Some historical research

The Industrial Revolution brought about a dramatic change in Georgians' sex lives. At last, the power of steam could bring about sexual satisfaction, although early experiments had some refining to do. Take this early prototype of the famous Buzzing Jenny (1784); apart from the inconvenience of requiring several servants to add coals and make sure pressure remained at safe levels, it was necessary to operate the device out of door in case an explosion of the wrong sort occurred.

A generation later, Brunel's genius produced this elegant model, which could be discreetly installed in the boudoir or even tucked into the corner of the drawing room for post prandial delights. Even so, it was necessary to instruct the footman to stand by with extra fire buckets, just in case.

Regency pleasure seekers employed the Napoleon (short and stout) or the Wellington (long and skinny) but it was the Victorians, with their irrepressible instinct for pornographic activities who brought sex toys into their full flowering, even going so far as to install an oversized dildo in Trafalgar Square as an expression of national pride and patriotism.

Hidden away in the most respectable homes, you could find such delights as this collection of silver-tipped toys, and it takes little imagination to guess the function of this item at left.


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