View allAll Photos Tagged Commitment
Olympus OM10/ 50mm f1.8
Fujifilm Superia 200
Evening hangout at Nasi Kandar Haji Ali. The taste of the rice with friend chicken poured with varieties of spicy kuah(soup) just made my evening. Nyum!
Preparing healthy meals is a big commitment in these days when so many unhealthy, low-cost choices surround us. We have meatless meals regularly. Today's healthy choice was a veggie pizza with very little cheese. The basil leaves and tomatoes are from our garden. I also added red onion and kalamata olives. Half of the pizza had a basil pesto sauce, and the other half had only chopped fresh garlic for the sauce. Without a heavy sauce, the flavor of the fresh veggies really stands out.
Apparently this church was rescued from closure by nuns from Tennessee in the USA.
Some years ago the Dominican Friars in Ireland announced they had embarked on a process of reorganising its commitments in Ireland because of falling numbers and would be withdrawing from Limerick. As a result of their decision St Saviour’s Church, Glentworth Street, which has an 800-year association with Limerick, was due to close but thanks to the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia it will remain operational as a church.
On the 4th. of July 2016 the last Mass held by the Dominican Order took place. Soon after the Limerick Diocese took over the running of religious services with a Mass at 1pm each day while the nuns moved into the building later in the summer of 2016.
This Gothic Revival Church, though much altered from the earlier Gothic designs of the James Pain, has a strong presence in the area. It was begun for Prior Fr. Joseph Harrigan and consectated 6th July 1816. The repairs and alteration in 1860 were carried out by J.J. McCarthy. The contractor for that work was John Ryan. The architectural composition and carved limestone detailing, which is a composite of Pain's original design and later alterations, most notably that of William Wallace in the 1860s, is testimony to the skill of the architects involved and the craftsmanship of the artisans involved in its construction.
Wallace heightened the exterior and interior by 20 feet with the addition of a clerestory and rose window in the 1860s. George Goldie designed a new chancel, high altar, reredos, tabernacle and east window between 1863-66. The sculptor for the altar was Bolton of Worchester; the sculptor of the reredos was Patrick Scannell of Cork Marble Works. The stained glass was by William Wailes of Newcastle. In 1870 Goldie and Child remodelled the interior and exterior and the work was supervised by Maurice Alphonsus Hennessy, CE, Limerick. The builders were McCarthy and Guerin. In 1896 and 1899 the stalls and the railings to the Sacred Heart Chapel were designed by George Coppinger Ashlin. In 1927 the communion rails and gates were designed by Ashlin and Coleman.
The church terminates the view from Pery Square to the east, while the south elevation facing onto Dominick Street dominates the view from the east. At any point on Baker's Place the contribution of this limestone church to the streetscape is further enhanced by the Tait Memorial Clock and the former priory, now the Mid-Western Health Board Offices on Pery Street. Saint Michael's Church of Ireland Church, which terminates the view of Pery Street to the west, adds to the prominence of these ecclesiastical buildings within the Georgian district of Pery Square.
In the heart of San Francisco, the Sister Lillian Murphy Affordable Housing Community stands as a beacon of modern design and social commitment. This striking multi-story building, with its angular architecture and mix of white and gray facades, is a testament to the city’s dedication to providing quality housing for all its residents. The building’s numerous windows, varying in size, create a dynamic pattern that adds to its visual appeal, while the clear blue sky and scattered clouds provide a picturesque backdrop.
The history of this site is deeply intertwined with San Francisco’s ongoing efforts to address housing affordability. Named in honor of Sister Lillian Murphy, a tireless advocate for affordable housing, this community reflects her legacy of compassion and service. The building’s design, by renowned architects, seamlessly blends functionality with aesthetic appeal, ensuring that residents enjoy both comfort and style.
Walking through the quiet streets surrounding the community, one can appreciate the serene atmosphere that contrasts with the city’s usual hustle and bustle. The presence of trees and greenery adds a touch of nature to the urban environment, creating a peaceful retreat for residents. Inside, the community offers a range of amenities designed to enhance the quality of life, from communal spaces to modern living quarters.
Sister Lillian Murphy Affordable Housing Community is more than just a place to live; it’s a symbol of hope and progress in San Francisco’s journey towards equitable housing. Every detail, from the angular facade to the thoughtfully designed interiors, speaks to a commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive environment for all.
Imagine leaving home in daylight and using public transport to attend your specialist festival on the seafront. Much Respect given.
Once a squirrel locates something to eat, it really shows commitment to get it. This is Hazel doing some stretching :) I squeezed a walnut in this crotch. Not very hard - she was able to get it within seconds (Squirrels-2019-6391.jpg)
Mt Somers vs Methven Senior B Rugby.
Methven won 27-7?
My daughter Sara and friend Justine took the photos using my camera as I don't like the cold
WEEK 27 – College Town Kroger (II)
You may have noticed in the drawn-back view of the front end this cool “Commitment to Education” wall, featuring four area schools – three Oxford-based (or at least Lafayette County-based, anyway), and one (NWCC) Senatobia-based, placing it closer to Hernando actually. Funny side story about Senatobia and Kroger: Northwest students have a discount card many restaurants and retailers accept. Lots of students there tell the freshmen that the card gives you a discount at the Senatobia Kroger, since Hernando's Kroger doesn't accept it. I'm convinced that's a prank, though, considering Senatobia doesn't have a Kroger! :P
(c) 2016 Retail Retell
These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)
Before anything can get done in regards to this camera, I first need to get things out of the way, the big one being grad school apps.
That's UP's scanning electron microscope, for failure analysis and metalography research. It also has a Polaroid 545 attachment, which makes it super cool.
Polaroid TLR, FP 100C, f/3.5, 1/30s
Video of adventure
Bac an Eich
Last winter started so well with large snowfall in late November, and I remember thinking that it was a good omen for the season ahead. How wrong was I! Through December and right until March, mild air dominated the scene across Scotland. Frosts were rare and when winter did decided to show its hand on a selective few weekends , I seemed to have commitments keeping me from the hills!
So when this winter started the same way, with a dump of snow in November, I wasn’t getting lulled into a false sense of security! Every time I have seen wintery weather on the way I have done my best to get out at the weekend! So far so good, I’ve had some amazing days already this winter and its only mid-January as I write this… So this weekend a small weather window opened up with more snow the previous day and a blue sky forecast for the morning before an approaching weather front arrived for late afternoon.
Today I was back on my mission to get some more Corbetts done – this bagging comes and goes , sometimes I feel the need for new summits and other times I couldn’t care less and head off to Glencoe (again ;)). The problem arises when bagging hills is the point comes when all the hills within a reasonable drive have been bagged!! Lol. This has been the case for me for a wee while and today I was headed for Strathconon – a round trip of over 300 miles – with the final 20 miles or so being a torturous drive along the twisty glen road – limiting speed to walking pace !! lol As the forecast was deteriorating and the fact that I didn’t leave too early (a rare treat for me!) I chose to ascend the hill via the North West ridge giving a relatively short day. The other benefit from this approach is a large car park at the western end of the loch and not abandoning the car at Inverchoran where car parking is limited.
