaking hands outside the headquarters of the Gambia Scouts Association, Gambia, West Africa

Two boys with teddy bears, Redruth, Cornwall
Two boys with teddy bears, en route to a Teddy Bears Picnic at their school in Redruth, Cornwall

Men sleeping rough on the embankment, London, 1910
Men who have not been able to get into a night shelter are sleeping rough on a bench on the embankment in London. A flashlight reveals their sleeping forms bent at awkward angles in an effort to find

An Awkward Predicament. Caldecott, Randolph 1846 - 1886

A Surgical Mix-Up
An awkward mistake in the operating theatre Date: 1907

The European officer and his Chinese awkward squad. Illustration shows a two panel cartoon with, on the left, captioned Master and Pupils

Poster promoting luggage delivery by bus
Overloaded? Hand in your parcels for speedy delivery by bus. circa 1960

Thomas Hardys Far from the Madding Crowd
Bathsheba and Farmer Boldwood. An illustration from Thomas Hardys Far from the Madding Crowd

Music at home - things best left unsaid
Tactless and painfully shy Captain Lovell refuses when implored to sing at a party, and in the process of refusing, accidently rubbishes the performance of his hostess. Date: 1886

Middle aged man with potted palm, Mid Wales
A middle aged man poses in the photographers studio, Mid Wales, with a potted palm on a table

The bending body / W H Robinson
Larger, longer cars may find negotiating a small roundabout quite difficult. To overcome this, a car body jointed in the middle

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