ENGRAVED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES. PART II.
In England the fan’s comments on the public events of the eighteenth
and the latter years of the preceding century begin with a satirical
allusion to the intrigues of European diplomacy concerning the affairs
of Poland. Ten female figures representing France, Spain, Sardinia,
Empire, Saxony, Russia, Poland, Britannia, Holland, and Prussia are
seated round a table, the first seven playing piquet; an empty chair,
labelled ‘I pray to God for peace,’ is reserved for the Pope (Innocent
XI.), who is seen on the left protesting that he does not understand
the game. A figure in civilian dress in the foreground is holding a
scroll which is lettered, ‘’Tis not the interest of the nation to
play without advantage. In time Commerce might pay the cards.’ On the
extreme right is the Sultan of Turkey on horseback, exclaiming, ‘If you
don’t leave off, I’ll tear the cards,’ with the Shah of Persia on foot,
saying, ‘Seigneur Jack, Persia shall make you change your note.’ The
date is between 1679 and 1689, the period of the pontificate of Pope
Innocent XI.
[Illustration: A New Game of Piquet among the nations of Europe.
Schreiber Coll^n. British Museum.]
The coronation banquet of George II. in Westminster Hall, on October
11, 1727, is recorded in an extremely primitive etching. The king
and queen are enthroned on a dais in the centre of the fan; in the
background are galleries of spectators, and in front the champion of
England throws down his gauntlet. The subject is enclosed in a
cartouche, and on the sides of the fan are the crown, sceptre, ampulla,
vestments, etc.; the whole rudely coloured by hand.
It was, possibly, as some recompense for its author’s gallant defence
of their most powerful weapon that the ladies helped to swell the tide
of prosperity of the _Beggar’s Opera_, produced in November of this
same year (1727). Fans were carried illustrating the favourite songs
of the piece, which enjoyed its successful run of sixty-three nights,
‘making Gay rich and Rich gay.’
The defeat and withdrawal of Sir Robert Walpole’s excise scheme
provided the occasion for many satires which appeared during the year
1733. In these Walpole is represented as an itinerant quack doctor, and
as an exciseman, in which latter character he was hanged and burned in
effigy on April 12th of the same year.
In the fan a comparison is drawn between Walpole and Wolsey, and on a
medallion portrait of the last named is inscribed:
‘Wolsey and his Successor here in one behold.
Both serv’d their masters, both their Country Sold.’
A figure is seen walking in a garden with two papers in his hands,
the one inscribed, ‘Liberty and Property,’ and the other, ‘No Dutch
Politicks. Down with the Excise.’ In the mid-distance a figure holds
a purse and draws attention to the portrait of Wolsey. Two barrels
are figured in the foreground, together with the Excise Monster in
the throes of death, on the body of which are inscribed the various
articles affected, as Printing, Salt, Malt, Gin, etc.
The print has apparently been cut down, and evidently forms part of a
design or series of designs.
M. Gamble advertises as follows in the _Craftsman_ of June 9, 1733:—
‘This day is published for all Loyal Ladies, an Excise Fan; or the
Political Monster as described in _Fog’s Journal_, May the 5th,
curiously delineated, Being a Memorial for Posterity. In this most
agreeable fan is represented:
I. A Picture of Cardinal Wolsey (the first Excise Master of England)
done from an original Painting.
II. A view of his Feats on one Hand, and those of his Successor on
the other.
III. An English Lawyer with two honest Briefs.
IV. The famous Monster-Monger, Ferdinando Ferdinandi, drawn to the
Life.
V. The Death of the Excise Monster.
VI. A modern Inquisition with an Assembly of Merry Spectators (as
Vintners, Tobacconist, etc.) of Ferdinando’s Lamentation over
his departed Beast.
‘Now!
‘Tis in the Power of every British Fair
To turn Excises of all kinds to Air.’
‘Sold by M. Gamble at the Golden Fan in St. Martin’s Court near
Leicester Fields. Price 2s. 6d.’
On August 25 of the same year, M. Gamble again advertises the fan and
adds:—
‘This is the Fan mentioned in the _London Magazine_; it will be very
useful at all meetings for nominating Members of Parliament, not only
for cooling the Heats which may arise, but to show the nature of an
arbitrary Monster.
‘Now is the Time when every British Fair
May turn Excises of all kinds to air.’
‘There is now published the third Edition with additions.’
The marriage of the Crown Princess with the Prince of Orange in 1734
was the occasion of much rejoicing, and the nuptials were celebrated
with the greatest magnificence, the prince receiving with his bride
the sum of £80,000 as portion. In an address to His Majesty from the
loyal and dutiful citizens of London, the greatest glory, the brightest
triumphs, the most distinguished prosperity are presaged from another
alliance with that truly illustrious house, the house of Nassau; ‘from
whence so many heroes have sprung, the scourges of tyrants and the
asserters of liberty.’
The fan joins in the general congratulatory chorus; a view of the
marriage ceremony in the French Chapel of St. James’s Palace is given;
the King and Queen, with the royal family, are seated in boxes at the
back.
There was an allegorical version of this event, in which the
contracting parties appear in classic costume, with a bishop and other
persons in the background in the costume of the period. In front Hymen
lights his torch from that of Cupid. In other parts of the composition
are seen: An infant embracing a lamb, a pelican in her piety, an infant
Hercules killing serpents, etc. The whole surrounded by an orange
border.
Several variations of this are extant, one omitting the orange-trees,
with a border printed from another plate.
The following advertisement appeared in the _Craftsman_ for July 7,
1733:—
‘_Just Published_
‘By JONATHAN PINCHBECK, Fanmaker, at the Fan and Crown in New Round
Court in the Strand; and sold by him, and at the Fan-shops of London
and Westminster.
‘The Nassau Fan; or Love and Beauty Triumphant: Being an Encomium
on the Nuptial Ceremony which will shortly be consummated between
his Highness the Prince of Orange and the Princess Royal of England;
adorned with the Pictures of those illustrious Personages, attended
by Hymen, Fame, Minerva, Cupids, etc. Together with a copy of Verses
and other Decorations suitable to the occasion.
‘_N.B._—Beware of Counterfeits; the true original Nassau Fans having
the name (Pinchbeck) prefix’d to the mount.’
On August 18th this advertisement is repeated, with the additional
statement that ‘there are a few neatly printed on leather for the
curious,’ and a note to the following effect:—‘A spurious edition of
the Nassau Fan has been lately offer’d to the publick, in Prejudice to
the Original Nassau Fan; but as all Persons that have seen both are
fully satisfy’d that it bears no comparison with the former, ‘tis no
wonder that the Design to lessen the original in the esteem of the
Publick, proves as fruitless as the Attempt is unfair and ungenerous’;
this evidently referring to the following, which had appeared in the
_Craftsman_ a week earlier, August 11:—
‘_This day is Published_
‘The New Nassau Fan, humbly dedicated to her Royal Highness PRINCESS
ANNE,
By her Highness’s most humble
and devoted servant,
RICHARD HYLTON.
‘In this fan is represented the Portraitures of his Highness William,
Prince of Orange and Nassau, etc., and her Royal Highness Princess
Anne (done from the original Painting of Van Dyke and Hysing), in
an Orbit, supported by Cupids, adorn’d with other emblematical
Ornaments, disposed in a curious and beautiful Manner.
‘To be had of the aforesaid Richard Hylton, at the Golden Fan in
Great George St., Hanover Square.’
On September 1st this advertisement is repeated, with the addition of
the following couplet:—
‘Just Heaven does Anne and Nassau joyn,
To glad great George and Caroline.’
And the following reply to Pinchbeck’s advertisements of 7th July and
18th August:—
‘_N.B._—This is to inform that ingenious Gentleman (who calls
himself) the Proprietor of a Nassau Fan, that he has been guilty of a
very gross Error, and has prejudiced himself by informing the Publick
that he knows no Difference between a Fan which is made like the
Frontispiece of a Halfpenny Ballad, and one that’s done in a curious
Manner by one of the best Hands in England.’
[Illustration: The Motion. 1741.
The New Nassau Fan. 1733.
Schreiber Coll^n. British Museum.]
This sally calls forth the following rejoinder from Pinchbeck, who, on
September 15th, repeats his former advertisement, with this footnote:—
‘_N.B._—I would not have the splenetick Author of (as he calls
it) the loyal Nassau Fan imagine that I think him capable either
of doing, or saying, any Thing Worthy of Notice, tho’ for once
I condescend to inform him that the Publick are sufficiently
convinc’d of his Ignorance in putting his Trifle in Competition
with the Original Nassau Fan, as well as of his Malice in perverting
the Sense of my Advertisement. I shall, however, submit my
Performance to the judgment of the Publick, and not trouble them with
quackish Epistles quite foreign to the Purpose.
