tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31848367617896961602024-03-14T01:24:22.130-07:00The Studymickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.comBlogger488125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-11746574620794129512013-06-02T20:00:00.000-07:002013-06-04T12:44:41.726-07:00The Biological Background of the Dining-Room Deportment<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Politeness is a qualification; it reassures other
members of a group that you are not a threat to the <i>status quo</i>. By
performing politely, you display to others that you can be trusted in their
company, that your behaviour will conform to the accepted <i>mores</i>, that
you are also a member of the group. Politeness is a badge that lets us know
that you are one of us, that you belong here, that we all know our places. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners9-baboons_zps2bbca96e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners9-baboons_zps2bbca96e.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our Cousins</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Many
millennia ago, our simian ancestors needed such assurances from other members
of the clan, but also from strangers and outsiders, they needed to know that
everyone was aware of their place in the pecking order and acknowledged that
place. We crave order, we look for patterns, we like the expected and the
normal; disorder, chaos and the abnormal starts our survival instinct bells
ringing, it puts us on edge, it raises our suspicions, it makes us uneasy. We
like things to be right. We don’t like it when things go wrong. We are at our
most vulnerable when we sleep and when we eat – try this little experiment. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/PunchCuratesEgg1895_zpsb434ca80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/PunchCuratesEgg1895_zpsb434ca80.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>True Humility - The Curate's Egg - Punch</i> - 1895</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Watch others when they are dining in public. Groups of people are usually at
ease, they interact with each other; they talk and joke and frequently look at
each other, ignoring what is going on around their group. Now look at a lone
diner. Unless they are in a familiar place that they know to be safe, they will
constantly look around; they may even not look at the food as they put it into
their mouth, but will continue to scan the room, in order to identify any
potential threat as they feed. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners10-Hunting_zps1b0ddffa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners10-Hunting_zps1b0ddffa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner is Scared</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Think of animals out on the savannah – the herds
have plenty of eyes that will spot an approaching lion long before it gets too
near; the individual creature is jumpy, ready to run for it, they snatch a
mouthful of food and then raise their head and look around for the unexpected,
the unusual or the threatening. We continue to respond to the same instinct
that lies deep in our consciousness. So, when we stopped living on the plains
of Africa and started living in houses and stopped expecting lions or leopards
to interrupt our feeding patterns, we sublimated our instinctual urges and
table manners were born. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners8-Goop-Burgess_zpse88055fe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners8-Goop-Burgess_zpse88055fe.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Table Manners</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s why the early courtesy books were so big on
table manners – if you’re going to fit in, you need to know how to behave when
you’re eating with the rest of us. Here’s some sound advice from Caxton’s <i>The
Boke of Curtesye</i> (1477):</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners4-Caxton_zps0137b74a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners4-Caxton_zps0137b74a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Caxton - <i>The Boke of Curtesye</i> - 1477</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Touche not with your mete salt in the saler</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lest folk apoynte you of vnconnyngnesse</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Dresse it aparte vpon a clene trencher</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Farse not your mouth to ful for wantonesse</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lene not vpon tbe table for that rude is</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And yf I shal to you playnly saye</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Ouer the table ye shal not spetel conueye</span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Touch not with meat salt in the cellar, </span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lest folk appoint you with uncunningness </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">[ignorance]</span></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Dress it apart, upon a clean trencher</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> [plate]</span></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Force not your mouth too full for wantonness</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> [greed]</span></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lean not upon the table, for that is rude </span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And if I shall to you plainly say,</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Over the table you shall not spit convey.</span></span></i></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Contemporaneously with Caxton’s work is <i>The Boke
of Nurture</i> by John Russell, which is a guide for serving men although it
covers the manners expected by all in the dining room. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners5-Russell_zps3fbde26b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners5-Russell_zps3fbde26b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Russell - <i>The Boke of Nature</i> c.1470</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Wrye not youre nek a doyle as hit were a dawe; </span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Put not youre handes in youre hosen youre codware
for to clawe,</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nor pikynge, nor trifelynge ne shiukkynge as thau ye
wold sawe;</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Yowr hondes frote ne rub brydelynge with brest vppon
yowr crawe;</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">With youre eris pike not ner be ye slow of herynge;</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Areche, ne spitt to ferre, ne haue lowd laughynge. </span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do not twist you neck awry like a jackdaw, </span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do not put your hands in your hose, your cods</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
[testicles]</span></span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> to scratch,</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do not pick, trifle or shrug as if you are sawing
</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">{wood}</span></span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">,</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do not scratch or rub your hands, or puff out your
chest,</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Or pick your ears nor be too slow of hearing,</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Or retch, nor spit too far, nor laugh too loudly.</span></span></i></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners7-Goop_zpsd778195d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Manners7-Goop_zpsd778195d.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dear Oh Dear ...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So, now you know. And if you think this is all
frightfully amusing and how terrible those mediaeval chappies were, here are a
few tips from <i>Etiquette and Service of the Table</i> from 1920; </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The proper attitude at the table is an erect one.
One should not slide down in the chair, rest one's arm on the table, crowd, or
discommode one's neighbour. One should eat slowly and quietly, never talking
while food is in the mouth.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Salt should never be put upon the table-cloth but on
the side of a dish—preferably the bread-and-butter plate—unless individual
salts are provided.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Toothpicks, like toothbrushes, should be used only
inside of one's room.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Soiled hands, negligee dress, shirt-sleeves and
dishevelled hair are inexcusable.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>No hot drink should be poured from the cup into the
saucer</i>.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette7-Furnivall1908BabeesBook_zps816c525a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette7-Furnivall1908BabeesBook_zps816c525a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Plus ca Change </i>... </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Hardly all that different at all, really.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></span></div>
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mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-33099923567391134462013-06-01T20:00:00.000-07:002013-06-03T12:41:47.517-07:00The Conventional Customs of the Mannerly Modes <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I’ll chuck my hat into the ring and add to the list
of ‘<i>what is it that oils the wheels of society’</i> by saying that, in my
opinion, manners provide that necessary lubricant. Wait a minute though, you
would say that, you might counter, you’re an Englishman after all and what else
would you say? However, unlike the language of flowers, or the acrostics of
gemstones, manners are another code that you can’t really opt out of, (well,
you can, but if you’re English, that’s only going to lead to someone, sometime,
tutting at you – maybe, just maybe, when you are still in the room). </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette11-Curtsey_zps245187fc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette11-Curtsey_zps245187fc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtseying</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">People may
call it <i>etiquette</i>, and have done so for over 250 years, but before we
stole a French word for it, we called it <i>courtesy </i>(and, yes, I know that
comes from Old French roots, but that’s because after 1066, and for the next
three hundred years or so, the French were running the show on this side of the
Channel). We called it that because it was the sort of proper behaviour that
you’d expect to find in a royal <i>court</i>, pretty much in that same way that
<i>chivalry</i> is the behaviour you’d expect from a <i>chevalier</i>, or
knight. If everyone knows the rules, and sticks to them, then everything turns
along nicely, thank you very much, and there are no nasty surprises.
Incidentally, in the sixteenth century, that short medial ‘e’ in the word was
often elided, and the word was pronounced as <i>Court’sy</i>, from which we get
the name of something that you’d often see at court – a <i>curtsey</i>. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette5-caxton1477_zps27e7d3b8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette5-caxton1477_zps27e7d3b8.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caxton - <i>The Boke of Curtasye</i> - 1477</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">One of
the earliest books ever printed in the English language is William Caxton’s <i>The
Boke of Curtasye</i>, (1477), showing that back in the fifteenth century there
was a ready market for a guide to social behaviour and manners. Caxton’s
pointers still sit well today – comb your hair, keep your ears clean, don’t
pick your nose and so forth, and he has a long section on table manners, which
were obviously an area where people needed a bit of instruction, and he
concludes his advice with a section on which authors should be read by a
well-bred young fellow (hardly surprising that, from a publisher who printed
most of the works he recommends). </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 384px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 231px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette1-Braithwaite1641_zpsa46eb51f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette1-Braithwaite1641_zpsa46eb51f.jpg" width="203" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Braithwaite - <i>The English Gentleman and English Gentlewoman</i> - 1631 (3rd Ed. 1641)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By 1631, Richard Braithwaite had expanded the
field with his <i>The English Gentleman</i> and <i>The English Gentlewoman</i>, which
advocated an entire philosophy of life, encompassing disposition, apparel,
education, recreations, honour and fancy, rather than telling you not to blow
your nose on the tablecloth, and as a practical guide to manners leaves much to
be desired. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 219px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette6-Darrell1732_zpsc49636c6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette6-Darrell1732_zpsc49636c6.jpg" width="190" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Darrell - <i>The Gentleman Instructed</i> - 1704 (10th Ed. 1732)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In a like manner, William Darrell’s <i>The Gentleman Instructed</i>
(1704), which takes the form of a dialogue between Neander, a young man seeking
instruction, and Eusebius, his tutor in matters worldly, concerns itself
largely with the moral and spiritual education of its protagonist and its
practical advice is limited to don’t get drunk, don’t gamble, don’t hang around
with mucky women or atheists, don’t go to the theatre and live in fear of
eternal damnation, God’s wrath and your dangly bits falling off. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 352px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 186px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette10-Darrellcontents1732_zps52047160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette10-Darrellcontents1732_zps52047160.jpg" width="177" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Darrell - <i>The Gentleman Instructed</i> - 1704 (10th Ed. 1732)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The point of
the early courtesy books was to prepare young middle- and upper-class boys for
life at the royal courts. Excluded from trade and other jobs, in times of peace
there were only three realistic routes open to these boys; the Law, the Church
or the Court, (as for girls, their only future lay in a good marriage). It was
the custom of wealthy and powerful men to take a number of boys into their
household, to be raised as pages, cup-bearers or ‘henchmen’ (originally, a
henchman, or <i>hengestman</i>, was a groom, from Old English <i>hengest</i> – <i>a
stallion, horse or gelding</i>). These boys were expected to learn table
manners, riding, fencing, music, languages and ‘<i>casting accounts</i>’ (basic
household finance), and were given extra instruction from works like Erasmus’s <i>Pietas
Puerilis</i> (1530), which is a curious blend of Classical maxims and courtesy
book (more of the ‘<i>don’t pick your teeth, don’t chew with your mouth open
and don’t peer into your hankie when you’ve blown your nose</i>’ stuff). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 384px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 232px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette2-Braithwaite1641_zps7e545cd0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Etiquette2-Braithwaite1641_zps7e545cd0.jpg" width="203" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Braithwaite - <i>The English Gentleman and English Gentlewoman</i> - 1631 (3rd Ed. 1641)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
real change came when social mobility took off following the Industrial
Revolution, when it became possible for the base-born to make fortunes in
manufacturing or trade. These <i>parvenus</i>, <i>arrivistes</i> and the <i>nouveau
riche</i> had not received the graces needed to allow them to take their places
alongside those born into rank and privilege, and crash courses were needed to
bring them up to snuff, (and, as you see by the French terms used to describe
them, there was also a language barrier to contend with, too). The problem was,
in using manners as a tool for social exclusion, those responsible were guilty
of being bad mannered themselves, as snobbery is just as socially unacceptable
as spitting in the street, queue jumping or buying the Daily Mail. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-69305631835045887782013-05-31T20:00:00.000-07:002013-06-02T15:08:56.806-07:00The Floral Furtiveness of the Perplexing Posies<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pray, love, remember: and there is pansies. That's
for thoughts.<br />
There's fennel for you, and columbines:</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There's rue for you; and here's some for me:</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We may call it herb-grace o' Sundays: </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">O you must wear your rue with a difference. </span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There's a daisy: I would give you some violets, but
they withered all when my father died.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Shakespeare, <i>Hamlet</i>, Act IV Scene V</span></span> </div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Ophelia knew of what she spoke, even in her madness.
Symbolic meanings have long been attached to flowers, but it was not until Lady
Mary Wortley Montagu and Aubry de La Mottraye introduced floriography into
England and Sweden respectively, in the early eighteenth century from Ottoman
Turkey, that the practice took hold in the popular European imagination, as part
of the new craze for all things Orientalist. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers5-Tyas1869_zpsc5b9b759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers5-Tyas1869_zpsc5b9b759.jpg" width="217" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Robert Tyas - <i>The Language of Flowers</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Before long, the scant
descriptions of Montagu and La Mottraye were added to by a long series of
writers, from Louise Cortambert’s <i>Le Language des Fleurs</i> (1819), through
Henry Phillips’ <i>Floral Emblems</i> (1825), Frederic Shoberl’s <i>Language of
Flowers </i>(1834) and Robert Tyas’ <i>Sentiment of Flowers</i> (1836), with an
immensely popular edition published by Routledge and illustrated by Kate
Greenaway in 1884. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers8-Greenaway_zpse033a445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers8-Greenaway_zpse033a445.jpg" width="252" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Language of Flowers</i> - illustrated by Kate Greenaway</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A popular method of describing the meanings of individual
flowers was the weekly or monthly columns published in magazines and
newspapers, which could run over several years without repeating themselves.
With such an immense field, there were bound to be conflicting interpretations
of the plants and flowers, although in time a general consensus of opinion
emerged. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers4-Language1835_zpsfb56eef2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers4-Language1835_zpsfb56eef2.jpg" width="236" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Frederic Shoberl - <i>The Language of Flowers</i> - 1835</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The strength of the medium lay in the ability to use the various
individual blooms and plants in combination, thereby producing a ‘phrase’
derived from the meanings of the separate flowers, with the whole being greater
than the individual parts. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers9-Greenaway_zps6cea4419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers9-Greenaway_zps6cea4419.jpg" width="249" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Page from Greenaway's <i>Language of Flowers</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Thus it was possible to send very subtle and precise
messages within a single bouquet, declaring nuances of love and devotion,
friendship and sympathy, joy, piety, hope, despair, through to outright
animosity and hatred. Fresh flowers betrayed the immediacy of the message, and
news and thoughts could be conveyed without inking one’s fingers. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 352px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 227px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers1-CROWNIMPERIALTURKS-CAPLILYLILYOPTHEVALLEYWaterman_zps12bc2dc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers1-CROWNIMPERIALTURKS-CAPLILYLILYOPTHEVALLEYWaterman_zps12bc2dc5.jpg" width="198" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Crown Imperial, Turk's cap Lily and Lily of the Valley</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This
illustration, from <i>Flora’s Lexicon</i> by Catharine H Waterman (1855), show
a combination of a Crown Imperial, Turk’s Cap Lily and Lily of the Valley,
which carries the meaning, ‘<i>You have the power to restore me to happiness</i>’. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers6-ForgetmeNotHawthornandLilyofValley-Tyasp91_zpsf61a4b94.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers6-ForgetmeNotHawthornandLilyofValley-Tyasp91_zpsf61a4b94.jpg" width="215" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Forget-me-not, Hawthorn and Lily of the Valley</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Another example, from Robert Tyas’s <i>The Language of Flowers or Floral
Emblems</i> (1869), has Hawthorn, Forget-me-not and Lily of the Valley combined
to give the sentiment to a departing loved one, ‘<i>Forget-me-not! in that
rests my hope for the return of happiness</i>.’ </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers7-LilacMarvelofPeruSpiderwort-Tyasp137_zpsa54ddbc9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers7-LilacMarvelofPeruSpiderwort-Tyasp137_zpsa54ddbc9.jpg" width="209" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lilacs, Marvel of Peru and Spiderwort</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">From the same work, a plate
showing Lilacs (Purple and White), Marvel of Peru and Spiderwort illustrates
fear and hope alternating in the mind of a youthful aspirant to beauty's
favour, ‘<i>Youthful love is timid, and yields but transient pleasure</i>'. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Even the presentation of the flowers within the bouquet carried meaning; a
rosebud or other thorny stem presented bearing both leaves and thorns meant ‘<i>I
fear but I hope</i>’, if both leaves and thorns were removed, it became a
warning, ‘<i>neither to fear nor hope</i>’, whereas taking away the thorns
meant, ‘<i>there is nothing to fear</i>’, but removing the leaves and keeping
only the thorns said, ‘<i>there is everything to fear</i>’. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 225px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers2-Waterman_zps7243c8dc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers2-Waterman_zps7243c8dc.jpg" width="192" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rose, Ivy, Myrtle - <i>To Beauty, Friendship and Love</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And within the
bouquet itself, there was meaning. A flower presented with its leaves intact
meant a positive affirmation of its meaning, but taking off the leaves meant
that the negative sentiment was intended; in flowerless plants, cutting off the
tops of the leaves carried the same intent. When a flower is inclined to the
left, the pronoun ‘<i>I</i>’ is intended, when it inclines to the right, ‘<i>thou</i>’ is
meant; when tying a ribbon or silk band to a stem, a knot to left as you look
at it means ‘<i>I</i>’ or ‘<i>me</i>’, a knot to the front means ‘<i>thou</i>’ or ‘<i>thee</i>’. If an
answer to a question is being sent, a flower placed on the right replies in the
affirmative, on the left means a negative answer. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers3-Phillips1825_zps3e0b22de.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers3-Phillips1825_zps3e0b22de.jpg" width="187" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Henry Phillips - <i>Floral Emblems</i> - 1825</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When worn on the body, a
flower placed on the head means ‘<i>caution</i>’, on the breast it means ‘<i>remembrance</i>’
or ‘<i>friendship</i>’, and over the heart means ‘<i>love</i>’. To modern tastes, some of the
meanings seem reasonable enough – beauty by the full-blown rose, oblivion by a
poppy, glory by the laurel and peace by the olive, but others seem odd, to say
the least. How about sending your love a cabbage (<i>profit</i>), a potato
(<i>benevolence</i>) or a pineapple (<i>you are perfect</i>)? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers10-Greenaway_zps23c92275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Flowers10-Greenaway_zps23c92275.jpg" width="249" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Page from Greenaway's <i>Language of Flowers</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Of course, if the messages were
as well known now as they were then, it would not seem in the least bit strange
and everything would be tickety-boo and, let’s face, it is a all little bit more
inventive and romantic than a dozen red roses on St Valentine’s Day or a mixed bunch of
scrawny dahlias, leggy carnations and an unidentifiable stalk of greenery
snatched at the last minute from a late-night filling station when you’ve
forgotten her birthday. Again.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-28404353240801666232013-05-30T20:00:00.000-07:002013-06-02T08:58:38.288-07:00The Cryptic Communications of the Fluttering Fans<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Using jewels as a means of <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-surreptitious-signifiers-of-covert.html" target="_blank">conveying covert messages</a>
was but one way of sending secret signals employed by our forbears. In the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a secret language developed that made use
of a ubiquitous fashion accessory – the fan. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan7-Rhead-AutographFan_zps29b611fa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan7-Rhead-AutographFan_zps29b611fa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Autograph Fan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Fans were used for far more than
simply keeping cool or swatting away the odd flying insect; there were mourning
fans, fortune telling fans, autograph fans, riddle fans, political fans,
programme fans and many, many more. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan13-Rhead-Frenchc1750_zps9436f88a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan13-Rhead-Frenchc1750_zps9436f88a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French Fan c.1750</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Opera and theatre fans may have been decorated
with bars of music, lyrics or scenes from a play. Game fans bore the rules of a
game, with a coloured border of playing cards. Fans were produced to celebrate
royal births or marriages. Fans featuring portraits of favourite preachers, and
verses and illustrations from the Bible enlivened Church services. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan5-Uzanne1884_zps1222b0f0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan5-Uzanne1884_zps1222b0f0.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heavenly Fans</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There were
fans of starched lace, feathered fans, silk and taffeta fans, jewelled fans,
kid leather fans, painted fans and printed fans, gold and silver fans, plain
fans, fancy fans, paper fans, folding fans, fluttering fans; in short, fans of
every sort, for every occasion, were everywhere. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan2-Uzanne1884_zps334dd87b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan2-Uzanne1884_zps334dd87b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherubs and Fan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The fan could be used simply
as a means of showing support for a cause, faction or party, just through the
colours or an illustration, rather like those used today to display one’s
support for a sports team or popular band, but there was another way that
depended on how the fan was held and used. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan8-Rhead-TheBlueFan-FrankBrangwyn-Silk_zpse353f1b5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan8-Rhead-TheBlueFan-FrankBrangwyn-Silk_zpse353f1b5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Brangwyn - <i>The Blue Fan</i> - Silk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At its simplest, this could be
something as obvious as holding a closed fan to the right cheek, conveying
assent or ‘<i>Yes</i>’, and the reverse message, ‘<i>No</i>’ was sent by
holding the closed fan to the left cheek. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan10-Yes_zps51262d9e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan10-Yes_zps51262d9e.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Lady says <i>Yes</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Joseph Addison, writing in <i>The
Spectator </i>of June 27<sup>th</sup> 1711, says, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Women are armed with Fans
as men with Swords—and sometimes do more execution with them . . . There is an
infinite variety of motions to be made use of in the flutter of a Fan. There is
the angry Flutter, the modest Flutter, the timorous Flutter, the confused
Flutter, the merry Flutter, and the amorous Flutter … I need not add that a Fan
is either a Prude or Coquette according to the nature of the person who bears
it!</i>” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan14-Addison_zps24246a62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan14-Addison_zps24246a62.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Addison</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As may be expected, this language quickly grew, with specific gestures
used to send specific messages. A closed fan placed near the heart meant, ‘<i>You
have won my love</i>’, a closed fan resting on the right eye meant, ‘<i>When
may I see you?</i>’, the number of sticks folded out from the fan indicated the
hour. Drawing a fan across the cheek said, ‘<i>I love you</i>’, drawing a
closed fan through the hand said, ‘<i>I hate you</i>’. Clasping the hands
beneath an open fan, ‘<i>Please forgive me</i>’; covering the left ear with an
open fan, ‘<i>Do not betray our secret</i>.’ </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan4-Uzanne1884_zps6bac5017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan4-Uzanne1884_zps6bac5017.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ubiquitous Fan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Closing the fan whilst fanning
oneself slowly meant, ‘<i>I am married</i>’, doing the same whilst fanning
oneself quickly meant, ‘<i>I am engaged</i>’, closing the fan quickly and
impetuously meant, ‘<i>I am impatient</i>’, slowly and deliberately closing a
fully opened fan meant, ‘<i>I promise to marry you</i>’. Dropping the fan, ‘<i>I
belong to you</i>’, pressing a half-opened fan to the lips, ‘<i>You may kiss me</i>’,
pressing a fully-opened fan to the lips, ‘<i>I don’t trust you</i>’, twirling
the fan in the right hand, ‘<i>I love another</i>’, twirling the fan in the
left hand, ‘<i>We are being watched</i>’. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan11-FanFlirtation_zps86371809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan11-FanFlirtation_zps86371809.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fan Flirtation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The famous Parisian fan-maker, Maison
Duvelleroy, even went so far as to present the purchasers of their new fans with
a little printed card that gave a brief outline of the code. Which, of course,
meant that everyone who bought a fan was in on the secret, and as Duvelleroy’s
sold hundreds of thousands of fans, so hundreds of thousands of people made the
secret code something less than secret. It was a gimmick, a selling point, and
buyers love to believe that they are members of a small group of cognoscenti,
belonging to an elite, select minority. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan6-Rhead-Dutchc1720_zpsae775120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan6-Rhead-Dutchc1720_zpsae775120.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dutch Theatre Fan c.1730</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now if the whole of Europe is busy
fluttering its fans, flapping and twirling and dropping the things across the
continent, there will be occasions when a message got through, under the radar,
so to speak, of an inattentive chaperon, but all in all, it was a bit of fun
and not really meant to be taken seriously. It was not unlike modern B1ff or
1337-speak (again, LEET derives from ‘<i>elite</i>’, also a manifestation of a
secret coding in-crowd), which can be impenetrable to teh n00bs, but is plain
when U R pwnage & AYB. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan12-AYB_zpsbad1796d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan12-AYB_zpsbad1796d.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>AYBABTU</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There were other fan-messaging languages that were
used, the simplest of which had the letters of the alphabet printed onto the
folds of the fan and all that needed to be done was to spell out words by
displaying the individual letters, something which is, again, hardly secret
when flashed across a crowded salon. It also implies a remarkably high level of
eyesight in the gentlemen of old. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan9-FoldingFAns-Partsofafan_zps386d688b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan9-FoldingFAns-Partsofafan_zps386d688b.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Parts of a Fan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A more contrived method is more akin to
semaphore signalling, as the alphabet is split into five groups of five letters
(‘J’ was omitted), with five movements within each of the five subdivisions –
ABCDE FGHIK LMNOP QRSTU VWXYZ. These five movements were: 1 with the left hand
to the right arm, 2 with the right hand to the left arm, 3 to the bosom, 4 to
the lips and 5 to the forehead. Let’s say you wanted to send the word DEAR, so
to begin, the fan is moved onto the right arm, signifying the first group of
five letters (ABCDE), and then to the lips, signifying the fourth letter within
that group. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan16-Semaphore_zps37d36b94.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan16-Semaphore_zps37d36b94.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Try doing this with a fan ...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">To make ‘E’, the fan is move back to the right arm, then to the
forehead, signifying the fifth letter in the first group. ‘A’ is next, again in
the first group, so it’s onto the right arm again, and the gesture is repeated
to indicate the first letter of the group. Finally, ‘R’ is made by signalling
the fourth group of letters, so the lips are touched with the fan, and then
moving the fan onto the left arm indicates the second letter of that group.
