The Girl, the Kite and the Eccentric Inventor

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In this post:
Inventions and science in the Romantic Age
Help, my father is an inventor!
Martha Pocock as a character of a novel – and plot bunnies involving the Pocock family

Martha Pocock was not what we associate with a typical girl of the Romantic Age. She was neither an epitome of propriety nor a simpering Miss. Martha had guts and she was hands-on. She was the first woman to be lifted into the air under a kite. Martha owed her experiences in flying under a kite to her father. George Pocock (1774–1843) was an inventor and a schoolmaster. He became famous for inventing the first kite-drawn carriage. Sounds like a joke? It’s not.

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A Brief History of the Napoleonic Wars told … in 10 Hand-held Fans

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Napoleon conquering the sea, French fan leaf, ca. 1800.

Napoleon conquering the sea, French fan leaf, ca. 1800.

A fan was a popular accessory in the Romantic Age. No lady would be seen without a fan at a ball or assembly. The design of the fans was as varied as was the fashion. Often political events were celebrated or commemorated with special designs for fans. The victories of the British Army during the Peninsular Wars and the Battle of Waterloo were such occasions. It is even possible to tell a brief history of the Napoleonic Wars in 10 beautiful fans made between 1800 – 1816.

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Making watercolour-paper as it was done in the Regency period

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– A photo story about a traditional craft –

Mill startIn the Romantic Age as well as today, high-quality watercolour-paper for artists is the so called wove paper ready-sized with gelatine. This paper is still produced at Two Rivers Paper Mill in Somerset, England. I went there to learn more about this traditional craft. You can read about my field trip to their workshop here.

This is how the paper is made:

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A Traditional Craft: Making Watercolour-Paper

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In this post:
The traditional making of watercolour-paper
Watercolour-painting’s Golden Age
Technical innovations at the service of art
How to use making watercolour-paper or watercolouring in your Regency Novel

Mill 1The pleasant village of Roadwater lies a couple of miles behind us, and the small road leads into a forest. We are on a field research trip to Two Rivers Paper Mill in Somerset/UK to learn about the traditional production of watercolour paper. Exploring the Regency period can be exciting – and might include loosing the way. We are about to turn the car, when we see a white building with a black slate roof. It is Two Rivers Paper Mill, built in the 1680ies. In the Georgian era, the mill was a thriving corn mill, known as Pitt Mill. Today, the mill is a centre of the traditional production of a paper that was vital for the latest trend in arts during the Romantic Age: high-quality watercolour-paper.
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Six Reasons Why You Should Take Part at a Jane Austen Ball

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JA 1 Music fills the ball room. The English chamber orchestra The Pemberley Players strikes up. About 100 persons dressed in historical costumes dance the elegant formations of the opening polonaise, smiling and greeting each other. A glittering ball set in the Regency period begins: We are at the Grand Jane Austen Ball, pretending to have travelled in time back to Regency England.

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Love & Prejudice (A 5-Minute Novel)

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Author’s Note

Here is my new 5-Minute Novel. Inspiration hit me when I was doing research for my post “Writer’s Travel Guide: The Jersey Connection“. I found a most useful book about the Isle of Jersey during the Romantic Age: Balleine’s History of Jersey. While I read the passages about the French émigrés at Jersey, plot bunnies sprang up. Read here the story they carried with them.

A stroke of luck

The Isle of Jersey (photo by Lady Dorothy)

The Isle of Jersey (photo by Lady Dorothy)

Wiltshire, 1793: The orphaned siblings Eliza (24) and William Redruth (20) live with their elderly aunt Margret in shabby-genteel circumstances in the countryside. One day in May, they receive a letter: A distant uncle, Baronet John Redruth, died in old age on the Isle of Jersey. Being without children, John Redruth has decided to make William the heir of his manor house on the isle. These are exciting news. Williams wants to travel to the Isle of Jersey immediately to inspect the inheritance. The ladies warn him: Due to the war with France, the island located so close to France is in danger of being invaded. Continue reading →

Writer’s Travel Guide: The Jersey Connection

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Mont Orgueil Castle on the Isle of Jersey (photo by Lady Dorothy)

Mont Orgueil Castle on the Isle of Jersey (photo by Lady Dorothy)

In this post:
– Working as an agent in the 18th century: Tasks and Methods
– Deadly Dangers
– A Thorn in Napoleon’s Side

Angelique Le Tourneur was a spy. She looked like an ordinary fisherwoman, and her little boat sailing from village to village along the French coast was loaded with fish. But Angelique belonged to a network of spies that was operated from the Isle of Jersey for 18 years.

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Making a Gown for a Jane Austen Ball

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reticule and fan 2The Museum of Creativity proudly presents “An Empire-Style Ball Gown Based on 21th Century Clothes”.

“I cannot determine what to do about my new Gown”, Jane Austen once wrote to her sister Cassandra. This is a feeling many of us can sympathize with. If you are going to attend a ball set in the Regency period, figuring out what to wear, where to get it or how to do it yourself is no easy task.

I am going to go a Jane-Austen-Ball at the end of this month. As I can’t sew, I tried to make the ball gown from everyday clothes I had found in my cupboard. But halfway through roughing out a concept for a modest white cotton gown, I stumbled upon a dazzling beautiful red lace in an oriental drapery. Though I knew perfectly well that I haven’t the sewing skills to handle the lace, I bought it. Continue reading →

Temptations for Regency Gentlemen: The Most Dashing Sports Vehicle

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Cockingcart1

A dashing vehicle for the sportive gentleman: the Cocking Cart (click to enlarge)

A notable whip and hero of a Regency Novel inevitably drives a Phaeton – or does he have more choices for selecting his racy vehicle? A couple of weeks ago, a vehicle caught my eye at a historical hunting and carriage gala: it was slim, light and high-perched.

Being drawn by three horses and featuring two wheels, it had an air of sportiness and elegance as it drove across the park. Next to the conservative carriages like Britzkas and Victorias, it looked decidedly dashing. I spoke to the owner and learned that the striking vehicle was a Cocking Cart. – A what? I had never heard of it before.

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A Writer’s Travel Guide to London’s Bookbinding Trade

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bookIn the Georgian age, the book trade flourished in London. Reading was a popular pastime. Books were often read to friends and family for entertainment. Until the end of the 18th century, newly published books were sold without a binding. A person who bought a book received only the printed paper with temporary sewing, a so-called “board”. He/she would go on to engage a bookbinder to have it bound to match his/her personal library.

A bookbinding of high quality would find admirers in highest ranks. Wealthy aristocrats and gentry were affluent enough to order specially designed books for their libraries. Their books collections were made to impress, and so the books had to be bound befittingly. Many quality bookbinding workshops were located in Westminster, in the vicinity of the tailors. Thus, a gentleman could conveniently order a new coat and a binding for a new book in one afternoon.
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