Posts filed under ‘resource’
Great News: The Collingwood Society!
All good things come to those who wait…
Trafalgar Day 2012 will see the launch of the Collingwood Society!
It goes without saying that Molly is very joyful at the moment! Huzzah for Old Cuddy!
The Doodling Queen in 1789: some Things never Change
Forgive me for lingering in 18th century Prussia a little longer; I’ll return soon to Englands mountains green, but this is just too charming…
Remember back in the early days of your youth, when you escaped math by doodling in your exercise book? Eyes, swirls, patterns, lips, faces, doodles of a slightly indecent nature and random scribblings were of much more interest than the rule of three and algebra. It was like blogging, in a way.
So you can imagine my delight when I came across the following page of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s (wife of Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia, she of the maternity gown, dental hygiene kit and cute pink pointed shoes) exercise book from 1789:
Ladies wearing hats! Bewigged gentlemen! Flower baskets! Some things never change – thanks the Gods; it’s those little tidbits which connect the past with the present (she did have a thing for noses, didn’t she…?)
Oh what big teeth you have, Louise of Prussia! Dental Set, 1810.
Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1776-1810), wife of Frederick William III. of Prussia, was one of the most famous beauties of her time. Even Napoleon, so the legend goes, melted into a (small) puddle of sap upon meeting the lovely Louise in 1806. She also had a good head on her shoulders; when she died, Napoleon commented that Frederick William had lost his “best minister”. It’s easy to see why she was celebrated:
Louise was a style icon, always ahead of the latest fashion trends. Remember her maternity gown (ca. 1800)?
Quite naturally, Louise took great care of her appearance. She was praised for her complexion and her big blue eyes, and her smile was often mentioned as being particularly lovely. Such loveliness doesn’t come without effort, as this picture of Louise’s dental set proves. It dates back to the year of her death, but we can assume that she had owned a similar one previously.
Now that’s some thorough dental health care!
Here are Louise and Frederick William. Politically, her husband wasn’t one to write home about, underestimating the French threat until it was far too late. But at least they made a rather dashing couple, if I may say so.
(Look at her cute pink pointed shoes! Wheee!)
The 18th Century Nightwatchman’s Hitting Argument
I’m back after a work-related hiatus, and courtesy of the Antiques Roadshow, I’d like to present to you a highly fascinating piece of 18th century self-defence:
Beware of the Mighty Nightstick!
Very likely carved by its owner and adorned with his portrait, this nightstick would have come in handy for the nightwatchman of a big house in case of a run-in with questionable characters.
This low maintenance tool kept away all kinds of ruffians, and a burglar certainly thought twice about getting up to mischief when confronted with this gnarly gentleman. And look at the wonderful details! From the buttons of his coat…
… to the carefully painted lantern (I love that bit!) …
… to the sword in his hand, this Dark Knight of the late 18th century left us with his unique portrait.
With a nightstick like this, who needs Batman?
The nightstick was dated by the expert as very late 18th century, ~1800, and valued at £600 – £1’000.
Rejoice! Garrow’s Law will be repeated on BBC4! And what we missed…
Time to dry your tears, my friends: thanks to BBC4, you can now enjoy once more all series and episodes of the wonderful 18th century drama “Garrow’s Law”, featuring the very lovely Andrew Buchan. Yes, I know, this was a long sentence, but never shortcut a lawyer. Repeats will start on 20th June, 2012, 10pm!
But don’t put those voodoo dolls of Danny Cohen – that’s the fine gentleman at BBC responsible for the axing of Garrow’s Law, to finance stellar new glittery TV drama experiences like, for example, well, can’t think of anything now, but I’m sure it’s all fantastic – because according to Tony Merchant, this is what we didn’t get to see:
“There would have been a ‘medical negligence’ storyline involving Lady Sarah in childbirth in a time when the power of male doctors was unassailable and death in childbirth common enough not to raise questions about the ability of doctors.”
The Double Captain Manley, with additional Pegleg
Once again, the “Antique’s Roadshow” was full of surprises for the navally inclined among us. It all started with a couple who brought along the portraits of an officer and his ship.
