Horses and Exotic Animals in the 1700s ...

 

I gave a talk recently on George Stubbs (1724 – 1806) – known as the 'horse painter' … a man who shunned the conventional way of artistic learning: copying others' works – he taught himself.

Whistlejacket (1762)
Probably his most famous painting

He'd have none of it … his drawings, paintings, etchings would be 'all done from Nature'. Starting young, aged 8, he drew bones loaned from a doctor in his home town of Liverpool, unfortunately none survive …

Horses coming in, in all directions

... and that is the (lack of) story of Stubbs' life – he was a loner … silent to the world ... other than the extraordinary artistic works he left us.

side view Skeleton of a horse (1766)
{Courtesy of Wellcome Cllection}

Some notes were correlated in the 1800s – which became known as the (Ozias) Humphry (1742-1810)/(Joseph) Mayer(1803-1886) 'essay'.

Poor little zebra - her mate died on the
journey over; Stubbs painted her in her
green setting - not at all usual - but his
backgrounds were guessed at ... he never
left Europe. (1763)

He is known today mostly for his incredible horse paintings … yet probably his greatest skill was in the study of anatomy of animals. Two hundred and fifty years later … his horse ones are still considered definitive …

Cheetah and Stag with two Indians (1765)
It is painted as the Indian way of hunting with
cheetah, using a collar and sash to restrain
the animal, the hood has been pushed back
as she's about to be released.
(This was commissioned by Lord Pigot, who
had been Governor of Madras)

Before I go on – a thought … how will future generations think of us: 250 years on (2275 AD or so)??… as we are progressing life, so were our ancestors – many not in a way we approve of today.

Two Leopards  (c1776)

The 1700s were when lots of change was happening … scientific, exploration and agricultural revolutions … menageries were held by the wealthy and royals …

Rhinoceros (1780 - 91)
This was commissioned by Dr John Hunter -
the brother of William Hunter both Scottish
physicians and anatomists.
Poor animal died of injuries inflicted as a 
result of its predilection for sweet wine -
it's hard to be sure!

The art work I show here are of his exotics … due to the demand of the wealthy … whereby Stubbs could spend time at menageries to study these creatures … so accurate, even today …

Soldiers of the 10th Light Infantry (1793)
The King commissioned it.  Very stilted -
as was the norm in the 1700s

Then I came across the work being done by Pauleen Bennett an Australian scientist studying anthrozoology at La Trobe University, in Victoria, Australia – a field of study she founded.

The human body

Stubbs at the end of his life was wanting to compare the anatomy of the Human Body ... 

Common fowl

... with a common fowl, and a tiger body - sadly they were never finished.

Tiger body

We have moved on … we continue to learn, study, research – yet George Stubbs gave us this amazing record of anatomy … while letting us see his beautiful art works …

Self-portrait in 1782

I'd love to know what our successors will think about us in 250 years time … and obviously your thoughts on George Stubbs' …

I've included many of his exotics with notes, together with one or two of his anatomical horse engravings ... 

Royal Academy of Arts – George Stubbs …

The artsdesk.com – review of exhibition I saw in 2019 in Milton Keynes, UK

Wikipedia's article on Pauleen Bennett - anthrozoologist

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Loveable Independent Slinky Literary Cats ...

 

Literary Cats, the loveable, independent creatures, that so many people in the world love, and who give comfort to their owners.

The Literary Cats tea towel
Radical Tea Towel company

Here are some quotes found by the British Radical Tea Towel company, offering political and social statements, for the kitchen and home, inspired by history.

"If man could be crossed with the cat,

it would improve man, but it would deteriorate

the cat.”

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 – 1910) known by the pen name Mark Twain

Christopher Smart pre 1750

"For I will consider my cat Jeoffry for he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.”

Christopher Smart (1722 – 1771) was an English poet. 

He was a major contributor to two popular magazines, The Midwife and The Student, and a friend to cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding.

