The second half of Victoria’s reign had been the glorious age of the genteman amateur. Professionally qualified technicians were few, and the esteem in which they were held was tempered by the stigma of ‘trade’. Every branch of science was still (considered to be) within the grasp of ordinarily educated men – unlike today, when most people are reconciled to huge areas of non-comprehension. Dilettantism and trial-and-error were the vehicles of progress.
