Anteros

Now who do these two fine gentlemen remind me of...?



Hope you've been having a splendid day! Apologies for going AWOL of late. RL...blah, blah, blah. Never mind, a wee parcel went off in the post today. Hope it finds you soon!

A little ballad for Halloween, from the Royal Museums Greenwich, dating from 1805.



The Sailor and the Ghost
A whimsical ballad - As sung by Mr Moody, Mr Suett, and Mr R. Palmer

Tis of a sailor this song I write, Who on the seas took great delight, The female sex for to beguile, At length two were by him with child. He promis'd to be true with both, And bound them safe all in an oath, To marry one, if he had life, And one of them he made his wife. The other being left alone, Said Oh! You false deluding one, by me you've done a wicked thing, Which public shame will to you bring. Then to a silent wood she went, Her public shame for to prevent, And soon she finished up the strife, And cut the tender thread of life. She hang'd herself upon a tree - Two me, a hunting, did her see - Her flesh by birds was beastly tore, Which griev'd the young men's hearts full sore. Straight way they went and cut her down, but in her breast a note was found; the note was written out at large - Bury me not, I do you charge -

But on the ground here let me lie, When every one that passeth by May, by me, a warning take, And see the folly when 'tis too late. So, as he is false, I will be just, And her eon earth he shall have no rest. So as she said, she plagu'd him so, Till, at last, to sea he was forc'd to go. As he was on the mainmast high, He did a little boat espy; And to prevent the wicked thing, It made him tremble every limb. Down on the deck this young man goes, And to his captain his mind disclos'd; There is a spirit coming hence, I pray you stand in my defece. Upon the deck the cpatin goes, And there he spy'd a fatal ghost; Ghost - "Captain (said she) you must and can "With speed help me to such a man." Capt. - "In St Helens this young man dy'd "And in St Helens his body lies. Ghost - "Captain (said she), do not say so, "He is dwelling down in your ship below:

"And if you stand up in his defence, "A mighty storm I will send hence, "Will cause your men and you to weep, "And leave you sleeping in the deep." Down from the deck this captain goes, And brought this young man to his foes. She fix'd her eyes on him so grim, It made him tremble every limb. It was well known I was a maid, When first by you I was betray'd; I am a spirit, come for you, You baulk'd me once, but I'll have you now. Then, to preserve both ship and men, Into a boat they forced him; The boat sunk down in a flame of fire, Which made he sailors all admire. MORAL All you that do to love belong, Now you have heard this mournful song, Be true to one, lest ill betide, And don't delude poor woman kind.

Published 25 March 1805, by Laurie and Whittle, No. 53, Fleet Street, London.

Here's a scene that might have been familiar to Archie Kennedy - Drury Lane Theatre in the early 19th century. Actually this charming image is dated 1808, so sadly it's a little late for poor Archie, but I'm sure it would have been a familiar scene.



Drury Lane Theatre by Thomas Rowlandson
Folger Shakespeare Library, CC BY SA
This image comes from the Folger Shakespeare Library who last week announced that they had released 80,000 images from their Digital Image Collection under a Creative Commons Share-Alike (CC-BY-SA) license. It's a fabulous resource, and if you're at all interested in theatre from any period, particularly the 18th and 19th century, I can highly recommend having a browse. Be warned though, it's a bit of a time sink! Oh, and if you find a young midshipman lost in the archive, do let me know ;)

Since you were all so charmed with the portrait of Sir James Clark Ross (and lets face it, who wouldn't be?), here are a few more pictures of him. As you can see he remained a very striking man even in his later years. And like Cochrane, Ross was one of those iconic figures from the Age of Sail that lived long enough to be photographed.


Is it just me, or does the older Sir James bear a striking resemblance to Dave Allan?!
My all time second favourite (first being the bearskin pic, natch) picture of James Clark Ross is this one from Look and Learn. The Navyboys are saluting the penguins! Could it get any more fabulous than that?!



James Clark Ross planting the Union Jack in the Antarctic ice in 1840 by Graham Coton

One of the things I love about old books is that they sometimes come with old book plates attached. Last week I got a new addition to the collection courtesy of nodbear who tracked down a copy of Vivian Stuart and George T. Eggleston's His Majesty's Sloop of War Diamond Rock for me, which originally came from the Seafarer's Education Society and is inset with this fabulous book plate. How's that for a fierce old sea dog?!



Another of my favourites is my second edition of Edward Osler's Life of Admiral Lord Exmouth which came from the library of author John Fowles and still has his own bookplate.


I also rather like the legend on this bookplate in Edward Fraser's Napoleon the Gaoler. I'm tempted to try and remove the library card holder but I think it would just tear the plate underneath.


"Learning has gained most by those books by which the printers have lost."

This typically satirical print from 1796 is the work of caricaturist Richard Newton. Newton worked with radical publisher William Holland who served time in Newgate Prison for publishing Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man. Newton himself published many powerful abolitionist works before his untimely death from typhus in 1798 at the age of just 21.



Richard Newton
1777–1798

While we're on the subject of toile, here's another one that might amuse you. Perhaps this one's more appropriate for the boudoir than the drawing room. Allow me to present Pascale Risbourg's Toile de Jouy...