‘Beware of Counterfeits. The Original Nassau Fan having the name
(Pinchbeck) prefix’d to the Mount.’
On September 22nd, Pinchbeck repeats his advertisement, and once again
cautions the public against counterfeits. (In the highest esteem among
the Ladies, and infinitely surpasseth every Thing of the Kind offered
to the Publick.)
A month earlier a fresh candidate for public favour had appeared in
the shape of the ‘Orange Fan,’ a composition of an orange-tree and a
rose-bush, with a view of London in the distance, a three-masted vessel
in the foreground, and above, a dove holding in his beak a letter
addressed ‘To The Lovely She, Who has more than 80,000 Charms’; on the
upper and lower border of the fan, an ode in five stanzas, ‘set to
Music: Tune, Let’s be Jolly; fill our Glasses.’
This was advertised by M. Gamble in the _Craftsman_ for August 25th,
the charms of the ‘Lovely She’ being reduced in the advertisement to
30,000.
‘Once more the Orange joins the British Rose,
And fragrant Sweets they mutually disclose;
Entwin’d by Nature’s Bonds, their Charms unite,
And from the Foil the Jewel shines more bright.’
The price of the Mount painted in proper colours, 1s. 6d.
Ready mounted upon neat sticks, 2s. 6d.
The ‘New Nassau Fan,’ advertised by Hylton, is here given, and must
certainly be said to bear very fair comparison with Pinchbeck’s. The
portraits of the royal pair occupy a medallion in the centre, supported
by Cupids above; two winged figures are holding a wreath and blowing
trumpets, from which are suspended the royal arms of the two respective
countries.
Below is a ribbon inscribed, ‘Ad Altiora Speramus,’ with a Cupid
holding a royal crown and star. A scroll, at the extremities of which
are two medals of George II. and William the Silent, Prince of Orange,
is inscribed:
‘Brittons now y^r Poems sing,
Love and Beauty Garlands bring;
Heavens Ann and Nassau joyn
To glad George and Caroline.’
In addition are figures of Peace with olive branch and dove, and
Liberty holding cap on a staff, together with a Bible inscribed ‘B.
Sacra,’ a lion at her feet.
The fan is freely etched, coloured by hand, and mounted on plain wavy
wooden sticks.
Pinchbeck continued to advertise his fan until April 20, 1734, when,
presumably, popular interest in the affair waned.
In 1730-33, Hogarth produced his ‘Harlot’s Progress’ (commenced at the
time of his marriage), its various scenes being promptly pirated by
the fan-makers. Mr. F. G. Stephens, in his _Catalogue of Political and
Personal Satires_, British Museum, vol. iii. part I, page 28, refers
to fans printed with copies from ‘A Harlot’s Progress,’ three designs
being on each side of the fan, usually printed in red ink. These fans,
says Nichols, Hogarth’s biographer, were customarily given to the
maid-servants in Hogarth’s family, doubtless as moral lessons.[152] M.
Gamble had advertised them during the year 1733 in the _Craftsman_ and
_Daily Journal_. In a footnote to his advertisement of the Church of
England fan we have the following:—
_N.B._—‘For those that are Curious, a small number are work’d off on
fine Paper, fit to Frame. Likewise a new Edition of the ‘Harlot’s
Progress’ in Fans, or singly to Frame.’—_Daily Journal_, Jan. 24,
1733.
By the kindness of Mr. C. Fairfax Murray we are enabled to illustrate
an excellent example of one of these very rare fan leaves, inscribed
in ink (probably by the collector Baker), ‘Given to me by Mrs. Hogarth,
1781.’ In the centre is the quack doctor, printed in a greenish
yellow, the two side scenes of ‘Bridewell’ and the ‘Funeral’ in a rich
red, the fan being engraved in pure line. The scenes are inscribed
respectively—‘In a high Salivation’; ‘In Bridewell beating of Hemp’;
and the ‘Funeral’; with suitable explanatory verses.
[Illustration: The Harlot’s Progress, after Hogarth.
Mr C. Fairfax Murray.]
Other fans were issued, these probably by another publisher, giving
the various scenes grouped together, the figures slightly rearranged
to suit the space, indifferently etched in outline, and printed in
red on skin. Five leaves appear in the Schreiber collection; the
first gives the whole composition; the second, the same, with several
scenes omitted; the third, with further omissions; the fourth, with
the central subject only, of the arrival of ‘Mary Hackabout in
London,’ partially coloured by hand; the fifth, a spoiled, indistinct
print, covered with a Chinese landscape printed in black, the evident
intention being to utilise the skin mount.
The print of the Midnight Modern Conversation, 1733, copied by
salt-glazed potters of the period, and appearing on snuff-boxes and
punch-bowls, for the latter of which it was eminently suitable, was
used also for a fan mount.
In this print, to quote Mr. Austin Dobson, a party of eleven, whose
degrees of intoxication are admirably differentiated, have finished
some two dozen bottles of claret; and at four in the morning are
commencing a capacious bowl of punch, presided over by a rosy-gilled
parson—the
‘Fortem validumque combibonem
Laetantem super amphora repleta’
of the Westminster Latinist, Vincent Bourne; but in real life
identified both with the famous ‘Orator’ Henley, and the Rev. Cornelius
Ford, a dissolute cousin of Dr. Johnson.
In the _Daily Journal_ for May 24, 1733, we have the following
advertisement:—
‘_This Day is Published_,
‘A Beautiful Mount for a Fan, call’d the Midnight Modern
Conversation, curiously performed from that incomparable Design
of that celebrated Artist the ingenious Mr. Hogarth; to which is
prefixed, for the Entertainment of the Ladies, a Description of each
particular Person that Gentleman hath introduced in that Night Scene.
Sold at Mr. Chinavax’s great Toyshop against Suffolk-street, Charing
Cross; Mr. Deard’s against St. Dunstan’s Church, Fleet Street; Mrs.
Cambal in St. Martin’s Court; and by B. Dickinson at Inigo Jones’
Head against Exeter Change in the Strand, at which Place they may be
had Wholesale at reasonable Rates.’
No print of this fan-mount is available for reproduction.
The victory of Admiral Vernon in his good ship the _Burford_ at
Portobello, on the 22nd November 1739, though not a particularly
significant feat even with six ships of the line, was immensely popular
with the masses. It was a familiar subject with the potters, especially
the Staffordshire potter Astbury, who commemorated it on tea-pots,
mugs, and the Portobello bowl.
The fan is not very interesting as a design, the six ships appearing
to overpower the fortress, which was an old one. Five stanzas of verse
appear, expressing the determination to avenge the wrongs of Britons,
to support her injured trade, etc.
‘Hark, the British Cannon thunders,
See, my Lads, six Ships appear;
Every Briton acting Wonders,
Strikes the Southern World with fear.
Porto Bello, fam’d in Story,
Now at last submits to fate;
Vernon’s courage gains us Glory,
And his Mercy proves us great.’
The etching is signed ‘F. Chassereau, April y^e 22, 1740.’
Vernon’s exploit at Carthagena, April 1, 1740, is also recorded; on the
left, a view of the English camp; on the right, the flying inhabitants,
including a figure named ‘Don Blas’; the fan inscribed ‘Cartagena.’
The motion by Mr. Sandys in the House of Commons on January 29, 1740,
and that of Lord Carteret in the House of Lords on February 13,
1741, to remove Sir Robert Walpole (who at that time was exceedingly
unpopular) from his post of Prime Minister, is commemorated on a
fan which is a free copy from a print published by T. Cooper at the
Globe in Paternoster Row, 1741, and referred to in a letter of Horace
Walpole, written from Florence to his friend Conway, March 25, 1741:
‘I have received a print by this post that diverts me extremely: _the
Motion_. Tell me, dear, now, who made the design, and who took the
likenesses: they are admirable; the lines are as good as one sees on
such occasions. I wrote last post to Sir Robert, to wish him joy; I
hope he received my letter.’
The scene is Whitehall, with the Treasury in the distance. A coach
containing Lord Carteret, who is leaning out of the window and crying,
‘Let me get out,’ is driven by the Duke of Argyll, brandishing a
flaming sword, the Earl of Chesterfield as postilion. Bubb Dodington,
in the form of a spaniel, is seated between the Duke’s legs. Lord
Cobham behind as footman. Lord Lyttelton follows on horseback, whip
in hand. Several persons are being overridden by the coach, which is
nearly overturned. Mr. Sandys, in the foreground, is dropping the
‘Place Bill,’ and exclaiming, ‘I thought what would come of putting him
on the box.’ Pulteney, exclaiming, ‘Z—nds! they’re over,’ and leading
his followers by the nose, wheels a barrow laden with ‘Craftsman,’
‘Letters to the Earl,’ ‘State of Nat—’, ‘Champion,’ ‘Common Sense,’
etc., with a dice box and dice. Dr. Smalbroke, Bishop of Lichfield,
accompanied by three pigs (one only in the original print), bows
obsequiously.
The ten verses which appeared on the print are inscribed on the right
hand of the fan. In ‘nigger’ parlance they at once propound questions
and supply the answers, thus:
‘Who be dat de Box do sit on?
‘Tis John, the Hero of North Britain,
Who out of Place does Placemen spit on.
Doodle, etc.
* * * * *
Who’s dat behind? ‘Tis Dicky Cobby,
Who first wou’d have hanged and then try’d Bobby.
Ah, was not that a pretty Jobb-e.
Doodle, etc.
* * * * *
So, sirs, me have shown you all de Hero’s,
Who put you together by the Ear-os,
And frighten you so with groundless Fear-os.
Doodle, etc.’
Thomas Wright (_Caricature History of the Georges_) thus refers to the
prints: ‘Several editions of “The Motion” were published, and one, in
the collection of Mr. Burke, is fitted for a fan. Another, very neatly
drawn and etched on a folio plate, and dated February 19th, contains
great variations, and wants much of the pointed meaning of the genuine
print. They here appear to be driving into a river. Pulteney and Sandys
are omitted; two prelates hold on to the straps behind the coach, which
seems in imminent danger of falling; yet Carteret cries out to his
driver, “John, if you drive so fast, you’ll overset us all, by G—d.”’
On the 2nd of March the ‘Patriots’ retaliated with a caricature
entitled ‘The Reason,’ in which we have another carriage with the
portly form of Sir Robert Walpole as coachman:
‘Who be dat de box do sit on?
Dat’s de driver of G— B—,
Whom all the Patriots do spit on.’
In this print, the foppish and effeminate Lord Hervey, well known by
Pope’s sarcastic title of ‘Lord Fanny,’ is riding, fan in hand, on a
wooden horse, drawn by two men, one of whom cries, ‘Sit fast, Fanny;
we are sure to win.’
‘Dat painted butterfly so prim-a,
On wooden Pegasus so trim-a,
Is something—nothing—’tis a whim-a.’
The fan-makers were not slow in following up with a fan. On April 25,
the following advertisement appeared in the _Craftsman_:—
‘This day is published, by J. Pinchbeck at the Fan and Crown in New
Round Court, in the Strand.
‘The Reason for the Motion. A Satire, whereon are the Portraits of
divers Noble Personages. To which is annexed, Explanatory Verses,
which will serve as a Key to the Whole.
‘Where may be had, All sorts of Fans and Fan-Mounts. The newest
fashion, and suited to the nicest Taste. Wholesale or Retail.
‘_N.B._—Gentlemen and Ladies may have any Device done in a curious
Manner, according to their own Direction.
‘There is a Spurious Sort about the Town, which has not the Verses,
and but part of the Figures.’
The Jacobite rebellion of 1745 was commemorated by a fan leaf engraved
by Sir Robert Strange, intended for the sympathisers with the
Pretender. The moment for the rebellion was well chosen—the king was in
Hanover, the Duke of Cumberland had fought and lost Fontenoy in April
of the same year, and was still engaged in Flanders. The fan shows the
Prince in armour, with Cameron of Lochiel as Mars, and Flora Macdonald
as Bellona.
In the fan representing the apotheosis of the Young Pretender, the
Prince, supported by Mars and Bellona, is claiming the inheritance of
the English crown; a figure of Fame bears the laurel wreath, at his
side is an altar blazing with devoted hearts, and above are Venus and
Cupid seated on a cloud. On the left, Britannia smiles through her
tears as a dove approaches bearing the palm branch, emblem of Peace.
On the right, Jupiter with his thunder scatters the Hanoverian faction
into obscurity, and Rapine and Murder are prostrated. An example,
carefully coloured, appeared in the Walker sale in 1882, and passed
into the possession of Lady Charlotte Schreiber for the sum of £7. The
stick is ivory, carved with subjects and fretwork.
The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed October 7, 1748, was celebrated in
the following April by a grand display of fireworks in the Green Park,
opposite to His Majesty’s library. A fan fairly well engraved, the
design well disposed, shows a view of the temporary building erected
for this purpose, which consisted of a ‘magnificent Doric temple,’
with two extended wings terminated by pavilions, the whole being one
hundred and fourteen feet high and four hundred and ten feet long. The
exhibition began about nine o’clock in the evening, and was introduced
by ‘a grand overture of warlike instruments composed by Mr. Handel.’
About eleven o’clock the whole building was illuminated, in which state
it continued till between two and three in the morning; His Majesty and
the royal family retiring about twelve.
The untimely death of the Prince of Wales in 1751 threw London into
mourning, the fan following suit with a portrait bust of Frederick on
a cenotaph, with mourning figures of Art, Science, and Britannia, a
figure of Hope with an anchor occupying the foreground. The fan here,
true to its antecedents, discovers more loyalty than did some of the
rhymesters of the period, one of whom produced an epitaph of which the
following is a portion:—
... ‘Since ‘tis only Fred,
Who was alive and is dead.
There’s no more to be said.’
Wolfe’s victory in 1759, commemorated in Bow statuettes and
Staffordshire busts and jugs, supplied the fan-makers also with a
subject for illustration: in a life of Wolfe it is mentioned that fans
were printed of the taking of Quebec.
Admiral Rodney is another instance in which both potters and fanmakers
vied with each other in honouring the hero of the hour. The fan in the
Schreiber collection is delicately engraved in mezzotint, and shows
Rodney trampling upon the French and Spanish flags. Neptune is offering
a sea crown, while a Cupid above bears a laurel wreath. The picture
is supplemented by festoons, ribbons, and other devices; the whole
coloured by hand.
The fan abundantly testifies to the popularity of the reigning house of
Hanover. Thus we have, in addition to the loyal fans already referred
to, a medallion portrait of George III., held in the hand of Neptune,
who is seated in his chariot drawn by four horses, and driven by a
Cupid who blows a blast from a trumpet. This designed by Uwins and
engraved in stipple by Cardon.
The king also appears as the subject of a large medallion on a pedestal
surrounded by Cupids and a figure of Fame with trumpet. In the
foreground are figures of Britannia and Commerce; on a tripod with a
flaming heart is inscribed, ‘The Heart of the Nation.’ On each side the
initials G. R. and the royal crown. Published May 13, 1791, by A. P.
Birman, the fan being signed A. P. Birnam, Inv^t.; W. Hinks, Sculp^t.
This fan leaf is a free copy from that engraved by D. Chodowiecki in
1787, commemorating the accession of Frederick William II. to the
throne of Prussia, and was made to do duty both for the King and the
Duke of York by the alteration of the bust, and the substitution of the
initials D. Y. for G. R., the arabesques re-engraved.
The royal family appear on six medallion portraits united by a ribbon,
with the royal crown, feathers, and a trophy of arms, flags, etc., the
latter indicating the martial proclivities of the Duke of York.[153]
Another fan gives a large Royal Arms surmounted by the crowned lion,
with the rose and thistle and the initials G. R. in medallions on
either side, united by festoons of flowers with doves; the royal motto,
‘Dieu et mon Droit,’ on a scroll below; the fan inscribed, ‘Vive Le
Roy.’ Published by T. Balster, March 19, 1789.
A ‘Representation of a Royal Concert at Buckingham House’ is a copy of
an engraving by Barlow after a drawing by Cruikshank. ‘Publish’d as the
Act directs, October 16, 1781, by J. Preston at his Music Warehouse,
No. 97, near Beaufort Buildings, Strand.’ In the subject occupying the
centre of the fan, the king appears seated at the right-hand corner. At
the sides, a canone and canzonet by Giordani, together with a French
and Venetian canzonet, with music.
In 1788 the royal family honoured the exhibition of the Royal Academy
with a visit; this event being commemorated on two fans varying
considerably in the number and disposition of the figures, and in the
arrangement of the background. The fan leaf in the Schreiber collection
is designed by ‘P. Ramberg, P. Martini, Sculpt. Pub^d March 6, 1789,
by A. Poggi, St. George’s Row, Hyde Park,’ this being from Martini’s
original plate, also published by Poggi, cut down to the shape of a fan.
The fan leaf at present in the collection at South Kensington is
printed on vellum and tinted, and is accompanied by an engraved key to
the different personages depicted on the fan.
[Illustration: Visit of George III. to the Royal Academy.
Mr F. Perigal.]
The marriage of the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.) to Princess
Caroline of Brunswick, in 1795, provides the occasion for a fan, with
two oval medallion portraits in stipple of ‘The Illustrious Pair,’ on
either side of a large Prince of Wales’s feathers. ‘Publish’d Jan^{ry}
1, 1795, by J. Read, 133 Pall Mall.’ The same plate was printed in
colours and published on the same date. The ‘Royal Pair’ again appear
in the form of medallion portraits, with the Royal Arms of Great
Britain and Brunswick. Still another fan commemorative of this event
shows bust portraits of the prince and princess in the midst of a
medley of prints, riddles, etc., with a frieze of caricature busts of
various personages. ‘Published at Sudlow’s Fan Warehouse, 191 Strand.’
‘The Prince of Wales’ (Schreiber collection of unmounted fan leaves,
No. 11) is a quite charming fan leaf. The medallion portrait is printed
in a warm brown, the field of the fan painted in blue of a pleasant
quality, the ornaments painted in silver and Chinese white. This is a
scheme of colour adopted on many fans of the period; the four colours
forming an extremely effective harmony.
The popularity of Lord Howe’s victory over the French on the ‘glorious
first of June,’ 1794, is evinced by the frequency with which it was
commemorated on English pottery in the shape of statuettes, medallions,
mugs, jugs, etc. On the fan also we have the subject of a seated
Britannia bearing a medallion portrait of the admiral; the union jack,
lion, cornucopia, and a figure of Fame completing the composition.
The fan inscribed, ‘Lord Howe’s decisive victory over the Grand
French fleet, June 1, 1794.’ This published by B. Coker, 118 Fleet
Street, August 19, 1794. An example occurs in the collection of Mr.
Burdett-Coutts.
A ‘view of the trial of Warren Hastings, Esq., at Westminster Hall’ in
1778, is given in the centre of a fan having oval medallions at the
sides with references to the numbers on the engraving, as follows:—
‘A. Hon^{ble} House of Commons. B. Foreign Ministers. C. Duke of
Newcastle’s Gallery. D. Councell for the Prosecution. E. Councell
for the Prisoner. F. Dukes, &c. &c. G. Peeresses. H. Board of Works.
I. The Throne. K. Recess for His Majesty. L. Recess for the Royal
Family. M. Judges. N. Lord High Chancellor. O. Vicounts and Barons.
P. Warren Hastings, Esq., Prisoner. Q. Committee of the House of
Commons.
‘Publish’d as the Act directs by Cock & Co., No. 36 Snow Hill.
Sept^r. 22nd, 1788.’
Church-fans appeared in the early part of the century.[154] These
were designed for the purpose of inculcating the spirit of true piety
during the hours of divine worship. Comments were made in the public
journals on the unsuitable character of fan mounts used in church,
and also on the general behaviour of persons of both sexes. These
culminated in an amusing satire which appeared in the form of a letter
from Vetustus, in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for May 1753. In this the
writer expresses some surprise that ‘in the course of the controversy
now on foot concerning the expedience of a revision of our liturgy, no
mention has been made of some ceremonies introduced by certain polite
persons of both sexes, who, if they may not be styled the _pillars_,
have undoubted right to be called the _ornaments_ of the Church of
England. That of the snuff-box may be allowed to obviate some part of
the objection to the _length_ of the service, since it precludes the
drowsy members of the congregation from any subterfuge in that excuse
of Horace:
“Operi longo fas est obrepere somnum.”
The writer desires also ‘to do a piece of justice to the ladies who
have lately contrived to improve the service of the Church, though
by so inconsiderable an implement as a fan mount; for, reflecting
that some of the grosser sex may probably come to church chiefly on
account of these fair beings, and that the devotion of these their
brethren might cool by having the immediate object of it withdrawn
from their view, during the tedious intervals of prayer, they have
been so charitable as to supply them with some edifying subjects of
contemplation, depicted on the very cloud which intercepts the beatific
vision.’
As an instance of the taste and discretion of these fair votaries, a
list is subjoined of a dozen designs elegantly executed, which were
actually displayed by way of screens to so many pretty faces, disposed
in a semicircular arrangement about the holy table:
1. Darby and Joan, with their attributes.
2. Harlequin, Pierrot, and Columbine.
3. The Prodigal Son with his harlots, copied from the ‘Rake’s
Progress.’
4. A rural dance, with a band of musick, consisting of a fiddle, a
bag-pipe, and a Welch-harp.
5. The taking of Porto Bello.
6. The Solemnities of a Filiation.
7. Joseph and his Mistress.
8. The humours of Change-Alley.
9. Silenus, with his proper symbols and supporters.
10. The first interview of Isaac and Rebecca.
11. The Judgment of Paris.
12. Vauxhall Gardens, with the decorations and company.
The writer is ‘well aware that the authors of the free and candid
disquisitions will be humbly suggesting, in their canting way, whether
some of these figures may be altogether suitable to the original
design of that sacred rite, at which they assist on these occasions;
and whether, if our British ladies are too nicely modest to worship
God with naked faces, they should not return to the ancient simplicity
of a plain linnen or Sarcenet veil, after the manner of the Jewish
females. But, besides that all impropriety is absolutely removed from
these representations by the mixture of so much Scripture history,
these Cavillers must be told that this is an old objection answered and
baffled long ago by the pious and conscientious Dr. Swift (whose tender
concern for the honour of the Church of England is well known) in a
religious sonnet which closes with an elevated sentiment couched in
the following couplet:
“How beauteous is the Church, which makes clean linnen
As decent to repent in, as to sin in.”’
This bone of contention, apparently, lasted during a considerable
period.
In the _Lady’s Magazine_ for March 1776, a ‘Female Reformer’ addresses
to the fair sex some ‘moral reflections’ on ladies’ fans, and draws
attention to the loose, almost indecent, mounts ladies have to their
fans at the present day, giving too much reason to suppose that a
coarse, indelicate, and immodest picture is not so offensive to the
view of the fair as prudence, virtue, and chastity could wish. ‘Not
many Sundays ago, I was seated in a dissenting place of worship in
the next pew to two young ladies, who appeared suitably attentive and
devout; but, happening to cast my eyes on the fan mount of the youngest
of the two, as she stood up in prayer time, I was really ashamed to
see _naked Cupids, and women almost so_, represented as sleeping under
trees, while dancing shepherds and piping fawns compleated the shameful
groupe. What a pity it is that any lady should seem to countenance
immodesty or indecency in the least degree, especially in the house of
God! Would it not have been much better for ladies to have no fans at
all, than to have such mounts to them, as, on beholding, tend only to
inflame the passions, and promote the loosest ideas?’
Evidently this protest bore good fruit, as, three months later, a
church-fan of chaste design appeared. This gives, in the centre, a
diagram of a good woman’s heart, divided, as a phrenological diagram
divides the brain, into the several virtues or attributes, as Charity,
Humility, Chastity and Honour, Virtue and Truth, etc. etc. Above
the heart appears a drapery inscribed, ‘The Address of a Scripture
Looking-glass to every Woman’—this consisting of the following texts:
Proverbs xxxi. 30; 1 Peter iii. 3; 1 Timothy iv. 8. At the two
extremities of the fan are scrolls with ‘a description of a good
woman,’ and a poem entitled ‘The Wish’—this latter being a prayer and
supplication to the Almighty to
‘Be the guardian of the virtuous fair,
Bless them with all things that they truly need,
And in Religion’s paths their footsteps lead.’
The whole design enclosed in a scroll with a rose and honeysuckle
filling the intervening spaces. Printed, as the Act directs, for J.
French, No. 17 Holborn Hill.
In May 1796 ‘the new church-fan’ appears, a much more pretentious
design, engraved in stipple, and ‘published with the Approbation of
the Lord Bishop of London.’ The Ten Commandments are given in the
centre, with the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed on either side; these are
alternated with medallions of angels, above which are prayers for the
king’s majesty and the royal family. At the extreme top of the fan is a
figure of the Holy Spirit with three cherubs, the whole being enclosed
within an elaborate border formed of royal crowns and Prince of Wales’s
feathers.
