Did you know there’s a play called Hamilton? No, not that one, this one, the 1918 Hamiltonco-authored byGeorge Arliss, a well-known English film and theatre actor of the first half of the 20th century. Based on our admittedly hurried perusal of this play, we don’t think the Broadway smash has anything to worry about. A sample line:
HAMILTON: Yes, we have a Treasury, but we haven’t any treasure. How’s the gout?
Submitted on the occasion of the 260th anniversary of Alexander Hamilton’s birth.
This #MiniatureMonday feature is an uncatalogued mystery. It’s more intriguing than Mary Poppin’s suitcase, with itty bitty scrolls, books and envelopes emerging from a tiny box.
Even more mysterious is the fact that none of the scrolls, books, or envelopes contain any text. Maybe it’s all written in invisible ink?
-Hannah
Charlotte Smith Miniature Collection Z1033 .M6 F74 2002 box 7
This
is a book of paintings made by an anonymous student of painting when he was 77 years old. Each painting has a short piece of a longer poem next
to it. I wish that I read Japanese so that I knew what it said! At least we can
appreciate the beautiful art that accompanies it. This picture reminded me a
little of the good old Pacific northwest.
-Laure
@boartux pointed out to us that it’s actually Chinese, as it says right in our database. Our bad! We’ll keep a better eye out for that distinction.
The Mughals of India were proud descendants of two celebrated Mongol world conquerors, Chingiz [Genghis] Khan and Timur. After Timur’s descendant Babur (d.1530) killed the Sultan of Delhi he established the Mughal dynasty, which survived until 1857.
Mughal court artists often communicated a monarch’s triumphs through depictions of hunting, demonstrating their moral and spiritual supremacy over wild beasts.
Come and pore over these beautifully intricate manuscripts in our free display in the Old Bodleian Proscholium!
Last week we described how conservators in the BKM conservation lab have been combining analytical techniques to identify and map indigo blue pigments without sampling. As we mentioned in our earlier post, we have also been using Visible-Induced Luminescence imaging to map the presence of Egyptian blue on ancient Egyptian objects.
Ordinarily when we image Egyptian blue, we have a clear map of the pigments, such as on these two funerary stelae we recently photographed (above). Bright white regions correspond to the use of Egyptian blue. In some cases, however, the results are a bit more subtle. On the footcase we spoke about last week, the traces of Egyptian blue pigment are very faint. Although there is only a small amount of the pigment in the paint mixtures and it is highly dispersed, they shine brightly like stars in the sky and are identifiable. You just need to zoom in quite closely to really get an idea of where the pigment particles are located.
Looking at the image above, we can see that there is Egyptian blue concentrated on the figure at the right. When zooming out on the overall image, we also saw it in the outlines of the feet, and in certain stripes and border elements. Indeed, the stripes that appear the same color as the slightly reddish-pink of the right hand figure appear to contain similar amounts of Egyptian blue, while in the other striped border elements Egyptian blue is notably absent. When comparing this to the indigo image from last week, we see some interesting patterns!
The blue bands outlining the feet, and the decorative bands below the prisoners, as well as the star banner across the top contain both indigo and Egyptian blue. The indigo regions in the top and bottom corners (seen in white in the image above), however, do not contain Egyptian blue. In some areas, there are a few scattered particles of Egyptian blue, such as in the hair. This is a bit more difficult to interpret as it may be traces of pigment in the brush or possibly a purposefully applied under layer.
In any case, this is an excellent example of how complex paint and pigment analysis can be—and we’ve only been talking about the blues and blue mixtures, not to mention the remainder of colorants on this fascinating footcase!
Professor Sreemoya Dasgupta “Childhood’s Books” recently
visited Special Collections. The class worked with at a variety of
children’s
stories and how they were depicted across time and by various
author’s/interpretations. Included was The Jungle Book, Wizard of Oz,
Alice in Wonderland, Uncle Tom’s
Cabin, Peter Pan, and “Jack” stories. They analyzed the differences both
within and among the texts by viewing first editions, fine press
printings,
pop-up style, abridged illustrated editions, and Disney editions. For
extra credit, students had the option of submitting
Tumblr posts, which we will feature throughout the week.
Peter Pan’s A.B.C
is one of the many existing adaptations of the original story written by J.M
Barrie. This adaptation was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1913 which was
two years after the original novel, Peter
and Wendy, and nine years after the publishing of the original play, Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. Interestingly,
this novel is speculated to be unauthorized due to the lack of credit given to
J.M Barrie on the cover and throughout the book. The ambiguity of this
adaptation continues with the widely undocumented illustrator, Flora White, as
well as the unknown identity of the author.
Unlike the largely black and white illustrations found in Peter and Wendy, Peter Pan’s A.B.C contains 24 fully colored illustrations. These
illustrations not only help the young reader comprehend the story, but also aid
children in learning the alphabet. White’s illustrations are viewed as indicative
of perspectives of culture and the stereotypes surrounding characters such as
pirates and native people in early 20th century London (i.e
feathered head dresses and furs). While the target audience may be young
readers, these detailed and often insightful illustrations are something that the
adult reader can appreciate. The original novel structure of Peter and Wendy has been transformed
into a brief narrative followed by short rhyming sequences that correspond with
each of the alphabet letters and the 24 illustrations.
These rich images, large print text, and playful rhymes draw
in a younger audience and also create a sense of enchantment for the adult
reader. In fact, the wide appeal of this novel is indicated by the mark of
ownership that is found in the front of this physical copy of the book. It appears
to have been given to someone as a gift years ago.
-Lydia Belezos, sophomore
References:
Diab, Vanessa, Stephen Hanbury, and Tammy Leung. “Peter
Pan’s ABC: An Illustrated Alphabet.” Project Gallery - Children’s
Literature Archive - Ryerson University. N.p., Fall 2010. Web. Nov. 2016. http://www.ryerson.ca/childrenslit/group8.html
“List of Works Based on Peter Pan.” Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.
This device was the go-between for the officer who controls navigation and the one who handles engine control. As the lever is moved, a loud bell sounds, and the responding officer makes any necessary changes within his department.
This style of telegraph could be found on ships beginning in the 1800s. In the 1950s, technological advancements simplified communication between the engine room and the navigator, and today, most ships have automated engine control. Regardless, the iconic appearance of an engine telegraph remains a hallmark of maritime paraphernalia.
Image: Theodor Geisel
in his home work room in La Jolla, Calif., in 1957. (Gene Lester/Getty Images)
Decades before he became a best-selling children’s book
author, Dr. Seuss, a.k.a. Theodor Geisel, created a series of sculptures he called
his “Unorthodox Taxidermy.” Using real horns, beaks and antlers, he
fashioned whimsical creatures which look like they jumped right out of his
books.
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