Embarrassed Collection

Female Medical Students
Under the watchful eye of the House Physician, a group of female medical students, trainee doctors, examine a patient at the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, London

The Parents Who Came By Charabanc by H. M. Bateman
A young Etonian school boy is aghast to find that his parents decide to travel to the Fourth of June celebrations in a charabanc along with a motley selection of ordinary folk. Date: 1933

Krishna Steals the Gopis Clothing, 1775-1800. Creator: Unknown
Krishna Steals the Gopis Clothing, 1775-1800. The Hindu god Krishna steals the clothing of the gopis - young women of Brindavan - while they are bathing in the Yamuna River

Un locataire qui doit trois termes, 1847. Creator: Honore Daumier
Un locataire qui doit trois termes, 1847. A tenant who is behind with his rent. (Landlord looks annoyed as embarassed tenant raises hat). From Locataires et proprietaires, no. 20

Entrez donc, monsieur...ne vous gênez pas... 1847. Creator: Honore Daumier
Entrez donc, monsieur...ne vous genez pas... 1847. Hesitant client arrives at an artist's studio where a nude female model is posing: Enter monsieur, don't worry...'

Carotte du Restaurant, 1844. Creator: Honore Daumier
Carotte du Restaurant, 1844. - J'offrirai a monsieur un petit diner distingue et pas cher'. - Tres bien! - Six douzaines marennes

La femme. Je viens de découvrir une mèche... 19th century. Creator: Honore Daumier
La femme. Je viens de decouvrir une meche... 19th century. Conjugal Morals - (The woman.) I just discovered a wick in your vest

Un homme dans ses petits souliers, 19th century. Creator: Honore Daumier
Un homme dans ses petits souliers, 19th century. Smartly-dressed man facing scruffier man holding a pair of boots. The French phrase etre dans ses petits souliers translates as feeling small

Le danseur qui se pique d'avoir conservé... 19th century. Creator: Honore Daumier
Le danseur qui se pique d'avoir conserve... 19th century. [Male dancer in a tutu]. The dancer who regrets having maintained the wonderful traditions of Vestris

'A Supper Extra, 1890. Creator: Unknown
'A Supper Extra, 1890. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 42. July to December, 1890

'A Canoeing Incident at the Seaside, 1891. Creator: G Durand
'A Canoeing Incident at the Seaside, 1891. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 44. July to December, 1891

Portrait of a young girl. Creator: Ecole Francaise
Portrait of a young girl

Where You Should Not Dine on Christmas Day - drawn by Leech, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Where You Should Not Dine on Christmas Day - drawn by Leech, 1850. Illustration to "Cold out of Doors, and Cold In-Doors, or, Tom Smithers's Christmas Day"....in walked Tom

Illustration to "Fred Holdsworth; or, Love and Pride", by Thomas Miller, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Illustration to "Fred Holdsworth; or, Love and Pride", by Thomas Miller, 1850. There was a laugh round the table, which made Fred blush up to the ears ; while his aunt was delighted

Doctor asking a naked man to cough during a medical examination (colour litho)
5217487 Doctor asking a naked man to cough during a medical examination (colour litho) by Noble, Ernest (fl.1914-18) (after); Private Collection; (add.info)

Bum scratch - children
I can t bare it. A small girl scratches her bottom while her little brother sits in a pushchair and covers his face. Leominster, Herefordshire, England Date: circa 1972

RF - Sable-point rabbit, grooming face

Spys Taken at Greenwich, 1798. Mother Windsor with four of her courtesans orders her girls to arrest Shute Barrington, the Bishop of Durham and the Duke of Queensberry

Alfred in the Neat-Herds Cottage, 1776. Artist: I Hall
Alfred in the Neat-Herds Cottage, 1776. King Alfred, in disguise, is rebuked by the Neat Herds Wife, for letting the cakes burn. Alfred the Great (849-899), Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex from 871

Illustration for Le Rire (colour litho)
2796100 Illustration for Le Rire (colour litho) by Bac, Ferdinand Sigismund (1859-1952); Private Collection; (add.info.: Illustration for Le Rire, 9 August 1902.); © Look and Learn

Why Should I Blush (valentine), c. 1840. Creator: George Kershaw
Why Should I Blush (valentine), c. 1840

"She, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made, as I certainly did, a most awkward
3626438 " She, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made, as I certainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous apperance" (colour litho) by Smith

Not Here (colour litho)
5230178 Not Here (colour litho) by Underwood, Clarence F. (1871-1929); Private Collection; (add.info.: Not Here. Illustration from Girls of Today (Frederick A Stokes Company, New York)

Street scene with a row of closed shops and a closed public toilet (colour litho)
977948 Street scene with a row of closed shops and a closed public toilet (colour litho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Illustration for Le Rire (colour litho)
2804914 Illustration for Le Rire (colour litho) by Faivre, Jules Abel (1867-1945); Private Collection; (add.info.: Illustration for Le Rire, 14 October 1899.); © Look and Learn

Comic postcard, Woman at Information Bureau Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Woman at Information Bureau Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Girl unhappy with artists portrait Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Scotsman in the street - how to pick up a half crown? Date: 20th century

