The Rejuvenation Emporium

Staying Young in the Early Twentieth Century

May - July 2018

Thackray Museum of Medicine, Beckett St, Leeds, LS9 7LN

What does it mean to grow old? When and how does our youth "go"? Is there anything that we can do to get it back?

We worked with our partners at the Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds to co-curate The Rejuvenation Emporium.

The exhibition traced medical, commercial, and cultural interest in the idea of slowing and/or reversing the processes of ageing, including "rejuvenating" medical treatments and pharmaceutical products, and the stories of doctors, quacks, fiction writers, and film stars who flourished during the 1920s "rejuvenation craze".

The Rejuvenation Emporium showcased objects, interactive exhibits and a special archival film screening of the 1923 film Black Oxen, featuring Hollywood screen stars Corinne Griffith and Clara Bow.

Visitors learned more about ageing in medicine and culture in the 20th century, and saw how these histories have informed the growth of the modern-day anti-ageing industry.