#henry t.d le vesconte

[dragomirova]

yay, first fic for the terror bingo

Le Vesconte angst, ghosts on Erebus, pairings are mostly hinted at, but people like James Prompt was 'Allsopp's', but let's be real here, angst prevailed. @theterrorbingo thanks for the card!

[clove-pinks]

Inspired by @radiojamming sharing their photographs of Franklin Expedition signatures from the ships' muster books, I went through the digitised Le Vesconte Family Archives, held in the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, and grabbed screen shots of Henry T.D. Le Vesconte's signatures from assorted letters.

While none of them quite match the amount of swirls and flourishes that Le Vesconte used for his Very Special Muster Book Signature, I think it’s fascinating to see how his signature can vary over the years! It's also an open question of what, exactly, he is signing before his surname. Le Vesconte descendent William Wills partially transcribed a few letters, and he believed that his great-granduncle signed his name "T.D. Le Vesconte."

Personally, I think he's squeezing in an "HTD," which is the monogram on his wax seal that can be seen on quite a few of these scanned letters. (The H is unlike how he would write that letter normally, but I think he's trying to interweave it with the TD.)

From a letter to his father dated February 1, 1843—a typical cross-writing disaster. Did he only wrote "D" before "Le Vesconte"? Dundy truthers rejoice!

Your affectionate Son

[squiggle initials] Le Vesconte

From a letter to his father dated Bombay/HM Brig Clio Tuesday July 18 1843. You can see how much he loves a dramatic flourish with the T in Le Vesconte, and a loop or swirl on the final E.

Letter to his father dated [HMS] Calliope Rio Janeiro [sic] January 20 1839. It's a huge cross-written missive that just goes on and on and on; I think he forgot how to sign his own name at the end of this ordeal.

Letter to his father dated Clio off Nankin Aug. 15 1843. Noteworthy as he appears to sign his name "HTDLeV" at the margin of the page, after an abbreviated "Your affec. Son."

Finally, a letter addressed to his mother in this collection, dated HMS Erebus Woolwich April 16 1845. Very long cross on the T, and a flourish from the terminal E. It's signatures like this one that make me think he's signing all three of his first initials.

From a letter to his father, dated HMS Erebus May 2 1845. There is an HTD in there, right?? Anybody with me on this one??

From a letter to his mother dated May 15 Greenhithe [1845], with a short message for his older sister Rose at the end. A RARE "Henry"!! When he doesn't have a Le Vesconte to embellish, the Y in Henry will suffice.

Baby (23-year-old) Henry Le Vesconte's signature in a letter to father dated HMS Excellent Portsmouth Harbour Dec. 24 1836. I have transcribed this one, it's a great letter all around.

Your affec. Son HTDLeV. [?]

From a letter to his father dated Portsmouth October 17th 1844.

At the post image limit, I will close with "brother Henry" from a late 1844/early 1845 letter to his older sister Rose. He's obviously closer to her than to his other siblings (who may not have had much time to get to know him, since he was only 15 years old when he left home for good as a first class volunteer). Here's a rough transcription of this letter!

[clove-pinks]

OUT: The alleged pet cheetah of James Fitzjames, which is from a single dubious source (Clements Markham), and is not mentioned in the journals and letters of Henry T.D. Le Vesconte or Fitzjames himself.

IN: The very REAL pet cheetah owned by Josephine Baker! Chiquita travelled with her around the world!

Josephine Baker with her pet cheetah Chiquita, 1931.

[henrylevesconte]

Henry “Dundy” Le Vesconte’s Looks, Rated

I’ve been itching to take a stab at the meme @bomburjo​, @radiojamming​, @theiceandbones​, and @subsequentibis​ have all completed (AND MORE OFC! Everyone’s posts have been great!) So journey with me with my favorite minor character and notorious background lurker. 

Go For Broke assisting Collins by stealing his medicinal whiskey look -6.5/10. The finger-less gloves and full coat really sells the look for me personally. This is about as dressed and hatted as the lad gets. 