Man embarrassed at being made to dance at a country dance. More Miseries. Handcoloured copperplate engraving designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson to accompany Reverend James Beresfords Miseries

The Visitor, 1881 (oil on canvas)
827116 The Visitor, 1881 (oil on canvas) by Caraud, Joseph (1821-1905); 73.3x90.8 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: The Visitor. Joseph Caraud (1821-1905). Oil on canvas. Painted in 1881

Moment of Suspense, 1861 (oil on panel)
CH139773 Moment of Suspense, 1861 (oil on panel) by Smith, George (1829-1901); 40.5x35.5 cm; Private Collection; Photo eChristies Images; English, out of copyright

Saucy seaside bathing scene (colour litho)
5995947 Saucy seaside bathing scene (colour litho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Saucy seaside bathing scene. Postcard, early 20th century.); © Look and Learn

Mr Pickwick is found by his friends with Mrs Bardell in his arms
DHM139118 Mr Pickwick is found by his friends with Mrs Bardell in his arms, illustration from Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens (1812-70) 1837 (colour engraving) by Browne

Unwelcome Confidence, 1895 (oil on panel)
Ma198343 Unwelcome Confidence, 1895 (oil on panel) by Alma-Tadema, Lawrence (1836-1912); 45.7x28.5 cm; Private Collection; Photo eThe Ms Gallery, London; English, out of copyright

Loves Oracle, c. 1900 (oil on canvas)
3743995 Loves Oracle, c.1900 (oil on canvas) by Ritzberger, Albert (1853-1915); 77.3x110 cm; Nottingham City Museums and Galleries (Nottingham Castle); eNottingham City Museums & Galleries; German

NFS (London Region) Boy trapped in a milk churn
Boy trapped in a milk churn is set free at Brigade HQ on 4 July 1947. The milkman had brought him to the fire station in his milk float. Date: 1947

Cartoon depicting a German lady disappointed at not being able to buy her new clothes in
DGC288185 Cartoon depicting a German lady disappointed at not being able to buy her new clothes in Paris in the rue de la Paix

Drinking to her best affections, 1896 (engraving)
2962864 Drinking to her best affections, 1896 (engraving) by Thomson, Hugh (1860-1920); Private Collection; (add.info.: From Chapter 21 of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Hunting the Slipper, illustration from The Vicar of Wakefield
PT309567 Hunting the Slipper, illustration from The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith, pub. Ackermann, 1817 (hand-coloured engraving) by Rowlandson

An Echo of Summer Holidays (colour litho)
6001233 An Echo of Summer Holidays (colour litho) by Granville-Smith, Walter (1870-1938); Private Collection; (add.info.: An Echo of Summer Holidays)

She (The Blushing Girl) (oil on panel)
2956848 She (The Blushing Girl) (oil on panel) by Davidson, Allan Douglas (1873-1932); 22.86x17.78 cm; Private Collection; (add.info)

Money trouble (chromolitho)
1094394 Money trouble (chromolitho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Money trouble. French educational card, late 19th or early 20th century)

A mother registering her baby at the town hall (colour litho)
3656815 A mother registering her baby at the town hall (colour litho) by Lavrate, Edmond (1829-1888); Private Collection; (add.info.: A mother registering her baby at the town hall)

Cheers, mother-in-law! (colour litho)
3102338 Cheers, mother-in-law! (colour litho) by German School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Cheers, mother-in-law! Postcard, early 20th century.); Look and Learn / Elgar Collection

A Reproval (oil on canvas)
CH139942 A Reproval (oil on canvas) by Denneulin, Jules (1835-1904); 88x114 cm; Private Collection; Photo eChristies Images; French, out of copyright

View of the Hustings in Covent Garden, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1806
NCO190159 View of the Hustings in Covent Garden, published by Hannah Humphrey in 1806 (hand-coloured etching with aquatint) by Gillray

Falstaff in the washbasket (chromolitho)
1093617 Falstaff in the washbasket (chromolitho) by European School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Falstaff in the washbasket. A scene from Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor)

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping

"Embarassment: A Universal Experience Across Time and Situations" From female medical students blushing during their first anatomy class to a doctor asking a naked man to cough, embarrassment knows no bounds. Even children scratching their bums in public or awkward encounters with prostitutes in London can make us turn red with shame. But it's not just humans who experience this emotion; even animals like the sable-point rabbit caught grooming its face can feel embarrassed. Just like spies captured at Greenwich in 1798 or Alfred, the neat-herdsman, caught off guard in his cottage by an artist named I Hall. Even humorous illustrations like "The Parents Who Came By Charabanc" by H. M. Bateman or George Kershaw's cheeky valentine card titled "Why Should I Blush?" remind us that embarrassment is often intertwined with laughter. In one particular scene depicted as a color lithograph, a woman catches sight of someone making an awkward and ridiculous appearance at her door. The sheer mortification on both sides is palpable. And let's not forget the image aptly titled "Not Here, " where someone finds themselves in an embarrassing situation they wish they could escape from immediately. Embarrassment may be uncomfortable and sometimes painful, but it reminds us of our shared humanity. No matter the time period or circumstance, we all have moments that make us want to hide our faces and disappear into thin air.