When the whole word has been spelled out, the fan is opened fully, to signal
that the word has been completed. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan3-GreekUzanne1884_zps2166b3ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan3-GreekUzanne1884_zps2166b3ed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ancient Greek Fan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Personally, I’d say a little written note, passed
surreptitiously from hand to hand, would be far less bother than all this
rigmarole, and far less open to misinterpretation, but then again, that lacks
the underlying frisson of the forbidden.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan1-Uzanne1884_zps3edfd051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Fan1-Uzanne1884_zps3edfd051.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strike>FAN</strike> FIN </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-11657320610082969382013-05-29T20:00:00.000-07:002013-06-01T09:44:25.990-07:00The Surreptitious Signifiers of the Covert Communiques<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is a tale they narrate, saying the Titan
Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gave it to men, bringing them warmth
and light, and Zeus punished him for his presumption, chaining him to Mount
Caucasus and sending each day an eagle to peck out Prometheus’s liver, only for
it to grow back overnight, ready to be eaten again the following day. In time,
Zeus relented and freed Prometheus, but in order to fulfil his vow that the
Titan would forever be tied to the mountain, he forced Prometheus to wear an iron
ring, into which was set a fragment of stone taken from Caucasus, on his finger
forevermore. Thus, decorated rings came into the world. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-1Prometheus_zpsfce66a34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-1Prometheus_zpsfce66a34.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prometheus Pecked </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Out of the realm of
myth, the earliest rings were simple ornaments amongst ancient peoples, often
just simple bands of metal, but sometimes decorated, either directly into the
metal or with inlaid stones. In Ancient Egypt, it was common practice to seal
personal possessions with an inscribed seal-stone, and a convenient method of
keeping the seal readily available was to drill a hole through it, pass a wire
through the hole and twist it around a finger. Over time, these developed into
the familiar signet ring; the modern ‘wedding ring’ was originally a seal-ring,
given by a husband to his new wife, so that she might seal her stores of
provisions and food with his mark. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-2SealingEgypt-NewberryScarabs_zpsf186b09d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-2SealingEgypt-NewberryScarabs_zpsf186b09d.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ancient Egyptian sealing a pot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In Egypt, doors were secured with a cord,
and a seal attached, so that it was immediately apparent if the door had been
opened by any unauthorised person; over time, as locks were developed, a key
served a similar purpose, and although key-rings were once used, these were
unwieldy and separate keys for separate locks became the norm. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-9-Egypt-Kingv21872_zpsdb31fc43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-9-Egypt-Kingv21872_zpsdb31fc43.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egyptian seals and rings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Alongside signet
rings, rings inscribed with a variety of messages were made. The French
antiquarian, the Comte de Caylus, in his masterwork, </span><span class="x-archive-meta-title"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Recueil d'antiquités Égyptiennes, Étrusques, Greques, Romaines et
Gauloises</span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(1752-5),
includes an illustration of a Greek ring bearing the inscription KIPIA KAΛH, ‘<i>Beautiful
Ciria</i>’, and another of a triple ring inscribed ZHCAIC, ‘<i>Mayest thou live</i>.’ </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-3Caylusv4ring_zps72faa076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-3Caylusv4ring_zps72faa076.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Caylus - Greek KIPIA KAΛH ring</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Caylus writes that this type of ring was extremely popular with the Greeks and
Romans, and all manner of messages were included on them. Later, in early
nineteenth century France, a different kind of message ring emerged, it is said
from the workshop of Jean-Baptiste Mellerio, jeweller to Marie Antoinette and
the Empress Josephine. Mellerio set his rings with precious and semi-precious
stones, the initial letters of their names spelling out an acrostic word or
message. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-5JBMellerio_zps6293afb9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-5JBMellerio_zps6293afb9.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean-Baptiste Mellerio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Thus, if he set a ring with a jacinth, an amethyst, a diamond, an
opal, a ruby and an emerald, the first letters of these stones spell out
J’ADORE – ‘<i>I love you</i>’. Although the name of your sweetheart might be
picked out in this manner, by far the most popular messages were <i>Souvenir</i>
and <i>Amitié</i> (<i>Remembrance</i> and <i>Friendship</i>); let’s face it,
some <i>amours</i> do not last as long as a precious stone and having to have a
ring reset can be pricey. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 238px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 350px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-6-ElleVousVa-itfitsyou_zps25615186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-6-ElleVousVa-itfitsyou_zps25615186.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Elle Vous Va</i> - It Fits You (think Cinderella - if it fits, you're the one!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Although England was then at war with France, the
fashion spread over the Channel, and acrostic jewellery became very popular,
sometimes retaining words or messages in French, sometimes in English. The most
popular words were REGARD (Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby and Diamond)
and DEAREST (Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire and Topaz). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-7-Regard_zps28eb53e4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-7-Regard_zps28eb53e4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">REGARD ring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This fashion grew throughout the Regency period, reached a peak during
Victoria’s reign and continued well into the twentieth century; in 1863, the
Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), presented his bride to be, Princess
Alexandria, with a ring set with a beryl, an emerald, a ruby, a turquoise, a
jacinth and another emerald, thus spelling the name by which he was most
commonly known – <i>Bertie</i> – (the jacinth was used for the ‘i’, as i’s and
j’s are classically interchangeable). This devotional sort of jewellery was
fine if you had fallen for an Anne, a Beth or a Colin, but if your beloved was
a Catherine, a Bartholomew or an Alexandrina, you would have to use a little
imagination. Bracelet, brooches, necklaces were obvious solutions, but lockets
or snuff boxes could also be set with the correct stones to spell out a longer
name. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-4Caylusv5ring_zps8d99ca7f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-4Caylusv5ring_zps8d99ca7f.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caylus - Greek ZHCAIC ring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In addition to messages of love and devotion, political acrostics were
also employed, to surreptitiously indicate one’s espousal to a cause or
faction. Wearing a ring set with a ruby, an emerald, a pearl, an emerald, an
amethyst and a lapis lazuli, showed that a person was a supporter of the repeal
of the Corn Laws.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If you’d like to try it out for yourself, here is a
list of possible stones that you could use<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>- there is no definitive list, and in keeping with the origin of the
practice, names are given in French.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A. Amethiste. Aigue-marine.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">B. Brilliant cut Diamond.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">C. Chrisolithe. Carnaline. Chrisophrase.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">D. Diamant. </span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">E. Emeraude.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">F. No Stone</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">G. Grenat.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">H. Hiacinthe.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I. Iris.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">J. Jasper.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">K. No Stone.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">L. Lapis lazuli.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">M. Malachite.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">N. Natralithe.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">O. Onix. Opale.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">P. Perle. Peridot. Purpurine.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Q. No Stone</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">R. Rubis. Rose diamant.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">S. Saphir. Sardoine.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">T. Turquoise. Topaze.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">U. Uraine.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">V. Vermeille (especially yellow garnet)</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">X. Xepherine.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Y. Z. No Stones.</span></span></i></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 233px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-8-AnneofCleves-Kunz_zpsbcffdd38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/June%202013/Rings1-8-AnneofCleves-Kunz_zpsbcffdd38.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne of Cleves - with a thumb and two finger rings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As ‘k’ and ‘w’ are not used in French (apart from in
loan and regional words), and because some letters have no stones, English
jewellers might substitute a coloured stone for a missing gem, with the initial
letter of the colour standing in for the name of a precious stone. This makes
for difficulties in interpreting the meaning on some pieces of jewellery, the
meaning of which may only have been known to the jeweller and the owner of a
piece. Bear in mind too that stones have different names in different languages
– <i>Emerald/Emeraude </i>is fine for the letter ‘e’ in English and French, but
it is called <i>Smaragd</i> in German, so would stand instead for an ‘s’.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-51575630401400454892013-05-28T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-31T12:04:54.104-07:00The Pearly Profusion of the Multitudinous Margarites<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The liquid drops of tears that you have shed</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Shall come again, transformed to orient pearl</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Shakespeare: <i>Richard III</i>, Act IV, Scene IV</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The notion that pearls are tears rendered into gems
is found in many ancient stories and is a theme beloved by poets throughout the
ages. In the twentieth century, T S Eliot alluded to a similar thought in <i>The
Waste Land</i>, </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Here, said she,<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.5pt;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor,<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.5pt;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">”</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII8-Ladies_zps5dc8f516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII8-Ladies_zps5dc8f516.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ladies and their Pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The beauty and chaste purity of pearls have led to
them being viewed as the perfect gift for brides to wear, although a parallel
tradition held that each pearl worn by a bride on her wedding day presaged a
tear she would later shed during her marriage, (as it would be an extremely
unworldly bride to expect an entirely tear-less marriage, many feel it’s well
worth the risk).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As pure as a pearl,</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And as perfect: a noble and innocent girl.</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Owen Meredith (Lord Lytton), <i>Lucile</i>, Pt II,
Canto VI</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The ladies-in-waiting of Empress Eugénie tried in
vain to dissuade from wearing long strings of pearls when she married Napoleon
III, in 1853, and many said, after the event, that her subsequent tragic life
was due to wearing so many pearls to her wedding. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII-Empress_zps5591283e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII-Empress_zps5591283e.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Empress Eugenie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Similarly, Queen Margaret
Tudor, wife of King James VI of Scotland, prior to the Battle of Flodden in
1513, dreamt for three consecutive nights that all her jewellery had turned
into pearls, which was interpreted as an ill-omen of forthcoming widowhood and
disaster. Pierre de Rosnel, writing in the seventeenth century, allies the
pearl to Venus, born of heaven and the sea, </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“… <i>so in like manner the pearl — the loveliest of
all gems — is formed in the sea and is the offspring of the dew of heaven</i>.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rosnel, <i>Le
Mercure Indien, ou le Trésor des Indes</i>, 1672 </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII6-Venus_zps40b8d3fa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII6-Venus_zps40b8d3fa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Botticelli - <i>The Birth of Venus</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is another reason why
brides, pearls and the Goddess of Love are so closely associated. An added
level of purity surrounds the pearl as it is taken from nature in a perfect
state, without the need for the hand of man to improve it in any manner, and
this purity is reflected in the name of Margaret, which derives from the
Persian <i>Murwari</i>, (pearl, child of light), through the Greek <i>μαργάρίτης</i>,
and is found in variations throughout Europe, from the French Marguerite and
Margot, German Gretchen and Grethel, Italian Margherita and Rita, to the
English Marjorie, Peggy and Madge. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII7-Margherita_zpsf9b0eb0c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII7-Margherita_zpsf9b0eb0c.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dowager Queen Margherita of Italy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There are several St Margarets, all of whom
symbolise innocence and purity, including St Margaret of Antioch, ‘<i>the mild
maid of God</i>’, who is the embodiment of feminine innocence and whose attribute
is a string of pearls, St Margaret Ætheling, canonized in 1215 and adopted as
the patron saint of Scotland in 1673, or Margaret, ‘<i>the Pearl of Bohemia</i>’,
held in especial reverence by the Danes. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII4-Margaret_zps4f3f5b85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII4-Margaret_zps4f3f5b85.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Margaret of Scotland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In literature, Margarets abound as
heroines of innocence, from Goethe’s Gretchen, in <i>Faust</i>, Tennyson’s
‘Sweet pale Margaret’, and Scott’s ‘Ladye Margaret, the Flower of Teviot’.
William Drummond of Hawthornden plays with the name and the association with
pearls in his <i>An Epitaph of One Named Margaret</i>, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>In shells and gold
pearls are not kept alone,</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A Margaret here lies beneath a stone</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">.”</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII3-CharlesVI_zps4c99545d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII3-CharlesVI_zps4c99545d.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles VI of France</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As may be expected for something so associated with
purity, pearls were once a valuable, if mildly ineffectual, medicine. Crushed
pearls, dissolved in distilled water, were given to Charles VI of France,
(called Charles the Mad), in an attempt to cure his bouts of insanity. Lorenzo
de Medici, ‘The Magnificent’, lay dying of fever at Careggi and was also given
pulverized pearls as a cure; when asked how it tasted, Lorenzo is said to have
replied, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>As pleasant as anything can be to a dying man.</i>” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII1-Lorenzo_zps12b33c50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII1-Lorenzo_zps12b33c50.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lorenzo de Medici</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Draughts of
powdered, pulverized or dissolved pearls were also used as a symbol of
sacrifice, as in Shakespeare’s <i>Hamlet</i>, when Claudius speaks of a ‘<i>union</i>’,
a common term for a pearl, in the lines, </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>The king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath;</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And in the cup an union shall he throw.</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Richer than that which four successive kings</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In Denmark's crown have worn</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">.”</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII2-Gresham_zps457e671c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII2-Gresham_zps457e671c.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sir Thomas Gresham</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A Spanish ambassador to the court of Queen Elizabeth
boasted of the wealth and magnificence of his sovereign’s court. Sir Thomas
Gresham, irked by this Iberian arrogance, countered that there were men in
England who spent more on one meal than the Spanish King and all his grandees,
and laid a wager that he could prove his claim. Some time later, this same
ambassador happened to call on Sir Thomas at meal-time and found him dining on
a very dinner, so declared to have won the bet. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII10_zps421e84f2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/PearlsII10_zps421e84f2.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Necklace made from 126,000 seed pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Not so, said Sir Thomas, and
took a box from his pocket, drew forth an exquisite oriental pearl, crushed it
into a powder which he stirred into a glass of wine, and drank a health to his
Mistress, the Queen. I have, Gresham told the Spaniard, refused £15,000 for
that pearl, have I won the wager? The ambassador was forced to concede defeat.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-14124924075477736162013-05-27T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-27T20:00:00.764-07:00The Pearlescent Peculiarities of the Nacreous Nodules<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Submerged beneath a southern sea, inside a shell
something stirs. It itches, it irritates and a shellfish flinches. It flexes,
undulating its body and tries to rid itself of the intruder, but to no avail.
The thing will not be moved. So the shellfish begins the long process of
covering the irritating interloper with nacre, in layer after layer, until,
instead of an unwanted incursion, there is a smooth sphere that now longer
scratches the mollusc’s delicate body. And this sphere is now very much wanted
indeed, as it is now a pearl. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls13-Dakin1913_zps5972698d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls13-Dakin1913_zps5972698d.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The internal structure of a bi-valve</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s a common misconception that pearls are
formed when a grain of sand makes its way into an oyster shell, but the
intruder is more likely to be a tiny parasite, the larva of another
sea-creature or one of the oyster’s own eggs that gets covered in
mother-of-pearl. It’s not just oysters either, as many bi-valve molluscs form
pearls around invading irritants, including mussels and clams. The shells of
many molluscs and brachiopods are made up of three layers; an outer layer, called
the <i>periostracum</i>, a middle <i>prismatic</i> layer and an inner <i>nacreous</i>
layer. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls3-Streeter1886_zpsd25c13ae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls3-Streeter1886_zpsd25c13ae.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pearl Fishers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Inside the shell, the mantle, a flap or fold of flesh, covers all of
either the right or left side of the nacreous layer, and forms a ridge or
margin at the outermost edge, from which the two outermost layers are produced,
whilst the rest of the mantle secretes the pearly inner layer. Should a
irritating particle or parasite become lodged between the mantle and the upper
layers, nacre is secreted over it and it is incorporated into the body of the
shell, whereas something that enters the interior of the creature becomes
covered in layers of nacre and a pearl is produced. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls9-ClaraEugeniadaughterofPhillipII-Kunz1908_zpsed2f84a6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls9-ClaraEugeniadaughterofPhillipII-Kunz1908_zpsed2f84a6.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clara Eugenia of Spain in her Pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At first, the layers
conform to the contours of the foreign body, but over time the increasing
numbers of layers tend to produce a spheroidal or spherical shape, unless the
intrusion is so pronounced that an irregular – or baroque – pearl is made, and
these command a lower price, purely on aesthetic grounds. It is reasonable to
assume that pearls were the earliest of valued gems, as fish-eating ancient
peoples would have inevitably have come across them, and their immediate
natural beauty, free from the need of further art to enhance it, must have
ensured their desirability. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls6-RanaofDholpur-Kunz1908_zps9452a108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls6-RanaofDholpur-Kunz1908_zps9452a108.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rana of Dholpur in his Pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pearls appear in the ancient Indian religious texts,
the <i>Ramayana</i> and the <i>Mahabharata</i>, and in Hindu mythology the
pearl is associated with Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, who drew one
from the sea to adorn his daughter, Pandaia, on her wedding day. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 279px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 170px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls4-China-Kunz1908_zpsca2dadc3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls4-China-Kunz1908_zpsca2dadc3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dowager Empress of China in her Pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In the ancient
Cingalese chronicles, the <i>Mahavansa</i> and the <i>Dipavansa</i>, pearls are
mentioned as being sent as gifts from Ceylon; the Chinese <i>Shu King</i> notes
that, in the twenty-third century BCE, Yü received river pearls in tribute, and
the ancient Chinese dictionary the <i>Ny’ha </i>(c.1000 BCE) mentions pearls as
precious jewels that come from Shen-si province. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 245px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 179px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls7-MaharajahofPatiala-Kunz1908_zpse4602e96.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls7-MaharajahofPatiala-Kunz1908_zpse4602e96.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Maharajah of Patiala in his Pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Authorities vary in their
opinion on the translations of various words for precious jewels in the Old
Testament, but there are numerous mentions of pearls in the New Testament, as
there are in the Talmud, where they signify something either very costly or
very beautiful. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls2-AshburnhamGospel-Kunz1908_zps9ebd0a23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls2-AshburnhamGospel-Kunz1908_zps9ebd0a23.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ashburnham Gospel decorated with Pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Quran has pearls aplenty too, particularly in Paradise,
where the trees bear pearls and emeralds. Ancient Greek writers mention pearls
as early at the fifth century BCE, and later Roman writers like Pliny write
about them, including a description of Pompey’s victory parade where
thirty-three crowns of pearls were displayed. The Emperor Caligula had pearls
sewn into the harness of Incitatus, his favourite horse that legend says he
raised to the rank of Senator, and he wore slippers embroidered with pearls. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls10-Elizabeth1-Kunz1908_zps1ffa9c20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls10-Elizabeth1-Kunz1908_zps1ffa9c20.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth I in her Pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By
the Middle Ages, every Emperor, King or Pope worth his salt would have his
regalia made from gold and studded with diamonds, jewels and pearls. At the
meeting of Henry VIII and Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, in 1520,
the banqueting chamber was decorated with embroidered gold and pearl hangings,
when Henry was introduced to Anne of Cleves, he wore a coat of purple velvet
with clasps made from gold, diamonds, rubies and oriental pearls, and Anne’s
wedding gown was made from cloth of gold embroidered with large flowers made
from pearls. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls11-ElizabethofFrance-Kunz1908_zps4faaa295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls11-ElizabethofFrance-Kunz1908_zps4faaa295.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth of France in her Pearls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When the New World was discovered, a new source of pearls emerged;
Montezuma gave precious gifts to Cortez, who returned these golden presents,
with emeralds, rubies and pearls, to Europe. The high walls and the roof of the
temple of Tolomecco were made from mother of pearl, with strings of pearls and
plumes of feathers hanging from the walls, the graves of its kings had shields
adorned with pearls placed over them, and in the centre of the temple were
vases filled with costly pearls. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls12-GrandPearlDiademofFrance-Kunz1908_zps65d8f60f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls12-GrandPearlDiademofFrance-Kunz1908_zps65d8f60f.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand Pearl Diadem of the French Crown Jewels</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pearls flooded back to the courts of Europe;
Marie de Medici wore a gown to the christening of her son that was decorated
with 3,000 diamonds and 32,000 pearls, and the Elector Maximilian of Bavaria
sent his future bride a present of a necklace of 300 selected pearls, each
worth 1,000 guldens. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls1-Czarina-Kunz1908_zpse3bc3a31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Pearls1-Czarina-Kunz1908_zpse3bc3a31.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Czarina of Russia in her Pearls</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Tomorrow – Myth and Magic of Pearls</span></span></span></i></div>
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mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-24841481440613722402013-05-26T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-26T20:00:05.690-07:00The Wonderous Worth of the Gigantic Gemstone<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> On the evening of January 27<sup>th</sup> 1905, Mr
Frederick Wells, a mine manager, was making his rounds of the new No 2 Premier
Mine, near Pretoria, South Africa, when he saw something gleaming the rays of
the dying sun, at the brink of the open workings. He picked up a large stone,
put it into the pocket of his sack coat, and went back to the company office to
examine his find. At first, it was thought that Wells had picked up a piece of
rock crystal and it was almost thrown aside, but on closer examination, the stone
was found to be a diamond of unprecedented size, weighing over 1.3 pounds, or
3253 ¾ carats. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan10-KimberleyOpenWorkings1889Williams1902_zps7cb24b9d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan10-KimberleyOpenWorkings1889Williams1902_zps7cb24b9d.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Last Open Workings at Kimberley - 1889</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As the stone had a distinct fracture line on one face, it was
thought to be a fragment of a larger octahedral crystal, although the
corresponding piece has not (yet) been unearthed. The stone was named after the
chairman of the Premier (Transvaal) Mining Company, (later Sir) Thomas
Cullinan, and purchased by the Transvaal Government for £200,000, although it
was insured for £1,500,000. It was decided that this huge gemstone should be
presented to King Edward VII as a gift for his 66<sup>th</sup> birthday, as a
suitable token of the entry of South Africa into the British Empire, but there
was the problem of transporting it from the Cape to England. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan3-Rough-Wodiska1909_zpscaed5e1e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan3-Rough-Wodiska1909_zpscaed5e1e.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cullinan Diamond in its rough state</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A facsimile stone
was sent by steamboat, and accompanied by detectives, as a diversionary tactic
to attract potential thieves, whilst the real stone was packed into a plain box
and sent by normal parcel post (although it was sent by registered mail). To
the dismay of London jewellers, when the rough diamond was examined, the Crown
authorities decided to ship the stone to Amsterdam for cutting and polishing. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan6-CullinanI_zps6ab3c9f8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan6-CullinanI_zps6ab3c9f8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cullinan I in its cut state</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The stone was not perfect, and it would have been impossible to form it into
one enormous brilliant cut gem; there was a small, black spot in the centre,
and although the stone was remarkably clear, there were other graphitic spots
close to the surface, and other discolouration on the outside. At one point,
there was an internal crack, and at another, there was an opaque, milky mass,
of a brown colour, with what looked like iron oxide stains. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan7-Fragments_zps9eb37ee3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="65" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan7-Fragments_zps9eb37ee3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fragments of the Cullinan after cleaving</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Therefore, the
decision was made to break up the rough stone into smaller parts, with the work
to be carried out by the house of J Asscher and Co, of Amsterdam and Paris. At
the beginning of 1908, the Cullinan Diamond was moved, under escort, to the
Asscher <i>fabriek</i> on Tulp Straat, where it was kept in a vault with
concrete and steel walls two feet thick, with Dutch secret servicemen and
Scotland Yard detectives guarding the establishment. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan5-Cuttingroom-Wodiska1909_zps4ff58702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan5-Cuttingroom-Wodiska1909_zps4ff58702.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cutting Room at Asscher's where the Cullinan was cut</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The experts examined the
stone for weeks, deciding how best to cut it before, on February 10<sup>th</sup>
1908, Mr Joseph Asscher, the finest diamond cleaver in the world, made ready to
make the first cut, under the supervision of Messrs M J Levy and Nephews, the
precious stone experts. Models had been made in crystal, to give Asscher a
guide to the desired effect, and a cut, three quarters of an inch deep was made
with a diamond saw along the line of cleavage. A special steel, comb-shaped
knife, without a handle, was made and inserted into the cut on the stone and
with a steel bar, Asscher struck the back of the knife. The steel knife broke
and the stone remained intact. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan1-Asscher_zpsb44b4da6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan1-Asscher_zpsb44b4da6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Asscher prepares to cleave the Cullinan Diamond</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A replacement knife was placed in the cut and
Asscher struck again – this time the Cullinan diamond split into two parts,
exactly as planned. (There is a story that Asscher insisted on having a doctor
and nurse present, and when the stone broke, he fainted on the spot. This is
almost certainly apocryphal). </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan4-Cut-Wodiska1909_zps7866e312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan4-Cut-Wodiska1909_zps7866e312.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Nine larger Cullinan cut stones</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Later in February, the larger portion was again divided,
and over the months until November, the rough diamond was divided again and cut
and polished to produce nine large gemstones, 96 smaller stones and nine carats
of uncut bort. Cullinan I was, then, by far the largest cut diamond in the
world, at 516 ½ carats, (the previous largest brilliant, the Jubilee, weighs
239 carats, and the <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-horrible-history-of-star-crossed.html" target="_blank">Koh-i-noor</a> pales into an insignificant 102 ¾ carats), with
Cullinan II weighing 309 3/18 carats. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan2-Queen_zps69611462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan2-Queen_zps69611462.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queen Elizabeth II - Cullinan I is in the head of the Sceptre</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The pear-shaped, brilliant Cullinan I was
placed in the Sovereign’s Sceptre, and the brilliant-cushion Cullinan II was
put into the Imperial State Crown, below the Black Prince’s ruby. The other,
smaller Cullinan diamonds were mounted in other pieces of royal regalia, and it
is interesting to note that the four largest pieces amount to 986 carats of cut
and polished jewels, taken from a rough diamond of over 3,000 carats. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan8-ImperialStatecrown_zps230e2a1d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan8-ImperialStatecrown_zps230e2a1d.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Imperial State Crown - with Cullinan II in the front</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Above a
certain size, there is almost no commercial market for large gemstones, for
there are few people wealthy enough to buy them, and fewer still prepared to wear
something that looks like it might have been purloined from a crystal
chandelier, and they can only be displayed in the context of royal regalia worn
on state occasions, supplemented with hundreds, or thousands, of smaller gems.
Cullinan I and II are, effectively, beyond price, as there is nothing close to
matching them and certainly nothing to replace them, and they are set in the
Crown Jewels, which are, again, simply priceless, but just for the sake of
argument, the bidding for either stone would not open at a penny less than
£200,000,000. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan9-CullinanII_zpsc0fb8eb8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Cullinan9-CullinanII_zpsc0fb8eb8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cullinan II</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Not bad for something that almost got thrown out of a
mine-manager’s estate-office window.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-48410099831551661462013-05-25T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-25T20:00:04.744-07:00The Horrible History of the Star-crossed Sparkler<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is not the biggest, it is not the finest, it is
not the most valuable, but it is, perhaps, the most famous diamond in the
world. It is <i>the</i> Great Diamond of history and romance, known since
antiquity and with its origins in myth, and now called the <i>Koh-i-noor</i>,
which means ‘<i>the Mountain of Light</i>’. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor7-_zps1c2d99c6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor7-_zps1c2d99c6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Koh-i-noor Diamond</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">According to Hindu legend, it was
worn by Carna, Rajah of Anga, a hero of the epic poem, the <i>Mahabharata</i>,
which would give the stone a history of over four thousand years. This gem
appears again in stories about Vikramditya, who flourished in the first century
BCE and is said to have driven the Scythians from India. The earliest
historical reference dates from 1526, in the <i>Memoirs of Sultan Baber</i>,
where a similarly named Bikermâjit is defeated by Hûmaiûm, and Bikermâjit’s
people present the conquerer with a <i>peshkesh</i> (tribute or present) of
jewels and precious stones, amongst which was a famous diamond formerly owned
by Sultan Ala-ed-din. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor9-Humaium_zps25c30137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor9-Humaium_zps25c30137.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humaium</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Hûmaiûm in turn presented this diamond to Baber as a <i>peshkesh</i>,
and Baber returned the diamond to him as a present. Ala-ed-din, of the Khalji
dynasty, had ruled in Hindustan and had obtained this ‘<i>famous</i>’ diamond
in 1304, by defeating the Rajah of Malwa, (note that, although described as ‘<i>famous</i>’,
there is no name is given to the gem). Hûmaiûm’s life was bedevilled with bad
luck (he died after falling down stairs) and he was defeated in battle by Sher
Shah Suri, who died from an exploding cannon barrel. Hûmaiûm’s son, Akbar,
refused to remove the stone from his father’s treasury, but Akbar’s grandson,
Shah Jahan, had the diamond placed in his Peacock Throne at Agra. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor8-TajMahal_zps58d4e18f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor8-TajMahal_zps58d4e18f.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taj Mahal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Shah Jahan’s
beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during childbirth – he built the Taj Mahal to
her memory – but he was overthrown by his own son, Aurangzēb, and eventually died
under house arrest from face cancer. The diamond remained in the possession of
the Mughal rulers until the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739, who carried the
stone back to Persia and is reputed to have first named it Koh-i-noor. Nadir
Shah suffered from increasing ill-health and paranoia, he blinded his own son,
whom he suspected of an assassination attempt, regretted this crime and had the
officials who had witnessed the blinding executed, and was eventually
assassinated by his own guards. One of his generals, Ahmed Shah Durrani, fled
to Afghanistan, taking the Koh-i-noor with him, and it passed down the Durrani
dynasty, until Ahmed’s grandson, Shujah Shah Durrani, was deposed and forced to
flee, again taking the gem with him. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor3-Tavernier_zps3c50d07c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor3-Tavernier_zps3c50d07c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Shape of the Original Koh-i-noor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He took refuge in India, at Lahore, with
Ranjit Singh, who forced him to relinquish the gem and, in return, won back the
Afghan throne for Shujah. Maharajah Ranjit Singh’s Sikh empire held massive
power but his death, in 1839, created a power vacuum that was filled by the
intervention of the British East India Company, and the Punjab was declared to
be part of the British Empire. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor10-Singh_zps300b8aa2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor10-Singh_zps300b8aa2.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dulip Singh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">One stipulation was that the diamond known as
the Koh-i-noor, taken from Shujah Shah by Ranjit Singh, should be surrendered
to the Queen of England by Dulip Singh, the thirteen-year-old successor of
Ranjit, and the boy was sent to England in 1850. Governor-General Dalhousie
arranged for the diamond to be transferred to London, on a paddle sloop, HMS <i>Medea</i>,
under the care of C C Mansel and John Lawrence; Lawrence put the stone in a tin
box which he carried in a waistcoat pocket, on one occasion he sent the
waistcoat to the laundry, forgetting about the diamond, which was returned to
him by an honest steward. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor4-Punch_zps668efc8a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor4-Punch_zps668efc8a.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Punch</i> - The Koh-i-noor mistaken </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At Mauritius, locals threatened to fire on the <i>Medea
</i>when the ship, on which cholera had broken out, attempted to dock; a severe
storm later threatened to sink the sloop. Eventually, the Medea reached England
and Lawrence took the diamond to East India House, from where it was presented
to Queen Victoria by the boy Singh. It was publicly displayed at the Great
Exhibition of 1851, and in 1852, under the supervision of Prince Albert, it was
decided to re-cut the diamond, in the western fashion. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor5-Younghusband1921_zps01a92f8d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor5-Younghusband1921_zps01a92f8d.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Duke of Wellington places the Koh-i-noor in the cutting mill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The work was entrusted
to Garrard’s, who employed a Dutch cutter called Voorsanger from Coster’s
workshop in Amsterdam; cutting began on July 16<sup>th</sup> 1852, with the
Duke of Wellington first placing the stone in the cutting mill, and work
continued for thirty-eight days, at a cost of £8,000. The stone was reduced
from an initial weight of slightly more than 186 carats down to 106 1/16
carats, and it was found that some parts of the stone were much harder than
other parts. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor1-Dieulfait-beforecutting_zps2398ae09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor1-Dieulfait-beforecutting_zps2398ae09.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shape of the Koh-i-noor before re-cutting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The results were disappointing – the stone was too shallow to be
cut to the real proportions of the ‘brilliant’ pattern, and it was felt that
too much of the gem had been removed, and that maybe a different cut should
have been used. Superstition followed the Koh-i-noor, it was said to be to
blame for the premature death of Prince Albert in 1861, and to be the cause of
the Indian Mutiny of 1857; reputedly, only God or a woman can only wear it, and
the curse has brought about the downfall of every male monarch who has worn the
diamond. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor2-Dieulfait-aftercutting_zpsdb5dc545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor2-Dieulfait-aftercutting_zpsdb5dc545.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shape of the Koh-i-noor after re-cutting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It was mounted into a brooch and worn by Queen Victoria, and then
mounted into the diamond crown that Queen Alexandra wore at the coronation of
Edward VII, by Queen Mary and by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. It can now
be seen at the Tower of London, along with the other crown jewels.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor6-Younghusband1921_zps96871a66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor6-Younghusband1921_zps96871a66.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Jewel House of the Tower of London</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-2489298889588999362013-05-24T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-25T10:42:53.453-07:00The Valuable Varieties of the Chemical Carbon<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Bread may well be the <i>staff</i> of life, but the
real <i>stuff</i> of life is carbon. Carbon is present in every known life form
on earth (it is the second most abundant element in your body, after oxygen,
amounting to about 18%). What makes carbon so interesting is that exists in
several forms, depending on the arrangements of the carbon atoms within a
substance. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-9-Pencil_zpsebeb3d8d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-9-Pencil_zpsebeb3d8d.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pencil</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Graphite, for example, is carbon with the atoms connected in flat
planes; it is black, opaque and soft, and is commonly found in pencils (which,
despite the name, are not made of lead). Indeed, graphite gets its name from
the Greek word <i>γράφω</i> – <i>grapho, ‘to write’</i>, the root of such words
as graphology, autograph or biography. The atomic structure of graphite means
that the soft planes can easily be deposited onto a surface like paper –
imagine it like slices of bread in a sliced loaf, as each slice it taken away,
it is replaced by the next, identical, slice that lay below it. The properties
of graphite mean that it has a great many practical applications, from pencils,
car brake linings, dry lubrication, metal casting moulds and batteries. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-10-Coal_zps911f0831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-10-Coal_zps911f0831.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In
another form (or <i>allotrope</i>), amorphous carbon is found in coal, soot and
other impure forms – carbon takes its name from the Latin <i>carbo</i> –
meaning <i>coal</i>. The atomic structure of amorphous carbon can be stabilized
by terminating the dangling-п bonds with hydrogen, producing hydrogenated
amorphous carbon (hydrocarbons), which are found in crude oil and petroleum
derivatives, certain waxes, and gases like methane, propane or ethylene. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor7-_zps1c2d99c6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Koh-i-noor7-_zps1c2d99c6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamond</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A
third allotrope of carbon occurs when the atoms are arranged in a face-centred
cubic crystal structure – diamond. From the Greek <i>αδάμας – adamas,
‘unbreakable</i>’, diamond is known as the hardest material commonly available,
it rates 10 on the Moh’s scale of mineral hardness, and is used commercially in
diamond knives, saws and cutters, as well as a gemstone. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-8-Wodiska-Mohs_zps358faea0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-8-Wodiska-Mohs_zps358faea0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moh's Table of Hardness</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The earliest diamonds
were found in India, with a smaller number of stones discovered in Borneo, and
in Brazil in 1727, with more found in Africa from 1867, the first being the
<a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-unexpected-uncovering-of-diamond.html" target="_blank">Eureka diamond</a>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Kimberley-Wodiska1909_zpsc7dfa06e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Kimberley-Wodiska1909_zpsc7dfa06e.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Open Mine at Kimberley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The African diamond rush began in 1870, when a 50-carat stone
was found on a Jagersfontein farm, (the enterprising widow who owned this farm
rented out twenty square foot plots at £2 per month). When the famous Kimberley
mines were discovered in 1871, the leasing system of claims was superseded as
diamond-mining companies bought up the farms. In addition to the diamond mines,
rivers were also dammed, the water pumped out and the gravels dredged and
sorted. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-6-Wodiska-undergroundatKimberley_zps11d94372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-6-Wodiska-undergroundatKimberley_zps11d94372.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Underground Diamond Mining</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rough diamonds are, at best, translucent and their beauty is not
evident until it is released by cutting the stone. Diamond cutting was
introduced into Europe from India, in 1295, and the technique was improved,
almost two hundred years later, by Louis de Berguen of Bruges, who substituted
polishing with corundum powder with diamond dust. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-5-Smith1913-CuttingOffice_zps51fbcedb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-5-Smith1913-CuttingOffice_zps51fbcedb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamond Cutting Office</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In the seventeenth century,
Vincenzio Peruzzi of Venice produced the first brilliant cut diamond, with
thirty-three facets, or faces, above the girdle of the stone and twenty-five
below. The rough stone is held in a cement or soft solder mount as each facet
is cut and polished, and remounted for each individual facet, which are
generally triangular or quadrangular in shape. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-2-Smith1913-Cutting_zps8f85c72a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-2-Smith1913-Cutting_zps8f85c72a.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamond Cutting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The work is carried out over a
small strong box, which serves to catch the resultant abraded powder and
fragments, known as <i>bort</i>. The process is both skilled and
time-consuming, particularly before mechanical methods were developed with, for
example, the Regent diamond taking two years to cut in 1712 (at a cost of
£5,000) and the Koh-i-noor was recut in 1862, taking thirty-eight days, at
twelve hours per day, costing £8,000 in labour. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-1-Smith1913-Sorting_zpse072b3ff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-1-Smith1913-Sorting_zpse072b3ff.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorting the Silt for Diamonds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Brilliant cut diamonds command
the highest prices, followed by Rose cut and Table cut gems, and the colour of
the stone also affects its value, with blue-white diamonds being the most
valuable, followed in order by blue, red, green, white, olive, black, fire
coloured and yellow. A coal black stone of 350 carats, which was so hard it was
impossible to cut, was exhibited to great interest at the Great Exhibition in
London, in 1851. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-3-Smith1913-Cutting_zps7dba06b4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-3-Smith1913-Cutting_zps7dba06b4.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamond Cutting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rough diamonds are examined by experts, who use their skill to
decide how the stone can best be cut with a minimum loss of size, before
marking it for sawing or cleaving to remove the excess areas. The part of the
stone which will provide the <i>table</i> is then decided on, this is the
largest facet of the diamond, usually situated on the top of the stone, and the
facets surrounding the table are then cut away, in a process called <i>bruiting</i>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-4-Smith1913-Polishing_zps3bf3e38b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-4-Smith1913-Polishing_zps3bf3e38b.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamond Polishing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The diamond is then polished, on a wheel, using a combination of diamond dust
and oil, until the required finish is achieved. There is no such thing as a
‘perfect’ diamond, as they all contain minor imperfections, called <i>flaws</i>
or <i>feathers</i>, caused by intruding carbon atoms or minute cracks, but for
practical purposes, ‘perfect’ stones are those that lack any flaws or spots
that can be seen by a person with ordinary sight using a watchmaker’s
magnifying glass. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-7-Wodiska-Cuttingtools_zps61d4504f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamonds-7-Wodiska-Cuttingtools_zps61d4504f.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamond Cutting Tools</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The value of a diamond is said, popularly, to rest on the <i>Four
C</i>s – colour, clarity, cut and carat. The <i>carat</i> is the weight of the
stone, set in 1907 as the metric carat of 200 mg of mass, but formerly four
grains Troy weight, later set at just below four grains, the name thought to
come either from the Italian <i>caratáre – to weigh with great care</i>, or the
French <i>caret – it is wanting</i>, in reference to the tiny margin below the
four grain measure. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There is little evidence that folk etymology of the name
being derived from <i>kuara</i>, meaning a carob bean, is the true origin of
the term. The price per carat per stone is not linear, as larger stones are
rarer and thus demand a higher price per carat as the carat mass increases, and
prices are also affected by the demand for certain carat weight stones used in
jewellery manufacture.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Tomorrow – A Famous Diamond.</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-89249576229540068992013-05-23T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-24T10:56:02.044-07:00The Unexpected Uncovering of the Diamond Discoveries<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Boers (Dutch for <i>farmers</i>) moved out of
the Cape Colony of Southern Africa and into the Orange Free State, Transvaal
and Natal, to escape British colonial rule. One of these Boers, Daniel Jacobs,
made his home on the banks of the Orange River, near to the small settlement of
Hopetown, where he made a precarious living on the pasturelands of the veldt.
