Dinner with Young Byron
Byron was excessively troubled about weight, restricting his diet to extremes. in his letters (1811): "...an entire vegetable diet, neither fish nor flesh coming within my regimen." It is said that he would eat: A thin slice of bread and a cup of tea for breakfast; a light vegetable dinner with a bottle of seltzer water tinged with wine; green tea without milk or sugar; soda water; potatoes drenched in vinegar; dry biscuits; cigars. Conscious of his "morbid propensity to fatten", he alternated between binge eating and near starvation, wrapped himself in numerous layers of clothing to sweat off the pounds, and weighed himself obsessively. He is dining with a dog,cat and monkey, as Byron's animals also were given free range around the house. 27x34x22cm Porcelain with Gold Lustre |
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