Thursday, July 4, 2024

19th Century - Celebrating The Declaration of Independence

1800- In New York, the first local advertisements for fireworks appear and at the Mount Vernon Garden there a display of "a model of Mount Vernon, 20 feet long by 24 feet high, illuminated by several hundred lamps" is presented; Henry Clay gives an oration at the Lexington, Kentucky, Court House.

This chronology offers a glimpse at how the 4th of July was celebrated in good times and bad in 19th-century America.  Some of these outdoor celebrations turned into unexpected calamities. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail,  “I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival...It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.”

1801- In Boston, the frigates U.S.S. Constitution and U.S.S. Boston and the French corvette Berceau fire artillery salutes.

1804- The first Fourth of July celebration west of the Mississippi occurs at Independence Creek and is celebrated by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

1806- Two Revolutionary officers march in a parade in Bennington, Vt.

1807- In Washington, DC, the eagle which crowns the gate of the Navy Yard in Washington City is unveiled to the sound of a federal salute and music.

 1809 In New Haven, Conn., the citizens there have a "plowing match."

John Lewis Krimmel (German-born American artist, 1786-1821) Fourth of July in Centre Square Philadelphia, 1812

1814- The Fourth is celebrated in Honolulu, Hawaii, with a dinner, and artillery salutes are fired from ships in the harbor there.

1815- In New York, officers from the French frigate Hermione sit on reviewing stands in front of City Hall in order to review parading troops

1817- Near Rome, New York, a ground breaking ceremony occurs for the construction of the Erie Canal.

1818- At Fell's Point in Baltimore, the steamboat United States is launched from the shipyard of Flannigan and Beachem.

1819- An early and rare example of an Independence Day oration presented (to a group of women) by a woman ("Mrs. Mead") occurs on July 3 at Mossy Spring in Kentucky.

John Lewis Krimmel (German-born American artist, 1786-1821) 4th of July 1819 in Philadelphia 

1820- Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins attends ceremonies in New York and the Constellation is decorated with numerous national and foreign flags in New York harbor; Signer Charles Carroll of Carrollton attends the celebration at Howard's Park in Baltimore with his copy of the Declaration of Independence in hand.

1822- At Mount Vernon, Judge Bushrod Washington announces that he will no longer allow "Steam-boat parties" and "eating, drinking, and dancing parties" on the grounds there; in Saratoga County, New York, 5000 citizens and 52 soldiers of the Revolution assemble there to celebrate the Fourth on the field where Gen. Burgoyne surrendered (October 17, 1777).

1823- An elaborate ceremony takes place at Mount Vernon with Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins in attendance.

1824- in Poultney, Vermont, 200 men celebrate the day by repairing a road, after which the "ladies of the neighborhood" serve them a "plenteons repast"; Fort Atkinson (Nebraska) celebrates the Fourth of July with artillery salutes, a military parade, and a dinner replete with toasts and music.

1825- President John Q. Adams marches to the Capitol from the White House in a parade that includes a stage mounted on wheels, representing 24 states; in Brooklyn, New York, the cornerstone for the Apprentices' Library is laid and Lafayette is in attendance.

1826- 50th anniversary ( referred to as the "Jubilee of Freedom" event) in Providence, R.I., four men who participated in the capture of the British armed schooner Gaspeduring the Revolutionary War ride in a parade; in Arlington, Va., Washington's tent, the same which the General used at the heights of Dorchester in 1775, is erected near the banks of the Potomac and is used for a celebration.

1827-  the Ohio Canal opens in Cleveland with Governor Allen Trimble arriving there on the first boat, State of Ohio.

1828- Charles Carroll, last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, participates in a Baltimore celebration and assists in the laying of the "first stone" of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; the frigate Constitution arrives at Boston returning from a cruise and fires "a salute in honor of the day"; the ground-breaking ceremony of the C & O Canal, north of Georgetown, takes place with President John Quincy Adams officiating.

1829- the embankments at the summit of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal are opened and water fills the canal, with large crowds and the Mayor of Philadelphia Benjamin W. Richards in attendance; in Cincinnati, an illuminated balloon, 15 feet in diameter, is sent aloft.