Go For Broke awkward work meeting look- 100/10. Dashing. Astounding. Someone got over dressed with their work meeting and made sure their hair was perfect before just going to town on a plate of biscuits. Bonus points for clear coordination with Fitzjames in looks, style, and mutual disdain for Crozier. 

The Ladder Janky Franky’s hallucination fun time look- 1000000000000000/10. Truly my favorite look for him. The smile, the drunk amusement, the gloved grip on his drink, hair and sideburns on point, FULL DRESS UNIFORM! Perfect look for a perfect boy! 

The Ladder “Oh my boss just died” look ft. Mad at Crozier pt 2- 5/10. It’s a solid look. Dundy looks about ready for a nap which after Sir John’s death scene I always feel the same way. BONUS POINTS: Invisible hat tip to Crozier. Really spruces up the scene in a bizarre way. 

First Shot A Winner, Lads aka depressed lieutenant winter look ft. Charles “Horny Feet” Des Voeux- 10000/10. Bundled Dundle. He looks pretty cozy tho.

First Shot A Winner Lads toe removal scene look- 0/10. No. 

A Mercy awkward meeting round 2 look ft. Blanky at his finest- 3/10. A classic look, one we have seen before but he’s got more noticeable injuries and seems to need a nap even more. Dundy reminds me of an employee who has been to so many Monday morning meetings he’s counting on his boss not noticing if he shuts his eyes for just one second. 

A Mercy Benjo Boy look- 10000000000000000000000000000000000/10. Look, everyone wears slops but the swagger exuding from this scene makes it a complete look. The pose, the confidence, the refusal to let anyone on Terror touch him after announcing a big party. What even is a benjo? I love it. 

A Mercy Carnivale look minus gun- 100/10. Look at the King who stole my heart while also blasting off a shot gun in a closed tent like a jack ass. It’s such a good look you know he asked Fitzjames for the best when picking out his costume. Also notice height difference in officer (Dundy towers over all). 

Horrible From Supper No Shave 1848 look- 7.5/10. Oh I do love the scruffy look for ya boi. The finger-less gloves again really add to the “I’m dying of scurvy” look. The cravat really stands out. Everyone looks a bit rough but he’s still managing to get by and for that Dundy gets a higher rating. It’s probably why he got invited to Jopson’s surprise party instead of Hodgson. 

Terror Camp Clear “Silence Himbo!” look- 5/10. Dignified, tired, someone decided to let him have a gun again (probably Fitzjames). Still going strong. Bonus image: 

Should be titled “I’m getting too old for this shit!” Seriously though who let him have a gun again? 

The C, The C, The Open C Rescue look- 1000/10. What can I say about this casual look? It’s a classic, the open sweater, the re-purposed pants, the goggles, the silver waves, the finger-less gloves, the obvious concern and quick run to James’ side when he goes down. King of upcycling. I can see a modern instagram influencer calling this a thrifted look. Hurts my heart to look at if I do so for more than five minutes tho. 

The C, The C, The Open C awkward meetings never end look- -100/10. Love the hair, not much else. Dundy looks desperate for a tube of moisturizer and for the suffering to end (which coincidentally it’s about this point when I too want it all to end!) Beard and chops don’t seem as wild as previous episodes. 

We Are Gone and so am I look ft. a really creepy guy in the background- 1/10. Ouch. I love the suspenders, I love the hair curls, I love the ratty sweater. I love how he’s snapped and abandoning the sick. Just kidding. I hate that. If someone just let him nap maybe Dundy wouldn’t resort to this. Also the windburnt look, coming for Tozer’s look.

Bonus image: 

“Oh god he’s still looking at me isn’t he?”