Interestingly he was infamous as the pseudonymous midwife “Mrs Mary Midnight” … see link below by GrubStLodger …

And see his poem on Jeoffry, his cat, – from his Jubilate Agno poem (written 1759 – 1763).

A cat eating a fish under a chair -
a mural found in an Egyptian tomb,
dating to the 15th century BC

"A cat is an animal who has more human feelings than almost any other being.”

Emily Bronte (1818 – 1848)

"You may think at first I was

mad as a hatter

When I tell you, a cat must have

THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.”

"The cat is the best anarchist.”

Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961)

"God invented the cat so that mankind

could have a tiger to stroke at home.”

Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

(ha ha - love it!)

"Cats are mysterious folk. There is

more passing in their minds

than we are aware of.”

Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832)

Not quite Boot - but so near ... he was a dear!

From a 20^th/21^st lover of cats … especially one called 'Boot' – why I've no idea!

The Grub Street Lodger blog - on 'Christopher Smart, drag and Mrs Midnight's oratory'

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Yakety-Yak part 2 …

 

Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom film … is a quite delightful story telling about a Yak in Bhutan, a recalcitrant youth, and a school high up in the Himalayas in need of a teacher …

Lunana is between the 'M & A' of the 
Himalayas name

… said youth had to finish off his teaching diploma before he could leave Bhutan, with his guitar, to pursue his dream of achieving a musical career in Australia – for which he already had a provisional visa.

Ultimately he has to qualify as a teacher … so off he goes up into the Himalayas … grumping and groaning as only a rebellious youngster can …

Pokhara Valley in Bhutan

The headman sends two herdsman to meet him – when the 'road runs out'; he has his walkman headphones permanently clamped to his ears … ultimately the batteries run out …

… the two villagers reassure him the walk is easy – it's along a river – yes, but that stream is pouring down the mountains – so the walk is an uphill wet trog. He'd purposefully bought Goretex boots before leaving – well they're no good – soggy wet feet step onwards!

Poster for film

We journey with him … it is beautiful, hardwork, we see cultural aspects, are introduced to a few peoples along the way.

Eventually he arrives – it is basic to put it mildly – he has his own hut … he's fed that first night … and given some basic instructions about how things work – he needs to light his own fire, cook his own food etc etc … eventually sleep comes …

Early the next morning there's a knock on the door – by the littliest schoolgirl – we're ready for you 'teacher' she beams announcing with delight …

See link at end

… oh dear – nothing's organised … eventually things sort themselves out – he's beguiled by the children, copes with wet yak pats – told he needs dry ones to light his fire … etc etc

His guitar comes out – he recognises there are excellent songsters in the hamlet … he sends for teaching tools from Thimphu, capital of Bhutan …

A Yak - they're sleek animals

He's given a Yak to look after – who has pride of place in the classoom – domesticated yaks are highly regarded for their milk, fibre and meat, and as beasts of burden – then there's their droppings – fuel for their fires … but the yak will not eat grain … they must have grass …

… in the end they have a happy year – but he's determined to leave … and does … he's qualified and can travel to Australia … his dream has come true … but has it …

Here he's playing his guitar to his yak!

… he's playing in a bar in Sydney and realises no-one is listening to him … they're all nattering away … he's upset … then appreciates there's a calling at home – high up in Lunana …

Some brief stats and info … Lunana's administrative area has a population of under 900; rainfall is over six feet a year; many of Bhutan's glaciers are within the district, which lies at an altitude of 3,400m (over 11,000 feet); yaks are related to cattle and are also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, or hairy cattle …

The movie inspired me – and still does – I hope you'll be able to make a plan to watch it sometime … 'a teacher touches the future' and 'you find what you seek in a place you least expect' …

The trailer to watch ... Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom 

Wikipedia's page on the film ...

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Phosphatodraco … Happy Thanksgiving …

 

It was blustery here, overcast and rather dismal while I thought about Thanksgiving times … and that poor turkey – mind you - here they'd only have a few more weeks before Christmas turkeys get into the shops …

Featured yesterday in Wikipedia

I was wondering if this magnificent creature could have been an early progenitor of the turkey -  you are or will be eating?

Apologies – I just was bemused by the image … let alone its name Phosphatodraco … and don't usually get down about 'life' beyond these shores … but it has got to me – I count my blessings, but am inwardly weeping …

Clade of Pterosauria

The vandalism, barbarous demeanour, rude, crude uneducated, uncivilised people of this world – who raid, maim, kill, herd into isolation – has been and is  awful …

… yet what has really triggered my mental distress has been the pillaging of all things cultural from Kherson and its Art Museum … I cannot get my head round this dismembering of a country's art collection …

A room in the Kherson Art Museum
prior to the looting

… having recently given three 'talks' on Russian art pre 1917 … and following the artistic story on into the early Stalin years to 1932 … I couldn't believe the repeat horrors I heard were happening in Ukraine.

War is not a subject I've been interested in – I intensely dislike it … but this has struck at my heart strings … I so admire the Ukrainians in this instance, and all, particularly refugees, who do not have freedom, yet who strive, hope and expect their worlds to improve …

I know it's Thanksgiving when we count our blessings, while to cheer myself up and get back to simpler things …

These scented narcissi from the Scilly Isles are available for sending out in time for those early parties – just sent some to the family …

The islands about 25 miles from the mainland

The Scilly Isles always remind me of my mother and times in Cornwall … happy memories of earlier times … when our parents had been through World War Two to give us our freedom … that so many of us live today …

Apologies – I'm not usually this morbid, and especially here on the blog – but this once … here's one that's different to my usual posts.

I know this is a wild one - but I'd rather
have this for my Christmas dinner!

I just hope a Phosphatodraco has not landed on your dinner table? I am looking forward to my Christmas turkey a month today!

With thoughts to one and all …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Positive Stories

Spheniscidite … Penguins' Poop is a Mineral …

 

I thought 'Clunch' was interesting enough ... but now 'I hear' that there's a catalogue detailing the origins and diversity of every known mineral on earth …

Elephant Island - an ice-covered
mountainous island

… which is certainly helping scientists realise our planet's history of life, yet also perhaps predicting possible characteristics of future life …

… we do live in wonderful times – so interesting to learn these snippets, even though I don't really understand … I just love the learning curve.

Talk about a bleak place ... 

Nature has so so much to offer us … and we do not, most definitely do not, know how our life is made up … so so many components …

These mineral time capsules are made up from 57 “recipes” to create more than 10,500 “mineral kinds” - through crushing, zapping, boiling, baking and more …

Phyllites near Ben Lomond,
Scotland

Each mineral holds details about the Earth from when the rock was formed, allowing scientists to gain information about the emergence of life and the evolution of the planets.

The title of this post: Spheniscidite … is a phosphate mineral formed by reaction of penguin guano and the phyllitic soil of Elephant Island, Antartica …

A collage of Penguins

The poop of the penguins causes a little bit of magic to happen in the soil … to give us the mineral Spheniscidite (named from the Penguin order Sphenisciformes) a phosphate mineral.

Tomato plant possibly benefitting from
Spheniscidite ... 

Phosphate is one of the three main nutrients in fertilizers … it can be turned into phosphoric acid, which is used in everything from food and cosmetics to animal feed and electronics …

… what else can poop tell us about life? 

I thought you'd be pleased I haven't added an image of 'poo' ... ?!

