Clarence Bicknell’s painting is from his Book of Guests in Esperanto opposite the entry for Capi, his niece Nora’s dog. Clarence Bicknell wrote a page in Esperanto about each visitor and decorated the page with a botanical drawing, often developing the guest’s initial into a monogram. The words translated read… “Capi, my niece Nora’s black […]
Watercolour drawing of Water Avens by Clarence Bicknell Read More »
The family Bottacco and Clarence Bicknell – how did they know each other? Rhea Bottacca Sanseverino, her husband Leopoldo Bottacco and their daughter Rita Bottacco Edoardo Fumio of Florence contacted us on 6th April 2021 to ask for the original pictures from the “Clarence Bicknell’s Casa Fontanalba Visitors’ Book” which showed the entries in the
The family Bottacco and Clarence Bicknell Read More »
The Ancient King, l’Antico Re, was the name used by Clarence Bicknell and other botanists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for Saxifraga florulenta. Botanists and enthusiasts have always spent many patient hours in search of this rarity, and forever will. It is wonderful and exciting to find it in bloom. Read the
The Ancient King, Saxifraga florulenta Read More »
We show three of Clarence’s images of the Martagon Lily here. Firstly in the Casa Fontanalba Visitors’ Book (Bicknell Collection) which he drew in 1906; every right hand page has a glorious watercolour of a wild plant, here Martagon Lily, and guests signed on the left when visiting his summer home in Casterino in the
Clarence Bicknell and the Martagon Lily; luxurious brightness Read More »
70 years after Clarence Bicknell’s death he was being referred to as L’Homme des Merveilles, the man who discovered the 11,000 rock engravings in the Vallée des Merveilles in the mountains on the border of southeast France and Italy. You can go hiking there (https://provence-alpes-cotedazur.com/en/things-to-do/the-most-beautiful-routes/hiking-alpes-maritimes-vallee-des-merveilles/), stay in on the little hotels in Casterino where Clarence
L’Homme des Merveilles – Clarence Bicknell Read More »
Clarence’s artistic endeavours flourished when he could combine his creativity and botanical knowledge with his design skills. Instead of having a standard book for signatures of the many visitors to the Casa Fontanalba (in 10 years he had over 250 visitors who made their way up the mountain road), he illustrated in advance each right-hand
Aquilegia alpina in the Casa Fontanalba Visitors’ Book Read More »
In our regular postings on Facebook, occasionally here, we have featured at least three times Clarence’s watercolour designs based on the fritillary. It’s an extrordinarily beautiful bell-shaped brightly-patterned wild flower of the Alps – all its varieties inspired Clarence to exceptional artistic creations.This article brings his various fritillary creations on one page, and photos by
Clarence’s inspiring fritillaries Read More »
The Book of Guests in Esperanto by Clarence Bicknell is published today in text form. We provide a transcription of the Esperanto original and the English translation. A reproduction of each page is available to students and researchers on application (info@old.clarencebicknell.com). Clarence wrote in this small vellum-bound album his notes in Esperanto on guests who
The Book of Guests in Esperanto – text published Read More »
I am grateful to Mark Howard, whaling history expert who got in touch with us in 2017, for forwarding today a photo taken in 1949 published in October 2010 by the LCC Photograph Library at the London Metropolitan Archives. The text to the photo there reads as follows: QUOTE – Shops in Newington Butts: View
Elhanan Bicknell’s whale oil refinery in London; the site identified. Read More »
We are pleased to be able to publish this interesting paper by my cousin Ian Fraser. David Roberts was his great great great great grandfather ands his daughter Christine (1821-1872) married Henry Sanford Bicknell (1818-1880) who like his father Ehanan loved collecting art. Ian recovered Roberts’ lost journal of 1851-1860 from among his father’s papers
David Roberts and the Royal Academy, by Ian Fraser Read More »
