An oversized John Bull with a carbuncled-faced sits at a round table across from a very young looking William Betty and his father, both handsome and not caricatured. John Bull toasts the two, full wine glass in hand: "Youngster, heres to you I'm glad to see you in town. Old Master Roscius your health, and may you get such another boy every New Year's Day for the benifit [sic] of the English stage." Behind them pinned to the wall are two prints: the one a profile portrait of Mrs. Siddons, hangs from one corner only, and the other a portrait of J.P. Kemble. The three ostrich feathers on the back of Master Betty's chair may indicate the patronage of the Prince of Wales
Description:
Title etched below image., Printseller's stamp in lower right corner: S.W.F., and Description from British Museum catalogue of "Young Roscius and Don John" mounted on verso.
Publisher:
Pubd January 4, 1805, by S.W. Fores, No. 50 Piccadilly
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Betty, William Hen. West 1791-1874. (William Henry West),, Siddons, Sarah, 1755-1831, and Kemble, John Philip, 1757-1823
Subject (Topic):
John Bull (Symbolic character), Theater, Actors, British, and Child actors
Holograph diary which chronicles a journey through France, Switzerland and Italy, compiled from several diaries of different journeys, the earliest being a tour in the summer of 1816. The author travels to Calais from London with members of her family. In Paris, she sees King Louis XVIII reviewing his troops in commemoration of his return to Paris last year; attends the theater; visits the Conservatorie des Arts et des Metiers to view the models of machines; and dines at Very's. She also visits the porcelain manufactory at Sevres; climbs Montanvert, describing the system of sticks used by their guides to protect them from falling; and spends the night in a monastery in St. Bernard, in the same room in which Napoleon stayed on his way to the Battle of Marengo. In Italy, she attends the opera in Turin, commenting on its lighting system, "which like the theatres in France is dark, the only lights being on the stage." She also vists churches, admires artwork and architecture, ascends Mount Vesuvius, and attends Mass at the Sistine Chapel. The diary concludes with a visit to the Devil's Bridge in Switzerland and The diary is annotated throughout, in the same hand, with further notes concerning the journey
Description:
In English. and Binding: quarter pigskin. Taped on spine: MS. Diary 1816.
Subject (Geographic):
France, Italy, Europe, Switzerland, and Vesuvius (Italy)
Subject (Topic):
Mountaineering, Alps, Theater, Travelers' writings, English, Description and travel, and Social life and customs
