Edward Lear’s natural history
“The Natural History of Edward Lear,” which is on view at the Houghton Library through Aug. 18, can be summed up rather whimsically: There was once a man named Lear Who loved the absurd, that’s clear. But his first love — it’s true — was the London Zoo, For its parrots, bears, and badgers too. That patient, penciling, painting, young Lear. Lear (1812-1888) is best remembered as a master of nonsense in verse, prose, and song. He gave the limerick new life, and along the way created the “runcible spoon,” “the Jumblies,” and the “bong tree.” But Lear was also an accomplished landscape painter and travel writer. Few people know he composed clever melodies, by ear, to play and sing for friends. (Look at the exhibit’s ninth case for a sample of the music — a Harvard thesis in the making, perhaps.) Even fewer people know that the young Lear was a meticulous painter and illustrator of...