by Annette Rubery | Nov 11, 2023 | History
The Hercules Pillars pub: between Holborn and Covent Garden, London. Last night we went to see Handel’s Jephtha at Covent Garden. On the way, we stopped for a drink at the Hercules Pillars. On August 7th 1718, Sir John Vanbrugh wrote to the Duke of Newcastle: I...
by Annette Rubery | Nov 4, 2023 | Architecture, History
As we were in Oxford, we thought we’d have a look at a building on St Michael’s Street, close to the Oxford Union, that had the reputation of being by Sir John Vanbrugh. It probably isn’t, but it’s an intriguing bit of Baroque architecture that...
by Annette Rubery | May 21, 2023 | History, Literature
New leaves on our cutting of Johnson's Fourth Willow, Spring 2023. Photograph: Annette Rubery. Dr Johnson figure, carved from the wood of the Third Willow. Houghton Library, Harvard. Photograph: Annette Rubery. When the Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon wanted the...
by Annette Rubery | Apr 5, 2023 | Architecture, Art, History
View of the Rialto Bridge from the front of Joseph Smith's palazzo. I’ve been doing some research on Joseph Smith (c. 1674-1770): an Englishman who moved to Venice around 1700, where he established himself as a collector of rare books and paintings. In 1744 he...
by Annette Rubery | Apr 4, 2023 | History, Opera
"Rehearsal of an Opera" by Marco Ricci (c. 1709). Catherine Tofts is in the foreground dressed in white. For most people, a trip to Venice involves taking a ride in a gondola, posing for photos on the Rialto bridge and eating gelato. For my husband and I, it also...
by Annette Rubery | Sep 1, 2021 | History
I have been living with this portrait of an unknown woman (purchased from the excellent Cabinet Antiques) for a while now. She hangs on the wall of our office at home, above the filing cabinet, gazing softly down at me as I type. Her manner is unmistakeably...