Mindful of the protest of the ‘Female Reformer’ in the _Lady’s
Magazine_, although perhaps somewhat belated (it will be remembered
that the ‘naked Cupids and ladies almost so’ were observed in a
_dissenting_ place of worship), the ‘_chapel_-fan’ appears, in July
of this same year, 1796, having in the centre a large medallion of
the resurrection of a pious family, after a picture by the Rev. W.
Peters, inscribed, ‘Glory to God in the Highest,’ and on either side
smaller medallions representing ‘St. Cecilia’ and ‘The Infant Samuel
at Prayer.’ The fan is further inscribed with a morning and evening
prayer and two hymns—‘The Example of Christ,’ and ‘On Retirement and
Meditation.’
A number of fans were from time to time issued with subjects from
Scripture history, doubtless for church use, as ‘The Birth of Esau and
Jacob,’ in which we have an illustration of Rebekah in bed, attended
by female servants; ‘Moses striking the Rock,’ _Published by M.
Gamble, according to the late Act_, 1740; ‘Paul Preaching at Athens,’
etc. These, however, are extremely weak productions, exhibiting none of
that sense of character distinguishing similar subjects treated by the
Staffordshire potter of this and a later period.
Mr. Thomas Osborne’s _Duck-Hunting_ records an event in the history
of a bookseller of Gray’s Inn Gate, Holborn, at his country-house at
Hampstead in 1754. A certain Captain Pratten, who had obtained some
notoriety through his very particular attentions to the wife of Mr.
Scarlett, an optician of Soho, ‘whose Microscope for viewing opake
objects is still in use,’ but who, apparently, did not possess any
microscope or optic glass through which he might view events which were
sufficiently transparent to every one but himself, had proposed to Mr.
Osborne that by way of house-warming he should ingratiate himself with
the families of Hampstead, ‘then a Watering-place and very gay,’ by
giving a public breakfast for the ladies and a duck-hunting for the
gentlemen.
On the morning of the 10th of September of the year in question the
company assembled, the broad panniered petticoats of the ladies making
a very brave array, and, the breakfast and duck-hunting proving so
successful, our waggish Captain, who had installed himself master of
the ceremonies, mindful, doubtless, of his own private and particular
duck-hunting, persuaded the vain and simple bookseller to prolong the
entertainment, first by a cold collation and other diversions, and
finally by a dance, in which the ‘younger part of the company tripped
on the light fantastic toe till bedtime.’
As a souvenir of the event, the gallant and resourceful Captain further
persuaded Mr. Osborne to have a fan engraved and presented to each of
the lady visitors.
[Illustration: Mr Thomas Osborne’s Duck Hunting,
Schreiber Coll^n., British Museum.
obverse & reverse.]
This is engraved on both sides; on the obverse, the duck-hunting,
with the Captain and his innamorata in the immediate foreground; on
the reverse, a general view of the house and grounds.[155]
Conversation- or speaking-fans are devices by which the different
motions of the fan are made to correspond with the letters of the
alphabet, a code being established by means of which a silent and
secret conversation is carried on.
Five signals are given, corresponding to the five divisions of the
alphabet, the different letters, omitting the J, being capable of
division into five, the movements 1 2 3 4 5 corresponding to each
letter in each division. 1. By moving the fan with left hand to right
arm. 2. The same movement, but with right hand to left arm. 3. Placing
against bosom. 4. Raising it to the mouth. 5. To forehead.
Example:—Suppose _Dear_ to be the word to be expressed. D belonging to
the first division, the fan must be moved to the right; then, as the
number underwritten is 4, the fan is raised to the mouth. E, belonging
to the same division, the fan is likewise moved to the right, and,
as the number underwritten is 5, the fan is lifted to the head and
so forth. The termination of each word is distinguished by a full
display of the fan, and as the whole directions with illustrations are
displayed on the fan, this language is more simple than at first sight
might appear.
The _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for 1740 prints the following effusion,
referring presumably to one of the earliest of these fans:—
‘A speaking fan! a very pretty thought;
The toy is sure to full perfection brought:
It is a noble, useful, great design,
May the projector’s genius ever shine!
The fair one now need never be alone!
A hardship sometimes on the sex is thrown;
For female notions are of that extent
Impossible, one I thought should give ‘em vent.
New schemes of dress, intrigue and play,
Want new expressions every day:
And doubly blest! must be that mortal man,
Who may converse with Sylvia and her Fan.’
‘The Original Fanology, or Ladies’ Conversation fan,’ was invented by
Charles Francis Badini, and published as the Act directs by Wm. Cock,
42 Pall Mall, Aug. 7, 1797.
‘The telegraph of Cupid in this fan,
Though you should find, suspect no wrong;
‘Tis but a simple and diverting plan
For Ladies to chit-chat and hold the tongue.’
A fanology fan, of different design but with the same directions,
invented by Badini, was published five months earlier (March 18) by
Robert Clarke, Fanmaker, No. 26 Strand, London.
The new conversation or tête-a-tête fan gives as a centre medallion
Venus robbing Cupid of his Bow, with inscribed compartments on both
sides, having reference to the Answer and Question of the Lady to the
Gentleman.
The language of the fan has already been referred to in an earlier
chapter, portions of the code being given. See Spanish fans, page 137.
Gypsy, fortune-telling and necromantic fans form a large class, and
were common during the latter part of the eighteenth century. As early,
however, as Aug. 3, 1734, a necromantic fan was advertised in the
_Craftsman_ as follows:—
‘By Eo, Meo, & Areo.
On Monday last was published
The Necromantick Fan; or, Magick Glass.
Being a new-invented Machine Fan, that by a
slight Touch unseen a Lady in the Fan changes her
Dressing-Glass according to the following Invitations:
If any one himself would see,
Pray send the Gentleman to me:
For in my Magick Glass I show
The Pedant, Poet, Cit, or Beau;
Likewise a Statesman wisely dull,
Whose plodding Head’s with Treaties full.
Etc.
Made and sold by EDWARD VAUGHAN,
Fanmaker, at the Golden Fan near the Chapel in
Russel Court, Drury Lane.’
A necromantic fan was issued by Gamble; ‘Dear Doctor consult the
Stars,’ representing an old necromancer being consulted by ladies.
‘Gypsy’ fans are invariably arranged according to a regular principle.
A medallion in the centre, of a Gypsy telling fortunes, the different
cards, together with their significance, arranged in four rows over
the general field of the fan, and at the top, or on the reverse, the
explanation, or directions for telling fortunes. The ‘Gypsy Fan’
conforms to this rule so far as the medallion is concerned: in lieu,
however, of the cards with their explanation we have a series of floral
festoons, borders, etc., painted by hand. The fan ‘made by Clarke and
Co., at their Warehouse, the King’s Arms, near Charing Cross, Strand,
London. Inventors of the much esteemed sliding Pocket Fan.’[156]
The ‘Oracle’ has in the centre a wheel of fortune with two winged
children on clouds, one of whom holds a scroll inscribed ‘Oracle.’ On
the sides of the fan the names of the ten greater gods and goddesses,
in ten columns, the names disposed differently in each. On the lower
part of the fan the ‘Explication’ of the Oracle, and ‘examples’
together with the questions, as—‘Whether one is to get Riches; Whether
one will be successful in Love; What sort of a Husband shall I have’;
etc. etc. On the reverse are heads of the gods and goddesses with their
attributes, with ten columns of inscriptions, each containing ten
answers to questions.
Pub. accord. to Act, Jany. 1, 1800, by Ino. Cock, I. P. Crowder & Co.,
No. 21 Wood Street, Cheapside, London.
The ‘Wheel of Fortune, by which may be known most things that can be
required,’ presents us with a variation of the foregoing. The wheel
occupies the centre of the fan, with four female heads representing—1.
Bath Gypsy. 2. Norwood Gypsy. 3. Corsican Gypsy. 4. York Gypsy. On the
one side of the fan, ‘Phisiognomy,’ with directions how to read it;
on the other, ‘Perilous Days,’ with a prognostication of the date and
manner of death of Napoleon, viz., by suffocation or drowning, at the
latter end of 1810 or beginning of 1812. J. Fleetwood, Sc., 48 Fetter
Lane.
An interesting class of fans is that illustrating popular and
fashionable resorts, entertainments, etc., as Bartholomew Fair, Bath,
Ranelagh, Vauxhall Gardens, the Crescent at Buxton, etc.
