Napoleon: Hero or Tyrant?

The French still cannot agree on whether Napoleon was a hero or a tyrant.

In a 2010 opinion poll, French people were asked who was the most important man in French history. General Charles de Gaulle, who governed Free France from exile during the German occupation in World War II was voted number one, followed by Napoleon.

Only two statues commemorate Napoleon in Paris: one beneath the clock tower at Les Invalides (a military hospital), the other atop a column in the Place Vendôme. No grand boulevard, square, or place bears Napoleon’s name. Just a narrow street—the rue Bonaparte.

“It’s almost as if Napoleon Bonaparte is not part of the national story,” said professor Peter Hicks, a British historian with the Napoléon Foundation in Paris.

Join me as we explore some of the reasons why Napoleon was such a controversial figure.

Then vote below whether you think Napoleon was a hero or a tyrant.

Napoleon the Hero vs Napoleon the Tyrant

Napoleon Hero vs Tyrant
Napoleon: Hero or Tyrant?

Napoleon the Hero

Napoleon enthusiast David Chanteranne, editor of a magazine published by Napoléonic Memory, France’s oldest and largest Napoleonic association, cites some of Napoleon’s achievements: the Civil Code, the Council of State, the Bank of France, the National Audit office, a centralized and coherent administrative system, lycées, universities, centers of advanced learning known as école normale, chambers of commerce, the metric system and freedom of religion.

These were ambitions unachieved during the chaos of the revolution. He was a savior of France. If there had been no Napoleon, the Republic would not have survived.David Chanteranne

Many of the institutions started by Napoleon were copied in countries that he conquered—Italy, Germany, and Poland, and laid the foundations for the modern state.

The University of France was a central organizing body for education founded by Napoleon in 1808 and given authority over universities as well as primary and secondary education.

Napoleon set in motion a system of secular and public education reforms that are the foundation for the modern educational system in France and much of Europe. He founded a number of state secondary schools, called lycées, to provide a standardized education open to everyone. All students were taught the sciences, plus modern and classical languages. Advanced centers—notably the École Polytechnique—provided both military expertise and state-of-the-art research in science. The system offered scholarships and strict discipline and outperformed its European counterparts.

Clovis bell tower and cloister, Lycée Henri-IV, Paris. Credit Lucdew

The Lycée Louis-le-Grand is a public secondary school located in Paris, widely regarded as one of the most prestigious in France.

Napoleon is considered one of the greatest commanders in history—his campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Hundreds of groups study, discuss and venerate him; stage re-enactments of his battles in costume; throw lavish balls; and stage events. Napoleon was regarded by the influential military theorist Carl von Clausewitz as a genius in the operational art of war, and historians rank him as a great military commander. The Duke of Wellington, when asked who was the greatest general of the day, answered: “In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon.” Israeli military historian and theorist, Martin van Creveld, described him as “the most competent human being who ever lived”.

Across Europe, Napoleon implemented several liberal reforms to civil affairs, including abolishing feudalism, establishing legal equality, religious toleration, and legalizing divorce. His lasting achievement, the Napoleonic Code, has been adopted by dozens of nations around the world. The Code forbade birthright privilege, granted freedom of religion and specified that government jobs should be awarded on merit alone.

The Napoleonic Code. Credit DerHexer, Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0

Prior to the Napoleonic Code, France did not have a single set of laws; the law was based on local customs, exemptions, privileges, and special charters granted by kings or other feudal lords. Although the Code has been altered since its inception, the general structure remains the same.

Napoleon implemented a wide array of liberal reforms in France and across Europe, especially in Italy and Germany, as summarized by British historian Andrew Roberts in his book Napoleon: A Life, p.33:

The ideas that underpin our modern world–meritocracy, equality before the law, property rights, religious toleration, modern secular education, sound finances, and so on–were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon. To them he added a rational and efficient local administration, an end to rural banditry, the encouragement of science and the arts, the abolition of feudalism and the greatest codification of laws since the fall of the Roman Empire.Andrew Roberts

Andrew Roberts also claims that, contrary to popular belief, Napoleon wasn’t a warmonger. He started two wars—the Peninsula War against Portugal and Spain, and later the Invasion of Russia—versus seven coalition wars declared against Napoleonic France.

In 1806, Napoleon emancipated Jews, (as well as Protestants in Catholic countries and Catholics in Protestant countries), from laws restricting them to ghettos, expanding their rights to property, worship, and careers.

I will never accept any proposals that will obligate the Jewish people to leave France, because to me the Jews are the same as any other citizen in our country. It takes weakness to chase them out of the country, but it takes strength to assimilate them.

Weakness in the French economy during the 1790’s caused a drop in foreign trade and soaring prices. Inflation and debt escalated with the issuance of more paper money until, by 1795, inflation reached 3500%. In 1800, Napoleon founded the Bank of France, which together with a revised tax code, finally brought inflation under control, eliminated the national debt within a year and balanced the budget for the first time since 1738.

After conquering Egypt in the expedition of 1798, Napoleon founded the Institut d’Égypte. Accompanying the voyage was an immense contingent of scholars, scientists, artists, and engravers who set about studying mummies, surveying temples, and recording their findings. They produced a monumental 24-volume document called Description of Egypta comprehensive scientific account of ancient and modern Egypt, which laid the foundation for the study of “Egyptology”. They also discovered the Rosetta Stone, which proved to be the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Bonaparte Before the Sphinx by Jean-Léon Gérôme
The true conquests, the only ones that leave no regret, are those that have been wrested from ignorance.Bonaparte

The last word goes to France’s foremost Napoleonic scholar, Jean Tulard, who said that Bonaparte was the architect of modern France.

If Napoleon had not crushed a Royalist rebellion and seized power in 1799, the French monarchy and feudalism would have returned. Like Cincinnatus in ancient Rome, Napoleon wanted a dictatorship of public salvation. He gets all the power, and, when the project is finished, he returns to his plough.Jean Tulard

Napoleon the Tyrant

Professor Chris Clark, a Cambridge University historian, said of Napoleon:

Napoleon was not a French patriot—he was first a Corsican and later an imperial figure, a journey in which he bypassed any deep affiliation with the French nation. His relationship with the French Revolution is deeply ambivalent. Did he stabilize it or shut it down? He seems to have done both. He rejected democracy, he suffocated the representative dimension of politics, and he created a culture of courtly display.Professor Chris Clark

Napoleon tried to represent himself as a Caesar: his coronation crown was a laurel wreath made of gold; his icon, the eagle, was also borrowed from Rome; and he wears a Roman toga on the bas-reliefs in his tomb.

From The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David

Before crowning himself emperor, Napoleon sought approval in a rigged plebiscite in which 3,572,329 voted in favor, 2,567 against. A plebiscite was a national referendum, for which voters were not allowed to debate the issues involved. Napoleon didn’t trust voters’ opinions, so he had his loyal agents count the votes to make sure the results came out as desired. Furthermore, each “yes” or “no” was recorded, along with the name and address of the voter. The minister of police, Joseph Fouché, promptly suppressed any criticism. The combination of a ruthless police state and rigged elections became a staple of populist dictatorial regimes to the present.

Napoleon personally oversaw the productions of plays in the theaters of France. If Napoleon disapproved of a playwright’s work, his career was over. Napoleon also controlled the press, dropping the number of newspapers in Paris from over sixty in 1799 to four by 1814.

Considered a master of the use of propaganda, Napoleon recognized the power of manipulation of symbols to glorify his victories while blaming others for his failures. Like Caesar before him, he self-congratulated his military exploits and created the image of a dashing commander. Napoleon understood how to convince the population that sacrifice for one’s emperor and nation were more important than the rights of the individual. This is how he was able to assemble such large armies, no matter how bad things were.

His extravagant coronation in Notre Dame in December 1804 cost 8.5 million francs or $8.5 million in today’s money. He made his brothers, sisters and stepchildren kings, queens, princes and princesses and created a Napoleonic aristocracy numbering 3,500. By any measure, it was a bizarre progression for someone often described as “a child of the Revolution.”

“He guaranteed some principles of the revolution and at the same time, changed its course, finished it and betrayed it,” said Lionel Jospin, the Socialist former prime minister and author of The Napoleonic Evil, which has topped the best-seller lists. For instance, Napoleon reintroduced slavery in French colonies, revived a system that allowed the rich to dodge conscription in the military and did nothing to advance gender equality.

The grandiose image Napoleon created for himself, as well as the tightly controlled society that he established once in power, was a model for a totalitarian state that Hitler and Stalin would follow with such ruthlessness in the next century. Those who deified him were crushed under his iron hand. Joseph Fouche, the head of the secret police, extending Emperor Napoleon’s reach into every aspect of French society through a vast network of spies. Jean-Paul Bertaud, a Professor Emeritus of History at La Sorbonne in Paris, and a specialist on the French Revolution and military history explained what life was like under Napoleon’s iron rule:

You go to a salon, there’s a spy. You go a brothel, there is a spy. You go to a restaurant, there is a spy. Everywhere there are spies of the police. Everyone listens to what you say. It’s impossible to express yourself unless Napoleon wants you to.

Napoleon had no qualms about killing French citizens. In 1795, he mowed down the Parisian mob with cannons, an event known as the 13 Vendémiaire. He showed no hesitation in using extreme force to quell the uprising with what became known as “a whiff of grapeshot”—deadly slugs of metal packed into bags or canisters, then fired into the mob at close range, ripping through flesh with terrifying effectiveness.

In a PBS documentary, Owen Connelly Professor of History at The University of South Carolina said:

Napoleon was not one to pussy-foot around. He would use all his weapons. Nobody had really used cannon on the Paris mobs before. He was gonna shoot. He waited ’til he could see the whites of their eyes. Almost in one blast the whole thing was over. He probably killed a hundred people. He was not a very popular man with the rank and file, the man on the street in Paris after that.Professor Owen Connelly

Napoleon was famously worshiped by his troops, but did he return their loyalty? During the Egyptian campaign of 1798-1801, Bonaparte’s failed siege of the fortified city of Acre (now Akko in modern Israel) left his army poorly supplied and weakened by disease—mostly bubonic plague. To hasten the retreat back to Egypt, he ordered plague-stricken men to be poisoned. He later abandoned the remainder of his army—some 30,000—secretly returning to France to a hero’s welcome, while his loyal army remained in Egypt to fend for themselves. In exile on St Helena, he said:

I care only for people who are useful to me— and only so long as they are useful.

Later in 1812, Napoleon ignored advice from his closest advisors and invaded Russia. A doomed campaign, his inflated ego cost the lives of some 500,000 men, most dying not from fighting, but from starvation, sickness, and exposure during the long retreat back to France. When rumors of a coup in Paris reached him, he once again abandoned what remained of the Grande Armée—from the 600,000 men he took into Russia, only 93,000 survived.

Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow by Adolph Northen

As Napoleon’s power waned, his censorship was no longer able to hide his failures. He needed victories on the battlefield in order to maintain control of his empire. After his eventual defeat, his soldiers still considered him their true leader and helped him regain control of France. Under Napoleon’s command, he promised to raise them and make them all heroes once again.

The last word goes to former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin from an article in Newsweek:

Napoleon was “an obvious failure”—bad for France and the rest of Europe. When he was shown the door, France was isolated, beaten, occupied, dominated, hated and smaller than before. What’s more, Napoleon smothered the forces of emancipation awakened by the French and American revolutions and enabled the survival and restoration of monarchies.Lionel Jospin

Hero or Tyrant? Cast Your Vote.

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Cast your vote: was Napoleon a Hero or a Tyrant?


References (Contains some Amazon affiliate links)

Why Napoleon’s Still a Problem in France – Newsweek.
Napoleon – PBS.
Napoleon: A Biography – Frank McLynn.
Reforms Under Napoleon Bonaparte – Nicholas Stark.
Napoleon – Wikipedia.
A Short History of Europe –  Lisa Rosner, John Theibault
Napoleon and the Revolution – David P. Jordan

If Only the Dead Could Talk—the Ghost of the Red Barn Murder

It was the year 1828.

In the little English village of Polstead in Suffolk, Mrs. Marten was having a bad dream.

A ghostly figure appeared to her, pointing to a spot on the ground.

The ghost was her missing stepdaughter, and the place she pointed to was inside the Red Barn, a local landmark.

Waking in a panic, she nudged her husband, the young woman’s father, beckoning him to go to the Red Barn and dig near one of the grain storage bins.

Reluctantly, her husband went out into the yard to fetch a shovel before making his way over to the Red Barn.

Buried in a sack he found the badly decomposed remains of his daughter, Maria, still recognizable from her hair and clothing.

An inquest concluded that she had been murdered.

Maria Marten
Maria Marten

Implicated by evidence found with the body, the prime suspect was one William Corder, the man Maria was supposed to have eloped with.

But Corder was nowhere to be found.

By all accounts, William Corder, the son of a local farmer, was something of a fraudster and a ladies’ man.

Called “Foxey” at school because of his sly manner, he had been found guilty of forgery and stealing in his youth.

Banished to London for bringing disgrace to his family, he would return to Polstead when his brother Thomas drowned attempting to cross a frozen pond.

And when his father and three brothers all died within the following 18 months, he had to run the family farm alone with his mother.

Corder started seeing Maria Marten, an attractive woman who was known for several relationships with men from the neighbourhood that had already resulted in two children.

The first had been fathered by Corder’s own brother, but had died in infancy, and the second from a man who refused to marry her but sent money every month to provide for the child.

Having children out of wedlock was a social taboo and so it was with some regret that Maria announced to Corder that she was pregnant.

Corder promised to do the decent thing and marry her.

But secretly, he was hatching a dastardly plan.

Corder burying the body of Maria Marten
Corder burying the body of Maria Marten

In the presence of her mother, he proposed to Maria that they elope, explaining that he had heard rumours about officers preparing to prosecute her for having children out of wedlock.

Maria heard nothing from him for a few days, then he arrived at her cottage saying they must leave at once because the local constable had a warrant for her arrest.

Corder took Maria’s things and told her to dress in men’s clothing to avert suspicion, then meet him at the Red Barn about a half mile away, where she could change before they eloped.

That was the last time Maria was seen alive.

Corder himself disappeared from the village but later returned, explaining that they were married and that Maria was staying in a nearby town because he needed to explain the situation to his friends and relatives before introducing her as his wife.

Days passed and suspicions grew as Maria did not return to the village.

Corder fled but wrote letters to Maria’s family explaining that they were living happily on the Isle of Wight, some 200 miles away.

He gave excuses as to why she hadn’t written herself, saying she was not well, her letters must have been lost, or that she’d injured her hand.

It wouldn’t be too long before Corder was discovered, leading a double life with another woman in London.

The Arrest of Corder
The Arrest of Corder

Placing an ad in the lonely hearts column of the Times newspaper, he had met and married another woman, Mary Moore, and was helping her run a boarding house.

Officer James Lea of the London police inquired about boarding his daughter there and in the process gained access, surprising Corder as he entertained guests in the parlour.

Denying all knowledge of both Maria and the crime, a search of the house uncovered some pistols bought on the day of the murder.

A passport from the French ambassador also suggested Corder was planning to flee to France, having caught wind of the discovery of Maria’s body from a friend’s letters.

William Corder's pistols
William Corder’s pistols

Tried at Shire Hall in Suffolk, such was the public interest that admittance to the court was by ticket only and the judge and court officials had to push their way through the crowds.

The press had already decided on Corder’s guilt and congratulated the overwhelming public opinion that shared the same sentiment.

Indicted on nine charges to avoid any chance of a mistrial, Corder pleaded not guilty.

Murdering Maria Marten, by feloniously and wilfully shooting her with a pistol through the body, and likewise stabbing her with a dagger.

Ann Marten, Maria’s stepmother testified about her dreams, while Thomas Marten related the story of digging up his daughter’s body.

Maria’s little brother said he’d seen Corder with a pistol before Maria’s disappearance and later, walking from the barn with a pickaxe.

Suggesting that he never intended to marry Maria, the prosecution claimed that she had discovered Corder’s criminal past and had accused him of stealing money sent by her child’s father.

William Corder awaiting trial
William Corder awaiting trial

Admitting to being in the barn, Corder said they had argued and that he had then left her alone only to hear a pistol shot while he was walking away.

Running back to the barn, he said he found Maria dead with one of his pistols beside her.

Although he pleaded with the jury to give him the benefit of the doubt, it took them only 35 minutes to find him guilty.

That you be taken back to the prison from whence you came, and that you be taken from thence, on Monday next, to a place of Execution, and that you there be hanged by the Neck until you are Dead; and that your body shall afterwards be dissected and anatomized; and may the Lord God Almighty, of his infinite goodness, have mercy on your soul!

After several meetings with the prison chaplain, Corder confessed to accidentally shooting Maria in the eye as she was changing out of the man’s clothing he suggested she wear as a disguise.

Estimates of the number of people in attendance at his execution ranged from 7,000 to 20,000.

Just before the hood went over his head, he confessed again:

I am guilty; my sentence is just; I deserve my fate; and, may God have mercy on my soul.

Corder’s body was put on display in the courtroom with the abdomen cut open to reveal the muscles.

Over 5,000 people queued to see the gruesome sight.

The execution of William Corder, the Red Barn Murderer
The execution of William Corder, the Red Barn Murderer

Later, in front of an audience of students from Cambridge University, electric wires were attached to Corder’s body to demonstrate the contraction of muscles using electrical currents.

What must have gone through the minds of those students to see a dead body move?

How many wondered about the scientific possibility of ghosts communicating from the dead?

Here was a story that had all the elements to ignite the public’s imagination.

A poor girl murdered by a wicked squire; the supernatural communication with the dead; and Corder’s new life resulting from a lonely hearts advertisement.

19th-century fascination with the macabre knew no bounds.

Pieces of the rope used to hang Corder sold for a guinea each.

Part of Corder’s scalp with a shriveled ear still attached was displayed in a shop in London’s Oxford Street.

A lock of Maria’s hair sold for two guineas.

Polstead village became a tourist mecca with an estimated 200,000 visitors in 1828 alone.

Stripped for souvenirs, the Red Barn eventually burned down in 1842, but not before planks were removed from the sides, broken up, and sold as toothpicks.

The Victorian play “Maria Marten”, or “The Murder in the Red Barn” was a sensational hit throughout the mid 19th century and possibly the most performed play of the era.

Even 19th-century fairground peep shows had to add extra apertures for viewers during shows of the murder.

19th-century fairground peep show
19th-century fairground peep show

Victorians portrayed Corder as a cold-blooded monster and Maria as the innocent victim, pure as the driven snow.

To suit Victorian sensibilities, her reputation and her children by other fathers was omitted, while Corder’s appearance deliberately aged to exaggerate his wickedness.

Doubts were raised about the veracity of Ann Marten’s dreams of Maria’s ghost.

How could she have known the exact location of Maria’s body unless the ghost really did appear … or the story was fabricated?

Ann was only one year older than Maria and rumours circulated of a possible affair between Ann and Corder.

Could Ann have been the murderer?

We’ll never know.

One thing is for certain—Maria’s ghost, whether dreamed or imagined, played a decisive role in the fate of William Corder and solving the Red Barn murder.

Memorial to Maria Marten in St Marys church yard Polstead, Suffolk. Credit Keith Evans
Memorial to Maria Marten in St Marys church yard Polstead, Suffolk. Credit Keith Evans

Francois Flameng: Interpreter of Beauty

Beautiful places, beautiful people, beautiful clothes—Francois Flameng loved to paint them all.

Born in an art studio in Paris in 1856, Flameng may have known from an early age that he was destined to be an artist.

Indeed, in many ways, he had everything going for him.

Paris was the center of the art world and his father was a celebrated engraver who had once wished to be a painter.

All of his father’s regrets were channeled into making his son a success.

Specializing in history painting and portraiture, Francois Flameng became a professor at the Académie des Beaux-Arts—the premier institution of fine art in France.

If you’d like to add a little atmosphere as we view a gallery of Flameng’s work, press play.

Napoleon I and the King of Rome at Saint-Cloud in 1811 by Francois Flameng
Napoleon I and the King of Rome at Saint-Cloud in 1811 by Francois Flameng
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna by Francois Flameng, 1898
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna by Francois Flameng, 1898

Many of his studies in Italy are rich in architectural detail in the most vivid light and color.

The Carnival in Venice by Francois Flameng
The Carnival in Venice by Francois Flameng
Ile Pointeaux by Francois Flameng
Ile Pointeaux by Francois Flameng
Equestrienne Au Cirque Fernando by Francois Flameng - c. 1890
Equestrienne Au Cirque Fernando by Francois Flameng – c. 1890
Intelligence by Francois Flameng
Intelligence by Francois Flameng
Reception at Malmaison in 1802 by Francois Flameng, c.1894
Reception at Malmaison in 1802 by Francois Flameng, c.1894
A Concert in Versailles by Francois Flameng
A Concert in Versailles by Francois Flameng
Napoleon I and the King of Rome at Saint-Cloud by Francois Flameng, 1896
Napoleon I and the King of Rome at Saint-Cloud by Francois Flameng, 1896
Portrait of a Lady by Francois Flameng
Portrait of a Lady by Francois Flameng

Flameng would often use a camera lucida to create an optical superimposition of his subject.

Allowing him to duplicate key points of the scene on the drawing surface, it would aid in the accurate rendering of perspective.

How a camera lucida device is used to help with drawing composition
How a camera lucida device is used to help with drawing composition

Once he had the sketch to ensure proportion and perspective were correct, he would paint rapidly yet with such fine detail that within an hour he had what took most artists four hours to complete.

Princess Zinaida Yusupova with her sons Felix and Nikolai at Arkhangelskoye by Francois Flameng - 1894
Princess Zinaida Yusupova with her sons Felix and Nikolai at Arkhangelskoye by Francois Flameng – 1894
Mrs Adeline M. Noble by Francois Flameng
Mrs Adeline M. Noble by Francois Flameng
Napoleon I hunting in the Forest of Fontainebleau, 1807 by Francois Flameng
Napoleon I hunting in the Forest of Fontainebleau, 1807 by Francois Flameng
An Elite Soldier of the Imperial Guard by Francois Flameng
An Elite Soldier of the Imperial Guard by Francois Flameng
I have always thought that portraits ought to be arranged as pictures.Francois Flameng

Flameng said that fashions and hairstyles changed so often that the exact likeness captured in a portrait was gone within a few short years.

Therefore, he said, portraits should aim to be pleasant works of art that one would purchase to adorn the wall of a drawing room, even if it were not a portrait of one’s own image.

Zinaida Yusupova with the famous Yusupov family La Pelegrina pearl by Francois Flameng - 1894
Zinaida Yusupova with the famous Yusupov family La Pelegrina pearl by Francois Flameng – 1894
Maria Fedorovna by Francois Flameng, 1894
Maria Fedorovna by Francois Flameng, 1894

Flameng found that he learned as much about the social aspects of his work as he did the actual practicing of his art.

Making sittings more agreeable for models he had to learn their tastes and habits, likes and dislikes.

That way, he could encourage them to pose in ways that reflected their personality and remain in one position for a long time without noticing it as much.

Portrait of the Duchess Dora Leichtenberg by Francois Flameng - 1896
Portrait of the Duchess Dora Leichtenberg by Francois Flameng – 1896

Of equal importance to remaining true to his artistic integrity was producing a work that was pleasing to the subject and also to her friends and acquaintances.

Portrait of Mme D by Francois Flameng - 1911
Portrait of Mme D by Francois Flameng – 1911

When subjects disagreed with his choice of arrangement or style of composition, he would use all his skill to gradually encourage her to see his point of view without contradicting or offending, always admitting she was right, but gently helping her drop her own preconceived mental image.

