#james boswell

[boswelliana]

Happy birthday to the Honourable Andrew Erskine! I'd share a pic of him, but literally the only one in existence (that we know of) is the caricature by John Kay, and atp he's around 45-46. 😅

Andrew is between Sir John Whitfo[o]rd (left) and Major Andrew Fraser (right). I forget who the women are, except known as "two fashionable ladies", lol.

(I also like his deadpan look; "yes, I'm here, just hanging out with my bud John")

The Honourable Andrew Erskine, d. 1793. Brother of the Earl of Kellie by John Kay | National Galleries of Scotland

I'd also just realized that Kay has no caricatures of Bozzy!! Which makes sense, if I am correct, by 1785 Boswell had already moved to London. So I guess instead of one of Kay's goofy caricatures, we get the fancy Reynolds portrait in that same year, lol:

(And I wish we did have a Kay portrait; would've been cool to analyze his Bozzy portrayal and any accuracies to compare with AE and how much was exaggerated, or not. Ah well, dare to dream~)

Whitford and Erskine were often seen together as "the gowk and the titling" (cuckoo bird and tit, essentially lmao) due to their height dynamics; I can't help but think of the same dynamics often referenced between Erskine and Boswell themselves in their youth. 😅

Hugh Paton's John Kay Biographical Sketches, Vol. II, offers a brief bio on AE, starting on pg 57, viewable via Internet Archive:

A series of original portraits and caricature etchings, by the late John Kay, miniature painter, Edinburgh : with biographical sketches and

2 bound volumes in four parts: illustrations, portraits ; 26 cm

[boswelliana]

So Merriam-Webster has this cute Time Traveler feature to see what words first came into print in certain years. I decided to see what words came about the year Bozzy was born.

Unfortunately I can't recall any of these being used in his journals (so far) but when/if I do, I will giggle and kick my feet, lol.

[imissthembutitwasntadisaster]

James Boswell top ten of my historical blorbos btw. Constantly self-censored and sometimes lied in his Private Journals because of how obsessed he was with how he was percieved. Met Samuel Johnson (known Scot-hater), immediately apologized for being Scottish, immediately started spending a decade convincing Johnson to visit Scotland, somehow managed it!!! Yapper of all time never learnt to shut up, joined the army mostly because he liked the outfits and the concept of being in the army but hated the idea of being in a regiment that ever left London and did actual fighting. Most sociable man in history went literally anywhere and had like seven friends pop out of the woodwork, got drunk with said friends basically every night. Lawyer but notably not very good at it? Lawyer but his actual father was a judge he kept having to go up before and he kept losing in front of his dad. Somehow managed to get a wife. Trapped in a very hard place a lot of the time where all his English friends keep being deeply rude about the Scots and he seems to have partly agreed with them but also kinda definitely not but couldn't say anything so had to work out a weird middle ground. Despite this difficulty literally never learnt to shut up!!!! Man of all time I love him so much.

[boswelliana]

Going to YALE!!!!!! today

[boswelliana]

One of my fav books in my Bozzy collection. Deluxe edition that includes his Harvest Jaunt journal that came before his London one, and also the earliest-known journal of his (because he was already journaling but those entries/journals are lost to time. 🥲🥲🥲🥲)

[toughpaperround]

"His mind resembled the vast amphitheatre, the Colisaeum at Rome. In the centre stood his judgment, which, like a mighty gladiator, combated those apprehensions that, like the wild beasts of the Arena, were all around in cells, ready to be let out upon him. After a conflict, he drove them back into their dens; but not killing them, they were still assailing him.”

- James Boswell in his biography of Samuel Johnson. (1791)

[boswelliana]

Rousseau: “Good-bye. You are a fine fellow.”

Boswell: “You have shown me great goodness, but I deserved it.”

Rousseau: “Yes. You are malicious, but 'tis a pleasant malice. Write and tell me how you are. “

Boswell: “One more word. O Can I feel sure that I am held to you by the slenderest thread? By a hair?” (seizing a hair of my head.)

Rousseau:

[boswelliana]