Most people expect to bring back a holiday souvenir.
For the majority, that might be a t-shirt, postcard or an embarrassing tan line.
But our forebears of 100-years-ago had different ideas.
Some fancied bringing back intricately-dressed fleas as a reminder of an enjoyable holiday in the Mexican sun.
Called Pulgas Vestidas, the fleas’ heads were set on costumed figures and carefully placed in tiny matchboxes to create dramatic scenes.
They were popular in Mexico for over two centuries and sold to visiting tourists in the early part of the last century.
The craze for the amusing arthropods began to wane by the 1930s, with fleas increasingly linked to the spread of disease.
Oxford’s Museum of Natural History has five of the matchbox scenes. They were collected by American archaeologist and anthropologist Zelia M. M. Nuttall, a specialist in Mexican culture, in 1911 and sent to her brother – scientist George H. F. Nuttall.
The dressed fleas are believed to have come into the museum’s collection when Prof Nuttall donated 50 ticks.
The museum’s archivist and librarian, Danielle Czerkaszyn, took these astonishing pictures of the fleas through a high-powered microscope.
The scenes were on display at a late-night opening last month. You can see one of the matchbox dioramas in the Upper Gallery.
For more, visit: www.oumnh.ox.ac.uk.
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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward
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