Family Portrait of a Boy and his two Sisters admiring a Sketch Book by Francois Flameng, 1900
Family Portrait of a Boy and his two Sisters admiring a Sketch Book by Francois Flameng, 1900
The Chess Game by Francois Flameng
The Chess Game by Francois Flameng
The People of Paris Come to Versailles by Francois Flameng
The People of Paris Come to Versailles by Francois Flameng
Offizier des Chasseurs à Cheval Regiments of the Napoleonic Imperial Guard by Francois Flameng
Offizier des Chasseurs à Cheval Regiments of the Napoleonic Imperial Guard by Francois Flameng
Portrait of Madame Max Decougis by Francois Flameng
Portrait of Madame Max Decougis by Francois Flameng
Even the ordinary woman is a thousand times more worthwhile to paint than the ordinary man. But women are never ordinary.Francois Flameng
Portrait of a Lady by Francois Flameng
Portrait of a Lady by Francois Flameng

Flameng painted the colors and pageantry of war.

But he was no stranger to its violence.

At age 14, he was playing with fellow students at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, when a bombshell exploded in the courtyard.

It was a gift from the Prussians to mark the onset of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and it prompted him to enlist.

Accepted in the ambulance corps, when Paris fell to the Prussians, he saw seven children killed under the window of his father’s house in Montparnasse.

Napoleon and his staff reviewing the mounted chasseurs of the Imperial Guard by Francois Flameng
In the Woods by Francois Flameng
In the Woods by Francois Flameng
A portrait painter should not only be endowed with talent, but also possess the qualities of a philosopher, of an observer, of a psychologist, and be provided with inexhaustible patience.Francois Flameng
Lady Duveen, née Salamon by Francois Flameng, 1910
Lady Duveen, née Salamon by Francois Flameng, 1910
Portrait Of Mademoiselle Herpin by Francois Flameng - 1908
Portrait Of Mademoiselle Herpin by Francois Flameng – 1908
Picnic by Francois Flameng
Picnic by Francois Flameng
Evening by Francois Flameng
Evening by Francois Flameng
Napoleon After The Battle Of Waterloo by Francois Flameng
Napoleon After The Battle Of Waterloo by Francois Flameng
Portrait of a mother with her children in the garden by Francois Flameng
Portrait of a mother with her children in the garden by Francois Flameng
An Evening's Entertainment for Josephine by Francois Flameng
An Evening’s Entertainment for Josephine by Francois Flameng

Francois Flameng didn’t only paint beauty.

Renowned for his paintings that showed some of the horrors of the First World War, he was an accredited documenter for the War Ministry and named honorary president of the Society of Military Painters.

Flameng’s war paintings were derided by many critics for being too realistic and not including heroic drama.

World War I by François Flameng
World War I by François Flameng
The offensive of the Yser, First French line near Het-Sas, by François Flameng
The offensive of the Yser, First French line near Het-Sas, by François Flameng
World War I Attack by François Flameng
World War I Attack by François Flameng

Lafayette—the Hero of Two Worlds

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer.

To many of us, he is simply the famous Frenchman who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

But there is much more to this amazing man than meets the eye.

Here are 10 fascinating facts about the Marquis de Lafayette that you may not be aware of.

1
Lafayette was made a King’s Musketeer at age thirteen

At just 13 years old, Lafayette entered the King’s Musketeers as a junior commissioned officer.

He was in exalted company alongside legendary musketeers like Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan—the real-life historical basis for Alexandre Dumas’s character d’Artagnan in the novel The Three Musketeers.

Reserved for nobles, the Musketeers were among the most prestigious of the military companies of the Ancien Régime—the old political and social system that had been in place in France since the late Middle Ages.

D'Artagnan at the monument to Alexandre Dumas, Paris, France
D’Artagnan at the monument to Alexandre Dumas, Paris, France

Founded in 1622 to guard the king while he was outside of the royal residences, the uniform changed from the flamboyant cavalier style of d’Artagnon to the more utilitarian dress that Lafayette would have worn (shown as the two central figures below).

Uniforms of Musketeers of the Guard, 1660-1814
Uniforms of Musketeers of the Guard, 1660-1814

In 1664, the two companies were reorganized into “Grey Musketeers”, from the color of their matched horses, and “Black Musketeers”, mounted on black horses.

Lafayette’s six years in the Black Musketeers must have served him well for what lay ahead.

2
Lafayette was instrumental in the outcome of the American Revolutionary War

Not only was Lafayette effective as a military officer with hands-on engagement in several battles, for which he was commended by Washington himself, he was also instrumental in securing French finance, troops, and ships to aid the American cause.

Charming, tall, and idealistic, the 19-year-old Lafayette had defied the French king’s orders and enlisted to fight in America for the prospect of glory, chivalry, and liberty.

Nation Makers by Howard Pyle depicts a scene from the Battle of Brandywine
Nation Makers by Howard Pyle depicts a scene from the Battle of Brandywine

Shot in the leg at his first battle at Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania, it wasn’t long before Lafayette was back on his feet again, spending the winter of 1777 camped at Valley Forge alongside Washington and the Continental Army.

Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed more than 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778.

Despite his privileged aristocratic upbringing, Lafayette willingly endured the hardship along with everyone else.

Lafayette (right) and Washington at Valley Forge
Lafayette (right) and Washington at Valley Forge

So severe were the conditions at times that even Washington was in despair.

unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place… this Army must inevitably… starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner they can.

A year later, Lafayette returned to France, where his wife Adrienne gave birth to a son they named Georges Washington Lafayette.

And he also secured the promise of 6,000 French troops.

Marie Adrienne Francoise de Noailles, Marquise de La Fayette (1759-1807)
Marie Adrienne Francoise de Noailles, Marquise de La Fayette (1759-1807)

Lafayette sailed for America once more in March of 1780 in the frigate Hermione.

3
Lafayette became an American citizen before becoming  a French citizen

After the Revolutionary War in 1784, Lafayette visited America again.

He met Washington at Mount Vernon, addressed the Virginia House of Delegates and the Pennsylvania Legislature, and went to the Mohawk Valley in New York to help make peace with the Iroquois.

For his troubles and gratitude for his selfless service during the war, Harvard granted him an honorary degree, and the states of Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia granted him American citizenship.

Lafayette later boasted that he had become an American citizen before the concept of French citizenship even existed.

Greater coat of arms of the United States
Greater coat of arms of the United States

4
Lafayette was a lifelong abolitionist

Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784 by Rossiter and Mignot, 1859
Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784 by Rossiter and Mignot, 1859

Lafayette was a staunch opponent to the concept of slavery.

His writing was adopted as part of the French Constitution and included revolutionary ideas such as the freedom and equality of all men.

Although his work never specifically mentioned slavery, he made his views clear in letters to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Hoping that Washington and Jefferson might adopt his ideas to free the slaves in America, he proffered that slaves could be made free tenants on the land of plantation owners.

But his ideas fell on deaf ears, so in 1785, he bought a plantation in the French colony of Cayenne to put his experimental ideas into practice.

A lifetime abolitionist, he was also a pragmatist and recognized the crucial role slavery played in many economies.

George Washington did eventually begin implementing Lafayette’s practices in his own plantation in Mount Vernon.

And Lafayette’s own grandson, Gustave de Beaumont later released a novel discussing the issues of racism.

One of Lafayette’s publications was monumental in expediting France’s abolition of slavery in 1794—the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

5
Lafayette helped write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Passed by Frances’ National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is an important document in the history of human and civil rights.

Directly influenced by Thomas Jefferson, it states that the rights of man are held to be universal and valid at all times and in every place.

It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by the law.

Inspired by the Enlightenment, the Declaration provided the rationale for the French Revolution and had a major impact on the development of freedom and democracy in Europe and worldwide.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

6
Lafayette created the French Tricolor

After the French Revolution broke out, Lafayette was appointed commander-in-chief of the National Guard of France, tasked with maintaining order.

He proposed a new symbol for the Guard: a blue, white, and red cockade.

French revolutionaries wearing Phrygian caps and tricolor cockades and sans-culotte carrying earlier tricolor
French revolutionaries wearing Phrygian caps and tricolor cockades and sans-culotte carrying earlier tricolor

Combining the red and blue colors of Paris with the royal white, it was the origin of the French tricolor.

Multiple French flags as commonly flown from public buildings
Multiple French flags as commonly flown from public buildings

7
Lafayette and his family narrowly escaped execution in the French Revolution

As the French Revolution deepened, it became ever more extreme.

Lafayette had tried to maintain order and steer a middle ground.

But when radicals asserted control, a Reign of Terror ensued that swept even Lafayette into mortal danger.

Lafayette criticized the growing influence of the radicals and called for their parties to be “closed down by force”.

It was a risky move in the political climate of the time.

Marie Antoinette's execution in 1793 at the Place de la Révolution

An escape attempt by King Louis XVI and his family dubbed the “Flight to Varennes” had extremists like Georges Danton pointing the finger at Lafayette for allowing it to happen on his watch.

And one of the most influential figures of all—Maximilien Robespierre—labeled Lafayette a traitor.

Georges Danton and Maximilien Robespierre
Georges Danton and Maximilien Robespierre

Sensing the public mood had changed against him, Lafayette left Paris and Danton put out a warrant for his arrest.

8
Lafayette spent 5 years in prison

Hoping to return to the United States, Lafayette traveled through the Austrian Netherlands in what is now Belgium.

Expecting right of passage as a fleeing refugee, Lafayette’s luck ran out when he was recognized by the Austrians and treated as a dangerous revolutionary.

Held prisoner until such time as the monarchy was reinstated in France, he tried to use his American citizenship to secure his release.

Lafayette in prison
Lafayette in prison

Although unsuccessful, Washington and Jefferson were able to use diplomatic loopholes to get money to Lafayette, which he was able to use to secure his family’s safety.

U.S. Minister to France and future president, James Monroe used his influence to win the release of Lafayette’s wife Adrienne and their two daughters.

Lafayette is reunited with his wife and daughters
Lafayette is reunited with his wife and daughters

9
Lafayette’s reputation was used to gain support for entry into World War I

Lafayette’s name and image were repeatedly invoked in 1917 in seeking to gain popular support for America’s entry into World War I.

In a speech given in Paris during the First World War, Charles E. Stanton included a memorable expression that would become the famous phrase, “Lafayette, we are here.”

WWI poster 'Lafayette, we are here now'
WWI poster ‘Lafayette, we are here now’

Stanton visited the tomb of Lafayette along with General John J. Pershing to honor the nobleman’s assistance during the Revolutionary War and assure the French people that the people of the United States would aid them in World War I.

America has joined forces with the Allied Powers, and what we have of blood and treasure are yours. Therefore it is that with loving pride we drape the colors in tribute of respect to this citizen of your great republic. And here and now, in the presence of the illustrious dead, we pledge our hearts and our honor in carrying this war to a successful issue. Lafayette, we are here.

Sadly, Lafayette’s image suffered as a result when veterans returned from the front singing “We’ve paid our debt to Lafayette, who the hell do we owe now?”

10
Lafayette is buried under soil taken from Bunker Hill

Lafayette died on 20 May 1834, and is buried in Picpus Cemetery in Paris, under soil taken from Bunker Hill.

For his accomplishments in the service of both France and the United States, he is sometimes known as “The Hero of the Two Worlds“.

Death of General Lafayette by Gondelfinger, 1834
Death of General Lafayette by Gondelfinger, 1834
US Marines Decorating Grave of Lafayette, Picpus Cemetery, Paris 1889
US Marines Decorating Grave of Lafayette, Picpus Cemetery, Paris 1889

American journalist, historian, and author, Marc Leepson, concluded his study of Lafayette’s life:

The Marquis de Lafayette was far from perfect. He was sometimes vain, naive, immature, and egocentric. But he consistently stuck to his ideals, even when doing so endangered his life and fortune. Those ideals proved to be the founding principles of two of the world’s most enduring nations, the United States and France. That is a legacy that few military leaders, politicians, or statesmen can match.
Statue of Lafayette on north end of University of Vermont Green, sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward, 1883
Statue of Lafayette on north end of University of Vermont Green, sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward, 1883

Boston’s 17th-Century Burying Grounds

The Grim Reaper made frequent visits to colonial Boston.

Disease and the difficulties of childbirth sent many men, women, and children to an early grave.

Seven smallpox epidemics had struck Boston by 1730.

The 1721 outbreak infected over half of Boston’s 11,000 population and left 850 dead.

Almost a quarter of Boston’s 17th-century grave markers are for children below the age of 10.

Losing a spouse to disease meant that remarriage was not only encouraged but was important to the survival of their families.

Headstone carving designs often symbolized the omnipresence of death.

Skull and Crossbones headstone design. Credit Robert Linsdell
Skull and Crossbones headstone design. Credit Robert Linsdell

Headstone Carving Symbols

Used since the medieval period as a symbol of mortality and reflecting the Puritan religious influence, the Winged Skull or Death’s Head is the most common headstone carving design in Boston’s oldest burying grounds.

Winged Skull or Death's Head headstone carving
Winged Skull or Death’s Head headstone carving

Moving up on the cheerfulness scale is the much more genial Winged Face or Cherub.

Also called a “Soul Effigy“, it was a common headstone carving in the mid 1700s.

Winged Face of Cherub Headstone carving
Winged Face of Cherub Headstone carving

Popular after the American Revolution, the Urn-and-Willow symbolizes both death and mourning.

Urns are classical symbols of death because of their ancient use for holding ashes.

Weeping willows, as the name implies, symbolize sorrow at the loss of a loved one.

Urn and Willow Headstone carving
Urn and Willow Headstone carving
Three headstone carving designs placed side by side. Credit Ingfbruno
Three headstone carving designs placed side by side. Credit Ingfbruno

Wealthy Bostonians enthusiastically embraced Heraldic designs such as coats-of-arms which symbolized lineage and status.

The fruit around the edges symbolized eternal plenty.

Heraldic Headstone carving
Heraldic Headstone carving

Boston’s 17th-Century Burying Grounds

Within Boston’s three oldest burying grounds lie the remains of many of America’s pilgrims and Patriots of the American Revolution.

All three are on the Freedom Trail—a 2.5 mile path through downtown Boston passing 16 sites of historical significance.

Boston's Freedom Trail
Boston’s Freedom Trail
Map of Boston, Massachusetts
Map of Boston, Massachusetts

King’s Chapel Burying Ground

Of Boston’s three 17th-century burying grounds, the oldest is King’s Chapel Burying Ground—simply called “the burying place” when it was first opened in 1630 on the outskirts of the new Puritan Settlement.

King’s Chapel Burying Ground, Boston, 1833

Seeking religious freedom and new economic opportunity in the “New World”, those buried here in the first 30 years were predominantly English-born immigrants.

King's Chapel Burying Ground
King’s Chapel Burying Ground

Over 1,000 people are buried in the tiny space, but only 600 gravestones and 29 tabletop tombs remain.

King's Chapel Burying Ground
King’s Chapel Burying Ground

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

Established in 1659 and located in Boston’s North End, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground was the city’s second cemetery and was originally named “North Burying Ground”.

1200 marked graves include remains of notable Bostonians from the colonial era up to the 1850s.

Looking worse for wear, the gravestones protrude at odd angles, some leaning towards the water in Boston Inner Harbor, as if pulled by a giant magnet.

Copp's Hill Burying Ground
Copp’s Hill Burying Ground
Copp's Hill Burying Ground
Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

Ivy covers these old stones as Mother Nature tries to reclaim all traces of the dead.

But when even these stones finally return to nature, the stories of those they mark will live on in the hearts and minds of others.

Copp's Hill Burying Ground
Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

Rank has its privileges, even in death.

And so it was for Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer.

Mather played a prominent role in the case of the Irish Catholic washerwoman “Goody” Ann Glover, who was convicted of witchcraft and the last person to be hanged in Boston as a witch.

But it is his later involvement in the Salem witch trials for which Cotton Mather is best remembered.

An accused ‘witch’ during the witch trials in the late 1600s. Credit Jessolsen
Trivia
Goodwife, usually abbreviated to Goody, was a polite form of address for women used in England, Scotland, and Colonial America.

After Ann Glover’s daughter was accused of stealing laundry by her employer Martha Goodwin’s own daughters, Ann found herself being accused of making the Goodwin children ill through witchcraft.

The majority of Boston’s population in the 1680s was Puritan and prejudiced against Catholics and foreigners.

A scandalous old Irishwoman, very poor, a Roman Catholic and obstinate in idolatry.Cotton Mather

Believing that the inability to say the Lord’s prayer in English was the mark of a witch, Goody Glover’s recital in Irish at her trial did not go down well with her accusers.

Whether Goody Glover chose not to speak English, or couldn’t speak it well enough is unclear, but either way she was sentenced to death on November 16, 1688, becoming the first Catholic martyr to be killed in Massachusetts.

300 years later, Boston City Council proclaimed November 16 as Goody Glover Day.

Mather Tomb at Copp's Hill Burying Ground
Mather Tomb at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

Legend has it that the holes in Daniel Malcolm’s gravestone (below) were made by British soldiers using it as target practice.

Captain Malcolm was a member of the Sons of Liberty opposed to the Townshend Acts which were passed by the British parliament to raise revenue in the colonies to pay the salaries of governors and judges and would eventually lead to the Boston Massacre of 1770.

Daniel Martin gravestone, Copp's Hill Burial Ground
Daniel Martin gravestone, Copp’s Hill Burial Ground

Granary Burying Ground

Founded in 1660, Boston’s third-oldest cemetery is the final resting place for many notable revolutionary patriots.

Buried here are Paul Revere, the five victims of the Boston Massacre, and three signers of the Declaration of Independence: Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Robert Treat Paine.

Gateway to the Granary Burying Ground, Tremont Street, Boston, 1881
Gateway to the Granary Burying Ground, Tremont Street, Boston, 1881

The cemetery has 2,345 grave-markers, but historians estimate that as many as 5,000 people are buried here.

Granary Burying Ground
Granary Burying Ground
Granary Burying Ground
Granary Burying Ground

When you’re as revered as Paul Revere, you get a prominent memorial.

Paul Revere's memorial at the Granary Burying Ground
Paul Revere’s memorial at the Granary Burying Ground

Paul Revere is best known for alerting the colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord in the early stages of the Revolutionary War.

Paul Revere’s midnight ride

Paul Revere also created the famous engraving of the Boston Massacre of 1770 in which British soldiers shot and killed people while under attack by a mob.

Three people in the crowd of demonstrators were killed instantly and two died later—all are buried in the Granary Burying Ground.

The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.
The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.
Boston Massacre Victims at Granary Burying Ground
Boston Massacre Victims at Granary Burying Ground

Another Patriot of the Revolution resting in this peaceful place is the merchant and statesman John Hancock—a signer of the Declaration of Independence with one of the world’s most famous and stylish signatures.

John Hancocks Signature

As one of the colonies’ wealthiest men, Hancock used his money and influence to support the colonial cause.

Accused by the British of smuggling in 1768, his sloop Liberty was confiscated.

Although charges were later dropped, his ship was never returned—instead being refitted for service in the British Royal Navy.

Allegedly, Bostonians working for Hancock had locked a British customs official in the ship’s cabin to evade taxes while they unloaded a cargo of Madeira wine.

John Hancock's memorial at the Granary Burying Ground
John Hancock’s memorial at the Granary Burying Ground

Samuel Adams was a statesman, philosopher and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Resting in Granary Burying Ground, he was one of 12 children born in a time of high infant mortality. Only two of his siblings lived past their third birthday.

Samuel Adams's memorial at the Granary Burying Ground
Samuel Adams’s memorial at the Granary Burying Ground

Adams’s 1768 Massachusetts Circular Letter calling for non-cooperation among colonial Patriots prompted the occupation of Boston by British soldiers and eventually resulted in the Boston Massacre of 1770, the Boston Tea Party of 1773, and the American Revolution of 1776.

July 4th at Granary Burying Ground. Credit Peter H. Dreyer, City of Boston Archives
July 4th at Granary Burying Ground. Credit Peter H. Dreyer, City of Boston Archives

There are many more tales from this fascinating period in America’s history.

Next time you’re in Boston, be sure to walk the Freedom Trail, stop to look at the 17th-century burying grounds, and marvel at the stories they hold.

Versailles: the Grandest Palace of Them All

King Louis XIV was so proud of Versailles that he would often give tours to visiting dignitaries himself and even wrote the first guidebook.

Ah, here he comes now. Why don’t we just see if we can tag along on his next tour.

Equestrian portrait of Louis XIV of France by René-Antoine Houasse, c.1670
Equestrian portrait of Louis XIV of France by René-Antoine Houasse, c.1670
Greetings.
Welcome to my home, my court, and of course, my playground: Versailles.
I am Louis XIV, the greatest French King who ever lived.
Those closest to me say I am the best King in the world!
It is true, no … ?
Be careful with your answers, my friends …
Ah, but enough about me, let us enjoy this tour of my magnificent home.
We shall begin with les jardins … excusez moi, the gardens.
Come, come, my little petit pois, follow me …

To say that Louis liked space is somewhat of an understatement. By the end of his reign, Versailles covered a staggering 37,000 acres—bigger than the city of San Francisco.

After the revolution, only a fraction remained, but even so, today it still covers 2,014 acres—twice the size of New York’s Central Park—making it the largest royal domain in the world.

The Palace of Versailles c. 1668 by Pierre Patel
The Palace of Versailles c. 1668 by Pierre Patel

It takes aerial views to fully appreciate the sheer scale of Versailles. The multiple wings and hidden courts of the palace are just part of a huge complex around the town of Versailles.

Aerial view of the Palace of Versailles
Aerial view of the Palace of Versailles

The landscaped Gardens of Versailles have 200,000 trees, and each year, 210,000 flowers are planted.

Aerial view of the Grand Trianon, Domain of Versailles
Aerial view of the Grand Trianon, Domain of Versailles

At almost a mile long, the Grand Canal appears to vanish into the distance.

Aerial View of the Domain of Versailles. Credit ToucanWings
Aerial View of the Domain of Versailles. Credit ToucanWings

Built in the shape of a cross, the Grand Canal runs east to west, traversed by arms running north to the Trianon Palace (a little getaway for the King) and south to the Menagerie (a precursor to the modern zoo).

This east-west orientation was no coincidence. It meant that the sun would rise and set in alignment with the palace.

Grand Canal, Versailles
Grand Canal, Versailles
Palace of Versailles seen from the end of the Grand Canal
Palace of Versailles seen from the end of the Grand Canal
Orangery Garden and the Swiss Ornamental Lake, Versailles. Credit ToucanWings
Orangery Garden and the Swiss Ornamental Lake, Versailles. Credit ToucanWings
Orangery Garden and the Swiss Ornamental Lake, Versailles. Credit ToucanWings
Orangerie Garden and the Swiss Ornamental Lake, Versailles. Credit ToucanWings

Housing more than a thousand trees in planters, most of which are citrus, the Orangerie is a grand extension to the gardens built to store delicate plants during the winter months.

The Orangerie of the Château de Versailles c. 1695
The Orangerie of the Château de Versailles c. 1695

Citrus fruits were expensive and highly prized in the 17th century and the preserve of the wealthy.

Between May and October, the plants are moved outdoors to the Parterre Bas for display.

Orangerie at Versailles. Credit Panoramas
Orangerie at Versailles. Credit Panoramas

While the French populace starved, Louis was far too preoccupied with his water problem to notice.

