Seminar: Beauty Bound by British Propaganda: Literary Annuals, Colonial Print & Digital Archives
Thursday 19 March, 11 am – 12 noon
Puaka James Hight 210
Katherine D. Harris (San Jose State University)
In the short story, “Uncle Anthony’s Blunder,” a gentleman approaches a young lady whose back is turned to him. From behind, she is dressed in fine clothing with hands covered by gloves. Before waiting for her to turn around, the older man, Antony Nesfield, blurts out a proposal of marriage, however, when she turns around, he discovers that she’s Jamaican and Black – a case of mistaken identity. The engraving and following short story appear on page 231 of a 343-page duodecimo volume, published in the 1833 Forget Me Not, a literary annual title that first appeared in 1823 and lead the revolution in combining the almanac, women’s conduct manuals, and emblem books.
