Animal Rights: From the Margins to Mainstream

Interesting small exhibition at the British Library of documents on the history of animals rights from the Enlightenment to today.

The first exhibit was a lovely copy of Hogarth’s “The Four Stages of Cruelty” from 1768 which set the scene.

This was followed by letters from Richard Martin, an Irish politician and campaigner against animal cruelty who helped found what would later become the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

Via various 19th century books the show finished with ephemera from 20th campaigns.

The website says it closed on 9 July 2023 but I saw it on 30 August.


 

 

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