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| Reynolds, Joshua. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire & her Daughter.: 1786. Chatsworth. |
Don't tell Marie Antoinette!
Showing posts with label Letter Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Letter Writing. Show all posts
Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire Writes to her sister...
How did Marie Antoinette deal with everyday ridiculousness?
Did Marie Antoinette have a sense of humor?
The Republic of Letters
The above image shows the path of letters from 1700-1751 in England. Correspondence was coming and going from major cities and within counties. Stanford Uni has created the project Electronic Enlightenment, and you can view the interactive tool to see where letters were going during these years. You can view specific cities or just drag the map around to see paths. There is also an option to select correspondents, whose letters were going where. The project is based on a large sample of correspondence from the period. My favorite option is the flow!
Sadly there are only 2 letters represented for Louis XV's correspondence!
View the project here.
Oh yea, and another project:
jk!
The Art of Letter-Writing
In the 17th century writing letters was something men ought to do. The practice reinforced their rank and good breeding. The ability to express themselves eloquently through the pen was more of an achievement and testament than through speaking. Women were not encouraged to partake in this manly pastime!Then the 18th century came along and fashionable women of good breeding and families began to write letters. There were writing guide books and manuals available so it became easier for them to learn how to compose graceful correspondence.
Mid way through the century a fabulous book was printed, The Ladies Complete Letter-Writer. This book, published in 1763 was the first sign of a new popularity for women letter-writers. What was unique about the book was that it was made for a specific audience, the ladies!
By the end of the century women had proved so skilled and eloquent in writing it was thought that they were better at it than the men! This gave the art of letter writing new meaning. Rather than separating the men from the women it separated the classes. (The higher classes set the standards and practiced refined letter writing, while the lower classes were assumed vulgar and lacking of any eloquence via correspondence!)
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