I had a fascinating visit to the Exhibition of ‘Miniature Worlds’ at the Laing Art Gallery recently. Tiny etchings included works by Turner, William Blake and John Martin, illustrations for books by Beatrix Potter and Lewis Carroll, but I found the wood engravings by Thomas Bewick the most stimulating. He ‘captured local landscapes and lively scenes in spaces smaller than the palm of his hand.’ It was a joy to view these scenes with the help of a magnifying glass.
Bewick’s technical prowess was astounding. He developed the technique of engraving a hard boxwood block against the grain using a graver’s burin (a thin pointed blade), to create such small intricate masterpieces like those found in his ‘History of British Birds.’ It is amazing how such small woodcuts combined with Bewick’s powers of observation and skill in engraving could have produced such details on such a small scale, without the magnifying glass I needed to bring the prints, some as small as 3cm x 4.5cm, to life.
The Bronte’s miniature works
Equally amazing are the Bronte’s childhood miniature books. They used left-over materials and parchment sewn together to make tiny books measuring about 5cm x 4cm. Their handwriting, using a dip pen and ink, was so incredibly small that once again adults would need a magnifying glass to read the imaginatively creative text.
Branwell had been given twelve toy soldiers as a present on his ninth birthday and the Bronte children used these as a basis for the soldiers’ adventures in a series they named, “Glass Town Federation.” But they also wrote poems, plays and dramas in books about the size of a playing card. Many did not survive but there is a small collection in the Parsonage Museum in Haworth, their childhood home. In 2022 the museum acquired Charlotte’s ‘A Book of Rhymes’ written in 1829. Another miniature joy.
The miniature dachshund
Another joy to many pet lovers is the miniature dachshund, now reported as being the most-popularly bred dog in the UK. Apparently living in city, especially a flat, as they are such tiny dogs they adapt well to small urban spaces, (unless you live in the flat above or below as they have very loud barks).
In late 17th Century Germany, the dachshund (badger dog), was genetically bred with a form of dwarfism to shorten their legs so they could hunt badgers. Their strong feet enabled them to dig into burrows to hunt, and their long body and short legs were useful to follow their prey underground. Their floppy ears stopped debris from entering their ear canals, and their long tails could be spotted as they ran through undergrowth or long vegetation, or even used to pull them out of a hole.
Later, the miniature dachshund was selectively bred to hunt rabbits and moles. Their loud barks were developed as a means of communication. They are now no longer hunting dogs but sought after pets that attract a lot of attention, another joyful miniature for many pet owners.
Józef Boruwłaski
Józef Boruwłaski was a joyful dwarf, but this time the cause of his stature was achondroplasia, probably because of a pituitary gland malfunction. He was only 20.5 centimetres (8 inches) long when he was born in 1739 and his final height when aged thirty was just 99cm (39 inches). However, he was perfectly proportioned and often mistaken for a child. Józef, known as the Little Count, was born in Halicz (Halych), now in modern day Ukraine. Although two of his siblings were also small, one of his brothers, a soldier was 1.93 meters (six feet four inches) tall.
Józef was not an aristocrat, but he was known as the Little Count. He was extremely talented and toured Europe attracting the attention of Royal Courts. When aged fifteen and still only 63.5 cm (twenty-five inches) tall he was presented to Empress Marie Theresa who placed him on her lap. Some say she presented him with a diamond ring, whilst others suggest the ring was given to him by Marie Antionette. During the unrest in France, he journeyed to England where he became a court favourite of the Prince Regent and the Duke of Devonshire.
As a violinist, guitarist, composer, a brilliant wit and exaggerated storyteller of his own adventures he continued his tours of Europe and extended them into UK, making a considerable amount of money. He was so talented that he could dance whilst playing the violin. Between 1783 – 1786, he toured Scotland and Ireland. He then retired to Durham in 1791.
The Little Count lived in Banks Cottage and in 1806 became an honorary member of the Durham Granby lodge. He was a close friend of Stephen Kemble the actor who also lived in Durham. Living so close to the River Weir, he became a keen angler. His wife and his three normal sized children had left him when he was in his early fifties, so he lived in Banks Cottage with the unmarried daughters of Thomas Ebdon, the Cathedral organist. Just as well his wife left him as when she became annoyed with him, she used to place him on the mantlepiece out of the way. Whilst in Durham he was a favourite with the local gentry and had a handsome income from the prebendaries of Durham, as well as an annuity from Thomas Ebdon.
Józef Boruwłaski died aged nearly 98 years old on 5 September 1837. After his death there were those who wanted to dissect his body; but that was saved as he was buried in Durham Cathedral. He is commemorated by a flagstone bearing the initials JB under the RAF Memorial window. There is both a statue and a portrait of him in the Town Hall as well as a collection of his clothes and artefacts, including his miniature violin.
Miniature daffodils
The final miniature I’m awaiting is the opening of the miniature daffodils on my kitchen windowsill, proof that ‘small things come in small bundles;’ little things in life can bring joy.
Laing Art Gallery exhibition ‘Miniature Worlds: Little Landscapes from Thomas Bewick to Beatrix Potter’ until Saturday 28 February; further information here.