He couldn’t get enough water pumped to the gardens to run his 1400 fountains simultaneously.

Along came the architect André Le Nôtre (1613–1700) to the rescue—the undisputed master of the baroque garden. His skills with mechanical engineering, chemistry, and horticulture made Versailles’s fountains a reality.

Le Nôtre created a network of reservoirs and canals stretching for 18 1/2 miles outside the château. A massive pumping machine thought to be the Eighth Wonder of the World brought water from the Seine River.

View over the palace gardens and the palace at Versailles in c.1860
View over the palace gardens and the palace at Versailles in c.1860

Leakage and breakdowns of the pump meant that it only supplied half the required amount of water. So Louis gave the go-ahead for an extravagant plan to divert water from the River Eure over 60 miles away.

One tenth of France’s entire military worked on the project, digging a canal and aqueduct, plus all the shipping channels and locks to keep the workers supplied with raw materials.

Were it not for the outbreak of war bringing the work to a halt, Louis’s big water problem would have been solved.

Fountain in the Gardens of Versailles. Credit edwin.11
Fountain in the Gardens of Versailles. Credit edwin.11
Le Bassin d'Apollo - the Greek god Apollo rising from the sea in a four-horse chariot. Credit J. degivry
Le Bassin d’Apollo – the Greek god Apollo rising from the sea in a four-horse chariot. Credit J. degivry
Fountain in the Parc de Versailles. Credit edwin.11
Fountain in the Parc de Versailles. Credit edwin.11
Fountain in the Parc de Versailles. Credit Gaudry daniel
Fountain in the Parc de Versailles. Credit Gaudry daniel
Gardens of Versailles. Credit G CHP 2
Gardens of Versailles. Credit G CHP 2

Scattered throughout the gardens are over three hundred statues and sculptures of everything from flute playing shepherds (Acis), to daydreaming princesses (Ariadne), to sea monsters, and Trojan priests (Laocoön) being attacked by giant serpents.

Acis Playing His Flute by Jean-Baptiste Tuby, 1674
Acis Playing His Flute by Jean-Baptiste Tuby, 1674
Daydreaming Ariadne at Versailles. Credit Yair Haklai
Daydreaming Ariadne at Versailles. Credit Yair Haklai
Sea monster sculpture in the Gardens of Versailles. Credit Gaudry daniel
Sea monster sculpture in the Gardens of Versailles. Credit Gaudry daniel
Laocoön and his sons (1696). Credit Adesio2010
Laocoön and his sons (1696). Credit Adesio2010
Louis XIV of France by Nicolas-René Jollain Le Vieux
Louis XIV of France by Nicolas-René Jollain Le Vieux
Ah, there you are my little petit bonbons.
As you can see, I’m working on my next building project.
How did you like mes jardins? … excusez moi, my gardens?
Exquisite, no?
Bon. You answered correctly. You are keeping your head today.
Come along, come along, follow me—we have much to see inside …
Marble Courtyard at the Palace of Varsailles
Marble Courtyard at the Palace of Varsailles

At the beginning of each day would be a routine called the leveethe royal awakening ceremony.

To see the King rubbed down with rose-water, watch him shave, or even go to the bathroom, was considered a great honor.

The King's Apartment, Palace of Versailles
The King’s Apartment, Palace of Versailles
Palace of versailles, Hall of Mirrors. Credit Thibault Chappe
Palace of versailles, Hall of Mirrors. Credit Thibault Chappe

Following this elaborate wake-up ritual, Louis would then pass through the Hall of Mirrors on his way to the chapel.

Facing the gardens and the rising sun, shafts of sunlight would stream into the room, filling it with a golden light.

Halls of Mirrors at Versailles. Credit Myrabella
Halls of Mirrors at Versailles. Credit Myrabella

Self-styled the “Sun King”, Louis chose the sun as his personal symbol.

Naturally, his courtiers thought the sun shined out of his derrière. One look from Louis in their direction had their heads spinning.

When the King condescends to glance at someone, that person considers his fortunes made and says to others “the King looked at me!”Primi Visconti, chronicler to the French court

Cunning as he was, Louis was a master at keeping people dangling with the words, “we’ll see.”

Louis's sun symbol on the gates of Versailles. Credit Dennis Jarvis
Louis’s sun symbol on the gates of Versailles. Credit Dennis Jarvis

In the chapel, he required all in attendance to face him, not the altar, so that they could witness the King worshipping God.

He saw himself as the living embodiment of the Greek God Apollo—god of music, prophecy, healing, and the sun.

Chapel in Palace of versailles. Credit Thibault Chappe
Chapel in Palace of versailles. Credit Thibault Chappe
Chapel in Palace of versailles. Credit Thibault Chappe
Chapel in Palace of versailles. Credit Thibault Chappe
Royal chapel of the Palace of Versailles. Credit Jebulon
Royal chapel of the Palace of Versailles. Credit Jebulon
Louis XIV, King of France
Louis XIV, King of France
Bonjour, my little petit fours.
How do you like my stockings? Ooh la la! You will not find a finer pair in all the world!
Bon. You answered correctly.
I must leave you now for my little “coucher”—my sundown ceremony.
Enjoy yourselves, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do …
Au revoir.

Bravado might well have been Louis’s middle name—he certainly had the stats to back up the swagger:

700 rooms, over 2,000 windows, 1,250 fireplaces, 67 staircases, 5000 pieces of furniture, 6000 paintings, 352 chimneys, hundreds of mirrors (357 in the Hall of Mirrors alone), dozens of chandeliers (43 in the Hall of Mirrors), and even its own opera house!

The Palace of Versailles stands at a crossroads in history. Copied throughout Europe, it marks the pinnacle of decadence and the beginning of the end for absolute monarchy.

Queen's grand apartment. Credit Dom Crossley
Queen’s grand apartment. Credit Dom Crossley
Bedchamber of the dauphin. Credit Tim Schapker
Bedchamber of the dauphin. Credit Tim Schapker
Small apartment of the king - Louis XVI Library. Credit Fanny Schertzer
Small apartment of the king – Louis XVI Library. Credit Fanny Schertzer
Small apartment of the king in the Palace of Versailles. Credit Lional Allorge
Small apartment of the king in the Palace of Versailles. Credit Lional Allorge
Antechamber of the Emperor at Grand Trianon at Château de Versailles. Credit Moonik
Antechamber of the Emperor at Grand Trianon at Château de Versailles. Credit Moonik
The peace salon, Versailles. Credit Coyau
The peace salon, Versailles. Credit Coyau
Grand Condé's reception in Versailles by Jean-Léon Gérôme
Grand Condé’s reception in Versailles by Jean-Léon Gérôme
Stairway inside the Petit Trianon. Credit Trizek
Stairway inside the Petit Trianon. Credit Trizek
Pet Salon Petit Trianon, Versailles. Credit Heleashard
Pet Salon Petit Trianon, Versailles. Credit Heleashard
The King's Desk. Louis XV's roll-top secretary, designed between 1760 and 1769. Credit TCY
The King’s Desk. Louis XV’s roll-top secretary, designed between 1760 and 1769. Credit TCY
Royal Opera House, Versailles. Credit Tanya Hart
Royal Opera House, Versailles. Credit Tanya Hart
Visit of Queen Victoria to Paris in 1855, the dinner offered by Napoleon III in the hall of the Opera of Versailles, August 25, 1855
Visit of Queen Victoria to Paris in 1855, the dinner offered by Napoleon III in the hall of the Opera of Versailles, August 25, 1855

Who were the real heroes of Versailles? Not those who lounged in its luxuries, surely?

The real heroes were the architects, builders, laborers, and the 30,000 soldiers drafted in to help, many of whom died from fever and disease in the swampy conditions of the early Versailles.

We salute you, citizens of France. You did not die in vain. Your work lives on as a testament to human achievement.

The construction of the Palace of Versailles by Adam Frans van der Meulen
The construction of the Palace of Versailles by Adam Frans van der Meulen

Such excesses don’t last forever. The revolution brought sweeping change and streets filled with the blood of the decadent.

And across a blue ocean, a new country was in its infancy. A land that would welcome the downtrodden masses with open arms.

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
Emma Lazarus
Château de Versailles at night. Credit Romaric Juvanon
Château de Versailles at night. Credit Romaric Juvanon

References
Wikipedia.
The Sun King’s Garden: Louis XIV, Andre Le Notre and the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles by Ian Thompson.
The Khan Academy.

20 Exquisite Paintings of 18th-Century Ladies by Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (1723 – 1792) was an influential eighteenth-century English portrait painter.

He promoted the “Grand Manner” of painting which idealized subjects to convey a sense of nobility.

Knighted by King George III in 1769, Reynolds was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts.

Although he had little technical training as an artist, he possessed an instinct for color and composition. His figures appear in a natural attitude of grace and he gives them an air of distinction. Even the most ill-tempered sitters were elevated to a position of dignity.

Reynolds had a gift for capturing the personality of the sitter—what critics called “realizing their individuality.” Using his imagination, he would weave a story into each portrait.

His compositions have a symmetry of outline and flow of lines reminiscent of Raphael. In fact, he borrowed from many sources: Rembrandt’s lighting and color harmonies; Rubens’s splendor; Titian’s decoration.

Yet to all his works, he added his personal touch that makes them uniquely Reynolds.

Which is your favorite 18th-century lady painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds?

British Hero Admiral Lord Nelson: Victor at the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805

Born a small sickly baby, the son of a Rector in Norfolk, England, Nelson would go on to become the greatest British military hero of all time.

When we think of Admiral Lord Nelson, a vision of a tall man standing atop a 169ft column at Trafalgar Square in London probably enters our mind.

But it may come as a surprise to discover that he was about the same height, or perhaps even shorter than his archenemy Napoleon.

Read more …

According to a measurement taken in the old Admiralty Board Room, he was 5ft 4ins, but a supposedly life-sized effigy in Westminster Abbey is 5ft 5ins, and calculations from his uniforms make him as much as 5ft 6ins.

What he lacked in stature, he most certainly made up for in courage, leadership, and an excellent grasp of strategy.

After losing the sight in one eye at the Siege of Calvi in 1794, and an arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797, most of us might have forgiven him if he’d taken more of a backseat role at that point.

But not Nelson.

He went on to win his greatest victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 by leading from the front and paying the ultimate sacrifice.

With 33 ships, he decimated a joint force of 41 ships from the French and Spanish navies.

The difference in casualties is staggering: Nelson lost a total of 1,666 killed or wounded, whereas the French and Spanish lost 13,781 killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

Moreover, the victory foiled Napoleon’s plan to invade Britain.

Nelson was lauded a conquering hero and commemorated with one of the most famous monuments in the world.

The Battle of Trafalgar by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793 - 1867)
The Battle of Trafalgar by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793 – 1867)
Trafalgar by Auguste Mayer, 1836
Trafalgar by Auguste Mayer, 1836
The Battle of Trafalgar by John Christian Schetky, 1841
The Battle of Trafalgar by John Christian Schetky, 1841
Scene of the Battle of Trafalgar by Louis-Philippe Crépin, 1807
Scene of the Battle of Trafalgar by Louis-Philippe Crépin, 1807
Churruca's Death by Eugenio Alvarez Dumont, 1892
Churruca’s Death by Eugenio Alvarez Dumont, 1892
The Battle of Trafalgar by Juan Vallejo
The Battle of Trafalgar by Juan Vallejo
The Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Thomas Luny
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Thomas Luny
Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Thomas Buttersworth
Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Thomas Buttersworth
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Thomas Luny, 1810
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Thomas Luny, 1810
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Samuel Drummond
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Samuel Drummond
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Thomas Luny
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Thomas Luny
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 - Beginning of the Action by Thomas Buttersworth
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 – Beginning of the Action by Thomas Buttersworth
The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1808
The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1808
The Death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Samuel Drummond, 1806
The Death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Samuel Drummond, 1806
The Death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Samuel Drummond, 1806
The Death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Samuel Drummond, 1806
Destruction by Fire of the Gun Ship 'Achille' at the Close of the Battle of Trafalgar by Richard Brydges Beechey
Destruction by Fire of the Gun Ship ‘Achille’ at the Close of the Battle of Trafalgar by Richard Brydges Beechey
The Fall of Nelson, Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Denis Dighton, c.1825
The Fall of Nelson, Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Denis Dighton, c.1825
Trafalgar by George Chambers, Jr
Trafalgar by George Chambers, Jr
Northumberland House and Whitehall from the North Side of Trafalgar Square, London, by Moonlight by Henry Pether, 1867
Northumberland House and Whitehall from the North Side of Trafalgar Square, London, by Moonlight by Henry Pether, 1867

The Other Lady Diana Spencer: the tragic story of the princess that never was

We all know, love, and remember the Lady Diana Spencer whose wedding in 1981 was watched by an estimated 750 million people, and whose life was cut short by a tragic accident.

But did you know there was another Lady Diana Spencer—an 18th century ancester who was also destined to marry the Prince of Wales in a fairytale wedding?

The Early Years

Lady Anne Churchill (1682-1715), daughter of the 1st Duke of Marlborough and 2nd spouse of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, and her daughter Diana.
Diana and her mother, Lady Anne Churchill (1682-1715), daughter of the 1st Duke of Marlborough and 2nd spouse of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Born in London in 1710 to the English statesman Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland and Anne Spencer, Countess of Sunderland, Diana was the youngest of five children and the favorite grandchild of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough—one of the most powerful women in England and close friend to Queen Anne.

Affectionately called “dear little Di” by her family, Diana’s first taste of tragedy was at six years old with the death of her mother.

When her father remarried, the couple had three children, but each one died in infancy. Two died shortly after birth, with a third—her little brother William—dying before he was two years old.

Her next heartache came with the death of her father when she was 12, making her an orphan, followed shortly by the passing of her grandfather, the Duke of Marlborough. Diana was now entirely in the care of her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough.

As she grew up, Diana became a tall, fair-haired and attractive young lady with a compassionate nature and charming personality.

Suffering from the effects of gout, her grandmother found it painful to write and so Diana became her full-time assistant, writing letters that her grandmother dictated.

They became inseparable and her grandmother said of Diana that she had more sense than any woman she knew.

The Royal Marriage Plot

The Dowager Duchess of Marlborough and Lady Diana Spencer, by Maria Verelst, 1722
The Dowager Duchess of Marlborough and Lady Diana Spencer, by Maria Verelst, 1722

When it was time for Diana’s coming of age, both her looks and her relationship with the wealthy Dowager Duchess, made her one of the most eligible high-society brides in the country.

Among her suitors were the Duke of Somerset’s grandson, the Viscount Weymouth, and the Earl of Shaftesbury. The Earl of Chesterfield proposed marriage by writing to the Dowager Duchess while traveling in the Netherlands in 1731:

The person, the merit and the family of Lady Diana Spencer are objects so valuable that they must necessarily have … caused many such applications of this nature to Your Grace.

All were turned down. None were good enough for her granddaughter. The Dowager Duchess wanted to reach higher—to the top.

The next great tumult in Diana’s life was developing a disfiguring skin disease, for which the Dowager Duchess paid a princely sum to have treated by a prominent surgeon.

Waiting for the right suitor was proving costly, so the Dowager Duchess put her plan into action. Aware of his debts, she offered the King’s eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, the enormous sum of £100,000 to marry her granddaughter. A date and secret location were agreed upon.

The Prime Minister Foils the Plot

Everything was going swimmingly until the Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, caught wind of the plan through his network of spies.

For diplomatic reasons, he preferred a European match and wanted the Prince to marry Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire.

Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford and Prime Minister of Great Britain (left) preferred Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (top right) as a match for Frederick, Prince of Wales (lower right)
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford and Prime Minister of Great Britain preferred Augusta of Saxe-Gotha as a match for Frederick, Prince of Wales

Alas, Diana would not get her royal wedding, and time was of the essence, so the Dowager Duchess settled on the Duke of Bedford’s younger brother, 21-year-old Lord John Russell, presuming that he would eventually become Duke of Bedford himself.

Diana came with the handsome dowry of £30,000 and another £100,000 on the death of the Dowager Duchess.

John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford

Two years into the marriage, on the untimely death of her brother-in-law, Diana’s husband inherited the Dukedom—just as her grandmother had predicted—and became Duchess of Bedford.

That same year, the pregnant Lady Diana was thrown from her carriage in an accident that caused the premature birth of their son, John.

Sadly, more tragedy was to beset Diana as her little boy died the day after his baptism.

The Duke was now desperate to father an heir and just a few months after the death of their son, the Duchess was pregnant again. But the hand of fate was not on her side and she miscarried, only to be blamed for not taking enough care of herself.

Diana’s Demise

In the spring of 1735, the Duchess’s morning sickness signaled that she was pregnant for a third time.

Bloomsbury Square in London, 1725
Bloomsbury Square in London, 1725

But all was not as it should be. She started to lose, rather than gain, weight, and was diagnosed as having tuberculosis.

The Dowager Duchess insisted she be moved to Southampton House in Bloomsbury Square.

And it was there that she died in late September of 1735 at the age of 25.

A Princess Reborn

226 years later, a baby was born to Viscount Althorp, the direct descendant of the 18th-century Lady Diana’s brother John.

Christened Diana, she would get to marry her Prince … and the rest is history.

Embed from Getty Images

References

Wikipedia
The First Lady Diana (Lady Diana Spencer 1710-1735) by Victoria Massey Contains Amazon affiliate link—We earn a small commission from qualifying purchases through Amazon. Thanks for supporting our work.

The Tragic Story of a Beautiful Countess Who Became a “Victim of Cosmetics”

Born in Cambridgeshire in 1733 to Irish parents, Maria Gunning was the eldest of seven children.

Her father, John Gunning, was from Castlecoote, County Roscommon and her mother, Bridget Bourke, was the daughter of Theobald Bourke, 6th Viscount Mayo.

Although her mother descended from Irish nobility, the family lived in relative poverty.

By 1740, their situation in Cambridgeshire had worsened, and they decided to begin a new life in John Gunning’s hometown of Roscommon, Ireland.

When it was time for Maria’s and her sister Elizabeth’s coming of age, their mother encouraged them to take up acting to earn a living.

Acting wasn’t considered a respectable profession in 18th-century Ireland, but it could open doors to wealthy benefactors.

Besides, the sisters were astonishingly good looking, and if nothing else, acting would most certainly put them in the spotlight of admiring eyes.

Mary Gunning. Credit gomgsite.net
Mary Gunning, Countess of Coventry

Befriending well-known actors like Peg Woffingham in Dublin, the sisters were soon moving in lofty circles.

At a ball held at Dublin Castle in 1748, they were presented to the Earl of Harrington, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington
William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington

Not possessing any suitable ballgowns, Maria and Elizabeth had to borrow costumes from a local theatre.

But they made such an impression on the Earl that by 1750, he granted their mother Bridget a pension. With that, Bridget packed her bags and took the two girls back to England.

Attending local parties and balls in Cambridgeshire, the two sisters became well-known celebrities.

News of their beauty spread to London, and in 1750, they were invited to attend the court of St James.

London newspapers were having a field day.

Not only were they the talk of the town but Maria was noted for her lack of tact, and when asked by the aging King George II what royal spectacle she most wanted to see, she said she’d like to see a royal funeral.

Fortunately for the girls, the King found it highly amusing.

George II by Thomas Hudson, 1744
George II by Thomas Hudson, 1744

Within two years, her sister Elizabeth was married off to a Duke, and she was married to an Earl with a Neo-Palladian mansion in the Worcestershire countryside.

Croome Court, Croome D'Abitot. Credit Mike Peel
Croome Court, Croome D’Abitot. Credit Mike Peel

George William, 6th Earl of Coventry whisked her away to Paris for their honeymoon.

Paris was a magical place and the fashion capital of the world.

But alas, Maria was not happy.

She couldn’t speak the language and her husband wouldn’t let her wear the rouge face powder that was all the rage.

When she defied him and wore it to dinner one evening, he took out his handkerchief and rubbed it off her face.

The French Court was a little too haughty for her taste.

George, 6th Earl of Coventry

Maria, Countess of Coventry

But back in England, her popularity went from strength to strength.

She was mobbed whenever she appeared in Hyde Park—eventually needing a guard.

Her husband, on the other hand, had already started to stray and had become involved with another famous beauty—the courtesan Kitty Fisher.

And so began a rivalry of beauty.

Maria wore the heavy make-up which had become popular in London society.

Sophisticated ladies of the French court, like Madame Pompadour, mistress to King Louis XV, had set a fashion of pale white skin with red rouged cheeks. The base ingredient of the make-up was lead.

Madame de Pompadour at Her Toilette, 1758
Madame de Pompadour at Her Toilette, 1758

Fashionable women (and men) were poisoning themselves with lead-based cosmetics.

The lead would cause inflammation of the eyes, attack tooth enamel, and cause skin eruptions.

The blemishes encouraged women to apply even more make-up to hide them, and eventually the lead would get into the blood and poison them to death.

1750. Box for rouge and patches. Gold and platinum. metmuseum
1750. Box for rouge and patches. Gold and platinum. metmuseum

On 30 September 1760, Maria, the beautiful Countess of Coventry, died prematurely at the age of 27.

Known for her beauty and her vanity, she was remembered in social circles as a “victim of cosmetics”.

Countess of Coventry by Jean-Étienne Liotard, 1749
Portrait of a pensive woman on a sofa (Countess of Coventry) by Jean-Étienne Liotard, 1749

16 Stunning Sofas from the 18th and 19th Centuries

Today, furniture fills our living and working spaces. It makes a statement about our taste for practicality and aesthetics.

But it wasn’t always so.

At the beginning of the 18th century, only the aristocracy or merchant class could afford furniture as luxurious expressions of individuality.

Then from around 1760, something remarkable happened. The standard of living for the general population began to increase for the first time in history.

This was the dawn of the industrial revolution and the beginnings of what would become a consumer society.

18th-century luminary Sir Joshua Reynolds observed a general progression from buying basic needs to purchasing more luxurious goods.

The regular progress of cultivated life is from Necessaries to Accommodations, from Accommodations to Ornaments.

In this statement was implied the increasing importance of design, which simultaneously created and followed taste, and in so doing, helped stimulate consumer demand and foster economic stability.

Perhaps no other industry demonstrated this better than furniture making. And what piece of furniture was more prominent than a sofa?

The Georgian Era

Some think of the Georgian era as the golden age of furniture.

The drama and exuberance of Baroque, the intricate asymmetrical patterns of Rococo, the graceful lines, sensuous curves, and elegant proportions of Neo-Classical—all helped define Georgian era furniture.

The very names of the period are synonymous with timeless quality—Queen Anne, Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite.

1760 Sofa. French. Carved and gilded beechwood, upholstered in modern red velours de Gênes. metmuseum
1760 Sofa. French. Carved and gilded beechwood, upholstered in modern red velours de Gênes. metmuseum
1765 Sofa. French. Carved and gilded beech, modern silk lampas. metmuseum
1765 Sofa. French. Carved and gilded beech, modern silk lampas. metmuseum
1770 Sofa. French. Carved and gilded mahogany, modern silk damask. metmuseum
1770 Sofa. French. Carved and gilded mahogany, modern silk damask. metmuseum

Sofas with a wide central section and a single outward-facing seat at each end were called a canapé à confidents and were meant to be where people could share confidences.

Examples were made primarily in the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods, highly decorative, and the shape and carving were designed to harmonize with the wall paneling.

The artisan’s skill shows particularly in the carving of roses and olive branches tied by a ribbon at the top of each end.

This piece was described by comte de Salverte as the finest of its kind in the Louis XVI style.

