Merry Christmas

Here is Robert Seymour, as Bob Cratchit, taking a slide down Cornhill on Christmas Eve, undaunted by Scrooge's bad attitude towards the holiday:

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, to all of you!

Another Hi-Res Promo Image

And so, just less than a week before Christmas, if you're looking for any last-minute Christmas gift ideas, Scrooge Studies is available as an eBook on Amazon. (Because of the number of images, it won't display on some e-readers. But Amazon has free apps to allow it to be read on laptop computers, etc., and the listing will show which e-readers are compatible.)

If you have already bought Scrooge Studies, thank you! And if you haven't, thank you for reading my blog. Here is a high-resolution version of one of my favorite images from the book: "There were great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts, shaped like the waistcoats of jolly old gentlemen, lolling at the doors, and tumbling out into the street in their apoplectic opulence."

Thank you for your interest. The above image is available free of charge, to anyone for any lawful, non-commercial use, as thanks for your interest in my work and to encourage sales of the eBook.

The listing on Amazon can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Scrooge-Studies-Illustrated-Exploration-Christmas-ebook/dp/B07GZ9QJKX/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1545255581&sr=1-2&keywords=scrooge+studies

Happy Holidays!

A Book Recommendation

I have been re-reading Death and Mr Pickwick, by Stephen Jarvis, which deals with the evolution of British caricature and the origins of The Pickwick Papers. Jarvis presents, in the format of a novel, the theory that the artist Robert Seymour invented the character of Pickwick, and not Charles Dickens. I had come across the work of Seymour myself in 2016, as I was working on Scrooge Studies, and wondered about his influence on Dickens. I later had the good fortune to make the online acquaintance of Mr. Jarvis, who is much more knowledgable on the subject. Jarvis's arguments are quite compelling, and Death and Mr Pickwick ultimately influenced my illustrations for A Christmas Carol in a pretty significant way.

Even though I've read it before, Jarvis's writing is so fresh and engaging that it still feels new. There are numerous gems of phrases and sentences that have prompted me to start putting little paper sticky-flags in the margins, so that I can go back and find those anecdotes and pieces of language more easily.

And a little before page 200, I realized something - I was so pulled in to the story that I had forgotten I was reading a book.

Now that's some good writing.

As we approach Christmas, it's my distinct pleasure to recommend Mr. Jarvis's book. You don't need to have read The Pickwick Papers before, or to have previous knowledge of Dickens, to enjoy the book, but if you do know of any fans of The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens, or nineteenth-century Britain generally, this book would be an excellent Christmas gift.

You can find Death and Mr Pickwick online at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Pickwick-Stephen-Jarvis-21-May-2015-Hardcover/dp/B011T884CW/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1544648845&sr=1-2&keywords=death+and+mr+pickwick), Barnes & Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death-and-mr-pickwick-stephen-jarvis/1120160537?ean=9781250094667) and at many brick-and-mortar bookstores.

I have neither received nor sought any compensation for the above endorsement.

Interior of Strawberry Hill Meeting House

Today (December 2, 2018) there is a Christmas Stroll scheduled for the village of Yarmouth Port, here on the Puritanic Sands.  We have unfortunately encountered that Usual Event Around Here, often called Rain, which is probably discouraging people from attending.  My excuse is that I am occupied with Work Stuff and Christmas Decorating At Home.

Last year, a giant of American Theater passed away in Yarmouth Port - the brilliant set designer Helen Pond.  She and her professional and life partner, Herbert Senn, lived on Church Street in Y-Port, in an old Unitarian meeting house which they had lovingly and painstakingly restored and decorated over many years.  They had spent decades working together, and one of their most famous projects was their frequent work designing sets for Boston Ballet's annual Nutcracker.

The estate sale was yesterday and the day before; I had the opportunity to go inside once, about 20 years ago, for a Christmas party - the Pond-Senns used to throw these huge events every year, and I had the good fortune to be able to tag along with some friends who had been invited.  I felt a little intimidated so I did not introduce myself to the Pond-Senns.  

As for the estate sale, I knew that I probably wouldn't have the opportunity to see the interior again, so I went and took a few photographs.  My mom bought me a large coffee mug from the kitchen with an "H" on the side - and it still had a coffee drip on it!  I'm drinking from it now as I write this.

