| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Pineapples

Page history last edited by I.Reeves@warwick.ac.uk 7 years ago

 

 

The Pineapple in the Eighteenth Century

 


 

Introduction


(fig.1) The 'Queen' Pineapple

 

 The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical fruit that has been widely cultivated for its juice, sweet flesh and its strong fibres. A seedless cultigen, (a plant that has been altered by humans through a process of selective breeding), the pineapple has been in cultivation for hundreds of years. Christopher Columbus is believed to have been the first explorer to record a discovery of it. He subsequently named it the piña de Indes, meaning "pine of the Indians" and his introduction of it to Spain made the pineapple the first Bromeliad to be introduced by humans outside of the New World (1). 

 There are many types of pineapple that have been bred, to name a few: the ‘Hawaiian King', the ‘Honey Gold’ (weighing up to 7 kg), the ‘Smooth Cayenne’ (the most commonly found today) and the ‘Queen’. Though they vary in size and colour, being anywhere from yellow to red and purple, the one pineapple believed to have been brought back in the eighteenth century was named the 'Queen' or 'Victoria' pineapple. This in particular, differs from the commonly seen 'Cayenne' pineapple, by its spiky, thorn-like leaves and small rounded shape (see fig.1). 

The pineapple's delicious taste led to its naming by Caribbean natives, with the pineapple having migrated from Indian explorers, from the Tupi word 'nanas' meaning: 'the most excellent fruit'. It was not merely its taste that elicited such desirous reaction, however, but its shape, the fantasy of its place of its origins and the difficulty in obtaining one fresh. This alien plant went onto inspire culinary, literary, architectural and artistic minds of the time and served as an the ultimate emblem of luxury.    

 

 

Sketch of the 'Queen' and 'Red Jamaican' Pineapple, The Botanicum, Katie Scott, 2016. 

 


 

 

Origins of the Pineapple

 

Map of Colonial Trade of Pineapples, College of Natural Resources, 2016

 

 

Christopher Columbus’s second voyage to the ‘New world’ in 1493, took him from Cádiz in Spain to an island he later named Domenica. He then continued and between the fourth to the tenth of November he explored Guadaloupe. The travellers discovered the pineapple in a deserted location where the natives had fled out of fear. Though Christopher Columbus’s log book has been lost, his son Ferdinand Columbus, wrote:

 

 “They also saw calabashes and some fruit that looked like green pine cones but were much larger; these were filled with solid pulp, like a melon, but were much sweeter in taste and smell. They grow on plants that resemble lilies or aloes…” (Beauman, 19).

 

The interaction of the pineapple and the public, however, did not occur fully until the seventeenth century. Many pineapples were picked unripe and consequently, were rotten by the time they reached Europe.

The pineapple began to spread across different locations, though it is native to Southern and Southern Eastern America, Paraguay and Brazil predominately, it was thought to have been imported to the Caribbean by native tribes. Captain Richard Ligon, who boarded the ship Achilles from London, wrote and published in 1657 his accounts in Barbados. In it, he wrote how pineapples were made gifts to Kings and the cautious listing process of them upon arrival back in London.

When the pineapple reached Europe, its named was changed in England from the native ‘ananas’ to pineapple because of its exterior resemblance to that of a pine cone. In 1640, John Parkinson, who was Botanist to Charles I, describes his fascination with the new fruit:

 

“Scaly like an Artichoke at the first view, but more like to a cone of the Pine tree, which we call a pineapple for the forme… being so sweete in smell… tasting… as if Wine, Rosewater and Sugar were mixed together.”2

 

The pineapple’s explosive popularity in the seventeenth century is evident through the many accounts written about its presentation in Europe. John Evelyn, a contemporary of Samuel Pepys, wrote in his diary in 1661, that “I first saw the famous Queen Pine brought from Barbados and presented to his Majestie; but the first that were ever seen in England were those sent to Cromwell House foure years since.” (Blumenthal, 385). So, the pineapple gained status as a luxury item and pineapple cultivation spread into Africa, India, China, Java and the Philippines.  

