Aug 20, 2008 15:33
15 yrs ago
French term
Andrew
French to English
Art/Literary
History
From a text on the vanilla orchid.
I know I am quite tired, but I really don't know who Andrew could be here, and there are no further references to it.
Any suggestions welcome.
TIA
La première orchidée acclimatée grandit en Angleterre, en 1739. Un plant des Caraïbes fleurit en 1807 à Paddington, soumis à l’oeil artiste d’Andrew qui le croque en
planche, à défaut de jouir de ses fruits. Elle fleurit ensuite sporadiquement, entre Liège et Paris.
I know I am quite tired, but I really don't know who Andrew could be here, and there are no further references to it.
Any suggestions welcome.
TIA
La première orchidée acclimatée grandit en Angleterre, en 1739. Un plant des Caraïbes fleurit en 1807 à Paddington, soumis à l’oeil artiste d’Andrew qui le croque en
planche, à défaut de jouir de ses fruits. Elle fleurit ensuite sporadiquement, entre Liège et Paris.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +4 | Henry Charles Andrews |
tralamode
|
| 3 +2 | Andrew (surname) |
Tony M
|
Proposed translations
+4
1 hr
Selected
Henry Charles Andrews
I believe it could in fact refer to the botanical illustrator Henry Charles Andrews :
The 1850 Bulletins de l'Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts , refers to the identification of one variety of vanilla by "Andrew", mentioning his illustration in his "Repository" (a book that Andrews, with an s, wrote), so perhaps the French texts had a habit of leaving off the s.
The 1850 Bulletins de l'Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts , refers to the identification of one variety of vanilla by "Andrew", mentioning his illustration in his "Repository" (a book that Andrews, with an s, wrote), so perhaps the French texts had a habit of leaving off the s.
Note from asker:
| Great research, Matthew. This looks convincing enough that I am actually going to query the author on it. Thanks for your time and effort! |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jack Dunwell
: Yes. That's it
49 mins
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Thanks, fourth !
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| agree |
Yolanda Broad
: Nice research
1 hr
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Thanks, Yolanda !
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| agree |
Helen Shiner
: Great stuff.
4 hrs
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Thanks, Helen !
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| agree |
Janet Cannon
: Wow !
17 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer.
I queried the author, and it is indeed HC Andrews. Way to go, Matthew!!!"
+2
40 mins
Andrew (surname)
I think it's simply the fact that Andrew is his SURNAME (just like the artist David, for example) — presumably a botanist, or orchid-lover, or by the sound of it, perhaps a natural history illustrator...
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Note added at 55 mins (2008-08-20 16:29:22 GMT)
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Well, presumably he was / is famous enough in the author's field for the writer to not feel any explanation was necessary; hard to research, as it is also such a common Christian name! A lot more context might help to pin it down, but other than for the sake of your own curiosity, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. Even if the reader doesn't know exactly who he was either, they will understand the gist of it (someone famous in the field who did botanical engravings)
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Note added at 55 mins (2008-08-20 16:29:22 GMT)
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Well, presumably he was / is famous enough in the author's field for the writer to not feel any explanation was necessary; hard to research, as it is also such a common Christian name! A lot more context might help to pin it down, but other than for the sake of your own curiosity, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. Even if the reader doesn't know exactly who he was either, they will understand the gist of it (someone famous in the field who did botanical engravings)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Karen Stokes
: Sounds sensible to me!
1 min
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Thanks, Karen!
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| agree |
Yolanda Broad
: Andrew is a pretty standard Anglosaxon surname.
6 mins
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Thanks, Yolanda! Yes, indeed... though I suppose Andrews is a lot commoner.
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Reference comments
1 hr
Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
Arts/Academic translator - Art historian
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
32
Reference:
I have also checked the Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists, Plant Collectors, Flower Painters and Garden Designers at http://books.google.co.uk/ and the only person of the name, Andrew was Thomas Andrew (1773 - 1827), based at Coggeshall in Essex. He was a florist, so probably not your man. (see p. 16)
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-08-20 16:52:35 GMT)
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Ok, on re-reading your source, it is the eye that is artistic, not Andrew as such, so it may well be that Andrew was his first name and that he was head gardener at Paddington somewhere.
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-08-20 16:52:35 GMT)
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Ok, on re-reading your source, it is the eye that is artistic, not Andrew as such, so it may well be that Andrew was his first name and that he was head gardener at Paddington somewhere.
Discussion
I agree that Andrew is likely his last name, but it still seems odd to me. If we were to see David tout court, he is so renowned we would know it was in reference to the artist, but Andrew rings no bells for me. The book is not for a specialized readership, so I would think that botanists, natural history illustrators, etc. would have to be given more explanation to the uninitiated. I stumped!
But seriously, the reason I asked the question is that it just seems very odd to me to have this reference to Mr Andrew no-last-name, which makes me think that perhaps he is a famous artist or member of the Royal family who the author thinks should be very obvious to everyone. But since I don't get the reference upon first reading, then I would like to make it clearer in my translation.