[pianodoesterror]

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: The Terror (TV 2018), The Terror - Dan Simmons Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Commander James Fitzjames/Lt Henry T. D. Le Vesconte, Captain Francis Crozier & Commander James Fitzjames Characters: Lt Henry T. D. Le Vesconte, Commander James Fitzjames, Captain Francis Crozier, Various Characters Additional Tags: Fix-It, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Canonical Character Death, Friendship, Established Relationship, Stress, Period Typical Attitudes, dundy suffers, Grief/Mourning Series: Part 2 of by land or by sea Summary:

 Henry took comfort in the knowledge that Erebus was close, her masts sitting clear of the pressure ridges all about them. As soon as they reached her the damned sting of freezing cold across his cheeks would be banished, and his chest could see about not being crushed by the hauling harness that was pressing in to the week’s worth of a bruise that it had given him. It hurt like the blazes, but it hurt the men of his sledge party also, to the extent that they had stopped their singing of hauling songs or chatter, so Henry simply leaned into the hurt and kept on keeping on.

OR

Fitzconte no one asked for but I did it anyway, pt 2

[transterrorweek]

We’re back! Trans Terror Week 2022 will run November 20-26th.

This year your mods are a bit stretched thin, so I would strongly recommend coming to our Tumblr for any questions or concerns, though everything will be cross posted to Twitter. You’ll get a quicker answer on Tumblr. Additionally, thank you so much to everyone who helped us with prompt ideas and graphics!

The rules are the same a last year, detailed on our FAQ page (for the mobile accessible FAQ go here). 

Rules and Reminders:

This event is for anyone who is trans, nonbinary or is currently questioning their gender. Our goal is to uplift trans content creators in the Terror fandom and we encourage cis creators to show their support for their trans compatriots.

There is NO restriction on type of content: art, fics, edits, playlists, videos, everything is welcome!

November 20th is also for Creator Spotlights, make a post highlighting your works and we’ll give you a boost!

Please tag your works #transterrorweek/#transterrorweek2022 and/or ping us @transterrorweek to make sure we see your stuff! This applies to both Tumblr and Twitter.

Fics can also be added to the Ao3 collection. Simply search for “Trans Terror Week” when posting your fic or follow the link on our blog. Our FAQ has instructions for posting anonymously.

Prompts:

This years prompts are following the theme of “In their own voices,” and quotes from the recently released letter book May We be Spared to Meet on Earth will be paired with the titles of memoirs by trans authors. We got a few trans memoirs in 2020′s prompts, but this is a whole new selection. The expanded prompt list can be found on our Prompts page.

Day 1: In From the Wilderness - David E. Weekley | “Read these two notes and tear them up” - James Fitzjames (96)

Day 2: Tranny - Laura Jane Grace | “any blue clothing you can put into the case” - Francis Crozier (33)

Day 3: We Both Laughed in Pleasure - Lou Sullivan | “the suffocating jab of delight mingled with the fearful anticipation of the dreary void” - Charles Osmer (136)

Day 4: A Lowlife in High Heels - Holly Woodlawn | “I was surprised to see him attempt anything so risky” - Edward Couch (148)

Day 5: The Testosterone Files - Max Wolf Valerio | “I have made my cabin very snug & found it best to be my own carpenter” - James Fairholme (105)

Day 6: Exile and Pride - Eli Clare | “occasionally some few rather irksome things occur” - Harry Goodsir (53)

Day 7: Something That May Shock and Discredit You - Daniel M. Lavery | “I am wanting a promotion and a quick return to England” - Henry T.D. Le Vesconte (55)

[clove-pinks]

Absolutely even 19th century people could get fed up with cross-writing—like Frederick Marryat, who complained of a correspondent in 1839: "Tell her that I hate crossed letters. It may be economy, as far as paper and postage are concerned, but my eyes are of more consequence to me."

James Fitzjames and Henry T.D. Le Vesconte: friends, shipmates, horrible cross-writers. 🤝🏻

I would like to transcribe more of Le Vesconte's First Opium War-era letters, but they look like this:

Cross-writing Hell

Behold the most annoying letter I have transcribed thus far. 8 cross-written sheets that are out of order. It was very helpful to see the originals, & I've now put the text in the correct order & transcribed all of the words. Fitzjames tells Aunt Louisa about the landing of King Otho at Napoli in February 1833.