I in turn saw a "His" and "Hers" pair of mugs, also unwashed, which I bought for a young married couple I know.  I met them through theater work - she is a lighting designer, and he assists her - and I thought they should have a small piece of American Theater History with coffee and tea sometime.

Here are some photos of the interior of Strawberry Hill Meeting House, 17 Church Street, Yarmouth Port, Puritanic Sands, Massachusetts.  Most of the surfaces are flat - the Pond-Senns were masters of Trompe-l'oeil painting.

A "small" trompe-l'oeil ceiling:

Floorboards with a faux-marble checkerboard pattern:

The large trompe-l'oeil ceiling in the Great Hall:

The ceiling of the Great Hall, from the balcony, to give an idea of the scale of the room:

These two photos show some details of the Pond-Senns' painting skills:

Dangerous Christmas Games, and a Proposal for Wassail-Legislation

From pages 31-32 of The Book of Christmas, by Thomas K. Hervey, illustrated by Robert Seymour:

"In that long space of time, besides the uncertainty of what may happen to ourselves, there is but too much reason to fear that, unless a change for the better should take place, some one or more of the neglected children may be dead. We could not but have apprehensions that the group might never return to us entire. Death has already made much havoc amongst them, since the days of Ben Jonson. Alas for Baby-cocke! and woe is me for Post-and-paire! And although Carol, and Minced-pie, and New-year's Gift, and Wassail, and Twelfth-cake, and some others of the children, appear still to be in the enjoyment of a tolerably vigorous health, yet we are not a little anxious about Snap-dragon, and our mind is far from being easy on the subject of Hot-cockles. It is but too obvious that, one by one, this once numerous and pleasant family are falling away; and as the old man will assuredly not survive his children, we may yet, in our day, have to join in the heavy lamentation of the lady at the sad result of the above "Hue and Cry." "But is old, old, good old Christmas gone?—nothing but the hair of his good, grave old head and beard left!" For these reasons, he and his train shall be welcome to us as often as they come. It shall be a heavy dispensation under which we will suffer them to pass by our door unhailed; and if we can prevail upon our neighbors to adopt our example, the veteran and his offspring may yet be restored. They are dying for lack of nourishment. They have been used to live on most bountiful fare,—to feed on chines and turkeys and drink of the wassail-bowl. The rich juices of their constitution are not to be maintained, far less re-established, at a less generous rate; and though we will, for our parts, do what lies in our power, yet it is not within the reach of any private gentleman's exertions or finances to set them on their legs again. It should be made a national matter of; and as the old gentleman, with his family, will be coming our way soon after the publication of the present volume, we trust we may be the means of inducing some to receive them with the ancient welcome and feast them after the ancient fashion."

Wassailing in the Puritanic Sands?  Good luck with that.  Two years ago, six days before Christmas no less, I got harassed by the police for Walking-While-Female-and-Sober on public streets and nature trails (maintained by the town, for both locals and visitors to enjoy nature year-round) because somebody didn't like the way I looked.  

While I am NOT in favor of alcohol abuse, with that incident in mind, I think the tradition of Wassail should be firmly re-established, indeed encouraged, throughout the Commonwealth by an Act of the Massachusetts Legislature.  The Normalization of Some Excesses just might serve as an effective antidote for Paranoid Reactions to Normal Activities.

But I digress.  The quoted paragraph from Hervey mentions a game called Snap-dragon, and Seymour made a drawing of this for the same page of The Book of Christmas.  Here it is:

In Seymour's illustration, the players are all children (though the game was not played exclusively by children, and not exclusively at Christmastime).  A wide, shallow bowl is filled with brandy and set alight.  Then raisins are tossed in, and the kids gather round to pluck them out while trying to avoid getting burned.

As I said before, I am NOT in favor of alcohol abuse, and I would NOT suggest that children should be playing games involving alcohol and getting burned.  But I find this game interesting because it reveals such a different attitude towards child-rearing during the early nineteenth century and earlier.  I recall, from studying German many years ago, an idea presented by my professor about Grimms' Fairy Tales.  The original German stories are, in short, full of violence.  As I remember it, my professor referred to a psychologist (I think)(and whose name I can't remember) who had postulated that the violence in those children's stories was socially necessary: at the time, Germany was politically fragmented and the economy was heavily agrarian, so violence was a fact of life.  Wars happened, and civilians got caught in the middle of them.  Even in peacetime, children growing up on farms had to learn to slaughter animals that they had raised themselves and had formed emotional attachments to.  Violent children's stories may have been used to acclimate children to a difficult, dangerous life.

