Emma isn’t convinced by every gadget in her collection. “Personally, I have never understood grape scissors, what’s wrong with just scissors? And objects designed to hull berries? I also have a particular dislike of egg yolk separators. It takes seconds using the shell of the egg,” she muses.

“The Victorian era was all about invention, technological advancement, and the growth of mass consumerism,” says Emma, which led to a boom in slightly rubbish gadgets.

“The Victorians loved their decorative ice moulds and chocolate moulds. Literally hundreds of different varieties, in all shapes and sizes were manufactured in the 19th and early 20th centuries. I have a range of these, but the most ineffective is an asparagus ice mould made by the famous French mould makers Létang Fils.” Because who doesn’t want asparagus-shaped ice?

But like many rubbish gadgets to follow, it doesn’t work particularly well. “The asparagus mould is leaky due to its shape and the pattern cut into it is not deep enough to leave a proper impression. You just end up getting a blob of thin ice.”

Not every gadget deserves to be consigned to the historical dustbin. There were plenty of gadgets that were great at what they did but are no longer required. “A lot of older people remember the hand-held meat grinders, which were a big consumer product of the early twentieth century. These were used right up until the 1950s, as the best way to mince meat.”