His home was not much more than a hovel, roughly divided into two rooms, with
sacking for a roof and a packed earth floor that was smeared once a week with a
polishing mixture of dung and water. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Boers-Birch-BritishandBoers-1900_zps72f871cb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Boers-Birch-BritishandBoers-1900_zps72f871cb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boers trekking</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Parents and children slept together on a
rough frame overlaced with rawhide strips, there was a chest of drawers, a
crude table and chairs, a mirror and very little else in the way of furniture.
Their food was corn meal porridge, supplemented occasionally with a lump of
boiled mutton and rice, coarse wheaten bread and black, bitter coffee. When the
sheep and goats were turned out of the kraal to browse on the scant scrub and
thorns of the veldt, they were shepherded by African servants, as the Boer and
his <i>vrouw</i> were loathe to trouble themselves with manual labour if there were
other people around to do it for them. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-KimberleyMiners-Wodiska1909_zps8c1fb0d8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-KimberleyMiners-Wodiska1909_zps8c1fb0d8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some Africans taking a break </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Their children ran as wild as their
livestock, ranging over the rocks and sand, and in lieu of playthings, they
hunted for shiny pebbles along the banks of the river, each of them building
their own collection of smooth agates, rosy-red carnelians, bronze jaspers and
creamy chalcedonies, carmine garnets and sparkling rock-crystals. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Birch-BritishandBoers-1900_zpsa7a3af9e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Birch-BritishandBoers-1900_zpsa7a3af9e.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dangers of Africa - Lions, leopards, rhinos ... and tigers!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The farmer’s
wife was especially taken with a particularly bright white pebble, and she told
a neighbour, Schalk van Niekerk, about the stone. He asked to see it, but one
of the children had thrown it out into the dust of the yard, and van Niekerk
had to hunt in the dirt before it came to light. He was also taken with the
gleam of the thing and offered to buy it, but the <i>vrouw</i> wouldn’t hear of it and
gave it to her neighbour, who put it into his pocket and carried it off home. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Reilly-Williams-1902_zps89f7c21e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Reilly-Williams-1902_zps89f7c21e.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John O'Reilly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He thought it might have a little value and passed it on to a travelling
salesman, John O’Reilly, who showed it to several people in Hopetown and in
Colesberg, a settlement further along the Orange River, but all who saw it were
not impressed and no one would part with as much as a penny for the stone,
which might, at best, be a topaz. The Civil Commissioner of Colesberg, Mr
Lorenzo Boyes, discovered that the stone would scratch glass and declared it to
be a diamond, but his idea was laughed aside by Dr Kirsh, the town apothecary,
who bet Boyes a new hat that the pebble was nothing more than a topaz. Boyes
accepted the bet, put the stone into an unsealed envelope and posted it off the
colony’s principal mineralogist, Dr W Guybon Atherstone, at Grahamstown. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-GuybonAtherstone-Williams1902_zps226a3f60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-GuybonAtherstone-Williams1902_zps226a3f60.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr W Guybon Atherstone</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When
the post-boy delivered the letter, the stone fell out of the envelope and
rolled away, Atherstone picked it up, read the letter and examined the pebble.
Then he took up his pen and wrote this reply to Boyes. </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>I congratulate you
on the stone you have sent to me. It is a veritable diamond, weighs twenty-one
and a quarter carats, and is worth £5oo. It has spoiled all the jewellers'
files in Grahamstown, and where that came from there must be lots more. Can I
send it to Mr. Southey, Colonial Secretary?</i>” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">From there, the stone passed
into the possession of the Governor of the Cape, who paid the estimated value
put forward by Atherstone, and which was confirmed by M Henriette, the French
consul. The stone was then sent to the Paris Exhibition, where there was a
little interest in it, although it did not cause a sensation, as odd, isolated
discoveries of diamonds were nothing new. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-LorenzoBoyes-Williams1902_zpscd0d43cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-LorenzoBoyes-Williams1902_zpscd0d43cc.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lorenzo Boyes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In the meantime, Lorenzo Boyes
departed for Hopetown and van Niekerk’s farm, and spent a fortnight sorting
piles of pebbles but no further diamonds were found, although a good many Boers
popped rock-crystals into their pockets, in the vain hope that they might just
be lucky and have found another of the <i>blink klippe</i> (bright stones). Ten
months later, another diamond was found, thirty miles from Hopetown, at the
confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers, and Boyes was off again, but again
failed to find a companion stone. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Map-Draper_zps56d46de2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-Map-Draper_zps56d46de2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of South Africa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">During 1868, a few more small stones were
found, and then, in March 1869, a Griqua shepherdboy found a magnificent white
diamond, weighing 83.5 carats, for which van Niekerk gave him five hundred
sheep, ten oxen and a horse. The thrifty Boer returned to Hopetown and sold the
stone on to the Lilienfield Brothers for £11,200, who sent it to England, where
it was eventually sold to the Countess of Dudley for £25,000. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-StarofSouthAfrica_zpsc9613e78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Diamond-StarofSouthAfrica_zpsc9613e78.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star of South Africa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The rough diamond
was reduced to 46.5 carats when it was cut into a oval three-sided brilliant
shape, and it was mounted with 95 smaller brilliant-cut diamonds into a head
ornament; known as the Dudley Diamond, it is now better known as the Star of
South Africa. It was sold again, in 1974, for just over three quarters of a
million pounds (the equivalent of £1.75 million in today’s money). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Thus began
the systematic search for diamonds in South Africa, along the Vaal River, as
parties of organised prospectors sifted through the alluvial gravels.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-78320421842828006872013-05-22T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-22T20:00:00.303-07:00The Indignant Irritation of the Bitter Blogger<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Once upon a time, I used to teach Adult Literacy and
sometimes, just for the <i>craic</i> and the look on their poor faces, I would
announce to the students that the subject of the day’s session was going to be
Anthroponomastics. There would be blank looks, there would be looks of horror,
sometimes there would be looks of antagonism and very often there were looks of
consternation. I could almost see the words, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>What the hell is he going on
about now</i>?” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">forming in the very minds of the students. After all, these were
adults who, for whatever reasons, had not learned to read or write to a
functional level, and were in college to rectify that deficiency. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So, what was
that big word again, what does it mean and why do we need to learn it? My
students were not stupid, far from it, they had just been disadvantaged in the
past, and I saw no reason to treat them as gormless just because they could not
read or write. So I gave them the same session that I also gave as part of the
teacher-training course I taught to graduate tutors but just stripped out all
the technical language, apart from the title of the thing – <i>anthroponomastics. </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If any of you have a smattering of Greek, you may have already worked out that
it means <i>‘the study of the names of people’</i>, and we are all curious
about why our names are what they are. There are regional and cultural
differences about human naming systems but here in Western Europe we tend to
use one of four variants for our surnames. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The first of these is the patronymic
method; you are called after your father’s, or another male ancestor’s, name.
So if your father was called William, your surname would be Williamson or maybe
Wilson, or sometimes, using the archaic Norman prefix Fitz (cognate with <i>fils</i>
– son), Fitzwilliam. In Scots, the <i>Mac</i> or <i>M<sup>c</sup></i><sup> </sup>prefix
serves the same purpose – MacDonald is the son (or descendant) of Donald. In
Irish, it’s <i>O’</i> – O’Brien is the son (or grandson) of Brien. In Welsh,
it’s <i>ap</i> – ap Hywel (or Powell) is the son (etc) of Hywel. You can throw
in rough analogies to other languages – <i>ibn</i> serves for Arabic, <i>Bar-</i>
in Jewish, -<i>ovich</i> in Russian and <i>–escu</i> in Romanian, for instance.
(Sometimes, in some cultures, the reverse happens, where a parent becomes known
by the name(s) of their offspring – this is called <i>teknonymy</i>).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The second method of naming is by occupation. The
family name derives from the job an ancestor once did, or what you do now –
hence Baker, Gardener, Archer. Some of these occupational names are
historically interesting – a Cooper was a barrel-maker, a Wright was any maker
of things, so Wheelwright made wheels, Cartwright made carts and wagons. A
Fletcher was a person who fletched, that is put the feathers (or fletchings) on
arrows. An Arrowsmith made the arrows. The simple suffix ‘<i>s</i>’ made a
possessive – hence Roberts was someone who ‘belonged’ to a master called
Robert, Williams was the servant (or slave) of William.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The third method comes from the attribute(s) of a
person. It is almost a type of nickname (which comes from <i>an eke-name</i>,
where <i>eke</i> is Old English for <i>also</i>, and where a morpheme
misdivision has been applied – what’s called metanalysis), and is used to
describe a person. This takes such common forms as Long or Longfellow (for a
tall man), Redhead, Armstrong or Small. It’s distinctive way of avoiding
confusion – John Long and John Little are unlikely to be mistaken for each
other.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The final method is based on places. It may be where
you were born, or where you now live. It can be the actual name of the place,
or it may be a description of a place, and it may be very precise or it may be
quite general. My own name – Hartley – takes this form (<i>the clearing where
deer are found</i>), as do such names as Bridges, Green, Park or Sands.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This method of engaging students works very well
(which is why it was in the teacher-training course, as an example of how to
get students interested), as it applies to everyone, quite simply because we
all have a name, and that name means something. Examples of each sort of the
four methods can be found within the class itself. It involves thinking which
is not reliant on the ability to read or write, but can be drawn from life
experience – you don’t need to have to be able to read to work out that Smith
is a worker who makes things, nor to provide examples of various <i>–smiths</i>
(Blacksmith, Silversmith, Gunsmith etc). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It introduces the idea that words can
be built up from smaller elements, and that by learning these smaller elements
you can then use them to build longer words (all that stuff about syllables,
morphemes, suffixes, prefixes and so on), and that words themselves have
histories and meanings (etymology etc). In a follow up class, I would do the
same again but with place names (<i>toponomastics</i>), and pull apart familiar
place names into their elements, showing how history plays such an important
part in our current lives – the preponderance of Nordic elements in Northern
toponyms was a springboard for a discussion on the Viking invasions, for
instance. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A favourite exercise was to see if, as a class, we could come up with
an example of every alphabetical instance of the <i>–ton</i> suffix in English
place names, from Accrington and Bolton onwards (you have to cheat – Euxton,
near Chorley, is a good cheat for ‘<i>x</i>’ and you have to pass on <i>‘j’</i>
and <i>‘z’</i>, but this is also a good starting point for another discussion
of the history and development of the English language). I’ve observed other
tutors using this approach in literacy classes and I never saw a bad session
when it was done properly, with plenty of preparation.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve also been unfortunate enough to witness
exceptionally proficient literacy tutors deliberately driven out of the
profession for adopting such a similar student-centred, multi-disciplinary
approach to andragogy, simply because those sympathies did not happen to fit
neither into the empire-building enterprises of certain ambitious individuals
nor in the self-interested fiscal considerations of other ‘acknowledged
experts’ in the highly lucrative business of private sector consultancies, but
then again that’s an all together different kettle of fish. However, there are
those who know the price of everything and the value of nothing and,
unfortunately, they will always be amongst us.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Personal rant – It’s been one of those days. Normal
service will be resumed soon. Thank you. (And sorry for the lack of pictures).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-28782606500906257672013-05-21T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-21T20:00:05.390-07:00The Ceramic Copy of the Vitreous Vase<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> One of the greatest works of antiquity that has
survived into modern times is the Portland Vase. Known for many years as the
Barberini Vase, it was discovered in the sepulchre of Emperor Alexander Severus
and his mother, Julia Mammæa, who were assassinated in 235, in a mound known as
Monte del Grano, about three miles outside Rome, on the road to Frascati. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 352px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 314px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland3-MontedelGrano-Bartoli-1697_zps022d279d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland3-MontedelGrano-Bartoli-1697_zps022d279d.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tomb of Severus - Pietro Bartoli - <i>Gli Antichi Sepolcri </i>- 1697</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
vase passed into the ownership of the Barberini family and was kept for over
two centuries in their library, until it was sold in 1770 to a Scots art
dealer, James Byres (it is rumoured that Donna Cornelia Barberini-Colonna
needed funds to cover her gambling debts), and although the Pope forbade its
removal from Rome, the small size of the vase meant it was possible to smuggle
it out. It was then bought for one thousand pounds, by Sir William Hamilton,
who brought it to England in 1784, and soon after sold it to the Dowager
Duchess of Portland. She died the following year and in 1786, the contents of
her museum were sold at auction, and her son, the 3<sup>rd</sup> Duke, paid
£1,029 for it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland2-BotanicGarden-Darwin1807_zpsaa26b479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland2-BotanicGarden-Darwin1807_zpsaa26b479.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portland Vase</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At the auction, Josiah Wedgwood had determined to buy the vase
and bid £1,000, when the young Duke, seeing that he and Wedgwood were the only
two remaining bidders, crossed the auction room and asked him why he wanted to
buy the vase. When Wedgwood told him that he wanted to copy it, the Duke told
him that if he would stop bidding, he would buy the vase and lend it to him for
as long as he needed time to copy it. Wedgwood then busied himself examining
the vase, working out how best to reproduce it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland9-LifeMeteyardv1_zpsaf335a2d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland9-LifeMeteyardv1_zpsaf335a2d.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josiah Wedgwood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Portland Vase stands 9¾ inches tall, 7¼ inches at its widest point and is
23 inches in circumference.</span></span>Some Italian antiquaries had
thought that it was made from semi-precious stone, with opinions varying
between agate, chalcedony, sardonyx or amethyst, but Wedgwood soon discovered
that it was made from glass. It looked black, but when held up to a strong
light, it was seen to be a very dark blue, and the figures had not been applied
later but the dark glass had been dipped, when red hot, into opaque white glass
and the result shaped into form. When the glass cooled, the surplus white glass
was ground back by a gem-cutter, using the same technique as a cameo cutter, a
piece of work that probably took a skilled artist several years to complete. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland4-BotanicGarden-Darwin1807_zps95b7975c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland4-BotanicGarden-Darwin1807_zps95b7975c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The First Compartment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The enormity of the task soon dawned on Wedgwood,
as he realised that to reproduce the vase using modern techniques and craftsmen
would cost more than £5,000. After consulting many experts on the matter, he
resolved to make ceramic copies and spent the next three years working on
mixing the right colours for the ground and modelling the figures that were to
be applied to the vase, and several of the test pieces still survive. He had
great problems in firing the correct colour, with cracking and blistering of
the ground, and the bas-relief figures lifting, being amongst his problems. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland5-BotanicGarden-Darwin1807_zpsa7199992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland5-BotanicGarden-Darwin1807_zpsa7199992.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Second Compartment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Aided by his chief artist and modeller, Henry Webber, and master potters
William Hackwood, William Wood and others, Wedgwood and his sons tried a
variety of bodies, colours and finishes, and spent £500 on making the mould
until, in late 1789, the first perfect copy was achieved (which was sent to Dr
Erasmus Darwin). In April 1791, another copy was sent to London, where it was
shown to Queen Charlotte and placed in the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries,
where Sir Joshua Reynolds, president of the Royal Academy, certified its
similitude to the original. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland6-BotanicGarden-Darwin1807_zps9c0943f9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland6-BotanicGarden-Darwin1807_zps9c0943f9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Handles and the Bottom of the Vase</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It was then taken to Greek Street and put on public
display, with admission limited with only 1,900 tickets printed, and the copy
was then taken as the centrepiece of an exhibition tour of Europe by Josiah
Wedgwood the younger. A subscription was opened in 1789, and twenty subscribers
placed their names on the list, but this number grew over time, although
Wedgwood had more problems in producing copies of good enough quality to sell.