 

 

 

 

Photograph of a Red Pineapple Growing, Leamington Spa Botanical Gardens, I. Reeves 

 


 

 

To Cook a Pineapple

 

 

 


Despite their expensive, pineapples became a part of aristocratic cookery and drinking. Pineapple rum, interestingly, became popular in the latter part of the eighteenth century with John Wilkes writing:


Monday, July 15, 1793. 
'I GIVE my perfect consent, my 
clearest Polly, to wait for the pine-apple 
rum, and orgeat, by the waggon..." (Wilkes, 144)

It later became very popular and featured in certain nineteenth century articles and novels too:


"The American pine-apple rum is fine drinking, and I wonder it is not introduced into this country." (Unknown, 641)

"Mr. Stiggins was easily prevailed on to take another glass of the hot 
pineapple rum and water, and a second, and a third, and then to refresh 
himself with a slight supper previous to beginning again." (Dickens, 276).

 

 

PINEAPPLE RUM  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images, Plantation Rum, http://spiritsjournal.klwines.com/klwinescom-spirits-blog/2015/7/16/stiggins-fancy.html 

 

 

 

 

 

18th Century Trade Card for D. Negri - Confectioner at the Pineapple 

 

 

Despite the difficulty in obtaining the pineapple, over the course of the eighteenth century, the fruit become available through certain exclusive shops. Preserved fruits became popular, with green slices of the pineapple being kept in sugary syrups and sold as a sweet treat. Certain confectioners cut their pineapple into ‘chips’, which were decorative and easily eaten. Domenico Negri is believed to have made this particularly fashionable and opening his store, The Pot and Pineapple, in Berkley Square, he was a successful confectioner. His store opened in 1760 and brought many Italian delicacies over with him to London, making the role of the confectioner a 'highly regarded social position' (Lambert, 28). Negri found success in selling expensive treats to the upper echelons of society and was also successful in the selling of ice cream, or ices (Nutt, 428).  Ice cream was first recorded as being eaten in 1671, on the menu for the Knights of the Garter feast held in St. George’s hall at Windsor Castle. It was not made available to the public until the second half of the eighteenth century. The luxury grew increasingly popular, as the ices were displayed in many decorative forms: one of them being the pineapple.

 

 Displayed: Bergamot water ice and punch water ice, Royal cream ice, chocolate cream ice, burnt filbert cream ice and Parmesan cream ice.  

Image and history of Georgian ices: http://www.historicfood.com/Georgian%20Ices.htm  

 

The first published recipe for pineapple appeared in Richard Bradley’s “The Country Housewife and Lady’s Director” in 1736 and it is featured below:

 


To make a Tart of the Ananas, or Pine-Apple

 
'Take a Pine-Apple, and twist off its Crown: then pare it free from the Knots, and cut it in Slices about half an Inch thick; then stew it with a little Canary wine, or Madeira Wine, and some Sugar, till it is thoroughly hot, and it will distribute its Flavour to the Wine much better than any thing we can add to it. When it is as one would have it, take it from the Fire; and when it is cool, put it into a sweet Paste, with its Liquor, and bake it gently a little while, and when it comes from the Oven, pour Cream over it (if you have it) and serve it either hot or cold' (Bradley, 31).

Pineapple marmalade also featured in the recipe book and the right hand image shows the result of following the eighteenth century recipe for the pineapple tart, to see the entire process:
https://www.thecopperpot.co.uk/single-post/2016/1/24/A-Tart-of-the-Ananas-1736

Below displays a wedgewood flummery with a pineapple design, these were exceptionally popular and many designers replicated Wedgewood throughout the century, even if the cake or treat did not contain pineapple because of its expense, many were shaped into the pattern of one. 

 

 

 

Another recipe from the book shows how to make Pineapple Marmalade:

Richard Bradley, The Country Housewife and Lady’s Director,1736.  

 

 

Below shows a cake or jelly mould to shape sweet treats into the shape of pineapples.

 

 

 

Pineapple Flummery Mould, Wedgewood, c. 1790.  Colonial Williamsburg Museum. 

 

 

 

 

Renting a Pineapple and its Symbolism of Hospitality

 

 

 

 

Genevieve Taylor, Georgian Harvest Festival Food @BBCFoodProg display, 2016.  

 

 

Food display was a significant part of a home, especially if guests were to stay, it ‘declared both the personality and status’ (Olmert, 1) of the family. For the prosperous, food displays contained a competitive element to them. Royal and aristocratic families employed culinary advisers to help create fantastical and memorable meals for their guests. The pineapple’s appeal was not simply because of its innately exotic taste, but also because of its appearance. The pineapple became the ‘King’ of the fruits with its leaves thought of as a leafy crown.

The pineapple, because of its expense, would then be placed in the centre of a table display as the crowning adornment of the feast provided. On many occasions, because the owner would wish to use the pineapple to its full value, it would be kept for as long as possible and only eaten when it had completely perished. Indeed, for most pineapples that did arrive to Europe had already begun to decay and only the fastest ships fortuitously passing through clear weather would be able to provide the public with relatively fresh pineapples. As such, the fresh pineapple was exceptionally rare, the ability to procure one would lead guests at a dinner party to appreciate, not only their host’s wealth but also, his resourcefulness. To buy a pineapple for display, a person would have to have found an exclusive confectioner’s shop and it has been stated that ‘fights’ for fresh pineapples frequently broke out between wealthy clientele (Levins, 1). Interestingly, it was not merely desirous for hosts with culinary desires, it was highly sought after horticulturists who wished to display and analyse them, hoping to grow the pineapple in their homes.

Thus, because of its rarity, the pineapple became emblematic of luxury. Many wealthy and aristocratic families strove to obtain the, sometimes unripe and often rotten, fruit and to display it as a symbol of their wealth. The cost of a pineapple is valued at today’s standards at £5000, or $8000. 

 

 

 

James Gilray, Substitutes for bread; -or- right honorables, saving the loaves, & dividing the fishes, The British Museum, 1795.

 

 

As such, this led certain wealthy citizens having to make difficult decisions between purchasing ‘a pineapple or a new coach’ (Waterman, 2); the result of these opulent displays also drew particular criticism from classes that were not able to experience this fruit for themselves, and saw the amount of money lavished on food and artifice. Looking at the image by James Gilray, (above) one sees how society was starved by feeding the wealthier classes with expensive exotic foods. Another image painted by Gilray, John Bull taking a luncheon: -or- British cooks, cramming old grumble-gizzard, with bonne-chére, similarly depicts the figure of the traditional Englishman forcibly eating French ships, or perhaps metaphorically, consuming other cultures for personal gain. Thus, if pineapples represented luxury, they also absorbed the issues that excess and exoticism held for the upper classes. In the novel, The Vagabond, for instance, George Walker radically wrote upon this subject:

 

“What right has one man to eat a pine-apple, for which he gave a guinea, when another is starving for want of half-penny worth of bread?” (Walker, 211).

 

 Citizens that were not in poverty but were not exceptionally wealthy could, however, gain possession of a pineapple, albeit temporarily, as it became a business to rent them for parties. To rent one, the price was significantly less than to purchase and for the evening the host could give the impression to his guests that he was successfully affluent (if pineapples were rented this fact was averted or concealed over the dinner table to protect the host’s pride). There were many who still, despite the lower expense, could not afford to rent a pineapple for the evening and for the majority of the public who may have been still fascinated by its shape and texture, instead turned to using its form in everyday cooking. There was a rise in popularity for foods shaped as pineapples: pineapple-shaped cakes, ices, gelatin moulds, biscuits and candies (see, Wedgewood design).

The pineapple, having already been a symbol of good will in Southern America, began to become a token of European and Colonial American hospitality. As such, pineapples would be given a gifts to their hosts, as the ultimate demonstration of gratitude; for example, King Charles II received the first pineapple to be grown in England as a gift from John Rose (see below, Portrait of King Charles II). Pineapple sculptures and carvings were then placed outside homes and in gardens as a ‘symbol of communal friendship and hospitality’ (Olmert, 2). One example of this is William Byrd's house in Virginia which was commissioned by Byrd in 1725 to have appropriate 'hospitable elements' that were to be carved into the exterior of the house (Okihiro, 164 and below).     

So, whilst the pineapple inspired many culinary designs and centrepieces for the home, the desire it elicited from the public encouraged artists and designers to emulate it in their works. The pineapple, as an emblem of elite status, grew sharply in popularity. 

 

 

 

 

 

Shirley Plantation, Geometric Pineapple at the Apex of the Roof, William Byrd, 1730.

 

 

 

 

Wearing the Pineapple

 

The pineapple's appearance became source of inspiration for many designers of the eighteenth century. Fashionable ladies wished to bear the fruit on their dresses, their bags and even their shoes. It has been suggested that after Napoleon Bonaparte's marriage to Joséphine, the exotic became even more fashionable; her childhood which was spent in a french colony in Martinique influenced her choice of dresses. As such, many pieces featured below reveal the interest in the pineapple as an artistic fashion motif and symbol of status.  

 

'A single seed thrown into the hot bed of fashion...all must have their fooleries as well as their Pineries.' 

1758 (Ralph, 41)

 

Photo from Revolution in Fashion 1715-1815, copyright 1990 The Kyoto Costume Institute.

 

 

 

 

The Kyoto Costume Institution's 1799 "Reticule" Bag, copyright 1990 The Kyoto Costume Institute.

(http://www.gancedo.eu/Pine_Apple_Bag.pdf Make your own eighteenth century pineapple bag). 

 

 

Lady's Pineapple Gown, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1773-5. 

 

 

Pair of Lady's Shoes, Spitalfields,Victoria & Albert Museum. London, Photograph copyright Loretta Chase,c. 1735. 

 

Morning dress, , Museum of Fine ArtsBoston, c.1740.

 

Dress Fabric, Spitalfields, Embroided silk, dress fabric, Victoria & Albert Museum. London,1745.

A French Chinoiserie tapestry panel, Gathering Pineapples, from a series of The Emperor of China, Guy Louis Vernansal, Jean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay, and "Baptiste" Monnoyersecond, quarter 18th century, Sotheybys Auctioneer, London. 

 

Wallpaper, Leicester Square (paper hung) England (manufactured) Mid 18th century (made), Victoria & Albert Museum. London. 

 

 

 

The Painted Pineapple

 

 

One of the first recorded paintings of the pineapple was a painting by the artist John White, ‘The Pyne Frute’(1585-1593), which hangs in the British Museum. The pineapple was, however, in the seventeenth century was only beginning to emerge as a curiosity of the discoveries in America, and because of this not many records in texts or paintings of the pineapple exist. This contrasts with the sharp rise in the pineapple’s popularity in art, architecture and pottery in the eighteenth century. As pineapples became more readily available, so fashion and paintings began to use the pineapple to represent the symbol of the idealised exotic.

 

In paintings, the presence of the pineapple showed not only one’s wealth, but one’s connection to progressive times in a world of new discoveries. For example, King Charles II’s receiving of a pineapple was the first example of a pineapple successfully grown in England, a rare achievement that only occurred several times during the century. The latter painting, holding Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray, was thought by certain art critics as displaying the wealth of the white Lady Elizabeth by having her slave hold exotic fruit. This, however, was not the case, as Dido Elizabeth Belle was the adopted daughter of Sir John Lindsey, and as such, despite the pineapple’s presence in her arms, it has been argued that the pineapple only serves to elevate both characters in the portrait. Another portrait present depicts a gardener, John Sibbald holding a pineapple he had grown, which is another example of how the achievement of growing a ‘European’ pineapple was seen as a worthy moment of portraiture; many portraits, because of their cost, were painted to display the status of an aristocratic or wealthy family.  

 

 

 

Theodorus Netscher, Portrait of a Pineapple, Grown in Matthew Decker’s Garden at Richmond, Surrey, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, 1720. 

 

 

 

Unknown, Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray, Scone Palace. 

 

 

Hendrick Danckerts, Gardener John Rose Presenting a Pineapple to King Charles II, 1670s. 

 

Unknown, English Print of James Sibbald, Gardener to Thomas Devlaval, Holding a Pineapple, 1775. 

 

 

Paulus Theodorus van Brussel, Fruit and Flowers, 1789.

 

 

Below displays one of the first 'pine pedistalls', an object similar to a candlestick with a thin metal rod in it centre. It was used so that a pineapple could be slotted into place and decorate one's home. 

 

Technical detail of a thrown and turned 'Pine Pedistall', 1820.

 

The Pineapple Spode.

http://spodehistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/spode-and-pineapples.html

 

Further examples of the pineapple featuring in eighteenth century pottery. On the tile, a couple walk through a garden happily, the pineapple's placement in the corner has been suggested as indicative of the man and woman's statuses.

 

  Edward Warburton (maker), Fenton Teapot, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1765.  