Henry Morley, in his interesting _Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair_,
has given us an amusing description of the fan sold in that annual
saturnalia, where Henry Fielding once had an interest.
‘Here are drolls, hornpipe-dancing, and showing of postures;
Plum-porridge, black pudding, and opening of oysters:
The tap-house guests swearing, and gallery folks squalling,
With salt-boxes solus, and mouth-pieces bawling;
Pimps, pick-pockets, strollers, fat landladies, sailors,
Bawds, baileys, jilts, jockies, thieves, tumblers, and taylors.
Here’s Punch’s whole game of the gun-powder plot, sir,
Wild beasts all alive, and pease porridge hot, sir;
Fine sausages fried, and the black on the wire;
The whole court of France, and nice pig at the fire;
The ups-and-downs, who’ll take a seat in the chair-o,
There are more ups and downs than at Bartleme Fair-o.’
G. A. STEVENS. 18th Cent.
The humours of the piece are mainly technical. Our Bartholomew artist,
having his own views of perspective, has carefully economised the
number of his figures and left out at discretion bodies or legs in the
treatment of which he was embarrassed. Thus the leg of a drinking-stall
serves also for the wooden leg of a bibulous person standing by. A man
with, apparently, but one arm, salutes, in a manner at once distant
and peculiar, an apple-woman, who lifts up her basket _by the apples
that are in it_. Our artist, finding that the fourth stall of his
machine ‘Ups and Downs’ would complicate his picture, has left it out
altogether, and with a view also to artistic effect, has denied legs
to the gentleman who is tasting his ale with so much relish, while the
hot sausages (for these curious figures of eight _are_ intended for
sausages) grow cold upon his plate.
Pie Corner, with its delicate pig and pork, is depicted, with Sir
Robert Walpole, orders and all, issuing from the shop.
The fan is engraved in mezzotint, the various subjects forming a very
excellent mosaic of pattern: it was re-engraved and published by J. F.
Setchel in 1829, and was accompanied by a description of the fair, in
which the date of 1721 was assigned to the original. This and other
inaccuracies being first pointed out by Henry Morley, who showed that
the Droll of the siege of Bethulia, containing the ancient history of
Judith and Holofernes, with the comical humours of Rustego and his man
Terrible, said to be performing in Lee and Harper’s Booth, was not
presented at that famous establishment until 1732.[157]
A version of the well-known print, after Canaletto, of the Rotunda,
garden, and buildings at Ranelagh is given on a fan in the Schreiber
collection, engraved by N. Parr, 1751.
A view of the Crescent at Buxton also appears enclosed in an oval
medallion, with the inscription, ‘Crescent, Buxton.’
The following advertisements relative to these subjects appeared in the
_Craftsman_:—
‘June 15, 1734.
‘Just Published. By Jonathan Pinchbeck, Fan Maker, etc.
(accurately delineated on a Fan Mount)
‘The Humours of New Tunbridge Wells; being a Draught of the House,
Gardens, Well, Walks, etc., with the different Airs, Gestures, and
Behaviour of the Company, and all other rural Entertainments of the
Place. Taken from the Life: by an eminent Hand.’
‘July 2, 1737.
‘_This day is Published_
‘The new Vaux Hall Fan; or the rural Harmony and delightful Pleasures
of Vaux-Hall Gardens; with the different Air, Altitude, and Decorum
of the Company that frequent that beautiful place; done to its utmost
Beauty and Perfection.
‘Whereon is shewn the Walks, the Orchestra, the grand Pavillion, and
the Organ, which far excels any Thing of the kind yet offer’d to the
Publick.
‘Sold at Pinchbeck’s Fan Warehouse, etc.
‘Where may be had, The Dumb Oracle; and the Royal Repository, or
Merlin’s Cave; and all sorts of Fans of the newest Fashion, wholesale
or retail.’
[Illustration: The Trial of Warren Hastings.
Mr. W. Burdett-Coutts. M.P.]
[Illustration: The Parades of Bath, 1737.
Mr. W. Burdett-Coutts. M.P.]
In the interesting fan, giving, within a large cartouche, a view of the
Parades, and Old Assembly Rooms at Bath, 1737, Beau Nash appears in
the foreground in lilac coat, with a white hat under his arm,[158]
addressing a bevy of fashionable ladies; at the sides are floral and
diapered ornaments in the Chinese taste.
The example illustrated, which is coloured with extreme care, was
acquired by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts at the Walker sale in 1882.
This is the mount referred to by Pinchbeck in his advertisement of
‘June 3, 1738.
‘This day is Published on a Fan Mount (Fit for the Second Mourning or
in colours) An accurate and lively Prospect of the celebrated Grove
at Bath, whereon the rural Pleasures and exact Decorum of the company
are curiously represented, with some cursory Observations on the
Behaviour of Sundry Persons, particularly the famous B. N.
‘Likewise the rural Harmony and delightful Pleasures of Vaux-Hall
Gardens. Also the Royal Repository, or Merlin’s Cave; being an exact
Emblem of that beautiful Structure erected by the late Queen in the
Royal Gardens at Richmond.
‘Sold wholesale or retail at Pinchbeck’s Fan Warehouse, etc., by Mr.
Crowbrow, at the India House on the Walks: and at Mr. Dalassol’s and
Mr. Weakstead’s Shops in the Grove at Bath.’
Two fans were published in June 1757 by G. Speren, giving a view of the
interior of the Pump-Room at Bath, and the Orange Grove, with obelisk,
garden, and buildings.
Lady Charlotte Schreiber quotes the following advertisement which
appeared in the _Craftsman_ during this year:—
‘This day is publish’d, by Jonathan Pinchbeck, Fan-maker, at the Fan
and Crown in New Road-Court in the Strand, and sold by him Wholesale
and Retail.
‘The Bath Medley; Being an accurate and curious Draught of the
Pump Room at Bath, and most of the known Company who frequent it,
adorn’d with the Portraitures of her Royal Highness the Princess
Amelia[159] and other illustrious personages who honour’d the Place
with their Presence the last Season; wherein the Topicks of Discourse
and Conversations of Companies are impartially consider’d; their
different Behaviours, Airs, Attitudes, etc., judiciously represented;
the Foppery of the Beaus hinted at, and the Intrigues of the famous
B— N— and others fully exploded. Taken from the Life, and finely
delineated in above fifty Hieroglyphical figures.
‘_N.B._—A spurious pyratical Copy of this Fan is lately publish’d,
which is not like the Place it should represent, and may easily be
discover’d from the Original by its having Pillars to support the
Musick Gallery, and in the Middle is wrote The Bath Medley.’
The first Pump-Room was opened in 1706, with all the éclat of a public
procession, and a musical fête, at which was sung a song specially
composed in honour of King Bladud, the father of Lear, and mythical
founder of Bath, recounting the story of his glorious deeds, and his
soaring ambition, which, Icarus-like, finally overreached itself.[160]
The sequel to the story is to be found in the following quotation in
Meehan, _Famous Houses of Bath_:—
‘Vex’d at the brutes alone possessing
What ought to be a common blessing:
He drove them thence in mighty wrath,
And built the stately town of Bath.
The Hogs, thus banished by the Prince,
Have liv’d in Bristol ever since!’
The Pump-Room illustrated on the fan was erected in 1732, and was,
together with the Assembly-rooms, really the creation of Beau Nash, who
persuaded one Thomas Harrison to build a room for dancing on the east
side of the Grove, with access to the bowling-green, which then became
known as Harrison’s Walks. To maintain his supremacy, Nash rented the
Pump-Room from the corporation, and put it under the charge of an
officer called the Pumper, and for a while induced Harrison to accept
three guineas a week for the Assembly-rooms and candles.[161]
The Grove was re-named the Orange Grove by this same worthy, who
erected the obelisk in the centre in commemoration of the visit of the
Prince of Orange who came to Bath for the benefit of his health.
IN MEMORIAM
SANITATIS
PRINCIPI AURIACO
AQUARUM THERMALIUM POTU
FAVENTE DEO
OVANTE BRITANNIA
FELICITER RESTITUTAE
M.DCC.XXXIV.[162]
The exterior of the Rotunda, house, gardens, etc., at Ranelagh, is
given on a fan mount in the Schreiber collection, this being a copy of
a print entitled ‘Vue de l’Extérieur de la Rotonde. Maison & Jardins,
etc., à Ranelagh. ‘Canaleti, delin.’ ‘N. Parr, sculpt.’ Published
according to Act of Parliament. December 2, 1751.’
