Marks & Spencer’s archive is a window on 20th-century Britain
Pants, socks and social history
Consider the corpse. Or to be more precise: consider its underpants. When the body was finally pulled from the North Sea in 1994, most clues to its identity had gone. A few facts remained. It was clear that the man had been very tall (six feet five inches); that he was well-dressed (he had fancy loafers on his feet); and that whatever had led to him bobbing in the North Sea had not been nice (his head was injured). But knowing more—and dating his death—would be difficult.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “This is not just an archive”
Britain March 30th 2024
- How Britain’s dirtiest region hopes to become a hub for clean energy
- The future of Drax, Britain’s largest power plant
- What fiscal rules should Britain have?
- A new hate-crime law in Scotland causes widespread concern
- Britain’s kings of sourdough
- Marks & Spencer’s archive is a window on 20th-century Britain
- British boomers are losing out for the first time
From the March 30th 2024 edition
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