 

Unknown, Liverpool (made) tile, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1765,

 

 

 

To Europe with Gardens

 

The desire to be able to grow a European pineapple as a statement of modern technology and progression drew many great gardening minds and scientists together. Initially, the pineapple was brought to northern Europe by the Dutch from their colony in Surinam. One of the first successful attempts to devise a construct that cultivated pineapples in Europe is said to have been by Pieter de la Court at Meerburg in 1688. In 1723, a huge ‘pineapple stove’ was constructed in England at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Horticulturists began planning and constructing large structures capable of being consistently warm. In 1733, King Louis XV was presented with a pineapple that had been grown at Versailles in one of its ‘pineries’(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardens-to-visit/inside-the-17th-century-versailles-vegetable-garden/). Indeed, pineapples became a favourite with royals, Catherine the Great is recorded as having eaten many pineapples grown on her own estates before her death in 1796 (Beauman, 89). The vast expense of the equipment and labour required to grow a pineapple in Europe reflected, once again, the affluence of its owners.

John Abercrombie, a keen garden, published in 1726 his thoughts on the pineapple; writing ‘the superiority of this fruit over all others is taste and excellence, has made it the great article of polite gardening’ (Abercrombie, 231). He goes on to recommend certain types to grow in one’s own pinery: ‘the soaf-loaf kind is we recommend to all who are about to begin a Pinery’, its ‘leaves are streaked on the inside with purple or brown’ and ‘it is preferred above all other types’ (232). He continues in offering advice on how to build one’s own pineapple stove and detailed directions as to how to move them throughout the different seasons. An interesting point to note, is his uncertainty of where they originate from, believing that Africa is one of the countries it descends from – when that is not the case. This was similarly stated by Philip Miller in 1759 in his Gardener's Dictionary, stating that the pineapple originated from Africa (Hill, 827).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interestingly, after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 Anglo-Dutch relations improved and as such, William Bentinck, close adviser of William III, is thought to have shipped the stock of Caspar Fagel’s pineapple plants over to Hampton Court in 1692 as a gift. Pineapple plants were shipped over and then 'grown' in English hothouses. This is why is has been disputed whether Rose, in the painting presenting King Charles II with a pineapple, is the first man to have 'grown' a pineapple, as his was produced through this particular process. The first pineapples believed to have been grown in England came from a Dutch man, Henry Telende, between 1716-1716. He was the gardener of Matthew Decker and was later mentioned in Richard Bradley's book, A General Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening. 

 

 

 

 

Richard Bradley, A General Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening, 1721.

 

Gardeners first attempted to grow pineapples in orangeries, believing that the warmth would stop frost attacking the citrus skin. However, pineapples needed more and constant heat and as such, gardeners attempted to use furnaces, as with the Dunmore Pineapple Pinery. The fumes from the smoke caused the pineapples to decay and fall apart. Telende's method of layering bark, manure and pebbles was used by many other gardeners in successfully growing pineapples. 

 

One of the most architecturally staggering pineries is the Dunmore Pineapple in Scotland. Its architect and precise date of completion are unknown, however, due to the quality of the carving certain critics have guessed it was built by Italian stonemasons and some have estimated it was finished between 1671 and 1776. For more on the subject: http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/pineapples/pineapples.htm. 

 

 

The Dunmore Pineapple House, General Floor Plan and Elevations, Atlas Obscura. Web. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-dunmore-pineapple-house,

 

 

James Justice’s plan of the pineapple stove published in The Scots Gardeners’ Director, 1754.

 

 

Illustration of hothouse and pinery-vinery from Loudon’s An Encyclopedia of Gardening, 1765. 

 


The Dunmore Pineapple Summerhouse, Scotland, built by John Murray, the fourth Earl of Dunmore. A furnace inside was used to keep the pineapples warm and four chimneys disguised as Grecian Urns were used to expel the smoke.

 

 

 

 

How to Steal a Pineapple

 

 

 

The belief that the pineapple was one of the highest value objects in eighteenth century life made it exceptionally desirable for thieves. There are instances where, as has been mentioned above, perhaps the resentment from such luxury being flaunted by the wealthy made certain citizens wish to steal one for themselves. 

 

In reviewing two cases from the Old Bailey records one can see how serious a theft of a pineapple was taken, for a man found guilty of stealing the expensive object could be sentenced to transportation for seven years or hard labour. 

 

Mr Wallis Case - Excerpt 

 

The case shows Mr Wallis, a young boy being manipulated into stealing drink and a pineapple for Mr Warburton. 

 

"We are detective officers, we are going to take you into custody for inciting a lad to steal from Messrs. Megeson and Co., wholesale druggists; what have you about you"—he said "I have nothing"—I said "Where are those bottles this lad gave you?"—he said "I have no bottles"—I felt his pocket and from the outside I felt them—I said "Who is that lad that left you?"—he said "I shall answer no questions" or "I shall give you no explanation "—at that time he had a pine apple". 

 

GUILTY .— Ten Months' without Hard Labour.

 

https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18860803-810&div=t18860803-810&terms=pine|apple#highlight

 

The Case of Mr Godding 

 

Q. "Did you buy the pine apples. - A. Yes, I gave him fifty-five shillings for them. I told him as I bought the pine apples of him, and they were not ripe, he should give me the refusal of the other fruit when he came to town. I put them in the window; Mr. Carpmeal and Frazer, the gardener, came together; they went into the parlour; I put the pine apples I bought of the prisoner on the table. They desired I would take care of them, which I did."

 

https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/images.jsp?doc=180707010052

 

Above, the image shows an court case for Mr Godding being accused of having stolen seven pineapples. The final verdict is given on the case:

 

 

 

Below, appears in a court case, Mr Moon who is accused of stealing pineapples supposedly giving one to a lady he knows. The lady's appreciation of the fruit displays the lack of its availability to her. 

 


https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/images.jsp?doc=176102250028 

 

Thus, pineapple had revealed themselves as objects that were not did not have entirely positive effects on the whole of society.

 

 

 

 

Pineapples on the Page

 

 

 

Above, a graph from ECCO, shows the amount of 'tags' the word 'pineapple' has on its database. The sharp rise of the usage of the word 'pine apple' is depicted here. 

 

The subject of the pineapple was frequently written about in a horticultural manner, but there are few references to it in a literary way. 

 

There are references to the pineapple playing a part in literary gardens and sometimes as a figure of virtue, 'She is the pineapple and he is the unsuccessful, silly bee' wrote William Cowper in The Pineapple and the Bee. He goes on to use the object as impenetrable by the 'sins' of mankind represented in the bee, it remains secure: '[its] frame was tight' (Cowper, 283). This idea of the pineapple being a subject of virtue is witnessed in The Rivals (1775). Mrs Malaprop, upon complimenting the Sir Absolute exclaims ‘He is the very pineapple of politeness’ (Sheridan, 170). 

 

On the other hand, the pineapple is referenced in Smollett's The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1721) as being an object of suspicion and disgust by the lower classes. Indeed, Mrs Grizzle is mortified to hear that her neighbours have partaken in eating pineapple: 

 

Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1721), p.39. 'she had eaten the most delicious pine-apple...an immediate scream [given] by Mrs Grizzle'.

 

Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1721), p.50.  'fatal fruit...extorted by the force of artificial fire, our of filthy manure'.

 

Whilst the pineapple, for some, represented the idealised exotic, wealth and the promise of new discoveries, for others it is shown as an unnatural item in Europe. Mrs Grizzle, though she is a comic character, displays concern with the pineapple because of the public's fascination with the world abroad and, in one way, they have forgotten about their own country with their poor, in replacement for luxury objects. The irony being, of course, that the pineapple among other fruits was likely harvested by natives or even slaves, the fruits exotic origins may indeed be interesting, like itself, but their beginnings were far from ideal. So, the pineapple has been an object in the eighteenth century that has reflected many important societal emotions: the love of luxury, the interest in discovery and both the pride and fear that progression brings, hoping to broaden one's horizons whilst not being overtaken by another culture.  

 

Bibliography:

 

Primary Sources:

 

1. Kew Gardens, http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:12322-2

 

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, The Rivals, 1775. ECCO. Web. 

 

Smollet, Tobias, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, 1751. ECCO. Web.

 

Secondary Sources:

 

 

 

Francesca Beauman, The Pineapple King of Fruits, Chatto and Windus: London, 2005

 

Blumenthal, Heston Historic Heston Blumenthal, Bloomsbury: London, 2013. Print. 

 

Bradley, Richard  “The Country Housewife and Lady’s Director”, London. 1736. Print. 

 

Theatrum Botanicum: The Theater of Plants, or, An Herball of Large Extent (London: Printed by T. Cotes, 1640)

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009281777 Web. 

 

Lambert, Abbot, Robert, The Housekeeper’s Valuable Present London nd. c. 1790 p. 28.

 

Nutt, Mason, Charlotte: The Ladies Assistant, London, 1775 p.428. Print. 


Okihiro, Gary Y. Pineapple Culture: A History of the Tropical and Temperate Zones, University of CAlifornia Press, California: 2009. 

