Lending

Lending

Lending

Excellent account of Social History from the 18th Century with wonderful illustrations of Mrs Delany's needlework and paper cutting. Collages by Mrs Delaney in the Britsh Museum London near 1000 examples.

I first learned of Mrs. Delaney when I saw a 2007 calendar of her flowers at my daughter's house. It was altogether exquisite. Each month was represented by an exceptionally beautiful flower, perfectly composed on a dark background. I was astounded to learn that the flowers were paper collages! They were so realistically detailed, in fine gradations of color, it was hard to believe they weren't, at least, paintings. Determined to learn more about their creator, I found this book on Mrs. Delaney's life, flowers - and much more.
It turns out that Mrs. Delaney was highly skilled in many crafts. She painted and drew; she made silhouettes and astonishing paper cuts, she executed beautiful shellwork in various forms (usually set in plaster), and she was a superb needleworker. Her embroidery, most often floral, was true to nature in form, color and detail. Incredibly, she began her paper collage flowers at age 72.
Mrs. Delaney, Her Life and Her Flowers, is well illustrated with full color pictures of her flower collages, and samples of her other accomplishments, too - these, mostly in black & white. Within these pages we also learn of her aristocratic life and appealing character. Mary Granville Delaney (b. 1700) was a high-born lady of 18th century England. She was compelled by family circumstances to marry, at age 17, a wealthy member of the Parliament, more than 40 years her senior, who she found repulsive. She remained with him, a sad and dutiful wife, until his death, six years later. Although Mary did not inherit his promised fortune, she was left with enough income to "take her place in society" and live independently. She led an active and varied social life for many years, and knew many interesting people, among them George Frederick Handel, Dean Swift, John Wesley, Horace Walpole, and Edmund Burke, who spoke of her as "The highest-bred woman in the world, and the woman of fashion of all ages." She was known for her good taste in clothing; not giving in to the excesses of contemporary fashion, she dressed with constraint and elegance. But more than that, she was witty and perceptive, with an original mind. She loved to dance, and she loved the outdoors, taking great pleasure in long and frequent walks with friends, to sketch and look for new plants.
Having refused many offers of marriage through the years, Mary accepted the proposal of Dr. Patrick Delaney, in 1743. For the following 25 years they took much pleasure in each other's company, until Dr. Delaney's death, at age 83. It was not long after this that Mrs. Delaney invented her unique paper collages.
"Sitting in her bedchamber at Bulstrode, she noticed the similarity of colour between a geranium and a piece of red paper that was on her table. Taking her scissors, she cut out the scarlet paper and, using more coloured paper for the leaves and stalk, she created a picture of a geranium. The Duchess [of Portland] on entering the room mistook the paper petals for real ones."
Several years later the King and Queen (George III and Charlotte) befriended her. Queen Charlotte was a patron of the arts, and a botanist, and had exotic specimens from the new Kew Gardens sent to Mrs. Delaney, to reproduce in paper collages. Mary Delaney died in 1788, at the age of 88. ( )