Scope & Horror

August 15, 2021

Jennifer Van Orman

art, astrology, August 15, black bile, civil engineering, history, John Metcalf, Literature, melancholia, Melancholy, science, The Anatomy of Melancholy, writing

Blind Jack

Drawn by J R Smith in *The Life of John Metcalf,* published 1801.

Civil engineer John Metcalf, also known as Blind Jack, was born on August 15, 1717. Blind from the age of six, he has a surprising legacy in pioneering modern road construction, along with John MacAdam and Thomas Telford.

View of Hyde Park Corner Turnpike, Westminster, London, 1792.

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Jennifer Van Orman

Artist and writer. On double-secret probation.