Gertrude Elizabeth Blood
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
"What the Butler Saw entered British popular culture after the 1886 divorce case of Lord Colin Campbell and Gertrude Elizabeth Blood. The trial hinged on whether their butler could have seen Lady Campbell in flagrante delicto with Captain Shaw of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, through the keyhole of their dining room at 79 Cadogan Place, London. The phrase became a euphemism for sex, particularly in the context of a peep show, and was used as the title for a number of films and other entertainments."--Sholem Stein |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Gertrude Elizabeth, Lady Colin Campbell (née Blood; 3 May 1857 – 1 November 1911) was an Irish-born journalist, author, playwright, and editor. She was married to Lord Colin Campbell, a brother-in-law of Princess Louise, Queen Victoria's fourth daughter.
Trivia
Harry Furniss, the illustrator, was kept busy during the notorious trial, producing numerous portraits of the personalities involved for the daily newspapers. Proceedings including a visit by the jury to the Campbells' London home to verify the butler's testimony about witnessing through a keyhole Lady Colin's meetings with other men. With her divorce denied, the couple remained married until Lord Colin's death in 1895 of his "loathsome disease". In Great Britain, mutoscopes became known as "What the Butler Saw" machines in reference to the case.
