Illustrated London News Vol 56 (page 1/4)

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Musical Instruments at the South Kensington Museum: H.—Vielle, or Hurdy-Gurdy

“The French vielle, which we should call a hurdy-gurdy, bears the date of 1550, and the monograms of Catherine de Medici and of Henri II., with the Royal arms of France; it has ten ivory keys and six tuning pegs; it is decorated, in black [...] [more...] [$]

Musical Instruments at the South Kensington Museum: R.—Spinet

A Spinet is a sort of harpsichord—that is, a musical instrument with a keyboard but in which the keys are plucked rather than monked with a hammer as in a piano. The strings in a spinet go off at an angle, [...] [more...] [$]

Hornbills

The Hornbills are a family of birds which inhabit the tropics of Asia and Africa, dwelling in the deepest jungles and forests, and feeding principally upon ripe fruits. They are very remarkable for the large size and curious forms of their beaks, which vary much in the different species, and attain huge proportions in some of them. In most of them, [...]arboreal life. For many years it was supposed to be almost impossible to keep these handsome and attractive birds in a living state in this country [England]. But recently, the proper mode of treatment having been discovered, the Zoologi­cal Society of London has succeeded in intro-­ducing several of the largest and finest species of the group as permanent denizens of the aviaries in Regent’s Park. Amongst those at present in the society’s gardens are particularly noticeable a pair of the large concave-casqued hornbills, which have now been in the collection nearly six years, besides examples of several other ornamental species. To these an important addition has just been made in the shape of three hornbills, of which we now give an Illustration. The large figure in front repre­sents the white-faced male, and the adjoining figure is the black female of the plait-billed hornbill (Buceros Plicatus), while in the back­ground is a figure of a female of the slender hornbill (Buceros Gracilis). These three birds have recently arrived from Sumatra and Malacca, where they were taken as nestlings from the forest-trees in which they were bred last summer. Their bills are consequently not yet fuller [sic] developed, and will attain much larger proportions as the birds grow older. (p. 346) [more...] [$]

Alms Box, Skipwith

Leaves from a Sketch-Book. YORK. The Engravings on this page are drawn from various sketches made some time ago in York and its neighbourhood. As their name implies, they are not intended to represent the architectural glories which are the pride of the great county of York, but have been hit off as taste or opportunity suggested—now from an old [...] [more...] [$]

Out of the World

“[...] The scene is one which we understand the artist witnessed years ago at the Franciscan monastery at Tivoli. In a whiewashed cell of the monastery a young monk sits playing the harpsichord—one of those old-fashioned instruments still used in remote districts on the Continent where the modern piano has not been introduced—and [...] [more...] [$]