Cold comfort rabbit.

[Skychief]

Spence

I don't know where you ran across this painting of Brits, Spence. I'm tickled that you posted it though, as I'm sure he is as well.

I especially like the dramatic posture he posed with. Looks as though his neighbor caught him poaching his prized, gigantic, pet rabbit out of the garden. And...the neighbor looks none to pleased about it. :haha:

So tell us Nate, am I on the right track?

What's the rest of the story, friend??? :idunno:

Inquiring minds want to know, Skychief :hatsoff:

 

[Britsmoothy]

Spence

I don't know where you ran across this painting of Brits, Spence. I'm tickled that you posted it though, as I'm sure he is as well.

I especially like the dramatic posture he posed with. Looks as though his neighbor caught him poaching his prized, gigantic, pet rabbit out of the garden. And...the neighbor looks none to pleased about it. :haha:

So tell us Nate, am I on the right track?

What's the rest of the story, friend??? :idunno:

Inquiring minds want to know, Skychief :hatsoff:

Ok, ok.
The dog in the picture is sniffing my hand due to the fact that I had an incredible itch I just could not resist any longer. My assistant whome has just dragged the huge pet rabbit from next doors garden is annoyed over the lousy shot puncturing the guts and the guy stood on the oil drum is watching out for the neighbors car!

B.

 

[Britsmoothy]

:haha: that be a brown hare my friend :hatsoff:
B.

I used to have brown hare but it's white now. :wink:

I used to have brown hare, now it's a desert

B.

 

[George]

The real story of the painting is nowhere near as much fun. It was painted 1725-1730 by Joseph Van Aken (1699-1749) and is titled "A Sportsman and his Servant in the Grounds of a Country House." It’s an English Scene.

The reason I have it is for the neat belt bag the sportsman has around his waist.

Spence

N.B. Brits, let me ask a question, please. In his 1727 poem, "Pteryplegia: or the Art of Shooting-Flying, A Poem", George Markland used the term 'Puss' for a rabbit, and 'lurchers' for the dogs. Are those terms still used in England today?

 

[Britsmoothy]

The real story of the painting is nowhere near as much fun. It was painted 1725-1730 by Joseph Van Aken (1699-1749) and is titled "A Sportsman and his Servant in the Grounds of a Country House." It’s an English Scene.

The reason I have it is for the neat belt bag the sportsman has around his waist.

Spence

N.B. Brits, let me ask a question, please. In his 1727 poem, "Pteryplegia: or the Art of Shooting-Flying, A Poem", George Markland used the term 'Puss' for a rabbit, and 'lurchers' for the dogs. Are those terms still used in England today?

Lurchers yes, Jess is a small lurcher, whippet crosses and greyhound crosses, running dogs like deer and wolf hounds, saluki and others crossed with something else for hunting.
Puss not often used any more, usually a term applied to a pet cat nowadays.

B.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Thinking some more on this I delved a little deeper, hares are a Lepus!

Maybe the name "pus" has its origins in the Latin name for hare species'!

B.

 

[Skychief]

Spence

I don't know where you ran across this painting of Brits, Spence. I'm tickled that you posted it though, as I'm sure he is as well.

I especially like the dramatic posture he posed with. Looks as though his neighbor caught him poaching his prized, gigantic, pet rabbit out of the garden. And...the neighbor looks none to pleased about it. :haha:

So tell us Nate, am I on the right track?

What's the rest of the story, friend??? :idunno:

Inquiring minds want to know, Skychief :hatsoff:

Ok, ok.
The dog in the picture is sniffing my hand due to the fact that I had an incredible itch I just could not resist any longer. My assistant whome has just dragged the huge pet rabbit from next doors garden is annoyed over the lousy shot puncturing the guts and the guy stood on the oil drum is watching out for the neighbors car!

B.

:haha: :haha: :haha:
Thanks for filling in the gaps Nate. :thumbsup:

The whole story is known now.

Much appreciated, Skychief :hatsoff:

 

[hanshi]

One thing's for sure; you shot a huge rabbit!

 

[Britsmoothy]

One thing's for sure; you shot a huge rabbit!

It's really not that big, just closer to the camera lense, it is a little misleading really!

B.

 

[Skychief]

One thing's for sure; you shot a huge rabbit!

It's really not that big, just closer to the camera lense, it is a little misleading really!

B.

Maybe hanshi is referring to the one in the painting. :wink:

 

[Patocazador]

One thing's for sure; you shot a huge rabbit!

It's really not that big, just closer to the camera lense, it is a little misleading really!

B.

Just like we do with a fish. Makes it look a like monster. :thumbsup:

 

[Ames]

:haha: Yep. Just like fish photos, we want to see elbows in those pics. :rotf:

 

[Feltwad]

Nice fat hopper there.

I've always been impressed by the huge English rabbits, but I guess they have always been that way. Here is a painting of Brits in his younger days, look at the size of that rabbit!



Spence

You will find that most of the gentry of that period of the large estates were not shooting men this is a typical pose for the artist .In that period they were more interested in horse racing it was not till the late percussion and early breech loading period that we see estate owners taking up the sport
I have records of many large estates that I have researched over the last 40 plus years that show that most game on these large estates were shot by the game keepers for the big estate house table and the owners friends.
Records show that certain types of traps were erected on these estates such has Duck blinds where duck were driven down a lake and into a net covered blind by a specially trained dog of which a brown dog was best .
Another type was a enclosed rabbit warren where rabbits were breed in an enclosure surround .They also used nets and snares .
Feltwad