BBC article - Science Environment ... making minerals

New Scientist - 'Reclassification of earth's minerals reveals 4,000 more than we thought' ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Bran Tub # 16: A seaside scene: a lollygagged, vibrissae pinniped …

These three words inspired me to write a short story … as our Autumn grabs hold … I have to say I prefer Spring time – but enjoy each season for its variety … but my tale:

Pinnipeds - various

The Pinniped was chill-axed flapping the occasional fin as the waves rocked him gently …

… he was resting his brain – one half shuts down, the other ‘works his bobbing in the waters’ … 

Not his father! but good vibrissae

... and lets him think about his father’s vibrissae and how he needed to become more skilled interpreting the vibrations he’d been told were in the water …

A lollygagging pinniped

… but for now he was a typical youngster lollygagging around enjoying the midday sun in the lustrous sea …

That is my tale of the whacked, whiskered marine mammal ...

Godrevy Beach in St Ives Bay

This was the beach we came to when the wind direction necessitated us to find a more sheltered spot for the family day out ... we played amongst the waters and off the rocks - glorious fun times.

I meant to mention Karen and her blog - where I'd come across Lollygagging ...
Write Now: the Value of "Pockets" of Time ... so belatedly added in - sorry Karen!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Bran Tub # 12: Myotonic Goats ...

Fainting Goats to you and me … well Rhonda of Albom Adventures alerted me to them in her comment on my F for Feral Goat post I wrote as part of my series “Aspects of British County Rare Breeds”.  I couldn’t not find out more could I? … so you get a bran tub post!

Kid goat that has fainted

To me … it seems an extraordinary condition … the goat’s muscles freeze for roughly 3 seconds when the goat feels panic.

Young goats tend to ‘keel’ over, while older goats have learnt to spread their legs or lean against something when startled …

Poor goats ... stiff legged ... 

… this can leave them for a while with an awkward, stiff-legged shuffle - giving us humans another way of describing them … ‘wooden-legged goats’ … or no doubt many a description!

But symptoms can affect humans too – so often there’s that  interlink - but I’ll leave you to investigate ‘myotonia’ … it’s a symptom of a small handful of certain neuromuscular disorders characterised by delayed relaxation (prolonged contraction) of the skeletal muscles after voluntary contraction or electrical stimulation.

Tennessee - Lewisburg, home of the fainting goats is near the
Alabama border: about where the 'C' of Chattanooga is shown

Back to fainting goats (wooden-legged goats) … they are classified as a meat goat as opposed to a dairy goat, but can be raised for chevon (goat meat). 

Referencing the British Rare Breeds Survival Trust as my April posts highlighted – this rare breed falls under The Livestock Breed Conservancy of America (ALBC) – and thus is being protected.

Marshall County Courthouse
in Lewisburg

Tennessee seems to be the centre for these goats, where in October there is an annual “Goats, Music and More Festival” honouring the fainting goats …

Marshall County puts on this festival, centred on goats, but has activities including music, arts, festival games, crafts, food (of course!), and children’s activities … sounds like fun.

The logo c/o the Festival site

There’s a three legged goat triathlon apparently … and a goats gallop of 5 k … I presume both of these are human based!

How do I finish a post like this … ah! a link to South Africa … I see on the Goats Music and More site that the judges are described as Boer judges – after my time in SA … that is where ‘the boer’ is an Afrikaans farmer.

Matt Gillan - with his winning dish for Great British
Menu in 2015.  He told the important story of the goat
to the islanders of St Helena (see my post)

Yet the introduced Boer goat has been discovered as an excellent crossbreed stock for the fainting one, a meat goat which was imported from South Africa … the fainting gene is recessive, therefore it is usually not expressed in crossbred animals.

Jerk Goat Kebabs with dried mango

So the fainting goat can be conserved as a breed … yet the traits of the meat goat can be kept as a meat goat, when it has been crossed with the Boer goat … and can thus give us goat meat …

Albom Adventures – Rhonda’s blog highlighting ‘The Essence of Travel Through Photography’ …

Wikipedia’s – Fainting Goat …. and Myotonia sites …

Marshall County’s link to the Goats, Music and More Festival in Tennessee …

That's it for fainting goats - can't quite get over this Bran Tub find!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories