Sunday Stamps D4 USA, Great Britain

The 200th anniversary of the British assault on Fort Duquesne, held by the French, was commemorated  in 1958.

USA - 25 November 1958

The British were led by Brigadier General John Forbes. Among his troops was a contingent of Virginians under the command of Colonel George Washington who later became one of the founders of the USA, and President of course. 

The French abandoned the fort which was subsequently rebuilt as Fort Pitt (named after the British Prime Minister at the time.) Now it is the location of the city of Pittsburgh. PA.

With pride and without prejudice my second 'D' is a character from Jane Austen.

Great Britain - 22 October 1975
Mr Darcy

No damp shirt there for him as depicted on TV

And much drier here - 

Great Britain

This was from a set of 4 (issued on 9 March) depicting Geographical Regions. I have been unable to find the location of the desert on the stamp. That year all but 15 of the countries in the Commonwealth issued stamps for Commonwealth Day.

Finally there is a bird that would not be happy in the desert - 

Great Britain - 16 January 1980

It would have been much happier in that lake where Mr Darcy got his shirt so wet.

You can dip into other 'D' related posts at Sunday-stamps-d.

A-Z Challenge 2017 - Houses, some real, some not - 'C'

C - Chatsworth House

Many Jane Austen devotees  believe that Mr Darcy's Pemberley is based on Chatsworth House, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

Looking west across to Chatsworth House with the Peak District as the backdrop.

Even a non-Austen fan visiting Chatsworth might recognize the description as it was observed by Jane’s heroine, Elizabeth Barrett:

“It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal, nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place of which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste.”

It’s not surprising that Elizabeth “… felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!”

The connection with Chatsworth was to be maintained when Pride and Prejudice was filmed, using the Chatsworth exterior and two important rooms for Mr. Darcy’s mansion. It will be interesting to see whether Derbyshire’s Chatsworth becomes as associated with Pride and Prejudice as Yorkshire’s Castle Howard is with Brideshead Revisited.

(The above text is taken from my article 'Houses in Fiction' issued in The Lady magazine in October 2008)

Photo attribution:

 © Copyright Paul Collins and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.