A Special Book from Samuel Johnson to Fanny Burney, 1781

Isabella reporting,

As a writer, I'm always intrigued by the bits and pieces of the craft that other writers in the past have left behind, like Jane Austen's humble writing desk and chair or these unbound, first edition volumes of Pride and Prejudice. More rare still are handwritten drafts, manuscripts that have been crossed out and scribbled over in a frenzy of creative inspiration.

Even now in the computer age, there are several stages to transforming a manuscript into a finished book. Revisions are made by editors and copy editors as well as the author her/himself, plus additional notations by the production team. The final step is the galleys, or page proofs, that show exactly how the pages of the finished books will look. Today this all takes place through an electronic exchange of track-changes, but in the past the process involved flopping reams of paper mailed back and forth in padded brown envelopes. (It wasn't so distant a past, either; I have not-fond memories of racing to ship edited galleys to the FedEx office before closing.)

After the book was published, all those various versions and edits of mine went into the recycling bin. I imagine that 18th or 19th c. authors and printers probably did their version of recycling, too, by sending the old galleys to be remade into new paper. They weren't considered worth saving, and very few survive today.

One that did is shown here, above, and features a work by Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). Dr. Johnson was perhaps the most famous literary figure of 18th c. Britain, and among the many hats he wore were essayist, editor, poet, literary critic, biographer, and lexicographer. One of the highlights of my tour last week of Houghton Library, Harvard University, was visiting the Donald and Mary Hyde Collection of Dr. Samuel Johnson, right, with curator John Overholt. The comprehensive depth of this collection of books, artwork, manuscripts, and letters is truly breathtaking, and even if you cannot visit for yourself (Houghton Library is open to the public for tours on Friday), you can view highlights on the collection's website.

These are the proofs to Dr. Johnson's Life of Pope, from Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, to the Works of the English Poets, published in 1781, and later to be known more simply as Lives of the Poets.  I love being able to see Dr. Johnson's comments and corrections in the margins, exactly the kind of final corrections and changes that every writer makes.

Ordinarily the proofs would have been used and then discarded by the printer. According to John Overholt, however, these survived because the novelist Fanny Burney (1752-1840) asked Dr. Johnson to save them for her so she might read the selection early, without waiting for the final published edition, as a personal ARC (advanced reader copy.) Not only did Dr. Johnson retrieve the edited proof from the printer, but because he had also been trained as a young man to be a bookbinder, he bound the proof himself as a special gift for Mrs. Burney – and a special gift, too, to those of us living today.

Many thanks to John Overholt for his generous assistance with this post.

Above left: Proofs for the Life of Pope from Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, to the Works of the English Poets, by Samuel Johnson, 1781. MS Hyde 50 (4), Harvard University.
Lower right: The Donald & Mary Hyde Collection of Dr. Samuel Johnson, Houghton Library, Harvard University.
All images courtesy of Harvard University.

Royally Ever After On Sale Today

Royally Ever After

Loretta reports:

I haven’t written many novellas or short stories, mainly because they’re trickier than you’d think, and the time needed subtracts from the time my full-length books demand.  But a couple of times in recent years, I was tempted back into the world of shorter tales.  The results were published in two bridal anthologies coinciding with, first, the marriage of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge (perhaps better known as Will & Kate) and second, media interest in certain of the bridal attendants.

Today, the two novellas are being released in a single eBook, Royally Ever After, with its own beautiful cover.

If you haven’t read my work before, this is a fairly painless way to sample it, as well as some bits of nerdy history I was able to incorporate, entertainingly, I hope. Here at 2NHG and on my website blog you can expect to see some follow-up posts on those bits.

Frothy, Fashionable Caps, c. 1780

Isabella reporting,

When I visited the Margaret Hunter Shop in Colonial Williamsburg last month, the mantua-makers had just finished two complicated sewing projects, and their form of relaxing was to replicate several silk gauze caps of the late 1770s-early 1780s.

Caps had been part of an Englishwoman's day-time wardrobe for many generations before this. Ostensibly to cover the head and hair for modesty's sake, they were worn by nearly all women of every age and rank. For working women, linen caps kept hair tidy and out of the way, and offered extra protection around open fires. For the more fashionable, caps could also provided a base for the wide-brimmed hats worn out-of-doors.

By the last quarter of the 18th c., however, caps had evolved into notable fashion statements on their own. Trimmed with ribbons, bows, and ruffles and enhanced with fine stitching and embroidery, caps inflated into frothy confections to match the towering hairstyles ("heads") of the time.

