Chris McManus, Michael Nicholls, Giorgio Vallortigara

Left-handers have been described as "a people without a history". Although one in ten people today is left-handed, even historical studies of the rate of left-handedness before the twentieth century are rare. This special issue presents detailed reports on a range of topics from teaching children to use their right hands, the side on which babies should be held, left-handed swordsmen, the eighteenth-century left-handed musical prodigy William Crotch, the twentieth century left-handed guitarist Jimi Hendrix, an early nineteenth century lithograph that is probably obscene, and one of Jacob Bronowski's earliest BBC TV science programmes, Right Hand Left Hand, shown in 1953.

C. McManus, M. Nicholls, G. Vallortigara, Editorial and Introduction. L. Harris, On Teaching Infants "The Right Use Of Their Hands": Advice and Reassurance From Mary Palmer Tyler's The Maternal Physician (1811). L. Harris, Side-biases for Holding and Carrying Infants: Reports from the Past and Possible Lessons for Today. C. McManus, R. Rawles, J. Moore, M. Freegard, Science in the Making: Right Hand, Left Hand: I: A BBC Television Programme Broadcast in 1953. C. McManus, M. Freegard, J. Moore, R. Rawles, Science in the Making: Right Hand, Left Hand: II: The Duck-Rabbit Figure. C. McManus, J. Moore, M. Freegard, R. Rawles, Science in the Making: Right Hand, Left Hand: III: Estimating Historical Rates of Left-handedness. L. Harris, In Fencing, What Gives Left-handers the Edge? Views from the Present and the Distant Past. J. Snowman, The Left and Right Hands of the 18th Century British Musical Prodigies,William Crotch and Samuel Wesley. S. Christman, Eclectic Lefty Land: Conjectures on Jimi Hendrix, Handedness, and Electric Ladyland. C. McManus, J. Snowman, A Left Handed Compliment: A Newly-discovered, Early 19th Century Lithograph by J. Lewis Marks.