1780 Sofa. French. Carved and gilded beechwood upholstered in modern blue dotted silk. metmuseum
1780 Sofa. French. Carved and gilded beechwood upholstered in modern blue dotted silk. metmuseum

The Regency and Federal Era

Roughly coinciding in date and style, the British Regency and American Federal styles were defined by a lighter, more delicate interpretation of the classical Greek and Roman influences.

The shape of this sofa derives from plate 35 in Thomas Sheraton’s “Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing-Book” (1793).

1800 Sofa. American. Mahogany, white pine, birch. metmuseum
1800 Sofa. American. Mahogany, white pine, birch. metmuseum

The modern black horsehair and gilded tacks of this scroll-back sofa help define it as the classic New York form as it would have looked when it first came out of the workshop.

1810 Sofa. American. Mahogany, white pine, tulip poplar. metmuseum
1810 Sofa. American. Mahogany, white pine, tulip poplar. metmuseum
1815 Sofa. American. Mahogany, gilt brass, tulip poplar. metmuseum
1815 Sofa. American. Mahogany, gilt brass, tulip poplar. metmuseum

A highly sophisticated blend of line, detailed carving, and subtle color merge with antique legs in the shape of dolphins, hinting at the maritime influences of the time. In Greek mythology, dolphins swam to the aid of shipwrecked sailors.

1820. Sofa. American. Mahogany, ash, maple, pine. metmuseum
1820. Sofa. American. Mahogany, ash, maple, pine. metmuseum

Owned by Thomas Cornell Pearsall, a wealthy New York merchant and shipowner, the skillful execution of the details derives from Greco-Roman seating forms illustrated and described in the 1808 supplement to the London “Chairmakers’ and Carvers’ Book of Prices.”

1820 Sofa. American. Mahogany, tulip poplar, cane, gilded brass. metmuseum
1820 Sofa. American. Mahogany, tulip poplar, cane, gilded brass. metmuseum

Noteworthy in this design is the unusual trimming of rich stamped brass, rather than the woven galloon or series of brass-headed nails that were customary in this period.

1820 Sofa. American. Mahogany. metmuseum
1820 Sofa. American. Mahogany. metmuseum

Italian architect Filippo Pelagio Palagi designed this set of furniture for the principal drawing room next to the royal bedroom of Carlo Alberto, king of Sardinia.

The sculptural detail of the crest rails and the quality and refinement of the veneering help distinguish this sofa, made by Gabrielle Cappello, whose workshop produced many of Pelagi’s designs.

1835 Sofa. Italian. Mahogany veneered with maplewood and mahogany, covered with modern silk brocade. metmuseum
1835 Sofa. Italian. Mahogany veneered with maplewood and mahogany, covered with modern silk brocade. metmuseum

The Victorian Era

With the Victorians, out went the simpler classical lines of Georgian and Regency and in came a more imposing style, with elaborate decoration, heavily carved pieces, plenty of organic curves inspired by nature and glossy finishes.

1843 Sofa. French. Applewood or pearwood, ebonized walnut, beech, gilt-bronze mounts. metmuseum
1843 Sofa. French. Applewood or pearwood, ebonized walnut, beech, gilt-bronze mounts. metmuseum
1853 Sofa. American. Rosewood. metmuseum
1853 Sofa. American. Rosewood. metmuseum

This sofa is part of a suite of Louis XVI–style furniture that railroad executive John Taylor Johnston (1820–1893) purchased in about 1856 and used in the music room of his residence at 8 Fifth Avenue.

1860 Sofa. American. Maple, gilt bronze. metmuseum
1860 Sofa. American. Maple, gilt bronze. metmuseum

Exemplifying the Rococo Revival style, which was popular in America during the 1840s and 1850s, the sofa below combines curvilinear forms reminiscent of 18th-century France with the exuberant, naturalistic ornamentation of the mid-Victorian period.

Distinguished by a voluptuous serpentine crest with luxuriant, griffin-flanked bouquets, the central floral garland is supported by a Renaissance-style urn and paired dolphins.

1855 Sofa. American. Rosewood. metmuseum
1855 Sofa. American. Rosewood. metmuseum
1870 Sofa. American. Rosewood, ash, pine, mother-of-pearl. metmuseum
1870 Sofa. American. Rosewood, ash, pine, mother-of-pearl. metmuseum

The Beautiful French Porcelain of Sèvres

Despite a turbulent century of changing taste and technology, Sèvres Manufatory in the suburbs of Paris remained at the forefront of European ceramic production throughout the 1800s.

Founded in Vincennes in 1740 and relocated to Sèvres in 1756, King Louis XV, who had been an early investor, took possession in 1759.

With the French Revolution in 1789 came changing fortunes, with the factory losing many aristocratic patrons. It’s future looked in doubt.

Then, in 1800, along came engineer and scientist, Alexandre Brongniart (1770–1847), to run the troubled enterprise. The turnaround couldn’t have been more dramatic.

During the first decade of Brongniart’s tenure, the Empire taste was in vogue, with abundant use of gilding, rich borders, and ornate figural scenes.

1813 Breakfast Service tray. Sèvres Manufactory. metmuseum
1813 Breakfast Service tray. Sèvres Manufactory. metmuseum

Newly developed enamels enabled luxurious marble and hardstone textures as simulated backgrounds.

According to factory archives, the process of decoration began with the blue ground of the border followed by the marbled center ground, requiring two layers. Gilding for the border was then applied with the figure in the center painted last.

1807 Plate. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1807 Plate. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum

To celebrate the coronation of King Charles X in 1825, a dinner set was produced, painted with famous views from each of France’s départements (administrative offices).

1827 Plate from the 'Service Des Départements'. metmuseum
1827 Plate from the ‘Service Des Départements’. metmuseum

Decorated with scenes of cacao cultivation to make drinking chocolate, this coffee service from 1836 shows how Brongniart used themes related to the objects’ purpose.

1836 Coffee service. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1836 Coffee service. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1836 Tray for Coffee service. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1836 Tray for Coffee service. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum

Enormous variety in object type and decoration were hallmarks of Sèvres Manufactory. In the first half of the 19th century alone, it produced 92 different vase designs, 89 cups, every form of dinner, dessert, tea, and coffee service, as well as jugs, basins, and toiletry items.

Characteristic of nineteenth-century decorative arts was the reinterpretation of historical styles. While the form of this cup derives from Renaissance Italy, the use of vibrant reds, greens, blues, and yellows contrasts with the muted whites and browns of earlier wares.

1837 Standing Cup. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1837 Standing Cup. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum

Evoking the medieval Gothic style was another obsession of the 19th century. These vases illustrate the playfulness of mixing Gothic inspiration with Renaissance enamel techniques to achieve new aesthetic effects.

1832 Gothic vases. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1832 Gothic vases. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum

Eclecticism of design influences was matched by exuberance. This Chinoiserie tea and coffee service evokes the forms and motifs of China and the Near East.

Blending Asian forms with European decoration expressed a fascination with exoticism. The scrolling feet, double-walled forms, and simulated bamboo handles were found on Chinese porcelains sold in Paris in the 1820s.

1855 Chinoiserie Coffee and Tea Service. Hard-paste porcelain. metmusem
1855 Chinoiserie Coffee and Tea Service. Hard-paste porcelain. metmusem

Intended as the focal point of an elaborate table centerpiece during the dessert course, this ambitious fruit or flower basket imparts a sense of the grandeur of nineteenth century dining.

1823 Fruit or flower basket. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1823 Fruit or flower basket. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum

Presented to the winner of first prize at the Exposition Universelle of 1878, this cup, made in a Renaissance-revival style drew much criticism at a time when tastes were changing toward modernism.

One critic wrote “the colors are insipid and often vulgar; the decoration rarely quits the beaten track of the usual Sèvres flower and figure subjects. Sèvres is lingering in the traditions of the past. It remains deaf to the fame of living and modern art.”

1879 Standing cup with cover. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1879 Standing cup with cover. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum

But it was the Art Nouveau movement that was the nail in the coffin for the traditional historicism that had been the trademark of Sèvres throughout the 19th century.

Decorative arts moved closer to nature, often capturing the asymmetry of natural forms, as evident in this coffee service from c. 1900.

Employing the form of a fennel plant, the application of enamel to the unglazed porcelain created a matte surface similar to the plant’s actual texture, and heightened the sense of realism.

Sèvres was exploring techniques that would define the ceramics industry in the 20th century.

1900 Art Nouveau-inspired Coffee Service. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1900 Art Nouveau-inspired Coffee Service. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum

Mr Darcy’s Shirt

In the 1995 BBC rendition of Pride and Prejudice, Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy includes a notable cream linen shirt. This attire takes center stage in a celebrated scene where Darcy emerges drenched from the Pemberley pond, coincidentally crossing paths with Elizabeth Bennet. Regarded as one of the most iconic moments in British television history, this particular sequence has etched itself into the collective memory of viewers.

The famous Regency period shirt turned British actor Colin Firth into an international heartthrob virtually overnight.

The shirt worn by actor Colin Firth during his portrayal of Mr. Darcy as he emerged from the Pemberley pond in the BBC’s 1995 Pride and Prejudice production
The shirt worn by actor Colin Firth during his portrayal of Mr. Darcy as he emerged from the Pemberley pond in the BBC’s 1995 Pride and Prejudice production. Credit Folger Shakespeare Library

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Considered by many to be the definitive adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 BBC/A&E co-production is one of the most successful period dramas ever created.

And it’s not hard to see why: superlative acting, attention to detail in costume and sets, and faithfulness to Jane Austen’s 1813 novel … that is, except for one scene—the Lake Scene.

One of the most unforgettable moments in British TV historyThe Guardian

An amusing moment in which Darcy tries to maintain his dignity while improperly dressed and sopping wetWilliam Grimes, NYTimes

Although absent from Jane Austen’s novel, the Lake Scene has garnered adulation the world over from an army of fans, and spawned a host of imitations, including this reenactment by Benedict Cumberbatch for charity.

It’s one thing to see Colin Firth donning a wet shirt clinging to his well-honed physique in today’s context, but from the perspective of the early 1800s, what we’re really looking at is Darcy in his underwear. Prior to the 20th century, shirts were worn as undergarments. Not until the seventeenth century were men’s shirts allowed to show; but when they did, it carried the same suggestive undertone as visible underwear today. And as late as 1879, a shirt with nothing over it was considered improper.

Did you know?

It was quite common for men of the eighteenth century not to wear any underpants. Shock, horror! They relied instead on the long tails of their undershirts and on lining sewn into their breeches to perform the same function as drawers.

Showing the typical cut of the late 18th century, this finely finished shirt has gussets below the arm for freedom of movement and a shoulder gusset for a better fit through the neck and chest. Approximating the shape of the body, it allowed for more fullness at the front without adding bulk at the waist.

1780. Shirt. French. Linen. metmuseum
1780. Shirt. French. Linen. metmuseum
1780. Shirt. French. Linen. metmuseum
1780. Shirt. French. Linen. metmuseum

Created from linen fiber in 1816 by Elizabeth Wild Hitchings for her husband Benjamin Hitchings, a sea captain. Hand-stitching shirts for the family was common practice for wives or servants prior to about the mid-19th century. Elegant stitching was a hallmark of the care taken prior to the widespread use of the sewing machine.

1816. Shirt. American. Linen. metmusem
1816. Shirt. American. Linen. metmusem
1816. Shirt. American. Linen. metmusem
1816. Shirt. American. Linen. metmusem
Do not presume to understand a mannequin’s feelings. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love youMr. Mannequin
1816. Shirt. American. Linen. metmusem

References

  • Some Thoughts on Men’s Shirts in America, 1750-1900 by William L. Brown III The History of Underclothes by C. Willett and
  • Phillis Cunnington What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America by Linda Baumgarten

20 Enchanting Paintings of Regency England by Edmund Blair Leighton

Perhaps no painter captures the romance of the English Regency better than Edmund Blair Leighton.

Just as we, today, are enchanted by the nostalgic feeling from this era of elegance and extravagance, balls and duels, eligible bachelors and debutantes, so too was Edmund Blair Leighton (1851 – 1922)—a Victorian painter of historical genre scenes.

Leighton loved to paint highly detailed, idealized depictions of the time of regency novelists like Jane Austen, and Romantic poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Strictly speaking, the Regency covers the nine years from 1811 to 1820 when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales ruled England as Prince Regent before his accession as King George IV.

But the broadest definition of the period, characterized by trends in fashion, architecture, culture, and politics, begins with the French Revolution of 1789 and ends with Queen Victoria’s rise to power.

Known as “the first gentleman of England” for his charm and culture, George IV commissioned several immense building projects including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, the remodeling of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and the foundation of King’s College London and the National Gallery.

The Regency was a time of war and glory overseas and cultural awakening at home.

In 1816 by Edmund Blair Leighton
In 1816 by Edmund Blair Leighton
The glance that enchants by Edmund Blair Leighton
The glance that enchants by Edmund Blair Leighton
A Wet Sunday Morning by Edmund Blair Leighton
A Wet Sunday Morning by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Windmiller's Guest by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Windmiller’s Guest by Edmund Blair Leighton
A Favor by Edmund Blair Leighton
A Favor by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Elopement by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Elopement by Edmund Blair Leighton
My Next-Door Neighbour by Edmund Blair Leighton
My Next-Door Neighbour by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Gallant Suitor by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Gallant Suitor by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Golden Train by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Golden Train by Edmund Blair Leighton
Wedding march by Edmund Blair Leighton
Wedding march by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Wedding Register by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Wedding Register by Edmund Blair Leighton
Lady in a Garden by Edmund Blair Leighton
Lady in a Garden by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Lord Of Burleigh by Edmund Blair Leighton
The Lord Of Burleigh by Edmund Blair Leighton
The New Governess by Edmund Blair Leighton
The New Governess by Edmund Blair Leighton
Off by Edmund Blair Leighton
Off by Edmund Blair Leighton
A Picnic Party by Edmund Blair Leighton
A Picnic Party by Edmund Blair Leighton
Sweet Solitude by Edmund Blair Leighton
Sweet Solitude by Edmund Blair Leighton
Ribbons and Lace by Edmund Blair Leighton
Ribbons and Lace by Edmund Blair Leighton
Where there's a will by Edmund Blair Leighton
Where there’s a will by Edmund Blair Leighton
Yes or No? by Edmund Blair Leighton
Yes or No? by Edmund Blair Leighton

12 Dashing Men of the Regency Era

The Regency (1795–1837) was a period when King George III of England was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent. On the death of his father in 1820, the Prince Regent became George IV.

It was a time of great elegance and achievement in the fine arts and architecture, shaping and altering the societal structure of Britain and influencing the world.

Upper-class society, in particular, flourished in a Renaissance of culture and refinement.

Here are 12 men from the Regency Era—some war heroes, some artists, but all embodying the proud spirit of the age.

1. Alexander Ivanovitch, Prince of Chernichev (1786-1857) by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1818

Alexander Ivanovitch, Prince of Chernichev (1786-1857) by Sir Thomas Lawrence - 1818

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10 Fascinating Facts About Chinoiserie

1. Chinoiserie was once the most coveted fashion of the aristocracy

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Europeans became fascinated with Asian cultures and traditions. They loved to imitate or evoke Asian motifs in Western art, architecture, landscaping, furniture, and fashion.

China seemed a mysterious, far-away place and the lack of first-hand experiences only added to the mystique.

Chinoiserie derives from the French word chinois, meaning “Chinese”, or “after the Chinese taste”. It is a Western aesthetic inspired by Eastern design.

The fact remains that four thousand years ago, when we did not know how to read, they knew everything essentially useful of which we boast todayVoltaire

To immerse yourself in the Chinoiserie experience, optionally play the traditional East Asian music.

A folding screen was one of the most popular expressions of Chinoiserie, often decorated with beautiful art.

Themes included mythology, scenes of palace life, nature, and romance in Chinese literature—a young lady in love could take a curious peek hidden from behind a folding screen.

Chinese Folding Screen. 18th century. Wood, glass paper, Imperial Furniture Collection, Vienna. Credit Sandstein
Chinese Folding Screen. 18th century. Wood, glass paper, Imperial Furniture Collection, Vienna. Credit Sandstein
The Toilette by François Boucher, 1742
The Toilette by François Boucher, 1742

2. Chinoiserie’s popularity grew with rising trade in the East

Rising trade with China and East Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries brought an influx of Chinese and Indian goods into Europe aboard ships from the English, Dutch, French, and Swedish East India Companies.

The European Factories in Canton by Thomas Allom, 1838
The European Factories in Canton by Thomas Allom, 1838

By the middle of the 19th century, the British East India Company had become the dominant player in East Asian trading, its rule extending across most of India, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, and British Hong Kong.

A fifth of the world’s population was under the trading influence of the British East India Company.

East India House by Thomas Malton the Younger (1748-1804)
(British) East India House by Thomas Malton the Younger (1748-1804)

3. Chinoiserie began with tea drinking

Drinking tea was the height of fashion for ladies of good taste and required an appropriate chinoiserie mise en scène.

Tea drinking was a fundamental part of polite society; much of the interest in both Chinese export wares and chinoiserie rose from the desire to create appropriate settings for the ritual of tea drinkingBeevers
Tea Leaves by William McGregor Paxton, Boston, MA. metmuseum
Tea Leaves by William McGregor Paxton, Boston, MA. metmuseum
1743. Tea Service. Italian. Porcelain. metmuseum
1743. Tea Service. Italian. Porcelain. metmuseum
1762 Tea Caddy. British. Silver. metmuseum
1762 Tea Caddy. British. Silver. metmuseum
1730. Sugar Box. Austrian. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1730. Sugar Box. Austrian. Hard-paste porcelain. metmuseum
1770 Tea Casket, British, Staffordshire. White enamel on copper painted in polychrome enamels. metmuseum
1770 Tea Casket, British, Staffordshire. White enamel on copper painted in polychrome enamels. metmuseum

Tea and sugar were expensive commodities during the eighteenth century and this chest could be locked to secure its valuable contents.

Containing two canisters for tea (green and black) and a larger one for sugar, the pastoral scenes, and Italianate landscapes, combined with Rococo gilding against a pink ground, create an opulent effect.

1770 Tea Casket, British, Staffordshire. White enamel on copper painted in polychrome enamels. metmuseum
1770 Tea Casket, British, Staffordshire. White enamel on copper painted in polychrome enamels. metmuseum
1726 Pair of Tea Caddies. British. Silver. metmuseum
1726 Pair of Tea Caddies. British. Silver. metmuseum

4. Aristocratic women were famous collectors of chinoiserie porcelain

Among them were Queen Mary, Queen Anne, Henrietta Howard, and the Duchess of Queensbury—all socially important women, whose homes served as examples of good taste and sociability.

Wealthy women helped define the prevailing vogue through their purchasing power. One story tells of a keen competition between Margaret, 2nd Duchess of Portland, and Elizabeth, Countess of Ilchester, for a Japanese blue and white plate.

Chinoiserie porcelain from Frankfurt c. 1700
Chinoiserie porcelain from Frankfurt c. 1700
Faience with Chinese scenes. Nevers Manufactory. c. 1680
Faience with Chinese scenes. Nevers Manufactory. c. 1680

Reflecting the English factory’s focus on Asian porcelains as a primary source of inspiration, this plate with its skillfully composed chinoiserie decoration, is an ambitious work from the 1750s, the decade during which Bow first achieved commercially viable production.

1755. Plate. British. Bow Porcelain Factory. Soft-paste porcelain
1755. Plate. British. Bow Porcelain Factory. Soft-paste porcelain
1755 Chines Musicians. Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory. Soft-past porcelain. metmuseum
1755 Chines Musicians. Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory. Soft-past porcelain. metmuseum

Distinguished by the chinoiserie scenes painted by Charles-Nicolas Dodin, these elephant vases from c. 1760 are thought to have been commissioned by Mme. de Pompadour, chief mistress of Louis XV of France. They are among the rarest forms produced by the famous Sèvres manufactory in the suburbs of Paris.

Pair of Vases. Charles Nicolas Dodin, Sèvres, France, 1760. Walters Art Museum
Pair of Vases. Charles Nicolas Dodin, Sèvres, France, 1760. Walters Art Museum

5. Chinoiserie is related to the Rococo style

Both styles are characterized by exuberant decoration, a focus on materials, stylized nature, and subject matter depicting leisure and pleasure.

Chateau de Chantilly. The Apartments of the Princes of Condé
Chateau de Chantilly. The Apartments of the Princes of Condé
The Cabinet of chinoiserie. Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Germany. Credit Yelkrokoyade
The Cabinet of chinoiserie. Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Germany. Credit Yelkrokoyade
1745 Nécessaire with watch. German. Gold and mother-of-pearl, lined with dark-red velvet. metmuseum
1745 Nécessaire with watch. German. Gold and mother-of-pearl, lined with dark-red velvet. metmuseum
1745 Nécessaire with watch. German. Gold and mother-of-pearl, lined with dark-red velvet. metmuseum
1745 Nécessaire with watch. German. Gold and mother-of-pearl, lined with dark-red velvet. metmuseum
1745 Nécessaire with watch. German. Gold and mother-of-pearl, lined with dark-red velvet. metmuseum
1745 Nécessaire with watch. German. Gold and mother-of-pearl, lined with dark-red velvet. metmuseum
1735 Wall clock. French. Étienne LeNoir. Soft-paste porcelain and partly gilded brass. metmuseum
1735 Wall clock. French. Étienne LeNoir. Soft-paste porcelain and partly gilded brass. metmuseum

Exotic chinoiserie accents in the pagoda-shaped outline of the tureen’s lid exemplify an interpretation popular in southern Germany.

1771 Tureen and stand. Silver, silver gilt. German, Augsburg. metmuseum
1771 Tureen and stand. Silver, silver gilt. German, Augsburg. metmuseum

6. European monarchs gave special favor to Chinoiserie

King Louis XV of France and Britain’s King George IV thought Chinoiserie blended well with the rococo style.

Entire rooms, such as those at Château de Chantilly, were painted with chinoiserie compositions, and artists such as Antoine Watteau and others brought expert craftsmanship to the style.

Highly ornamental, yet elegant, Western interpretations of Eastern themes were fanciful expressions, often with exotic woods and marbles used to further the effect.

A room furnished in the Louis XV style
A room furnished in the Louis XV style
Chinese Gallery at Her Majesty's Palace at Brighton by John Nash, 1820
Chinese Gallery at Her Majesty’s Palace at Brighton by John Nash, 1820

Built in 1670 at Versailles as a pleasure house for King Louis XIV’s mistress, the Trianon de Porcelaine was considered to be the first major example of chinoiserie. It was replaced by the Grand Trianon 17 years later.

Trainon de Porcelaine
Trainon de Porcelaine. Credit Hervé GREGOIRE (top right image)

Frederick the Great, King of Prussia had a Chinese House built in the gardens of his summer palace Sanssouci in Potsdam, Germany.

Garden architect Johann Gottfried Büring designed the pavilion in the style of Chinoiserie by blending Chinese architectural elements with ornamental rococo.

