This is about what I published about The Hunting of the Snark in Reddit (/r/TheHuntingOfTheSnark) before the snrk.de blog was launched in autumn 2017. Some entries are out of date. The text below is a copy from the wiki page in my reddit account.
The poem and the illustrations have been published by C. L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) in 1876. On the cover page we read: “With nine illustrations by Henry Holiday”. There are ten illustrations, probably the Bellman’s Ocean-Chart is not by Holiday. (However, he also designed the front cover and the back cover of the book.) Henry Holiday and Dodgson/Carroll became live long friends when designing their book together.
When asked what meaning the poem has, Carroll/Dodgson answered: “I’m very much afraid I didn’t mean anything but nonsense!” Later this statement has been quoted at least thrice. Following the Bellman’s rule, we all know that the author’s statement must be true. Right?
However, In a handwritten memo by Holiday at the bottom of a page from a letter of Lewis Carroll, Holiday noted that the Snark is more than nonsense: «L.C. forgot that “the Snark” is a tragedy and [should] on no account be made jovial.»
The Hunting of the Snark is not just a funny nonsense poem, it is a tragicomedy about legitimate controversy (Snark) turning into lethal fundamentalism, fanaticism and zealotry (Boojum). The Boojum is just around the corner and waiting for all of us. (2024-07-03: There might be a better explanation.)
Below you find a copy of r/TheHuntingOfTheSnark/wiki:
(A) The subreddit:
(B) The poem:
- (01) //snrk.de/snarkhunt/
- (02) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunting_of_the_Snark
- (03) Henry Holiday’s illustrations to the poem
- (04) About an article in the Knight Letter #99
(C) The Image Breakers by Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder
- (01) A Nose Job (with a minimalist animation)
- (02) Illustration by Henry Holiday to The Hunting of the Snark (1876, chapter The Vanishing) and The Image Breakers (01566-1568) by Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder
- (03) Illustration to The Barrister’s Dream: 1st draft by Lewis Carroll, illustration by Henry Holiday with an allusion to Marcus Gheeraert’s Image Breakers
(D) Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
- (01) Queen Elizabeth I and the Bellman
- (02) Queen Elizabeth I meets the Boojum (related to Elizabeth I, but not painted by Gheeraerts II)
- (03) Sir Henry Lee and the Bellman
- (04) Inspiration by re-interpretation
- (05) Anne Hale, Mrs. Hoskins
(E) Henry Holiday – J. E. Millais – unknown artist – Philip Galle (after Maarten van Heemskerck)
- (01) Christ in the Home of His parents (1850), Edward VI and the Pope (16th century), Ahasuerus consulting the records (1564)
- (02) Citation chain
- (03) A detail in the citation chain
- (04) Mary and the Baker
- (05) Wood Shavings turned Pope
- (06) The Carpenter and Ahasuerus
- (07) How Millais’ Christ may have gotten his red hair
(F) The Bard by John Martin
- (01) John Martin in r/TheHuntingOfTheSnark
- (02a) Allusion in an illustration by Henry Holiday (to Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark”, 1876) to John Martin’s painting “The Bard” (1817)
- (02b) Allusion…, as image above, after color desaturation and retinex filtering
- (02c) Allusion…, as image above, after color desaturation and highlighting of two little similarities
- (03) Henry Holiday – Detail from the illustration to the final chapter The Vanishing in Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark (1876); John Martin – Detail (horizontally compressed mirror view) from The Bard (1816) (also posted in /r/UnusualArt)
- (04) A monster from The Bard crept into the illustration to The Beaver’s lesson
- (05) Horses turn into weeds which seemingly have some fun with each other
(G) Matthias Grünewald, Gustave Doré, Henry Holiday
- (01) Gustave Doré (1863) – Henry Holiday (1874) – Gustave Doré (1863)
- (02) Gustave Doré – Don Qixote (1863), Matthias Grünewald – The Temptation of St. Anthony (c. 1512-1516, detail), Henry Holiday – The Beaver’s Lesson (1876, in The Hunting of the Snark)
- (03) Henry Holiday – The Beaver’s Lesson, Matthias Grünewald – The Temptation of St. Anthony
- (04) Matthias Grünewald: Detail from Visit of Saint Anthony to Saint Paul (c. 1512–1516); Henry Holiday: Detail from an illustration to Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark (1876)
- (05) Isenheim Altarpiece (Matthias Grünewald)
(H) Some links related to Thomas Cranmer:
- (01) Henry Holiday’s illustration to the chapter The Vanishing in Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark and Thomas Cranmer’s burning
- (02) print Faiths Victorie in Romes Crueltie
- (03) painting King Edward VI and the Pope
- (04) some notes on Thomes Cranmer’s 42 Articles
- (05) The Baker‘s 42 boxes
- (06) He had seven coats on when he came
- (07) about Thomas Cranmer
- (08) Thomas Cranmer: the Yes-Man who said No.