 

Ralph, James , The Case of Authors by Profession or Trade Stated With Regard to Booksellers, the Stage, and the Public (London: Ralph Griffith, 1758), pp. 41–42.


Wilkes, John, Letters, from the Year 1774 to the Year 1796, Printed 1805, London. Page 144. 

 

Images:

 

The 'Queen' Pineapple, https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=queen+pineapple&rlz=1C1AWFC_enGB729GB729&tbm=isch&imgil=vobWvAxkKrJP7M%253A%253Bs8i6LVhMU8cDbM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.specialtyproduce.com%25252Fproduce%25252FBaby_Queen_Victoria_Pineapples_151.php&source=iu&pf=m&fir=vobWvAxkKrJP7M%253A%252Cs8i6LVhMU8cDbM%252C_&usg=__vFu_oWKDyJR0PD2DW6WaAAWcXbc%3D&biw=1366&bih=662&ved=0ahUKEwjUyqms8eTSAhUhCsAKHd-qARcQyjcIKQ&ei=aLDPWNT2LaGUgAbf1Ya4AQ#imgrc=vobWvAxkKrJP7M:

 

Sketch of the 'Queen' and 'Red Jamaican' Pineapple, The Botanicum, Katie Scott, 2016.

 

Map of Colonial Trade of Pineapples, College of Natural Resources, 2016

 

Photograph of a Red Pineapple Growing, Leamington Spa Botanical Gardens, I. Reeves 

 

Plantation Rum, http://spiritsjournal.klwines.com/klwinescom-spirits-blog/2015/7/16/stiggins-fancy.html 

 

18th Century Trade Card for D. Negri - Confectioner at the Pineapple 

 

Image and history of Georgian ices: http://www.historicfood.com/Georgian%20Ices.htm  

 

https://www.thecopperpot.co.uk/single-post/2016/1/24/A-Tart-of-the-Ananas-1736

Pineapple Flummery Mould, Wedgewood, c. 1790.  Colonial Williamsburg Museum. 

 

Genevieve Taylor, Georgian Harvest Festival Food @BBCFoodProg display, 2016.  

 

Shirley Plantation, Geometric Pineapple at the Apex of the Roof, William Byrd, 1730.

 

Photo from Revolution in Fashion 1715-1815, copyright 1990 The Kyoto Costume Institute.

 

The Kyoto Costume Institution's 1799 "Reticule" Bag, copyright 1990 The Kyoto Costume Institute.

 

Lady's Pineapple Gown, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1773-5. 

 

Pair of Lady's Shoes, Spitalfields,Victoria & Albert Museum. London, Photograph copyright Loretta Chase,c. 1735. 

 

Morning dress, , Museum of Fine ArtsBoston, c.1740.

 

Dress Fabric, Spitalfields, Embroided silk, dress fabric, Victoria & Albert Museum. London,1745.

 

A French Chinoiserie tapestry panel, Gathering Pineapples, from a series of The Emperor of China, Guy Louis Vernansal, Jean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay, and "Baptiste" Monnoyersecond, quarter 18th century, Sotheybys Auctioneer, London. 

 

Wallpaper, Leicester Square (paper hung) England (manufactured) Mid 18th century (made), Victoria & Albert Museum. London. 

 

Theodorus Netscher, Portrait of a Pineapple, Grown in Matthew Decker’s Garden at Richmond, Surrey, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, 1720. 

Unknown, Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray, Scone Palace. 

 

Hendrick Danckerts, Gardener John Rose Presenting a Pineapple to King Charles II, 1670s. 

 

Unknown, English Print of James Sibbald, Gardener to Thomas Devlaval, Holding a Pineapple, 1775. 

Paulus Theodorus van Brussel, Fruit and Flowers, 1789.

 

Technical detail of a thrown and turned 'Pine Pedistall', 1820.

 

The Pineapple Spode, http://spodehistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/spode-and-pineapples.html

 

  Edward Warburton (maker), Fenton Teapot, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1765.  

Unknown, Liverpool (made) tile, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1765.

 

Richard Bradley, A General Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening1721.

 

The Dunmore Pineapple House, General Floor Plan and Elevations, Atlas Obscura. Web. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-dunmore-pineapple-house, 

James Justice’s plan of the pineapple stove published in The Scots Gardeners’ Director, 1754.

 

Illustration of hothouse and pinery-vinery from Loudon’s An Encyclopedia of Gardening, 1765. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.