[Vwoolf] "Jacob's Room": Crux #3

[Libertin, Mary]

After some research about Wilde walking a lobster I found the following:

  1.  Wilde saying to Frank, “There’s a little library on board of French books and English; I’ve ordered supper in the cabin — lobster a l’Americaine and a bottle of Pommery” (The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde)
  2.  An image of Wilde walking his lobster (and in-text passage)  in Ben Le Vey’s Eccentric Britain.
  3.  Also, see the reference to Gerard de Nerval who “trailed a lobster after him through the streets of Paris” (in Karl Beckson, Oscar Wilde, 423 and elsewhere).

I also recall, interestingly, that Wilde’s lobster was purple and that Woolf wrote with purple ink.

Mary

From: "Stuart N. Clarke" <stuart.n.clarke at btinternet.com<mailto:stuart.n.clarke at btinternet.com>>
Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 7:16 AM
To: "vwoolf at lists.osu.edu<mailto:vwoolf at lists.osu.edu>" <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu<mailto:vwoolf at lists.osu.edu>>
Subject: [Vwoolf] "Jacob's Room": Crux #3


Near the beginning of ch. V:

“you will see that three elderly men at a little distance from each other run spiders along the pavement as if the street were their parlour”

This *very* mysterious.

Vara Neverow suggests that the ‘men, who are spaced so that they will not compete with one another, are selling mechanical toys to passersby, probably windup penny toys manufactured in Germany.’ (JR 2008: 229)

Ado suggests “peut-être” (JR 2012: 329):
(1) Live spiders attached by threads
(2) penny toys
(3) bicycles

I think Ado’s #3 is unlikely: bikes on the pavement – disgraceful!  I think those types of bikes called spiders predate 1910 by some considerable time (altho’ I’d never heard of them before).

Ado’s #1 seems possible.  After all, in the Victorian period you could buy sparrows from street vendors, with strings attached to their legs, and you could fly them around.  Ugh!

I really like Vara’s and Ado’s #2.  Not something I would have thought of, but look here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ANTIQUE-WIND-UP-CLOCKWORK-TOY-SCHUCO-STYLE-SPRING-DEVIL-SPIDER-C1920S-30S-/391084080032
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/OLD-GERMAN-WIND-UP-TOY-SPIDER-/251940077598?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa8cc801e

On the other hand, would a 1922 reader know what VW was referring to?  Would it be obvious to him/her that she was referring to toys?

Any answers gratefully received.

Stuart
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