The Chinese House at Sanssouci, Johann Friedrich Nagel, 1790
The Chinese House at Sanssouci, Johann Friedrich Nagel, 1790
The Chinese House, designed by Johann Gottfried Büring between 1755 and 1764; a pavilion in the Chinoiserie style: a mixture of rococo elements coupled with Oriental architecture.
The Chinese House, designed by Johann Gottfried Büring between 1755 and 1764; a pavilion in the Chinoiserie style: a mixture of rococo elements coupled with Oriental architecture.
Group of tea drinking Chinese (Johann Gottlieb Heymüller) Chinese Tea House Chinese House Sanssouci. Credit Steffenheilfort
Group of tea drinking Chinese (Johann Gottlieb Heymüller) Chinese Tea House Chinese House Sanssouci. Credit Steffenheilfort

7. Europeans manufactured imitations of Chinese lacquer furniture

Frequently decorated with ebony and ivory or Chinese motifs of pagodas and dragons, Europeans such as Thomas Chippendale helped popularize Chinoiserie furniture.

Chippendale’s design book The Gentleman and Cabinet-maker’s Director: Being a large Collection of the Most Elegant and Useful Designs of Household Furniture, In the Most Fashionable Taste provided a guide for intricate chinoiserie furniture and its decoration.

1776 Rolltop Desk. German. Oak, cherry, pine, mahogany, veneered with maple, burl woods, holly, hornbeam (all partially stained), tulipwood, mahogany, and other woods; mother-of-pearl; partially gilded and tooled leather; gilt bronze, iron, steel, brass, partially gold-lacquered brass. metmuseum
1776 Rolltop Desk. German. Oak, cherry, pine, mahogany, veneered with maple, burl woods, holly, hornbeam (all partially stained), tulipwood, mahogany, and other woods; mother-of-pearl; partially gilded and tooled leather; gilt bronze, iron, steel, brass, partially gold-lacquered brass. metmuseum
1754 Harpsichord converted to a piano. French. Wood, paint, gilding, polychrome, gilded pewter, ebony, bone, felt. metmuseum
1754 Harpsichord converted to a piano. French. Wood, paint, gilding, polychrome, gilded pewter, ebony, bone, felt. metmuseum
Chinoiserie cabinet. Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas, Madrid, Spain. Credit Daderot.
Chinoiserie cabinet. Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas, Madrid, Spain. Credit Daderot.

8. Marco Polo was the first European to describe a Chinese garden

Marco Polo visited the summer palace of Kublai Khan at Xanadu in around 1275.

There is at this place a very fine marble Palace, the rooms of which are all gilt and painted with figures of men and beasts and birds, and with a variety of trees and flowers, all executed with such exquisite art that you regard them with delight and astonishment.Marco Polo
Chinese Garden by François Boucher, 1742
Chinese Garden by François Boucher, 1742

Evolving over three thousand years, the Chinese garden landscaping style became popular in the West during the 18th century.

Built in 1738, the Chinese House within the gardens of the English Palladian mansion at Stowe in Buckinghamshire, was the first of its kind in an English garden.

Chinese House, Stowe Landscaped Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England
Chinese House, Stowe Landscaped Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England

Hundreds of Chinese and Japanese Gardens were built around the world to celebrate the naturalistic, organic beauty of their asymmetric design.

One admires the art with which this irregularity is carried out. Everything is in good taste, and so well arranged, that there is not a single view from which all the beauty can be seen; you have to see it piece by pieceJesuit priest Jean Denis Attiret, 1739
The Pagoda in Kew Gardens, London. Credit Marco Felhofer
The Pagoda in Kew Gardens, London. Credit Marco Felhofer
The Chinese Garden of Friendship, Sydney, Australia. Credit Wyncliffe
The Chinese Garden of Friendship, Sydney, Australia. Credit Wyncliffe
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Credit Damahevi
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Credit Damahevi

9. Wealthy gentlemen preferred Banyans to formal clothing

Made from expensive silk brocades, damasks, and printed cottons, banyans were types of dressing gown with a kimono-like form and Eastern origin. Worn with a matching waistcoat and cap or turban, they were so popular among wealthy men of the late 18th century that they posed for portraits wearing the banyan instead of formal clothing.

Joseph Sherburne (a wealthy Boston merchant wearing an elegant banyan) by John Singleton Copley, 1770
Joseph Sherburne (a wealthy Boston merchant wearing an elegant banyan) by John Singleton Copley, 1770
Banyan. Second half of 18th century. Silk, wool, linen. metmusem
Banyan. Second half of 18th century. Silk, wool, linen. metmusem

10. Chinoiserie enjoyed a renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s

Intimating the most elaborate past of the Chinese court, the Chinoiserie roundels of this Lanvin robe de style alternately resemble embroidered Manchu court badge motifs or the glinting scales of Mongol armor interpreted in Western embroidery.

1924 Robe de Style. French. Lanvin. Silk, metallic thread, glass. metmuseum
1924 Robe de Style. French. Lanvin. Silk, metallic thread, glass. metmuseum

Stressing tubular simplicity, Callot Soeurs used the reductive rubric of Art Deco to combine Chinoiserie with other styles, resulting in an intoxicating fusion of exoticisms.

1924 Evening Dress. French. Callot Soeurs. Silk. metmuseum
1924 Evening Dress. French. Callot Soeurs. Silk. metmuseum

Known for their Chinoiserie, Callot Soeurs also featured the long fluid vestigial sleeves of Ottoman coats.

1926. Evening Ensemble. French. Callot Soeurs. Silk. metmuseum
1926. Evening Ensemble. French. Callot Soeurs. Silk. metmuseum

References
Wikipedia
V&A Museum
The Met
The British Museum

The History of Handbags — a 5-Minute Guide

Today’s designer handbags have a long and storied history.

Early Europeans used handbags just as we do today—to store personal belongings needed for the day. Clothing had no pockets until the 17th century, so men also carried handbags for things like coins, alms, and relics.

Worn attached to a belt, this 16th-century buckle bag had 18 secret compartments. For the aristocratic gentleman, it was a status symbol.

1500s. French. Goat's leather belt puch with iron frame and 18 pockets, some behind secret closures. French. Silk. Tassenmuseum Netherlands
1500s. French. Goat’s leather belt puch with iron frame and 18 pockets—some behind secret closures. French. Silk. Tassenmuseum Netherlands

The First Man-Purse?

The sporran played a similar role in the highlands of Scotland—part utilitarian, part symbol of wealth and status.

A belted plaid with sporran as worn by a reenactor of Scottish history.
A belted plaid with sporran as worn by a reenactor of Scottish history.

A 16th-Century Messenger Bag?

As pockets became an integral part of clothing during the 17th century, men no longer needed to carry handbags for anything other than the bulkiest of items—books, documents, and letters.

Late 1500s. Leather book bag. Tassenmuseum Netherlands
Late 1500s. Leather book bag. Tassenmuseum Netherlands

Chatelaine Bags

From the 16th century, women often wore a decorative clasp at the waist with a series of chains attached, called a chatelaine. Suspended from it were useful household accessories such as scissors, keys, and sewing tools. Crafted from precious metals, chatelaines were considered as jewelry and status symbols.

Wedgwood Chatelaine, Indianapolis Museum of Art. Chatelaine, Tassenmuseum Netherlands. Chatelaine bag, LACMA.
Wedgwood Chatelaine, Indianapolis Museum of Art. Chatelaine, Tassenmuseum Netherlands. Chatelaine bag, LACMA.

Reticules or Indispensables

17th- and 18th-century ladies preferred to carry their particulars in small bags with drawstrings that were known as reticules in France and “indispensables” in England.

Lady from 1830 carry a French reticule handbag. LACMA
Lady from 1830 carry a French reticule handbag. LACMA
Left: A Colonial Coquette by Charles Henry Turner. Right: Frederik VI of Denmark and family out for a stroll by Johannes Senn, 1813
Left: A Colonial Coquette by Charles Henry Turner. Right: Frederik VI of Denmark and family out for a stroll by Johannes Senn, 1813. Both ladies are clutching a reticule.

Using embroidery skills learned from a young age, ladies created designs of great artistry and beauty.

c1680. French. Silk, metal. metmuseum
c1680. French. Silk, metal. metmuseum
1799. Reticule. French. Silk satin with weft-float and supplementary weft-float patterning, silk floss and chenille passementerie with silk fly fringe, and silk cord. LACMA
1799. Reticule. French. Silk satin with weft-float and supplementary weft-float patterning, silk floss and chenille passementerie with silk fly fringe, and silk cord. LACMA

The Dawn of the Designer Handbag

The Industrial Revolution brought steam railways and travel became increasingly popular.

In 1841, Yorkshire entrepreneur Samuel Parkinson, whose Butterscotch confectionary was appointed to the British royal household, wanted to treat his wife to a custom-made set of hand luggage.

He had noticed that her purse was too small and not made of a sturdy enough material for traveling. So he had leather handbags made for her in varying size for different occasions.

Waiting at the Station, Willesden Junction by James Tissot, 1874
Waiting at the Station, Willesden Junction by James Tissot, 1874

Besides durability, Parkinson wanted to distinguish his luggage from that of lower class passengers.

London-based luxury leather goods company H. J. Cave & Sons was more than happy to oblige. Its Osilite trunk became so famous that it won several prizes in the 19th century, including first prize in Paris in 1867.

But most importantly for Mrs. Parkinson, she got to own the world’s first designer handbag.

H. J. Cave’s designs are known to have inspired Louis Vuitton (1857) and a young Guccio Gucci (1910).

Gallery of handbags and purses through history

1700s

c 1720. European. Silk, metal. metmuseum
c 1720. European. Silk, metal. metmuseum
1740. American. Linen, silk. metmuseum
1740. American. Linen, silk. metmuseum

1800s

1800. American. Silk, paper. metmuseum
1800. American. Silk, paper. metmuseum
1800. Mexican. Glass, cottom, linen. metmuseum
1800. Mexican. Glass, cottom, linen. metmuseum
1820. French. Metal. metmuseum
1820. French. Metal. metmuseum
1820. French. Silver. metmuseum
1820. French. Silver. metmuseum
1825. French. Silver. metmuseum
1825. French. Silver. metmuseum
1830. French. metal. metmuseum
1830. French. metal. metmuseum
1850. European. Metal, cotton. metmuseum
1850. European. Metal, cotton. metmuseum
1860. Italian. Silk. metmuseum
1860. Italian. Silk. metmuseum
c 1880. Mexican. Glass, linen, silk. metmuseum
c 1880. Mexican. Glass, linen, silk. metmuseum
1885. American. Cotton, silk, metal. metmuseum
1885. American. Cotton, silk, metal. metmuseum
1890. American. Silk, metallic. metmuseum
1890. American. Silk, metallic. metmuseum
1890. French. Leather. metmuseum
1890. French. Leather. metmuseum
c 1890. French. metla. metmuseum
c 1890. French. metla. metmuseum

1900s

1900. American. Silk, metal, glass. metmuseum
1900. American. Silk, metal, glass. metmuseum
1910. Scottish. Wool, metal. metmuseum
1910. Scottish. Wool, metal. metmuseum
1913. American. Tiffany. Gold. metmuseum
1913. American. Tiffany. Gold. metmuseum
1914. European. Silk, metal. metmuseum
1914. European. Silk, metal. metmuseum
1915. French. Silk, metal, metallic. metmuseum
1915. French. Silk, metal, metallic. metmuseum
1920. Italian. Metal, glass. metmuseum
1920. Italian. Metal, glass. metmuseum
1920. Philippines. Piña, silk. metmuseum
1920. Philippines. Piña, silk. metmuseum
1925. American. Glass, silk. metmuseum
1925. American. Glass, silk. metmuseum
1925. French. Leather, metal, stone. metmuseum
1925. French. Leather, metal, stone. metmuseum
1930. American. Leather, metal. metmuseum
1930. American. Leather, metal. metmuseum
1930. American. Leather, plastic. metmuseum
1930. American. Leather, plastic. metmuseum
1933. American. Leather. metmuseum
1933. American. Leather. metmuseum
1950. French. Cartier. Leather, wool, wood. metmuseum
1950. French. Cartier. Leather, wool, wood. metmuseum
1950s. American. Phelps. Cotton, leather. metmuseum
1950s. American. Phelps. Cotton, leather. metmuseum
1958. Italian. Gucci. Leather, metal. metmuseum
1958. Italian. Gucci. Leather, metal. metmuseum
1965. Italian. Gucci. Leather, wood, metal. metmuseum
1965. Italian. Gucci. Leather, wood, metal. metmuseum
1965. Spanish. Loewe. Leather, metal. metmuseum
1965. Spanish. Loewe. Leather, metal. metmuseum

References
Museum of Bags
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Wikipedia
LACMA

The “Beau Monde” High Fashion of the 18th Century

On August 1, 1714, Queen Anne of Great Britain drew her last breath, and the first of a series of Georges ascended to the throne, marking the dawn of an extraordinary new era of exploration, invention, industry, and art—the Georgian Era.

As the rural economy shifted to an urban industrial one, huge advances in science, design and engineering brought wealth to a new class of merchants, businessmen, and financiers.

This nouveau riche “middling sort”, or middle class, imitated the lifestyle of the aristocracy. Looking fashionable was a full-time occupation, and a tall order—since the Georgian aristocracy didn’t do things by halves.

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England. Credit Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England. Credit Blenheim Palace
Imperial pleasure palace Schoenbrunn, courtyard by Bernardo Bellotto, 1761.
Imperial pleasure palace Schoenbrunn, courtyard by Bernardo Bellotto, 1761.

Unlike the 17th century, it was parliament, not the monarchy, that held sway over governing the country.

Plush new town homes were built to house the politicians and their servants for the London season—corresponding to the sitting of parliament.

Park Crescent, London. Credit spudgun67
Park Crescent, London. Credit spudgun67

Fashion established the social pecking order. Aristocratic elites aped each other’s tastes, the middle class watched and learned, and the press fanned the public’s fascination with the glitterati.

This was the age of the Beau Monde.

Pleasure gardens, exhibitions and assemblies were open to all who could afford tickets.

Vauxhall Gardens by Thomas Rowlandson, 1785
Vauxhall Gardens by Thomas Rowlandson, 1785

At Vauxhall Gardens, London, a shopkeeper’s wife and daughters could rub shoulders with the landed gentry.

Men looked resplendent in their finery …

1760. British Suit. Wool, gilt metal. metmuseum
1760. British Suit. Wool, gilt metal. metmuseum

… a declaration of fashion on both sides of the Big Pond.

John Hancock by John Singleton Copley, 1765
John Hancock by John Singleton Copley, 1765

Men’s attire remained fairly static throughout the 18th century—predominantly coats, waistcoats and breeches—with stylistic changes to the fabric and cut.

Suits ranged from the elaborately embroidered silks and velvets of formal “full dress” to hard-wearing woolen garments more suitable for outdoor sport and country pursuits.

The 18th-century Beau Monde male wanted to look as fashionable as possible with seemingly little effort—exuding an air of “nonchalance.”

c. 1800. Man's ensemble. Silk cut and voided velvet on plain-weave foundation with supplementary weft-float patterning and silk embroidery. LACMA
c. 1800. Man’s ensemble. Silk cut and voided velvet on plain-weave foundation with supplementary weft-float patterning and silk embroidery. LACMA
c. 1755 Man's ensemble. Silk cut, uncut, and voided velvet (ciselé) on satin foundation. LACMA
c. 1755 Man’s ensemble. Silk cut, uncut, and voided velvet (ciselé) on satin foundation. LACMA

But it was women who really stole the show.

1750. British. Woman's Dress and Petticoat with Stomacher (Robe à l'anglaise). Brocaded silk satin. LACMA
1750. British. Woman’s Dress and Petticoat with Stomacher (Robe à l’anglaise). Brocaded silk satin. LACMA
Portrait of Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern by Antoine Pesne, 1739
Portrait of Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern by Antoine Pesne, 1739
Fan 1760s Netherlands. Credit KCI
Fan 1760s Netherlands. Credit KCI

Between 1720 and 1780, ladies wore imposing Robes à la Française (French Dress) and Robes à l’Anglaise (English Dress).

Derived from the loose negligée sacque dress of the early part of the century, Robes à la Française had an open funnel-shaped front—often with stomacher panel—and wide rectangular skirts of expansive fabric decorated with delicate Rococo designs.

c. 1765. Robe à la Française. European. Silk. metmuseum
c. 1765. Robe à la Française. European. Silk. metmuseum
1765. Robe à la Française. French. Silk, cotton. metmuseum
1765. Robe à la Française. French. Silk, cotton. metmuseum
1765. Robe à la Française. French. Silk, cotton. metmuseum
1765. Robe à la Française. French. Silk, cotton. metmuseum
1765. Woman's Dress and Petticoat (Robe à la française). Silk plain weave (faille) with silk and metallic-thread supplementary-weft patterning, and metallic lace. LACMA
1765. Woman’s Dress and Petticoat (Robe à la française). Silk plain weave (faille) with silk and metallic-thread supplementary-weft patterning, and metallic lace. LACMA
1760. Robe à la française. French. Silk plain weave (faille) with silk and metallic-thread supplementary weft patterning, and metallic lace trim. LACMA
1760. Robe à la française. French. Silk plain weave (faille) with silk and metallic-thread supplementary weft patterning, and metallic lace trim. LACMA
c1775. Robe a la Francaise. French. Silk bobbin lace. mfa.org
c. 1775. Robe a la Francaise. French. Silk bobbin lace. mfa.org

Obtaining such a silhouette took some hidden magic—an undergarment structure of panniers.

Panniers, 1750. metmuseum
Panniers, 1750. metmuseum
Panniers 1780. Credit LACMA
Panniers 1780. Credit LACMA

But, oh, what power the dress held over the male of the species …

Porcelain figurine dancer wearing a pannier
Porcelain figurine dancer wearing a pannier

The robe à la française compelled men everywhere to declare their love on bended knee.

The Declaration of Love by Jean François de Troy, 1731
The Declaration of Love by Jean François de Troy, 1731

Court etiquette demanded an altogether higher level of commitment to fashion. Size mattered. And one name stood out across Europe as synonymous with court fashion—Marie Antoinette.

Marie Antoinette in a court dress worn over extremely wide panniers, Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1778
Marie Antoinette in a court dress worn over extremely wide panniers, Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1778
1765 Robe à la française. Silk satin with weft-float patterning and silk passementerie. LACMA
1765 Robe à la française. Silk satin with weft-float patterning and silk passementerie. LACMA

You may be wondering, what’s the point? Well, the whole idea behind such width was to provide a panel where woven patterns, elaborate decorations and rich embroidery could be displayed and fully appreciated.

c. 1750. Court dress. British. Silk, metallic thread. metmuseum
c. 1750. Court dress. British. Silk, metallic thread. metmuseum
c. 1750. Court dress. British. Silk, metallic thread. metmuseum
c. 1750. Court dress. British. Silk, metallic thread. metmuseum

For the wearer of this little number, the only way to pass through doorways was literally sideways.

c. 1750. Court dress. British. Silk, metallic thread. metmuseum
c. 1750. Court dress. British. Silk, metallic thread. metmuseum
1755 Mantua. England. Silk, silver-gilt thread, linen thread, silk thread, hand-sewn. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
1755 Mantua. England. Silk, silver-gilt thread, linen thread, silk thread, hand-sewn. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A variation on the Robe à la Française was the Robe à l’Anglaise, having a tight, fitted back, rather than the draped pleats of the Française.

1750. Robe à l'Anglaise. British. Silk.
1750. Robe à l’Anglaise. British. Silk.
1750. Robe à l'Anglaise. British. Silk
1750. Robe à l’Anglaise. British. Silk
1776. Robe à l'Anglaise. British. Silk
1776. Robe à l’Anglaise. British. Silk

Another popular style of gown in the 18th-century was the Robe à la Polonaise (Polish Dress).

Characterized by a close-fitting bodice and skirt gathered up into three separate puffed sections at the back, the polonaise was suspended by rows of little rings sewn inside the skirt, or sometimes ribbon ties forming decorative bows.

1780 Robe à la Polonaise. French. Silk. metmuseum
1780 Robe à la Polonaise. French. Silk. metmuseum
1780 Robe à la Polonaise. French. Silk. metmuseum
1780 Robe à la Polonaise. French. Silk. metmuseum

In the latter part of the 18th century, fashion became simpler and less elaborate. Spurred by modern Enlightenment thinking, the fashionability of Rococo went into decline.

1790s, American, silk. metmuseum
1790s, American, silk. metmuseum
French cartoon showing contrats between fashions of 1793 on the left and those of 1778 on the right
French cartoon showing contrast between fashions of 1793 on the left and those of 1778 on the right

Following the French Revolution, people began dressing for individual expression rather that social status.

In trendsetting France, out went the aristocracy and in came Napoleon’s first Empress, Joséphine de Beauharnais sporting the “Empire Silhouette”. High-waisted, with a long, flowing skirt, it was a look that would take Europe by storm.

Joséphine in coronation costume by Baron François Gérard
Joséphine in coronation costume by Baron François Gérard
1800 Empire Silhouette Dress, LACMA
1800 Empire Silhouette Dress, LACMA

The 18th-century Beau Monde was over … but the 19th century would see its own excesses.

Beware the Full Moon. Beware the Lunar Society

The year was 1775. Some very strange events had been observed at an elegant white mansion in Birmingham, England.

In the afternoon before each full moon, one by one, black carriages would start to arrive. Out of each carriage appeared a lone cloaked figure, which moved stealthily to the front entrance and disappeared inside the ghostly building.

Soho House in Handsworth, Birmingham, a regular venue for meetings of the Lunar Society. Derivative works by David James based on photo by Wehwalt
Soho House in Handsworth, Birmingham, a regular venue for meetings of the Lunar Society. Derivative works based on photo by Wehwalt

The local police received many worrying reports: the cook heard howls of laughter; the gardener remembered squeals of excitement; and the butler reported seeing flashes of light.

Were these men doing the work of Satan? Were they sprouting thick hair and long pointed teeth? Were they preparing to go hunting for human flesh?

No, it was something far more sinister. For these were members of a society of intellectuals called the “lunarticks”, and they gathered to do something that, today, we find highly disagreeable.

They talked to each other.

But this was no idle chit chat—their conversations were about things the world had never seen.

The main ringleader was an English manufacturer named Matthew Boulton. Dubbed the Richard Branson of his day, Boulton harnessed the newest technology—steam power—to mechanize factories and mills. He supplied the Royal Mint with steam-powered machines to foil the scourge of counterfeiters that had taken over Britain’s coinage—and made enough new copper coins to pay real wages to the working poor across Britain.

Plaster bust of Matthew Boulton. Credit Birmingham Museums Trust
Plaster bust of Matthew Boulton. Credit Birmingham Museums Trust

Boulton was guilty of industrial revolution on a grand scale. From humble beginnings, he expanded his father’s buckle-making business into the largest manufacturing complex in the world—the Soho Manufactory— producing all manner of fine decorative metal work.

1770. Clock case, Matthew Boulton. Credit metmuseum.org
1770. Clock case, Matthew Boulton. Credit metmuseum.org
c. 1770. Candelabrum. Matthew Boulton. Credit Art Institute of Chicago
c. 1770. Candelabrum. Matthew Boulton. Credit Art Institute of Chicago
1770. Pair of perfume burners. Matthew Boulton. Credit metmuseum.org
1770. Pair of perfume burners. Matthew Boulton. Credit metmuseum.org

Boulton’s co-conspirator was a wickedly clever man from one of the most notorious families in history—the Darwins. Erasmus Darwin was an English physician, natural philosopher, physiologist, and slave-trade abolitionist.

Grandfather of the infamous evolutionary Charles Darwin, Erasmus Darwin’s poems included stanzas about natural history, and a statement of evolution and the relatedness of all forms of life.

Erasmus Darwin by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1770
Erasmus Darwin by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1770

They called themselves “lunarticks” (a play on the word lunatics), and later, the “Lunar Society” because they only met on days with a full moon, claiming that it provided enough light for a safer journey home.