The total number of the first edition is unknown, although it is thought to be
less than fifty, (Eliza Meteyard, in her <i>Wedgwood Handbook</i> of 1875,
lists twenty but admits that others had been lost in fires and by accident),
and the price varied between £30 and £50, depending on quality. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland8-Burton1922_zps36d54c40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland8-Burton1922_zps36d54c40.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wedgwood's Copy of the Portland Vase</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Inevitably,
there were also copies, which vary in size and quality, the majority being
coarse and the worst being simply grotesque. In 1810, the 4<sup>th</sup> Duke
of Portland placed the original vase to the British Museum, where it was on
public display, and where, in 1845, a man going by the name of William Lloyd
threw a nearby sculpture onto the top of the glass case holding the vase. The
vase was broken into pieces and Lloyd arrested and charged with wilful damage,
but due to a error in the wording of the law, which limited damage to articles
worth less than five pounds, he was found guilty of damaging the glass
exhibition case. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland7-withdamage_zps979ccfed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland7-withdamage_zps979ccfed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portland Vase</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He was given the option of a three-pound fine or an eight-week
prison sentence, but was freed when an anonymous benefactor paid the fine by
post. It seems that William Lloyd was a pseudonym, and the perpetrator was
William Mulcahy, a student of Trinity College, Dublin, who had spent the
previous week drinking. A restored Portland Vase was put back on show, and has
since been restored twice more, and was bought for the nation in 1945.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 352px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 264px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland1-PennyMagazinesept291832_zps2880724d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Portland1-PennyMagazinesept291832_zps2880724d.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Portland Vase in the<a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-educational-enterprises-of.html" target="_blank"> Penny Magazine </a>September 29 1832</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-58570950367657724602013-05-20T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-20T20:00:00.965-07:00The Etymological Errata of the Phonological Pronunciations<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> The transformation of <i>asparagus</i> into <i>sparrow-grass</i>,
as mentioned <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-horticultural-history-of-super.html" target="_blank">yesterday</a>, is understandable and this has led me to think about
other words that have altered over time, often disguising their origins. Take,
for example, the name of one of our commonest flowers – the <i>dandelion</i>. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Dandelion-Salmon-1710_zps9005584f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Dandelion-Salmon-1710_zps9005584f.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dandelion</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It would be perfectly understandable to assume that this name is a compound of <i>dandy</i>
and <i>lion</i>, with <i>dandy</i> denoting something showy or fancy (as in <i>Yankee
Doodle Dandy</i>), and <i>lion </i>relating to the big cat – hence a bright,
showy flower with a fine leonine mane of petals. Except it isn’t. The name
actually derives from the shape of the leaves, which have tooth-like
indentations along their edge, called in French <i>dent de lion</i> (<i>Lion’s
tooth</i>), and in mediaeval Latin <i>dens lionis. </i>In fact, in England, the
plant was once called <i>piss-a-bed</i>, a reference to the diuretic property
of the plant. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Dandelion_zpsa3b84496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Dandelion_zpsa3b84496.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dandelion</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Turning to another plant, the artichoke, this name comes through
the Italian <i>articoccio</i>, the French <i>artichault</i> and Spanish <i>alcachofa,
</i>all from the Arabic <i>harsaf, harziaf</i> and <i>harsciaf</i>. When folk
etymology gets to work, there are derivations invented that link the word to <i>arci</i>
– <i>arch</i> (great), and <i>cloffo</i> – <i>horse-collar, </i>other place the
word in <i>hearty</i> and <i>choke, </i>either something that <i>chokes</i> the
<i>heart</i> or sticks in the throat; or something with a <i>choke</i>, or a <i>chock</i>,
at its <i>heart</i>. Other theories turn to the French, with <i>haut</i> – <i>high,
great</i>, and <i>chaud</i> – <i>heat, warm</i>, or even changing the <i>chau</i>
to <i>chou</i> – <i>cabbage</i>. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Artichoke_zpsba66221d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Artichoke_zpsba66221d.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artichoke</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Romans ate artichokes (it’s just that we
don’t know which bits of them), and called them carduus, a cover-all word for
thistles, and from which we get the word <i>cardoon</i>, the modern word for
the wild or uncultivated artichoke. Sharing a name, and distantly related, is
the Jerusalem artichoke, which you might be forgiven for thinking comes from
the Holy Land. Nope. Afraid not. The name is a corruption on the Italian name
of the plant – <i>girasole</i> artichoke – <i>gira al sole</i> meaning <i>sun-flower</i>,
and with the usual English gift for garbling foreign languages this became <i>Jerusalem</i>. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-JerusalemArtichoke_zps6bfc874a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-JerusalemArtichoke_zps6bfc874a.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerusalem Artichokes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There is a story that, when the Crystal Palace was being built, a large number
of sparrows became trapped inside, roosting in the trees and beams, and
threatening to besmirch the visitors with their copious droppings. Various
solutions were attempted to rid the Great Exhibition space of the unwanted
visitors, all to no avail, until things got so bad that there was only one
alternative – consult the Duke of Wellington. Old Nosey turned up, took one
look, and provided the answer – </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Try sparrow-hawks</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So, sparrow-hawks,
hawks that hunt sparrows, right? Wrong. It comes from <i>spar-hawk</i>, <i>spar</i>
is an old word for <i>rock</i> (as in feldspar or fluorspar), and the bird is a
<i>rock-hawk</i> (another name for the pigeon is <i>rock-dove</i>). </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Thrush-Sparrowhawkv1_zps5f2ae7ef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Thrush-Sparrowhawkv1_zps5f2ae7ef.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sparrow-Hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Staying
with birds, we talk about larks and larking around, meaning fun and fooling
about, it’s common enough in Dickens, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">‘<i>We should be as gay as larks</i>’ </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">says Mr Brass, in <i>The Old Curiosity Shop</i>. It makes sense, we are as
carefree as the merry bird of dawn, singing and gambolling with no thought of
tomorrow. But <i>lark</i> is a corruption of <i>laik</i>, a common enough word
in northern English dialects<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I use it
myself frequently), which comes from Old English <i>lāk</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the Anglo Saxon <i>lác, </i>meaning to
sport, to play or simply to mess about. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Skylark-Lilfordv4_zpsac33e78c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Skylark-Lilfordv4_zpsac33e78c.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lark</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I hope you are never troubled with <i>thrush</i>,
the fungal infection <i>oral candidiasis</i>, but can there possibly be a link
to the bird? Yes, there is – <i>thrush</i>, the bird, takes its name from <i>throstle,
</i>a name still used in northern England, from Anglo Saxon <i>þrosle</i>; the
disease takes its name from <i>þrot-swyle</i> – <i>throat swelling, </i>with an
old name for the wind-pipe being <i>þrot-bolla</i>, <i>throte-bolle, </i>which
we find in Chaucer, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>And by the throte-bolle he caught Alein</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Thrush-Lilfordv3_zpsb9b5edfc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Thrush-Lilfordv3_zpsb9b5edfc.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thrush</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">To return
to foodstuffs, you may be familiar with the term <i>forcemeat</i>, which is
used to make pates, quenelles, sausages, roulades and galantines. So, does the
name come from the action of <i>forcing</i> the meat into a skin or a mould, or
does it come from the <i>forcing</i>, or concentrating, of flavour in the meat?
Well, it’s neither. Originally, the word was <i>farced-meat</i>, from the
French <i>farcer</i>, to chop or mince. And by the by, the name of <i>hash</i>,
as in corned beef hash, does not come from hash, as in to make a hash of
something, a mess or lumping together, but again from the French <i>hacher</i>,
to chop or mince. <i> </i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Mincedmeat_zps99a5dc0e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-Mincedmeat_zps99a5dc0e.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minced Meat</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Apple-pie order</i>, meaning the opposite of a hash and
referring to something that is perfect and proper, has nothing to do with food
and derives from the French too, <i>cap-à-pie</i> is a term applied to a
soldier fully caparisoned from head to foot; the schoolboy prank of the <i>apple-pie
bed</i>, were the sheets are rearranged to bring the top and the bottom closer
together, also comes from the head to toe idea. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-ApplePie_zps237d3c66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-ApplePie_zps237d3c66.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple Pie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Speaking of tops and bottoms
brings me to the <i>bitter end</i> – not as you’d think referring to the dregs
of something, the sour remains that have been left over, the part that might
leave a bitter taste in the mouth. The bitts (or bits) are spars to the fore of
a sailing ship, around which bights, chains or cables are secured, and when
these ropes are played out (as when an anchor is lowered), the part that
remains aboard the vessel is the <i>bitter’s end</i>, changed in time to the <i>bitter
end</i>, the end of a rope where no more remains to be played out.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-BitterEnd_zps8f39a203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Etymology-BitterEnd_zps8f39a203.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing it out to the bitter end</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-74689699756851032322013-05-19T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-19T20:00:02.818-07:00The Horticultural History of the Super Sparrow-Grass<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> The great French writer, philosopher and gourmand
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle and the Abbé Jean Terrasson were close friends
but they differed on one account; Fontenelle insisted that his asparagus be
served with an oil dressing whereas Terrasson preferred his served with butter.
One day, the Abbé called on his friend, who had just received a large basket of
his favourite vegetable and, in deference to his guest’s tastes, Fontenelle
instructed his cook to divide the basket into two halves and prepare one half
with oil and the other with butter. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus13-Fontenelle_zps85e7f059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus13-Fontenelle_zps85e7f059.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bernard de Fontenelle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The friends sat down to chat until it was
time for supper and, after about half an hour, as the Abbé was passing a
pleasantry, he fell into a fit and died. With admirable presence of mind, and
before calling for a physician, Fontenelle dashed to his kitchen door and
shouted to his cook, <i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“Tout à l’huile, maintenant; tout à l’huile” </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“All with
oil, now; all with oil.” </i> </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus10-Hexamer1901_zps4126b768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus10-Hexamer1901_zps4126b768.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asparagus Bundle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, that said, I must say that I am in concert
with the good Abbé on this matter. I prefer my asparagus with butter, (a good,
farmhouse whey-cream butter, if possible), and with a pinch of sea salt flakes and no
more. There are those, like Fontenelle, who advocate a virgin olive oil, and
good luck to them, and some will opt for a hollandaise sauce, mayonnaise and/or
a sprinkling of Parmesan, but I am not amongst them. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 312px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus1-Punch-After-Dinner-1910_zps9be0463e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus1-Punch-After-Dinner-1910_zps9be0463e.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wull, gen'elmen, I dunno wot be the c'rect way o' servin' these 'ere, but I gen'elly eats just the ends of 'em myself!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Asparagus is one of those
things that divides opinion and everyone believes that that their own method is
the only correct way. Hold each stalk separately between your thumbs and
forefingers, and gently flex it. It will snap at just the right place, dividing
the fleshy tip from the woody stem. Then steam the tips over boiling, salted
water for seven minutes, serve on a warm plate with butter and salt. Eat them
with your fingers. And that’s it. Life is already complicated enough. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus12-Hexamer1901_zps523d5c05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus12-Hexamer1901_zps523d5c05.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conover's Asparagus Buncher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There are
some who say bind the stalks into bundles and place in boiling water, with the
tips above the level of the water. There are some who use strange devices, made
from silver or ceramic, to hold the stalks as they cook. Some will tell you to
serve the cooked stalks on a clean linen napkin, so as to soak up any surplus
moisture. Other will say that the stalks should be served on cold, dry toast,
also to soak up moisture – and you should no more eat the toast than you would
eat the napkin. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus4-Punch-PicturesofLife21886_zps5b14b8d4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus4-Punch-PicturesofLife21886_zps5b14b8d4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too Much of a Good Thing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The woodier parts of the stalks can be used to make a soup,
with chicken stock, fresh herbs and single cream. Never, ever, under any
circumstances, eat tinned asparagus. You would never wear a pre-tied bow tie
(Would you? I hope not), so why would you even consider eating asparagus from a
tin? You may, on occasion, and only in the company of close friends or blood
relatives, serve boiled asparagus tips with fresh <i>petit pois</i>, straight
from the pod and cooked with the tips, with two or three fresh mint leaves
added to the pan. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus14_zps50dc637a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus14_zps50dc637a.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asparagus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Just as cooking and serving preferences differ, so do
etymological thoughts. One school says that the word ‘<i>asparagus</i>’ derives
from the Turkish <i>koosh konmaz</i> (what the sparrow [small bird] alights not
on), with links to <i>‘asfoor</i> – Arabic for ‘<i>bird</i>’. There are others
who prefer the Greek, ‘<i>a</i>’ – meaning ‘<i>not</i>’ and ‘<i>sparagos</i>’ –
‘<i>to tear into pieces</i>’ άσφάραγος – referring to a thorny plant that
resists being handled. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 400px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 317px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus2-Punch-PicturesofLife1886_zpsd8a8f426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus2-Punch-PicturesofLife1886_zpsd8a8f426.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Now don't, My Good man - Pray don't! - I know what you are going to say. You are going to say, 'Ya! - Ha! - Sparrer-Grass.' Do allow me to persuade you to call it asparagus - and here is a sixpence for you.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Those favouring the Latin cite <i>sparagus</i> and <i>sparagi</i>,
and in early English texts it occurs as <i>sperage, </i>but over the years a
false folk etymology grew up that the name derives from ‘<i>sparrow-grass</i>’.
Certainly, in popular usage, sparrow-grass came to be the most widely used
term, so much so that Walker, in his <i>Pronouncing Dictionary</i> (1791)
states, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Sparrow-grass is so general that asparagus has an air of stiffness
and pedantry</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Samuel Pepys, in his <i>Diary</i>, (April 20<sup>th</sup>
1667) writes that he <i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>‘… brought home with me from Fenchurch Street one
hundred of sparrowgrass, cost 18d</i>.’ </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus15-Southey_zps50f07b3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus15-Southey_zps50f07b3a.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert Southey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In a letter to Coleridge dated July 23<sup>rd</sup>
1801, Robert Southey has, <i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“… sparagrass (it ought to be spelled so) and
artichokes, good with plain butter, and wholesome</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">During the nineteenth
century, the correct name grew again in literary and polite usage and
sparrow-grass began to be seen as an illiteracy. In modern French it is <i>asperge</i>;
German, <i>spargel</i>; Dutch, <i>aspergie</i>; Spanish, <i>esperrago</i>.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus11-Hexamer1901_zpsf60cc923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus11-Hexamer1901_zpsf60cc923.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asparagus Harvesting Knives</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pliny the Elder, in his <i>Natural History </i>(Book XIX), differentiates
between varieties of asparagus, claiming that the finest grew at Ravenna, and
that three stalks from there weighed one pound; he also says that the roots of
asparagus can be used to make wine. The Roman method of preparing asparagus was
to dry it and, when required, to quickly boil the dried shoots in water – the
Emperor Augustus had a favourite saying for when he wanted something done
quickly, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Citius quam asparagi coquentur,” </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“Do it quicker than you can cook
asparagus</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus7-Salmon1710_zps8ac323e5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus7-Salmon1710_zps8ac323e5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asparagus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The old herbals give asparagus as a remedy for toothache, with
the first mention of <i>sparagi</i> occurring in an Anglo-Saxon text on
Leechdom dating from about 1000. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 178px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus9-Hexamer1901_zps31d5a0ae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus9-Hexamer1901_zps31d5a0ae.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asparagus - said by some to be an aphrodisiac!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">William Turner’s <i>The Names of Herbes</i>
(1548) differentiates between two types of asparagus, a common kind that is
grown in English gardens and a prickly type, which is found in the Italian
mountains. In 1555, Joannes Boemus wrote about the plants grown by the <i>‘Moors</i>’
of North Africa, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Their haue Cannes like vnto those of India, whiche may
contein in the compasse of the knot, or iointe, the measure of ij. bushelles.
Ther be sene also Sparagi, of no lesse notable bigguenesse.</i>” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Fardle of
Facions. </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 269px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 319px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus5-Punch-v1601921_zpsd50a4507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus5-Punch-v1601921_zpsd50a4507.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Well, What do you think of the dining-room, my dear?" "Why, Horace, there's hardly room to swing an asparagus stalk</i>."</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Enjoy your asparagus while you may – the season ends, traditionally,
on Midusmmer’s Day.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus8-Green1824_zps0299702a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Asparagus8-Green1824_zps0299702a.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asparagus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh, and it is said to be a great hangover cure (not that
I’d know about that…). </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-56466516064224141702013-05-18T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-18T20:00:03.495-07:00The Engrossing Engravings of the Wonderful Woodcutter<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> The final member of my triumvirate of seminal
English ornithologists is Thomas Bewick, a figure far removed from the
gentility enjoyed by <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-wilderness-wanderings-of-singular.html" target="_blank">Waterton</a> and <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-tranquil-tome-of-cultivated.html" target="_blank">White</a>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick31-Dobson1884_zpsceec8b18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick31-Dobson1884_zpsceec8b18.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Bewick was born in 1753, at Cherryburn
House, Mickley, Northumberland, the son of a tenant farmer, and was sent to the
village school but after repeated beatings by the schoolmaster, he became a
determined truant and instead spent his days in the countryside, observing
nature. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick1-Cherryburn-Mem51885_zps2098c452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick1-Cherryburn-Mem51885_zps2098c452.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherryburn House, Mickley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">His great love was drawing, and he covered every surface available to
him (including gravestones and the floor of the church porch) with chalk
drawings of birds, animals and hunting scenes. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick20-Vignette-HBB-1797_zpsb1cfc062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick20-Vignette-HBB-1797_zpsb1cfc062.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - <i>Vignette</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When given paper, watercolours
and paintbrushes, he sold his early works his rural neighbours, and he became
known locally as quite the little artist. Unsurprisingly then, at fourteen, he
was apprenticed to a copperplate engraver, Ralph Beilby of Newcastle, and one
of his earliest jobs was to provide illustrations for Charles Hutton’s book <i>Mensuration</i> (1770), for which Beilby recommended engravings on wood. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick4-SelectFables-1871_zps3cc9d874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick4-SelectFables-1871_zps3cc9d874.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bewick's illustration from Hutton's <i>Mensuration</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There are
many advantages in this method, not least that text and illustrations can be
printed at the same time, as the wood block engravings can be fixed into the
same frame, at the same level, as the letters. A wood engraving differs from a
wood cut in that it is cut into the end grain of a block of wood, rather than
across the grain of a piece of wood. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick11-SirBevisofHampton1690-Dobson1884_zpsf7590f1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick11-SirBevisofHampton1690-Dobson1884_zpsf7590f1a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of a Woodcut - St Bevis of Hampton c. 1690</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Bewick used box wood, which is both very
hard and very close grained, and he used metal engravers’ tools, allowing him
to achieve a very high level of detail in his illustrations. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick1-Bewick-Boyd1886_zpscee9c565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick1-Bewick-Boyd1886_zpscee9c565.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Wood engravings
are relief prints, the areas to be printed in black are left on the surface of
the block with the white areas cut away, into the grain of the wood (in a metal
engraving, the black areas and lines are cut into the metal and these grooves
are filled with ink, with the surplus ink scraped and rubbed away from the
surface, and the print is made at a much greater pressure than a relief
engraving. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick13-Hedgehog-HoQ-1800_zpsda5da08f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick13-Hedgehog-HoQ-1800_zpsda5da08f.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - Hedgehog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The <i>intaglio</i> printing method wears away the printing plate much
faster than a relief print, quickly loosing detail – a wood block, however,
will last for many hundreds of thousands of impressions, (a capital letter
block cut by Bewick for a Newcastle newspaper was used over two million times). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 212px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick7-Eagle-Willughby1678_zps49208973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick7-Eagle-Willughby1678_zps49208973.jpg" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copperplate Engraving of Eagle from Francis Willughby - <i>Ornithology</i> - 1678</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Beilby encouraged Bewick’s talent and he was keen to learn, quickly becoming a
master wood engraver; his habit of constantly drawing as a boy had given him a
mastery of line that was perfectly suited to the medium. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 301px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick8-Eagle-MemEd1-1885_zpsf9bcb570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick8-Eagle-MemEd1-1885_zpsf9bcb570.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood Engraving of Eagle from Thomas Bewick - <i>History of British Birds </i>- 1797</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He provided
illustrations for a great many ‘moral’ tales, little books intended to instil
the better sentiments into children, as well as letterheads, billheads,
commercial illustrations and advertisements. After completing his
apprenticeship, Bewick moved to London for a short time, but he did not enjoy
life in the capital and moved back to Newcastle, where he went into partnership
with his former master, and took his brother John on as an apprentice. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 241px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 372px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick12-1stSailor-SelectFables-1871_zps175d1ea2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick12-1stSailor-SelectFables-1871_zps175d1ea2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - Early example of the <i>Praying Sailor</i> (see later example below)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Thomas
Bewick first came to public attention with an illustration called <i>The Old
Hound</i>, which won a seven-guinea premium from The Society for the
Encouragement of the Arts, and his engravings for Gay’s <i>Fables</i> and a
small volume of Aesop’s <i>Select</i> <i>Fables</i>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick9-TheOldHound-MemEd4-1885_zpsb74d1ab0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick9-TheOldHound-MemEd4-1885_zpsb74d1ab0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - <i>The Old Hound</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He proposed, and
circulated a prospectus, for a work which would be issued as <i>A History of
Quadrupeds</i> (1790), and whilst this prospectus was circulating, Bewick was
invited to visit Marmaduke Tunstall, of Wycliffe, a prominent naturalist of the
day, famed for his museum. Bewick was commissioned to produce a large engraving
(the largest he ever made, at 5½ inches by 7¾ inches), of the rare wild cattle
at Chillingham Park, an isolated population of ancient undomesticated cattle
that is claimed to have its ancestry in the earliest indigenous oxen of
Britain. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick3-ChillinghamBull-Boyd1886_zps92aa8501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick3-ChillinghamBull-Boyd1886_zps92aa8501.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - <i>The Chillingham Bull</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Bewick’s masterpiece is a triumph of the wood engraver’s art, and only
six of the original prints are known to exist. The block was inadvertently left
in direct sunlight and it split, although it was later clamped into a gun-metal
frame and a limited number of prints were pulled from the block. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick14-SpanishPointer-HoQ-1800_zps33a020fa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick14-SpanishPointer-HoQ-1800_zps33a020fa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - <i>Spanish Pointer - A History of Quadrupeds</i> - 1790</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The <i>Quadrupeds</i>
was an immediate, popular success but it was eclipsed by the wonderful <i>History
of British Birds</i> (2 vols, <i>Land Birds</i> 1797, <i>Water Birds</i> 1804),
which is the work inextricably to Bewick’s name. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 216px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick16-Title-HBB-1797_zps97868fd4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick16-Title-HBB-1797_zps97868fd4.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - <i>History of British Birds</i> - 1797</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Wherever possible, Bewick drew
from life or from prepared skins, notably spending a great deal of time with
Tunstall at Wycliffe. The keen observations make the work, and although
criticism has been raised that Bewick was no scientist, I’d argue that a
scientist could not have produced a better book. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick22-Kingfisher-HBB-1797_zps99319b18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick22-Kingfisher-HBB-1797_zps99319b18.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - <i>Kingfisher - History of British Birds</i> - 1797</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Bewick studied what
ornithological literature was available to him but leavened his text with
personal observations and a lifetime’s experience in the field. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick19-Magpie-HBB-1797_zps0c2c6847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick19-Magpie-HBB-1797_zps0c2c6847.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - <i>Magpie - History of British Birds</i> - 1797</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The birds are
grouped into families, with each species illustrated with a meticulous wood
engraving, the common, alternative and Latin names, a physical description,
notes on the habits and distribution. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick21-Pheasant-HBB-1797_zpse77a8656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick21-Pheasant-HBB-1797_zpse77a8656.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - <i>Pheasant - History of British Birds</i> - 1797</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Of equal interest, and of greater charm,
are the vignettes that Bewick adds to the end of some entries. These depict
tiny fragments of rural life, often humorous, sometimes tragic, always
interesting; we see hunting, shooting and fishing, ships, suicides and scares,
