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Author Archives: mercedes-c
Green boughs
As it happens with his creative etymologies, Douce’s explanations of particular details taken from the images that he collected are sometimes as difficult to believe as one of Munchausen’s tales. On 1 February 1801, Douce sent the following note to … Continue reading
Posted in Baths, Everyday life, Letters
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Douce and William Godwin
You may have read the review of Pamela Clemit’s edition of William Godwin’s letters (recently published by OUP) in last month’s LRB. The reviewer, John Barrell, refers to an online resource provided by the Bodleian Library, which I have just … Continue reading
Baron Munchausen
Reading Francis Douce’s correspondence sometimes feels like playing six degrees of separation. Douce, for instance, knew Twiss, whose friend Alexander Jardine corresponded with Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, one of Goya’s patrons. Twiss’s letters are a particularly rich source of information … Continue reading
Posted in History of printmaking, Letters, Satirical prints
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Hungry caterpillars
Since 1788, Francis Douce kept a lively correspondence with the travel writer Richard Twiss (1747-1821). A typical letter from Twiss, as Douce explained to his friend George Cumberland years later, would be like ‘an omnibus on twenty or more subjects’, … Continue reading
Posted in Collections and Collectors, Letters, Natural history
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Magic and music
Music is a subject often mentioned in Francis Douce’s correspondence. He was a keen amateur, interested in both contemporary music and the technical development of musical instruments throughout the centuries. A vast amount of images of different types of drums, … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Witchcraft
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Douce’s London
It is Bank Holiday Monday and, apart from Notting Hill where thousands of people have gathered for the carnival, London seems much quieter than usual. So I set off early to visit some of the addresses where Francis Douce lived … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Holy towel
I have finally finished working on Douce’s portfolios of religious prints -over 900 images classified, like the rest of the collection, by subjects, including ‘Trinity’, ‘Images of the Madonna’, ‘Sudarium’ and ‘Relics’. To mark this milestone, I popped in the … Continue reading
Douce on holiday
Francis Douce was a man of habit. For many years he spent his summer holiday in Box Hill, near Dorking, enjoying what he called ‘the paradise of England’. But in 1795, he was advised to travel to Ramsgate for health … Continue reading
Health advice
From a letter sent by Douce to George Cumberland on 4 February 1826: I read no book on health -they only hip one. I have lately lost my truly valuable & excellent friend & physician Dr. Fryer who could not … Continue reading
Posted in Letters, Physicians
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