One of the more incredible figures of British military history, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is quoted as having described him thusly, “With his black eyepatch and empty sleeve, Carton De Wiart looked like an elegant pirate, and became a figure of legend.” He was wounded eight times while serving during World War I, one injury taking his left eye and another taking his left arm. He retired at age 66 and died in 1963 at the age of 83. He is pictured here, with his bristly, defiant moustache in what could almost be described as a military mugshot, in 1944.

Adrian Carton de Wiart [Wikipedia] : vintagephoto

I receive regular literary, historical, and artistic treatises via email from my father, better known to Ectomo as Mogo the Mugger, bandit commentator and most vocal proponent of the opinion that Brownlee and I should both get a life.

Dad has this to say about dandy pirates, both Hollywood and historical:

[…] Lately, I’ve been coming across so many pictures having to do with fortunate or unfortunate clothing.

Meet Sir Thomas Urquhart, Scottish gentleman and adventurer of the mid 1600s, the golden age of piracy. I call him to witness my case that Jack Sparrow’s mannerisms in Pirates of the Caribbean were not ‘gay.’

Sir Thomas had many friends and was said to be kind, vain, imaginative, a lover of new words and strange marvels, pure-heartedly dedicated to causes. His 1653 translation of Rabelais into English (sample: “.my dainty feedle darling, my genteel dilly-mission.”), may still be our best.

Sir Thomas left us this full-length portrait of himself by a second-rate engraver. I love second-rate artists. They show us better the pop culture of their times than do the great painters (like Van Dyke, Rembrandt, etc.).

Now to the illustration: I bet Sir Thomas commissioned it himself. Lucky for us, he left off his jacket so we can see his suit. That’s it on the pedestal; it cost a fortune, it can damn well be in the engraving! Note the pose, the impossibly turned out feet, the elegant wrist on the hip, the way he accepts a wreath ‘for Armes and Artes’ from the goddess. I can just see him sashay through the door of his cell in the Tower when Cromwell let him out. Sir Thomas is said to have died of a fit of laughter when he heard of the Restoration of Charles II.?

This amazing image appears in Vrij Nederland magazine, the artist behind which is also currently releasing a children’s book encouraging the little beasts to become air mail pilots. Worse things do indeed happen at sea… buggery at the hands of scurvy ridden pirates being chief among my fears.

Kellie Strøm - Worse Things Happen at Sea [Monster Brains]

Sketches, and musing on BREAKING the ART RULES [Pussinboots]