The world of books and art, 1789 – 1914
Arguably the Victorians invented modern sport, or at least codified it. Inevitably that enthusiasm was reflected in their art. Fishing, hunting, racing and shooting even had their own schools of painters. Going North, King's Cross Station (1893) by George Earl (English artist, lived 1824–1908). National Railway Museum. This painting shows King's Cross Station (think Harry... Continue Reading →
Book review – The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) “Hatred is blind; rage carries you away; and he who pours out vengeance runs the risk of tasting a bitter draught.” The Count of Monte Cristo is a 1250 page adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas (working with a collaborator), originally serialised... Continue Reading →
This is a short postscript to the last post, it's not going to be a regular theme. I prefer to focus on the positive, if possible. Another public museum is selling off art to pay the bills. Berkshire Museum in Massachusetts (USA) is selling off 40 of it's most notable paintings, sculptures and drawings -... Continue Reading →
Today is the anniversary of the death of Sir David Wilkie (18 November 1785 – 1 June 1841). A Scottish painter. When I think of Wilkie, I immediately think of the The Letter of Introduction. The Letter of Introduction (1813) Readers reading series #11 The painting was completed in the same year that Jane Austen's... Continue Reading →
Emily Dickinson - and the benefits of obscurity to a writer Today is the anniversary of the death of the great American poet, Emily Dickinson (10 Dec 1830 – 15 May 1886). Another author from my 'famous and appreciated … too late' series. All quotes in this post are from Emily's writing, unless mentioned otherwise.... Continue Reading →
Three Sisters of Haworth - a graphic story I have two interests that rarely get reflected on this blog. I collect/sell vintage prints (on a small scale) and I'm a fan of the world of speech bubbles (cartoons and graphic art). So I was delighted when my love of these collided with my love of... Continue Reading →
Yes - these are real Victorian design patents. We might laugh at some of them now, but they represent the hopes and dreams of a previous age. A design patent is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of a functional item. But enough of that, here are ten of my favourites:... Continue Reading →
The peculiar life & times of Flaming June: "The most wonderful painting in existence". A world renown Pre-Raphaelite piece of art - that will take us from Clapham Common to Puerto Rico, but carefully avoiding Andrew Lloyd Webber's lefty granny.
Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of H G Wells! To celebrate here are four classic illustrations from his 1897 "scientific romance" War of the Worlds (see below). H.G. didn't like the original drawings, so these are taken from the 1906 edition. Pen and ink drawings from Henrique Alvim Corrêa. I have a... Continue Reading →
I recently learned that some of Marie Curie’s notebooks are still radioactive. Researchers wishing to view them must sign a disclaimer. Many people know that Marie Curie won a Nobel prize for her pioneering research on radioactivity. But perhaps it's not so widely known that she won that illustrious prize twice and, altogether, Marie Curie’s... Continue Reading →
The Long Victorian 