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IS JANE AUSTEN'S BANKNOTE PORTRAIT TOO PRETTY?When the U.S. Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was released, there were complaints from the public about how ugly Anthony and the coin looked. The Mint staff had tried to depict a younger-looking Anthony in her prime, but her descendants complained that the designs didn't look like they remembered their old Aunt Susan. So the Mint made her look like an old lady. A similar dynamic is playing out now following the release of the Bank of England's note picturing author Jane Austen. People are complaining that she's depicted as too pretty. Here's an excerpt from a Harper's Bazaar article. -Editor  
"Sour" Jane and "Airbrushed" Jane It would seem that not even Jane Austen can escape airbrushing, even 200 years after her death. Campaigners have questioned why the Bank of England have used a "prettied-up publicity portrait" of the author on the new £10 note rather than a more realistic image of her. The polymer note, which was unveiled in July, features a portrait of a sweet-looking, plump-cheeked Austen wearing a lace bonnet, reports The Sunday Times. The image was created in 1817 after the writer had died and was commissioned from a sketch by Austen's sister, Cassandra, in which the novelist looks shrew and cross. "They presumably said to the artist, make it look prettier," said Austen biographer Paula Byrne. "It is like doctoring a selfie by a celebrity. It is such a shame because that demure image is just not Austen." The decision to choose a "retouched" image of Austen has provoked anger. "Jane Austen fans are pleased, obviously, that she's going to appear on the banknote, but it's deeply ironic that the image chosen by the Bank of England isn't really her," said historian Lucy Worsley, who recently published a book about the novelist. "It's an author publicity portrait painted after she died in which she's been given the Georgian equivalent of an airbrushing — she's been subtly 'improved'. "Jane had a much sharper face — some might call it sour. And she was a sharp person. I think of her as being like a bracing martini."  To read the complete article, see:
 Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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