Opera fans give plans of the boxes at the Opera, with names of the
occupants. An example in the Schreiber collection is inscribed: ‘New
Opera Fan for 1797. W. Cock. Publish’d as the Act Directs for the
Proprietor, by Permission of the Manager of the Opera House, 42 Pall
Mall.’
The following advertisement appeared in the _Times_ of January 1, 1788:—
‘THE OPERA FANS.
‘To the subscribers and frequenters of the King’s Theatre.
‘Last Saturday were published according to _Act of Parliament_. The
Delivery, however, was put off until the re-opening of the Opera
House next week, for the purpose of presenting them in the best state
of improvement.
‘These fans are calculated to present at one view both the number of
boxes including the additional ones, names of subscribers, etc., and
have been carefully compared with the plan of the House or kept at
the office, and will be sold only by the proprietor, Mrs. H. M., No.
81 Haymarket, where she will receive with respectful gratitude any
commands from the ladies and wait on them if required.’
A fan published on the same date, January 1, 1788, by Clarke and Co.,
appears in the Schreiber collection, and gives the plan of the King’s
Theatre for 1788; the centre box bears the names of the Duke and
Duchess of Cumberland and that of the Duke of York; the Prince of Wales
and Mrs. Fitzherbert being in box sixty-three on the right.[163]
Fans illustrative of the ‘tender passion’ naturally form a large class,
and may be divided into the following groups:—
1. Satirical and Amusing.
2. Pastoral, Social, and Fancy.
3. Subjects from Classic Mythology, as ‘The Marriage of Cupid and
Psyche,’ ‘The Theft of Cupid’s Bow,’ ‘The Offering of Love,’ etc.
Maps of the affections were common both in this country and on the
Continent, and are invariably designed on the principle of the Italian
fan, ‘Il Paese del Matrimonio,’ referred to page 269.
The following advertisement appeared in the _Craftsman_ for January 13,
1732-3:—
‘Daniel Chandler, Fan maker in the Strand over against Southampton
St., who invented and sold the Lilliputian Fans,[164] and Variety of
other pleasant Fans, is now provided with a Parcel of fashionable
Fans, neatly mounted, representing the map of Tender, which may
afford Entertainment both for Ladies and Gentlemen who are Tenderly
inclined, and disposed to be agreeably merry.
‘These fans and Mounts are likewise sold by Michael Burnet, Fan
maker, at the Hand and Fan, over against Friday St. in Cheapside.’
On the same date, Saturday, January 13, 1732-3, Pinchbeck announces the
‘Courting Fan Mounts.’
‘An Embleme of the Four different Stages of life finely delineated
in seven hieroglyphical Figures. Being a lively representation of
the Address of young Lovers, the Raptures of a new-married couple;
the reciprocal Harmony of Antient wedded companions; and the abject,
wretched state of an Old Maid. Illustrated with a Paraphrase, on each
cut, which serves as a Key to the whole.
‘_N.B._—At the abovesaid Place may be had all sorts of Fans and
Fan-mounts of the newest Fashion, and at the lowest prices, wholesale
or retail.’
On April 20, 1734, Pinchbeck advertises:
‘The Old Man’s Folly.—In this Fan is represented an old Miser, who at
the age of Fourscore had the Vanity to court a young lady of Twenty;
she despises his Addresses, and Cupid shoots Thunder at his Head:
in this Dilemma, Bacchus invites him to a Banquet at the Nectarius
Grove; whilst the Eye of Heaven shines propitious on the Raptures of
a youthful couple.
‘Where may be had
‘The abject, wretched state of an Old Maid, and divers other curious
Fans; the Designs taken from the best Masters.’
These two fans had been announced earlier by Pinchbeck on Jan. 15th of
the same year, as follows:—
‘Just Published.... The Amours of an Old Batchellor, or the Downfall
of Sir Limberham; likewise the four different Stages of Life; or the
abject, wretched State of an Old Maid. To each of these Fans are
prefix’d, Verses suitable to the Occasion, which explain the Design.’
M. Gamble, on August 11, 1739, advertises
‘A new Fan, wherein is delineated a Damsel bewailing the Loss of her
Lover, who is represented as cast away in a Storm.
‘Where may also be had, a Fan lately publish’d entitled The Sailor’s
Wedding, being made to the glorious and immortal Majesty of Queen
Elizabeth.’
‘Before and after Marriage’ gives expression to an idea which also
supplied a favourite _motif_ for English and especially Staffordshire
pottery. On a cream ware jug, with illustrations of courtship and
matrimony, we have the following couplets expressive of the two
contrasting conditions:—
‘In courtship Strephon careful hands his lass
Over a stile a child with ease might pass.’
* * * * *
‘But wedded, Strephon now neglects his dame,
Tumble or not, to him ‘tis all the same.’
The fan leaf, published in Paris, but also issued in England,
illustrates two scenes, in the former of which Cupid smiles
approvingly: in the latter, Cupid in the background is overwhelmed
with grief at this instance of Strephon’s indifference; above are
inscriptions in French and Spanish: ‘La Complaisance de l’Amant ou Huit
jours avant,’ and ‘L’indifférence du Mari ou Huit jours après.’ The
fan etched from drawings by William Williams, a name which suggests an
English origin of the idea.
[Illustration: A Trip to Gretna.
Schreiber Coll^n, British Museum.]
[Illustration: ‘Bartolozzi’ Fan.
Mrs Frank W. Gibson. (Eugènie Joachim.)]
A similar contrast is drawn in two fans published by J. Read, Feb. 20,
and Nov. 1, 1795, 133 Pall Mall: ‘The Good Swain’ gives three oval
medallions of ‘The Morning of Youth,’ ‘Mid-Day of Life,’ and ‘Chearful
Evening of Old Age,’ each subject being provided with four lines of
verse commencing with, ‘Unless with my Amanda blest.’
The ‘Good-for-nothing Swain’ gives ‘The Vow of Constancy,’ ‘The Hour
of Infidelity,’ and ‘Cupid’s Farewell,’ the verses commencing, ‘With
soothing Smiles he won my easy heart.’
Both fans bear the name of ‘G. Wilson,’ who appears on a number of fans
of this period both as designer, engraver, and publisher, and evidently
supplied designs, or stock, to other publishers.
Among the more successful humorous fans are those giving, in a series
of medallions along the border of the fan, ‘A selection of Beau’s,
Whimsical, Comical, and Eccentrical; or Candidates for the Ladies’
Favour’; and ‘The Ladies’ Bill of Fare, or a Copious Collection of
Beaux.’ The various kinds of lovers are each provided with a suitable
inscription above and below, as: ‘A Spark of some Conceit, Let me die
if I don’t believe she thinks of me Night and Day,’ ‘A Man of high
price, I am determined not to Marry any Woman under a Dutchess,’ etc.
‘The Merry Lover,’ and ‘I Live, Love, and Laugh,’ etc. In the centre of
the fans, underneath a flying Cupid, are verses in further elucidation
of the subject:
‘That simple thing—A woman’s Heart,
How oft ‘tis play’d upon;
What Beau’s oft cause its painful smart,
And triumph when they’ve done.’
‘Mark well our Motley Group above,
The little shun—the Honest love.’
and on ‘The Ladies’ Bill of Fare’:
‘To plague and please all womankind,
Here’s Gallants sure a plenty!—
Chuse then a Beau to suit your mind,
Or change ‘till one content ye.’
These fans are engraved in mixed line and stipple, the name ‘G. Wilson,
del^t.,’ appearing on the first mentioned, with ‘London, published
May 25, 1795, by I. Read, No. 133 Pall Mall.’ On the latter, ‘Published
as the Act directs by G. Wilson, 14 Feb. 1795, 108 St. Martin’s Lane.’
Other fans having reference to the affections, and issued by the same
publisher, are: ‘The Progress of Love’ in the five stages of ‘Cupid
Relieved’; ‘Amantha Rewarded’; ‘Pastime of Love’; ‘Altar of Hymen’;
‘Connubial Bliss’; ‘The Lady’s Adviser, Physician, and Moralist, or,
Half-an-Hour’s Entertainment at the Expense of Nobody!’ and ‘The Quiz
Club’—the latter giving twelve circular medallions of ridiculous
characters round the border of the fan, with suitable descriptions
underneath:
‘This young Spark is perfectly a man of Taste—dresses like a
gentleman—swears like a Nabob, and believes the Ladies think him a
clever fellow.’
* * * * *
‘This Man (wonderful man he should be called) is a learned Ass.
