Xmas Treats 2014

XMAS TREATS:

MR SILVER'S LITTLE BOOK, & A HELPING OF GROUSE

It's December already? Sorry I haven't been able to post more entries to the blog this year: I've been dogged by a horrid recurring flu virus all winter. But Sandra's great contribution means you have been able to read about some of the interesting books from the collection of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia.

The RGSSA's recent exhibition "Out of Africa" was very successful, thanks to Heather B.'s hard work, showcasing works of travel and exploration and some fascinating old maps. However, checking the titles when it finished, I found that not all of the books had yet been catalogued online. So I hurriedly did them, and then Sandra, David B. and I had a go at some of the remaining books on Africa. (There's a lot of them! We've still got about 5,000 volumes of the non-Australian books to go.)

As always, the collection produced some unexpected delights, so here are a couple of little treats for Christmas!

MR SILVER'S LITTLE BOOK...

S.W. Silver & Co. was the firm owned by Stephen William Silver (1819-1905), the London businessman whose York Gate Library, a unique collection of works of geography, travel and exploration, many relating to the British colonies with which the company traded, is now owned by the RGSSA. By 1846 Silver had taken over his father's export and banking business, S.W. Silver & Co. With agents and correspondents throughout the world the company did much official and private business with the British colonies, including Australia. It also published handbooks and other information about the colonies for intending immigrants. This little bibliographic curiosity is one of them:

The Cape, Free State, and diamond fields : the Union Steam Ship Company's voyage. London : S.W. Silver & Co. : Hamilton, Adams, & Co., 1880. (S.W. Silver & Co.'s Colonial and Indian pocket book series and voyager's companion ; no. 1)

It's very cute, only 15 centimetres long, and it would fit in the pocket of your safari suit, quite easily! And as you see, it's got a flap which slips into a holder on the cover. Nifty!

    Technically speaking it's not a good book. It's almost impossible to find the real title, which is actually on the fifteenth page. There's a preliminary section, with its own title page (looking more like a series title page--however!). This is the "Historical diary...", with 12 pages of text.

Only after that do we get the real title page:

This is followed by an introduction and then a page stating "PART I. --THE BOOK." Turn over and here's the list of contents, which confusingly includes "Part II, Glossary of nautical and steam terms". Oops. Then we get the actual text, which has a caption title and a running title (at the top of each page), "The Cape pocket book". (How many titles is that?) That goes to page 78. Then a page states "PART II. GLOSSARY OF NAUTICAL TERMS." Turn over and the text starts with the caption title "Nautical and steam terms". Oh, just shoot me now! After that there are 23 largely blank, unnumbered pages which provide helpful headings and in some cases columns, allowing you to list your luggage and do your cash accounts and write down useful introductions and make a log of the voyage... As the text is all in very, very small print the intrepid 19th-century traveller would have had to have very good eyesight indeed!

    The tiny book comes with two pockets, one at the back, which in our copy is empty (maybe meant for your own notes?), and one in the front with a folded map in it:

"Season-chart of the world, with the differences east and west of Greenwich; & the approximate monthly rainfall of either hemisphere: showing also the chief ports and routes of commerce throughout the world. Constructed by W. Hughes, F.R.G.S. for S.W. Silver & Co.'s Colonial handbook series and revised to date. London, 1878."

...AND A HELPING OF GROUSE

Well, it's Christmas, grouse is appropriate (I think). A bird the bloodthirsty English start shooting on the Glorious 12th, isn't it? The RGSSA's collection is stuffed (culinary motif) with travel books by great white hunters. The author Parker Gillmore is a prize example.

Gillmore, Parker

The hunter's Arcadia. London : Chapman and Hall, Limited, 1886.

I've got a formula for cataloguing these books, so once I work out where the hunter travelled to (not easy: most of them don’t bother to say, and Africa's a large continent), I assign the appropriate subject headings, check for any interesting illustrations, hoping they're not all going to be of dead game, and that's it. I was about to dismiss Mr Parker's The Hunter's Arcadia as typical--well, I ask you! What a title!--when, desperately seeking enlightenment from the preface as to where he went, I happened across a mention of S.W. Silver & Co.!

