A Book for a Rainy Day; or, Recollections of the Events of the Years 1766-1833Smith, John Thomas
History
A Book for a Rainy Day; or, Recollections of the Events of the Years 1766-1833
Smith, John Thomas
Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 18th century; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
The actors at this time wore immense wigs, particularly Bullock,
Penkethman, etc.; Cibber’s was in moderation. It must here be observed,
that I now allude to their private wigs; their state wigs were, as
they are now, purposely caricatured to please the galleries.[400] I
believe that the first wig worn by an English divine was that of John
Wallis,[401] engraved by Burghers, and published at Oxford in the year
1699; it was profusely curled, but not so deep over the shoulders as
those of statesmen.
There were many singular, and, indeed, learned characters whose wigs
were peculiarly shaped, such, for instance, as that of Bubb Doddington,
Lord Chesterfield, and the Duke of Newcastle. MacArdell’s print of Lord
Anson, after a picture by Sir Joshua Reynolds, was, I have every reason
to think, the first of the shape erroneously called the Busby. This sort,
Dr. Samuel Johnson, Armstrong, Hunter, the Rev. George Whitfield, Lord
Monboddo, etc., wore in their latter years.
[Illustration: DR. OLIVER GOLDSMITH
“The fellow took me for a tailor.”]
The earliest engraved portraits of Dr. Johnson exhibit a wig with
five rows of curls, commonly called “a story wig.”[402] Among the old
dandies of this description of wig we may class Mr. Saunders Welch, Mr.
Nollekens’ father-in-law--he had nine storeys. So was that worn by Mr.
Nathaniel Hillier,[403] an extensive print-collector, as is represented
in an engraved portrait of that gentleman. Dr. Goldsmith’s wig was small
and remarkably slovenly, as may be seen by Bretherton’s etching. Sir
Joshua’s portrait of him is without a wig. Mr. Garrick’s wigs (I mean
his private ones) were three in number,--the first is engraved by Wood,
published in the year 1745; the second is by Sherwin, engraved for Tom
Davies; the last is from a private plate by Mrs. Solly, after a drawing
by Dance. I will leave off here with the wig, and give a few instances
of the tails. These perhaps originated with the Chinese, but the first
specimen of a tail, which I have hitherto been able to procure, to
which a date can be given, is in Sherwin’s print of Frederick, King of
Prussia.[404]
1827.
The Londoners, but more particularly the inhabitants of Westminster, who
had been for years accustomed to recreate within the chequered shade of
Millbank’s willows, have been by degrees deprived of that pleasure, as
there are now very few trees remaining, and those so scanty of foliage,
by being nearly stript of their bark, that the public are no longer
induced to tread their once sweetly variegated banks.[405]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account