birth, life and death. Here’s a selection for you to enjoy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick30-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps3df4db85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick30-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps3df4db85.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Bewick - Later Example of <i>Praying Sailor</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick26-Vignette-HBB-1804_zpsaa773467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick26-Vignette-HBB-1804_zpsaa773467.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loading Ships</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick29-Vignette-HBB-1804_zpsc93a8d2d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick29-Vignette-HBB-1804_zpsc93a8d2d.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack o'Lantern</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick28-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps8606d5bb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick28-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps8606d5bb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey in the Kitchen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick25-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps2e0d2916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick25-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps2e0d2916.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Runaway Bull</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick24-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps19d33932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick24-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps19d33932.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing a River on Stilts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick17-Vignette-HBB-1797_zps75267ad0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick17-Vignette-HBB-1797_zps75267ad0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Stone Breaker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick15-Vignette-HBB-1797_zps083437e3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick15-Vignette-HBB-1797_zps083437e3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>'Keep on this Side'</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick18-Vignette-HBB-1797_zps965f1d01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick18-Vignette-HBB-1797_zps965f1d01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peeing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick27-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps9822456b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick27-Vignette-HBB-1804_zps9822456b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pooing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick23-Vignette-HBB-1797_zps6f92086b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick23-Vignette-HBB-1797_zps6f92086b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanged Man</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick6-Devil-MemEd4-1885_zpse57f5bd4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick6-Devil-MemEd4-1885_zpse57f5bd4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Devil Swinging on a Gibbet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick10-Finis-MemEd4-1885_zpscf18c899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Bewick10-Finis-MemEd4-1885_zpscf18c899.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>FINIS</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-63385775126364669672013-05-17T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-17T20:00:02.015-07:00The Tranquil Tome of the Cultivated Clergyman<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Another English naturalist, of an entirely different
sort to <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-wilderness-wanderings-of-singular.html" target="_blank">Charles Waterton</a>, was the Reverend Gilbert White, author of just one
book that has remained in print, through over 300 editions, since it was first
published in 1789 (it is said to be the fourth most-published book in English,
after the <i>Bible</i>, the works of Shakespeare and Bunyan’s <i>The Pilgrim’s
Progress</i>, although this claim is questionable). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Selbourne3-NHoS-v1-1901_zpsde3f716a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Selbourne3-NHoS-v1-1901_zpsde3f716a.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilbert White</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">White was born in Selborne,
Hampshire, in 1720, raised in Selborne, lived there, worked there, died there and
was buried there. His father, John, was the vicar of Selborne, (as had been his
father), and after attending Oxford University, Gilbert was ordained in 1749,
and held various curacies in Hampshire and Wiltshire, including that of
Selborne on four occasions. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Selborne-11-LifeandLettersv1-1900_zpsf603921e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Selborne-11-LifeandLettersv1-1900_zpsf603921e.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selborne Parish Church</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He lived the life of the archetypical English
country parson, untroubled by change or incident, with his time divided between
his pastoral duties, quiet country walks, tending to his garden and letter-writing. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Lane14-NHoS-v1-1900_zpse60c5a0d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Lane14-NHoS-v1-1900_zpse60c5a0d.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Hanging Lane</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In White’s day, Selborne was an isolated backwater, reached only by rough
country tracks or the fearsome ‘<i>hanging lanes</i>’, cut-off by snows in
winter and floods in bad weather, and a place that bears little relation to
modern Selborne, which even now can hardly be described as a sizzling urban hub. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 352px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 259px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Selbourne2-1789_zps836babd8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Selbourne2-1789_zps836babd8.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilbert White - <i>The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne</i> - 1738</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">White’s book, <i>The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne</i>, is
written as a series of letters to his friends, Thomas Pennant and Daines
Barrington, with a phenological Garden Kalendar and a series of Observations in
Various Branches of Natural History. It is the letters that are best
remembered, particularly those regarding natural history (the letters on the
antiquities of Selborne parish, although interesting in themselves, are either
included as a second volume or totally omitted – similarly, the Kalendar has
value but is hardly riveting reading). </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Barrington6-NHoS-v2-1900_zps9b05984e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Barrington6-NHoS-v2-1900_zps9b05984e.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daines Barrington</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The epistolary nature of the form
employed by White lends itself well to a series of observations made over a
period of time and allows him to return to his subjects time and again, but it
is a literary conceit and many of the letters were not actually sent to their
supposed recipients. White’s method was revolutionary, as he was writing about
direct observations of the birds and their habits that he described, rather
than merely repeating what others had thought (quite often with no observation
taking place at all). </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Kalendar13-NHoS-v1-1900_zpsca927f08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Kalendar13-NHoS-v1-1900_zpsca927f08.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White's <i>Garden Kalendar </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This had grown out of White’s Garden Kalendar, which he
began in 1751, recording the various jobs he carried out on a daily basis,
listing the seeds he planted and with notes on the weather. From 1766, he
expanded this into what he called his </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">‘<i>Flora Selborniensis - with some
coincidences of the coming and departure of birds of passage and insects; and
the appearing of Reptiles for the year 1766.</i>’ </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This was the germ from which
the <i>Natural History</i> grew, as the following year White began his
correspondence with Thomas Pennant, in a letter dated August 10<sup>th</sup>
1767, although the letter was re-dated to August 4<sup>th</sup> in the Natural
History, appearing as Letter X, with the preceding nine, which describe the
location of Selborne and its geography, statistics about the numbers of its
inhabitants and their baptisms and burials, what agriculture was carried on in
the parish, the climate and weather conditions and other scene setting
information, specially written in letter form for the purpose of the book. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Map15-NHoS-v1-1900_zpsae457e09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Map15-NHoS-v1-1900_zpsae457e09.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the Parish of Selborne</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
letters themselves, whether written for the book or actually sent, are
fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in British natural history, as
records of what White was seeing at the various times of the year, or as an
historical document from which we can see changes in the species he saw, their
comings and goings, and his speculations on their behaviours. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Pennant_zps3d011ef5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Pennant_zps3d011ef5.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Pennant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It is all as
gentle as you would expect from an English divine in his comfortable rural
parish, but that is not to say that it is boring; White’s faculty with the
language sees to that. Instead, it is light and conversational, as the author
shares his finds and his thoughts, almost conspiratorially, with an utterly
infectious enthusiasm that is childlike with being childish. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Sundial-10-LifeandLettersv1-1900_zpsa1575416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Sundial-10-LifeandLettersv1-1900_zpsa1575416.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilbert White and his Sundial</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He reveals his
treasures carefully, allowing you to share his joy and wonder in the beauties
of nature, he gives you tiny insights into his wisdom, he takes you into his
world and brings forth its secrets. He is charming, witty, sophisticated and
very, very engrossing. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Selbourne1-Garden-1_zps6d7ff7a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-Selbourne1-Garden-1_zps6d7ff7a2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White's Garden, Selborne</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But do not be fooled into thinking that it is an Olde
English idyll, a bygone golden age, for White’s nature is very much red in
tooth and claw. He tells, for example, of a neighbour who finds a pair of
albino rooklings in a nest but these are killed and nailed to the wall-end of
barn before White can see them. Things live and things die; that is nature’s
way. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White16-Selborne-Shelley1906_zps08b2df88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White16-Selborne-Shelley1906_zps08b2df88.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selborne</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">White was not the first Englishman to write about birds – Francis
Willughby and John Ray had both published ornithological works a century before
him, but he took their empiricism and widened its scope, personalising it but
without sentimentalising it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-YewTreeandPorch-8-LifeandLettersv1-1900_zpscf654494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-YewTreeandPorch-8-LifeandLettersv1-1900_zpscf654494.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yew Tree and Porch, Selborne Parish Church</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The best way (if there can possibly be such a
thing) of reading White is to approach him in the same spirit as his work was
written, that is, slowly and at leisure, maybe with a little something warming
in a glass by your elbow, sipping and savouring each in turn. And I think I
might just do that myself now. Good evening to you all, I hear a rather
pleasant Merlot singing out to me (just a wee ornithological joke for you there
… ).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-White-4-LifeandLettersv1-1900_zps6a16001f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/White-White-4-LifeandLettersv1-1900_zps6a16001f.jpg" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilbert White in later life</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-79332475618069061742013-05-16T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-16T20:00:07.245-07:00The Wilderness Wanderings of the Singular Squire<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> You could never accuse Charles Waterton of
inconsistency. Over five years, he sent nineteen articles to the <i>Magazine of
Natural History</i>, attacking Audubon, his friends, his supporters, his
associates and there is every chance, given time, he would have got around to
having a go at his bootmaker or his dog. Some of the criticism is measured and
considered, but the majority of it comes across as the crazed ramblings of an
eccentric English country squire. Which comes as no great surprise, because
that’s just what they are. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-17portrait_zpsef0f4f5e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-17portrait_zpsef0f4f5e.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Waterton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Waterton’s Roman Catholic family had held great
tracts of land in Yorkshire prior to the Norman Conquest and, as Waterton puts
it in his memoir, <i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>‘… things had gone swimmingly for the Watertons</i>,’ </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">up
until the days of King Henry VIII, when that King fixed his eyes on a buxom
lass but was refused permission to marry her by the Pope, so he ‘<i>became
exceedingly mischievous</i>’ and caused himself to be made head of the Church,
whereupon, <i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“… he suppressed all the monasteries, and squandered their revenues
amongst gamesters, harlots, mountebanks, and apostates</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-15-WaltonHallEssays1845_zpsddfbbd05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-15-WaltonHallEssays1845_zpsddfbbd05.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walton Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">After their
Reformation, the new religionists made the Watertons pay a penalty of twenty
pounds a month for refusing to hear a married parson read the prayers in a
church stripped of its altar, its crucifix, its chalice and its tabernacle.
Waterton’s grandfather was jailed at York for supporting the hereditary right
of kings, in the person of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and had his horses
confiscated by the magistrates, although they offered to sell him one back,
provided it was worth less than £5 – the laws forbade Catholics from owning a
horse worth more than that amount – and when ‘<i>Dutch William</i>’ took the
throne, that ‘<i>sordid foreigner</i>’ doubled the taxes paid by Catholics. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-24-Stonyhurst_zps6e01770c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-24-Stonyhurst_zps6e01770c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stonyhurst College, Hurst Green, Lancashire</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In
1796, young Waterton was sent to school at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire,
which had just been signed over to the Jesuits, making Waterton one of the
earliest pupils to attend. In the woods and fields around Hurst Green, Waterton
was able to give his love of nature its full rein, and the Jesuits encouraged
his interests as well as inculcating a love of literature in their charge. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-22-Gateway-Wanderings1889_zps9b62a02a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-22-Gateway-Wanderings1889_zps9b62a02a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gateway at Walton Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">His
master, Father Clifford, predicted that nothing would keep Waterton at home and
that he would travel to many far distant lands. Clifford also made him promise
that he would never drink wines or spirits, a promise he kept throughout his
life, (when, in 1824, he built a wall, three-miles long and nine feet high,
around his Walton Hall estate, at a cost of £9,000 (£2.4 million in today’s
money), he said he paid for it with ‘<i>the wine I do not drink</i>’). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-12GrottoEssays1871_zpsdc9f7f54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-12GrottoEssays1871_zpsdc9f7f54.jpg" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Grotto, Walton Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When he
finished his time at Stonyhurst, he returned to Walton Hall, where he spent the
best part of a year riding and fox-hunting, before he went to Spain, in 1802,
to visit two of his uncles, and where he experienced pestilence and an
earthquake. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-14VigoursofNatureEssays1871_zps2391bb1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-14VigoursofNatureEssays1871_zps2391bb1b.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterton and the Vigour of Nature</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In 1804, he travelled to Demerara, where another uncle had a
plantation, and delighted in the natural history of Guiana, and after returning
to England in 1806, following his father’s death, he made four more journeys to
the Americas, which he wrote about in his <i>Wanderings in South America, the
North-West of the United States and the Antilles</i> (1825). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 384px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 235px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-4-Wanderings2nded1828_zps15ab302b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-4-Wanderings2nded1828_zps15ab302b.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Waterton - <i>Wanderings in South America, the North-West of the United States and the Antilles</i> - 1825 (2nd Ed. 1828)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The book was very
popular at the time, and in it Waterton foregoes the guide-book style of travel
writing and instead gives detailed descriptions of the flora and fauna he
encountered, providing, for instance, the first accounts of the giant
ant-eater, the sloth and the toucan. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-8Croc1909_zpscd1432cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-8Croc1909_zpscd1432cd.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrestling a Cayman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps the most famous incident in the <i>Wanderings</i>
is his capture of a live cayman, ten and a half feet in length, which was
hooked in a river and onto which Waterton threw himself, wrestling its forelegs
behind its back, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">‘<i>thus they served me for a bridle</i> … <i>he continued to
plunge and strike, and made my seat very uncomfortable. It must have been a fine
sight for an unoccupied spectator.</i>’ </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The creature was taken back to
Waterton’s camp where, after breakfast, it was killed and dissected. In another
incident, when surprised by a boa, Waterton put his fist into his hat and
punched the snake in its open jaws. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-7Snake1909_zps8b05c132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-7Snake1909_zps8b05c132.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punching a Snake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When he returned to Walton Hall, he
published a collection of writings <i>Essays on Natural History, chiefly
Ornithology</i> (1838), and established what is regarded as the world’s first
nature reserve, forbidding hunting and fowling on his estates. He was also the
inventor of the artificial nesting box, which he placed in the trees around
Walton, and in buying a telescope, with which to watch the birds on his estate,
he has a claim to be the world’s first birdwatcher. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 243px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-16-Essays1838_zps28adb4f4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-16-Essays1838_zps28adb4f4.jpg" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Waterton - <i>Essays on Natural History, chiefly Ornithology</i> - 1838</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Although he hated the term,
he became known as the ‘<i>eccentric squire</i>’, which was probably deserved –
he had a habit of ducking below the dinner table and biting his guests’ legs,
in the manner of a dog. The fashion of the day was for men to wear their hair
long – Waterton wore his hair closely cropped. When in Rome, he climbed to the
cross that served as a lightning conductor on the dome of St Peter’s basilica,
and left his gloves upon it; when Pope Pius VII asked him to remove them, he
climbed back up again and did so. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-23-Grotto-Wanderings1889_zpsde3a3a17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-23-Grotto-Wanderings1889_zpsde3a3a17.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walton Hall estate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In an attempt to ‘<i>navigate the atmosphere</i>’
(i.e. fly), he jumped from the roof of an outhouse, only to hit the ground with
a ‘<i>foul shak</i>.’ He was a skilled taxidermist (the final chapter of his <i>Wanderings</i>
is as good an introduction to the art as you are ever likely to find), and he
prepared the skin of a red howler monkey, which he called the ‘<i>Nondescript</i>’,
said by some to be a caricature of an enemy, Treasury Secretary J R Lushington. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-11Nondescript-Wanderings_zpscbd9a34f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-11Nondescript-Wanderings_zpscbd9a34f.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Nondescript</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But it was not all madness. When in Guiana, he taught taxidermy to a black
slave, John Edmonstone, who moved first to Glasgow and then Edinburgh when he
gained his freedom, and where he in turn taught taxidermy to the University
students, including one Charles Darwin. Both Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace
acknowledged that, as boys, they were inspired to study natural history after
reading Waterton’s <i>Wanderings</i>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-9Blowpipe1909_zps0b0c76b8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-9Blowpipe1909_zps0b0c76b8.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blowpipe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He introduced the valuable medicine
curare into England, which he had seen the peoples of South America using in
their blowpipes, and also introduced the Little Owl into this country. In 1829,
at the age of 47, he married Anne Edmondstone, who was 17 at the time. She died
in childbirth a year later, Waterton blamed himself and, as penance, thereafter
slept on the bare floor with an oak block as a pillow. He can also lay claim to
be one of the first environmentalists, as he fought and won a legal battle
against a soap manufacturer whose factory was polluting the waters surrounding
Walton Hall. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-13GraveEssays1871_zpsfd09f7b3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-13GraveEssays1871_zpsfd09f7b3.jpg" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterton's Grave</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In spite of his wrestling caymen, punching boas, surviving
earthquakes and plagues, he died at 83, when he tripped over a briar root,
broke his ribs and injured his liver. He was buried between two oak trees on
his Walton estate. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-18-Walton-Wanderings1889_zps7c7cb67b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-18-Walton-Wanderings1889_zps7c7cb67b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walton Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Waterton’s only son, Edmund, failed to keep up his father’s
works. He opened up Walton to shooting parties, in an attempt to clear his debts,
and eventually sold the estate to Edward ‘Soapy’ Simpson, the same polluting
manufacturer that his father had defeated in the legal case.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-76583786554444790752013-05-15T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-15T20:00:00.665-07:00The Crabby Criticisms of the Cozy Connoisseur<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> As John James Audubon made his way back home to
America, where George Ord and his Philadelphians were busy picking over his <i>Birds
of America</i>, their criticism of him crossed the Atlantic in the other
direction, where Charles Waterton picked it up and launched an anti-Audubon
campaign of his own in England. On the face of it, Audubon and Waterton should
have been natural allies but, like George Ord, Waterton could not bear anyone
who dared to contradict him or his opinions. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 227px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-4-Wanderings2nded1828_zps15ab302b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-4-Wanderings2nded1828_zps15ab302b.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Waterton - <i>Wanderings</i> - 1825 (2nd Ed. 1828)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In his <i>Wanderings in South America,
the North-West of the United States and the Antilles</i> (1825), Waterton had
described how vultures used their olfactory sense to locate carrion. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 384px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 217px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-3-EdinJourv21827_zps3c203c18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-3-EdinJourv21827_zps3c203c18.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Account of the Habits of the Turkey Buzzard - Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal </i>- 1827</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On
December 7<sup>th</sup> 1827, Audubon’s paper <i>Account of the Habits of the
Turkey Buzzard (Vultur aura), particularly with the view of exploding the
opinion generally entertained of its extraordinary power of Smelling</i> was
presented to the Wernian Society of Natural History in Edinburgh, a paper that
directly contradicts Waterton’s account. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When Perceval Hunter defended
Audubon’s views in the <i>Magazine of Natural History</i> of 1833, it was too
much for Waterton’s pride, he could not do other than reply. So, and with a
line from Virgil’s <i>Æneid</i>, Waterton put his first shot across Audubon’s
bows. <i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Quis novus hic nostris successit sedibus hospes? </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Who is this new guest
who approaches our seat?</i> </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Who indeed? This American has arrived in our
midst, unknown in his own country, and is immediately lauded as </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">‘<i>an
ornithological luminary of the first magnitude</i>’. </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How can this be? </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>His
drawings are out of the question, they being solely a work of art</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 221px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-1-MoNA-1833_zps32e90779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-1-MoNA-1833_zps32e90779.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Waterton - <i>On the Biography of Birds - Magazine of Natural History</i> - 1833</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So, if
it is not the drawings, it must be the words. Waterton looks at Audubon’s
account of the <i>Vultur Aura</i>, and most certainly finds it wanting; </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“[The] <i>production is lamentably faulty at almost every point. Its grammar is
bad; its composition poor; and its statements are … unsatisfactory.” </i> </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A
paper as poor as this cannot possibly be the cause of the praise being heaped
upon Audubon’s shoulders, so perhaps his reputation is being made through the <i>Ornithological
Biographies</i>? Now these, Waterton admits, may have some literary merits,
however much they lack in ornithological merit. How can this be? Well, of
course, Waterton deduces, they must not be the production of the same pen! Does
not Audubon himself admit in his introduction that he was ‘<i>assisted’</i> by
a friend in the scientific details of the work? Maybe we should take the
current recommendations to read ‘Mr Audubon’s’ works, if indeed they are <i>his</i>
works, with a grain of salt? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 352px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 235px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-2-TurkeyVulture-BoAv1_zps17281933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-2-TurkeyVulture-BoAv1_zps17281933.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Turkey Vulture - Birds of America</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Indeed, when we compare the paper on the Turkey
Vulture with the style of the Biographies, there can only be one reasonable
conclusion – the backwoodsman Audubon may have written the first, but his
scientific ‘<i>assistant</i>’ has most definitely written the latter. </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"[T]<i>he
correct and elegant style of composition which appears throughout the </i>whole<i>
of the </i>Biography of Birds<i> cannot possibly be that of him whose name it
bears; we have undoubted facts to prove that it is far beyond the reach of
Audubon</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It is clear, if you can’t trust him when he says he has written
the book, how can you then trust what that book contains? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There was something
that Charles Waterton did not know. He didn’t know that when John James Audubon
returned to America, his place in England was taken by his son, Victor, who
took up his own pen in defence of his father. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 220px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-6-VictorMoNA-1833_zps389009ef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-6-VictorMoNA-1833_zps389009ef.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victor Audubon - <i>Letter to the Magazine of Natural History</i> - June 7 1833</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In a letter to the <i>Magazine of
Natural History</i> dated June 7<sup>th</sup> 1833, he thanks Mr Waterton for
his good grace in holding back his criticism for two whole years and waiting
until his father had left these shores before attacking his reputation, and he
assures him that, when he returns and if he thinks it worth his while, he will
be more than willing to put Mr Waterton right. Another letter, dated June 10<sup>th</sup>,
was printed directly after Victor Audubon’s in the same issue of the <i>Magazine</i>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/MagazineNaturalHistory-1833_zps5104d59b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/MagazineNaturalHistory-1833_zps5104d59b.jpg" width="183" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Magazine of Natural History</i> - 1833</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This was from Robert Bakewell, the nephew of Lucy Audubon’s grandfather, and is
a masterpiece of nineteenth century English understatement. It is the case, in
the biographies of the seekers after scientific truths, that when they return
from their expeditions, they often find that the jealous and the envious have
been at work undermining their fair won fame. Mr Audubon was currently away, in
Labrador, gathering information on the ornithology of that region, and would be
dismayed by the imputations being made by Mr Waterton, the author of the
always-amusing <i>Wanderings</i>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-CharlesWaterton-Herrick1938_zps4639428d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-CharlesWaterton-Herrick1938_zps4639428d.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Waterton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, far be it from Bakewell to point out
that Mr Audubon was, even then, out in the wilderness, alone and dependent of
his gun for his sole protection, suffering the privations and dangers in order
to make his living, whereas Mr Waterton wrote from the comfort of a tranquil
English mansion, surrounded by lush paternal acres, and when he went into the
wild himself, he departed from his family’s rich plantation, accompanied by his
slaves and attendants. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-5-WaltonHall_zps819e1e63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-5-WaltonHall_zps819e1e63.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walton Hall, Wakefield - Charles Waterton's family seat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nor should it be mentioned that until the age of
seventeen, Mr Audubon spoke only French, and would it not only be natural for
him to ask his wife, an educated English lady from a good family, to cast her
eye over his prose before he sent it off for publication? And might it also be
the case, that he might ask a scientific friend to perform a similar task, just
to verify his facts? He writes with reluctance, and begs Mr Waterton’s pardon
but, he asks, might that gentleman’s own Wanderings stand up to concerted
criticism? </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>It is much safer to put the foot into a hornet's nest, than
provoke a swarm of naturalists</i>. </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I leave it to you to decide if that is an
observation or a threat. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-63827535548045705222013-05-14T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-14T20:00:05.895-07:00The Derogatory Diagnoses of the Cavillous Carper<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> What was going on with these attacks on Audubon? Two
things really. Money and snobbery. The money side of things came mainly from
George Ord, who had completed Alexander Wilson’s <i>American Ornithology</i>
after Wilson had died in 1813, adding his own biography of Wilson. His vested
financial interests were at stake, and he resorted to snobbery in order to
protect Wilson’s legacy. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-GeorgeOrd-Herrick1938_zps1bcd0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-GeorgeOrd-Herrick1938_zps1bcd0068.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Ord</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Ord had been a friend of Wilson’s and had accompanied
him on several of his field-trips in North America, he edited Wilson’s works and
was involved in producing later editions of the <i>Ornithology</i> for the
American market. So the last thing he needed was competition, especially
competition from Audubon, whose works, lets face it, were superior to Wilson’s.
<a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-fluctuating-fortunes-of-mercurial.html" target="_blank">We have already</a> seen the difference between the illustrations; Audubon’s large,
coloured and full of vitality, Wilson’s staid, drab and stilted by comparison.
In Ord’s view, Audubon’s plates were not restrained enough for a serious
scientific work, he objected to the intrusion of plants, flowers and background
or landscape details. These, he felt, were mere distractions, unseemly and
unnecessary, and Audubon’s life-like depictions of the birds were lurid, showy
and far too flamboyant. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Audubon-Herrick1938_zps7273b613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Audubon-Herrick1938_zps7273b613.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Or, at least, these were the objections he used to attack
Audubon although, to my mind, he objected more to the possibility that Wilson’s
books would not sell nearly as well as before when the public had the option of
purchasing Audubon’s far more attractive books instead. And if his aesthetic
arguments carried little weight, he also raised doubts about Audubon’s
veracity. If he could show that Audubon was not getting his science right, then
why would anyone want to buy his books? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 226px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon32-MockingBirdv2_zpsb5419887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon32-MockingBirdv2_zpsb5419887.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Mocking Birds Attacked by a Rattlesnake - Birds of America</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So, in the plate depicting a
rattlesnake attacking the nesting mockingbirds, he saw an opportunity to sow
the seeds of doubt in the minds of the serious ornithologists who were the
natural market for books about birds. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Franklin-1828-3_zpsad9ced68.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Franklin-1828-3_zpsad9ced68.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Journal of the Franklin Institute</i> - 1828</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When Dr Thomas Jones printed the
criticism of Audubon’s paper <i>Notes on the Rattlesnake</i> in his <i>Journal
of the Franklin Institute </i>from a ‘<i>scientific friend</i>’, I think you’d
be safe to point the finger at Ord as the origin of the gripeing. Note, it’s
not just <i>any</i> old friend, it’s a ‘<i>scientific</i>’ friend, the tacit
implication being that Audubon’s scientific credentials might not be all that
they should be. Ord, as I have mentioned, edited Wilson’s works and in volume 9
of the Ornithology he included extracts from Wilson’s diaries and journals,
including an unflattering account of Wilson’s meeting with Audubon at
Louisville. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 345px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 248px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/wilsonplate50flycatcher_zps09b727ac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/wilsonplate50flycatcher_zps09b727ac.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Wilson - <i>Small Headed Flycatcher - American Ornithology</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">One amusing incident in the spat is that Audubon, in volume 5 of
the <i>Ornithological Biography</i>, accuses Wilson of copying one of his
drawings of the Small Headed Flycatcher, which he included, without
acknowledgement, in his <i>Ornithology</i>. Ord sprang to Wilson’s defence – he
had been present when Wilson had shot the Flycatcher from which he had made his
drawing included in the book. The thing is, no ornithologist has ever seen the
Small Headed Flycatcher on the continent of North America since and it seems
that either, or both, illustrators had mistaken a juvenile bird from a
different species as a representative of an entirely separate (but
misidentified) species. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 230px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-FlycatcherBoAv1_zpsa53b3cd6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-FlycatcherBoAv1_zpsa53b3cd6.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Small Headed Flycatcher - Birds of America</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In the same vein, it looks like Audubon’s memory failed
him when he identified his squirrel-hunting snake as a rattlesnake. His
description is almost certainly of the Blue Racer (Bascanion constrictor), a
snake which, when threatened, coils itself and raises its head and tail, a
display of protective mimicry in which it attempts to copy the rattlesnake’s
behaviour. It may well be that Audubon remembered this display and, wrongly,
with hindsight ‘<i>remembered</i>’ a rattlesnake. Maybe it hardly matters, as
many correspondents provided evidence of the ability of the rattlesnake to
climb. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Americanswanv6_zps3f310c28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Americanswanv6_zps3f310c28.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>American Swan - Birds of America</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the other hand, a yellow lily that appears in the plate of the
American Swan (from 1838), had long been dismissed as a fanciful invention by
Audubon until, in 1876, Mrs Mary Treat re-discovered the lily in a Florida
swamp. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 352px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 236px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-2-TurkeyVulture-BoAv1_zps17281933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Waterton-2-TurkeyVulture-BoAv1_zps17281933.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Turkey Vulture - Birds of America</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Another bone of contention was the question if birds have a sense of
smell. Audubon thought not, and conducted experiments, with Bachman, to prove
that carrion eaters, particularly vultures, found their food by sight alone.
Other naturalists were sure that birds used their sense of smell partially, if
not entirely, to sniff out rotting flesh. Anatomists seemed to prove the point,
when they discovered well-developed olfactory lobes and nerves in such birds,
although things took a turn when the same lobes and nerves were found in
insectivorous and granivorous birds. It remains a moot point (kiwis, it seems <i>do
</i>use their sense of smell) amongst ornithologists and research is still
on-going, even now. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 312px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 219px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Butterworth1901-1000_zps9291f7c2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Butterworth1901-1000_zps9291f7c2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> $1,000 a Copy</i> - One view of Audubon's Achievement</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">George Ord was a figure to be pitied, driven, as it seems,
by internal contradictions rather than by spite or over-avariciousness. He saw
Audubon as a rival to Wilson, rather than a successor, and Audubon himself
thought of himself as continuing, rather than superseding, the Scots
poet-ornithologist. Frank L Burns, another biographer of Wilson, says of Ord
that although </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“… admirable in many ways </i>[he]<i> was insanely intolerant
of any opposition</i>,”</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> and others who knew him describe him a difficult,
prickly character, with a short temper and sharp tongue, who destroyed a
portrait of himself that displeased him in spite of it being painted by his
son, and left $40,000 in his will to the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane,
whilst leaving out of the will several members of his immediate family who were
in dire financial need. Audubon, in the final volume of the <i>Ornithological
Biographies</i>, wrote the following dedication, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>I have pleasure in saying
that my enemies have been few, and my friends numerous. May the God who granted
me life, industry and perseverance to accomplish my task, forgive the former,
and forever bless the latter</i>.”</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tomorrow - The Limeys pitch in</span></i></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-78490182763065204132013-05-13T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-13T20:00:05.070-07:00The Empirical Evidence of the Rapacious Rattlesnakes<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I will tell you about Lt Col A D Wintle MC on
another occasion, but just for now I want to mention how, in his remarkable
autobiography, <i>The Last Englishman</i>, he recalls how, as a ten year old,
he was entered for <i>Le Certificat d’Etudes Primaires </i>(although English,
he received his primary education in France), and that he achieved an
unprecedented score of 99%, an astonishing feat for an English boy, of all
things, to accomplish. Flushed with pride, young Alfred Wintle told his father of his
remarkable triumph, only to be brought firmly back to earth when Father barked, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>I expect you were playing the fool or you would have got one hundred per
cent</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-byJohnAudubon-Herrick1938_zpsfe03ad86.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-byJohnAudubon-Herrick1938_zpsfe03ad86.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>J J Audubon</i> - by his son J W Audubon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Which, if it proves anything, just goes to show that, no matter what
you do, in someone else’s eyes, you’ll never quite manage to cut the mustard. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So, let it be with Audubon. On the afternoon of February 24<sup>th</sup> 1827,
he read an original paper, entitled ‘<i>Notes on the Rattlesnake</i>’* to the
Wernerian Society of Natural History of Edinburgh. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Journal-1827-1_zps76443bc6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Journal-1827-1_zps76443bc6.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Notes on the Rattlesnake - Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal</i> - 1827</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There was a wide-spread
belief at the time that certain creatures, in particular venomous snakes, had
an almost supernatural power of ‘<i>fascination’</i> that allowed them
mesmerise their prey, rendering it immobile. Audubon sought to disprove this
idea of the ‘<i>theoretical naturalists</i>’ by empirical proof gained from
observation of snakes in the field. His contention was that the real power of
snakes lay in their speed, their abilities to expand and contract their bodies,
sharp-sightedness, in being amphibious, and their torpidity in winter and prolonged
abstinence during other periods whilst retaining their venomous facility. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 253px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-greysquirrel_zps7edcbfcf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-greysquirrel_zps7edcbfcf.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Squirrel - from <i>Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He
told the Society how he had observed rattlesnakes hunting grey squirrels,
chasing them with remarkable speed in the branches of trees and upon open
ground, and how he has watched a rattlesnake kill a squirrel and swallow it
whole, tail first, how he had killed that snake and opened its body, to find
the squirrel <i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“… lying perfectly smooth, even as to its hair, from its nose
to the tip of its tail</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Likewise, he related how he had seen, at first
hand, a snake emerge from a river and begin to sun itself on a rock. Noticing a
bulge in its middle, he shot the snake, opened its belly and found a catfish so
fresh that, when dressed, he ate it for his own supper. Similarly, he had watched
snakes hunting bull-frogs, chasing them underwater and bring them out of the
water in their mouths, to devour them on land. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Journal-1827-2_zps4a900779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Journal-1827-2_zps4a900779.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal</i> - 1827</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Once, when out duck-hunting, his
son had discovered a large rattlesnake lying torpid beneath a log, which they
placed in a cloth bag and took to their camp. When the bag had been placed
close to the campfire, the warmth roused the snake, which became very active
and rose in defence, threatening as if to strike. When removed from the heat
source, this snake had again become torpid, and he told how they had taken it
home, and had watched it become active or torpid depending on its proximity to
warmth. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-arattlesnake_zps409fd2d4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-arattlesnake_zps409fd2d4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rattlesnake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Another captive snake had refused to feed for three years, and had not
grown the least fraction of an inch during that time. He concluded his talk by
describing a nest of rattlesnakes, comprising over thirty individuals, seen
during the mating season, all of them ‘<i>glistening with cleanliness</i>’ and
hissing, threatening to strike at anyone or anything that approached them.
Audubon finished the meeting, handed his manuscript to Professor Jameson, and
left to the cheers and applause of the Society. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Franklin-1828-3_zpsad9ced68.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Franklin-1828-3_zpsad9ced68.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Journal of the Franklin Institute</i> - 1828</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A few months later, Professor
Jameson published Audubon’s paper in <i>The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal</i>,
and in due time the article was reprinted in the <i>Journal of the Franklin
Institute</i> of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the next edition, Dr Thomas P
Jones, editor of the <i>Journal</i>, wrote an editorial piece condemning
Audubon’s article as ‘<i>a tissue of falsehoods’</i> that had been included in
haste, without proper scrutiny, and that Jones had since received a
communication from a ‘<i>scientific friend</i>’ that he usefully printed. </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>It
is a tissue of the grossest falsehoods ever attempted to be palmed upon the
credulity of mankind, and it is a pity that anything like countenance should be
given to it, by republishing it in a respectable journal. The romances of
Audibon </i>[sic]<i> rival those of Munchausen, Mandeville, or even Mendez de
Pinto, in the total want of truth, however short they may fall of them in the
amusement they afford.</i>” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 278px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 374px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Franklin-1828-2_zps62ed7cc0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Franklin-1828-2_zps62ed7cc0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Romance of the Rattlesnake</i> - from <i>Journal of the Franklin Institute</i> - 1828</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Audubon, who was still in England at the time, was
informed of these attacks on his scientific credibility by his friend, Thomas
Sully, and in a reply to Sully, Audubon wrote, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>I feel assured that the pen
that traced them must have been dipped in venom more noxious than that which
flows from the jaws of the rattlesnake!</i>” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 264px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon32-MockingBirdv2_zpsb5419887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon32-MockingBirdv2_zpsb5419887.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Mockingbirds attacked by a Rattlesnake</i> - from <i>The Birds of America </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At the same time as all this was
unfolding, Audubon also published his plate of Mockingbirds defending their
nest from the depredations of a Rattlesnake, which added fuel to the fires of
his detractors. Everyone knows that rattlesnakes did not and could not climb
trees, they scoffed, so what was this hick from the sticks thinking of? </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/BoA-Mockingbirdsdetail_zpsc6ada9d5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/BoA-Mockingbirdsdetail_zpsc6ada9d5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Defenders
of Audubon wrote letters in his defence, citing personal experiences of
observing rattlesnakes in trees, bushes, shrubs and atop fences. Ironically, as
Audubon returned to America, the attacks crossed the Atlantic in the opposite
direction, his most vociferous critic being the English naturalist, Charles
Waterton, who lashed out at the <i>Birds of America</i> and the <i>Ornithological
Biographies</i> in the <i>Magazine of Natural History </i>in a series of
letters that began in 1833. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 368px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 244px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Franklin-1828-1_zpsa755102f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Notes-Franklin-1828-1_zpsa755102f.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Notes on the Rattlesnake</i> - in <i>Journal of the Franklin Institute</i> - 1828</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tomorrow – What was going on with these attacks on
Audubon?</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">* - Remember, the British warship that attacked the <i>Polly</i>, the vessel on which Audubon was returning to America was called <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-mercantile-misadventures-of-failing.html" target="_blank"><i>The Rattlesnake</i></a>. Was this an omen? Or just a coincidence?</span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-13890145844610009962013-05-12T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-12T20:00:06.038-07:00The Final Fruition of the Quality Quadrupeds<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> John James Audubon has finished his <i>magnum opus</i>,
he is famous on both sides of the Atlantic, he has impressed Kings, Queens and
Presidents, for once in his life he has money in the bank and a nice little
place on the banks of the Hudson. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-MinniesLand1865-Herrick1938_zpsd416e1ce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-MinniesLand1865-Herrick1938_zpsd416e1ce.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minnie's Land - Audubon's little place on the Hudson River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So, do you imagine for one moment that he’s
going to spend his remaining days sitting on the back porch, smoking his pipe
or tending his garden? No Siree, let’s face it, that isn’t even going to cross
a man like John J’s mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not when
there’s the <i>Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America</i> to be getting on
with, (and let’s be honest, there aren’t anything <i>but</i> <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-bewitching-biology-of-enigmatic.html" target="_blank">viviparous quadrupeds</a> in North America). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Viviparous1846_zps139fadd0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Viviparous1846_zps139fadd0.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon & J Bachman - Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The plan was to produce two ‘atlas’ volumes, at
elephant size, containing 150 hand coloured lithographic plates, together with
three Royal size octavo volumes of explanatory text. Unlike the double-elephant
<i>Birds of America</i>, the <i>Quadrupeds</i> was produced entirely in
America, with an initial subscribers list of three hundred, and were the
largest single plate books completed in America during the nineteenth century. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Bachman-Herrick1938_zps26d80e15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Bachman-Herrick1938_zps26d80e15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Bachman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The work was produced in collaboration with John Bachman, a Lutheran minister
and long time friend of Audubon, who was a recognised authority on American
mammalia, (sadly, history has not remembered the full importance of Bachman’s
contribution to the study of his country’s natural history). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals1-WildCat_zpsb7392e79.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals1-WildCat_zpsb7392e79.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Wild Cat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Initially, Bachman
was somewhat reluctant to become involved in the venture, but he was won over
when Audubon assured him that the work would not be rushed and would receive
the full care and attention that the subject justified. Bachman also insisted
that the Audubon’s bear the cost of producing the <i>Quadrupeds</i>, but also
that they receive the full profits, not least because his daughters, Maria and
Eliza, were married to Audubon’s sons, John Waterhouse and Victor, and he hoped
to provide some financial stability for them. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals2-GrizzlyBear_zps9c259ed7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals2-GrizzlyBear_zps9c259ed7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grizzly Bears</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Disaster, no stranger to the
Audubons, struck twice in rapid succession; on September 15<sup>th</sup> 1840,
Mrs John Audubon died at her old home in Charleston, aged only twenty-three
years, from tuberculosis. On May 25<sup>th</sup> 1841, her sister Eliza, wife
of Victor, died from the same disease; she was twenty-two. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals4-Bison_zps6f9e5421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals4-Bison_zps6f9e5421.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Buffalo or Bison</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Audubons and the
Bachmans took refuge in the work, a distraction from the grief. The Audubons
also worked on a octavo edition of the <i>Birds</i>, of seven-volumes,
combining reduced sized copies of the originals, incorporating the text from
the <i>Ornithological Biographies</i>. The initial subscription of three
hundred copies was quickly filled, a second three hundred also sold out, and by
early 1841, the list stood at 1,475 copies. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals3-Beaver_zpsb8e30336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals3-Beaver_zpsb8e30336.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beavers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Like the <i>Birds</i>, the <i>Quadrupeds</i>
was issued in instalments, thirty numbers of five plates each, at $10 per
number, with the costs underwritten by the profits from the octavo <i>Birds</i>.
In 1843, the fifty-eight-year-old Audubon undertook an eight months’ trip up
the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, collecting specimens for the project, but
the hardships he encountered severely damaged his health, and this was to be
his last expedition. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals6-Skunk_zps84fc35a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals6-Skunk_zps84fc35a1.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skunks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In October, he returned home to Minnie’s Land and, in
collaboration with his sons, he began work on the first volume of the <i>Quadrupeds</i>.
