I think it's fairly common knowledge that things aren't always what they seem; One doesn't need to search too far to find examples. Instagram and Facebook are probably the first places that come to mind; You know, millions of people fabricating how amazing their life is with staged photo's of their food or themselves...It's pathetic really. It's not only a product of modern society though; It's happened throughout the ages with people presenting themselves or their lives as more than they truly are: Larger, stronger, richer, more beautiful, more powerful...
Recently I visited the city of Bath in England. Bath is probably most renowned for being the site of the Roman baths from two thousand years ago however has a few other claims to fame; Among them is Royal Crescent. The residential building was built in the 18th century, around 1774 actually, and was designed by John Wood, The Younger, an architect of the time. It's an impressive building really. You can see it in these photos however they don't really do it justice. You really need to see it in person to appreciate its beauty and architectural brilliance.
The building, of some 150m long, is built in a crescent shape and the façade remains virtually unchanged since it was built. The interesting thing is that the building was only actually built as a façade and not a complete building. The eventual owners actually only purchased a length of the façade and then engaged their own architect and builder to create their house behind that front section. This has led to the entire building looking uniform from the front and quite odd, disjointed and ugly from the rear. Well, maybe ugly is the wrong word. Less uniform and beautiful than the front I mean. You can see the rear of the building below and the differing roof heights and building styles.
The building, the façade, is one of the United Kingdom's finest examples of Georgian Architecture and as a concept it's really quite unique. We are fortunate to still have the building as Bath was heavily bombed by the Nazi's during World War Two and the building was, in fact, damaged in places. Luckily it survived as it would have been a great shame if it was destroyed. It is a very expensive place to live these days, and I would imagine it was back 240 years ago as well. Only the privileged get the opportunity to reside at this address and walking around these days one can see that wealth clearly as the road is full of Aston Martin's, Bentley's and Rolls Royce vehicles. I'm sure they all worked hard for their financial success though...
I snapped this image from inside one of the Royal Crescent properties, number One Royal Crescent, which is open to the public. One Royal Crescent is set up as it would have been 240 years ago and gives visitors a great idea of what the privileged life of a resident would have been like. I recommend that if you're visiting Bath it goes on your list of things to do. It was really informative and offers a rare view of the Crescent from within. Whilst we were inside we took some time to speak with the volunteers, some who looked like they were alive when the building was built, and gained a really great understanding of life 240 years ago in One Royal Crescent, Bath.
And so here's an interesting example of presenting as something you're not from the Georgian period in England. In this case I'll cut them some slack because the building is beautiful and the story is interesting...And there was not a duck-face selfie in sight back then in 1774!