Pointless Collection

Electric Rail Dinner
Still another use for electricity: a miniature railway that brings food from the pantry to the table, removing the need for contact with troublesome servants

Darners, The Flora MacDonald Needle Packet

Uncrossing the Crosses on a Hot + Bun
A contraption for removing the cross on a hot cross bun left over from Easter. Date: 1922

An April Fool, n. d. Creator: Philip William May
An April Fool, n.d

White elephant, page from a manuscript on elephant training (w / c on paper)
LIT389920 White elephant, page from a manuscript on elephant training (w/c on paper) by Thai School; National Library, Bangkok

Where to ride?, illustration for Punch, 1883 (pen & ink on paper)
863161 Where to ride?A, illustration for A Punch, 1883 (pen & ink on paper) by Corbould, Alfred Chantrey (1852-1920); 19.1x27.9 cm; Private Collection; (add.info)

Boy at Museum, A Fish Out of Water (engraving)
664541 Boy at Museum, A Fish Out of Water (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Boy at Museum, A Fish Out of Water. By H. S. Marks)

Prisoners Working on the Treadmill, c1934. Illustration showing the 19th century method of forcing idle prisoners to take exercise

The Man with the Muckrake, c1916. Artist: William Strang
The Man with the Muckrake, c1916. An illustration from John Bunyans The Pilgrims Progress. An English nonconformist preacher and writer

British prison life, 1907. Treadmill for hard labour, and punishment with the cat-o-nine-tails. France was suffering from gangs of thugs called the Apaches at this time

Prison discipline, 1884. A Dartmoor prisoner doing solitary punishment at the crank handle. In some prisons this soul-destroying task was put to use such as grinding flour

Prisoners at Clerkenwell House of Correction, London, 1874. Prisoners, in prison uniform, take their turn on the treadmill while the men who have just done their stint wait in silence until it is

Prison discipline, 1888. Prisoners at hard labour on the treadwheel in an English local jail. The prisoner had 15 minutes on, 5 minutes off the wheel, until his time was finished for the day

Drais Walking Wheel
The walking wheel of Monsieur Drais. Date: 1818

Cartoon, The useless trap, WW1
Cartoon, The useless trap. Kaiser Wilhelm asks Chancellor Bethmann if he thinks the enemy will recognise his dove, which is really a two-headed eagle with white feathers. Date: 1917

Cartoon, Pantagruels victorious return to the court of Gargantua, after extirpating the Soup Meagres of Bouille Land, by James Gillray

Of to moche spekynge or bablynge, illustration from Alexander Barclays English
XJF486411 Of to moche spekynge or bablynge, illustration from Alexander Barclays English translation of The Ship of Fools, from an edition published in 1874 (engraving) by German School

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"Pointless: A Collection of Absurd and Puzzling Images from the Past" Step into a world where electric rail dinners, darners, and needle packets take center stage. Delve into the bizarre as we explore uncrossing crosses on a hot bun and witness Fool and Want-Wit's futile attempt to wash an Ethiopian white. In this captivating journey through time, Byam Shaw's illustration of "Fool and Want-Wit washing the Ethiopian" from John Bunyan's renowned work The Pilgrim's Progress From This World, To That Which Is To Come leaves us questioning their misguided efforts. Philip William May's depiction of "An April Fool" adds another layer of absurdity with its comical portrayal. Meanwhile, a page from a manuscript on elephant training introduces us to the enigmatic concept of a white elephant. Ponder over Punch magazine's 1883 illustration titled "Where to ride?" which presents an amusing conundrum for transportation enthusiasts. Witness a boy at the museum feeling like "A Fish Out of Water, " captured in an intriguing engraving that evokes both curiosity and confusion. The theme continues with glimpses into prison life—prisoners working on treadmills in 1934 or William Strang's thought-provoking artwork titled "The Man with the Muckrake" from 1916. These images shed light on British prison discipline in 1907 or even earlier in 1884. Join us as we unravel these puzzling snapshots frozen in time—a visual tapestry woven with pointless hints that challenge our understanding while leaving us captivated by their sheer absurdity.