But in truth, the full moon inspired their wicked genius and they fed off each other’s intelligence like a group of vampires feeding off blood.

For it was the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and members of the Lunar Society were developing concepts and techniques in science, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport that would change the world.

Boulton and Darwin were not alone—they had recruited others to join their Lunar Society, including Boulton’s own business partner, James Watt.

Watt modified Newcomen’s steam engine, improving it’s efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It powered the industrial revolution not just in Britain, but around the world. Every light bulb in existence bears his name—”watt”, the unit of power.

James Watt and the Steam Engine by James Eckford Lauder. Scottish National Gallery
James Watt and the Steam Engine by James Eckford Lauder. Scottish National Gallery

The famous Staffordshire potter, Josiah Wedgwood (1730 – 1795) was also a member of the Lunar Society. He founded the Wedgwood Company in Stoke-on-Trent, England, and is credited with bringing the entire pottery trade into the industrial age through the division of labor and mechanization.

Josiah Wedgwood. Derivative works by David James based on photograph by stephen betteridge
Josiah Wedgwood. Derivative works based on photograph by stephen betteridge

In 1765, his factory’s fine porcelain caught the attention of British Royalty. Queen Consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz gave official permission to call it “Queen’s Ware”.

c 1780. Platter. Josiah Wedgwood. Credit metmuseum.org
c 1780. Platter. Josiah Wedgwood. Credit metmuseum.org
c. 1785 Detail of Medusa, Josiah Wedgwood at the Art Institute of Chicago. Credit Anne Peterson, flickr
c. 1785 Detail of Medusa, Josiah Wedgwood at the Art Institute of Chicago. Credit Anne Peterson, flickr
c. 1790. Belt Clasp with a Female Making a Sacrifice. Josiah Wedgwood with metal frame by Matthew Boulton. Credit Walters Art Museum
c. 1790. Belt Clasp with a Female Making a Sacrifice. Josiah Wedgwood with metal frame by Matthew Boulton. Credit Walters Art Museum

Their influence spread far and wide in a network that reached the American colonies. There, a co-conspirator named Benjamin Franklin helped spread their evil, industrial ways.

Franklin was introduced to the Lunar Society when he traveled to Birmingham, England, in 1758, with the intention of improving “Acquaintance among Persons of Influence”. With the lunarticks, he had hit the jackpot, and returned to Birmingham in 1760 to conduct experiments with electricity at Boulton’s house.

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin

Another world-changing meeting had finally come to a close and the Lunar Society left Boulton’s home. One by one, black carriages arrived and then vanished into the night … until the next full moon.

Soho House in Handsworth, Birmingham, a regular venue for meetings of the Lunar Society. Derivative works by David James based on photo by Wehwalt
Soho House in Handsworth, Birmingham, a regular venue for meetings of the Lunar Society. Derivative works based on photo by Wehwalt

Further Reading

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The Colorful Shoes of the 18th Century

Adorned with decadent decorative arts and steeped in affectation, it’s no surprise that the French Court led European preference for elaborate clothing and accessories—everything from luxurious wigs to the colorful shoes of the 18th century.

Just as the formal ladies’ Robe à la Francaise showcased lavish embroideries and silk damask fabrics, so too did footwear display the very best of the era’s woven artistry.

Both ladies and gentlemen were expected to be fluent in fine arts, music, and dancing and behave with the utmost grace and poise.

This exuberance was no less manifested in the footwear of the period—the colorful shoes of the 18th century.

1700. French. Silk, leather
1700. French. Silk, leather
1709. European. Silk
1709. European. Silk
c1710s. European. Silk. Leather
c1710s. European. Silk. Leather

Trending toward the lighter floral decoration of Rococo in the first quarter of the 18th century, the predecessor to the classic buckle was the latchet tie (shown below).

When buckles did become available later in the century, they were often retrofitted to latchet tie shoes to extend their life.

1720. British. Silk, leather
1720. British. Silk, leather
1721. British. Silk, metal
1721. British. Silk, metal
1729. British, Silk
1729. British, Silk

“Bargello” or flame stitch was an embroidery style most commonly used for upholstery and personal accessories, but also for shoes.

The bold zigzag wool canvas pattern shown below extends to the heels, which was unusual for the time—more often being silk or leather.

1729. British. Wool, linen, metal
1729. British. Wool, linen, metal
1729. British, Wool
1729. British, Wool
1729. British. Silk. Metallic
1729. British. Silk. Metallic
1739. European. Wool
1739. European. Wool

Wel-established in the 17th century and continuing into the 18th was a decorative style of braid with multiple parallel rows.

Pinched toes, high throat, flared tongue with small side opening, and sturdy high heel rounded out this popular style.

Ties were still in fashion and were the main method of closure until the buckle was introduced later in the century.

1739. British, silk
1739. British, silk
1739. European. Silk, gold, leather
1739. European. Silk, gold, leather
1740. British. Silk. Metallic
1740. British. Silk. Metallic
1745. British. Silk
1745. British. Silk

Inspired by an Indian floral design, this pair of ladies shoes (below) shows the penchant for patterned fabrics.

Ladies would sometimes embroider the upper themselves and take it to a shoemaker to be made into shoes. Published in ladies magazines, embroidery patterns had become popular by the last quarter of the 18th century.

1749 British silk
1749 British silk
1755. British. Silk, metal
1755. British. Silk, metal

Eye-catching textile designs were a favorite choice of aristocratic ladies.

The red heel and white strip along the shoe’s front edge coordinate well with the uppers.

A wide metallic ribbon down the center of the vamp was a popular decoration of the period.

1759. British. Silk, leather, metal
1759. British. Silk, leather, metal
1759. European. Silk
1759. European. Silk

Popular for about 100 years, striped braid is shown below toward the end of its fashionable period in the monochrome preference.

Despite a buckle that would hide the intricate pattern, the braided tongue was fashioned with an attractive star design.

1759. European, Silk
1759. European, Silk

Bold and colorful, the finely worked flame-stitch canvas upper was a common embroidery style.

The higher, more upright heel and blunt toe—free from the upturn of earlier designs—shows the progression of fashion through the 18th century. Gone is the metallic decoration down the vamp’s center, but of note is the unusual printed silk adorning the heel.

1769. British. Wool. Linen. Silk
1769. British. Wool. Linen. Silk

Fashionable from the late 1770s were pointed tongues—sometimes reworked from an original square tongue as shown below.

Increasingly favored as the 18th century progressed were simpler, lighter textile designs. In this case, the silk uppers have been carefully cut to show off the brocaded motifs.

1770. British, silk
1770. British, silk
1775. French. Silk, metallic
1775. French. Silk, metallic

Plainer than ladies shoes, those of gentlemen did, however, have decorative aspects. Red heels were a favorite among aristocrats—a style inherited from the French courts of the 17th century.

1779. British, leather
1779. British, leather
1780 American silk
1780 American silk
1780. British. Silk
1780. British. Silk
c1780. French. Leather
c1780. French. Leather
1785. European. Silk, leather
1785. European. Silk, leather
1789. European. Silk
1789. European. Silk

Embodying the pointed toe and tongue from ladies styles, this rare pair of children’s shoes (below) is in unusually good condition.

This type of flat-heeled shoe was common among boys and girls, although the bright color suggests they complemented the more colorful feminine dress of the period.

1790 European leather
1790 European leather
1795. American. Silk
1795. American. Silk

20 Handmade Dolls Tell the History of Fashion

This is the story of how a series of exquisite handmade dolls, representing the history of French haute couture made their way to the United States as an expression of gratitude.

The year was 1948 and France was still suffering from the effects of World War II. Housed in boxcars and dubbed the “Friendship Train”, American aide organizations had sent large-scale relief the year before.

Read more …

Now it was France who wished to show its gratitude for America’s generosity by creating the “Gratitude Train”—a set of 49 box cars filled with French-made gifts, like handmade toys and priceless works of art.

The French fashion houses banded together to create something very special.

They tasked their most talented designers with creating a set of fashion dolls that would show the evolution of French fashion.

Measuring 24 inches tall with bodies made from open wire, the designers used human hair to fashion the hairstyles.

Using period paintings, literature, and fashion plates as references, each designer chose a year between 1715 and 1906.

Representing their creative interpretations, the designers used the same level of care and attention to detail as they did for full size work.

It was a unique moment in the history of French couture.

“1715 Doll”. Marcel Rochas (French, 1902–1955)

"1715 Doll". Marcel Rochas (French, 1902–1955)
“1715 Doll”. Marcel Rochas (French, 1902–1955)

“1733 Doll”. Jean Bader (French)

"1733 Doll". Jean Bader (French)
“1733 Doll”. Jean Bader (French)

“1755 Doll”. A. Reichert (French)

"1755 Doll". A. Reichert (French)
“1755 Doll”. A. Reichert (French)

“1774 Doll”. Jean Dessès (French (born Egypt), Alexandria 1904–1970 Athens)

"1774 Doll". Jean Dessès (French (born Egypt), Alexandria 1904–1970 Athens)
“1774 Doll”. Jean Dessès (French (born Egypt), Alexandria 1904–1970 Athens)

“1779 Doll”. Lucille Manguin

"1779 Doll". Lucille Manguin
“1779 Doll”. Lucille Manguin

“1785 Doll”. Maggy Rouff (French, 1896–1971)

"1785 Doll". Maggy Rouff (French, 1896–1971)
“1785 Doll”. Maggy Rouff (French, 1896–1971)

“1787 Doll”. Mendel

"1787 Doll". Mendel
“1787 Doll”. Mendel

“1791 Doll”. Martial & Armand

"1791 Doll". Martial & Armand
“1791 Doll”. Martial & Armand

“1808 Doll”. Madame Grès (Alix Barton) (French, Paris 1903–1993 Var region)

"1808 Doll". Madame Grès (Alix Barton) (French, Paris 1903–1993 Var region)
“1808 Doll”. Madame Grès (Alix Barton) (French, Paris 1903–1993 Var region)

“1820 Doll”. House of Patou (French, founded 1919)

"1820 Doll". House of Patou (French, founded 1919)
“1820 Doll”. House of Patou (French, founded 1919)

“1828 Doll”. Henriette Beaujeu (French)

"1828 Doll". Henriette Beaujeu (French)
“1828 Doll”. Henriette Beaujeu (French)

“1832 Doll”. Marcelle Dormoy (French)

"1832 Doll". Marcelle Dormoy (French)
“1832 Doll”. Marcelle Dormoy (French)

“1866 Doll”. Marcelle Chaumont (French)

"1866 Doll". Marcelle Chaumont (French)
“1866 Doll”. Marcelle Chaumont (French)

“1867 Doll”. Jacques Fath (French, 1912–1954)

"1867 Doll". Jacques Fath (French, 1912–1954)
“1867 Doll”. Jacques Fath (French, 1912–1954)

“1873 Doll”. Madeleine Vramant (French)

"1873 Doll". Madeleine Vramant (French)
“1873 Doll”. Madeleine Vramant (French)

“1884 Doll”. Nina Ricci (French, 1883–1970)

"1884 Doll". Nina Ricci (French, 1883–1970)
“1884 Doll”. Nina Ricci (French, 1883–1970)

“1892 Doll”. Germaine Lecomte

"1892 Doll". Germaine Lecomte
“1892 Doll”. Germaine Lecomte

“1896 Doll”. Bruyère (French, founded 1928)

"1896 Doll". Bruyère (French, founded 1928)
“1896 Doll”. Bruyère (French, founded 1928)

“1902 Doll”. Robert Piguet (French, born Switzerland, 1901–1953)

"1902 Doll". Robert Piguet (French, born Switzerland, 1901–1953)
“1902 Doll”. Robert Piguet (French, born Switzerland, 1901–1953)

“1906 Doll”. Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973)

"1906 Doll". Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973)
“1906 Doll”. Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973)

References
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait Miniatures: Intimate Expressions of Love

Portrait miniatures were popular among 16th-century English and French aristocrats.

Spreading across Europe in the 18th century, miniatures remained very popular until the latter half of the 19th century when the first photographic processes started to appear.

Today, one of the reasons we take selfies is to share on social networks, particularly for use as our profile pictures. It’s a convenient way to introduce ourselves to other people over distance.

This was one of the uses of portrait miniatures—as profile pictures : “this is me in my Sunday best.”

Portrait miniatures also brought a new innovation in matchmaking. If a nobleman was proposing the marriage of his daughter, he would send a portrait miniature via courier to potential suitors.

At about half the size of an iPhone, they were convenient for carrying a picture of a loved one at all times.

Soldiers and sailors would draw comfort from them while traveling in remote corners of the world. And wives could keep a picture of their husband close to their hearts while he was away.

Small is beautiful.

Here are ten intimate expressions of love … in miniature…

Portrait of a Gentleman by William M. S. Doyle, 1810
Portrait of a Gentleman by William M. S. Doyle, 1810
Portrait of a Lady by Charles Cromwell Ingham, 1837
Portrait of a Lady by Charles Cromwell Ingham, 1837
Portrait of a Man by Nathaniel Jocelyn, 1830
Portrait of a Man by Nathaniel Jocelyn, 1830
Portrait of a Lady by William P. Sheys, 1813
Portrait of a Lady by William P. Sheys, 1813
Self-Portrait by John Henry Brown, 1846
Self-Portrait by John Henry Brown, 1846
By my soul, I can neither eat, drink, nor sleep; nor, what’s still worse, love any woman in the world but her.Samuel Richardson, Clarissa
Mrs. Vanderbank by Christian Friedrich Zincke, 1730
Mrs. Vanderbank by Christian Friedrich Zincke, 1730
Self Portrait by George Harvey, 1830
Self Portrait by George Harvey, 1830
In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.Jane Austen, Pride And Prejudice
Rebecca Wetherill by George Hewitt Cushman, 1849
Rebecca Wetherill by George Hewitt Cushman, 1849
Portrait of a Gentleman by Moses B. Russell, 1834
Portrait of a Gentleman by Moses B. Russell, 1834
He feeds upon her face by day and night, And she with true kind eyes looks back on him, Fair as the moon and joyful as the light.Christina Rossetti, In An Artist's Studio
Augusta Temple Palmer by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1828
Augusta Temple Palmer by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1828
Portrait of a Gentleman by Joseph Wood, 1815
Portrait of a Gentleman by Joseph Wood, 1815
Love seeketh not itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care; But for another gives its ease, And builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair.William Blake, The Clod And The Pebble
Lola Montez by Josef Heigel c. 1820
Lola Montez by Josef Heigel c. 1820
Portrait of a Gentleman by Anna Claypoole Peale, 1832
Portrait of a Gentleman by Anna Claypoole Peale, 1832
Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
Portrait of a Lady by Frederick R. Spencer, 1830
Portrait of a Lady by Frederick R. Spencer, 1830
Self-portrait by Thomas Seir Cummings, 1825
Self-portrait by Thomas Seir Cummings, 1825
Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear.Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Portrait of a Lady by Lawrence Sully, 1795
Portrait of a Lady by Lawrence Sully, 1795
Self Portrait by James Van Dyck, 1836
Self Portrait by James Van Dyck, 1836
I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed.A.S. Byatt, Possession
Elizabeth Scott by Nathaniel Hancock, 1795
Elizabeth Scott by Nathaniel Hancock, 1795
General Henry Knox by Charles Willson Peale, 1778
General Henry Knox by Charles Willson Peale, 1778
Oh the heart that has truly loved never forgets, But as truly loves on to the close.Thomas Moore, Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms
Rachel Brewer by Charles Willson Peale, 1790
Rachel Brewer by Charles Willson Peale, 1790

The Last of the Mohicans: A Sweeping Romance from the Seven Years’ War

The challenge with historical drama for Hollywood movie studios is to make it appealing to a mass audience.

Too much historical accuracy and it becomes more or less a documentary. Too little and it loses the plot.

PBS’s Masterpiece is in many ways a better medium for faithful storytelling of historical dramas. The 2006 Masterpiece production of Jane Eyre, for example, won 4 awards with 14 nominations.

And documentaries can be as absorbing as a movie with the right combination of Computer Graphics, on-location filming, and engaging narrative.

Simon Schama and Lucy Worsley host very engaging history documentaries.

The Last of the Mohicans by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, 1850
The Last of the Mohicans by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, 1850

Last of the Mohicans was no history documentary.

It was mastery of cinematography and soundtrack.

Press play to add atmosphere as we explore the Last of the Mohicans.

A sweeping romantic epic, with Homeric sadness to rival a Greek tragedy.

When the Grey Hair is dead, Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his children under the knife, so the Grey Hair will know his seed is wiped out forever.

If there is one moment in the entire film that captures the genius of director Michael Mann, it is the split second Alice Munro looks directly into the camera before jumping to her death.

Tragedy, despair, hopelessness … all in that one fleeting moment.

That’s powerful. That’s movie making.

Alice jumps to her death.

The hauntingly beautiful score of Trevor Jones won the movie an academy award for best sound.

Clannad’s romantic ballad “I Will Find You” is like a Celtic promise of undying love.

Spectacular scenery from the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains and mesmerizing sounds combined harmoniously to create an atmosphere that could have been crafted by English romantic poets Byron and Shelley.

The action scenes were extraordinary—enough to satisfy even the most die-hard fight-scene aficionado.

In the final confrontation Chingachgook, the Last of the Mohicans, smashes Magua’s arms, rendering him useless, unable to do anything but stand there and wait for the final death blow.

Preparing for the kill. The spectacular setting for the final confrontation between Chingachgook and Magua.

Michael Mann’s attention to detail is second to none.

The whole production team hiked their equipment 45 minutes each day into the Appalachian wilderness to reach the breathtaking locations that make this movie special.

The tension Mann creates as the British travel across exposed terrain surrounded by Hurons, hidden in thick woodland … silent … waiting to attack, is extraordinary.

And the ensuing battle is something only Hollywood budgets can depict effectively.

ambush

The movie deserves praise for renewing interest in Native American culture and helping break the stereotype of the gunslinging cowboys and Indians westerns.

The set of Fort William Henry and the costumes were painstakingly researched for accuracy.

Daniel Day Lewis trained for six months to add weight and acquire the skills that a frontiersman like Daniel Boone would have learned from the Iroquois.

Actor Daniel Day-Lewis trained hard to learn frontiersman skills like those of Daniel Boone.

Madeleine Stowe has the timeless, delicate beauty that made her so perfect for the role of Cora.

From his scarred, weather-beaten face, to his evil stare and authentic Native American roots, Wes Studi epitomized the hate and vengeance that was Magua.

Steven Waddington is a fine British actor with the wonderful clarity of diction that comes with a Royal Shakespeare Company tenure.

His role as Major Duncan Heyward captured the obsessive sense of honor and duty that was so important to British culture of the time.

Cora Munro, Magua and Maj. Duncan Heyward

Last of the Mohicans was the No.1 movie on its opening weekend, was the 17th highest-grossing film of 1992 and won an academy award for best sound.

Landscape Scene from 'The Last of the Mohicans' by Thomas Cole, 1827
Landscape Scene from ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ by Thomas Cole, 1827

12 Paintings That Tell Stories from Auguste Toulmouche

French artist Auguste Toulmouche (1829 – 1890) loved to tell stories. But instead of putting quill to paper, he put brush to canvas.

His paintings share the academic style of the Académie des Beaux-Arts that dominated French art in the mid 19th century.

Playing in Toulmouche’s favor was a trend that lent itself to storytelling—a move towards greater idealism. Although painted in the mid-Victorian era, his themes were often set in the Regency revival and late Georgian periods.

Let us examine 12 paintings from Albert Toulmouche … and the stories they tell.

The Love Letter by Auguste Toulmouche, 1863
The Love Letter by Auguste Toulmouche, 1863

With the prevalence of mobile technology today, it is very hard for us to imagine a time when people relied on letters as their primary means of communication across distance.

Dropping the envelope at her feet, this beautiful lady was obviously keen to open the letter from her lover in a hurry.

Moving near the light of the window, she remains standing. If it were bad news, would she be so hasty?

The letter probably has sweet words for her eyes only—and her corner position in the room gives her the privacy she needs.

The Letter by Auguste Toulmouche, 1879
The Letter by Auguste Toulmouche, 1879

Not all news is good news, as the young lady above might be finding out. She’s left the letter on the table and turned away from it, as if rejecting its message.

Is her fiancé away at war? Has something happened to him? She looks concerned, but not devastated. Perhaps she was expecting his return sooner …

Yet again, it could be bad news from her sister. What story do you think the painting tells?

The Reluctant Bride by Auguste Toulmouche, 1866
The Reluctant Bride by Auguste Toulmouche, 1866

Not a happy bunny …

This young lady is not at all sure she’s doing the right thing. In an age when many marriages were for social standing or financial security, marriage for love was something more akin to dreams than reality.

If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield … and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for.Mrs Bennett, Pride and Prejudice.

In a letter to her niece Fanny Catherine Knight, Jane Austen reminded her of how elusive perfection can be:

There are such beings in the world, perhaps one in a thousand, as the creature you and I should think perfection, where grace and spirit are united to worth, where the manners are equal to the heart and understanding; but such a person may not come in your way, or, if he does, he may not be the eldest son of a man of fortune, the near relation of your particular friend, and belonging to your own county.
The New Arrival by Auguste Toulmouche, 1861
The New Arrival by Auguste Toulmouche, 1861
Consolation by Auguste Toulmouche, 1867
Consolation by Auguste Toulmouche, 1867

Families were large, but life was precious. Children died young and mothers were lost during childbirth. Cholera, consumption, and smallpox didn’t care how much money people had—they took the lives of rich and poor alike.

The period theme of Toulmouche’s paintings was a time of war. Many a young handsome officer would have fallen in battle.

Grieving and consolation touched everyone at unexpected times.

Sweet Doing Nothing by Auguste Toulmouche, 1877
Sweet Doing Nothing by Auguste Toulmouche, 1877

Novels helped fuel the hopes and dreams of readers. Have you felt this way when reading—so moved that you had to pause and contemplate the moment?

The 18th-century view that reading contemporary novels was a time-wasting leisure activity gave way to 19th-century ideals on their ability to educate.

While Jane Austen’s novels critiqued the life of the British landed gentry, by the mid-1800’s, the most widely read novel in England was the anti-slavery Uncle Toms Cabin of 1852 by American Harriet Beecher Stowe.

An Afternoon Idyll by Auguste Toulmouche, 1874
An Afternoon Idyll by Auguste Toulmouche, 1874

A good book and an afternoon nap. Doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

It was an age when meal times were strictly adhered to. Breakfast would have been eaten early, leaving a long wait until evening for the main meal of the day.

The Duchess of Devonshire reported having a “sinking feeling” mid-afternoon. We’ve all felt that way, haven’t we? Now we can top-up with countless energy snacks and drinks, but the Duchess had another idea—afternoon tea.

Notice also the chinoiserie screen behind the ladies, reflecting the importance of Chinese motifs in Western culture.

The Admiring Glance by Auguste Toulmouche, 1868
The Admiring Glance by Auguste Toulmouche, 1868
Vanity by Auguste Toulmouche, 1890
Vanity by Auguste Toulmouche, 1890

Mirror, mirror on the wall …

It was a time when keeping up appearances was critical to maintaining social standing.

But perhaps Auguste Toulmouche was using parody to message a decadent Victorian audience.

Romanticism—an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement of the first third of the 19th century—initiated a surge of enthusiasm for all things Greek, including Greek mythology.