1831- in Alexandria, Va., a ground breaking ceremony for the Alexandria branch of the C&O Canal occurs, with G.W.P. Custis and town mayor John Roberts providing the speeches; in Georgetown, a " beautiful new packet boat, called the George Washington," commences her first run on the C&O Canal; in Charleston, S.C., citizens march in a parade carrying banners "on which were inscribed the names of battles fought in the Revolution, and in the late War"

1832- in Washington, Henry Clay attends the National Republican Celebration that's held on the bank of the Potomac River.

1834 Looking south on Broadway from the corner of Cortlandt Street, 1834. Harper’s Weekly. 

 Celebrations of the Fourth of July in New York City included street vendors selling all sorts of food & spirits. Branded a "highly improper" social evil, the Fourth of July booths were accused of corrupting the nation's holiday with "disgusting scenes of vulgarity, profanity, rioting, and drunkenness" (Commercial Advertiser, June 11, 1827). "Our wives and children, who might else ramble through [the booths], in the enjoyment of innocent mirth and healthful pastime, are shut out by whiskey kegs and cider barrels, rum sellers and rum drinkers, until the grass plats which adorn the Park are strewed with drunken men and women, and its paths thronged with reeling sots. And all of this on the Fourth of July—our national jubilee!" (Commercial Advertiser, June 27, 1840).

1837 Cartoon of a 4th of July celebration

1838- In Providence, Rhode Island, 29 veterans of the revolution take part in the procession there.

1839- In Hagerstown, Md., the only 2 surviving soldiers of the Revolutionary War there ride in a carriage pulled by white horses; in the New York harbor, 1000 ships converge, "all gaily dressed in honor of the day"; at Norfolk, an elephant "attached to the menagerie" there swims across the harbor from Town Point to the Portsmouth side and back.

1840-  in Providence, R.I., a "Clam Bake" is held and 220 bushes of clams are eaten; Oshkosh, Wisconsin, celebrates its first Fourth of July

1841- In New York, the steamship Fulton is anchored off the Battery and displays fireworks and "glittering lamps" in honor of the day.

1842- In New York harbor, the U.S. North Carolina, the frigate Columbia, and the English frigate Warspite exchange artillery salutes, and in the harbor as well, Sam Colt's "sub-marine experiment" for blowing up enemy ships is tested successfully; in Washington, D.C., the "Grand Total Abstinence Celebration," made up of several temperance societies, takes place there;

1843- The beginning of the annual tradition of lighting the Spring Park with candles in the Moravian community of Lititz, Pa.

1844- In Charleston, S.C., the faculty and trustees of Charleston College march in a city-wide "Festival of the Teachers and Scholars" parade; "Liberty Pole Raisings" and flag raisings in support of the Whigs political party take place in Louisville, Ky., Wheeling and Harper's Ferry, W.V., and Montrose, Pa.

1845- in Nashville, Tennessee, the corner-stone of the State House is laid.

1848- In Washington, the laying of the cornerstone of the Washington Monument takes place with the President of the United States, Dolley Madison, and other persons of distinction in attendance;

1850- The laying of a block of marble by the "Corporation" in the Washington Monument in the District of Columbia takes place.

1851- In Washington, President Fillmore assists in the laying of the "cornerstone of the new Capitol edifice" while Daniel Webster gives his last Fourth of July oration there; Greenville, S.C., holds an anti- secession celebration with 4,000 persons in attendance.

1853-  Williamsburg, Va., fires off a national salute of 32 guns by Captain Taft's Company of Light Artillery;  in Providence, R.I., the original carriage used by George Washington when he was in Providence is used in a parade there;  In Cowlitz, Washington, a liberty pole is raised and the crowd there is addressed in French by "Dr. Pasquirer" who reminds them to thank "Lafayette for aid in our struggle for independence."

1854- Henry David Thoreau gives a "Slavery in Massachusetts" oration at Framingham Grove, near Boston; in Farmingham, Mass., 600 abolitionists meet and watch William Lloyd Garrison burn printings of the Constitution of the U.S. and Fugitive Slave Law, "amid applause and cries of shame";

1855-  Lawrence, Kansas, holds one of the largest outdoor celebrations in that part of the country, with a crowd of over 1,500 persons.

1856- The "inauguration" of an equestrian statue (29 feet high) made by Henry K. Brown of George Washington is dedicated in New York;

1857-  near Lexington, Kentucky, a corner stone of a national monument to the memory of Henry Clay is laid.

1858- Illinois Central Railroad workers attempt to launch a "monster balloon" called the "Spirit of '76" in Chicago; in Brooklyn, N.Y., the corner-stone of the Armory is laid;  Jefferson Davis gives a 4th of July speech on board a steamer bound from Baltimore to Boston and declares "this great country will continue united."

1859- Denver celebrates its First Fourth of July at a grove near the mouth of Cherry Creek. Dr. Fox read the Declaration of Independence, Jas. R. Shaffer delivered the orations, and music was provided by the Council Bluffs Band.

Alfred Cornelius Howland (American painter, 1838-1909) Fourth of July Parade

1861- An artillery salute of 15 guns is fired at Camp Jackson near Pigs Point, Va., in honor of the Southern States that have declared and are declaring their independence; in Baltimore, the citizens there present a "splendid silk national flag, regimental size," to the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment; in Washington, D.C., 29 New York regiments are reviewed by the President at the White House; Gov. John A. Andrew of Massachusetts celebrates the 4th with the 1st Massachusetts Regiment at Camp Banks near Georgetown, D.C.

1862- A pyrotechnic depiction of the battle between the Monitor and Merrimac takes place in New York.

1863- In Concord, N.H., former president Franklin Pierce addresses 25,000 persons at the "Democratic Mass Meeting" held there; in Buffalo, N.Y., 17 veterans of the War of 1812 march in a parade there; at Annapolis, a "flag of truce" boat filled with Secessionist women from Philadelphia and elsewhere leaves on July 3rd and travels south.

 May 15, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Agricultural Act that established the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

1865- One of the first "Freedmen" celebrations occurs, in Raleigh, N.C.; Lincoln's "Emanicipation Proclamation" is publicly read in Warren, Ohio, and Belpassi, Oregon; the National Monument Association lays the cornerstone of the Soldier's Monument in Gettysburg; in Boston, a statue of Horace Mann is "inaugurated"; the celebration by the Colored People's Educational Monument Association in memory of Abraham Lincoln occurs in Washington, D.C.in Albany, N.Y., 100 "tattered" Civil War battle flags are presented to the state and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant is in attendance;  Union General William Tecumseh Sherman participates in a 4th of July civic celebration in Louisville, Ky., and witnesses a balloon ascension there; in Hopewell, New Jersey, a monument to the memory of John Hart, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, is dedicated and New Jersey Governor Joel Parker delivers an oration; Helena, Montana celebrates its first Fourth of July, at Owyece Park, with an oration by George M. Pinney.

1866- General George G. Meade watches 10,000 war veterans parade in Philadelphia;

1867- The cornerstone of the new Tammany Hall is laid in New York while the cornerstone for a monument to George Washington is laid at Washington's Rock, N.J.; the Illinois State Association celebrates on the grounds of the Civil War battle field at Bull Run in Virginia;

1868 Winslow Homer wood engraving featured in Harper's Weekly titled, Fire-Works On the Night of the Fourth of July.

1868- in Richmond, some black "societies" parade, "but there is no public celebration by the whites."

1869- A monument dedicated to George Washington is unveiled in Philadelphia; in New York, 350 Cuban "patriot" residents parade "to evoke sympathy for the Cuban revolutionary cause"; blacks celebrate the Fourth on July 3rd in Columbia, S.C.; the Declaration of Independence is read in English and German at a public celebration at Diamond Square in Pittsburgh.

1870- President Ulysses S. Grant participates in Fourth of July opening exercises in Woodstock, Conn.

1871 4th of July parade on North Main Street Los Angeles

1871- The New Saenger Hall is dedicated in Toledo, Ohio;  the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence on the grounds of Mount Vernon takes place, the reader is John Carroll Brent, a member of D.C.'s Oldest Inhabitants Association.

1872- A monument representing an infantry soldier of the Civil War is unveiled in White Plains, N.Y.; Richmond, Va., publicly celebrates the Fourth, the first time in 12 years.

1873- In Philadelphia, the transfer of Fairmount Park for use by the Centennial Commission in preparation for the International Exhibition and Centennial Celebration in 1876 takes place;  in Buffalo, N.Y., a "large delegation" of native Americans and Canadians attend a ceremony there.

Fourth of July celebration, Snohomish, Washington, c 1874

1874- In Saybrook, Conn., the Thomas C. Acton Library is dedicated;  in Lancaster, Pa., the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Penn Square is dedicated; Modesto, California, holds its first Fourth of July celebration and music was provided by the Modesto Brass Band.

1875- In Augusta, Georgia, the white military celebrates the Fourth, the first time in that town since the Civil War; on the Centennial Grounds in Philadelphia, the Order of B'nai B'rith hold "exercises" incident to the breaking of the ground for their proposed statue to religious liberty; at Atoka, "Indian Territory," a celebration of the Fourth by Native Americans takes place with 3,000 persons participating.

1 Grand Army of the Republic in Parade

1876- Centennial celebrations (many are three-day celebrations, 3-5 July) occur throughout the United States and abroad; in Philadelphia at Fairmount Park, two separate celebrations include the German societies unveiling a statue of Baron Alexander von Humboldt; in Philadelphia as well, General Sherman reviews the troops as they parade;  the long-standing tradition of Navy vessels participating in July 4th celebrations in Bristol, R.I., begins with the presence there of the U.S. sloop Juniata; in Washington, 300 artillery blasts are fired, 100 at sunrise, 100 at noon, 100 at sunset; in Richmond, Va., the U.S. and Virginia flags are raised on the Capitol for the first time on the Fourth in 16 years;  in New Orleans, Louisiana, the monitor Canonicus fires a salute from the Mississippi River; in Joliet, in Quincy, Illinois, the cornerstone of the new Court House is laid; in San Francisco, a mock engagement with the iron-clad Monitor occurs and there is a parade there that is over 4 miles long, with 10,000 participants; in Savannah, Georgia, a centennial tree is planted, accompanied by appropriate speeches; in Utica, New York, 30 veterans of the War of 1812 join in a parade along with two of Napoleon's soldiers.

Confederate Fife & Drum Corps

1877- In Woodstock, Conn., Roseland Park is dedicated and Oliver Wendell Homes reads his poem, "The ship of state, above her skies are blue."

1879- at Sunbury, Pa., Gov. Hoyt unveils a statue of Col. Cameron; in Charleston, S.C., the Lafayette Artillery, "a white militia company," fires an artillery salute, the first since 1860.

1880- Gen. James A. Garfield, is guest speaker at the dedication of the Soldiers' Monument in Painesville, Ohio; in Boston, a statue of Revolutionary War patriot Samuel Adams is unveiled; in San Francisco the first daytime fireworks ever exhibited in the country takes place at Woodward's Gardens.

4th of July parade float in Huntsville, Alabama

1882- Buffalo, N.Y., celebrates its 50th anniversary as the laying of a cornerstone for a soldiers' monument takes place there; the chapel of Dutch Neck Church in Princeton Junction, N.J. is dedicated.

1883- The Declaration of Independence is read in Swedish at a celebration at Bergquist Park in Moorhead, Minn.; 700 Yankton and Sautee Sioux participate in a Fourth celebration in Yankton, S.D.; a monument to George Cleaves and Richard Tucker, "the first settlers of Portland," is unveiled in Portland, Maine; in Woodstock, Conn., John Greenleaf Whittier's poem, "Our Country," is read at the public celebration there; Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opens at North Platte, Neb.; former President Rutherford B. Hayes is in Woodstock, Conn., attending the ceremony and giving a speech; in Plainfield, N.J., a Revolutionary cannon (dating to 1780), known as the "one-horn cannon," is fired.

1884- The formal presentation of the Statue of Liberty takes place in the Gauthier workshop in Paris;  in Swan City, Colorado, miners blow up the town's Post Office because they are not supplied with fireworks.

July 4th Parade with Goat Cart - Hayne Street in Monroe, NC

1885- Gen. Abraham Dally, 89-year old veteran of the War of 1812 raises the flag at the Battery in New York while the French man-of-war La Flore, decorated with flags and bunting, holds a public reception on board in New York harbor; in Jamestown, N.Y., a mock Civil War battle is fought.

4th of July float on the brick streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma

1887- First Fourth of July celebration in Yellowstone National Park takes place;  in Providence, R.I., a statue of Union Army General Ambrose Burnside is unveiled.

1888- A commemoration of Francis Scott Key and dedication of the first monument of him in the West is unveiled in San Francisco; in Amesbury, Mass., a statue of Josiah Bartlett, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, is unveiled.

  Deadwood, South Dakota 1888

1890- In Chattanooga, Tenn., 2,000 Confederate veterans march in a parade, without Confederate flags, while four generals (Gen. George B. Gordon, La.; Gen. W.S. Cabell, Tex.; Gen. E. Kirby Smith, Tenn.; Gen. "Tige" Anderson, Georgia) give speeches there; in Portland, Maine, General Sherman and other generals attend the Army of the Potomac celebration there.

Grange float 4th of July parade in Evansville, Indiana

1891- A Tioga County, N.Y., soldier's monument is unveiled in Owego, N.Y.; in Plainfield, N.J., a cannon used in the War of 1812 is fired; in Newark, N.J., at Caledonian Park, 5,000 German Saengerbunders, accompanied by an orchestra of 200 pieces, sing the "Star-Spangled Banner"; on this day, Cheraw, S.C., is the first town in that state to celebrate the Fourth in over 30 years; the Seventy-Second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers from Philadelphia dedicates a bronze monument in Gettysburg; in Buffalo, N.Y., the Society of Veterans parade in honor of the Army of the Potomac.

 4th of July 1800's at Bridge Main Street Catesville, TX

1892-  in New York, ground is broken for the statue of Columbus, a gift from Italy to the city; in New York harbor, the Brazilian cruiser Almirante Barroso is gayly decorated with a 40-foot American flag.

Calaveras County, California 4th of July parade

1893-  a bronze statue made by Thomas Ball of P.T. Barnum is unveiled in Bridgeport, Conn.

Deadwood, South Dakota 1890s

1894- In Huntington, N.Y., a memorial to Captain Nathan Hale is unveiled; Vice President Stevenson gives a speech on the historic battlefield of Guilford Court House in Greensboro, N.C.; in Cleveland, the dedication of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument takes place and Gov. William McKinley gives a speech at the ceremony; at the state fair of Illinois, the corner stone of the exposition building is laid; in Montevideo, Minnesota, the Camp Release Monument, commemorating the Dakota Conflict of 1862, is dedicated.

Turn of the century 4th of July parade New York

1884- in Laconia NH merchants agreed to close their businesses at 12 noon on the 4th, so all could attend the Ancient Order of the Hibernian picnic at Lake Shore Park, where $200 worth of fireworks would top off a day anticipated to bring “a monster crowd of four or five thousand people, largely from Concord and Manchester and low rates have been obtained on the railroads.”

4th of July parade in Minnesota

1896- In Brooklyn, N.Y., a bronze statue of Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Kemble Warren, commander of the Fifth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, is unveiled.

1897-  in Avondale, Ohio, Thomas C. McGrath unveils a statue of Thomas Jefferson "on the lawn in front of his beautiful residence on Rockdale and Wilson Avenues."

Westward Expansion float

1898- At Washington Grove, Md., a few miles outside of Washington, D.C., Mrs. J. Ellen Foster is the orator of the day and gives a traditional Fourth of July address; in Auburn, Calif., the Placer County Courthouse is dedicated; in Waynesburg, Pa., the cornerstone for the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument for Civil War veterans of Greene County is laid.

1900 Fourth of July Parade in Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado

1899- "Horseless-carriages" take part in a Fourth celebration in Dyersville, Iowa; in Helena, Montana, the cornerstone of the new State Capitol is laid.

4th of July parade at the turn of the century in Indiana

Uncle Sam

For much, much more on July 4th celebrations, see books by James R. Heintze, the Librarian Emeritus at the American University Library in Washington, D.C., especially see The Fourth of July Encyclopedia 
by James R. Heintze (2007)

Monday, July 1, 2024

July 1700

1700 Jacob van Huysum (1686-1740) Twelve Months of Flowers 7 July

July 1749

1749 July Personification of Months in Gardens as Fashion Plates by John June (British printmaker, fl 1744-75) Published by D Voisin (British publisher fl 1747-49). This lady is standing in a garden holding a fan in her right hand, wearing a hooped gown with a sprigged apron, lace cuffs and fichu, a lace choker and cap. A closed garden urn sits behind her.

July 1745

1745 Thomas Burford (British artist, 1710-1770) 1745 Month of July

July 1678

1678 Twelve Months July print Henri II Bonnart (Published by) c 1678-1700 Paris

Thursday, June 20, 2024

“Nature is the art of God.” Dante (1265-1321) - Creatures are filling the Spring Earth

Holding on to the Sweet Divine - “The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it.”  Genesis 2:15.   Opossums need Love, too... 

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Earth's Creatures Stop to Smell the Flowers


Spring often means it is time for you & your pet to explore the great outdoors. But before you & your furry best friend stop & smell the spring flowers, make sure they are not toxic. If you suspect your pet has ingested or been in contact with the plants below, call Pet Poison Helpline ASAP & then contact your veterinary team to keep them updated on the situation.

See Toxic & Non-Toxic Plant List - Dogs     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/dogs-plant-list

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List - Cats     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/cats-plant-list

These services provide immediate expert advice, and include consultation with your veterinarian if needed. Follow-up of the case is also included, if needed.

Animal Poison Control Center (ASPCA): 888-426-4435

Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

16C Spring by Lucas van Valckenborch (1535-1597)


 Lucas van Valckenborch (1535-1597) Spring, 1595  Lucas van Valckenborch or Lucas van Valckenborch the Elder (Leuven, c. 1535 – Frankfurt am Main, 2 February 1597) was a Flemish painter, mainly known for his landscapes, portrait, market & allegorical scenes. Court painter to Archduke Matthias, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands in Brussels, he later migrated to Austria and then Germany where he joined members of his extended family of artists who had moved there for religious reasons.

Monday, June 17, 2024

Earth's Creatures Stop to Smell the Flowers


Spring often means it is time for you & your pet to explore the great outdoors. But before you & your furry best friend stop & smell the spring flowers, make sure they are not toxic. If you suspect your pet has ingested or been in contact with the plants below, call Pet Poison Helpline ASAP & then contact your veterinary team to keep them updated on the situation.

See Toxic & Non-Toxic Plant List - Dogs     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/dogs-plant-list

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List - Cats     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/cats-plant-list

These services provide immediate expert advice, and include consultation with your veterinarian if needed. Follow-up of the case is also included, if needed.

Animal Poison Control Center (ASPCA): 888-426-4435

Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661

Sunday, June 16, 2024

16C Spring Landscape by Sebastian Vrancx (1573-1647)



Sebastian Vrancx (Flemish artist, 1573-1647) Spring. Vrancx is best known for his depictions of battle scenes & he was probably the first artist in the northern or southern Netherlands to attempt this subject-matter. He was the son of Jan Vrancx & Barbara Coutereau. Vrancx’s subjects also encompass allegorical scenes, such as the Months & the Seasons, & religious & mythological subjects, which he presented as genre scenes with the emphasis on narrative detail. 

Friday, June 14, 2024

17C Spring by Wenceslaus Hollar (Czech artist, 1607-1677)

Wenceslaus Hollar (Czech artist, 1607-1677)  Spring. "Welcom sweet Lady you doe bring / Rich presents of a hopefull Spring / That makes the Earth to looke so greene / As when she first began to teeme"

Allegorical characters, such as "Spring" above, in stories & in art are often located in garden settings, frequently in or near walled gardens such as the one depicted here. The locus amoenus was one of the traditional locations of epic & chivalric literature. As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a type of prose & verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of Medieval & Early Modern Europe. 

The artist Wenceslaus Hollar was born in 1607, the son of an upper middle-class civic official. Very little is known about his early life, but he evidently learned the rudiments of his craft by age eighteen, left his native Prague at age twenty, and likely studied in Frankfurt under Matthaus Merian. His first book of etchings was published in 1635, in Cologne when Hollar was twenty-eight. The following year he came to the attention of the renowned art collector the Earl of Arundel who was making an official visit to the continent, and Hollar subsequently became a part of his household, settling in England early in 1637. He remained in England during the beginning of the English Civil War period, but left London for Antwerp in 1642, where he continued to work on a variety of projects. In 1652 he returned to England, working on a number of large projects for the publisher John Ogilby and for the antiquary Sir William Dugdale. Hollar was in London during the Great Fire of 1666, and remains most famous for his scenes of the city before and after the fire. He was one of the most skilled etchers of his or any other time, which is all the more remarkable given that he was almost blind in one eye. Hollar died in London on 25 March 1677. By his life's end, he had produced some 2700 separate etchings.

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

17C Puttie & Spring in the Garden attr to Jan Breughel II (1601-1678)



Attributed to Jan Breughel II (1601-1678) Formal Spring Garden with a central Fountain & a few Flower Pickers

Monday, June 10, 2024

18C Spring Allegory by Hyacinthe Collin de Vermont (1693- 1761)

 

18C Spring From Allegories of the 4 Seasons by Hyacinthe Collin de Vermont (1693- 1761)

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Earth's Creatures Stop to Smell the Flowers

 

Spring often means it is time for you & your pet to explore the great outdoors. But before you & your furry best friend stop & smell the spring flowers, make sure they are not toxic. If you suspect your pet has ingested or been in contact with the plants below, call Pet Poison Helpline ASAP & then contact your veterinary team to keep them updated on the situation.

See Toxic & Non-Toxic Plant List - Dogs     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/dogs-plant-list

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List - Cats     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/cats-plant-list

These services provide immediate expert advice, and include consultation with your veterinarian if needed. There is a fee, so have a credit card handy. Followup of the case is also included, if needed.

Animal Poison Control Center (ASPCA): 888-426-4435

Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661

Saturday, June 8, 2024

1785 Allegory of Spring - Love & Bird Nests






 Spring 1785

Probably published in Britain. Here a young man is handing a birds' nest to a young woman. He has one hand on her shoulder as she accepts the nest.  She is collecting spring flowers in her apron. The couple is passing by another woman kneeling beside a basket of flowers and hold up a garland for the couple to see. Men are sowing grain in fields in the background to left.

Spring is the perfect time to celebrate Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15.

Friday, June 7, 2024

Earth's Creatures Stop to Smell the Flowers

Spring often means it is time for you & your pet to explore the great outdoors. But before you & your furry best friend stop & smell the spring flowers, make sure they are not toxic. If you suspect your pet has ingested or been in contact with the plants below, call Pet Poison Helpline ASAP & then contact your veterinary team to keep them updated on the situation.

See Toxic & Non-Toxic Plant List - Dogs     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/dogs-plant-list

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List - Cats     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/cats-plant-list

These services provide immediate expert advice, and include consultation with your veterinarian if needed. Follow-up of the case is also included, if needed.

Animal Poison Control Center (ASPCA): 888-426-4435

Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661

Thursday, June 6, 2024

1603 Allegory of Spring - Love & Bird Nests

1603 Spring from The Four Seasons Jan Saenredam (Dutch printmaker, c 1565-1607) 

Here a young couple pick flowers & delight over tiny chicks in a bird nest. Celebrating our Earth.  Holding on to the Sweet Divine - “The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it.”  Genesis 2:15.

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

18C Depiction of Spring



Here Spring is a stylish young woman standing on garden terrace, adding a rose to flowers in her apron. Her elbow rests on the garden plinth of an urn covered in a trailing plant. A basket of flowers sits on the plinth.

Monday, June 3, 2024

Earth's Creatures Stop to Smell the Flowers

Spring often means it is time for you & your pet to explore the great outdoors. But before you & your furry best friend stop & smell the spring flowers, make sure they are not toxic. If you suspect your pet has ingested or been in contact with the plants below, call Pet Poison Helpline ASAP & then contact your veterinary team to keep them updated on the situation.

See Toxic & Non-Toxic Plant List - Dogs     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/dogs-plant-list

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List - Cats     https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/cats-plant-list

These services provide immediate expert advice, and include consultation with your veterinarian if needed. Follow-up of the case is also included, if needed.

Animal Poison Control Center (ASPCA): 888-426-4435

Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661

 

1620 Follower of Abraham Janssens, also called Abraham Janssens Van Nuyssen Flemish artist, 1573-1632) Portrait of a Lady as Spring

Sunday, June 2, 2024

Earth's Creatures Stop to Smell the Flowers

Spring & Summer are the perfect time to celebrate the rebirth of Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15.

It's Spring! - Waiting for the Lilacs


 Sophie Gengembre Anderson (French-born British artist) 1823 - 1903 Time for the Lilacs