Tag Archives: 18th Century

1750: First Sleep, Second Sleep

Posted on November 21, 2020 by corvusfugit

That dreaming is a less sound species of sleep, appears from the familiar fact, which has probably been observed by every individual; viz. that the first sleep is much freer from it than the second. We retire to rest, fatigued … Continue reading →

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1808: Squares Eight Times Eight

Posted on July 29, 2020 by corvusfugit

It was a fancy of the eccentric Mr. Pratt…to propose a game of Chess to a friend after dinner without Chessboard and men, and stipulate that instead of describing the moves with the usual prosaic abbreviations, a sort of poetical … Continue reading →

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1794: The Game of the Snake

Posted on April 3, 2020 by corvusfugit

Robert Laurie and James Whittle: The Royal Pastime of Cupid, or Entertaining Game of the Snake (London, 1794) The rules: Haveing a pare of dice, it must be first agreed upon, what to play for, which is to be layd … Continue reading →

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1750: Estimate

Posted on December 9, 2019 by corvusfugit

In 1750, astronomer Thomas Wright estimated the number of inhabited planets in the observable universe: Of…habitable Worlds, such as the Earth, all which we may suppose to be also of a terrestrial or terraqueous Nature, and filled with Beings of … Continue reading →

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1673: Life Being So Short and Books So Plentiful

Posted on September 15, 2019 by corvusfugit

In 1673, Antonio Magliabechi became librarian to Cosimo III de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was an eruidite scholar, fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and—according to his contemporary and biographer Giacinto Gimma—versed in physics, mathematics, rhetoric, grammar, history, … Continue reading →

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1792: Name Your Weapons

Posted on September 7, 2019 by corvusfugit

One afternoon in 1792, Lady Almeria Braddock and a certain Mrs. Elphinstone were having tea when the following exchange occurred: Mrs Elphinstone: “You have been a very beautiful woman.” Lady Almeria: “Have been? What do you mean by ‘have been’?” … Continue reading →

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1784: Whimsical Associations

Posted on July 12, 2019 by corvusfugit

From Paul Fussell’s Poetic Meter and Poetic Form (1965): “In ‘The Poplar Field’ …William Cowper…unwittingly allows the whimsical associations of triple meter to work against him.” The poplars are felled, farewell to the shade And the whispering sound of the … Continue reading →

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1720: Women Working

Posted on April 23, 2019 by corvusfugit

Giacomo Ceruti: Women Working on Pillow Lace (c. 1720)

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1791: Picking Clams

Posted on March 31, 2019 by corvusfugit

Utagawa Toyokuni: Picking Clams (ca. 1791)

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1943: Workers and Paintings

Posted on March 3, 2019 by corvusfugit

Honoré Sharrer: Workers and Paintings (1943) I can’t identify all the paintings in this painting. Leave a comment if you can fill in the blanks:                   Hugo Gellert : Free Man’s Duties (No 4) (1943) Jean-François … Continue reading →

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