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was fixated with his own physical appearance and disdained others around him. Nemesis, the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris, attracted him to a pool where he fell in love with his own reflection. Unable to take his eyes of his own image, he lost the reason for living and died, staring at his reflection.

Woman Sitting in Front of a Fireplace by Auguste Toulmouche
Woman Sitting in Front of a Fireplace by Auguste Toulmouche

Here’s an interesting painting. The lady is warming her hands and feet at the burning fire, but taking care not to let the heat tinge her complexion with redness. Another reason that made the fan such an indispensable accessory for the 19th-century lady.

Is there more to this story? Is she burning a love letter … ?

A Garden Stroll by Auguste Toulmuche, 1877
A Garden Stroll by Auguste Toulmouche, 1877

What are friends for but to listen to our stories and grievances? The lady on the right seems genuinely concerned for her friend, or perhaps they are sisters.

The painting reminds us that simple pleasures like a stroll in a park or garden, and sharing polite conversation in good company, are some of the best things in life.

The Blue Dress by Auguste Toulmouche, 1870
The Blue Dress by Auguste Toulmouche, 1870

It’s five minutes past three by the trusty wall clock. Why hasn’t he called? Oh yes, phones haven’t been invented yet …

But back to that clock. During the 19th century, pendulum clocks were some of the most accurate timepieces in existence. Any household that could afford one depended on it.

Conceived by Galileo Galilei in around 1637, the daily life of the 19th century revolved around the pendulum clock.

Hope you enjoyed our time together, strolling through Auguste Toulmouche’s little storybook of history.

8 Heavenly Austrian Ceiling Frescoes influenced by the Sistine Chapel

How could we begin without first mentioning the granddaddy of all ceiling frescoes that influenced so many others that followed—the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

Painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel exemplifies High Renaissance art—a period of exceptional creativity during the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Nine scenes from the Book of Genesis take center stage, of which The Creation of Adam is the best known, deservedly enjoying an iconic status equaled only by Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

The left half of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo in 1508 and restored in 1994
The left half of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo in 1508 and restored in 1994

Anyone who’s tried to paint a ceiling at home will know it’s back-breaking work. All that looking up. But imagine painting that way for 4 years solid!

Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo didn’t lie on his back but painted in a standing position.

The work was carried out in extremely uncomfortable conditions, from his having to work with his head tilted upwards.Giorgio Vasari (1511 - 1574)

The ceiling rises to 44 ft (13.4 m) above the main floor, so, what does a 16th-century sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer do to reach such lofty heights?

You guessed it—he designed his own scaffold. But instead of building from the floor up, he saved on wood by making a flat platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall near the top of the windows.

Besides his own heavenly creations, Michelangelo would inspire later artists like Austrian Paul Troger (1698 – 1762), whose illusionistic ceiling frescoes are notable for their dramatic vitality of movement and light color palette.

Here are 8 examples of heavenly baroque frescoes from 18th-century Austria.

1. Melk Abbey, Austria

Melk Abbey is a Benedictine abbey originally founded in 1089 overlooking the town of Melk in Lower Austria.

Today’s Baroque abbey was built between 1702 and 1736.

Ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall of Melk Abbey by Paul Troger, 1730. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall of Melk Abbey by Paul Troger, 1730. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling fresco in the central arch of the nave at Melk Abbey Church by Johann Michael Rottmayr (1722) Via triumphalis of St. Benedict. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling fresco in the central arch of the nave at Melk Abbey Church by Johann Michael Rottmayr (1722) Via triumphalis of St. Benedict. Credit Uoaei1
Frescos of dome and ceiling in Melk Abbey Church (Austria) by Johann Michael Rottmayr (1716-22). Credit Uoaei1
Frescoes of dome and ceiling in Melk Abbey Church (Austria) by Johann Michael Rottmayr (1716-22). Credit Uoaei1
Symbolic illustration of the history of Melk Abbey, 1745. Credit Uoaei1
Symbolic illustration of the history of Melk Abbey, 1745. Credit Uoaei1

2. Herzogenburg Monastery, Austria

The Augustinian Herzogenburg Monastery in Lower Austria was founded in 1112 by Augustinian Canons, and refurbished in the Baroque style in 1714.

Ceiling frescos in Herzogenburg Abbey Church (Lower Austria) by Daniel Gran (left fresco) and Bartolomeo Altomonte. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling frescoes in Herzogenburg Abbey Church (Lower Austria) by Daniel Gran (left fresco) and Bartolomeo Altomonte. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling fresco in the Herzogenburg Abbey Church (Lower Austria) by Daniel Gran The Miracle of Pentecost. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling fresco in the Herzogenburg Abbey Church (Lower Austria) by Daniel Gran The Miracle of Pentecost. Credit Uoaei1

3. Sonntagberg Basilica, Austria

Sonntagberg Basilica is a baroque church in Lower Austria, Built between 1706 and 1732, Pope Paul VI gave it the title Minor basilica in 1964.

Ceiling frescos in Sonntagberg Basilica (Lower Austria) by Daniel Gran (1738–43). Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling frescoes in Sonntagberg Basilica (Lower Austria) by Daniel Gran (1738–43). Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling frescos in the nave and the dome of Sonntagberg Basilica (Lower Austria) by Daniel Gran (1738–43). Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling frescoes in the nave and the dome of Sonntagberg Basilica (Lower Austria) by Daniel Gran (1738–43). Credit Uoaei1

4. Altenburg Abbey, Austria

Altenburg Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Lower Austria. It suffered numerous invasions and attacks, and was destroyed by the Swedes in 1645.

The present Baroque abbey replaced the earlier Romanesque structure, and is said to be one of the finest in Austria.

Fresco of the north dome at the library of Altenburg Abbey (Lower Austria) by Paul Troger (1742) Theology and Jurisprudence. Credit Uoaei1
Fresco of the north dome at the library of Altenburg Abbey (Lower Austria) by Paul Troger (1742) Theology and Jurisprudence. Credit Uoaei1
Fresco in the dome of Altenburg Abbey Church (Lower Austria) by Paul Troger (1733) The apocalyptic vision of St. John. Credit Uoaei1
Fresco in the dome of Altenburg Abbey Church (Lower Austria) by Paul Troger (1733) The apocalyptic vision of St. John. Credit Uoaei1

5. Seitenstetten Abbey, Austria

Originally founded in 1112, Seitenstetten Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Lower Austria that was lavishly refurbished in the 18th century in the Baroque style.

Ceiling fresco of the Marble Hall at Seitenstetten Abbey (Lower Austria) by Paul Troger (1735) The Harmony between Religion and Science. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling fresco of the Marble Hall at Seitenstetten Abbey (Lower Austria) by Paul Troger (1735) The Harmony between Religion and Science. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling fresco of the Abbey's Staircase at Seitenstetten Abbey (Lower Austria) by Bartolomeo Altomonte (1744) Triumph of St. Benedict. Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling fresco of the Abbey’s Staircase at Seitenstetten Abbey (Lower Austria) by Bartolomeo Altomonte (1744) Triumph of St. Benedict. Credit Uoaei1

6. Jesuit Church, Austria

Also known as the University Church, the Jesuit Church is a two-storey, twin-tower church in Vienna, Austria. It was remodeled using Baroque principles in the early 18th century.

Jesuit Church, Dr.-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz, Vienna, Frescoes by Andrea Pozzo during his time in Vienna (1702-1709). Credit Uoaei1
Jesuit Church, Vienna, Austria. Frescoes by Andrea Pozzo during his time in Vienna (1702-1709). Credit Uoaei1

The first church in the Austrian market town of Maria Taferl was built around a shrine to the Holy Mother, which is the origin of the town’s name.

7. Maria Taferl Basilica, Austria

Built between 1660 and 1710, the baroque Maria Taferl Basilica features ornate gold leaf decoration and the frescoed ceiling shown below.

Ceiling fresco in the nave of Maria Taferl Basilica (Lower Austria) by Antonio Beduzzi (1714-1718) Glorification of St. Joseph, Credit Uoaei1
Ceiling frescoes in the nave of Maria Taferl Basilica (Lower Austria) by Antonio Beduzzi (1714-1718) Glorification of St. Joseph, Credit Uoaei1

8. Göttweig Abbey, Austria

Göttweig Abbey is a Benedictine monastery near Krems in Lower Austria.

Founded in the 11th century, the abbey burned down in 1718 and was rebuilt on a grander, more lavish scale.

The fresco decorating the imperial staircase (shown below) is considered a masterpiece of Austrian Baroque architecture.

Apotheosis of Emperor Charles VI by Paul Troger, 1739 in Göttweig Abbey, Austria. Credit Uoaei1
Apotheosis of Emperor Charles VI by Paul Troger, 1739 in Göttweig Abbey, Austria. Credit Uoaei1

Norfolk Island: “Hell in Paradise”

Does a tiny Australian island in the South Pacific with evergreen pines, jagged cliffs, pure blue waters, and sandy beaches sound like your idea of paradise? Welcome to Norfolk Island—site of an 18th-century penal colony.

Norfolk Island pines. Image credit thinboyfatter
Norfolk Island pines. Image credit thinboyfatter
Bird Rock (off the north coast). Image credit Steve Daggar
Bird Rock (off the north coast). Image credit Steve Daggar
Captain Cook Lookout. Image credit Steve Daggar
Captain Cook Lookout. Image credit Steve Daggar
Emily Bay, Norfolk Island. Image credit Steve Daggar
Emily Bay, Norfolk Island. Image credit Steve Daggar

A remote island paradise in the South Pacific—looks wonderful, doesn’t it? But it wasn’t so great for the convicts sent here from England in the 18th century. Norfolk Island served as a penal colony from 1788 until 1855.

A Brief History of Norfolk Island Penal Colony

Captain James Cook was the first European to set foot on Norfolk Island in October 1774, as part of his second voyage to the South Pacific. He named the island after Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (c. 1712 – 1773).

Such were the challenges of receiving news at sea for 18th-century explorers, that at the time Cook named the island after her, the Duchess had been dead for 18 months.

Captain James Cook by Nathaniel Dance-Holland. Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk by James Hoare
Captain James Cook by Nathaniel Dance-Holland. Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk by James Hoare
Norfolk Island. Image credit TUBS

Exactly where is Norfolk Island? Think “remote” and you’ll be close. On a map of the globe, it appears as a tiny speck somewhere east of Australia and northwest of New Zealand.

In 1786, Catherine the Great of Russia announced she was restricting sales of hemp and flax to English buyers. At the time, Britain’s Royal Navy was heavily dependent on flax for making sails, and hemp for ropes—any constraints on their supply threatened Britain’s sea power.

In a letter from Comptroller of the Navy Sir Charles Middleton to then Prime Minister William Pitt, he explained,

It is for Hemp only we are dependent on Russia. Masts can be procured from Nova Scotia, and Iron in plenty from the Ores of this Country; but it is impracticable to carry on a Naval War without Hemp.

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The potential to provide an alternative source for hemp and flax is argued by some historians, notably Geoffrey Blainey in Tyranny of Distance, as one of the main reasons Britain used Norfolk Island as a penal colony.

Lloyd’s Evening Post ran an article dated 5 October 1787, observing:

Should England cease to render her services to the Empress of Russia, in a war against the Turks, there can be little of nothing to fear from her ill-will. England will speedily be enabled to draw from her colonies the staple of Russia—hemp and flax.
Bomboras, Norfolk Island. Image credit Steve Daggar
Bomboras, Norfolk Island. Image credit Steve Daggar

Sir John Call, 1st Baronet (1731 – 1801) was a member of parliament and former chief engineer with the East India Company. Upon learning that flax grew in abundance on Norfolk Island, he proposed that the island be colonized as quickly as possible.

send a party to secure Norfolk Island as soon as Circumstances may admit of it…. to prevent its being occupied by the Subjects of any other European Power.

And so on 6 March 1788, colonization of Norfolk Island began with a party of 15 convicts and seven free men.

During the first year of the settlement, more convicts and soldiers arrived from Australia. A letter from an Officer of Marines was published in a London newspaper:

The island is fully wooded. Its timber is in the opinion of everyone the most beautiful and finest in the world…they are most suitable for masts, yards, spars and such. The New Zealand flax-plant grows there in abundance. European grains and seeds also thrive wonderfully well on Norfolk Island.
Norfolk Island jail. Image credit Steve Daggar
Norfolk Island jail. Image credit Steve Daggar

Norfolk Island was reserved for “the worst description of convicts“, which usually meant anyone convicted twice of a crime—”doubly-convicted capital respites“—or convicts who were sentenced to death for committing fresh colonial crimes, but were spared the gallows in favor of life on Norfolk Island.

Norfolk Island gaol. Image credit Steve Daggar
Norfolk Island gaol. Image credit Steve Daggar

In reality, only about 15% of convicts had done anything deserving of the death sentence. Most were guilty of non-violent crimes against property, for which the average sentence was three years.

Even so, treatment of prisoners was harsh. One of the more severe governors, Ralph Darling, commanded that,

every man should be worked in irons that the example may deter others from the commission of crime to hold out as a place of the extremest punishment short of death.
Convict labourers in Australia in the early 20th century
Convict labourers in Australia in the early 20th century

They worked in the mill, built roads, officers houses, and other government buildings.

For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke describes Norfolk Island as a “Hell in Paradise.”

An 1846 report by magistrate Robert Pringle Stuart exposed the horrors of torture and incessant flogging, the scarcity and poor quality of food, the inadequacy of housing and corruption of overseers.

There were several unsuccessful mutinies, all desperate attempts to escape the hardships. On visiting Norfolk Island to comfort mutineers sentenced to execution, Father William Ullathorne, Vicar general of Sydney, remarked:

the most heartrending scene that I ever witnessed. A literal fact that each man who heard his reprieve wept bitterly, and that each man who heard of his condemnation to death went down on his knees with dry eyes, and thanked God.

An audio-visual historical presentation on the island shows visitors what life was like on an oppressive penal colony.

Sound and Light Show on Norfolk Island telling tales of the convict era. Image credit denisbin
Sound and Light Show on Norfolk Island telling tales of the convict era. Image credit denisbin

Norfolk Island ceased to be a penal colony in May 1855 after the convicts were transferred to Tasmania. Transportation ceased, and it was left abandoned.

But a year later in June of 1856, the British government permitted the relocation of the Pitcairners to Norfolk Island. Descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers—including those of Fletcher Christian—arrived from the Pitcairn Islands to occupy many of the old penal settlements, and continue their lives as farmers and whalers.

A gravestone in the cemetery marks the passing of the granddaughter of the famous mutineer Fletcher Christian (who just happened to marry another Fletcher Christian from Pitcairn):

In loving memory of Peggy Christian, the loving wife of Fletcher Christian who died on Norfolk Island, May 12, 1884 aged 64.
Norfolk Island Cemetery. Image credit Bob Hall
Norfolk Island Cemetery. Image credit Bob Hall

The new community of Pitcairners would have appreciated the mutiny attempts of the mistreated convicts, as the 1935 award-winning movie Mutiny on the Bounty, starring a clean-shaven Clark Gable portrayed.

Captain Bligh:Mr Christian, they respect but one law – the law of fear…I expect you to carry out whatever orders I give, whenever I give them.

Fletcher Christian: Now you’ve given your last command on this ship. We’ll be men again if we hang for it.

Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian in a screenshot from the trailer for the film Mutiny on the Bounty., 1935
Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian in a screenshot from the trailer for the film Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935

The cemetery is full of convicts’ graves and those of the descendants of the “Mutiny on the Bounty” Pitcairners.

Norfolk Island Cemetery. Image credit Bob Hall.
Norfolk Island Cemetery. Image credit Bob Hall.

Today, Norfolk Island is part of the Australian Convict Sites UNESCO World Heritage Site and represents, “… the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts.”

The only inhabitants of the jail today are a gaggle of geese. Here they are working the roads in a chain gang.

Norfolk Island jail. Image credit Steve Daggar
Norfolk Island jail. Image credit Steve Daggar

And the only guards left on the island are the “masked boobies”, a gannet-like bird that breeds on tropical islands in the south pacific. But at 3 ft (91 cm) tall with a 5 ft (160 cm) wingspan, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of these guys.

Masked boobies, Norfolk Island. Image credit Steve Daggar
Masked boobies, Norfolk Island. Image credit Steve Daggar

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I may receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Snuffbox From Russia with Love

The stories from history are all around us. Take this image of a snuffbox from Russia for example. It is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts’ collection of public domain images.

What we know from the labeling is that the images are of Empress Maria Feodorovna, her son Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, and her daughter-in-law Elena Pavlovna.

We also know it was created circa 1823 by Anthelme François Lagrenée, a French painter of miniatures whose work has fetched at auction in excess of $20,000 for single portrait miniatures and $80,000 for larger works.

Snuffbox with portraits of Empress Maria Feodorovna, her Son Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, and her daughter-in-law Elena Pavlovna, c. 1823
Snuffbox with portraits of Empress Maria Feodorovna, her Son Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, and her daughter-in-law Elena Pavlovna, c. 1823

It is indeed beautifully crafted, but what story does it tell? Let’s find out, shall we?

Maria Feodorovna (1759 – 1828) née Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (pictured center) was the second wife of Tsar Paul I of Russia—son and successor to Catherine the Great.

The circumstances surrounding her betrothal to Paul I read almost like a soap opera.

In 1773, Catherine the Great started to look for a suitable wife for her son Paul. Sophie Dorothea was one of several German Princesses under consideration. But not yet fourteen years old, a marriage to Sophie would have to wait a few more years. The older Wilhelmina Louisa of Hess-Darmstadt was chosen instead.

Wilhelmina Louisa of Hess-Darmstadt and Paul I of Russia
Wilhelmina Louisa of Hess-Darmstadt and Paul I of Russia

Paul decided on the good-looking Wilhelmina to be his wife just two days after her arrival in Russia. She changed her religion and her name—becoming Natalia Alexeievna. The wedding was a grand spectacle and the vivacious Natalia lit up the Russian court.

But there were cracks beneath the surface. She started an affair with a charming navy commander named Andrei Razumovsky—the very man she had flirted with on the ship sent by Catherine to bring her to Russia. What made it worse was that the whole court knew of her infidelities. And worse still, the man was Paul’s best friend.

As if that wasn’t enough, when Catherine tried to banish Andrei from court, and Paul protested—knowing nothing of the affair—Natalia announced she was pregnant. Catherine didn’t care whose child it was—all that mattered was that there was a Russian heir.

Everything changed on 15 April 1776 when Natalia went into labour. She delivered a stillborn son and died soon after. Many at court thought she could have been saved had surgeons performed a Caesarian.

And so Maria Feodorovna, now seventeen, came back into the picture as front-runner for Paul’s second wife. But her life had changed. She was engaged to Natalia’s brother, Prince Louis of Hesse.

Maria Feodorovna, portrait by Alexander Roslin
Maria Feodorovna, portrait by Alexander Roslin

For Catherine the Great, such issues were mere trifles. She knew Louis was in debt up to his eyeballs and simply paid him off. They didn’t call her “great” for nothing.

Paul and Sophie met for the first time at a state dinner in Berlin, arranged by Frederick the Great of Prussia. With Catherine the Great and Frederick the Great working on this together, how could anything go wrong?

Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia
Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia

Sophie knew that Paul was the serious kind and so had swotted up on her geometry. Oh yes, she skipped the small talk and went straight for the geometry. And it worked like a charm!

Paul wrote to his mother, “She is tall, shapely, intelligent, quick-witted, and not at all shy.” Sophie wrote to a friend that she was “madly in love“, adding, “I am more than content … never, dear friend, could I be happier.”

Their love grew deeper as the months passed. She wrote to Paul in a love letter, “I cannot go to bed, my dear and adored Prince, without telling you once again that I love and adore you madly.”

The happy couple were married on 26 September 1776. Sophie took the name “Maria Feodorovna” and the title Grand Duchess of Russia styled Imperial Highness.

A few months after the birth of their ninth child in 1798 (yes, ninth!—families were big in those days), Catherine the Great died. Maria was now Empress Consort of All the Russias.

Portrait of Grand Duchess Marie Fyodorovna (1759-1828). Late 1790s.
Portrait of Grand Duchess Marie Fyodorovna (1759-1828). Late 1790s.

If you think Russian palaces are beautifully decorated, you can thank Empress Feodorovna’s impeccable taste. She personally guided the furnishing of Gatchina, Tsarskoe Selo, the Winter Palace, and the Hermitage.

Drawing room in the Third Reserved Apartment of the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, Russia
Drawing room in the Third Reserved Apartment of the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, Russia

She adored the arts and supported them generously. She also established the first schools for women, as well as numerous charitable organizations.

According to soap opera rules, when life gets this good, something has to go wrong, doesn’t it?

And so it did.

Paul started seeing another woman, Catherine Nelidova—one of Maria’s ladies-in-waiting. It deeply wounded Maria because the woman had been her friend. But Paul assured her that the relationship was nothing more than a friendship. After a couple of years, Maria accepted his word—especially since Paul was growing increasingly neurotic.

But when Paul became infatuated with the nineteen-year-old beauty Anna Lopukhina shortly after the birth of their tenth son, Michael, in 1798, Maria saw red. Anna was from one of Russia’s oldest noble families—the same family that Paul’s first wife had belonged to.

Catherine Nelidova (left) and Anna Lopukhina (right)—two mistresses of Paul I
Catherine Nelidova (left) and Anna Lopukhina (right)—two mistresses of Paul I

Now … we know what you’re thinking, but when you’re the Emperor of Russia, looks don’t matter. By all accounts, Paul wasn’t a handsome man. In fact, many thought him plain ugly. The accomplished painter Madame Vigee-Lebrun described his physical appearance as lending itself to caricature.

But what he lacked in looks, he made up for in charm. Dowager Countess Lieven said he had “good manners” and that “his politeness to women” proclaimed him “a prince and a gentleman.”

Just three years later, when Paul was in his bedchamber in the newly built St Michael’s Castle, he was brutally murdered.

St Michael's Castle. Image credit Panther
St Michael’s Castle. Image credit Panther

It was a time in Russia when it was dangerous to upset the nobility. Paul had done just that with a set of reforms and policies that made enemies. A band of officers stormed his bedchamber and tried to force him to sign his own abdication. When he resisted, he was stabbed, strangled, and trampled to death. His own son, the 23-year-old Alexander, who was next in line for the thrown was in the building. In a rude awakening, the assassins shouted to him, “Time to grow up! Go and rule!

But it is the dashing officer in the left of our snuffbox image that we turn to next. Sporting a rather modern hairstyle even by today’s standards, this is Maria’s youngest son, Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich.

Michael married his first cousin once removed, Princess Charlotte of Württemberg, who just happens to be the attractive young lady portrayed in the image on the right side of our snuffbox.

Elena Pavlovna of Württemberg by anonymous (Hillwood museum)
Elena Pavlovna of Württemberg by anonymous (Hillwood museum)

So here we have the possible reason for the creation of our exquisite snuffbox. The title provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art describes Elena Pavlovna as the daughter-in-law of Maria Feodorovna, with a creation date c. 1823. Grand Duke Michael and Elena were married on 20 February 1824, so it could have been a wedding gift, either from Maria herself or from someone close to Maria who would have known she likely instigated the arranged marriage.

Was the marriage of Michael and Elena a happy one?

Michael was 26 and Elena 17 when they got married. He had been impressed by her beauty, poise, and intelligence at a dinner party two years prior. They lived in comfort at the Mikhailovsky Palace in St Petersburg—when you’re Russian royalty, even as the youngest of ten children, you get a nice pad!

