#historical pets

[thebaroquehuman]

1655 Self-portrait - Bartholomeus van der Helst

[daguerreotyping]

Tintype of a barefoot boy and his shaggy dog on a lazy summer day, c. 1860s

[bebs-art-gallery]

Cats Stealing Food in Paintings

Still Life with Cat (1705) by Desportes, It's no use crying over spilt milk (1880) by Frank Paton, Still Life of the Remnants of a Meal with a Lunging Cat (18th Century) by Alexandre-François Desportes, Fish Still Life with Two Cats (1781) by Martin Ferdinand Quadal, Still Life with a Cat and a Mackerel on a Table Top (18th Century) by Giovanni Rivalta, The Collared Thief (1860) by William James Webbe, Cat Stealing a String of Sausages (17th Century) by Abraham van Beyeren, Still Life with a Cat (1760) by Sebastiano Lazzari, Kitchen Still Life with Fish and Cat (ca. 1650) by Sebastian Stoskopff, An Oyster Supper (1882) by Horatio Henry Couldery, Still Life with an Ebony Chest (17th Century) by Frans Snyders, Still Life with a Cat (1724) by Alexandre-Francois Desportes, A Cat Attacking Dead Game (18th Century) by Alexandre-François Desportes, Still Life of Fresh-Water Fish with a Cat (1656) by Pieter Claesz, Still Life with Fruits and Ham with a Cat and a Parrot (18th Century) by Alexandre-Francois Desportes, A Cat Holding a Fish in Its Mouth (18th Century) by Sebastiano Lazzari, Still Life with a Cat and a Hare (18th Century) by Desportes, Still Life with Cat and Rayfish (1728) by Jean-Siméon Chardin, A Cat with Dead Game (1711) by Alexandre-Francois Desportes, Still Life with Cat and Fish (1728) by Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin

Via James Lucas on X/Twitter

[rmelster]

Medieval women and their four-legged companions >>>>

anne boleyn week (day three): favourite historical fact about anne

anne and her dog named purkoy .

purkoy originally belonged to honor, lady lisle, but she gave him as a new year’s gift in january 1534 to sir francis bryan on the advice of her london agent, john husee, as the lisles needed bryan’s help. bryan, however, ended up passing the dog on to his cousin, the queen, writing to lady lisle on 20th january 1534:

[…] it may please your Lordship to give her hearty thanks on my behalf for her little dog, which was so proper and so well liked by the Queen that it remained not above an hour in my hands but that her Grace took it from me.

[sdwajones-art]

Noodle the Lass

One thing I enjoy about these pet portraits is that its unclear whether or not there's supposed to be a human body in there or if it's just a cat poking its head through a dress.

[cashmerecrow]

What a little dear indeed. (1907 mailed tintype postcard)

[danceinthunder]

James Potter is the type of person to climb onto a a 4ft wall and walk across it before jumping off and yell “parkour”.

[mxtxfanatic]

Repayment but Not Just Repayment or a Meta on the Wen Siblings' Sacrifice

Wen Qing and Wen Ning's sacrifice is probably one of the most under-discussed topics in the fandom. A few have tackled it from the viewpoint of debt—which is true and valid—but I will be coming at it from the angle of love, because although there is a debt that ties Wei Wuxian to the Wen siblings, it is inseparable from the genuine affection they each hold for him. Let's start with Wen Qing's last words to Wei Wuxian:

Wen Qing interrupted him, “I’ve never really said such things to you before. But now that it’s today, there are indeed a few things I should say. I really won’t get a chance to say them after this.” ... Wen Qing, “I’m sorry. And, thank you.”

—Chapt. 77: Nightfall, exr

Throughout the novel, characters seem to have a negative response to being told "I'm sorry" and "thank you" in serious conversation, as both seem to imply a tie of debt and accepting ownership of the debt. Jin Ling refuses to thank Wei Wuxian for saving his life or apologize to him for being disrespectful despite all the life-saving. Lan Wangji has a negative reaction to Wei Wuxian thanking him in many different scenes in the novel, so much so that Wei Wuxian comments on the fact that a lot of their bad separations were precipitated by Wei Wuxian's thanks. Even here, Wei Wuxian has a negative reaction to Wen Qing's words, especially as they come at the end of her speech about how the repayment she asked of Wei Wuxian has unintentionally led them all down a path of no-return. But Wen Qing isn't using it in this way.

As discussed here and here, the Wen siblings actually love Wei Wuxian outside of the circumstances they find themselves in. They do not tie themselves to him because of debt but because he has proven himself to be honest and genuine in a way that the other cultivators they had previously come up against had not. At the same time because of the debt, the relationship between the three is fraught with things that cannot be said lest they be misunderstood. Wen Qing never verbally thanks Wei Wuxian for bringing her brother's consciousness back; instead she treats his wounds and helps put together a family banquet in his honor where she even personally serves him food and alcohol. Wen Ning never verbally thanks Wei Wuxian for rescuing his family and bringing him back; instead he continues to act as his physical protector in both of Wei Wuxian's lives. Neither of them apologize for having implicated Wei Wuxian in the plight of the Wen remnants, as that would have been incurring another debt that Wei Wuxian would likely not accept. However, when the tentative stalemate with the cultivation world is broken with Jin Zixuan's death, none of that matters anymore. They are all at the end of the line and must make a choice: throw Wei Wuxian to the wolves or sacrifice themselves. They choose to sacrifice themselves in the hopes that it will spare Wei Wuxian:

Wen Qing’s voice was calm, “Wei Ying, we both know. Wen Ning is a knife, a knife that scares them, but also a knife that they use as an excuse to attack you. If we go, without the knife, they’d no longer have an excuse. This entire thing might finally be over.”

They can finally say what they want to say, which is that they appreciate what Wei Wuxian has done for them, that they see all that he has sacrificed, that they are willing to match that level of dedication, and that they, too, are willing to risk themselves to protect him as he had been doing for them for up to a year, now. For once, the "thank you" and "I'm sorry" isn't meant to emphasize a debt-repayment relationship. It is meant to liberate Wei Wuxian from them.

[assiraphales]

your post about Houdini reminded me of a good omens post I saw years ago; Crowley's mad at Houdini for some reason so he traps him in a room, says "ooh what's that behind your ear", reaches behind Houdini's head and pulls back flipping the bird

would u be shocked to know that was also my post

[thebaroquehuman]

1623 Portrait of a young girl, possibly Elisabeth, gravin van Nassau-Dietz - Paulus Moreelse

[classywhump]

RB if you're a whump blog that doesn't post NSFW (As in, sexual content) I need to find some blogs to follow! Bonus if you have ongoing original series.

[bebs-art-gallery]

Portrait of a White Cat Seated Before a Mirror

— by an Austrian cat painter, Carl Kahler

[deadpresidents]

Hello!

Maybe to get our minds off this mess, do you have any fun pictures or lesser-known stories about the White House Pets and First Dogs (or Second Dogs. Champ FTW)?

Thank you!

I'm a big fan of President Ford's golden retriever, Liberty.

Here's an excerpt from a page about Liberty on the White House Historical Association's website, which tells you a lot about her and President Ford:

"Liberty quickly settled into life at the White House. She was often photographed outside, enjoying the South Lawn on sunny days. Liberty also enjoyed swimming in the pool at Camp David. At times, President Ford, allegedly used Liberty as a diversionary tactic in the Oval Office. When he wanted a meeting to end, he would signal to Liberty, who wagged her tail enthusiastically at the guest. This created a conversational break so the President could stand up, indicating the meeting had come to its conclusion. Liberty was part of the family at the White House, with President Ford frequently assisting with her care. At Ford's funeral in 2007, former White House Press Secretary David Nessen recalled that one day, Liberty 'made a mess' on the carpet in the Oval Office. A Navy steward started to clean it up, but President Ford stopped him, remarking that, 'no man should have to clean up after another man's dog.'"

That leads to a classic story about President Ford and a very pregnant Liberty getting locked out of the White House Residence in the middle of the night when the President took her outside to go to the bathroom. The Secret Service had to let him back inside.

[daguerreotyping]

Daguerreotype of a British infantry officer with steely eyes and soft whiskers, c. 1840s

[hanakihan]

aggressively prays fgo won’t turn him into catgirl waifubait aggressively prays fgo won’t turn him into catgirl waifubait aggressively prays fgo won’t—

[confuzing]

Something fun for any Pet Fish and SVSSS crossovers- Li Yu does not read cultivation stories. So bro has no idea about Airplane's Magnus opus.