Dottator et Lineator Loquitur

I just came across this most interesting illustration and poem in Ackermann's Repository of Arts for February 1817, and I just had to share it.

Click on the illustration to open a large version so that you can read the words under the charming stick figures.

The artist of the plate, and the composer of the accompanying poem are given no credit or identification. You must read the poem to make sense of the intention of the illustration.

This is what might be called, I think, a charming conceit, and I hope you enjoy it!

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

Ackermann's Repository of Arts 1817 available from archive.org

Treasure from 1809

At the last book sale I attended, I was fortunate to discover a little treasure from 1809. It is a survivor, worn and separated from its companion volumes, from the Regency era: a book, by Miss Maria Edgeworth, Volume II of "Tales of Fashionable Life".

I cannot explain to you the thrill, for me, of encountering a genuine piece of Regency life. This book might have been read by one of my characters! (For I do visualize my characters as real Regency people.) This book was held by a person wearing a silk gown and a cap, or jean half-boots, or a tail coat and pantaloons. It might have been read in post-chaise, or a drawing room, or the Bath Pump Room. My mind reels with the possibilities.

The printer is Wood and Innes of Poppin's Court, Fleet Street

It is a small book--4 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches--with worn brown marbled covers and a brown leather spine and corner caps. The pages are foxed, and there is that indefinable old book smell that intoxicates book collectors. It is certainly legible, and no pages are missing.

Of course an antique such as this has been through many hands, and the people who owned the book are nearly as interesting as the book itself. Inside the front cover of my treasure is this inscription:

I discovered that Ormiston Hill is in Kirknewton, Fife, nearby Edinburgh. It is also known as Black Cairn Hill. Ormiston Hill House was a 17th century building, home of the Wilkie family. It was replaced after 1851 by Ormiston House in the Scots Baronial style. I know nothing more of Miss Margaret except that she owned this book!

And one more survivor--tucked into the pages of the book is a calling card. It is certainly Victorian, but I have no expertise in dating such ephemera.

I feel that it might be 1860's or 1870's, but I have no basis for that other than the look of the artwork. It surprises me that there is no 'Miss' before the name, and the name itself is interesting; an unusual spelling of Charlotte, I believe.

I wonder what Margaret and Sharlet thought of Miss Edgeworth's stories. Did they have all three small brown volumes? And if so, when did the other two volumes become parted from this one?

An antique book tells two stories: the one printed on its pages, and the other--more mysterious--of its travels, and its owners.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

A Practical Guide for the Light Infantry Officer

Regency England was a nation at war for nearly twenty-five years--much longer than the 1811-1820 span of the actual Regency. Publications of the era sometimes reflect the emphasis on military and naval affairs. One such book is "A Practical Guide for the Light Infantry Officer", published in 1806.

Once a young man had bought his commission, he really needed to buy this book. It has all the basics: how to advance; how to retreat; how to fire; how to parade. There are details on 'securing a wood' and how to carry arms as well as:
 

 and:

Communication by bugle and drum was an essential part of infantry work. The Practical Guide provides details of the signals and even music scores of the notes:

The "Plates" in this guide are a disappointment. Rather than showing dashing uniforms or dramatic engagements, they are dry little charts with stick soldiers. It would require study to make sense of their use.

 But the sentiments in the Guide are all that one could desire. The young officer is told his duty, and the best way to accomplish it.

What more could one expect of such a book?

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

A Practical Guide for the Light Infantry Officer is available for download from Google Books.