Harraden, Richard Bankes (McKechnie Section 7)

See Section Two for main entry

On some of his silhouettes of commoners and fellow-commoners at Cambridge Harraden painted in dull gold water-colour the gold braid or appliqué trimming on his sitters' gowns. (A commoner was an undergraduate who paid for his commons; a fellow commoner was one of the privileged undergraduates at the fellows' table.)

On two of his silhouettes (illustrated) of members of Cambridge University, Harraden carefully paints, in dull yellow, the braided decoration on his sitters' gowns; the remainder of each silhouette is painted in the same manner as that described in Section Two. The silhouette of Edward Foxcroft Slade is inscribed on the reverse 'gentleman-commoner at Peterhouse College, Cambridge'. By payment of higher fees than other commoners (or students), gentlemen-commoners were entitled to dine separately and were granted other privileges. They wore special academic dress, of which, apparently, yellow braiding was a feature. Probably, therefore, the other illustrated silhouette (marked on the reverse as showing an undergraduate of either St John's College or Queen's College, Cambridge) also represents a gentleman commoner.

Ills. 1612, 1613