"Messrs. Silver and Co., of Cornhill, can supply the wanderer with anything, and what is procured from this firm is sure to be excellent. Their portmanteaux, travelling bags, waterproof sheets and clothing cannot be too highly commended, while their gun-pads for reducing recoil are almost indispensable for firing such heavy charges as are now in vogue for killing large game. Fail not to have one of their revolvers. As far as natives are concerned they are not necessary, but there are some bastard descendants of Europeans knocking about, and this weapon is better than argument with such wild beasts. They (Messrs. Silver and Co.) can also supply the hunting-coat I always use, which will be found not only cool but capable of resisting thorns. Their explorer's room is always worthy of a visit, and the attentive and courteous employés of the firm thoroughly understand the use and appropriateness of each article. As your travelling is done by wagon you need not fear overloading yourself."

Jolly good show! Then I came across a charming illustration (no credit supplied for the illustrator, sadly). The accompanying text, which threw quite a new light on Mr Gillmore, tells us that he was out with a party of local people who were hunting birds and sighted some sand grouse, some of which they managed to catch by throwing their "kerries". Gillmore himself didn't take part and when offered some of the bag he refused, knowing that grouse need to be simmered for at least three hours to be palatable to a European. The hunters had been having him on: they just laughed. Clearly in the past he must have hunted grouse, but at this time he just observed them:

"To me, sand grouse occupy the same relative position towards birds that Kate Greenaway's or Caldecott's children do to the human family. They are, in very truth, regular little Dolly Vardens in perfection of outline, beauty and variety of plumage, and in grace and energy of movement, while their little feather-trowsered legs impart an air of modesty that is most piquante. Those folks that have crossed the Atlantic have doubtlessly heard "bees" spoken of by our cousins. Now there are several kinds of "bees" in America, such as quilting "bees," logging "bees", and husking "bees." The double-banded sand grouse has a "bee" of its own, which I will designate a courting "bee." About midday, in spring, these little pets will assemble, possibly to the number of a dozen, and dance the most extraordinary and intricate figures, in which all take a part. From the back of an ant-hill I have often watched them at this amusement. In it there is none of the poetry of the gliding waltz, but all the energy and go of the Scotch reel..."

Lovely, isn't it? It's typical of Gillmore's rather discursive style; it can be charming, but his refusal to pinpoint localities becomes very frustrating! It appears from the preface that this time he was in Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), having travelled there via South Africa. Unfortunately his books intersperse such descriptive passages with the typical hunter's litany of the game, big and small, he slaughtered, so don’t pick one up expecting it to be to modern tastes! --Well, yes, I would eat grouse, if offered, but I wouldn't march all over Africa killing antelopes and leopards and lions and whatever else was around: I can't really relate to a person who writes "I took my shot-gun and proceeded up the river in search of anything edible or curious." (p. [149])

I couldn't find a recipe for grouse or even pheasant in the RGSSA's antique Australian cookery book by Philip E. Muskett and Mrs Wicken (see the blog entry, "Happy Birthday Julia Child"), but just for a Christmas treat, here's Mrs Beeton's:

ROAST GROUSE.

    1025. INGREDIENTS.--Grouse, butter, a thick slice of toasted bread.

    Mode.--Let the birds hang as long as possible; pluck and draw them; wipe, but do not wash them, inside and out, and truss them without the head, the same as for a roast fowl. Many persons still continue to truss them with the head under the wing, but the former is now considered the most approved method. Put them down to a sharp clear fire; keep them well basted the whole of the time they are cooking, and serve them on a buttered toast, soaked in the dripping-pan, with a little melted butter poured over them, or with bread-sauce and gravy

    Time,--1/2 hour; if liked very thoroughly done, 35 minutes.

    Average cost, 2s. to 2s. 6d. the brace; but seldom bought.

    Sufficient,--2 for a dish.

    Seasonable from the 12th of August to the beginning of December.

Framed detail from Mrs Beeton's illustration of roast grouse

Before I sign off for 2014, I must express my appreciation to all who have contributed to the cataloguing project this year: especially Sandra, our "distance cataloguer", who's doubled our output, David B., who's not only contributed on the technical side, but willingly helped with the shelf-check (stocktaking, to non-librarians), hauled books down from upstairs, filled in instruction sheets for Sandra, and done photocopying, and George, who's also helped with the shelf-check, hauled down more piles of books from upstairs and done photocopying. (Getting the books may not sound like much but when I tell you it entails perching on a ladder in the top gallery, 3 storeys above the floor--!! I can't thank them enough, I get dizzy if I just look down.) Thanks also to all the reference desk staff who answered my frantic appeal for help with the re-shelving, and to Liz, who's been doing yet more photocopying for the project. And special thanks to Heather C. for her great work indexing the exciting "Gill scrapbook" (more on this next year), and for finishing the transcription of the historic letters.

That's it for 2014, dear blog readers. Thanks so much for your continued support: the stats have gone from just under 3,500 in December 2012 to over 15,000!

Wishing you all merry Christmas, happy Hanukah, happy holidays,

and all the very best for a peaceful and safe New Year.

--

This post was researched and created by Kathy Boyes 

Edward William Lane

Edward William Lane, An Unprejudiced Man

I'm expecting an exciting contribution to the blog from Sandra, our "distance" cataloguer, but meantime, here is a note for you on what's currently cataloguing at RGSSA:

Lane, Edward William, 1801-1876.

An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians: written in Egypt during the years 1833-1835.

The library holds 2 19th-century editions.

  

"Fellaheen"

We come across all sorts of hidden gems as Sandra, David B. and I work our way (slowly and painfully!) through the uncatalogued book collection, and it seems a pity not to share some of them with you, So here goes.

"Interior of a Mosque"

Edward William Lane was one of Britain's greatest Arabic scholars of the 19th century. One of his accomplishments was a translation of the Thousand and One Nights (the "Arabian Nights.") If he was working today, we might consider him to be not just a linguist but a social anthropologist. He was also an artist, having worked as a young man under his older brother, Richard, a London lithographer.

His first trip to Egypt in 1825-1828 resulted in a written work and a portfolio of drawings about contemporary Egyptian society, which he failed to get published. However, he went back to Egypt in 1833-1835 in order to flesh out the work. His approach was to immerse himself in the local lifestyle, wearing the native costumes and speaking Arabic.

"Washing Before or After a Meal"

His illustrated account is "a perfect picture of what Lane saw in Egypt in 1833-5. Even twenty-five years later, the people and their habits had in many ways altered more than in several preceding centuries. We can never reconstruct Egypt as Lane saw it, except by reading Lane's description." (Biographical notice, 1890 ed.)

  

"A Tattooed Girl"

All aspects of the Egyptians' daily life, manners, habits, customs, and costume are described in meticulous detail. Here is his description of the ancient (and apparently already vanishing) custom of perfuming the departing guest:

In the houses of the rich, it used to be a common custom to sprinkle the guest, before he rose to take his leave, with rose-water or orange-flower-water; and to perfume him with the smoke of some odoriferous substance; but of late years this practice has become unfrequent. The scent-bottle, which is called "kumkum," is of plain or gilt silver, or fine brass, or china, or glass; and has a cover pierced with a small hole. The perfuming-vessel, or "mibkhar'ah," is generally of one or the other of the metals above mentioned: the receptacle for the burning charcoal is lined, or half filled, with gypsum-plaster; and its cover is pierced with apertures for the emission of the smoke.

The mibkhar'ah is used last: it is presented by a servant to the visitor or master, who wafts the smoke towards his face, beard, etc., with his right hand. Sometimes it is opened, to emit the smoke more freely. The substance most commonly used in the mibkhar'ah is aloes-wood, or benzoin, or cascarilla-bark. The wood is moistened before it is placed upon the burning coals. Ambergris is also used for the same purpose; but very rarely, and only in the houses of persons of great wealth, as it is extremely costly. As soon as the visitor has been perfumed, he takes his leave; but he should not depart without previously asking permission to do so, and then giving the selám, which is returned to him, and paying other set compliments, to which there are appropriate replies. If he be a person of much higher rank than the master of the house, the latter not only rises, but also accompanies him to the top of the stairs, or to the door of the room, and then commends him to the care of God.

An Ood? What is an Ood? Or is it an Oud?

You may know this, if you're into "world music" (foul expression) or happen to own a painting of an "Oud with Gourds." If you don't, William Lane can certainly enlighten you. It's one of the musical instruments of the Arab world that he describes in great detail and illustrates in the picture below. We'd spell it "oud" today. Look up Google Images if you want 5 million photographs of ouds in glorious or in some cases smudgy digital colour.

The "ood" is a lute, which is played with a plectrum. This has been for many centuries the instrument most commonly used by the best Arab musicians, and is celebrated by numerous poets. Its name (the original signification of which is "wood"), with the article el prefixed to it, is the source whence are derived the terms liuto in Italian, luth in French, lute in English, etc. The length of the ood, as represented in the middle of the accompanying engraving, measuring from the button, or angle of the neck, is twenty-five inches and a half. The body of it is composed of fine deal, with edges, etc., of ebony: the neck of ebony, faced with box and an ebony edge. On the face of the body of the instrument, in which are one large and two small shemsehs of ebony, is glued a piece of fishes' skin, under that part of the chords to which the plectrum is applied, to prevent the wood from being worn away by the plectrum.

The instrument has seven double strings; two to each note. They are of lamb's gut. The order of these double chords is singular: the double chord of the lowest note is that which corresponds to the chord of the highest note in our violins, etc.: next in the scale above this is the fifth (that is, counting the former as the first): then the seventh, second, fourth, sixth, and third. The plectrum is a slip of a vulture's feather.

"A damsel with a dulcimer, in a vision once I saw..."

I always imagined the dulcimer in the poem to be rather like an oud (well, okay, rather like a lute), but according to Lane it's very like a "kánoon" and in his picture that looks like a zither, to me:

So what does he say about it? I'll spare you the enormous detail, but yes, this sounds like a zither: "The 'kánoon' is a kind of dulcimer. ... The kánoon is sometimes made entirely of walnut-wood, with the exception of some ornamental parts. ... In the central part of the face of instrument is a circular piece of wood ... pierced with holes ... The instrument is played with two plectra; one plectrum attached to the fore-finger of each hand ... [and] placed on the knees of the performer." Yeah, okay: zither-like. The ancient zither that we had at home when I was little, passed on by some family friend who didn't want it, was nothing short of cacophonous when twanged by us ignoramuses, but I'm glad to know that Lane felt quite differently: "Under the hands of a skilful player, the kánoon pleases me more than any other Egyptian instrument without an accompaniment". Goodoh!

Many points that Lane describes would have been considered odd or even grotesque by his English contemporaries, but Lane, although sometimes pointing out these features as unusual, is completely unprejudiced, as his biographer recognised, writing that the book "bears the stamp of a character singularly open to the realisation of the genius of a different race from his own". (Biographical notice, 1890 ed.)

Here, in his observations on the wearing of nose rings, we see the typical Lane: not shutting his eyes to the fact that his European contemporaries may judge the phenomenon as grotesque, but nonetheless describing it in a merely factual way:

The "khizám," or nose-ring, commonly called "khuzám," is worn by a few of the women of the lower orders in Cairo, and by many of those in the country towns and villages both of Upper and Lower Egypt. It is most commonly made of brass; is from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter; and has usually three or more coloured glass beads, generally red and blue, attached to it. It is almost always passed through the right ala of the nose; and hangs partly before the mouth; so that the wearer is obliged to hold it up with one hand when she puts anything into her mouth. It is sometimes of gold. This ornament is as ancient as the time of the patriarch Abraham;[1] and is mentioned by Isaiah[2] and by Ezekiel.[3] To those who are unaccustomed to the sight of it, the nose-ring is certainly the reverse of an ornament.

1 See Genesis xxiv. 47, where in our common version, "ear-ring" is improperly put for "nose-ring."

2 Chap. iii. ver. 21.

3 Chap. xvi. ver. 12. Here, again, a mistake is made in our common version, but corrected in the margin.

Don't panic, the text is not spattered with footnotes! He includes them rarely, when he deems them necessary, but the work is itself a primary source. The illustrations, based on his own drawings, are also invaluable witnesses to the lifestyle of the people of Egypt (largely Muslim Arabs, but also Copts and Jews) in the first third of the 19th century.

Studies of ancient Egypt were already in favour and as the century progressed more and more European travellers visited Egypt's great tourist attractions, but Lane takes quite a different approach, seeing the people of modern Egypt in their own right, not merely as periphery to a tour of the ancient sites.

--

This post was researched and created by Kathy Boyes 

April: Notable Dates & Books - Drake, Hakluyt, Culloden

APRIL: NOTABLE DATES & BOOKS

The month of April is famous in world history for the sinking of the Titanic, and even more famous in the Antipodes for Anzac Day, April 25. However, so much has been written about these two events that I shan't add my mite.

April also has other notable dates In history, and the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia holds some remarkable books which relate to them, so let's look at a couple of them instead.

APRIL 4: KNIGHTING OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE

On April 4, 1581 Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I for completing his circumnavigation of the world. (He had got back to England in September of the previous year. I always imagine him using part of his rather ill-gotten gains to buy something splendid to wear at Court!) 

The picture is from Wikipedia: Portrait miniature by Nicholas Hilliard, 1581, reverse of "Drake Jewel", inscribed Aetatis suae 42, An(n)o D(omi)ni 1581 ("42 years of his age, 1581 AD")

There are many references to Drake in the RGSSA's accounts of early voyages. These are some of our rarer books:

Drake, Francis, Sir, -1637, and Fletcher, Francis, active 16th century

The world encompassed by Sir Francis Drake. Offered now at last to publique view, both for the honour of the actor, but especially for the stirring up of heroicke spirits, to benefit their countrey, and eternized their names by like noble attempts / Collected out of the notes of Master Francis Fletcher preacher in this imployment, and compared with divers other notes that went in the same voyage. Printed at London for Nicholas Bourne, 1652

This compilation recounting Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the world is the work of his nephew, also a Sir Francis Drake. The first edition was published in 1628.

The RGSSA is lucky enough to hold 2 editions of Richard Hakluyt's Principal navigations. This important work of 16th-century scholarship chronicles the great English journeys of discovery and in particular is a prime source of contemporary information about the 16th-century English voyages.

First Contents Page for Part 3

Hakluyt, Richard, 1552?-1616.

The principall navigations, voiages and discoveries of the English nation, made by sea or over land, : to the most remote and farthest  distant quarters of the earth at any time within the  compasse of these 1500 yeeres: divided into three  severall parts, according to the positions of the  regions whevunto they were directed ... Whereunto is added the last most renowmed English navigation, round about the whole globe of the earth / By Richard Hakluyt. Imprinted at London by George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, Deputies to Christopher Barker, 1589.

The picture below shows the end paper and flyleaf of this 1589 edition. This copy is not included in the catalogue of the York Gate Library, so it is one of the many volumes William Silver acquired after the catalogue was published in 1886. It bears 2 bookplates. One is the small rectangular bookplate of William Silver's York Gate Library. The other is the bookplate of Reginald Cholmondeley, Condover Hall. It is presumably his signature, opposite. This owner would have preceded Silver, though we do not know when.

Our other early edition of the Principal navigations was published a few years later:

Hakluyt, Richard, 1552?-1616.

The principal nauigations, voyages, traffiques and discoueries of the English nation : made by sea or ouerland, to the remote and  farthest distant quarters of the earth, at any time within the compasse of these 1600 yeres, diuided into three seuerall volumes, according to the positions of  the regions, whereunto they were directed / by Richard Hakluyt .... Imprinted at London by George Bishop, Ralph Newberie, and Robert Barker, anno 1599-1600.

Richard Hakluyt, whose name is commemorated in that of the Hakluyt Society, was an Elizabethan scholar and historian. His histories of worldwide navigation and exploration together with supporting documents were the most significant and influential compilations of the period.

Second contents page for Part 3

Hakluyt's great work covers Sir Francis Drake as well as a host of other explorers. They include, in Part 1: Laurence Aldersey, Robert Baker, John Eldred, John Evesham, George Fenner, Robert Gaynsh, Zacheus Hellier, William Huddie, Anthonie Ingram, John Newberie & Ralph Fitche, Thomas Steevens (Stephens), William Towerson, Edward Wilkinson, Thomas Windam; in Part 2: Thomas Alcocke, George Wrenne & Richard Cheiny, Thomas Banister & Geoffrey Ducket, Christopher Burrough, Steven Burrough, William Burrough, Richard Chanceler, Arthur Edwards, John Sparke, Laurence Chapman, Christopher Fawcet & Richard Pingle, Jerom Horsey, Anthony Jenkinson, Richard Johnson, Alexander Kytchin & Arthur Edwardes, Arthur Pet & Charles Jackman, Thomas Southam & John Sparke, Sir Hugh Willoughbie; in Part 3: Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlow (Barlowe), Roger Bodenham, Thomas Candish (Cavendish), John Chilton, John Davis (Northwest Passage), ship "Dominus Vobiscum" & another, Sir Francis Drake, John Drake, Edward Fenton & Luke Ward, Sir Martin Frobisher, Sir Humfrie Gilbert, Sir Richard Greenvile (Grenville), Christopher Hare, Sir John Hawkins, William Hawkins, Master Hore (et. al.), David Ingram, William Michelson & William Mace, John Oxnam, Sir Thomas Pert & Sebastian Cabot (plus an earlier voyage by Cabot), RIchard Pope; Edward Stafford & John White; Robert Tomson; Virginia voyage (Roanoke Colony), leader unnamed, sent by Sir Walter Raleigh; Robert Withrington & Christopher Lister. (Original spelling of names retained, but i, u & v normalised to modern usage.)

Drake's fame continued unabated throughout the following centuries. The edition below is an 18th-century republication of an earlier title:

R. B., 1632?-1725?

The English hero, or, Sir Francis Drake reviv'd : being a full account of the dangerous voyages, admirable adventures, notable discoveries, and magnanimous atchievements of that valiant and renowned commander. I. His voyage in 1572, to Nombre de Dios in the West-Indies, where they saw a pile of bars of silver near 70 foot long, 10 foot broad, and 12 foot high, II. His incompassing the whole world in 1577, which he perform'd in two years and ten months, gaining a vast quantity of gold and silver, III. His voyage into America in 1585, and taking the towns of St. Jago, St. Domingo, Carthagena and St. Augustine, IV. His last voyage into those countries in 1595, with the manner of his death and burial. Recommended to the imitation of all heroick spirits. / Inlarged and reduced into chapters with contents by R.B. Thirteenth ed. [London] : Printed for C. Hitch and J. Hodges, 1739

This 13th edition of The English hero is also held by the U.S. Library of Congress, which holds earlier editions as well. Its records attribute the work to the "R.B." who lived around 1632 to 1725, and according to the Library of Congress was actually the London publisher, printer, and bookseller Nathaniel Crouch. He used his own name in the printing and bookselling trade and wrote books under the pseudonym R.B., or Richard Burton; these were sometimes attributed after his death to Robert Burton, also. The work was first published under this title in 1687 and "is based upon the Sir Francis Drake revived of 1653, with additional material." (H.P. Kraus. Sir Francis Drake; a pictorial biography, 1970, p. 210, no. 45, cited in Library of Congress LCCN 03013281)

Looking for more early works on Sir Francis Drake? See The Kraus Collection of Sir Francis Drake at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/collrbc.rb000009 This collection of scanned early texts from the Library of Congress includes important primary and secondary materials accumulated about Drake’s voyages throughout the then Spanish territory of the Americas. Texts are variously in English, Latin, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish or French.

And on the same day, April 4:

Tragedy: on that day in 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated;

And triumph: 1983 saw the Space Shuttle Challenger make its maiden voyage into space on 4th April.

April 16: The Battle of Culloden

  

On April 16, 1746, the Battle of Culloden took place. It was "the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising." The Jacobites under Bonnie Prince Charlie (Prince Charles Edward Stuart) fought loyalist troops commanded by the Duke of Cumberland in the Scottish Highlands. "The Hanoverian victory at Culloden decisively halted the Jacobite intent to overthrow the House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the British throne; Charles Stuart never mounted any further attempts to challenge Hanoverian power in Great Britain." ("Battle of Culloden". Wikipedia)

The RGSSA holds the following unusual volume by an officer who was with he Bonnie Prince at Culloden:

O’Sullivan, John, 1700-

1745 and after / [compiled] by Alistair Tayler and Henrietta Tayler : London Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., [1938]

The work consists  of a narrative and letters by O'Sullivan. The foreword by H. Tayler tells us: "This most interesting MS., entirely in the handwriting of O'Sullivan (found among the Stuart Papers at Windsor), is bound in a slim volume and lies among the Warrant books, etc., which form part of the Collection brought to England after various vicissitudes following on the death of Cardinal York, the last of the actual Stuart line, in 1807. These Papers were purchased on behalf of the British Government, and the full story of the negotiations and subsequent adventures of this precious deposit will be given elsewhere... It throws a good deal of light on the daily incidents of the Prince's campaign of 1745 and his wanderings, as well as on the last despairing effort of the Jacobite cause, which was finally extinguished by Hawke's victory at Quiberon Bay, 20th November 1759. The MS. is here printed by the gracious permission of His Majesty."

Sir John O'Sullivan was a Colonel in the French military, born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1700. Intended for the priesthood, he was educated at Paris and Rome. On his father's sudden death he returned to Ireland. The Irish Penal Laws presented him with no choice but to forfeit his parental estate, as he would not renounce his adherence to the Catholic faith. He returned to France and joined the army. In 1739 he assisted Marshal Maillebois in a military action in Corsica that resulted in great suppression of liberty. O'Sullivan's service in Corsica, Italy and the Rhine campaign earned him the reputation as an able captain in guerrilla warfare. This led to his appointment as Adjutant and Quartermaster-General to the exiled Prince Charles Edward Stuart in France, "The Young Pretender" or "Bonnie Prince Charlie."

    In 1745 O'Sullivan accompanied the Prince to Scotland. Considered loyal, and trusted implicitly, he was by Charles' side from the outset of the disastrous voyage from France that left the Prince without ships, men and ammunition. It is said that after the defeat at Culloden, John O'Sullivan was largely responsible for the Prince's escape from Scotland in October 1746. The Bonnie Prince's flight of course became legendary and is commemorated in popular folk songs, including The Skye Boat Song (lyrics 1884). O'Sullivan was knighted by the Prince's father, The Old Pretender, James, in 1747. The date of his death is not known.

    (Source: Compendium of Irish Biography, 1878. Thanks to Sandra Thompson for sourcing this biographical information)

Strange but true: The Culloden connection is the only thing that can explain the continuing Scottish references for April 16 in the cookery calendars over 40-odd years of the early 20th century! 365 foreign dishes: a foreign dish for every day in the year is an American cookbook, published in Philadelphia in 1908 (not held by RGSSA but find it on Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10011). It offers the following for April 16:

Scotch Loaf Cake

Mix 1/2 pound of butter with 1/4 pound of sugar, 1/2 cup of chopped nuts and 1/2 cup of shredded citron; then work in 1 pound of sifted flour with 2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Make a loaf a half inch thick and bake in a moderate oven until done.

Then, circa 1951, in the Calendar of Cakes, published by the South Australian Country Women's Association, we find an Australian recipe for April 16, "Scotch Crispies." (They look like a fancier version of Anzac biscuits to me--nevertheless!) And about the same year, or perhaps 1952, in the South Australian CWA's Calendar of Puddings, we find "Free Kirk Pudding" for April 16. It’s very economical. No eggs. Scots wha hae.

No, the culinary touch isn't an April Fool, but you'll find the much less serious blog on Poissons d'avril posted 1st April, 2012 Australian Central Time, i.e. 31 March 2012 blog-time (don't ask):

http://rgssamachupicchu.blogspot.com.au/2012_03_01_archive.html 

  

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This post was researched and created by Kathy Boyes