Pepys Into The Past

Some brilliant soul is Tweeting lines from the famous diary of Samuel Pepys.  This morning's is such a flourish of language, color, and images, that I must needs post it here for our collective entertainment!

First, how do you pronounce his name?

"The accepted pronunciation today of his curiously spelled name is PEEPS. Sam definitely pronounced his name PEEPS as do the descendents of his sister Paulina. However other branches of the family pronounce it PEPPIS."

[from the Samuel Pepys Diary FAQ]

I am going with old Sam and dear Paulina; PEEPS it is.   

 Image source: Wikipedia

And then, who is this fascinating creature? Here are the first two paragraphs from that font of human knowledge, Wikipedia. I've left the links active, just for fun.

"Samuel Pepys' FRS, MP, JP, (pron.: /ˈpiːps/;^[1] 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and subsequently King James II.

His influence and reforms at the Admiralty were important in the early professionalisation of the Royal Navy.^[2] The detailed private diary Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19th century, and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London."

Mr. Pepys would utterly adore the Internet age.  If here were alive now, he would have invented Twitter if some else hadn't already done so.

Samuel Pepys diary manuscript volumes
Image source: Wikipedia

Here's more on him from the Samuel Pepys Diary FAQ cited above:

"Although he was known in his day for his efficient work with the navy, he is famous now for his intimate personal diary, written between 1660 and 1669. It is evocative of the 17th century, a time of great change in England but it is its intensely personal description of a man who is vain, lecherous, hard working, keen to learn, in love with yet argumentative with his wife, and determined to leave his mark on the world that makes his diary so fascinating even 350 years later."

I am happy to report that the whole of Pepys' diary now resides on my Kindle reader, thanks to the good people at Project Gutenberg. Here is the link to the various formats they offer (as well as a link to read it online).

Off to breakfast then, wishing I were doing so amid a noise of trumpets and fidlers and wearing a scarlett waistcloathe!

 Image source/credit

The Pristine Green Machine

Image source/credit

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night 

stays these couriers from the swift completion 

of their appointed rounds."

[inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York City]

The same may be said of Typospherians for whom a handmade sign on any street corner beckons with all the power of those mermaid Sirens who lured Odysseus and his men to their islands. Even if, like brave Odysseus, we claim we shall withstand the call . . . still . . . the machines . . .  the machines . . .  we wants them we do.

This is the latest typewriter to enter our abode.  My Beloved Spousal Unit ~ who has quite the knack for finding older machines in exceptional condition ~ found it at an estate sale.  And not just any estate sale; the kind flush with old snow blowers, stacks of worn Tupperware containers, and the like.  This estate was of an honored gentleman, a physician and scholar.  Books lined the walls, my Beloved told me.  Amid the quiet memories of a full life sat a silvery case.  Within a near mint condition Olympia SM3.

The case showed some light wear, but the machine itself is in glorious condition.  Even the bushings are in good shape. All I needed to do was wind a new ribbon onto its spools.

The typeface is an elegant script.  

I especially love the way some of the uppercase letters swoop low with a flourish.

I've named this one Dr. Laurence 

~ a modified version of its original owner's name ~ 

and in his honor and memory.

Fun on Bikes

Bicyclists from the 2011 Tweed Run in London
Image source

I've previously noted the deeply delightful and often poignant local travel blog, Spitalfields Life. The Gentle Author has done it again, with an entertaining piece on a bicycling event known as the Tweed Run.  A few lines from the post will, I do hope, intrigue you (and the photos of the event are a great deal of fun as well).

"Just in its third year, no wonder the magnificent Tweed Run is already a global sensation. Beginning with one hundred and sixty cyclists arrayed in tweed for a turn around London in January 2009, it has now inspired copycat events in sixteen other cities across the world including New York, Paris, Sydney and Tokyo. Elegant in its simplicity, the notion of enthusiasts for traditional cycling attire banding together for a beano, enjoying a high old time, lifting the spirits of a city and raising money for bikes for Africa, the Tweed Run is one of the things we can be proud of giving to the world."

Two Dapper Gentlemen

Image source