Driving past Milton and the skies were blue and I got the first glimpse of today’s peak. It was striking, the white top against a blue sky and some mists lingering in the glen, anticipation was growing. Last year I had been here, heading up a brace of Corbetts just past Milton and these two looked very tempting as they towered over the glen! However I continued on into the mist and soon found myself driving past the mirror like Loch Beannacharain.
Parking up and I quickly set about getting my gear together and setting off. The car park was empty and I never saw a soul the whole day!
The first part of the walk was the most treacherous – the tarred road had a verglas layer and I almost went head over heal before I even started!!
However I soon left this behind and made my way past the small cottages and estate houses being watched all the time by about a million deer and also a few highland coos! Crossing the bridge I was soon at the start of the ascent at the ruins of Corriefeol. I wasn’t sure if this would be a pathless ascent (as a lot of Corbetts are) however I soon discovered an old stalkers path which made its way up Creag Achadh an Eas. It zig zagged up the southern flank of the ravine and a couple of wooden posts have handily been placed to mark the crossing point for getting over the ravine. Beyond this an area of moor/bog is crossed before the steep climb onto the ridge starts. I was lucky as the ground was frozen but can imagine this part to require gaiters at other times of the year!!
The views were now opening up behind me, with the north west highlands looking sublime under the white coat. The Fannichs appeared to the north whilst the majestic peaks of Torridon were dominating the western horizon.
I had to stop and get the crampons on and axe out now, as the ground steepened to gain north west ridge. Some good areas of neve gave nice purchase but in some steeper sections the snow turned to a chosy. Crumbly mix! Had to be careful! At this point I still hadn’t seen the sun, although the moon was rising over Meall Buidhe. As I gained the ridge the sun hit my face and it’s amazing the psychological uplift this can give. I was soon striding along the top taking in all the snowy peaks – fantastic Here the snow was fresh and perhaps the snowshoes (left them in the car!) may have helped. I wasn’t caring as this as grand, only a slight breeze and lovely views
A halo round the sun was a good indicator of approaching weather and as I turned to have a look back out west I could see that the cloud was coming in with the Torridon Hills now having a cloud cap. Time to get cracking!!! The breeze was also picking up and by the time I reached the summit its effects were being felt!! A few snaps and I was soon retreating down the hill back the way I came! The blue skies were now retreating to the eastern horizon as the grey filled in from the west. Back down and the vast lands between this area and Achnasheen/Kinlochewe looked remoteand loney. This glen doesn’t see too many visitors I think and certainly hill goers may frequent its southerly neighbours more often to bag the Munros. This maybe a good thing, Strathfarrer, Affric and Mullardoch are amazing places and maybe have their place in keeping Strathconon a little more secretive;) A grand place, and especially in these conditions ….
GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS Commitment March Rally at Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool North Pathway, NW, Washington DC on Friday morning, 28 August 2020 by Elvert Barnes Photography
Visit Commitment March website at nationalactionnetwork.net/commitment-march-on-washington-dc/
Elvert Barnes 57th Anniversary of 1963 March on Washington COMMITMENT MARCH docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/57MOW2020
BASICS: Nevada Youth Training Center, Elko, NV. Rated at 110 beds. At time of visit there were 91 kids there, all male. NYTC is a rural facility, with 30-25 acres next to the highway. Average length of stay is 6.5 months. Levels are defined by uniforms. The kids are taken out to clear trails in Lemoille canyon. The director, Joe Payne, says they love it.
Scopri le foto inedite scartate dal progetto “Le Donne Rosse Italiane” 🔥✨
Ogni scatto racconta una storia unica, ma queste immagini sono state scelte per rimanere nell'ombra, nonostante il loro incredibile valore. Ma oggi puoi vederle, supportando una causa davvero importante!
Il ricavato del progetto sarà interamente donato alla Fondazione Melanoma di Napoli, che da oltre 30 anni combatte contro il cancro della pelle con passione e impegno nella ricerca.
Aiuta anche tu questa causa, acquista il libro e fai la differenza. 🌟
Clicca qui per acquistarlo:
🔗 Sito ufficiale - www.thebeautyreds.it/
🔗 Su Amazon - www.amazon.it/dp/B0BMM8GXWY?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_dp_V8WPN1KS4...
Fai la tua parte e porta a casa un pezzo di bellezza, unendo l'arte alla solidarietà! 💖
🇬🇧 Discover the unpublished photos discarded from the project 'Italian Red Women' 🔥✨
Each shot tells a unique story, but these images were chosen to remain in the shadows despite their incredible value. But today, you can see them, while supporting a truly important cause!
The proceeds from the project will be entirely donated to the Melanoma Foundation of Naples, which has been fighting skin cancer with passion and commitment for over 30 years through research.
Help this cause, buy the book and make a difference. 🌟
Click here to purchase:
🔗 Official website - www.thebeautyreds.it/
🔗 On Amazon - www.amazon.it/dp/B0BMM8GXWY?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_dp_V8WPN1KS4...
Make your part and own a piece of beauty while combining art and solidarity! 💖
www.arqueologiadelperu.com/in-rare-interview-colombian-re...
Bogotá, Colombia (AP) – In a landmark television interview, the rarely-seen leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reaffirmed the commitment of Latin America's oldest insurgency to abandon the battlefield even while shying from a six-month deadline to sign a final peace accord.
Rodrigo Londoño said he has always considered himself an "enemy" of putting artificial dates on negotiations, fearing it could backfire against the rebels if a target is missed. But he said he eventually was persuaded to put aside those objections and join Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos in making a pledge to reach a final deal by March because he trusts the president, whom he called an "ally of peace."
"If there's political will, we can do it earlier, but six months may also be too short," Londoño said in his first interview since peace talks began in Cuba three years ago.
The interview aired Tuesday night was as significant for its very existence as for any revelations made by the normally secretive Londoño, who is better known by the alias Timochenko.
Until last week, when he shook hands with President Santos in Havana to announce a breakthrough agreement on the thorny issue of punishment for war crimes during a half-century of fighting, the veteran guerrilla commander had been something of a sphinx to Colombians. When he was seen at all, it was only in videotaped messages from the jungle battlefield dressed in military fatigues and railing against Colombia's U.S.-backed "oligarchy."
But in a speech alongside Santos and again in the interview aired Tuesday with Venezuelan-based network Telesur, Londoño tired to cast a softer image, wearing a white guayabera shirt and sporting his trademark salt-and-pepper beard neatly groomed.
In a heavily edited conversation with a leftist former Colombian senator, Piedad Cordoba, Londoño reminisced about his decision to run off with the rebels while still a teenager 40 years ago. And he spoke of a desire to one day return to the coffee-growing town where he was raised by a peasant communist father and devout Catholic mother.
Asked if he would ask the FARC's many victims for forgiveness, Londoño said tactical "errors" in the heat of battle were made on all sides, but that he had nothing to apologize for.
"Whoever asks for forgiveness it's because they regret something, and I don't regret anything," he said.
Without presenting any proof or details, he said the FARC early in the peace process had had the opportunity to assassinate Santos but desisted from carrying out an attack because the group's then-leader, alias Alfonso Cano, was against provoking more bloodshed while dialogue was underway. Cano was later killed in a military air attack.
Londoño said he is no longer dedicating energy to warfare and in the spirit of reconciliation would even meet with former President Alvaro Uribe, a harsh critic of the talks whose U.S.-backed military offensive last decade decimated the FARC's ranks.
The rebel leader also played down speculation that some of the FARC's estimated 6,500 troops would not adhere to a peace accord. Critics say many former fighters will dedicate themselves to drug trafficking and extortion, lucrative activities the group uses to fund its insurgency, instead of handing over their weapons for an uncertain future in which they'll be required to confess their abuses to special tribunals.
"I give you my full assurances, that there's not a single guerrilla, neither commander or combatant, that's in disagreement," said Londoño.
Like us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter & Instagram
Digital image taken with a Lumix GX7 fronted with an Olympus M. Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 lens
Editing done via Photoshop Elements 12 with Topaz Labs plug ins
Found and admired during the All Corvette Car Show at Calvary Church in St. Peters, Missouri, USA
GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS Commitment March Rally at Lincoln Memorial North Elm Walkway, NW, Washington DC on Friday morning, 28 August 2020 by Elvert Barnes Photography
Visit Commitment March website at nationalactionnetwork.net/commitment-march-on-washington-dc/
Elvert Barnes 57th Anniversary of 1963 March on Washington COMMITMENT MARCH docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/57MOW2020
REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS
Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.
Visit: www.refordgardens.com/
FROM THE PLAQUE:
CYCLOPS, 2016
Craig Chapple
Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Formerly trained as an architect at Yale University but with a deep commitment to creating art, Craig Chapple has pursued both architecture and the visual arts simultaneously throughout his career. Craig’s work is born from the synergy of these two disciplines, producing work that focuses on the overlap of the line, pattern, texture and process. He works in analog and digital practices in drawing, painting and sculpture.
Cyclops is a singular object on the landscape as well as a singular frame of the landscape. Made up of 255 8-meter long tapering planks held in the shape of an inverted cone around a central opening for the user to occupy . These planks are fastened to each other at the innermost diameter and held upright by a 150 mm steal ring beam at the outer diameter.
At first approach, Cyclops is an object on the landscape, seen as a clear , platonic form. Through its transparency and porosity, however, it is an object one that is also dynamic and changing, blending with the environment.
By entering the central 1.5 m opening at the bottom of the cone, the user enters into a different relationship with the object and the landscape. By experiencing it from the inside-out, the object acts to frame the surrounding landscape and sky for the viewer in this same dynamic , temporal way by blending the man-made, platonic clarity of the frame with the organic and natural.
The viewer plays the central role of the work in rediscovering the relationship between the object, the frame and the natural landscape.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
Walk to GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS Commitment March Rally along 17th between D and E Street, NW, Washington DC on Friday morning, 28 August 2020 by Elvert Barnes Photography
Street Vendors Series
Visit Commitment March website at nationalactionnetwork.net/commitment-march-on-washington-dc/
Elvert Barnes 57th Anniversary of 1963 March on Washington COMMITMENT MARCH docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/57MOW2020
No school due to snow...check
Boys down for a nap...check
Ginger at school working out...check
OK, turn on the soundtrack to The Commitments, it's time to dance!
(I'm not allowed to dance in front of Ginger...she finds it embarrassing...)
I had intended to do this technique for the last motivation (still life lit by torch) but was unable to put anything in due to work commitments. Poor excuse I know. So, with all the best intentions in mind to get this completed for week 9, as typical I left it until last minute.
Quick dash after leaving work at 10pm, 30 plus minutes of messing around to find the right length of exposure and torch light passes. And then I was interrupted by the Guards who were obviously called due to somebody seeing me on this site, that and the strange lights I was flashing around. After a full explanation was provided, which left them baffled, they were finally convinced that I was not out to steal or destroy anything. They wished me good luck and left. Six images later I knew I had to get back and get this uploaded. I shot in JPG for a change to help speed up any processing (as I knew I was happy with the colours etc.). Really enjoyed the challenge of something new and will no doubt try a lot more of this.
Entrance Walk to GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS Commitment March Rally at Constitution Gardens on Lawn between Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and North Elm Walkway, NW, Washington DC on Friday morning, 28 August 2020 by Elvert Barnes Photography
Visit Commitment March website at nationalactionnetwork.net/commitment-march-on-washington-dc/
Elvert Barnes 57th Anniversary of 1963 March on Washington COMMITMENT MARCH docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/57MOW2020
for more information on stray rescue and adoption, please drop by:
"Hong Kong Dog Rescue" site
www.hongkongdogrescue.com/public/index.php
"Animals Asia Foundation"
We have a small suburban back yard, but it still takes somewhat of a commitment to maintain it as a pleasant place to spend time. I have 8 rose bushes, a small lemon tree, vines, succulents, azaleas, camellias, lavender, lilies, hanging flower bowls, asparagus ferns, bower vines, star jasmine, 3 planter boxes with vegetables and herbs, one very tall pittosporum tree, one bird feeder and 2 hummingbird feeders. And thank goodness no lawn !
GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS Commitment March Rally at Lincoln Memorial North Elm Walkway, NW, Washington DC on Friday morning, 28 August 2020 by Elvert Barnes Photography
Visit Commitment March website at nationalactionnetwork.net/commitment-march-on-washington-dc/
Elvert Barnes 57th Anniversary of 1963 March on Washington COMMITMENT MARCH docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/57MOW2020
"Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism. "
Canon 5D markII
All rights received ©2012 Mustafa Khayat Photography
(further pictures and information you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
Palais Ephrussi
1, University Ring 14
Architect Theophil Hansen 1873
Family:
Address: Franzensring to Universitätsring
Progenitor Ephrussi-Sephardic Greek from Russia
Family tree - family vault at the Central Cemetery
Ignaz leaves the palace built on the ring
Viktor is arrested by the Nazis
The hare with amber eyes
Palais:
A small but fine Heinrichshof - Förstersche group
The neighbor: Palais Lieben
Piano nobile in inconspicuous 1 floor
Interior of Hitler's Professor
Location: Story of the Schottentor
From Franzensring to Universitätsring
The Ephrussi family name is relatively unknown in Vienna.
The Palais Ephrussi, so the building at the ring road, however, many Viennese is familiar, was there but housed the administration of Casinos Austria from 1969 to 2009 housed. The company inscription 'decorates' still the facade.
Today, the property is home of a law firm, led by the President of the Bar Association Gerhard Benn-Ibler.
Students across the university is probably more known McDonald, who has rented the ground floor of the adjacent house.
At that time the palace was at Franzensring. It began at the Parliament and reached to the university. In 1934 one part of it was renamed in Dr. Karl Lueger-Ring. This remained so until 2012. Now it's called University Ring.
The other part even had a more eventfull naming:
1934 Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Ring
1940 Josef Bürckel-Ring
1945 Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Ring
1949 Parliament-Ring
1956 Dr. Karl Renner Ring
Palais Ephrussi, opposite the University
Progenitor Ephrussi - Sephardic Greek from Russia
Ephrussi sounds strange and a bit exotic. One does not really know how to write the word, if you have not seen it before. Hardly anyone suspects that the ancestor of the dynasty, Charles Joachim (1792 - 1864), from Odessa in Russia was - and yet less that this was a Sephardic Greek.
He built a business empire, beginning with grain exports from Ukraine, then investing in the construction of infrastructure: bridges, railways, port facilities. And this, of course, also included the establishment of a bank - with offices in Paris and Vienna.
Offices in Paris - Vienna - Odessa
Pedigree
1. generation
Charles Joachim (1792 - 1864)
2. generation
Ignaz (1829 - 1899)
Leon (1826 - 1878)
3. generation
Viktor (1860 - 1945)
Charles (1849 - 1905)
4. generation
Elisabeth Waal (1899 - 2001)
Ignaz Ephrussi 'Iggie' (1906 - 2011)
5. generation
Victor de Waal
6. generation
Edmund de Waal (1964 - )
Son Ignaz has built the palace
Son Ignaz (1829 - 1899) took over in 1860 the financial transactions in Vienna, his brother Leonid (1826 - 1878) went to Paris and became 'Leon'
As the progenitor Charles died, he was laid to rest in the family vault Ephrussi at the Central Cemetery, not far from the gate 1
(There were later also Ignaz and his wife Emilie, born Porges 1836-1900, buried.)
Ephrussi family vault at the Central Cemetery, Gate 1
Son Ignaz was now head of the Viennese house and reputable in society. He was knighted by the emperor, bestowed him in 1871 with the Order of the Iron Crown, Third Class - although Ignaz throughout his life remained Russian citizen.
Economically he experienced a further upswing, founded more stores, also in London. It is said that the Ephrussi were the second richest banking family after the Rothschilds.
Therefore Ignaz could afford it to take on one of the most successful Ringstrasse architects, Theophil Hansen, 1869 for the construction of his palace. This one had a year earlier started with the construction of the Palais Epstein.
Apart from that Hansen had by his Athens stays good contacts with the Greek society of Vienna and came so to orders such as the Palais Sina am Hohen Markt or the Greek Orthodox Church at the meat market (Fleischmarkt).
Hansen Memorial, Parliament (detail)
Netsuke figurines come in the family
Around the time of the Palais building acquired Ignaz' extremely art-loving cousin Charles (1849 - 1905), who could afford to live as a bohemian and did not have to work, a collection of small carved Japanese figures, netsuke. Those were used in the attachment of kimono belts and were made of ivory, jade or horn.
As heritage (Note: according to other sources, as a gift ) within the family this exotic extravaganza came to Vienna's Palais, where Ignaz resided with family.
Son Victor is arrested by Nazis
In the family Ephrussi it came again to an alteration of generations: Viktor (1860-1945) took over the house. He was with Emilie, called 'Emmy', a born Schey, married.
The marriage was not happy, allegedly, in a manner of speaking the bride was in love with another man. Nevertheless, rapidly three children were born, almost 20 years later, another son - the father was at this time, however, almost certainly Emmys lover (but it was not talked about it).
The family survived reasonably sound an safe to the end of the monarchy, the first World War and the interwar period. But in 1938 came the Nazis, arrested the nearly 80-year-old Viktor in his palace and looted his valuables .
Viktor von Ephrussi
Against the Gestapo violence there were no means, only stratagems: Viktor's maid Anna scurried over and over again among the henchmen.
She succeeded every time to hide some of the small netsuke figurines under her apron, which she then hid in her room.
And she did not say a word to any of them. Not even the stately family.
Viktor was arrested, interrogated in the Hotel Metropol at Morzinplatz and forced to renounce all of his possessions in order to obtain an exit permit.
For his wife Emmy finally all of this became too much. She swallowed an increased dose of heart medications and died.
The Hotel Metropol as an interrogation center
The hare with amber eyes
Viktor was able to flee to England, where he died shortly before the end of the war. His daughter Elizabeth married into the Dutch family de Waal.
She returned in 1945 after the war to Vienna. In the meantime offices of the U. S. Army had moved Into the palais. Vienna should now remain occupied for ten years. Some of the old furnitures were still there. And Anna, the maid.
She handed out Elizabeth the netsuke figures which she could hide then. 264 by the number. A courageous woman. And no one knows her last name. Nobody has asked her for it.
Elizabeth's grandson Edmund has written the story of six generations in the book 'The Hare with the Amber Eyes'. A bestseller: sold 200 000 times.
The Bestseller
Netsuke Figures (Bid: Asian shop Bräunerstraße)
The war-damaged palace was in 1950 returned to the family. Meanwhile impoverished, it had to sell it for only $ 30 000. Were deferred only a few tapestries and books. For the compulsory expropriation of the bank a compensation of $ 5,000 was paid out - with the commitment that they would make no further claims .
As the palace changed hands in 2009, a sum of about 30 million euros has been rumored.
A small but fine Heinrichshof
The Palais Ephrussi extends on the ring road side over nine window axes, on the Schottengasse eight window axes.
The building is a scaled down version of the Heinrichshof which Hansen 1861-63 had built for the brick Baron Heinrich Drasche opposite the Court Opera (destroyed in 1945).
Heinrichshof, 1863
Palais Ephrussi on the left, then the Förstersche group
Theophil Hansen renounced of an accentuation of the center in favor of monumental tower-like corner projections giving the impression that the building stands free. The corner risalit was a characteristic of the baroque palace architecture (example: Schloss Belvedere). It was Hansen's innovative idea to incorporate this motif into the housing. In the business office at the corner of Schottengasse moved in the large, as well furnished by Hansen Café Hembsch.
University (left), Förstersche group (middle), Café Landtmann (right)
Hansen worked very closely with the architects of the adjacent building groups, which also had familial backgrounds: He was with Sophie, sister of Emil Foerster (1838 -1909) married. The brother took over the design on the ring road side, Carl Tietz on the back side at the Palais Lieben. In the literature, this complex of buildings of aesthetic and formal unity went down in history as the 'Förstersche group'.
Unfortunately, the part of the building complex (No. 10, to Mölkerbastei) was severely damaged by bombing in World War II and replaced by a new building.
