Easter break over, I am back at my desk at 6am on a Tuesday morning. Scanning through my work e-mail, I did a double-take this morning.
A case of “when work and hobby collide”? This was the first e-mail I opened this morning. I started the working week with a laugh.
Richard Armitage as John Thornton in North and South. Picture: BBC
Mr Thornton, you saucy bunny… Erotica, eh? Who would’ve thought that the earnest cotton mill owner would harbour such a secret… Surrealist art, eh? I see a whole load of fan fiction in my mind’s eye…
A closer look reveals that this is a photography exhibition. And before you point out that this could not possibly be “our” Mr Thornton because the medium is photography – NS was published in 1855, by which time photography had already established itself. (The very first photographic image was made by French aristocrat Nicephore Niepce in 1831; Louis Daguerre refined the process to what we know as “Daguerrotype Photography” in the late 30s; Englishman Henry Fox Talbot followed up in the early 1840s with his negative “Calotype” process, and eventually, in 1851, Frederick Archer developed the “Wet Collodion” process that was used for the following decades… But photography as we used to know it after that, was actually based on Fox Talbot’s negative process.) So the timeline fits – but alas, the artist in my invitation is in fact an Australian photographer. His imagery is erotic – and thus NSFW – but if you would like to take a look, click HERE.
And hooray, I am back on Social Media. I won’t lie – it was actually great to stay away from Twitter for a little while, avoid the drama, and only discuss things by delay – but after the end of my self-imposed hiatus, I am also glad to have that platform with all its immediacy and all the contacts back. During the six-week break, there were often times when I came across things in my day-to-day life that I felt like sharing – be it articles that are worth reading, or news, or the funny bits and pieces that happen and would make a great conversation piece. Like the piece above, actually. It’s good to be back.
Hope you all have a good start to this (short) week. I’ll be trying hard to stay away from the Easter stash…
Guylty Pleasure 
As we always suspected, underneath that starched upright exterior lurks a heart full of passion!
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Indeed. It’s nice to know that besides his hard work, Mr Thornton has a hobby…
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Not possible, I cry. Our Mr Thornton – oh yes, no doubt there were photographs of cats and porn from the beginning – but surrealism, not him I feel.
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Yeah, I think you are right. The surrealism seems out of character. And out of time.
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LOL. I think I read somewhere that almost as soon as photography was invented, it began to be used for pornography. But I don’t blame Thornton; everyone needs a hobby 🙂 PS: That Easter candy pic is quite seductive in itself.
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LOL – I think *that* started in the 1850s as photography became more ubiquitous. (In fact, I have a whole photo book of 19th century erotic imagery – I can tell you, it is quite the eye-opener… It has to be locked away, in fact…) Mr Thornton was a man of the world. I am sure he was around the block and knew what was available… *coughs*
The candy is *very* seductive. And I have just received your parcel! That packaging is extremely seductive, too! Thank you! xx
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Back in the day, the C19 ladies had a long, long and vehement (unresolved) discussion / argument about whether Thornton came to his marriage bed “untutored.” If he did, he would have had these pictures to help him, lol.
Actually, I like musing about Thornton’s possible hidden hobbies. Surrealist photography, rabbit husbandry, death metal?
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I am very much hoping for Margaret’s sake that Thornton was *not* untutored… (How old is the man, btw? I’ve forgotten…)
But LOL – your list of possible hobbies!!!! Death metal – yup, I can just about see Thornton getting excited about that *coughs*
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I am positive JT was a man of many talents not just in business when Margie met him. He was pretty worldly. And lookie here so he was one to show a girl his gallery of ,etchings, 😂😂😂😂 and this public outing is not far at all from where i live i shall definitely be interested in seeing these!
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You know, if Thornton asked me to take a look at his photography collection, I wouldn’t hesitate… I’m sure he enjoyed it because of the mechanics involved, too…
Oh cool, it’s close to where you are? Check the images before you go, though – just so you know what you are letting yourself in for…
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That grave black outfit goes with any hobby! IIrc, the book Mr. Thornton is quite a bit older than Margaret, like ten years or more, but the Victorians would have been okay with that.
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That was my hunch – I had it in my head that he was in his early thirties (whereas she’s supposed to be 18 or 19, isn’t she?).
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And JT was fascinated with inventions and innovations and with his introspective side photography would have been a very natural hobby.
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Exactly – and once he had established himself as a family man, he would probably have switched from erotica to snaps of his heir on the hobby horse and seaside holidays 😉
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My comment is not about photography.I just received my JT postcard,THANK YOU Guylty.You asked how I got into the “obsession”,well,Robin Hood,The orgasmic Guy,then I was scanning Netflix and saw MI5,oh wow,thats Guy.Thats how it began.Now we have many DVD’s and Thorins all in a cabinet..Thank you again..
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The orgasmic Guy *giggles* – ah, sure, I only know too well how that happened…
And you are welcome!
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We had no chocolate bunnies this year. Just a relaxing day–except for my scrambling to find a from scratch scalloped potato recipe when my hubby admitted that he had thrown out our scalloped potatoes box mix because it was a month past its expiration date. Seriously? Ha! So I made him slice the potatoes for my scalloped potatoes casserole. 😉
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LOL! What a nice little fanstasy! 🙂
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All this and the thriving chocolate business too. Our Mr.Thornton is truly a man of parts. :).
A belated thank you for the roundup meanwhile. A very welcome distraction from RL..
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Oh, I forgot about the sinfully sweet chocolate side-line… You are right, Mr Thornton is a right dabbler, even though he claims he doesn’t dabble…
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Love this! Brilliant….
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😂 I had forgotten about this. I am glad you dredged it up, Ricky!!!
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