Commonplace book, 1871-1887
- Title(s):
- Commonplace book.
- Published/Created:
- Scotland, 1871-1887.
- Physical Description:
- 1 v. ([64] p., many versos blank) ; 21 cm.
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsPN6245 .C66 1871Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund[Request]
- Copyright Status:
- Copyright Not Evaluated
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/8817231
- Classification:
- Archives & Manuscripts
- Notes:
- Thick card paper bound in a contemporary gilt dark red morocco album, with gilt edges; white watered silk end-papers.
Commonplace book, in many hands, featuring pen-and-ink drawings, some colored, along with excerpts from prominent 19th century poets. Most contributors to the album appear to be members of the Coats family of Paisley, Scotland, and the name of Maggie Coats, in large calligraphy, features prominently on an introductory page, but it is unclear whether any one individual was chiefly responsible for organization of the material within. Most of the texts and illustrations are signed and dated by the copyist or illustrator, with dates ranging from 1871 to 1887. Texts include poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Alfred Tennyson, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Thomas Campbell, and Robert Browning, along with several poems in German and several unidentified poems. The most prominent illustrator is George Coats, who signed six pen-and-ink sketches with color wash; some of these are caricatures or of a humorous nature, and one is titled "Bill Finlayson". There is a humorous three-part series of pen-and-ink sketches signed W. Finlayson, titled "Going north" (sketch of travelers in a Perth and the North train car), "What some fellows think it is like" (scenic Highlands), and "What the north really is" (rainy dreariness). Another series of seven unsigned pen-and-ink sketches, over three pages, have interlineated verses from "The Nautilus & the Ammonite" by G.F. Richardson. An unsigned wash drawing depicts a scenic Highland view, flanked by compartments containing a portrait of Sir Walter Scott and an excerpt from his poem "O Caledonia! Stern & Wild". The album's only graphite sketch, signed J.L., shows an unidentified manor at the foot of the The Binn, in Burtisland. - Subject Terms:
- Caricatures and cartoons -- Great Britain.Coates family.English poetry -- 19th century.English poetry -- Scottish authors -- 19th century.Paisley (Scotland)Richardson, George Fleming, 1796?-1848. Nautilus and the ammonite.Scott, Walter, 1771–1832.Wit and humor, Pictorial.
- Form/Genre:
- Commonplace books.
Caricatures.
Humorous pictures.
Graphite drawings.
Ink drawings.
Sketches.
Wash drawings.
Watercolors. - Export:
- XML