- (09) search “Thomas Cranmer” in /r/TheHuntingOfTheSnark
- (10) search “Thomas Cranmer” in reddit
- (11) 42 on quora.com
- (12) Thomas Cranmer mentioned (1888) in the Lewis Carroll Picture Book
(I) Some links related to Charles Darwin:
- (01) Charles Darwin in /r/TheHuntingOfTheSnark
- (02) The Bellman and Charles Darwin
- (03) “What can science reveal of the nature of man and the universe of which it is a part? This is the quest of the Snark.”
- (04) Henry Holiday: “I hope that some future Darwin in a new Beagle will find the beast, or its remains.”
- (05) HMS Beagle Laid Ashore, River Santa Cruz, 1834
- (06) HMS Beagle; Bellman, Banker and Beaver
- (07) The HMS Beagle at Night (without Snark)
- (08) Crossing the Line
- (09) Charles Darwin’s Study at Down (1882) – by Alfred Parsons (Engraver: J. Tynan)
- (10) Facial Expressions
- (11) As he wrote with a pen in each hand
- (12) HMS Beagle: Chronometer
(J) More comparisons (in this subreddits and other subreddits):
- (01) A Snark assemblage: Henry Holiday alludes to Father&Son Gheeraerts
- (02) Henry Holiday in /r/Museum
- (03) Comparing artwork in /r/ArtEd
- (04) William III, Religion and Liberty, Care and Hope – by an anonymous artist (1674) and by Henry Holiday (1876)
- (05) Henry Holiday – Detail from illustration to Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark (1876) & J. E. Millais – Detail from The Boyhood of Raleigh (1869)
- (06) Henry Holiday – Segment from an illustration to Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark (1876). William Sidney Mount – The Bone Player (1856), mirror view (See also The Lost White Spot)
- (07) Henry George Liddell (Carroll’s boss) and the Billiard Marker
- (08) The Bellman and Father Time
- (09) The Broker’s nose is not “Jewish”. He inherited it from a roman monk.
- (10) Waistcoat Poetry by Edward Lear and by Lewis Carroll
- (11) Henry Holiday and the maker of Bonnets and Hoods
- (12) Lewis Carroll on the rocks
(K) Setting things right:
- (01) Snarking is older than the Snark
- (02) The Ocean-Chart is not necessarily made by Henry Holiday
- (03) Myth about an error in the 1st edition of The Hunting of the Snark
- (04) Attempts to tame the Snark
(L) Miscelaneous:
- (01) My Snark hunt on Behance.net
- (02) Billiards
- (03) Hellmouth
- (04) Donald Trump, the Poet, by Robin Lakoff (about the Bellman’s rule)
- (05) Snark musik
- (06) Uncle Yoda
- (07) Henry Holiday’s Boojum
- (08) René Magritte and Sigmund Freud on Holiday
- (09) Iconoclasm
(M) Bycatch:
(N) Discussion:
- (01) Only through the artwork the artist learns, what he intended with his activity
- (02) Is The Hunting of the Snark a tragedy? (Henry Holiday’s answer)
- (03) How popular is The Hunting of the Snark?
- (04) Does The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll and Henry Holiday have any allegorical significance?
- (05) Is Lewis Carroll’s and Henry Holiday’s The Hunting of the Snark a childrens book?
- (06) From Snark to Boojum: When legitimate disputes turn into fundamentalism, fanaticism and zealotry
- (07) The Bard: Poem by Thomas Gray and painting by John Martin
- (08) Could Boots be a portmanteau word in The Hunting of the Snark?
- (09) The Snark frequently breakfasts at five-o’clock tea
- (10) Snark movie?
- (11) jub jub jub jub jub jub jub jub jub jub jub jub …
- (12) Is the Beaver’s lace-making evil?
- (13) I start to see letters. Should I take a time out from Snark hunting?
- (14) Are there riddles related to Anglicanism in Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark”?
- (15) Is there an ambiguity regarding the amount of members of the hunting party in Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark”?
2017-09-11, updated: 2024-07-03