Tag Archives: 19th Century

1882: Jumbo

Posted on July 12, 2021 by corvusfugit

An anecdote from Matthew Scott’s biography of Jumbo the Elephant (1885): Once when I was riding him around in the Zoological Gardens, in London, sitting on his neck, with about a dozen children on a panier-saddle across his broad back, … Continue reading →

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1848: The Devil’s Violin

Posted on July 4, 2021 by corvusfugit

Costume design by Paul Lormier for the 1849 ballet Le violon du diable (source).

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1909: The Seven Ravens

Posted on March 17, 2021 by corvusfugit

The good little sister took a knife and cut off her own tiny finger, fitted it into the keyhole, and succeeded in opening the lock. When she had entered, she met a Dwarf, who said: “My child, what are you … Continue reading →

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19th Century: Provenance Unknown

Posted on February 21, 2021 by corvusfugit

Portrait of a child holding a lizard. Nineteenth or twentieth century, maybe American.

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1889: Artist-in-Residence

Posted on December 5, 2020 by corvusfugit

The celebrated 19th century French painter and sculptor Rosa Bonheur was known for wearing men’s pants, shirts, and ties, as well as participating in traditionally masculine activities such as hunting and smoking. She lived with her lifelong partner, Nathalie Micas … Continue reading →

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1808: Portrait of a Horse’s Ass

Posted on November 23, 2020 by corvusfugit

Henry Raeburn: Portrait of George Harley Drummond (ca. 1808–9); “It is curious…that the animal’s hindquarters should be so prominently displayed” says the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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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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1832: The Destructive Sphinx

Posted on August 22, 2020 by corvusfugit

Illustrations from The Book of Butterflies, Sphinxes and Moths; illustrated by one hundred and forty-four engravings, coloured after nature; in three volumes (Thomas Brown, 1832-4)                  

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1895: Long Beach

Posted on August 16, 2020 by corvusfugit

George Howell Gay: Surf, Long Beach, Rockport; I made up the date.

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1874: Seascape

Posted on August 6, 2020 by corvusfugit

Alfred Thompson Bricher: Seascape (1874)

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