Bachman, in the relative isolation of Charleston, South Carolina, had no ready
access to large libraries and needed Audubon to send him copied texts from the
required books, with notice of which animals were next on his list, together
with specimens from which he could make the necessary measurements and
descriptions. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals4-BlackWolf_zps6936320d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals4-BlackWolf_zps6936320d.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Wolf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In the end, driven to distraction by the lack of information,
Bachman issued an ultimatum – send the necessary books and specimens or he
would be unable to provide the text to accompany the illustrations. He
complained about the amount of time that he had to dedicate to the writing, no
doubt unaware of the workload that John James Audubon considered to be the
norm. It worried him that his name was on the title page and the words he had
promised to supply would be inadequate. The Audubons responded by sending
Bachman whatever it was he needed, and the work continued. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals13-GrayFox_zps1b2ae45b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals13-GrayFox_zps1b2ae45b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gray Fox</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By 1846, Audubon’s
eyesight began to fail and work on the illustrations for the Quadrupeds passed
almost entirely to his sons. It must be said that, in spite of John Waterhouse
Audubon’s skills, his works do not have that <i>je ne sais quoi</i> that
characterises the elder Audubon’s paintings (compare his <i>Grey Fox</i>, for
example, to John W’s <i>Moose</i>). </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals10-Moose_zps9beaa9af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Mammals10-Moose_zps9beaa9af.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moose</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Although he never went blind, as some
biographers have written, his faltering sight left Audubon heartbroken, but the
real decline came with his mental health, as his sanity began to depart.
Surrounded by family, friends and loyal retainers, he died at Minnie’s Land on
January 27<sup>th</sup> 1851, <i>“… as gently as a child composing himself for
his beautiful sleep</i>.” </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-VictorAudubon-Herrick1938_zps28dd960c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-VictorAudubon-Herrick1938_zps28dd960c.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victor Audubon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Victor and John continued the work on the <i>Quadrupeds</i>,
under the supervision of Bachman, and in March 1852, the third and final volume
was finished. Work immediately began on a smaller folio edition, which appeared
in 1854, using the same techniques that had been employed on the folio <i>Birds</i>. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-JohnAudubon-Herrick1938_zps6dd6bb14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-JohnAudubon-Herrick1938_zps6dd6bb14.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Waterhouse Audubon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Although inferior in scope and realisation to the <i>Birds</i>, the <i>Quadrupeds</i>
is still a truly remarkable achievement and deserves to be far better known to
the general public, not least for the eminently readable text by Bachman. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Audubon1848-Herrick1938_zps3d1c94ee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Audubon-Audubon1848-Herrick1938_zps3d1c94ee.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John James Audubon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Tomorrow<span> </span>-
Audubon’s legacy.</span></span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-51065485667001263992013-05-11T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-11T20:00:02.274-07:00The Towering Triumph of the Beautiful Birds<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> In the years between 1827, when the first plates of
his <i>Birds of America</i> were printed, through to 1839, when John James
Audubon, with the assistance of James MacGillivray, completed the <i>Ornithilogical
Biography, </i>he spent his time alternately between England and America.
During his time in America, he travelled and drew, at a punishing pace; </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>I
am at work and have done much, but I wish I had eight pairs of hands, and
another body to shoot the specimens; still I am delighted at what I have
accumulated in drawings this season. Forty-two drawings in four months, eleven
large, eleven middle size, and twenty-two small, comprising ninety-five birds.</i>” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-BaldEagle-BoA1_zpse498b4bd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-BaldEagle-BoA1_zpse498b4bd.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - American Bald Eagle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He would rise before dawn and begin working, sometimes in sessions of fourteen
hours at a spell, and would also go out into the wild to shoot specimens, which
he mounted with wires in life-like poses, attempting to draw and paint the bird
on the same day, and would work until about one o’clock in the morning, often
only sleeping for four hours, before rising again and repeating the same
pattern. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-BernicleGoose-BoA6_zps3b672377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="189" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-BernicleGoose-BoA6_zps3b672377.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Bernicle Geese - <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/a-certain-spume-or-froth.html" target="_blank">Read more here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There was pressure to keep producing the drawings in order to fulfil
his obligations to the subscribers, but it was a labour of love and Audubon
worked at such a pace because he enjoyed what he was doing, his enthusiasm for
the project drove his perseverance. When he spent the rest of his days engaged
in the other side of the business, obtaining further subscriptions or
collecting the fees, he dreamed of being back in the wilderness, left to
himself with his birds, and adding material to his great work. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="height: 352px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; width: 244px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-PassengerPigeon-BoA5_zps58e6ad38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-PassengerPigeon-BoA5_zps58e6ad38.jpg" width="189" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Passenger Pigeons - <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-passing-of-passenger-pigeon.html" target="_blank">Read more Here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Audubons
tried settling down in New York, but city life did not suit them and, in 1842,
they bought instead property on the Hudson River which they called Minnie’s
Land (it is now incorporated into New York and is known as Audubon Park). As
the years passed, Audubon was greatly helped by his sons, Victor and John,
(John Waterhouse Audubon became a noted naturalist in his own right), as they
undertook much of the administrative side of the enterprise, giving Audubon
more time to concentrate on his drawings. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-GreatAuk-BoA7_zps251bab05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="189" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-GreatAuk-BoA7_zps251bab05.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Great Auk - <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/for-auks-sake.html" target="_blank">Read more here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When the octavo edition of Audubon’s
work was published, Victor oversaw the printing and John reduced the plates to
the required size with a <i>camera lucida</i>. In 1837, Audubon faced two
threats to the nearing completion of his work. The first was the result of his
own industry, for as he had spent so much time searching for specimens, he had
discovered new species that, in order to comply with his initial intent of
figuring every species of American birds, he was compelled to included them. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-GreatAmericanWhiteEgret-BoA6_zpsbac1ea20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-GreatAmericanWhiteEgret-BoA6_zpsbac1ea20.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - White Egret - <a href="http://from-bedroom-to-study.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/a-feather-in-cap.html" target="_blank">Read more here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">However, he had, in his prospectus, fixed the edition to be of eighty parts of
five plates, a total of 400 plates. Many subscribers were not prepared to pay
for any additional plates, and Audubon was not prepared to compromise by
including plates that featured more than a single species each, but his only
other option was to issue a completely new, complete, edition. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-BaltimoreOriole-BoA4_zps42159b4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-BaltimoreOriole-BoA4_zps42159b4b.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Baltimore Oriole</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He was also
forced to abandon his plan of including plates, at the end, that were intended
to show the eggs of all the birds. In the end, he extended the plates by an
additional seven parts, of thirty-five plates, by which he figured 489 American
species. The second problem was the economic crisis of 1837, which greatly
affected subscribers on both sides of the Atlantic, with many having no choice
but to cancel their subscriptions as they faced bankruptcy. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-BlueJay-BoA4_zpsf61adffc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-BlueJay-BoA4_zpsf61adffc.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Blue Jays</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It had been an
ambitious undertaking in the first place and, in his heart of hearts, Audubon
must have known that a number of his subscribers would have had to cancel, for
whatever the reasons, over a period of ten years, even if they fully intended
to commit themselves to an outlay of about $100 per annum. Audubon himself
estimated that there were 120 incomplete editions in circulation when the work
was eventually completed. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-EiderDuck-BoA6_zps84b96677.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-EiderDuck-BoA6_zps84b96677.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Eider Ducks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Still, on June 20<sup>th</sup> 1838, the final plate
of the Birds of America was published, completing the illustrations although it
would be two more years before the text was finished. It is a remarkable
undertaking, in size, scope and ambition, and is one of the most beautiful of
any printed book ever produced. The double elephant sized volumes require two
men to lift them, because of the weight and the size, and each print contains a
life-size depiction of its subject. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-RoseateSpoonbill-BoA6_zps93413989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-RoseateSpoonbill-BoA6_zps93413989.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Roseate Spoonbill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Audubon’s finished drawings were engraved
onto copper plates and for each impression, the metal plate had to be inked and
pressed individually, left to dry, and then painted in water-colours by hand by
teams of skilled colourists. At the time, chromo-lithography was a thing of the
future, and this was the only method of producing a work of this sort. As such,
it was tremendously expensive to make and to buy, and because publishers were
unwilling to undertake the costs of production, Audubon himself paid for the
books to be printed and coloured. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-Shrike-BoA4_zps4578785e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/May%202013/Birds-Shrike-BoA4_zps4578785e.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Great American Shrike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It is estimated that he paid out over
$100,000 in production costs over the twelve years it took to complete the
work. It is thought that 120 copies of the complete first edition still exist,
and to give you some idea of their worth, a complete copy sold in 2012 for $7.9
million. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Tomorrow – Beasts, not Birds.</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-76859145725232024662013-05-10T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-10T20:00:02.884-07:00The Rewarding Reception of the Ornithographical Oeuvre<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Hardly had the Havells begun work on Audubon’s <i>Birds
of America</i>, than it dawned on the author that, of course, the Havells would
need to be paid. Audubon fell back on what he always did in such circumstances
– he improvised. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon51-TheEntrappedotter_zps061dbe08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon51-TheEntrappedotter_zps061dbe08.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>The Entrapped Otter</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The plan was to paint copies of his popular picture, <i>The
Entrapped Otter</i>, and hawk them around the various galleries and shops of
London’s East End, and he sold seven copies of the subject, together with
copies of other works. Then, Dame Fortune smiled upon him, when Sir Thomas
Lawrence, the renowned and celebrated society portraitist, called on him at his
studio and inquired about the price of the works he saw there. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon58-EnglishpheasantssurprisedbyaSpanishDog-Herrick1938_zps3a1928e7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon58-EnglishpheasantssurprisedbyaSpanishDog-Herrick1938_zps3a1928e7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>English Pheasants Surprised by a Spanish Dog</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He departed and
returned later with two friends, who both bought paintings for twenty and
fifteen pounds respectively. Lawrence was back later with more friends, and
more paintings were bought for seven, ten and thirty-five pounds, leaving
Audubon with more than enough to cover the five pounds he had borrowed for
painting materials and to pay the Havells the sixty pounds they billed Audubon
two days later. It was a close escape, but the great work continued. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon56-Havells-Herrick1938_zps3b2e8784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon56-Havells-Herrick1938_zps3b2e8784.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement for Havell and Son</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He was not
out of the woods however. Subscribers cancelled their subscriptions, others
complained that all the birds looked alike and that the work was an out and out
swindle, agents appointed to collect the subscription money forgot to do so,
other forgot to deliver the prints, some of the prints from Lizars brought
complaints of poor quality and had to be replaced. Audubon took one of Havell’s
colourists to task about the quality of his work and told him to improve or
face dismissal, whereupon the rest of the colourists went out on strike in
support of their colleague, and it was several days before they could be
enticed back to work. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon47-GoldenEagle-BoAv1_zps3fa34f76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon47-GoldenEagle-BoAv1_zps3fa34f76.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Golden Eagle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In spite of all this, Audubon entered 1828 with his
finances in the black, confidence in his heart and hopes for the future in his
breast. He was still travelling incessantly, selling subscriptions and
paintings <i>en route</i>, and crossed the Channel, raising more subscriptions
and meeting the foremost French scientists and naturalists; the great Baron
Cuvier declared the work to be the <i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“…most magnificent monument which has yet
been erected to ornithology</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon52-Cuvier_zps80d024a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon52-Cuvier_zps80d024a3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baron Cuvier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Audubon secured subscriptions from King
Charles X, the Duke of Orleans, and swelled with pride when François Gerard,
the famous portraitist, seized his hand and cried, </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Mr. Audubon, you are the
king of ornithological painters. We are all children in France and Europe. Who
would have expected such things from the woods of America?</i>” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The trip to
France cost him forty pounds and only raised thirteen subscriptions, but the
increase in prestige and reputation he felt had been well worth the investment.
He returned to London and left the publication to the Havells, in whom he had
now confidence, with Children as his English representative, and decided to
return to America. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon59-PortraitbyWHHolmes1826-Herrick1938_zps6519abc7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon59-PortraitbyWHHolmes1826-Herrick1938_zps6519abc7.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">W H Holmes - <i>Portrait of James Audubon</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On April 1<sup>st</sup> 1829, he boarded the packet-ship <i>Columbia</i>,
out of Portsmouth for New York, paying thirty pounds for his passage. On
arrival back in America, he paused to exhibit his paintings at the Lyceum of
Natural History, and settled for three weeks at Camden, New Jersey, where he
made some new paintings, before heading for Great Egg Harbour, and then to
Mauch Chunk, where he concentrated on smaller woodland warblers, finches and
flycatchers. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon46-Buzzard-BoAv1_zps11b26790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon46-Buzzard-BoAv1_zps11b26790.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Common Buzzard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In October, he turned south, pausing in Louisville to visit his
two sons before hastening to Louisiana, where he was reunited with Lucy. Before
long, he was on the road again, this time with his wife by his side, and in
April 1830 they boarded the Pacific in New York and embarked for London. After
a short stay, the pair left for Edinburgh, where Audubon began work on the text
for <i>Birds of America</i>, in what eventually became known as <i>Ornithological
Biography</i> (also called the <i>Biography of Birds</i>), a massive
five-volume effort amounting to over three thousand pages. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon60-Biographical1831_zpsb7d5f1ec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon60-Biographical1831_zpsb7d5f1ec.jpg" width="185" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Ornithological Biography</i> - 1831</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In a brilliant piece
of recruitment, Audubon collaborated with a young Scots naturalist, James
MacGillivray, who was employed to revise and correct his text, at two guineas
per sixteen sheets. The two rose before dawn and worked late into the night,
writing the first volume in a mere three months, with Mrs Audubon copying the
text ready to be shipped to America, thereby securing the copyright. Unable to
find a publisher, Audubon paid for the publication out of his own pocket, the
first volume printed under the imprint of Adam Black, the subsequent four by
Adam and Charles Black. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon43-JournalneworleanstoLiverpool-Herrick1938_zpsac121924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon43-JournalneworleanstoLiverpool-Herrick1938_zpsac121924.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page from Audubon's <i>Journal</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When the work was completed, the Audubons travelled
south, through Newcastle, York, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, and then to
London; Audubon relates in his <i>Journal</i> that they,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i> </i></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“… travelled on that extraordinary road,
called the railway, at the rate of 24 miles an hour</i>.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">After a brief visit
to Paris, they boarded a ship back to New York, and Mrs Audubon went on to
Louisville, to visit her sons, whist John began plans to go to Florida, to
paint the birds there. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon6-Cover-BoA1_zpsfe4e0fa4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon6-Cover-BoA1_zpsfe4e0fa4.jpg" width="183" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>The Birds of America</i> -Vol 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the same day they arrived in New York, the <i>London
Literary Gazette</i> published a notice of the death of the famous
ornithologist, Alexander Wilson. Immediately, letters were sent to the editor, pointing
out that Wilson the ornithologist had, in fact, been dead for eighteen years. A
red-faced editor printed an apology, of course he had not meant Wilson, he had
intended to write Audubon. More letters to the editor. What sort of a
newspaperman was he, to resurrect a man that had been dead for eighteen years,
only to kill him, and then kill another man who was, as all that knew him,
hale, hearty and just arrived back in America from England? </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tomorrow – Audubon alive after all</span>.</span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184836761789696160.post-13160746876749352032013-05-09T20:00:00.000-07:002013-05-09T20:00:07.017-07:00The Blossoming Beginning of the Prospective Project<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> He was a stranger in a strange land, but with
characteristic resolve John James Audubon applied himself to his task. He had
letters of introduction from America and he soon made the acquaintance of the
best men of arts, letters and science in England, including Sir Walter Scott,
Humphrey Davy, Thomas Lawrence and Robert Bakewell (his wife’s cousin). Within
a week of landing at Liverpool, Audubon was in London, exhibiting his drawings
at the Royal Institution, which earned him over a hundred pounds in admission
fees. Lord Stanley declared that, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>This work is unique, and deserves the
patronage of the Crown</i>.” </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon61-Portrait-Herrick1938_zps8b024d78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon61-Portrait-Herrick1938_zps8b024d78.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John James Audubon</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Audubon himself cut quite a dash with his long
hair, dressed with bear grease, his unfashionable clothes, his abstemious
habits of food and drink, and his natural courtesy and down to earth manners.
Everywhere he went, he was well received and found support for his plan to
publish his drawings in full size, and he began to collect names of those
willing to subscribe. He travelled to Manchester, from where he paid a visit to
Bakewell, his wife’s family home, back to Liverpool and then on to Edinburgh. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Here, he found himself in his element and began to feel that success was within
his grasp. Professor Robert Jameson did much to popularise Audubon’s work, and
recommended it to the University. He was lionised in the newspapers, so much so
<i> </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“… that I am quite ashamed to walk the streets.</i>” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Institution Hall
granted him free use of their rooms and insisted that a shilling admission be
charged, all of which would be paid directly to him, thousands of enthralled
visitors gladly paid to see the 400 drawings, depicting over 1,000 different
species. He was wined and dined, at the St Andrew’s Day banquet given by the
Royal Society of Antiquarians he was so overcome by the praise heaped upon him
that </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“…the perspiration poured from me and I thought I should faint.</i>” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He
was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and of the Society of
Antiquarians, he was elected a member of the Wernerian Society of Natural
History and also of the Society of Arts. A letter of introduction to Patrick
Neill brought an introduction to William Home Lizars, a distinguished Edinburgh
engraver, and when Audubon took the first of his drawings from his portfolio,
Lizars jumped up out of his chair and exclaimed, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>My God, I never saw
anything like this before!</i>” </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon45-Peregine-BoAv1_zpsa6afc238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon45-Peregine-BoAv1_zpsa6afc238.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - <i>Great Footed Hawks</i> (Peregrine Falcons)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But it was when he saw the drawing of the Great
Footed Hawks (Peregrine Falcons) that he declared his intention of engraving
and publishing Audubon’s works, in full size, in volumes of double elephant
size (40 inches by 27 inches). A specimen volume would be produced first and on
November 10<sup>th</sup> Lizars began his engraving; on November 28<sup>th</sup>
1826, he handed Audubon the first proof of the Wild Turkey, produced in life
size to justify the decision to print at such a large size. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon44-WildTurkey-Herrick1938_zps9712927f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon44-WildTurkey-Herrick1938_zps9712927f.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Wild Turkey</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By December 10<sup>th</sup>,
Lizars had finished the second plate, Yellow Billed Cuckoos in a papaw tree,
with the male seizing a swallowtail butterfly, and over the next few weeks a
total of ten plates were made. These, when publicly displayed, were an
astonishing success. Subscriptions began to flood in, from Edinburgh
University, the Countess of Morton and other distinguished collectors. However,
Audubon was still concerned, he was now into his forties and he estimated that
it would take a further sixteen years to complete his ambitious project. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon49-YellowBilledCuckoo-BoAv1_zps89437b7f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon49-YellowBilledCuckoo-BoAv1_zps89437b7f.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Yellow Billed Cuckoos</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nevertheless, at the end of March 1827, he issued his first formal prospectus,
that the works would be issued in instalments of five double elephant plates,
on the finest paper, five times per year, at a cost of two guineas per
instalment. From Edinburgh, he departed on a tour to gain subscriptions, first
by stage to Newcastle (where he met Thomas Bewick, the eminent wood engraver
and ornithologist), then to York, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham,
Oxford and back to London. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon48-Osprey-BoAv1_zps1c658ae6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon48-Osprey-BoAv1_zps1c658ae6.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Osprey</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Back in the capital, he met John George Children,
Secretary of the Royal Society and head of the Department of Zoology of the
British Museum, and through Children <i>Birds of America</i> was presented to
King George IV, thus allowing Audubon to announce that his book was being
issued <i> </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Under the Particular Patronage and Approbation of his Most Gracious
Majesty</i> </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon57-Prospectus1831-Herrick1938_zps6e2b9c85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon57-Prospectus1831-Herrick1938_zps6e2b9c85.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prospectus for Audubon's <i>Birds of America</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Through the assistance of Children and Lord Stanley, Audubon was
also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, an honour that he valued more
than any other of the many showered upon him. But, this being John James
Audubon we are considering, not everything went to plan, for he had not been in
London long when Audubon received a communication from Lizars in Edinburgh. The
workers employed to colour the engravings had gone on strike, and by reading
between the lines, Audubon believed that Lizars was about to renege on his
contract. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon55-Havells-Herrick1938_zps7cd57641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon55-Havells-Herrick1938_zps7cd57641.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement for Havell and Son</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Consequently, he scoured London in the search for a replacement for
the Scots publisher, and eventually came across Robert Havell Jnr. who agreed
to complete the colouring of the sheets already printed by Lizars and to
undertake a sample engraving made from one of Audubon’s drawings of the
Prothonotary Warbler. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon53-Warbler-BoAv2_zpsba78bbf2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon53-Warbler-BoAv2_zpsba78bbf2.jpg" width="190" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J J Audubon - Prothonotary Warblers</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The result far exceeded Audubon’s expectations, and he
passed the entire operation over to Havell, with young Havell undertaking the
engravings, his father to do the printing, and the Senior and Junior Havells to
supervise a team of colourists, who would hand tint the prints, with Audubon overseeing
the entire work personally. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon54-Warblers-Herrick1938LizarleftHavellright_zps9ebe4b53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag150/TheStudyPictures/MICHAEL-HP/April%202013/Audubon54-Warblers-Herrick1938LizarleftHavellright_zps9ebe4b53.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prothonotary Warblers - by Lizars (left) and Havell (right)</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Tomorrow - How could anything possibly go wrong?</span></span></span></i></div>
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mickhartleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18039253251453340331noreply@blogger.com0