Commonplace book, circa 1776-circa 1832.

ArchivalResource

Rushout, Anne, ca. 1768-1849. Commonplace book, circa 1776-circa 1832.

Commonplace book, circa 1776-circa 1832.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/775728236

Manuscript commonplace book compiled by Anne Rushout, of Northwick, from about 1776 to 1832. The collection of writings includes verse, prose, amusements, and many riddles and puzzles. The writing is in pen and dark brown ink throughout. Small illustrations accompany some of the puzzles. The drawings are also in pen and brown ink, with the occasional addition of watercolors. Pages 1-106 and 206-270 are in a neat, feminine hand, presumably that of Anne Rushout. The middle portion (p. 107-205) is in a different, coarser hand, perhaps that of an unidentified male copyist. The commonplace book contains entries dated from 1776 to 1832; the dates likely refer to the composition of each piece, rather than the date of copying in the present commonplace book. The contents range from poems commemorating events in fashionable life, to prologues of contemporary plays, to odd anecdotal tales of people rescued from being buried alive. Most notable, perhaps, are the entries relating to the subject of marriage--many of them not in favor of the institution--that Anne copies into the book. Her interest in "bluestocking" verse and other texts seems to indicate a strong feminist belief, which might perhaps account (at least in part) for her decision not to marry. Sample writings include: "Poem on the creation," by Mrs. Booth; "On the dress of the present times 1776," perhaps containing original verse; several excerpts from works by David Garrick; "The Hermit of Warkworth, a Northumberland ballad," by Thomas Percy; and the preface to The Alexiad by Anna Comnena (ca. 1148), one of the first Western female historians. On the topic of marriage, Rushout copies Mary Chudleigh's "Verso to the ladies," which includes the following stanza: "Then shun oh! Shun that wretched state, And all the fawning flatterers hate. Value yourselves, & man despise, You must be proud if you'll be wise." On page 134, a riddle titled "Marriage" reads: "Le Premier et un Tyran/ Le Second et un Monstre/ Et le toute ensemble et le Diable." A large portion of the commonplace book is devoted to word games, especially from page 108. These include charades, riddles, anagrams, rebuses, and a number of illustrated visual puzzles. Rushout provides no answers for many of the puzzles, while the solution appears as the title in others.

1 v. (270 p.) : ill. ; 21 cm.

Yale Center for British Art