John Carter (mouth artist)
John Carter (31July 18154June 1850) was an English silk weaver and artist, who, after an accident left him paralysed from below the neck, learnt to draw, paint and write by holding the pencil, pen or brush in his mouth. His outstanding ability drew much public interest, with accounts of his life and favourable reviews of his work appearing in the press both at home, the United States and elsewhere. Life Carter, a silk-weaver by trade, was born of humble parents at Coggeshall, in the county of Essex, on 31 July 1815. He attended the local infants' school in Church Street in the town, followed by the Parish National School, then, at the age of 13, the local endowed school (founded by Sir Robert Hitcham in 1636), where he remained for two years. Although he had no obvious great talent as a boy, he admitted that "Whenever I had a pen or pencil in my hand, I was sure to be drawing in my books or on my slate, and at home about the walls of the house"; however this propensity was not developed any further and an artistic career was not considered. On leaving school, Carter was apprenticed to a silk-weaver named Charles Beckwith, and, after his marriage to Lucy (d. Nov. 1841) in 1835, pursued the business on his own account. However, he fell into bad company and spent much of his time drinking in the local public house. First accident and aftermath One Saturday night, in May 1836, after a drinking session with friends, Carter was persuaded to climb a tree in search of bird's eggs, in the course of which he missed his hold, falling 40 feet to the ground and severely damaging his cervical vertebrae. He was lucky to survive, but was left effectively paralysed from below the neck, though with some movement in the chest and left shoulder. Articles about Carter's injuries appeared in The Lancet on 19 July 1856 and 27 October 1860, some years after his death. His case was described by doctors as "the most remarkable....with which we are acquainted" due to his having lived for another 14 years after the accident. A post-mortem revealed that paralysis had been caused by compression of the spinal cord due to displacement of the vertebrae; the fact that the cord had not been severed allowed the continued functioning of the autonomic system which accounts for his survival. Carter was now totally dependent on others for care and obviously unable to work. The shock also inclined him to seek solace in religion and prayer, which he had previously forsaken. After 6 weeks of recovery, he moved, with his wife, for reasons of economy and practicality, back to his father's house, where he was attended by friends and family. Career beginnings About a year after the accident, he read an account of how Elizabeth Kinning, an inmate of a Liverpool asylum, having lost the use of her limbs, learnt to draw using her mouth. He began to