"The Entertainment arising from the Fine Arts is often the effect of a fanciful and judicious arrangement."
"The Entertainment arising from the Fine Arts is often the effect of a fanciful and judicious arrangement."
Calligraphy by Howard H. Hopkins. This is a piece I found several years ago, dusty in a flea market. Of course I left it in its frame for there are many clues on the back which are helpful in researching the calligrapher such as the identification of the framer and where it was done. I apologize for the quality of the photo, but it is under glass and may not enlarge well for seeing the details.
It is wonderful Ann Kennedy
ReplyDeleteMargaret Siemers Thank you, Margaret. I really like it and I'm very curious about the calligrapher so I continue to search for tidbits of information. I will share them if I find them.
ReplyDeleteAnn Kennedy can't make out what it says, can you give us a bit about it? Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Siemers Yes, I will take it down and transcribe soon.
ReplyDeleteAnn Kennedy Transcription is wonderful, but I was only thinking a general outline of the continence to quell curiosity. lol, you always go the extra 10 yards in all that you do. Thanks in advance. : )
ReplyDeleteAnn Kennedy Here you go Margaret Siemers:
ReplyDeleteHail mystic art which men like angels taught,
To speak to eyes and paint unbody’d thought.
Though deaf, and dumb, blest skill, relieved by thee,
We make one sense perform the task of three.
We see, we hear, we touch the head and heart,
And take, or give, what each but yields in part,
With the hard laws of distance we dispense,
And without sound, apart, commune in sense.
Dear letters, thus with living notions fraught,
Prove to the soul the telescopes of thought;
To mortal life a deathless witness give,
And bid all deeds and titles last, and live.
In scanty life, eternity we taste,
View the first ages, and inform the last:
Arts, history, laws, we purchase with a look,
And keep, like fate, all nature in a book.
Howard H. Hopkins script
(According to the notations on the back, this is an example of Spencerian lettering although it says it was done c 1830 and that seems a bit early. I believe this was probably a practice piece for someone.)
Yes, wasn't developed till 1840 and was popular in the USA from 1850 to 1925. Could be that whomever wrote the description on back sited the wrong style? A quick look at some information and Spencerian Lettering was a composite of several styles. Perhaps this is an earlier piece.
ReplyDeleteNot being an expert in Calligraphy (only a happy dabbler) I can not say for certain. If the notation was written by the one that penned the piece...perhaps he is a time traveler like our old friend Steve Heart and got messed up on the dates.
: ) No matter when done or in what style, it is beautiful and I am so enjoying not only seeing it but knowing what it says. What beautiful words.
Margaret Siemers I am certain that the notation on the back is a fairly recent note, possibly done by a framer. The note about the style is definitely a newer thing, stuck on with masking tape or something similar and probably meant to be taken off but wasn't. Like you, I love the words and the piece and shudder to think that at one time it was just rolled up and set aside, but that happens with common things:-) Thanks again for your appreciation!
ReplyDelete