These stylish caps were made of the finest silk gauze, a translucent fabric with a crisp hand much like modern organza. The narrow rolled hems, pleats, and tiny stitches were a test of skill for the mantua-makers, as Nicole Rudolph, above left, demonstrates. The original caps were so airy and insubstantial that few survive in collections today. (Our CW manuta-makers report that even after a single careful laundering, the caps

begin to wilt, and after two, they're pretty much done.)

But longevity wasn't the caps' point. They were a trend-driven fashion, with new variations appearing frequently in the London shops. They could be further personalized with different bows, as the back view of the example, lower left, demonstrates (though it could use some equally fashionable big hair beneath it for proper height.) Compared to a new gown, caps were also inexpensive, and an easy way to update an older wardrobe.

Looking at the satirical prints of the time, right, it's easy to assume that the size and foolishness of the caps was exaggerated (along with everything else) by the artists. They weren't. Apprentice Abby Cox models one of the caps copied by the shop from a print, lower right, and there's no denying its exuberant charm. Yes, the cap is extreme, and more than a little foolish to modern eyes, but to an 18th c. lady - and more importantly, to an 18th c. gentleman - there were few things more unabashedly flirtatious than a pretty young woman in a sweet ruffled cap.

Above left: Photo copyright 2015 Susan Holloway Scott.
Right: Detail, Deceitful Kisses, or The Pretty Plunderers, from an original by John Collet, printed by Carrington Bowles, 1781. Collection of the British Museum.
Lower right: Photographs copyright 2015 the Margaret Hunter Shop.

Breakfast Links: Week of March 30, 2015

Fresh for your weekend reading - our weekly round-up of fav links to other blogs, articles, images, and websites, collected for you via Twitter.
• Cards with cut-out faces advertised the 18th c. French coiffure.
• Last vestiges of early London, drawn and engraved c. 1800 by John Thomas Smith.
• Inside out: images from a fashion exhibition at Kent State University feature the inside view of clothing of the past.
• London before the Great Fire: John Thomas Smith's 18th c. images recored lost London.
• A charted guide to name-calling: Zelda Fitzgerald called Ernest Hemingway "a pansy with hair on his chest."
• Image: Suffragette banner at Museum of London lists names of hunger-striking prisoners.
• A papyrus of Homer was used as toilet paper.
• Women and restaurants in 19th c. America.
• Turbulent Londoners: writer, feminist, and early trade unionist Clementina Black.
• A trend in 19thc-early 20thc seed-selling: women-owned businesses.
• Eighteenth century knives and scissors sharpened.
• Seventeenth century recipe: "to make lemmon cakes."
• Image: Typology of 18th c. Wedgewood buckles.
• Planning an 18th c. garden with Martha Daniell Logan (1704-1779), South Carolina Gardener & Teacher.
• Sweden's traditional Easter witches.
• Carrie Marcus Neiman: a pioneer in ready-to-wear clothing.
• The creation of London's first great docks in the early 19th c.
• Napoleon and the Marquis de Lafayette.
• Photos of Bohemian partiers in New York's Greenwich Village, 1910-1920.
• The elopement of Lady Elizabeth Howard, 1793.
• Image: Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC from a 1934 postcard.
• How Grandpa got his LOLs: how people did April Fools pranks before the internet.
• The weird abandoned domes of Casa Grande, Arizona.
• Mourning jewelry: remembering the dearly departed.
• Image: Gold-heeled wedding boots, 1873.
• London's oldest hot cross buns for Good Friday.
• "Look'd like milk": breast-milk substitutes among captives in New England's 18th c. borderlands.
• The English diplomat who signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783 was known for singular dress and lack of stockings.
• Napoleon, or the "Corsican Monster" in early 19thc. British propaganda.
• F.Scott Fitzgerald's first draft of The Great Gatsby.
• Twelve buildings still in use today that were built during the time of Richard III.
• Anyone can write like Jane Austen...with the Jane Austen font!
Hungry for more? Follow us on Twitter @2nerdyhistgirls for fresh updates daily.

Friday Video: Two Schoolboys' View of a Georgian Prince

Frederick, Prince of Wales

Loretta reports:

The early Georgians are not my specialty.  I’m more familiar with the Prince Regent (later, King George IV) than his predecessors.  But it’s interesting to learn how a family tradition of mutual father-son antipathy continues over generations.

In this short video clip, two schoolboys explain Prince Frederick and his family situation.  If you want to know more, you can view a lengthier and more detailed (and yes, very entertaining) account of the Georgian monarchs here.

Image: Attributed to Joseph Highmore, Frederick, eldest son of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Anspach (circa 1740-50), from the Royal Collection via Wikipedia

Clicking on an image will enlarge it.  Clicking on the caption will allow you to read at the source, where you can learn more and enlarge images as needed.

Readers who receive our blog via email might see a rectangle, square, or nothing where the video ought to be.  To watch the video, please click on the title to this post.