“This belonged to my anchestor, rear Admiral John Manley, I believe, who was born, I think, at the beginning of the 1700s and he died somewhere in the late 1700s.”
Three huzzah’s for detailed information… but let’s have a look at John Manley’s possessions, maybe they’ll tell us more. First there’s this amazing travel globe, made in 1754 by Nathaniel Hill.
Dear readers from Australia and the USA, please have a look at these details – looks like you were still mythical beings!
Imagine, John Manley sailed the world with that wee globe in his hand, and obviously returned to tell about it! Amazing! And here’s the gentleman in question:
Unfortunately, neither expert nor family gave any further information about John Manley, not even the name of his ship was mentioned. Boo! There were no close-ups, either, so I couldn’t identify the ship (or even if there was a ship!) in the officer’s portrait. Please see the painting below (same ship, two different sights).
And as every decent tar, John Manley dressed to kill while on shore leave – just have a look at his splendid shoe buckles!
The buckles are worth about £ 1’500, the globe £ 5000 – £ 7000, but the true value here is the history. No value was given for the paintings, and I was left wondering once more how much of the AR is real and how much is staged. I don’t want to rule out that there are peope who have two large oil paintings, an antique globe and sparkly 18th century shoe buckles in their house and never notice them, but I find it very hard to believe nobody in that family ever thought about trying to do research on these items. If not out of interest in family history, then out of financial interest.
I did a quick research, as I’d love to know more about John Manley and his ship. But as usual, things became complicated very quickly – looks like there were two John Manleys!
According to Louis Arthur Norton in his book “Captains Contentious: The Dysfunctional Sons of the Brine”, one John Manley seems to have deserted from the Royal Navy in Boston and made a career in the Continental Navy and the United States Navy (that would be this gentleman, I assume).
The other Manley stayed with the Royal Navy. He served as fourth lieutenant in HMS Dublin during the 1770 Falkland Island crisis, made post-captain in 1782 and died in the rank of a vice-admiral. That seems to fit in with the portrait; I’m not an expert, but it has very much an end-of-1700s/early 1800s feeling about it (uniform, no wig, stocks). Anybody out there who knows more? Please yell!
And last but not least: a peg leg! Previous owner unknown, early 19th century, maybe even Napoleonic. £ 500 – £ 700, and it came with a love declaration from one of the owners to Hilary Kay. Awww…
In the 18th century, even the shoes were naughty…
… or so the maker of this exquisite piece of footwear must have thought. At first glance, it’s a shoe as worn by a fashionable lady in the mid-18th century. But at the second glance – well, at the second glance, it’s the roaring twenties in all their glory.
Now’s the moment to hit the back button if you’re not old enough for naughty shoes.
Please head over to my Old Cuddy blog and help me solve this puzzle:
Is this the watch of Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood?
You’ll find more pictures and all information available at the moment. Any help will be appreciated, thanks a lot!
Old Cuddy: 202nd Anniversary of Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood’s Death
I paid my respects on the Old Cuddy blog:
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood: Wisdom will never go out of Fashion
“I petition for his pieces of advice to be printed on a 4x20ft banner and put up in the Houses of Parliament. I suggest neon pink vinyl, so that really nobody can miss it.”
Joyful Molly on Pinterest
While looking at my list of bookmarks filed under “to be sorted”, I first screamed and then joined Pinterest. Despite their questionable terms of service (I don’t recommend to upload original artwork, texts etc.) I found it to be very useful to collect and file pictures and other bits and pieces of interest. Easier to use and less chaotic than tumblr, it’s a great way to keep track of resources. So all I keep bookmarked are articles and other texts and feel much better now. That could also be down to the excellent butter scotch liquour here, though.
Feel free to have a look at my Pinterest; I currently have boards (files) covering history, home, books, art, fashion, music, geekery etc., and as I use it for all “pinning” purposes, be it for research, writing or daily life, the content is not exclusively 18th century.
You can follow my pinning / pinnery (what’s the appropriate term, I wonder?) by subscribing to the feed, but please keep in mind that there might be many pins per day. I don’t want you to drown under home improvement tips and shoes.
Joyful Molly 