Eighteenth Century
Why a Monkey on the Leinster Coat of Arms?
"The coat of arms of the Dukes of Leinster derives from the legend that John FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare, as a baby in Woodstock Castle, was trapped in a fire when a pet monkey rescued him. The FitzGeralds then adopted a monkey as their crest (and later supporters) and occasionally use the additional motto Non immemor beneficii (Not forgetful of a helping hand)."
The Wikipedia page.
Article source.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 19, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Royalty, Eighteenth Century
Who Was That Masked Lady Composer?
Mlle Duval was an 18th-century female composer whose birth and death dates are unknown, whose first name and backstory are unknown, and yet who had a fairly prominent public career. This is one of those historical incidents that I fancifully attribute to some time traveler having fun.
Her Wikipedia page.
Entry in The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers.
I can't find any recordings for her online, but she appears on the CD at the link.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 05, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Music, Unexplained Historical Enigmas, Women, Eighteenth Century
Blackguardiana
You can surely amuse yourself for hours reading this 1793 guide to rogues. And I think we should resurrect these old terms for modern times. For instance, if a woman is inconveniently pregnant, let us say she has "sprained her ankle."
Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 18, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Crime, Eighteenth Century, Slang
The Lake Superior Mermaid
Original text here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 12, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Cryptozoology, North America, Eighteenth Century
Jemima Wilkinson Is Lord
The source.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 28, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Delusions, Fantasies and Other Tricks of the Imagination, Eccentrics, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Religion, Rituals and Superstitions, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, Eighteenth Century
The Heidelberg Tun
Full story here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 22, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Europe, Eighteenth Century, Alcohol
The Anatomical Venus
This new book about the "Anatomical Venus" looks to be fascinatingly weird. Lots more photos at the link.
Posted By: Paul - Sat May 21, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Art, Body, Surgery, Women, Eighteenth Century
The Coffin of Pero Bannister
I find this anecdote in two sources. True, or apocryphal? You be the judge!
1880 text.
1937 text.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 29, 2016 -
Comments (7)
Category: Death, Eighteenth Century, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, Face and Facial Expressions, Head
The Eccentric Club
For over 230 years there has been one or more organizations known as "the Eccentric Club." I think every WU-vie should be a member by birthright.
Here is a tongue-in-cheek account of a party at an NYC branch from 1889.
Original article here.
Profile of the current London version.
Present-day USA version.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 11, 2015 -
Comments (11)
Category: Eccentrics, Eighteenth Century, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, Twenty-first Century
Lord Timothy Dexter
I just learned about a famous New England eccentric named Lord Timothy Dexter. People like this make me proud to be a Yankee.
Just one of his whimsicalities, from this write-up:
In 1798, Mr. Dexter returned to Newburyport, and August 15th of the same summer he bought the large house on High street that had been erected by Jonathan Jackson in 1771. Its situation is high, and commands an extensive view of the coast and the Isles of Shoals. The grounds were laid out by intelligent landscape gardeners. Everything about the house was in excellent order; but not to his wish. He raised minarets on the roof, and surmounted them with gilt balls. He caused it to assume a gaudiness and cheapness that was most undesirable to a person of taste.
Directly before the front door of the house, on a Roman arch, he erected a figure of Washington in his military garb, and on his left, a figure of Jefferson, and on his right one of Adams, the latter being hatless. On columns erected in the garden were figures of Indian chiefs, generals, philosophers, politicians, statesmen, and goddesses of Fame and Liberty. He changed the name of the statues by the aid of the painter's brush as he pleased. General Morgan was thus transformed into Bonaparte, and to the latter Dexter always touched his, hat. There were more than forty of these figures, including four lions, two couchant, and two passant. These images were of wood, life size, and fairly well carved. The lions were open-mouthed and looked fierce. The figures were made by a young ship carver who had just come to Newburyport, named Joseph Wilson, and were gaudily painted. The images were all in good condition when Dexter died, and the first to fall was an Indian. The remainder stood until the great September gale of 1815, when all but the presidents were cast prostrate upon the earth. The images were sold at auction, the specimen that brought the most money, five dollars, was the goddess of Fame. William Pitt was sold for a dollar, and the "Travelling Preacher," fifty cents. It is said that the arch and figures of the three presidents, all the presidents there had been in Dexter's day, cost at least two thousand dollars, the lions two hundred dollars apiece, and the other images a similar amount.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 18, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Eccentrics, Landscaping, Eighteenth Century, Nineteenth Century
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |