Album of whimsical drawings, late 19th century,

c.22 pages drawings, c.65 pages other items. Drawings, c.1869-1907; other items, early/mid 20th century.

One drawing is likely by the artist Gertrude Lindsay (c.1878-), a number of the others, initialled "M. L." are possibly by her father Thomas M. Lindsay, who was the headmaster at The Belfast Government School of Art, afterwards art master at Rugby school.

The Gertrude Lindsay drawing depicts the character Lily from the play A Pantomime Rehearsal by Cecil Clay, with a couple of the famous lines from the characters Lily ("ye teenie tiny toddling twinkling elves") and Beddoes ("One moment please - the way you came in! - More like a person walking down a street than a fairy"). The play, A Pantomime Rehearsal, was performed at Rugby in "January 1904". Rupert Brooke, who was at Rugby at that time, knew Gertrude Lindsay. When bedridden during the Christmas vacation (1906-1907) he confessed, in a letter to his cousin Erica, that he was as bored by idleness as by college work: “These holidays have been paltry and pottering as usual. The only thing of interest is that Gertrude Lindsay has been drawing me. ... It represented me as of a round, fat, youthful, chubby, and utterly contented face, instead of the gaunt, sallow, aged, haggard, thin expression at which I always aim.” (Stringer, Red Wine of Youth: A Life of Rupert Brooke).  

The majority of the drawings date from 1869-1890s and it is tempting to imagine that they were done by the art teacher father as amusements for his children, at least one of whom would follow in his artistic footsteps. His wife, Ruth Lindsay, was also an artist (mostly of flowers and landscapes). There are tipped in contributions from other hands, other styles, but the majority of those drawn on the page are humorous, Punch-like illustrations, for example: women wearing extravagant costume (including one, a lobster dress, another, a fish costume, with a flying fish for a hat); a corkscrew menacing a bottle of wine; a long-nosed man playing a pipe while a fairy dances on the tip; a polar bear wearing a suit with a top hat and cane; a man with humorously large feet battling a snow drift, with a poem lifted from Punch ("Marked you hys cheeke of heavenly blew / Hys nose tip of cerulian hue / Hys chin of that same color tew.")

Some drawings are clearly inspired by artistic trends and famous illustrators of the time e.g. fairies in the style of Richard Doyle; Rossetti-esque medieval characters; a page of Charles Dana Gibson's Gibson Girl/New Woman figures; "The Hatter" and a page of drawings inspired by Tenniel's illustrations from Alice in Wonderland, including the mock turtle, one of the Alice in Wonderland card men, and the white rabbit.

The album has been added to at other, later dates. Other sections include tipped in: "Documents du Moyen-Age" (XIVeme, XVeme , XVIeme siecle), postcards of places of note (King's College, Cambridge; St Mary's Church, Huntingdon) etc.

Some age toning and glue marking to pages, binding slightly marked and scuffed but still in good order.

Stock Code: 241751