A study of George Wilson’s eighteenth-century narrative fans as prints and mobile conduct instructors

Harrison, Rosanna Lucy Doris Colchester (2019). A study of George Wilson’s eighteenth-century narrative fans as prints and mobile conduct instructors. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

[img]
Preview
Harrison2019PhD_Vol_1.pdf
Text - Accepted Version
Available under License All rights reserved.

Download (1MB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
Harrison2019PhD_Vol_2.pdf
Text - Redacted Version
Available under License All rights reserved.

Download (15MB) | Preview

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the engraved narrative fans made by the English fan maker George Wilson (active before 1795 to after 1801). Wilson’s fans form part of the extensive collection belonging to Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Schreiber (1812-1895) held at the British Museum. The thesis challenges the hitherto overlooked status of printed fans in art history and fan history by revealing the ways in which their study enriches current understanding of eighteenth-century print culture. It does so by establishing the fan shop as an important contributor to the range of visual material circulating in London. It demonstrates how closely Wilson’s fans were aligned with popular print narratives. Besides prints, it further shows how closely fans were linked to conduct literature through their pictorial engagement with virtuous and satirical tropes and motifs. It argues that Wilson’s fans provide an innovative form of spectatorship and readership on which textual and visual sources relating to behaviours were experienced in the public sphere, aiding different sensory ways in which a female owner could learn about, and understand, conduct. Thus, it concludes that Wilson’s fans reveal insights into eighteenth-century print processes, the function and circulation of artworks, and themselves created novel forms of social conduct.

Type of Work: Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)
Award Type: Doctorates > Ph.D.
Supervisor(s):
Supervisor(s)EmailORCID
Smith, CamillaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Jones, ClaireUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Licence: All rights reserved All rights reserved
College/Faculty: Colleges (2008 onwards) > College of Arts & Law
School or Department: School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music, Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies
Funders: None/not applicable
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
N Fine Arts > NC Drawing Design Illustration
N Fine Arts > ND Painting
N Fine Arts > NE Print media
N Fine Arts > NK Decorative arts Applied arts Decoration and ornament
N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
P Language and Literature > PR English literature
URI: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/8824

Actions

Request a Correction Request a Correction
View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year