Not fooling anyone

It was back to work at the Science Museum today. After two weeks off, it’s always a bit of struggle getting used to the Tube again. Particularly when it’s hot as well as being crowded. A pickpocket’s dream come true. Watch out for people standing closer than is really necessary! That’s my warning. But that has nothing to do with my day today…so moving right on along…

A month or so ago, the Science Museum was wrapped up in scaffolding and had a bit of a facial. At lunchtime, on my way to the V&A I realised how beautiful and clean it looked against the blue sky so I snapped a photo of it. Then I couldn’t remember whether I’d blogged about it or not. So, forgive me if I’m repeating myself (I can’t be bothered searching through my 1,065 posts) but here is how it looks now…with apologies for the Tesco delivery van and the light post.

Nick, Ailsa and Lucy all thanked me for bringing the lovely weather back from France and begrudgingly listened to how wonderful our break had been before I took up my tools and started work once more.

Today I realised that the majority of people I research are pretty well known (regardless of the size of the circle they frequented) and known for famous things. I know this sounds obvious but sometimes it surprises me when I come across someone who didn’t really do anything of note and yet someone decided to paint them.

Then I find that the person who painted them is likewise unknown in the artistic databases I use. And neither is the guy who engraved the object we have at the museum. These records are truly frustrating. And I hate them.

Not so the case of the accidental transvestite I read about today. His name was a bit long. In full, it was Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d’Éon de Beaumont. I will call him Éon for clarity.

While a lot of what I read about him was hearsay, it appears that for 49 years of his life, he lived as a man and for the remaining 33, as a woman. At his death, doctors took great pains to inform everyone that he had, in fact, been born a man. However, there was a lot of conjecture because even Éon himself had claimed he’d been born female and only dressed as a male because his father wanted an heir.

The facts that are known are even more bizarre. It seems that Éon was a spy who worked for the French King Louis XV in a group called Le Secret du Roi which worked outside the knowledge of the government. Louis had created it in order to keep tabs on people outside France who he considered needed spying on. And Éon was one of his spies.

A couple of times, during his early spying years, Éon was required to dress up as a woman (for reasons of disguise) but, apparently, he didn’t look much like a woman because of his manly build and general male demeanour. Still, it seems he was a pretty good spy.

But then, while on a mission in England, Louis decided he didn’t want to use Éon anymore and there was some bitter correspondence between the two. Eventually Louis agreed to pay Éon a pension for life if he permanently dressed as a woman. Which he agreed to do.

There’s a lot of strange stories about Éon but I leave you with a painting of him which, prior to last April, was thought to be that of an 18th century woman. I think it quite clearly looks like a man. But then, I’m no art expert.

Always a great day when I find out about these total individuals. Gotta love ’em.