Speaks gramatically nice, looks very solemn, and expects y^e Ladies
to understand his consequence, happy are they who win his smiles.’
* * * * *
‘A fit Man for a closet—give this gentleman retirement, he requires
to bear Comp^y with none but invissibles—Gods, Goddesses, Genii,
Fauns, Sylphs, Naiads, Dryads, & y^e like.’
‘An unfit Man to be alone—one that his associates have nicknamed Bob
Drowsy, he can find no amusement but in his tongue, & if he is left
half an hour alone he falls asleep.’
In an oval medallion in the centre is the following:—
‘THE QUIZ CLUB.
Dedicated to all Beaus in Christendom.
By S. A., Professor of Physiognomy and Correction of the Heart.
Dear Madam, ask your loving Quiz
If here he ‘Spies his own Dear Phiz;
And if mark’d out some fault he find,
Like one or two which warp his mind,
Bid the defaulter hence amend
And be the Sexes honour’d friend.
‘Publish’d by Ashton & Co., No. 28 Little Britain, May 1st, 1797, &
Enter’d at Stationers’ Hall.’
Trips to Gretna were among the earliest results of the abolition of
Fleet marriages by Lord Hardwicke’s New Marriage Act of 1753, one of
the most famous of these clandestine marriages being that of Richard
Lovell Edgeworth ten years later. The fan illustrates, in six scenes,
the progress of a love match from the first meeting, to a marriage
at Gretna, and final forgiveness by the bride’s father—‘The First
Impression,’ ‘Mutual Declaration,’ ‘The Refusal,’ ‘The Flight,’ ‘The
Journey’s End,’ ‘The Reconciliation.’
This subject also formed a favourite _motif_ for the Staffordshire
potter of the period, who produced a number of groups characterised
by that quaint humour which appears to be native to him. It will be
observed that in the fan, as in the pottery figure groups, the popular
idea of the ‘blacksmith’ is perpetuated. This popular notion, however,
is thus disposed of by Jeaffreson, the historian of matrimony (_Brides
and Bridals_): ‘There is no evidence that any one of the Gretna Green
marriages was solemnised in a smithy, or that any one of the famous
Gretna Green ‘couplers’ ever followed the smith’s calling. One of these
so-called parsons had been a common soldier, another a tobacconist, a
third a pedlar, and all of them drunkards and cheats, but no one of
them ever shod a horse or wrought an iron bolt.’
The state of widowhood also supplies the _motif_ of a number of fans,
the subject usually taking the form of a woman in classical costume,
mourning over an altar, urn, or tomb; the central figure-subject
generally engraved in stipple, the landscape completed by hand. Several
examples are in the Schreiber collection, the most successful being
that signed ‘F. Burney, del.; H. Meyer, sculpt.’
In the third group, subjects from classic mythology, the prevailing
method or decorative scheme is that of an engraved medallion, large
or small, occupying the centre of the fan, to be enclosed in, or
incorporated with, an ornamental setting painted by hand; the character
and treatment of the subject representing that pretty, sentimental
quasi-classicism which set in about the middle of the century, and
which we associate with the names of Cipriani, Angelica Kauffmann, and
the engraver Bartolozzi. A characteristic example is the design by G.
B. Cipriani, R.A., of Orpheus and Eurydice emerging from Hades, their
way being lighted by the torch of Cupid. The medallion is engraved in
stipple, the field of the fan being completed by ornaments in black,
grey, pale blue, and silver.
A variation of this decorative scheme has three medallions with
arabesque ornamentation also engraved, the fan usually being sold
uncoloured but occasionally tinted; an example being ‘The Power of
Love’—a Cupid riding on the back of a lion, engraved by Bartolozzi
from the antique gem by Protarchos at Florence, with two smaller
medallions of Cupids. ‘Publish’d as the Act directs, March 1, 1780, by
A. Poggi.’[165]
An interesting fan in the Wyatt collection is printed on chicken skin,
with an almanac in Spanish, decorated with the signs of the Zodiac in
circles, and borders of fruit, flowers, etc., coloured and gilt. The
stick and guards of pierced and carved ivory, painted.
A class of fan popular both in France and England, during the middle
and latter half of the eighteenth century, has a medallion subject or
series of subjects superimposed upon a streamer of lace; this last
being carefully engraved and coloured, the subjects painted, often with
great elaboration. An excellent French example occurs in the Wyatt
collection, with a cartouche enclosing a battle-piece, flowers, and
insects introduced amongst the lace; the stick mother-of-pearl, gilt
and silvered, with ‘gold-fish’ inlay; the whole colour effect extremely
fine.
Printed fans were by no means confined to France and England, although
it is in these countries that the practice obtained most extensively;
fans were issued in Germany giving portraits of the Emperor Leopold II.
and his wife, Maria Louisa of Spain, and their family; of Frederick
II., who is represented as in Elysium, having just embarked from
Charon’s boat; of Frederick William III. and Queen Louise of Prussia,
and of Madame Royale, in allusion to her release in 1795 and her
subsequent arrival in Vienna. The famous engraver Chodowiecki also
produced several fans, prints of which occur in the Berlin Museum.
Two Italian examples may be referred to. The subject known as grotesque
animals was obviously executed as a central subject, the field of the
fan to be completed by hand. It is an extraordinarily skilful engraving
of a number of animals playing different antics. In the centre is a
monkey in cocked-hat and feather, extracting with a pair of forceps
a tooth from a fowl who is laying an egg the meanwhile. Sympathetic
birds are perched around, and a squirrel is in attendance with a glass
of refreshment on a tray. The design is made up of similar grotesque
incidents—as a dog with a pair of tongs over his shoulder, returning
from a rat-catching expedition; a porcupine reading a book with the aid
of a magnifying glass; a fox with two young foxes riding on the back of
a fish which is duly provided with a huge pair of spectacles, etc. etc.
The humours of the piece are too many to be described in detail. No
publisher’s or artist’s name appear. The extreme length is nine inches.
In the subject ‘Il Paese del Matrimonio,’ the centre of the fan is
occupied by a Cupid standing in a boat, saying: ‘Andiamo, chi viene al
paese del matrimonio,’ and ‘Venite, signorine, Ciascana delle vostre
madri falto prima di voi questo viaggio. La mia barca è della più
leggiere, se non vi condurre a buon porto non mi pagherete.’ On either
side are maps of two imaginary countries—Terra del celibato and Paesi
del matrimonio, with pictorial representations of the various places.
The former apparently is the country of tranquillity; on it are figured
the Tempio della pace, the Fontana della quiete, the Città dell’
independenza, the Paradiso terrestre.
The country of matrimony is approached by the Golfo del Rimprovero
which lies between the Capo della dissimulazione and the Rupe della
gelosia. In this country are discovered the Città d’isagiosa; the
Tempio della discordia, shown as falling to pieces with a volcano hard
by; the montagna dell’ infedeltà, from which springs a stream emptying
itself into the Lago dell’ indifferenza. On the farther side of this
country of unrest lies the Golfo della luna di miele.
Of the processes of engraved fans, the most usual is that of etching,
often finished (sweetened is the technical term) by means of the
graver or burin. Pure line-engraving is frequently employed, although
most line-engravers make use of the etched line as a foundation for
subsequent work with the burin. Etching is occasionally supplemented
by stipple-engraving and the free use of the roulette. Many fans
are painted in a brownish black ink with the flesh-tints in red; in
others several colours are introduced, thus anticipating the modern
process of coloured etching. This latter is practically a system of
painting upon the plate in colours, and can scarcely be considered as a
legitimate process, although the result in modern coloured etching is
often interesting, and in some instances even admirable. Aquatint was
also employed, especially during the earlier years of the nineteenth
century, on a number of fan leaves illustrating the Peninsular War.
Many of these were produced in London by Behrmann and Collman, for the
Spanish market, with inscriptions in Spanish. Portraits of the Duke of
Wellington were also popular.
After the introduction of lithography many fans were produced by means
of this process, invented by Aloys Senefelder of Munich about 1798; all
lithographed fans must therefore be of a subsequent date to this.
This process was employed as a groundwork for subsequent painting,
often carried to a high pitch of finish, so much so, that it is
difficult for any but a practical eye to detect the lithographic
foundation. Examples of these fans, which include a great variety of
subjects, appear in most collections.
[Illustration: DOUBLE HIDE FAN
(Taken from the King’s Palace at Benin, 1897. Horniman Museum, Forest
Hill.)]
Lithography has been employed during the whole of the nineteenth
century for the decoration of fans, and is largely in use at the
present time.