I think games like Snap-dragon may have served a similar purpose — and the disappearance of it in the nineteenth century may reflect a new need for fire safety in dense urban areas.

Over the course of 2018, I've made a number of drawing studies from Jan Steen's Twelfth Night Feast at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  I started awkwardly, because it's a dauntingly brilliant painting.  I did a decent pencil study of Steen's self-portrait in the middle of the canvas (see my blog post here: https://scroogestudies.blogspot.com/2018/09/jan-steen-twelfth-night-feast.html) and drew details from many of the other characters in the party.

In the lower left corner, there are a boy and girl playing what I'll call "Three-Kings'-Candles" — they're apparently competing to see who can jump the farthest over the three candles, which represent the Magi.  I'm guessing that they would set the candles farther and farther apart.  Kind of dangerous.  And reminiscent of Snap-dragon.

Here is my study of Steen's kids playing Three-Kings'-Candles.  I'm posting it here as a high-resolution jpeg, and allowing anyone to use it free of charge for any lawful, non-commercial use (such as using it to make your own Christmas cards, etc.):  

Anyone who wants to use it commercially will have to contact me to negotiate appropriate licensing (obviously, Blogger and its affiliates in the Alphabet group of companies may use the image in accordance with Blogger's Terms of Service).  This is as a general thank-you to anyone who has purchased my eBook of Scrooge Studies, and to promote additional sales of it.

Here is the link to the eBook: https://www.amazon.com/Scrooge-Studies-Illustrated-Exploration-Christmas-ebook/dp/B07GZ9QJKX/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1542584731&sr=1-1&keywords=scrooge+studies

If you really like the image — thank you!  Likewise, if you have purchased the eBook of Scrooge Studies — thank you!

A Second Library Show

I'd like to thank the East Branch of the Falmouth (Massachusetts) Public Library for hosting a display of my drawings through the end of 2018.  Here is one of my favorites, which is included in the show:

These are the "Spanish Onion-Friars" from Stave Three: 

"There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish Onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish Friars, and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by, and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe."

Please remember to support your local library - libraries are places for researchers, book lovers, families with kids, and kids from 1 to 92 (and beyond!). Libraries provide information on local events and serve as gathering places for different community groups. They're an integral part of what makes a strong local community!

Scrooge Studies: An Illustrated Exploration of Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" is available as an eBook on Amazon.  Here is the link:

https://www.amazon.com/Scrooge-Studies-Illustrated-Exploration-Christmas-ebook/dp/B07GZ9QJKX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542309622&sr=8-1&keywords=scrooge+studies&dpID=518LI5CbYjL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Thank you for visiting my blog, and may the upcoming Holiday Season be full of joy and happiness for you!

Three Timely Excerpts

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States.  I won't tell any American readers how to vote, but here are three excerpts from A Christmas Carol that I think are important to keep in mind — especially because the Holiday Shopping Season now seems to be starting at the beginning of November, not the end.

Scrooge's nephew Fred, from his argument with Scrooge in Stave One:

   “There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,” returned the nephew. “Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”

Scrooge and Marley, discussing what makes a good businessman, also in Stave One:

   “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,” faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.
   “Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

And the Ghost of Christmas Present, correcting Scrooge on an erroneous assumption, in Stave Three:

   “Spirit,” said Scrooge, after a moment’s thought, “I wonder you, of all the beings in the many worlds about us, should desire to cramp these people’s opportunities of innocent enjoyment.”
   “I!” cried the Spirit.
   “You would deprive them of their means of dining every seventh day, often the only day on which they can be said to dine at all,” said Scrooge. “Wouldn’t you?”
   “I!” cried the Spirit.
   “You seek to close these places on the Seventh Day?” said Scrooge. “And it comes to the same thing.”
   “I seek!” exclaimed the Spirit.
   “Forgive me if I am wrong. It has been done in your name, or at least in that of your family,” said Scrooge.
   “There are some upon this earth of yours,” returned the Spirit, “who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.”