The meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I, known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold, took place between 7 to 24 June 1520 in a valley subsequently called the Val d’Or, near Guisnes to the south of Calais. The event derived its name from the sumptuousness of the materials used for the tents, pavilions and other furnishings. It was a spectacle of the greatest magnificence and the several artists responsible for this painting have made a fairly accurate visual summary of the various festivities that took place during the meeting of the two kings. Continue reading The Field of the Cloth of Gold
After Rundell Bridge & Rundell The Rich Imperial Crown of Great Britain / which was worn by his most Sacred Majesty / King George IV / in Westminster Abbey, and at the Royal Banquet in Westminster Hall / upon the Day of his Coronation / 19th July 1821 published 19 Jul 1822
King George IV was known far and wide as the dandy king, incompetent, ugly, and vulgar. As Prince regent, prior to his assent to the throne, he kept fast company with Beau Brummel, King of Dandies, a man sixteen years his younger. And decadence followed. King George was a gambler, philanderer, and spendthrift, spending in his lifetime well over £25,000,000 in today’s money.
Even his coronation crown was stuffed with rented gemstones for a cost to the government of £24,425. The 12,314 diamonds had to be returned to the jewel dealers after the coronation as the government refused to purchase the crown for King George IV after the coronation. The frame of the crown was created by Philip Liebart of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, London.
‘The Dean of Westminster bringing the Crown from the Altar’
Kneller was born in Lubeck, studied with Rembrandt in Amsterdam and by 1676 was working in England as a fashionable portrait painter. He painted seven British monarchs (Charles II, James II, William III, Mary II, Anne, George I and George II), though his portraits of Charles II are not longer in the collection, and in 1715 was the first artist to be made a Baronet (the next was John Everett Millais in 1885). A set of portraits of naval heroes was given by George IV to the Royal Naval Hospital in Greenwich in 1824. Continue reading King William III on Horseback by Sir Godfrey Kneller
The downloadable audio clip is of FDR’s Second Fireside Chat recorded on May 7th, 1933.
The transcript that follows is my corrected version of the transcript that is found The American Presidency Project website that was created by Gerhard Peters and Professor John T. Woolley of the University of California, Santa Barbara Political Science Department.
I am not sure why the available transcription and seemingly most other transcriptions of FDR’s Second Fireside Speech are so poor other than perhaps the transcriptions are copies of the written speech rather true transcriptions of the delivered and recorded speech. Continue reading An Accurate Translation of FDR’s Second Fireside Chat
Tucked into all corners of the large stately farm house
Loquacious aunts, uncles of letters, adventure and public house,
Grandmother wrapped in wool, grandfather’s pipe
Gas fired ceramic tiled fireplaces, a Christmas delight
Glowing red ember warming through the night Continue reading The Warmth of a Country Christmas
We opened the doors on the old Dodge van
parked under the big oak tree
the old farm house etched with memory
ropes hanging down and an old plank swing
She kicked her bare feet playfully in the dirt
and then soared to the sky
Looking out over Illinois corn fields
full in growth, glorious acres of green and gold
laden with the best crop in years
The pioneer cassette deck
laid back tunes,
CCR, The Band, Seger, Canned Heat, The Outlaws
Night Moves slowed the swing down
A blanket in tall grass, a cooler of ice cold beer
chilled to perfection
grass of different colors move the clouds
breezy wisps sailing gracefully across azure blue sky
It was beautiful, Indian Summer
H.F. Leonard was an instructor in wrestling at the New York Athletic Club. Katsukum Higashi was an instructor in Jujitsu.
“I say with emphasis and without qualification that I have been unable to find anything in jujitsu which is not known to Western wrestling. So far as I can see, jujitsu is nothing more than an oriental form of wrestling. It is a boast of the exploiters of jujitsu that through it any weakling could render helpless even a well-trained athlete, and that, too, without inflicting any injury whatever upon the victim. It would be an entertaining day in my life indeed were I to see such a feat accomplished.” —Statement by Mr. Leonard after an exhibition by Mr. Higashi.
“American wrestlers are strong — much stronger than any of us pretend to be in muscular strength. After all, however, wrestling is wrestling. Against jujitsu it is mere child’s play. I have met a number of Western wrestlers, and they are as helpless as babes against the art of jujitsu. And no one versed in the art of jujitsu is mad enough to expect anything else.” — Statement by Mr. Higashi after an exhibition by Mr. Leonard.
The following is taken verbatim from a document that appeared several years ago in the Maine State Archives. It seems to have been removed from their website. I happened to have made a physical copy of it at the time I was looking into the preservation of leather book bindings back in 2006.
Main State Archives: Guidelines for Restoration and Preservation of Documentary Papers, Maps, Books. [http://www.state.me.us/sos/arc/general/admin/doconsrv.htm]
Handling Books
Never remove a book from the shelf by pulling upon the headcap. Push back a few books at wither side and firmly grasp the sides of the selected volume. Continue reading Proper Book Handling and Cleaning
The following highly collectible Franklin Library Signed Editions were published between 1977 and 1982. They are all fully leather bound with beautiful covers and contain gorgeous and rich silk moire endpapers. Signatures are protected by unattached tissue inserts.
The values listed are average prices that were sought by booksellers at the market cycle top of the collectible book selling market in 2007 after the implosion of the U.S. Housing Bubble and prior to the full blown world economic collapse. It should be noted that these prices would be for books in pristine or like new condition. Continue reading List of the 60 Franklin Library Signed Limited Editions
As New is self-explanatory. It means that the book is in the state that it should have been in when it left the publisher. This is the equivalent of Mint condition in numismatics.
Fine (F or FN) is As New but allowing for the normal effects of time on an unused book that has been protected. A fine book shows no damage.
Very Good (VG) describes a book that is worn but untorn. For many collectors this is the minimum acceptable condition for all but the rarest items. Any defects must be noted.
Good (G) describes the condition of an average used worn book that is complete. Any defects must be noted.
Fair shows wear and tear but all the text pages and illustrations or maps are present. It may lack endpapers, half-title, and even the title page. All defects must be noted.
Poor describes a book that has the complete text but is so damaged that it is only of interest to a buyer who seeks a reading copy. If the damage renders the text illegible then the book is not even poor.
Ex-library copies must always be designated as such no matter what the condition of the book.
Book Club copies must always be designated as such no matter what the condition of the book.
Binding Copy describes a book in which the pages or leaves are perfect, but the binding is very bad, loose, off or non-existent..
Dutch artist Herman de Vries – Photo taken by son Vince
The two videos below of Herman de Vries at work at the Venice Bienalle 2015 are quite inspiring.
So inspiring in fact that I moved into a cave for two weeks and wrote Shakespearean tragedy with charcoal. Filled with great joy I returned to my studio and set about creating a tribute to Herman de Vrie I shall call La Biennale di Venezia de Forest with Five or Six Nymphs2, or Going Caveman with Anti-Matter Fragmentation Art, a five picture installation which can be viewed below the film.
httpv://youtu.be/IBi4d4H0z1c
httpv://youtu.be/XyjORd6X-6Q
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La Biennale di Venezia de Forest with Five or Six Nymphs2, or Going Caveman with Anti-Matter Fragmentation Art
From Dr. Marvel’s 1929 book entitled Hoodoo for the Common Man, we find his infamous Hoochie Coochie Hex.
What follows is a verbatim transcription of the text:
The Hoochie Coochie Hex should not be used in conjunction with any other Hexes. This can lead to disaster.
The Hoochie Coochie Hex can only work in the month of October with the coming of a full moon. It will not work in September and will not work in November. This point is now well established.Continue reading The Hoochie Coochie Hex
Add the following ingredients to a stock pot or a four or six quart crock pot, salt & pepper to taste keeping in mind that salt pork is just that, cover with water and cook on high till it boils, then cut back to low for four or five hours. The photo above depicts the use of a french copper stock pot.
1 Small Cabbage quartered or as in the case of the photo above, three chunks cut out of very large cabbage
1 Large Potato diced or 2 or 3 small ones
1/2 Cup each of dried Garbanzos, Chick Peas, and Split Green Peas
3 or 4 Slices of Salt Pork, You can substitute bacon if you have no salt pork.