Mikhailovsky Palace in St. Petersburg in the 19th century
Mikhailovsky Palace in St. Petersburg in the 19th century

But again there were cracks under the surface. Michael’s only passion was the army and their marriage wasn’t a happy one.

They had five children—in those days, large families were common because of the expectation that some might die young.

And so it was for Michael and Elena.

Their first child, Grand Duchess Maria Mikhailovna, died at 21; their second child, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna, died during childbirth at age 18; their fourth child, Grand Duchess Aleksandra Mikhailovna of Russia, died at 14 months old, and their fifth child at 17 months.

Both Michael and Elena outlived four of their five children. Only their third child, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, outlived both her parents, living to the comparatively old age of 66.

There are stories all around us …

Darcy vs Darcy – Who’s Your Favorite Mr Darcy?

Mr Darcy is the quintessential British romantic hero and one of two central characters in Jane Austen’s late-regency novel Pride and Prejudice.

Tall, dark and handsome—not to mention exceedingly wealthy—Darcy’s initially haughty manner is softened when his proposal of marriage is rejected by Elizabeth Bennet, the novel’s protagonist.

There is something magical about a relationship that starts off on the wrong foot.

Mr Darcy’s “pride” clashes with Miss Bennet’s “prejudice”.

But when the two overcame their predispositions, they were a love match made in heaven.

Two British actors of the last 20 years have become synonymous with Mr Darcy—Colin Firth in the BBC’s 1995 TV Series, and Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 British film directed by Joe Wright.

Reviews of the 1995 TV Series were overwhelmingly positive on both sides of the Atlantic.

John O’Connor of The New York Times said Colin Firth “brilliantly captures Mr. Darcy’s snobbish pride while conveying, largely through intense stares, that he is falling in love despite himself”.

The official A&E Network magazine summarized a year later that “critics praised the lavish production, audiences adored it, and women everywhere swooned over Darcy. So much, in fact, that newspapers began to joke about ‘Darcy fever.'”

Joe Wright, director of the 2005 film, called Matthew Macfadyen “a proper manly man … a great big hunk of a guy”. He said he didn’t want a “pretty boy kind of actor”.

Entertainment Weekly’s Alex Bailey agreed, remarking that Macfadyen was “sensational, with a noble profile just this side of surly and a plummy voice of such sullen quietude that you see how Lizzie might take it as dismissive.”

Who was your favorite Darcy? If you already know, scroll down and cast your vote. If not, take a moment to watch these video clips before you vote.







Vote for your favourite

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Who’s your favourite Mr Darcy?

Suggested Reading/Viewing

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Featured image is a composite of images from norika21, flickr.

Portrait of a Lady – a Brief History of the term “Lady”

Today, the term “lady” is often used as a civil term of respect for a woman, as is “gentleman” for a man.

But there was a time when its purpose was to address women of high social class or status.

During the Middle Ages, princesses or daughters of the blood royal were usually known by their first names with “The Lady” prefixed, e.g. The Lady Elizabeth.

The Renaissance lady is described by Italian courtier, author, and diplomat Baldassare Castiglione (1478 – 1529) in his handbook for the nobility, The Book of the Courtier, (Amazon affiliate link) in which he writes that she was the equivalent of the courtier, with the same virtues of mind and equivalent education.

Castiglione writes that although culture was an accomplishment for the noblewoman and man alike—used to charm others as much as to develop the self—for the lady, charm had become the primary occupation and aim.

knowledge of letters, of music, of painting, and . . . how to dance and how to be festive.
La Mode Illustrée, 1865
La Mode Illustrée, 1865
Whereas the courtier’s chief task is defined as the profession of arms, a Lady’s pleasing affability is becoming above all else, whereby she will be able to entertain graciously every kind of man.

By Victorian times, ladies etiquette had become a fine art. Several handbooks provided advice on the complexities and nuances, none other than Florence Hartley’s The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness (Amazon affiliate link) advises that a lady should have knowledge of the forms and customs of society and how to show the gentle courtesies of life.

Emphasizing just how important dress was to the Victorian lady, is this Florence Hartley quote:

‘A lady is never so well dressed as when you cannot remember what she wears.’ No truer remark than the above was ever made. Such an effect can only be produced where every part of the dress harmonizes entirely with the other parts, where each color or shade suits the wearer’s style completely, and where there is perfect neatness in each detail. One glaring color, or conspicuous article, would entirely mar the beauty of such a dress.
La Mode Illustrée, 1863
La Mode Illustrée, 1863

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary describes the formal use of “lady” as a title of nobility:

any of various titled women in Great Britain —used as the customary title of (1) a marchioness, countess, viscountess, or baroness or (2) the wife of a knight, baronet, member of the peerage, or one having the courtesy title of lord and used as a courtesy title for the daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl.

Here are twelve portraits of titled ladies from the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian eras.

Which is your favorite portrait of a Lady?

10 Amazing Facts About the Cursed Hope Diamond

In 1839, a blue diamond weighing over forty-five carats appeared in the collection catalogue of London banker and diamond collector, Henry Phillip Hope.

It would become known as the Hope Diamond, and is famously alleged to have been surrounded by bad luck.

Many owners of the cursed gem met with a grisly death, family tragedy, or a hapless fate.

Henry Philip Hope
Henry Philip Hope

King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette who owned the diamond were beheaded.

Other owners and their families experienced suicides, marriage break-ups, bankruptcy, deaths in car crashes, falls off cliffs, mental breakdowns, and deaths through drug overdoses.

Most grisly of all was perhaps the death of the man who discovered—or some say, stole—the diamond in 1642.

Today, spectators gaze in awe at the Hope Diamond through a thick glass in its case at the National Gem Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C.

Here are 10 amazing facts about the “the most famous diamond in the world”.

1

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier acquired the precursor to the Hope Diamond

Non, monsieur, I ‘ave not seen any diamond

A French merchant-traveler named Jean-Baptiste Tavernier obtained the stone in 1642 in India, either by purchase, or, as some think more likely, through deception and murder.

Tavernier returned to Paris with a large uncut diamond that became known as the Tavernier Blue diamond and sold it to King Louis XIV.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, numerous dubious reports claimed that the Tavernier Blue was pilfered from the eye of a sculpture of the Hindu goddess Sita.

There is a myth that Tavernier was later torn apart by wild dogs because of the diamond’s curse.

2

The Tavernier Blue was the Precursor to the Hope Diamond

The Tavernier Blue was a crudely cut triangular shaped stone of an estimated 115 carats (23.0 g).

Tavernier’s book, the Six Voyages, contains sketches of several large diamonds that he sold to Louis XIV c.1668.

One of the historical fabrications regarding this gem suggests that it is as large as a man’s fist. However, the reality is that it measures slightly over an inch in both length and width, and is half an inch deep (32.89 x 27.65 x 12.92 mm).

In 2005, 3D imaging technology was used to confirm beyond doubt that the Tavernier Blue was the precursor to the French Blue—and subsequently the Hope Diamond.

3

King Louis XV’s Order of the Golden Fleece

In 1678, Louis XIV had his court jeweler, Jean Pitau, recut the Tavernier Blue into a 67.125 carat diamond, which became known as the French Blue.

Louis’ descendant, King Louis XV, had the French Blue set into a more elaborate jewelled pendant for the Order of the Golden Fleece by court jeweler André Jacquemin.

The assembled piece included a red spinel of 107 carats shaped as a dragon breathing “covetous flames”, as well as 83 red-painted diamonds and 112 yellow-painted diamonds to suggest a fleece shape.

King Louis XV died of smallpox at the Palace of Versailles.

The diamond became the property of his grandson, the ill-fated Louis XVI.

Image credit: Francoisfarges.

4

A cursed King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette before her public execution by guillotine in 1793

During the reign of her husband, Marie Antoinette wore many of the French Crown Jewels for personal use and had the gems placed in new settings and combinations.

In January 1793, King Louis XVI was guillotined, followed by Marie in October. Some said their beheadings were a direct result of the diamond’s “curse”.

During the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, most of the Crown jewels were stolen. The French Blue mysteriously vanished.

5

Is Queen Maria Luisa of Spain Wearing the Diamond?

No one knows for sure, but the French blue is thought to have made its way to Spain.

This famous portrait of Queen Maria Luisa of Spain by Francisco Goya (1746–1828) shows her wearing what was believed to be the stolen French Blue.

Soon after goya painted this portrait, Maria Luisa was forced to abdicate and flee the country.

Was this the curse of the French Blue?

6

Caroline Of Brunswick Became a Smuggler of Hope

On September 11, 1792, during the early stages of the French Revolution, Louis XVI and his family were held captive in the Palais des Tuileries near the Place de la Concorde.

Thieves broke into the Royal Storehouse and over five days of looting most of the Crown Jewels were stolen.

The French Blue was cut into the Hope Diamond in an attempt to prevent its proper identification.

Caroline Of Brunswick—the wife of King George IV of the United Kingdom—is rumored to have played a part in smuggling the Hope Diamond into England.

7

The Hope Diamond was Sold to Pay George IV’s Debts

Yes, it is a rather fetching little outfit, isn’t it? We can always sell the diamond. I’ll take two.

In 1812, a deep blue diamond described by John Francillion as weighing 177 grains (4 grains = 1 carat) was documented as being in the possession of London diamond merchant, Daniel Eliason.

Strong evidence indicates that the stone was the recut French Blue—the same stone known today as the Hope Diamond.

Several references suggest that it was acquired by King George IV of the United Kingdom.

At his death, in 1830, the king’s debts were so great that the blue diamond was privately sold to pay them.

8

Actress May Yohe Died Penniless. The Diamond’s curse?

In 1894, American musical theatre actress May Yohé married Lord Francis Hope—heir to the Hope fortune—and possessed the Hope Diamond.

She divorced Lord Hope eight years later, followed by a string of failed marriages with handsome adventurers.

May Yohé performed in London’s West End and music hall and vauderville on the US West Coast, but suffered frequent financial woes and died penniless.

9

Pierre Cartier’s Famous Sales Pitch

Pierre Cartier with wife and daughter

Pierre Cartier, the Parisian jeweler, is widely credited with publicizing the stories of a curse on the diamond in hopes of increasing its saleability.

When publishing magnate Edward Beale McLean and his socialite wife Evalyn Walsh visited Paris in 1910, Pierre wasted no time in arranging to meet the wealthy couple at their hotel.

As the McLeans sipped their breakfast tea, Cartier, a mischievous glint in his eye, spun tales of the diamond’s past—from gilded Versailles to a Sultan’s opulent harem. The whispers of a curse swirled about, but Evalyn, ever the iconoclast, scoffed. “Bad luck objects for me are lucky,” she declared, a challenge sparking in her eyes. Pierre, with a flourish, unveiled the sparkling mystery, its brilliance cutting through the Parisian morning. Would fortune favor the fearless McLeans?

Cartier made sure to add a clause to the sale agreement, stating: “Should any fatality occur to the family of Edward B. McLean within six months, the said Hope diamond is agreed to be exchanged for jewelry of equal value”.

10

Evalyn Walsh and the Hope’s Curse

Seven years after purchasing the Hope Diamond, The McLean’s first-born son, nine-year-old Vinson Walsh McLean, was killed by a car outside their house.

In 1932, she was conned out of $100,000 (about $2 million today) by a grifter connected with the Lindbergh kidnapping. Some accounts say she even pawned the Hope Diamond, albeit for a short time until the con-artist was apprehended.

By 1933, the McLeans had divorced and Edward B. McLean was declared legally insane. He died of a heart attack in 1941 at the age of 51.

Evalyn died of pneumonia at age 60 and bequeathed the diamond to her grandchildren.

However, the designated trustees obtained permission to sell the Hope Diamond to help pay Evalyn’s debts.

Harry Winston, the jeweler who bought the Hope Diamond from the Walsh estate, donated it to the Smithsonian.

Had the curse ended at long last?

As a Smithsonian curator aptly declared, the Hope Diamond has brought “nothing but good luck” to the non-profit museum.” Its arrival helped build a “world-class gem collection” and attendance has soared.

Napoleon Surrenders – marking the End of an Era

Napoleon Bonaparte on Board the ‘Bellerophon’ in Plymouth Sound by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, RA, 1815

It was early morning, July 15, 1815.

The two-masted brig Épervier sailed toward the Royal Navy’s Bellerophon with Napoleon aboard, preparing himself to officially surrender.

What must have been going through Napoleon’s mind at that moment?

No doubt he was still thinking about the outcome of Waterloo and how he could have won.

Two months later, on his way to St Helena, and exile, he would lament,

Ah! If it were only to be done over again!

And a year later, he would say,

My regrets are not for myself but for unhappy France! With twenty thousand men less than I had we ought to have won the battle of Waterloo. But it was Fate that made me lose it. (2).

But such bitterness would have to wait. Right now, he needed to swallow his pride and try to appeal to the honor of British Admirals.

His choices were few. Either he could remain in France and risk becoming prisoner to the Bourbons, Prussians or Austrians. Or he could surrender to the British and try to request political asylum, and perhaps even passage to the United States.

The ‘Bellerophon’ with Napoleon Aboard at Plymouth by John James Chalon – 1816.

At around 6:30 am, Napoleon pulled alongside Bellerophon. He had been transferred to Bellerophon’s own barge to hasten his arrival.

First to climb aboard was General Henri Gatien Bertrand. Napoleon followed.

Napoleon walked to the quarterdeck as British marines came to attention, and, taking off his hat to Admiral Maitland, announced in French,

I am come to throw myself on the protection of your Prince and your laws.

Maitland bowed.

What a moment this was. Here was the man who had brought Europe to its knees. The man who almost won again at Waterloo. The man who once assembled an invasion force against Britain.

In his private papers, Sir William Hotham, Admiral of the Red, recalls his impressions of Napoleon after meeting him for the first time.

Napoleon’s person I was very desirous of seeing, but on doing so, I was disappointed. His figure is bad, he is short with a large head, his hands and legs small, and his body so corpulent as to project very considerably, his coat made very plain, as you see it in most prints, and from being very short in the back it gives his figure a more ridiculous appearance than it has naturally.
His profile is good … but his full face is bad. His eyes are a light blue, heavy and totally contrary to what I had expected, his teeth are bad …
His face at one moment bears the stamp of good humour and again immediately changes to a dark, penetrating, thoughtful scowl denoting the character of the thought that excites it.
He speaks quick, and runs from one subject to another with great rapidity. His knowledge is extensive and very various, and he surprised me much by his remembrance of men of every character in England.
An original sketch of Napoleon as he would have looked that day, by Captain George Hotham.

Two days before, Napoleon had written a letter to the Prince Regent (later to become George IV)

Your Royal Highness,
A victim to the factions which distract my country, and to the enmity of the greatest powers of Europe, I have terminated my political career, and I come, like Themistocles, to throw myself upon the hospitality of the British people. I put myself under the protection of their laws; which I claim from your Royal Highness, as the most powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies.
—Napoleon.

On the day the Bellerophon departed the French coast for England, a midshipman wrote of Napoleon,

I shall never forget that morning we made Ushant (a small island off the cost of France). I saw the Emperor come out of the cabin at that early hour, and make for the poop-ladder.

He explained that Napoleon was restless and not able to sleep.

If a petty care can break our sleep, what must have been his feeling who had lost the fairest empire on the face of the globe.

The deck was wet and the midshipman offered Napoleon an arm to help him up onto the poop deck.

Napoleon pointed to the island … the last time he would see France and said, “Ushant, Cape Ushant”, to which the midshipman replied, ‘Yes, sire,” and left Napoleon alone.

And there Napoleon remained, looking longingly through his pocket-glass from morning to mid-day … not speaking a word.

The Surrender of Napoleon by Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick lewis Maitland, K.C.B.

References

  1. Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer, Talks of Napoleon at St. Helena with General Baron Gourgaud (Chicago, 1903), p. 31.
  2. Talks of Napoleon at St. Helena with General Baron Gourgaud, p. 187

The Private Papers of Sir William Hotham, G.C.B. Admiral of the Red, by A. M. W. Stirling, Vol II.

Madame Lebrun – Marie Antoinette’s portraitist

A story of joy and tragedy in an age of revolution.

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755 – 1842), also known as Madame Lebrun, was a leading French artist whose clientele included royalty and aristocracy—most notably the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette.

Madame Lebrun’s ability to characterize her subjects in a flattering, stylish manner made her very popular.

So enamored was the queen with her work that she was hired to paint 30 portraits of Marie Antoinette and her family, earning her the reputation as the official portraitist.

A sensuous, radiant use of color, reminiscent of Rubens and Van Dyck marked Madame Lebrun’s unique style and gave her such alluring appeal.

Self-portrait by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1790
Self-portrait by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1790

A Mother’s Pride and Joy

In 1776 she married Jean-Baptiste Le Brun, an artist and art dealer, and four years later gave birth to a daughter, Jeanne Julie Louise, whom she called “Julie”.

I shall not try to describe the joy I experienced upon hearing the first cries of my child. All mothers know this exhilaration.

Julie was the apple of her mother’s eye. A pretty, happy little girl, whom her mother delighted in painting and sketching.

Self-portrait with her daughter Julie, 1786
Self-portrait with her daughter Julie, 1786

The work of an artist is demanding. And so it was for Madame Lebrun, who could not devote enough time to her daughter—something that would come back to haunt her in later life.

Revolution

As revolution gripped France and fearing she would be condemned for her close association with the monarchy and nobility, Madam Lebrun left the country with her daughter.

Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1778
Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1778

Her husband and brother were briefly imprisoned, and following the execution of Marie Antoinette, her husband sued for divorce to save his life.

After traveling through several European countries and finding a warm reception among the foreign nobility who knew of her talent and social reputation, Madame Lebrun settled in Russia.

Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, 1799
Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, 1799

It was in St Petersburg that her daughter Julie married a Russian nobleman—Gaetan Bernard Nigris—much to her mother’s dismay.

She broke off relations with her daughter and eventually resettled in Paris in 1805 during the reign of Napoleon I.

As might be expected of the former portraitist to Marie Antoinette, she was not well received in France.

However, her artistic talent was much in demand elsewhere in Europe. She painted several prominent British figures including the poet Lord Byron.

Tragedy Comes in Threes

In 1813, she learned that her former husband Jean-Baptiste LeBrun had died.

Soon after Waterloo, her daughter Julie was taken seriously ill.

Rushing to be by her side, all resentments forgotten, it was sadly too late.

Julie Le Brun by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1789
Julie Le Brun by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1789

The once pretty features of Julie were twisted by physical pain and she died shortly after.

Images of a happy girl that had been such a delight to paint, haunted Madame Lebrun.

Less than a year passed and her brother, Etienne, died.

She stayed in Paris until her death on 30 March 1842 when her body was taken back to Louveciennes and buried in a cemetery near her old home.

Madame Lebrun’s love of art was her constant companion through the best of times and the worst of times.

In her memoirs, she reveals her fascination with drawing:

My notebooks and those of my classmates were filled in the margins with sketches of little faces and profiles; on the walls of our dormitory, I drew little figures and landscapes with charcoal… during my playtime, I traced all sorts of images that came to my mind in the sand.

On her tombstone epitaph are the words, “Here, at last, I rest…”.

But her work lives on.

Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1778
Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1778
Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1783
Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1783
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1788
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1788
Julie Nigris as Flora, Roman Goddess of Flowers by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1799
Julie Nigris as Flora, Roman Goddess of Flowers by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1799
Alexandra and Elena, Daughters of Paul I of Russia by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1796
Alexandra and Elena, Daughters of Paul I of Russia by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1796
Portrait of Countess Catherine Skavronskaya by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1790)
Portrait of Countess Catherine Skavronskaya by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1790)
A baby, Portrait by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun, 1790
A baby, Portrait by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun, 1790
Mademoiselle Brongniart by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1788
Mademoiselle Brongniart by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1788
Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1783
Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1783
Baroness Anna Sergeevna Stroganova and Her Son Sergey by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1793
Baroness Anna Sergeevna Stroganova and Her Son Sergey by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1793
Princess Maria Cristina di Borbone by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1790
Princess Maria Cristina di Borbone by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1790
Duchesse de Guiche by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1784
Duchesse de Guiche by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1784
Lady Folding a Letter by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1784
Lady Folding a Letter by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1784
Madame Rousseau and her daughter by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1789
Madame Rousseau and her daughter by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1789
Portrait of Madame Mole-Raymond by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1787
Portrait of Madame Mole-Raymond by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1787
Corisande Armandine Léonie Sophie de Gramont by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, c1806
Corisande Armandine Léonie Sophie de Gramont by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, c1806
Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, Queen of France, and her children by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1787
Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, Queen of France, and her children by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1787
Self-portrait in a Straw Hat, 1782
Self-portrait in a Straw Hat, 1782

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The USS Constitution – “Old Ironsides”

In 1785, pirates off the Barbary Coast (what is now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya), were seizing American merchant vessels and holding the crew ransom.

In response, Congress passed the Naval Act of 1794 to build six frigates that would accompany and protect American merchant shipping in the Meditteranean.

Shipbuilder Joshua Humphreys’ proposed an unusually long keel and narrow beam (width) with very heavy guns.

This allowed for much heavier planking and thus greater hull strength than frigates of the time.

USS Constitution
USS Constitution

Humphreys realized that the United States could not match the number of ships deployed by European navies. So he set about designing ships that could outgun and outrun them.

Humphreys’ designs would soon be put to the test.

USS Constitution Bell
USS Constitution Bell

The British Navy had been harassing US ships and pressing US sailors into serving in the Royal Navy.

So the United States of America declared war on Great Britain for “intolerable grievances” in what became known as the War of 1812.

The British Royal Navy was the strongest in the world at that time.

Let’s look at the odds. United States: 20 warships. Great Britain: 600 warships.

Surely this was suicide for the US. Far from it.

USS Constitution Crow's Nest
USS Constitution Crow’s Nest

The War of 1812 was probably the greatest chapter in US history—and the USS Constitution played a pivotal role.

It was August 19 when British frigate Guerriere was spotted from the lookout on board Constitution.

Too late—Guerriere opened fire but did little damage.

Astonishingly, many of the British shots rebounded harmlessly off Constitution‍’s hull.

An American sailor reportedly shouted “Huzzah! her sides are made of iron!” and so stuck the nickname “Old Ironsides”.

USS Constitution cannon
USS Constitution cannon
USS Constitution cannon

Captain Hull maneuvered Constitution to within 25 yards (23 m) of Guerriere and ordered a full double-broadside of grape and round shot, taking out Guerriere’s mizzen-mast (third mast).

Guerriere‍ could no longer maneuver effectively and she collided with Constitution, her bowsprit entangled in rigging.

When the two ships pulled free, the force sent shock waves through Guerriere‍’s rigging.

Her foremast fell, then the mainmast collapsed. It was all over.

Guerriere was a floating hulk, while Constitution was largely intact.

USS Constitution at sea in Boston Harbor. Credit Hunter Stires
USS Constitution at sea in Boston Harbor. Credit Hunter Stires

The British surrendered. The news of Constitution’s victory traveled fast and on arriving back in Boston on 30 August, Hull and his crew were hailed as heroes.

On September 16, 1830, “Old Ironsides” was scheduled to be decommissioned.

Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a poem that captured the public imagination and helped save her from being scrapped.

Click to read "Old Ironsides" poem.

Constitution is now the oldest commissioned ship in the world still afloat.

USS Constitution at the Charlestown Navy Yard
USS Constitution at the Charlestown Navy Yard

Today, the mission of Constitution‍ is to promote understanding of the Navy’s role in war and peace through educational outreach, and public events.

USS Constitution stern with American eagle plaque