Palais Ephrussi with caryatids, next to # 12
University Ring No. 10: New in 1966, Carl Appel
The neighbor: Palais Lieben
View Schottengasse:
Left Palais Lieben (8 window axes), right Palais Ephrussi (8 window axes)
One is inclined to attribute the Palais Ephrussi the entire complex. But on the side Schottengasse it includes only the first eight window axes.
If you look closely you can clearly see this on the basis of the color difference of the facade and the gilded, or not gilded balcony lattices.
Ephrussis' immediate neighbors were at the corner Schottengasse/Mölkerbastei the Lieben family, on the ring road side the Iron Baron Mayr-Melnhof (No. 12), No. 10 owned Theresa Blum (destroyed in 1945).
Corner Mölkerbastei/Schottengasse
Piano nobile in inconspicuous 1st floor
Italian flair with plenty of balconies
University Ring (above), Schottengasse (right)
The palace is through ledges horizontally divided into three zones ( base, 'piano nobile', Attica), nevertheless dominates the vertical order: pilasters embrace the second and third floor and the optical impression is further extended by the Terrakottakaryatiden (Terracotta caryatides) that carry the woodwork.
The entire attic floor lies something set back and is circumscribed by a gilded tendrils grid (the thus created balcony room provides surely a nice residential feeling, moreover, perhaps with a view to the Vienna Woods.)
The color scheme of the facade is particularly eye-catching and gives an Italian flair: red brick color with yellow stucco.
Hansen accentuates with the Palais Ephrussi in the first floor the main entrance and the sides with columns, wearing balconies. The shape of the balusters will be taken up later in the opposite University.
The lower floors were rusticated in the neo-Renaissance style, the appear massive and simple.
On the first floor, above the balcony, were the apartment of the landlord and the representative rooms - and not, as one might suspect, a floor above.
Terracotta Jewelry: The head of Mercury protrudes from the Arkanthusblättern (arcanthus leaves) of the capital. Fruit garlands adorn the tower walls between the pilaster capitals.
Detail balcony lattices
Interior of Hitler's Professor
Entrance hall
Transversely embedded courtyard with a glass roof
1 bedroom
2 Damensalon (ladie's salon)
3 dance lounge (including main entrance)
4 reception room
5 smoking-room, billiard room
6 Dining Room
(Note: In the Palais no tours are possible, only the reception area on the ground floor can be visited during business hours.)
Floor plan main floor
Ignaz Ritter von Ephrussi expressly wished from the architect to his main floor a separate staircase, which must not beeing used by any other house party. For the tenants were to build three floors with a convenient main and kitchen stair. On the ground floor a stable for four horses was provided. There are two basement levels.
For the interior design none other than Christian Griepenkerl was taken that equipped the main floor with painting cycles.
Later this one will Adolf Hitler refuse admission to the Academy of Arts because of "insufficient sample drawings".
The ceiling paintings in the Palais show Greek Zeus adventures and Jewish themes (images from the Book of Esther). In other respects, too, it was made sure that nothing was lacking: precious wood floors, expensive fireplaces, elegant marble - and a lot of gold. Inside and outside.
In sunlight, the balcony lattices shine far into the distance. No other Ringstraßenpalais (ring road palais) afforded this beauty .
Terracotta decorations, detail (Mercury)
Location - history from Schottentor
View before 1900 with still intact Gehtor (walking gate) of the Schottentor (gate).
Tor - Tower - Residential House
In the Middle Ages the Babenberg Jasomirgott took Irish-Scottish monks to Vienna. They founded on the ancient Roman road (traffic artery) leading to the west a convent and a school. The name Schottenviertel became customary.
The Schottentor was a part of the fortification. Mentioned it is for the first time in 1276, from 1291 on it was called the Schottenburgtor (Scottish castle gate), later only Schottentor.
The above the gate situated tower was extended in 1418, 1716 were converted into a house gate and tower, which belonged 1775-95 to the couple Eva and Anton Prohaska and 1812 to Protomedicus Edward Guldner von Lobes.
1839 has been demolished.
Old Schottentor Schottenkloster (monastery) 1683
Already in 1656 had been built a new (outer) gate in front of the old Schottentor. 1840 it was replaced by a neoclassical building, similar to the exterior castle gate.
However, as so inconvenient The five passages at Schottentor proved that the new gate soon, " the 5 follies " was the nickname . Supposedly, have been held to narrow the driving gates. And for pedestrians , it was a zig- zag course .
The new Schottentor was already 20 years after its establishment , in 1862 , demolished, only a Gehtor has been preserved until 1900. Then they demolished the remaining groups together with four houses of Mölkerbastei .
The term Schottentor found today on any street sign, only the metro station at the University bears the name - much to the chagrin of some Vienna tourists from the next station - can be misleading - Scots ring.
Old Schottentor to 1839
Schottentor , plan 1799
▲
New Schottentor 1840
View Schottengasse with Schottentor ( direction Votive Church ) , circa 1840
View Schottentor - outside, around 1840
View Schottentor - outside, around 1840
Outside, around 1840
Outside, around 1840
▲
New ablation Schottentor 1862
left: Palais Ephrussi
1875 - 1920 : Maximilian Course ( Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, initiated the building of the Votive Church )
1920 - 1934 : Liberty Square
1934 - 1938 : Dollfußplatz
1938 - 1945 : Hermann Goering place
1945 - 1946 : Liberty Square
1946 - Roosevelt Square ( with Sigmund Freud Park )
After the 2nd World War I circulated the following joke in Vienna: A visitor from the provinces asks in a Viennese tram :
" What is the name of the place over there? " "That is the Town Hall Square , formerly Adolf- Hitler-Platz . " A little further asks the visitors again :
" And what is there in the building? " "This is the Parliament , formerly County House . " Again, the tram runs a piece .
" And what is this place?" "This is the Stalin Square , formerly Schwarzenberg Platz . " The visitor gets out and says goodbye with the words:
"Goodbye , formerly Heil Hitler . "
View after 1900
▲
external link : Image Indoors on f1.online
Link :
Alphonse Thorsch
A banker was almost as rich as Rothschild - the extinction
Tomb of Thorsch family , Central Cemetery , Gate 1
▲
sources:
Dehio S 336 , Czeike , Archives Publishing
Viennese palace , W. Kraus, P. Müller, Blanck stone Verlag, 1991
The Ringstrasse , a European architectural idea , Barbara Dmytrasz , Amalthea Verlag, 2008
Vienna in old postcards, Czeike , 1989
Vienna pictures from the youth of our Emperor , Gerlach, 80 born FJ
The Press : The Ephrussi family scattered to the winds
The Standard : Prison of gold
For those that know my artworks well and my style, you would know my emotional works tend to be internally focused. The emotion I often try to capture is that of the emotions one faces him/her self. What he/she is dealing with in his/her own mind.
Being that, for me this artwork actually captures what I often feel like as I go through most days as a result of my own personal dealings with what I believe to be ADD.
I am an energizer bunny on 5 cans of red bull. My mind never shuts up and is always coming up with ideas in countless directions. The problem is I also often never say NO to running with these ideas - I simply take on another challenge and another opportunity and another business and another creative learning experiment. Many of them lead to commitments and deadlines that others expect of me when I took it on.
Its like a Juggler that has 10 balls in the air and agrees to add another. As long as they all come down at different times, I am OK. But often many come at the same time. Also, even when they come down at a good pace, they never stop coming so I struggle to just for my mind to rest.
So this artwork shows a person like me that struggles to keep his commitments from crushing him. The clouds are the opportunities that have also become commitments and stresses and obligations. I constantly need the incredible strength to keep them from falling to the ground - which to me is a failure.
HE holds up his growing burden of commitments - using all his strength to ensure then don't fall and crush him in the process.
CREDITS & RESOURCES USED:
The subject is from a SecondLife photo I took in 2012 at the Fantasy Faire exhibits. I then used my own personal clouds and blending textures to complete the art.
Walk to GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS Commitment March Rally along 17th between D and E Street, NW, Washington DC on Friday morning, 28 August 2020 by Elvert Barnes Photography
Street Vendors Series
Visit Commitment March website at nationalactionnetwork.net/commitment-march-on-washington-dc/
Elvert Barnes 57th Anniversary of 1963 March on Washington COMMITMENT MARCH docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/57MOW2020
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today however we have headed east of Cavendish Mews, down through St James’, around Trafalgar Square and up Charing Cross Road, where, near the corner of Great Newport Street, Lettice is visiting A. H. Mayhew’s*, a bookshop in the heart of London’s specialist and antiquarian bookseller district, patronised by her father, Viscount Wrexham. It is here that Lettice hopes to find the perfect birthday present for the son of the Duke of Walmsford, Selwyn Spencely. The pair have made valiant attempts to pursue a romantic relationship since meeting at Lettice’s mother, Lady Sadie’s, Hunt Ball the previous year. Yet things haven’t been easy, their relationship moving in fits and starts, partially due to the invisible, yet very strong influence of Selwyn’s mother, Lady Zinnia, the current Duchess of Walmsford. Selwyn is not one to make a fuss about his birthday, but under Lettice’s persistent pressure, he has acquiesced and agreed to an intimate dinner with Lettice at The Savoy Hotel** in a few weeks. This gives Lettice just enough time to find a present for Selwyn. As Lettice lingers out the front of Mr. Mayhew’s, peering through his tall plate glass windows that proudly bear his name and advertise that he does purchase libraries of old books, she hopes that somewhere amidst the full shelves inside, there is the book she hopes to give to Selwyn that will further solidify her commitment to him in his eyes.
She sighs and walks up to the recessed door of the bookshop which she pushes open. A cheerful bell dings loudly above her head, announcing her presence. As the door closes behind her, it shuts out the general cacophony of noisy automobiles, chugging busses and passing shoppers’ conversations dissipates, the shop enveloping her in a cozy muffled silence produced by the presence of so many shelves fully laden with volumes. She inhales deeply and savours the comforting smell of dusty old books and pipe smoke. The walls are lined with floor to ceiling shelves, all full of books: thousands of volumes on so many subjects. Sunlight pours through the tall shop windows facing out to the street, highlighting the worn Persian and Turkish carpets whose hues, once so bright, vivid and exotic, have softened with exposure to the sunlight and any number of pairs of boots and shoes of customers, who like Lettice, searched Mayhew’s shelves for the perfect book to take away with them. Dust motes, something Lettice always associates with her father’s library in Wiltshire, dance blithely through beams of sunlight before disappearing without a trace into the shadows.
Lettice makes her way through the shop, wandering along its narrow aisles, reaching up to touch various Moroccan leather spines embossed with gilt lettering of titles and authors, until she nears the middle of the shop, where sitting at his desk before a small coal fire, smoking his pipe, sits the bespectacled Mr. Mayhew in his jacket, vest and bowtie, carefully checking titles on his desk’s surface against a hand written inventory. The portly, balding gentleman is so wrapped up in his work that he appears not to notice Lettice as she stands before him.
“Good afternoon Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice says, her clipped tones slicing through the thick silence of the shop.
“Ahh,” Mr. Mayhew sighs with delight as he realises who is standing before him, removing his gold rimmed spectacles and setting them aside atop his old cash box featuring an old photograph of a Georgian Mansion cut from an old book that could not be salvaged and sold. “Why if it isn’t my favourite Wiltshire reader herself.” He takes one final pleasurable puff of his pipe before putting it aside.
Lettice rolls her eyes and smiles indulgently. “I’m quote sure you say that to every reader whom you know well, Mr. Mayhew.”
“Ahh,” the old man remarks, lifting himself out of the comfort of the well worn chair behind his desk, wiping his hands down the front of his thick black barathea vest. “But not every reader I know as well as you come from Wiltshire, Miss Chetwynd.” He reaches out and takes Lettice’s dainty glove clad hand in his and raises it to his lips.
“You kiss me like I’m the Queen, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice laughs.
“Well, you are royalty, of a sort, to me, Miss Chetwynd,” Mr. Mayhew replies as he releases her hand. “You and your father.”
“Yes,” Lettice muses happily. “I don’t suppose you have many customers who are such avid collectors or rare antiquarian editions of Goethe*** as my father.”
“Now, now, Miss Chetwynd, you play your own part in the success of Mayhew’s,” the old bookseller chortles. “Thanks to you showing an interest in fine editions yourself, under your father’s wonderful tutelage.”
“Well, I’d hardly classify myself as a collector, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice scoffs. “At least not like my father is, but then I live in a neat modern flat in Mayfair which does not afford me the space of a library like my father has.”
“More’s the pity, Miss Chetwynd.” Mr. Mayhew opines. “I feel every home should have a library.”
“You’d be far wealthier if they did, Mr. Mayhew.”
“That may be true, Miss Chetwynd,” Mr. Mayhew agrees. “But you misjudge my motivations.” he chides Lettice mildly. “I didn’t establish my little bookshop simply to make money. What a ludicrous idea that any shopkeeper would set up his establishment simply to make money, when he can take equal measure of profit and pleasure from his endeavours. I have a great love of books, Miss Chetwynd, both the written word and the engraving,” He waves his hands expansively at the floor to ceiling bookshelves around him, filled with hundreds of volumes on all manner of subjects. “As well you know. And I feel that a house is not a home without at least a small library of books.”
“Then I suppose my flat may be classified as a home in your eyes, Mr. Mayhew, since I do have a number of beautiful volumes from you in my own bookshelves.”
“Of course you do, my dear Miss Chetwynd.” the old man purrs pleasurably. “You are a discerning woman of good taste.”
“And deep pockets, just like my father.” Lettice laughs good-heartedly.
“Now, what is it that I can entice you to add to your bookshelves today, Miss Chetwynd?” He steps out from behind his cluttered desk and speaks as he moves. “Now let me see. I did recently get a splendid edition of some Georgian interior designs that might appeal to you. Did you find that Regency cabinet maker’s book I found for you, useful, Miss Chetwynd?”
“Oh I did Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice replies, acknowledging one of a number of fine and rare books the old bookseller has found Lettice since her move to London and the establishment of her interior design business.
“Splendid! Splendid!” Mr. Mayhew clucks, clapping his hands in delight.
“However, it isn’t me that I’ve come looking for a book for.” Lettice quickly adds before Mr. Mayhew begins the task of locating the book of Georgian interiors unnecessarily.
“Oh,” the bookseller replies a little downheartedly. “Well, I’m afraid I don’t have any new antiquarian versions of Gothe that I think His Lordship would like.” He scratches his balding head. “Although I do have quite a fine newly published edition of Padraic Colum’s**** ‘The Golden Fleece and the Heroes who Lived Before Achilles’***** illustrated by Willy Pognay, which luckily for you, Miss Chetwynd,” He wags a chubby finger at Lettice. “I forgot to mention to your father when he ordered his last shipment of books.”
“Oh I’m not looking for a book for my father either, Mr. Mayhew, at least not today.”
“Oh?” the older gentleman turns back to Lettice. “Your friend Mr. Bruton perhaps?”
“No, not him either, Mr. Mayhew.”
“Then who are you looking for a volume for, Miss Chetwynd? You know I have no head for guessing games, and I have no doubt that a lady as sociable as you would be well connected to many a distinguished person who would enjoy a volume from my humble little establishment.”
“You are a flatterer, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice laughs, blushing at the bookseller’s remark. She pauses for a moment before continuing. “I am actually looking for a book on architecture today. A very close friend of mine, who just happens to be a budding architect, is celebrating their birthday soon.”
“Ahh,” Mr. Mayhew replies. “And would this budding young architect happen to have recently had success with a commission for a house in Hampstead, Miss Chetwynd?” he asks discreetly.
“You are well informed in here, aren’t you, Mr. Mayhew?” Lettice gasps in surprise.
Mr. Mayhew smiles enigmatically and taps his nose knowingly. “Well, contrary to popular belief, I do occasionally have my eye drawn to the social pages of the London newspapers by Mrs. Mayhew, especially when she recognises the name of the daughter of one of my most regular and loyal customers.”
“Well, suppose you and your social informant were correct,“ Lettice begins discreetly.
“Yes, Miss Chetwynd?” Mr. Mayhew coaxes with a wry smile.
“And assume that the aforementioned up-and-coming architect expressly stated the fact that he was particularly enamoured in older English architecture for his own amusement.”
“Yes, Miss Chetwynd?”
“If you wanted to show your sincerity and your interest in the architect’s personal amusement, what would you recommend, Mr. Mayhew?”
“Well, Miss Chetwynd. I’d certainly want to give him something very special indeed.”
“Yes, I thought you might say that, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice smiles.
“Then I have not disappointed you, my dear Miss Chetwynd.” Mr. Mayhew returns her smile.
“You never disappoint me, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice counters. “But you never cease to surprise me.” she adds with the heavy implication that she hopes he can find for her the perfect birthday present for Selwyn.
“Then let Mayhew’s not let you down on that count either, Miss Chetwynd.”
“You never do, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice replies with a sigh of comfort, releasing a pent-up breath she didn’t realise she had been holding.
Mr. Mayhew picks up his spectacles and puts them on the bridge of his nose again before looking around him, squinting as he considers what volumes lie on the shelves in the darkened, cosy interior of his bookshop. As a proprietor who knows his stock well – almost like one would know a family – he says, “I think I might have just the thing. Please, take a seat, Miss Chetwynd.” He indicates to the chair on the opposite side of the desk to his own. “If I may beg your indulgence, I won’t be too long.”
“You may, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice replies.
The bookseller makes a small bow before he bustles off, disappearing amidst the bookshelves.
Lettice perches herself on the edge of the rather hard Arts and Crafts wooden seat and peruses Mr. Mayhew’s cluttered desk which is piled with old leather volumes, some of which speak of times long ago with their worn covers and aged pages. On the corner of the desk, precariously balanced and in danger of falling off if the proprietor were to push the books further across his desk, sits a photograph of Mrs. Mayhew in a dainty gilt frame. Next to it sits a desk calendar, set to the wrong date. Lettice listens and hears Mr. Mayhew muttering quietly behind a bookshelf nearby as he searches for what he hopes to find. Discreetly she changes the date on the calendar to the correct date for the old bookseller, smiling as she does so. In front of the photo and calendar sits a small brass pot of ink in which stands a quill feather pen, the fibres of which are yellow with age and dust. She toys with it in an amused fashion.
“Here we are, Miss Chetwynd!” Mr. Mayhew replies triumphantly as he returns holding two thick volumes in his arms. He pauses as he catches Lettice stroking the quill on his desk. “What’s your penmanship like, Miss Chetwynd?”
Lettice turns around and smiles up at the old, balding bookseller. “Nowhere near as good as yours, I’ll wager, Mr. Mayhew.” she laughs. “Especially with this old implement. I prefer a fountain pen. I think you must be the only man left in London who uses a quill pen.”
“Oh, I’m sure I’m not the only man in London who still uses one,” he replies as he squeezes around the corner of his desk and returns to his side of it, dropping the volumes with a soft thud atop several other closed books. “After all, I’m sure the King has to use a quill to sign the edicts and official documents that he has to witness.”
“I’m sure even His Majesty uses a fountain pen now, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice assures him. “I know Queen Mary does.”
“Ahh, where is your sense of romance for the art of writing, Miss Chetwynd? You must admit that if Miss Austen penned beautiful pieces of literature like ‘Persuasion’ and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ with a quill pen, that there is still a good reason to use one.”
“I don’t think Miss Austen had the luxury of the fountain pen being invented when she was alive, Mr. Mayhew,” Lettice laughs. “Or I am sure she would have used one as an alternative to a quill.”
“Perhaps, Miss Chetwynd,” Mr. Mayhew says with a cheeky smile. “But I’ll have you know that the fountain pen was actually invented before Miss Austen’s death in the early 1800s.”
“Is that so, Mr. Mayhew?”
“Indeed it is, Miss Chetwynd. It was invented in England by a man named Frederick Fölsch in 1809.”
“My goodness, Mr, Mayhew! Once again, I am amazed by your knowledge of such things.”
The bookseller basks in Lettice’s praise for a few moments before adding somewhat self-deprecatingly, “It does help that I work in a bookshop, surrounded by such knowledge, Miss Chetwynd.” He coughs and clears his throat. “Now, thinking of books, here are two volumes I think your young architect friend might like.”
He presents Lettice with a thick grey bound volume with black lettering embossed boldly upon its front.
“The Mansions of England in the Olden Times******,” Lettice reads aloud. “Pictured by Joseph Nash.”
