Miss Smith

How many Misses Smith have there been in this world? It is a common name, but this Miss Smith created a thing of great beauty--a book of botanical art.

From The Literary Gazette November 1817

We know almost nothing about Miss Smith. The very ordinariness of her name precludes us from tracing her. There was a Miss J. Smith who did botanical work in the 1790's--she might or might not be the same woman. Miss Smith's home, Adwick Hall, had been the residence of the Washington family in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was demolished in the early 19th century, presumably not too long after Miss Smith published her book.

From http://doncasterhistory.files.wordpress.com

We do know that Miss Smith had artistic talent. And in 1817, she decided to publish a book of flower studies. But it was not just a pretty book, it was also a useful book. It contained not only the finished plates of Miss Smith's flower illustrations, but outline plates as well, which the purchaser could colour. Smith included directions on preparing colours, and their best use, as well as general drawing instruction. It was, essentially, a teaching manual. The illustration of fuschia below shows an outline partly coloured.

From University of Wisconsin Special Collections

The flowers Miss Smith illustrated were, she states, from the 'botanic garden of Mr. W. Crowder of Doncaster'. (In 1834, Henry and Michael Crowder of Thorn road, Doncaster were listed in the Pigot's Directory as nursery and seedsmen.) Mr. Crowder was growing some very fine specimens, as evidenced by Miss Smith's art.

Smith's Peony Rosa Arborea

Miss Smith self-published her book. This was a common practice at the time. Publishers were few, and the monetary returns from publication by them were small. Many authors published a prospectus and collected subscriptions to pay for their own publication. It appears that about 100 people subscribed to Miss Smith's book. Mr. Ackermann (of Repository of Arts fame) ordered ten copies! A complete copy of Studies of Flowers from Nature could be had for five guineas. But it could also be purchased in parts, as the Literary Gazette above states--in 'ten monthly numbers'. Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine for May 1818 lists publication of the first part at a price of 10s.6d.

Smith's Rosa Mundi

Miss Smith's Studies of Flowers from Nature was dedicated to 'her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth', a sister of the Prince Regent. The princess was an amateur artist who assiduously applied herself to her craft. Royal sponsorship of such a publication was not uncommon.

Smith's Heart-leaved Geranium

Miss Smith's Studies was only one of a genre of floral copybooks which was fashionable and popular in the early 19th century. Very few of them have survived; they may have been discarded after their owners completed their own colouring. A copy of Studies sold at Christie's some ten years ago for over $2000.

Spring is very late coming here to western Canada. Miss Smith's beautiful drawings have brightened some very cold days for me. My own garden is still under snow, but Miss Smith has given me hope!

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

Sources:
Information on Miss Smith's Studies of Flowers from Nature can be found at
http://www.cam.ac.uk/news/unique-acquisition-for-university-library
and
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/rarebooks/flowers.html
and the pictures above, unless otherwise noted, are from
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/rarebooks/flowers2.html

'All the World's a Stage' Actresses of the Regency

Sarah Siddons--the name resounds through the two hundred years since the Regency. She was the finest actress of the period, respected and admired. But she was not the only actress of the times; there were many, their names and their talents now forgotten.

Regency romances use actresses for many purposes. Heroines conceal their identities by treading the boards, courtesans ply their trade through the stage, ladies trick their gentlemen, gentlemen find their mistresses among them. But for many women, acting was a job--a trade, one of the few at which they could earn a living. And if gossip sullied their reputations, many of them did everything in their power to dispel the rumours about their lives and associations.

The popular journals of the days helped them, by publishing brief biographical articles. These articles immortalize women of lesser talent, perhaps, than Sarah Siddons, but no less determination and valor.

La Belle Assemblee, that most popular of ladies' magazines, offered each month "Biographical Sketches of Illustrious and Distinguished Ladies". It included some actresses among these ladies, and calls into question our accepted idea that women of the theatre were consistently condemned.

In May of 1812, La Belle Assemblee published this engraving of Mrs. Edwin, an actress, and offered a three page sketch of her life. She was the child of theatrical parents, and began her career in Dublin, as did many actresses of the day. Then, "she first emigrated to Cheltenham, where her private character which had stood unsullied midst all the seduction, glitter, freedom and temptations of private theatricals, soon procured her not only the patronage, but the personal esteem and protection of the first circles." In fact, the Duchess of York became her patron and her success in England was assured. She performed at the Lyceum after the Drury-Lane Theatre fire, and in 1812 was apparently earning "the particular praise of her professional contemporaries..."

A Miss Smith was likewise celebrated in a sketch in the March 1812 issue of La Belle Assemblee. Her background is not delineated at all--she appears suddenly on the stage in Lancaster, and then proceeds to Edinburgh, York and Birmingham before appearing in Bath. Despite her lack of known antecedents, she finds "the most fashionable people of Bath began to countenance and encourage her, and she was frequently invited to the houses of several of those ladies who direct this little metropolis of the west." She was invited to Covent-Garden Theatre in 1805 and achieved a success which led the writer of the biographical sketch to dub her the successor to Mrs. Siddons. "The style of acting in which Miss Smith has acquired a reputation which is daily increasing, is the same line to which Mrs. Siddons owes her fame."

The Ladies' Monthly Museum likewise published biographical articles on notable women of the day. They frequently included actresses: "Among the numerous candidates for histrionic fame, who are distinguished for their personal attractions, native worth, and rare perfections, we can never be at a loss for subjects to present our readers;...:"

In September of 1817, the Monthly Museum chronicled the life and career of Miss Maria Foote in its own florid and uncritical style. Her family history is detailed, and her parents' success on the stage of Plymouth Theatre, where her father was manager, noted. Maria began her career on stage as Juliet at age twelve. In 1814 she began appearing at the Theatre-Royal in London: "the audiences have been forward in bestowing applause, the critics of the days have not been backward in joining their just meed of praise." The article concludes "In fine, we have pleasure in saying, that she promises to stand one of the first and foremost in the drama."

In 1819, The Ladies' Monthly Museum is continuing to recount the lives of actresses. Miss Margaret Taylor was respectably descended from a naval officer, and we are told, put aside a promising theatrical career to nurse an ailing sister with whom she resided. The sister died in 1815 and in 1816 Miss Taylor began appearing at the Haymarket Theatre. The Museum's description of her is succinct:

"Miss Taylor is of a good height; her person is formed with great symmetry; she treads the boards with much ease and dignity; and her action is graceful and appropriate. She has a clear, sweet voice..."

The magazine notes that Miss Taylor is capable of "a very powerful and effective piece of acting", and mentions that in one of her roles, "there is not the least tincture of vulgarity."

It seems that the most actresses of the Regency avoided vulgarity even if a stage role called for it! They were careful of their reputations, serious about their careers, and considered worthy of recognition by society. It is a somewhat surprising take on an occupation that we are accustomed to assume was demeaning and held in disrepute.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne