Keeping up Appearances in the Nineteenth Century in Moseley, a Middle-Class Birmingham Suburb, 1850–1900

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores how middle-class homes in Moseley, a suburb of Birmingham, were divided up, used, decorated, and furnished towards the end of the nineteenth century. It addresses issues of status, class, gender, the separate spheres ideology, new technology and mass production, and consumerism. It uncovers how a particular social group lived as individuals and families and reveals important messages that were conveyed by the reality and representation of interior design, material culture and health and hygiene.