House Mouse Gallery

Black John of Tetcott, James Northcote (1746-1831)

Oil on canvas, English School. In 1784 Northcote painted the portrait of John Arscott (1718-1788) of Tetcott, Devon, and it is probable that he painted this portrait of Black John of Tetcott at same the time. Black John was under four foot in height and suffered from kyphosis, known at the time this portrait was painted as hunchback'. The descriptions of his life, spent in the service of John Arscott, record his success as a jester and his devotion to his master'. It was common for servants lives to be overlooked and trivialised by the households they worked for and for their histories to be re-written, ensuring that they had no voice of their own. For example, it was noted that "his role as jester included swallowing and retrieving strings of live mice and mumbling sparrows, removing their feathers with his teeth while the sparrow was in his mouth. He died of grief shortly after his master." There is no history of Black John's life (not even a record of his real name) that is not in relation to that of his master'. James Northcote was born in Plymouth, the son of a watchmaker and optician. He was apprenticed to his father's trade but showed a talent for art. In 1769 he left his father's work and set up as a portrait painter. He was admitted as a pupil into the studio and house of Sir Joshua Reynolds in London as a pupil and assistant between 1771 and 1776. He came to consider himself an authority on his master and in 1813, after Reynolds death, he published his posthumous Memoirs of Sir Joshua Reynolds

© RIC

Douniamag-Australia-Lifestyle-Wildlife-Animals-Snakes

This picture taken on August 5, 2013 shows a green tree snake recovered by snake catcher Andrew Melrose from a house in Sydney. They are the nightmare tenants who can live undetected alongside Australian families for years: the world's deadliest snakes. Australia is home to some of the most venomous species including the lethal eastern brown, which thrive in urban areas where rubbish bins attract prey such as rats and mice. AFP PHOTO / SAEED KHAN / AFP PHOTO / SAEED KHAN

© Agence France-Presse (AFP) - All Rights Reserved

Mouse held away from Mousetrap

"My Wife won't let me!" A male mouse is prevented by his wife from taking the unwise step of trying to obtain a tempting block of cheese from a little wire cage... A comment on the male member of the household not being allowed to go out and play by the lady of the house! Date: 1907

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10499631

Cheese, Danger, Dangerous, Death, End, Entrapment, Female, Male, Mice, Mouse Trap, Prevented, Preventing, Pulling, Risk, Risking, Tali, Temptation, Tempted, Tempting, Trap, Untimely