I adore this, although I think the gentleman holding the candelabra while he's at it is being touch ambitious! Also please note the tasteful display of fruit on the side table with a prominent pineapple taking pride of place ;)

( And some tasteful accessories under the cut :) )

Reading age of sail history and fiction you get used to the almost complete absence of women. You have seek out very specific publications such as Mary Lacey's autobiography The Female Shipwright, Suzanne Stark's Female Tars or David Cordingly's Women Sailors and Sailors' Women to get an impression of the lot of women at sea during the period. While this does rather make me *sigh* I accept it as inevitable feature of the historical narrative of the period. Every so often though you read something where the absence of women that you know were there becomes so obvious that it's startling.

Last month I read David Cordingly's Billy Ruffian, which is a wonderful book, fully deserving of all the praise that has been heaped on it by reviewers. One of the most fascinating chapters comes towards the end, when Bellerophon became the temporary abode of Napoleon on his surrender to the British, prior to his exile on St Helena. Cordingly provides a moving description of the moment Napoleon steps off the French brig Epervier and into the Bellerophon's barge thus handing himself over to his former British enemies.

The sailors helped Countess Bertrand and her three children and Countess Montholon and her child into the barge. General Bertrand and General Savary followed. Napoleon was the last to leave the French brig and step down into the British boat. It was a symbolic moment which was not lost on those present. The Emperor was surrendering to the enemy.

Cordingly illustrates this momentous event with this aquatint by Jean Pierre Marie Jazet from the National Maritime Museum Collection.



It's a lovely illustration but neither hide nor hair can be seen of the countesses or the children. Of course it's unfair to criticise Cordingly for the oversight of a contemporary French artist, but the absence of the countesses and children is striking.

Later Cordingly goes on to describe how Napoleon and his suite were accommodated on board Bellerophon. Captain Maitland had suggested dividing the great after cabin in two, with one half for the Emperor and the other for the women and children. Las Cases, Napoleon's secretary, politely suggested that

"...the Emperor will be better pleased to have the whole of the after-cabin himself, as he is fond of walking about, and will by that means be able to take more exercise."

Maitland agreed to any arrangement that would be most agreeable to Napoleon. Very magnanimous of him to be sure, but it did rather leave me wondering where the women and children went. The wardroom with the officers? The larboard berth with the mids? One can't help wondering, but Cordingly doesn't tell us. Later we discover that Countess Bertrand has been accommodated in the first lieutenant's cabin when Cordingly describes how she attempted to throw herself into the sea from the gun port on hearing that her husband was likely to accompany Napoleon into exile on St Helena.

I hate to criticise David Cordingly as he is one of my favourite naval historians, and one of the few who has actually written about the lives of women at sea, but I couldn't help being struck by these noticeable absences in an otherwise excellent book. So for the record, here are the missing countesses:

Albine de Montholon Albine de Vassal's marriage to Charles Tristan de Montholon in 1812 was initially opposed by Napoleon as she was regarded as a scheming woman of questionable virtue. She accompanied Napoleon and her husband to St Helena and during her time on the island was rumoured to have had several affairs with British officers and with Napoleon himself, who was reputed to have been the father of her daughter Napoléone. Albine left St Helena in 1819, allegedly after becoming infatuated with Lieutenant Basil Jackson.

Élisabeth Françoise (Fanny) Bertrand Daughter of the Irish refugee Colonel William Dillon, and cousin of empress Josephine. Fanny has been described as willful and feisty but also appears to have been a woman of principal. She enlisted Josephine and Napoleon to help her find a husband and in 1808 married General Bertrand at their suggestion. The couple appear to have had a happy marriage and Fanny reluctantly accompanied Bertrand into exile on St Helena with their children Napoleon, Henri and Hortense. She later gave birth to a fourth child, Arthur, on the island. During their time on St Helena, Fanny aroused Napoleon's ire by refusing to live with his household at Longwood. Despite their estrangement Fanny was with the exiled Emperor when he died.

For a fascinating article on Albine and Fanny, and their relationship with Napoleon and each other, I can highly recommend John Tyrell's blog post The Ladies of Longwood: Albine de Montholon & Fanny Betrand.

Last weekend's visit to Culzean reminded me of something I've been meaning to post since this time last year! As well as the beautiful castle and grounds, Culzean also has a rather good second hand bookshop. While we were there last summer I picked up three volumes of the 1909 edition of W.H. Fitchett's How England Saved Europe, which is basically a history of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The title is rather off-putting and the author is spectacularly rude about Pellew in places but they're still useful books to have for reference. Sadly the first volume, which is the one that would have interested me most, is missing but as I only paid £3 for the other three I can hardly complain, especially when I have seen full sets selling for £150!

Anyway, what really made me squee about these books is that when I got them home I discovered four Player's cigarette cards tucked inside. Three are from a 1936 set called Old Naval Prints and one is from a 1932 set called Dandies. They're not worth anything, but they're very cute and the text accompanying the Dragoon officer is very funny :)

( ...I found some silver lace! )

Something silly I've been meaning to post for katriona_s for ages....

These are illustrations from a 1959 edition of The story of Treasure Island told in pictures. This book belonged to partner when he was a boy and he has now passed it on to daughter who was so obsessed with it for a while that it was the only book she would let us read for about two months! I confess I hid it eventually :}

If the illustrations look vaguely familiar to folk in the UK it's because they were drawn by Dudley Dexter Watkins for publishers DC Thomson, which explains why some of the characters bear more than a passing resemblance to Desperate Dan XD Watkins may not be Wyeth but I love these pictures. Watkins captures the bustle of the docks brilliantly, his ships are fabulous and his pirates properly scary!



( There be pirates! )