Who says history has to be boring?

http://www.historicgames.com/elleshindex.html

The above is a link to Ellesh's closet, a supplier of reproduction erotic articles and information. Here are some more images from their/her site...



15th century German dice. Originals in a museum in Cologne.



Ad copy - "Pilgrim's" Badges: When saintly people went on religious pilgrimages they could purchase badges to symbolize the saint or shrine they had visited. The pins below are reproductions believed to be parodies of those more pious badges. Other theories regarding them are that they are naughty Mardi Gras souvenirs, or possibly even brothel tokens. These reproductions are all inspired by originals, they are about 1 inch in size -so they are small enough to be discreet, unless somone looks closely...



Ad copy - "Winged Willie": A phallus with wings and bell tied. The phallus is a common theme in Dutch badges in the 14th through 16th centuries, and the winged phallus dates back to Roman times.



No historical details given. I call it 'cunt on the hunt'. I wonder if Anglo-Saxon sexual words were considered as rude in the 17th century as they do today? I hope so!



Ad copy: 16th century Italian Apothecary Jar: Based on a mid-16th century example of Italian maiolica pottery. From the 15th century maiolica was used in pharmacies as containers for drugs. These containers were sometimes decorated with symbols, or scenes related to the medicinal use of the contents, but not always. The example we used for inspiration includes a painted medallion showing a winged phallus with rabbit ears and a bell around its "neck" -a motif which seems to have been a symbol of good luck. 6 to 7 inches tall.



Ad copy: 17th Century Novelty Drinking Cup. Based on an original from late Stewart-era England excavated in central London and now housed in the Museum of London. There is a hole in the "tip" for drinking from it. About 6 inches

Hmmm, my question is to whom do you offer a quaff of creme from this though? Refreshment for the maid perhaps.

The library lists books available at Amazon.com, such as...

- Erotica 17th-18th Century (TASCHEN Icons Series). I have to agree with one reviewer that not only are the women in many of Taschen's art books fat, these are plain butt ugly!
- Unfit for Modest Ears: A Study of Pornographic, Obscene and Bawdy Works Written or Published in England in the Second Half of the Seventeenth-Century (Hardcover) 1979
by Roger Thompson.
- The Hell Fire Clubs (Paperback) by Geoffrey Ashe. 18th to 19th century gentlemen's clubs for debauchery.
- A History of Orgies (Lost Treasures) (Paperback) by Burgo Partridge. Includes the 'junketing of Restoration England'
- Before the bawdy court;: Selections from church court and other records relating to the correction of moral offences in England, Scotland, and New England, 1300-1800 (Unknown Binding) by P. E. H Hair