Henry Evanion, born 1832 in Vauxhall, London, was a 19th-century conjuror and entertainer. Evanion’s career began aged just 17 and throughout his life, Evanion performed across the country in small towns, entertained royalty in private performances and had a successful run at the Crystal Palace in London. Evanion was also an avid collector of paper ephemera from an early age and amassed thousands of items during his lifetime. The Evanion Collection represents his widespread interests, with themes including local politics, Victorian entertainment and miscellaneous advertisements for products related to everyday household life.

Are you a star baker?

Bakers in the 19th century were spoilt for choice thanks to an increase in products available for home-baking and the enduring popularity of cookery books like Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1859-1861).

In the Victorian period, the development of new ingredients meant that bakers could make quicker and cheaper puddings. One Victorian invention was self-raising flour, which was first introduced in 1845. By the 1880s, it had become a baking essential for households with an 1885 advert from McDougall’s (Evan.6234.), claiming that the flour was for ‘everyday use’ and that it could help to ‘avoid indigestion’.

A second revolutionary development was egg powder, a cheaper alternative to using eggs in baking. An advert from 1885 (Evan.4244.) for…

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