18th Century Teen's Schoolbook Doodles Discovered

Doodles, scribbles, and mini works of fine art got many of us through our teen years at school- I personally preferred drawing spiderwebs in the corners of every page- and it seems 18th century teens were not much different!

Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) discovered a young man’s doodles in his own mathematics workbook, and it gives us a fascinating insight into the mind of this erudite and creative teen. As well as laying out his mathematical formulae with precision and clarity, Richard Beale showed us his family dog, street scenes, elegant ships, and… A chicken in trousers.

Let MERL take you on a journey through time into the mind of Richard Beale- honest farm-boy, good mathematician, and excellent doodler.

Ok, we found something amazing and we demand you to come on a journey with us:
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

A lot of our offices are like this.

The usual depressing office furniture, the utilitarian bookshelves, the archive trolleys which we *definitely* don’t ride down the corridors and… pic.twitter.com/qTApFQDDn7
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

…boxes with eighteenth century diaries from Kent.

Just normal archive stuff. pic.twitter.com/tJ7Fbd6fuk
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

Except this isn’t your normal farm diary.

It's not even a diary.

It’s a Mathematics book owned by someone called Richard Beale, from a farm in Biddenden, Kent. pic.twitter.com/mHRQihidOB
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

Every generation of the Beale family had a Richard, and we think the one who owned this book was 13 years old in 1784.

He used the book for writing out mathematical equations and problems. pic.twitter.com/a3RicOM0gr
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

If Richard was indeed the 13 year old, he had a beautiful hand. His mathematics are laid out like a dream.

But, like every teenager, mathematics couldn’t fill the void of Richard's heart. pic.twitter.com/uieEyt930Q
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

Richard doodled. pic.twitter.com/jRKPzVSZKk
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

We think his family owned this dog, which pops up all over the place. pic.twitter.com/nSHydhpK5o
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

Here it is possessed. pic.twitter.com/IgD3KXVJl5
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

Here it is chasing a rabbit with a friend. pic.twitter.com/45b34mQWiE
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

This dog has seen some shit. pic.twitter.com/9bhpIY3baH
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

Richard also starts incorporating his doodles into his mathematics, with beautiful ships, lighthouses, street scenes and trees. pic.twitter.com/hPqVJFPqTu
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

Richard put an 18th century chicken in some trousers. pic.twitter.com/L57TGCSU16
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018

Richard Beale is just one of many doodlers throughout history, but it’s through these drawings that people from the past are brought to life and made flesh and blood.

We love archives, and we love it when people use them. Get in touch if you want to: https://t.co/bsrWc0WGOM
— The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) 6 October 2018