Friday 10 May 2019

Too unusual and strange to ignore

Mosan, from Belgium, sells on 23 May 2019 a "Death notice, dated 1736", estimated at 30 to 50 Euro.

Now this would normally not be something for my blog, even though the notice has an engraved border signed by some unknown "JBVF" (Jean-Baptiste Van F? Jean-Baptiste V Fecit?). But this death notice is something, well, so weird that I had to share it.

The auction house is francophone, while the notice is in Dutch, which is perhaps why they didn't understand the full contents of the notice.

The original text is
"Men laet aen een ieghelijck weten het droevigh overleijden van / de eersaeme en achtbaere Beeste, in de wandelinghe genaemt Garçon / hondt van nature, Jaegher van sijnen stiele; den welcke op vrijdagh / lestleden, wesende den 27. van de voorlede maent Februarii 1756 schilijck / ende jammerlijck is verongeluckt, in den ouderdom van seven jaeren / salvo justo: tot groote droefhijdt van alle de andere honden, die de eere / hadden van hem te kennen. Men gelooft, dat hij een vindelinck is ge- / weest; alsoo men sijne geboort-plaetse niet en weet, noch sijnen vaeder / ende moeder ons noijt bekent en sijn geweest. Niet-te-min volghens / het gemeijn gevoelen, soo was hij eenen deftighen Haeghelander van / omtrent die vermaerde stadt van Saut-Leeuwe in Brabant; want / hij oock had den oprechten roovers aert van 't Haegheland ingeboe- / zemt. Alle die het geluck hebben gehadt van dese overlede beeste / gekent te hebben, worden tot sijne begraevenisse hertelijck versoght, / soo haest als het doot lichaem sal gevonden sijn. 
D'een segghet d'ander voorts."

I have probably made some transcription errors, and I haven't reproduced all capital letters.

Translation:
"We let everybody know the sad death of / the honourable and respectable Beast, usually called Garçon / dog by nature, Hunter of profession; who on friday / past, being the 27. of the previous month February 1756 suddenly / and sadly died, aged seven years / salvo justo: bringing great sadness to all other dogs who had the honour / of knowing him. We believe, that he was a foundling / because we don't know his place of birth, and his father / nor father have ever been known to us. Notwithstanding this / the common perception was that he was a well-mannered Hagelander from / around the famous city Zoutleeuw in Brabant, because / he as well had the honest character of a robber from the Hageland in his heart. / Everybody who had the luck to know the deceased beast, / is cordially invited to his funeral, / as soon as the corpse will be found. 
Spread the message."

Which is an utterly weird example of 18th century folk humour probably. Zoutleeuw is a very pretty small city in the region Hageland, close to Leuven."Salvo justo" is Latin for "or thereabouts".

30 Euro is of course not a lot of money if you like the quirky stuff.

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