She’s been distracted by the Green Party, but should from now on be back in full flow. So my 19th-century “blogger” today has two posts.
First, she’s writing about seeing Mr Coesvelt’s pictures, a collection that she describes as finer than that of the royal family. It was broken up in 1836, and a web search reveals they are scattered around. There’s Raphael’s The Alba Madonna in Washington and a Rape of Proserpine by Schwarz in the Fitzwilliam.
And the prolific Mrs Jameson catalogued the pictures.
Secondly, Miss Frances Williams Wynn is viewing (in 1835) “the aerial ship, as they call the new balloon”. She’s not convinced of its utility, pointing out that without a method of propulsion, it is entirely at the mercy of the winds. Were “the power of steam undiscovered” it might be more use, she suggests.
There’s a satirical image from that year that seems to match what Miss Williams Wynn is describing.
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