Sleep is good, books are better
The Breakfast (c.1911) – By William McGregor Paxton. Private collection. The Breakfast (c.1911) – By William McGregor Paxton. Private collection. See previous post. Captions as promised - I couldn't resist it! My apologies to Mr Paxton. Readers reading on Piterest (via The Long Victorian) https://uk.pinterest.com/longvictorian2/readers-reading/ The 'Readers reading' series on this blog (this list last... Continue Reading →
Readers reading #7 The Breakfast (c.1911) - By William McGregor Paxton. Private collection. I am very tempted to add thought bubbles for each of the subjects in this painting. If you have any suggestions as to what they might be thinking, let me know! Perhaps they are pondering the books that were published that year... Continue Reading →
Life in the Long 19th Century Photograph taken in 1844 by David Octavius Hill (b. 1802 - 1870) The photographer is shown on the right, keeping his subjects relaxed - James Ballantine (left) and Dr George Bell (middle). Bell was one of the commissioners of the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 and author of Day... Continue Reading →
No.3. Laura Fairlie and Sir Percival Glyde from The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins) * * Spoiler alert - don't read this if you haven't yet read the book * * Oh dear - this marriage was spectacularly doomed from the start. The utterly broke Sir Percival Glyde can appear charming and gracious, but he's... Continue Reading →
I have now discovered the identity of the woman in photograph "D". The photograph was taken c.1903, not in the late 1880s as previously suggested. I won't give out her details as she didn't pass away until the 1970s and still has close living relatives. https://uk.pinterest.com/longvictorian2/life-in-the-long-nineteenth-century/
Here are the answers to the photo puzzle I put up recently. A. Unknown young woman from Queensland, Australia (1884). B. Nicole Kidman in The Portrait of a Lady (film, 1996). C. Eva Green in Penny Dreadful (TV drama, 2014) D. Unknown young woman photographed using orthochromatic film. Date not known but possibly taken in... Continue Reading →
Life in the Long Nineteenth Century Photograph #2 1838: The first human on film (bottom, left). A street in Paris. Photograph by Louis Daguerre. The street looks empty. Perhaps the long exposure time required meant that anything moving isn't captured on the photo. Just one person (posing for the camera?) obtains immortality. For context the... Continue Reading →
At some point most of us take stock of our life, and maybe draw up a life list to get us where we want to go. I've written a few myself! Here is such a list from one of the greatest writers in history - Leo Tolstoy. Here is a list from the great Russian... Continue Reading →
Readers reading #6 The Travelling Companions (1862) - By Augustus Egg (1816 –1863). Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Oil on canvas. 65.3 x 78.7 cm What strikes most people first is that the two young women look almost like a mirror image of each other. There is a post on doppelgängers in Victorian art here.... Continue Reading →
How about a fun little puzzle? Photographs of four women. In no particular order they are: 1. Nicole Kidman in The Portrait of a Lady (film, 1996). 2. Eva Green in Penny Dreadful (TV drama, 2014) 3. Unknown young woman from Queensland, Australia (1884). 4. Unknown young woman photographed using orthochromatic film. Date not known... Continue Reading →
The Long Victorian 