Just know I had to go through this:

To give you this:

[marryat92]

Here is an article not strictly on-topic for this blog—despite my Franklin expedition tag—but it links back to my humble @marryat92 address. Franklin researchers Logan Zachary and Alison Freebairn have not only put together a Franklin Expedition Guide to London, but in this most recent blog post, they have solved the riddle of where Captain McClintock's steam yacht Fox docked on her return from the Franklin search expedition that discovered the Victory Point Note and many other relics.

I am honoured to have contributed a small piece of the puzzle from the family archives of Franklin expedition Lieutenant Henry T.D. Le Vesconte. It turns out that the Le Vesconte family have a unique version of the stereoscopic pictures taken of the Fox, and this was able to reveal more information.

Lieutenant Le Vesconte famously posed for his daguerreotype portrait on board HMS Erebus in 1845 holding a book—which just so happens to be Frederick Marryat's Code of Signals.

[gullbones]

Gull's Terror Playlist Masterpost

Hello I am a clown with so many Terror character playlists, please enjoy them in this very convenient format.

Henry Collins

Henry T.D. Le Vesconte

Cornelius Hickey

Harry Goodsir

James Fitzjames

Francis Crozier

Alexander McDonald

Thomas Blanky

Stephen Stanley

John Bridgens

Thomas Jopson

John Irving

[ltwilliammowett]

Finding the dead: The men of the Franklin Expedition (Part1)

Much is still unclear about the fate of the Arctic expedition under the command of Sir John Franklin. Of the 129 men who sailed there to find the Northwest Passage, none returned to England alive. The numerous search expeditions had to realise this quickly. But nobody knew exactly what had been happened or where the deceased were. Only from 1851 on the expedition of Dr. Rae brought some informations. 13 expeditions from 1851-1967 finally managed to recover material as well as human remains. Some even managed to give back the names of some of the deceased. These finds were examined and partially confirmed by Owen Beattie and John Geiger during an archaeological survey of King William Island and Beechey Island in the 1980s.

The top map shows all skeleton finds made at 35 sites. Of these, 27 were found on King William Island and 7 on Adelaide Peninsula. One grave is said to be directly on HMS Erebus. 3 more bodies are found on Beechey Island

The known men

- Crozier Camp - Victory Point (map point 2) John Irving, Lieutenant, HMS Terror (b. 8. Feb. 1815-) found 1879 by Frederick Schwatka, in a shallow surface grave. The grave had been disturbed, and not all bones could be identified. He was identified as Lt. Irving due to a mathematical medal he had been awarded in 1830. The other finds ( some buttons, cloth and pieces of a telescope ) could not give any clue to his identity. His remains were transferred to England where he was buried with full honours in Edinburgh in 1881.

Harry Goodsir, Assistant Surgeon and Lieutenant Irving

- Setteeumenun- Simons Strait (map point 24) Harry D.S. Goodsir, Assistant Surgeon, HMS Erebus (b. ca. 1820) found by Inuit who led Charles Francis Hall 1869 to the site. Without further investigation of the site, only one skeleton was found there and was first taken to America before it was transferred to England in 1872. Investigations there, revealed that it was Henry T.D. Le Vesconte, Lieutenant, HMS Erebus. The skeleton was buried at Franklin Memorial in Greenwich together with some of the expedition items. Later investigations, which also included a forensic examination of the skull, showed that it was most likely Harry Goodsir.

Lieutenant Graham Gore and James Reid Ice Master

- Erebus Bay- Boatsplace (map point 7-11) Graham Gore, Lieutenant, HMS Erebus (b. 1806-) - James Reid, Ice Master, HMS Erebus, (b.ca. 1800-)  In 1859 the skeletons of two individuals were found in a boat near the southern border of Erebus Bay by Francis Leopold McClinttock and buried again. During later excavations two skulls were taken away and subjected to forensic facial reconstruction. These could be both of the above-mentioned persons. However, the boat site revealed another boat close by and later excavations revealed that at least the remains of at least 21 people were found at this site. (These will be discussed in detail under the point unknown remains.)

- Gladman Point- McClintock Bay (map point 18) Thomas Armitage, Gun Room Steward, HMS Terror (b. 1807-) found 1859 by Francis Leopold McClintock, the skeleton was only partially preserved and did not lie in a grave. He still wore the uniform of a steward, with him lay a notebook which carried the name Harry Peglar Captain of the Foretop, HMS Terror. Next to him was a small brush and a comb made of horn. Initially the notebook was thought to be Peglar, but the uniform speaked more for his friend Armitage. The remains were left as they were. Only the items were taken away.

[clove-pinks]

Yes!! AND it's also the 209th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo today!

...you can tell I'm stressed and pressed this June, forgetting every important anniversary including Henry T.D. Le Vesconte's 211th birthday (June 14, 1813).

Oh hey, isn’t the 212th anniversary since the War of 1812 was declared?

@clove-pinks fact check me!

[clove-pinks]

Lieutenant Henry T.D. Le Vesconte, from the so-called lost set of Franklin Expedition daguerreotype photographs, now at auction at Sotheby's.

I really, really thought that I had made a complete transcription of a letter that Henry wrote to his father dated October 17th 1844—but I did not. He penned this letter once he was back in Portsmouth from HMS Clio, and it is seared into my brain where he mentions sending £30 to the tailor—approximately $4462.74 in current USD according to a historical currency converter.

Almost certainly, that smart-looking uniform in his 1845 photograph aboard HMS Erebus was purchased at this time. It has the slim cut of early 1840s men's fashion, and like all Royal Navy uniforms of the time it was bespoke and the fit reflects Le Vesconte's taste.

[rahabs]

1986′s action-comedy Crocodile Dundee except it’s Polar Bear Dundy and it’s about Henry T.D. Le Vesconte.

[phoenixflames12]

He leaves a white      Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance, A width, a shining peace, under the night. The Dead- Rupert Brooke (1915)  If the line doesn’t scream Henry T.D Le Vesconte and James Fitzjames, then I don't know why I’ve written 700 words (and am planning more, don’t worry @horrible-from-supper!) about these two in my WW1 Pro Patria Mori AU 

[clove-pinks]

Reblogging this again since this post was getting a few notes on twitter this morning—lots of updates to my research! (despite the pandemic, executive dysfunction, &c.) I have the archival material I mentioned trying to obtain here, and if you are interested in Henry T.D. Le Vesconte, the real historical person, I would love nothing more than sharing it with you! I love talking about him! (The family dynamics of this man are something else).

Periodically I make this statement, but often in a way that is easy to overlook e.g. comments in notes—if that "you have your fave's energy" thing is true, all Le Vesconte fans shy?! Anyway. Signal boosting myself since I am negligent of tumblr.

So, here’s another will. This is Le Vesconte’s, and I can see that his witnesses were Fairholme and Weekes. I think he left his estate to various family members?

@clove-pinks @empirics @aconfusedwriter @radiojamming

[megatronusprimedecal]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Terror (TV 2018) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Lt George Hodgson/Lt Henry T.D. Le Vesconte Characters: Lt George Hodgson, Henry T. D. Le Vesconte Additional Tags: touched starved george hodgson meets down for anything dundy, I wonder what will happen next?, mentions of nedving, but this fic is not about them, they will get their time Summary:

George Hodgson was having a rather miserable evening all things considered, he had been sent over to The Erebus by Lieutenant Little to make sure things were running smoothly. His spoken reason behind the move made sense, the inflated crew number aboard their sister ship likely made running things more difficult, but that wasn’t the real reason. George had caught him in the midst of a private moment with Lieutenant Irving, perhaps he’d feared that George would go running to inform the captain. Which was an offensive notion; did he really think that poorly of him? He must know that George was his friend and wished that no harm befall either him or John. The lashings of Mr. Hickey and his co-conspirators was rather frightful business, and not something he was eager to see repeated in any capacity. Fill for Terrortober prompt #3 Ship