[A Laputan scholar and his Flapper] · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: [A Laputan scholar and his Flapper]
Subject: fictional works; imaginary places; Fictitious characters; imaginary creatures; floating islands; floating islands in literature; scholars in literature
Period: 1800-1850;
Description: Here we see a Laputan scholar about to run into a post because he is so deep in thought he becomes unaware of his surroundings. His Flapper gently taps his eyes with a blown bladder filled with peas or pebbles to warn him that he will hit the post. The Laputans wear clothes with astronomical and musical motifs. On the post there are mathematical and geometric motifs. The Flapper walks behind the scholar and holds the bladder over one shoulder. In the background of this image we see another scholar with his Flapper. The Laputans’ faces were not symmetrical, with their heads tilting to one side, and one eye turning inwards and the other looking straight up. The same image appears in the 1843 Krabbe edition.
Image Creator: Grandville (Illustrator)
Type: StillImage; Book Illustrations
Identifier: mta:20985
Language: ger
Source Name: Gulliver's Reisen in unbekannte Länder
Parent Collection: 1839 Stuttgart Grandville vol. 2
Image: mta_20985_OBJ.png