Entries by Penelope J. Corfield

MONTHLY BLOG 119, THE FELINE MUSE IN THE LONG EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

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If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2020) Fig.1: William Hogarth’s alert cat, ears pricked, teeth bared, claws unleashed, and intent gaze fixed upon its notional prey (a caged bird)– revealing the feral cat within the domestic pet. Source: detail from Hogarth’s Portrait of the Graham Children (1742). Cats in Britain changed […]

MONTHLY BLOG 118, COMMEMORATING ANOTHER FEISTY EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY SEA-GOING CAT

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If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2020) Fig. 1 John Cornwell’s bronze statue of Trim, the feisty black cat who sailed in the circumnavigation of Australia in 1801/3: located outside Mitchell Library, 173 Macquarie St, Sydney, Australia. Another feisty sea-going cat from the eighteenth century has inspired a great set of […]

MONTHLY BLOG 117, AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FOLLY-BUILDER & CAT-LOVER

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If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2020) Public monuments to cats – as opposed to literary, artistic and musical celebrations1 – are rare to find, especially dating from the eighteenth century. So this majestic example deserves full appreciation. The lordly cat sits atop a giant Grecian vase, all forming the substantial […]

MONTHLY BLOG 115, THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY INVENTION OF TWO NEW SOLITARY OCCUPATIONS

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If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2020) 1793 Statue of Ancient British Druid, Croome Park, Worcestershire Not only did a few famous eighteenth-century recluses choose solitude (see BLOG no 114, June 2020) but others found that isolation went with the job. Two new occupations called for people with self-contained personalities, who […]

MONTHLY BLOG 114, SELF-ISOLATION EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STYLE

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If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2020) Fig.1 Engraving (1808) of Lord Rokeby (1713-1800), a famous eighteenth-century self-isolator, who looked like a wise old wizard but whose actual message was obscure. It’s not original to note that humans are a highly social species. But it’s only now becoming generally appreciated just […]

MONTHLY BLOG 113, LIGHT FROM THE LAMP OF EXPERIENCE

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If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2020) Fig.1, A hand-held eighteenth-century lantern, its lighted candle providing an immediate pool of light. ‘The Lamp of Experience’ is a marvellous phrase. A lantern throws light. It does not insist dogmatically but instead conveys sufficient illumination for good judgment. ‘Experience’ is also a vital […]

MONTHLY BLOG 110, THE (POLITICAL) RED-GREEN ALLIANCE

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If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2020) Call it a political RED-GREEN alliance. Call it a loose political RED-GREEN federation. Even a move towards a full-blown RED-GREEN party merger? But enough shilly-shallying. It’s time for action. The global climate emergency makes that clear enough. If there are any continuing doubters, then […]