History

Our Wodenblock is inspired by a character of the same name from Frances Parker’s illustrated 1832 narrative poem The Flying Burgermaster. In this poem, a wealthy member of the European upper classes loses a leg and purchases a false limb, which turns out to be so sophisticated that it literally walks its user to death. The poem reveals concerns about the ability of technologies to control their users. For more on this topic, see chapter 3 of Ryan Sweet’s free 2022 book Prosthetic Body Parts in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture.

Backstory

A wealthy mayor from Rotterdam, whose leg was amputated by the finest Dutch surgeons.
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