Visiting Basil
Oct. 24th, 2011 12:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anteros_lmc
Today I went to visit Basil Hall :) I'm currently reading a biography of Hall (of which more later) and was astonished to discover a picture of a bust of Hall from Pollock House which happens to be just round the corner from me. So this afternoon we went for lunch at the lovely Edwardian Kitchen Restaurant in the former servants quarters of the house and afterwards went upstairs to visit Captain Hall. This bust was commissioned by Hall himself in 1840 from "society sculptor" Samuel Joseph and was presented as a gift to Charles Dickens. Hall and Dickens met around 1838 and corresponded for a number of years prior to Hall's death in 1844. The marble bust is displayed in the Business Room on the first floor of Pollock House and I must have walked past it dozens of times without ever realising who it was! I asked one of the wardens if they knew how the bust came into the Maxwell family, sadly they didn't know but they did add that Sir John Stirling-Maxwell had collected a number of busts of famous figures. As photography is not allowed in the house I wasn't able to take a picture of Basil in situ, however here's a (rather poor) scan of the image in the biography and pictures from the RCAHMS of the Business Room where Hall now resides. Basil sits gravely on the chest in front of the large mirror beside the window, and very distinguished he looks too!
Business Room, Pollock House
PS
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
eglantine_br, sadly Basil doesn't look much like an otter but perhaps Mr Joseph didn't capture his likeness very well ;)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 01:11 am (UTC)I just finished Halls second book-- the Lieutenant and Commander. I was so impressed with the precision and warmth of his writing. I like him a lot! He is so kind, and interesting, and somehow approachable.
And as for the bust-- wow, look at that nose! These is a nose suitable for a Naval hero.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 04:15 pm (UTC)Of course you are quite right. I don't believe still otters exist in nature.
I just finished Halls second book-- the Lieutenant and Commander. I was so impressed with the precision and warmth of his writing.
Ooh I haven't read that one! One of the things that comes across very strongly in the biography (which Santa might bring you for Christmas if you're a good fangirl ;) is that his drafts required a huge amount of editing, by himself and his editors, to get them into shape for publishing. Apparently his letters are extremely verbose!
The bust is actually a little grim looking. I suspect, like the otters, Basil looked more like himself when animated. But yes, he certainly has a very distinguished naval nose!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 04:44 pm (UTC)I can believe that Hall was verbose. He obviously loved to write, and he seems to be interested in everything. And it was a verbose age. (Just imagine the letters between him and Dickens--eeek!
The book I just finished is delightful. Parts of it made me actually laugh. There is one part where he tells about pets he thinks are good to have on ships. He recommends monkeys!
He also tells about a docile pig named Jean. The crew got so fond of her that they could not bear to eat her, and she would come when called, even by him, to the quarterdeck. Finally she got so huge that she just lazed around. She was greatly in the way, but they kept her until she died of natural causes.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 10:07 pm (UTC)he tells about pets he thinks are good to have on ships. He recommends monkeys!
Monkeys? You're kidding me?! That's priceless! I wonder if he ever made the acquaintance of any sloths? ;) I love the story of Jean the pig too. Sailors can be terribly sentimental can't they?
no subject
Date: 2011-10-27 04:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-27 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 07:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-31 08:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-31 09:12 pm (UTC)