A nice article in the Guardian tells the story of Conrad Martens, an artist who accompanied Darwin for the first few years of his voyage to South America and beyond. Martens sketches and watercolors helped capture not just the lives of local people, landscapes and seascapes but shipboard and other research activity of crew and of Charles Darwin.
Now all this material has been put together in a digital archive accessible via the Cambridge University Library.
Darwin's Christmas of 1833 with Martens drawing the activities seemed like fun times aboard the Beagle:
“After dining in the Gun-room, the officers & almost every man in the ship went on shore. – The Captain distributed prizes to the best runners, leapers, wrestlers. – These Olympic games were very amusing; it was quite delightful to see with what school-boy eagerness the seamen enjoyed them: old men with long beards & young men without any were playing like so many children. – certainly a much better way of passing Christmas day than the usual one, of every seaman getting as drunk as he possibly can.”
Its a a treat to go online and peruse through one of history's most epic voyages!
...Meanwhile FINALLY! .. I am in possession and eager to start Darwin- Life Of A Tormented Evolutionist by Adrian Desmond and James Moore. I have heard and read so much about the book that I am now afraid that I might be disappointed. Unlikely, since Darwin's life, work and times are a fascinating topic with many many treasures to mine.
Happy Holidays!
Now all this material has been put together in a digital archive accessible via the Cambridge University Library.
Darwin's Christmas of 1833 with Martens drawing the activities seemed like fun times aboard the Beagle:
“After dining in the Gun-room, the officers & almost every man in the ship went on shore. – The Captain distributed prizes to the best runners, leapers, wrestlers. – These Olympic games were very amusing; it was quite delightful to see with what school-boy eagerness the seamen enjoyed them: old men with long beards & young men without any were playing like so many children. – certainly a much better way of passing Christmas day than the usual one, of every seaman getting as drunk as he possibly can.”
Its a a treat to go online and peruse through one of history's most epic voyages!
Happy Holidays!
Certainly this historic voyage changed d history of mankind. I hope people will not misunderstand these steches by martens just like they have misunderstood Darwin's theory of evolution
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