Royal Lacey Scoville's 'Beasts' at the Brandywine River Museum

Thursday, 16 November 2006 18:52

CHADDS FORD, PA - The Arma-daffy-dillo, Jam-bo-reet, Trunc-o-phant and other fantastic creatures are the subjects of a special exhibition this holiday season at the Brandywine River Museum. The Imaginary Beasts of Royal Lacey Scoville features 38 whimsical watercolors that form an original narrative written and illustrated by Royal Lacey Scoville in 1915.  The untitled story was never published because it was created solely for the amusement of his daughter.  Scoville, a successful businessman and broker, spent his leisure hours painting and sculpting.  His favorite theme was imaginary beasts, which feature prominently in the story he created.

He drew inspiration from the nonsensical verse and humorous imagery in Edward Lear’s Nonsense Book (1846) and from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1872).  Scoville’s contemporary, author and illustrator Peter Newell, may also have provided inspiration through The Hole Book (1908) and The Slant Book (1910), which tell stories through connected images.  Building on these traditions, Scoville created his own untitled dream sequence.  The museum has titled it The Dream of Tom Tompkins.

Ingeniously weaving poetic verse and colorful illustrations with fantastic creatures of his own invention, Scoville tells the tale of the lazy Tom Tompkins and the wizard, Tumblebug, who casts a spell on Tom. Startled from a mid-day nap, Tom stares at a gigantic snake with a multicolored head and gaping mouth.  Trapped by the spell, he is unable to escape the snake’s coils as they tighten around his legs.