“I’m afraid it is only volume two of a four volume set from 1840, Miss Chetwynd, but it is still very beautiful. ‘The Mansions of England in the Olden Times’ is considered to be Joseph Nash’s master work. He was a wonderful watercolourist, as you will see.” He indicates with open hands for Lettice to open the volume. “I think your friend might appreciate the watercolours therein.”
With the reverence her father taught her to have for books, particularly old and rare ones, Lettice gingerly opens the volume. Her hand gently caresses the beautifully marbled end papers before she starts turning the old pages catching the slight waft of the mixture of dust and woodsmoke of an old library, as she turns the pages.
“This book smells faintly like my father’s library, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice remarks.
“Well, I did acquire this from the family of the late Earl of Ellenborough*******, as the library stamp inside indicates. Sadly there are many estates that are now having to part with their treasures, since they can no longer afford to keep them.”
“Yes,” Lettice muses sadly. “I’m only grateful that Pater is not in that position, and he can keep his beautiful library at Glynes.”
“As am I, Miss Chetwynd.” acknowledges the bookseller.
Lettice pauses at a plate featuring the withdrawing room of Bramall Hall in Cheshire. The painting of the grand room with its ornate Elizabethan ceiling, oak panelled walls and stained glass is populated with matching Elizabethan characters: a couple by the fire, a woman in a bay window and a small child in the foreground on the edge of a rather large carpet. Her nose screws up slightly in distaste.
“Not to your liking, Miss Chetwynd?” Mr. Mayhew asks, picking up on her slight change in expression.
“Possibly not to the liking of the intended recipient, Mr. Mayhew. However renown a watercolourist Joseph Nash was, I don’t think my friend would like the rooms populated with imagined characters of the era. It seems a little fey.” She closes the book carefully and gently moves it aside.
“Then perhaps this will be more to your friend’s tastes.”
The old bookseller hands over a buff coloured volume of ‘The Royal Palaces, Historic Castles and Stately Homes of Great Britain’********.
Lettice accepts it and flips through the pages, and quickly discovers Clendon, the family seat of the Duke and Duchess of Walmsford, and Selwyn’s ancestral family home in Buckinghamshire, amongst the plates.
“I think my friend is intimately familiar with many of these houses and castles, Mr. Mayhew, so I fear it may not hold the appeal to him as it might for another reader.” She closes the volume.
“Does your friend have a particular era of architecture that he likes, Miss Chetwynd?” the bookseller asks solicitously, anxious to gain a good sale from Lettice if at all possible.
“Well, he does like John Nash’s********* work,” Lettice replies. “Especially the work he did around Regent’s Park.”
Mr. Mayhew thinks for a moment before replying. “Then I may be able to render assistance, Miss Chetwynd, although I will warn you, it may be a costly gift.”
“I don’t mind, Mr. Mayhew.” Lettice says steadfastly. “Selw… err, my friend’s happiness has no price.”
“Very well, Miss Chetwynd. Please wait here a moment.”
Mr. Mayhew slips away through the narrow aisles lined with full bookshelves again, this time disappearing through a door at the far end of the shop which is obviously a storeroom where the bookseller keeps things that are yet to be put on display, or items that may only be shown to certain customers. He returns a few minutes later with a smart half Morocco binding with gilt lettering which he places before her.
“This is a volume of John Nash’s architectural drawings including his designs for the Royal Pavilion built for the Prince Regent in Brighton, Marble Arch, Buckingham Palace, his collaboration with James Burton on Regent Street and his best-known collaborations with Decimus Burton of Regent's Park and its terraces and Carlton House Terrace.”
Lettice gasps as she carefully looks through the large book at the wonderful neoclassical and picturesque style architectural drawings in the book. Page after page of exquisitely rendered images show with clarity every detail of some of John Nash’s most famous buildings. When Lettice turns to a page showing the details of Buckingham Palace she sighs and says, “Mr. Mayhew, yet again you never cease to amaze me with what you have within your shop. I think you have just found me, the perfect birthday gift.”
*A. H. Mayhew was once one of many bookshops located in London’s Charring Cross Road, an area still famous today for its bookshops, perhaps most famously written about by American authoress Helene Hanff who wrote ’84, Charing Cross Road’, which later became a play and then a 1987 film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. Number 56. Charing Cross Road was the home of Mayhew’s second-hand and rare bookshop. Closed after the war, their premises is now the home of Any Amount of Books bookshop.
**The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by Carte's family for over a century. The Savoy was the first hotel in Britain to introduce electric lights throughout the building, electric lifts, bathrooms in most of the lavishly furnished rooms, constant hot and cold running water and many other innovations. Carte hired César Ritz as manager and Auguste Escoffier as chef de cuisine; they established an unprecedented standard of quality in hotel service, entertainment and elegant dining, attracting royalty and other rich and powerful guests and diners. The hotel became Carte's most successful venture. Its bands, Savoy Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band, became famous. Winston Churchill often took his cabinet to lunch at the hotel. The hotel is now managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. It has been called "London's most famous hotel". It has two hundred and sixty seven guest rooms and panoramic views of the River Thames across Savoy Place and the Thames Embankment. The hotel is a Grade II listed building.
***Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature and aesthetic criticism, and treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour. He is considered to be the greatest German literary figure of the modern era.
****Padraic Colum was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival.
*****”The Golden Fleece and the Heroes who Lived Before Achilles” was a novel written by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Hungarian artist Willy Pognay, published by the Macmillan Company in 1921.
******”The mansions of England in the Olden Times” was a four volume set published between 1839 and 1849 by English watercolourist and lithographer, Joseph Nash (1809 – 1878) who specialised in historical buildings. The four volume set is considered to be his major life’s work.
*******Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough, born in 1790, was a British Tory politician. He was four times President of the Board of Control and also served as Governor-General of India between 1842 and 1844. He died in 1844.
********”The Royal Palaces, Historic Castles and Stately Homes of Great Britain” is an interesting work on the Royal palaces, historic castles and stately homes of Great Britain. With an informative introduction by John Geddie, followed by the plates. Published in 1913 by Otto Schulze and Company, it features ninety-six full-page monochrome photograph plates including Buckingham Palace, Balmoral Castle, Kensington Palace and Edinburgh Castle.
*********John Nash (18 January 1752 – 13 May 1835) was one of the foremost British architects of the Georgian and Regency eras, during which he was responsible for the design, in the neoclassical and picturesque styles, of many important areas of London. His designs were financed by the Prince Regent and by the era's most successful property developer, James Burton. Nash also collaborated extensively with Burton's son, Decimus Burton.
This dark, cosy and slightly cluttered bookshop may appear real to you, but it is in fact made up of pieces from my 1:12 miniatures collection.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
All the books that you see lining the shelves of Mr. Mayhew’s bookshop are 1:12 size miniatures made by the British miniature artisan Ken Blythe. So too are all the books you see both open and closed on Mr. Mayhew’s desk. Most of the books I own that he has made may be opened to reveal authentic printed interiors. In some cases, you can even read the words, depending upon the size of the print! I have quite a large representation of Ken Blythe’s work in my collection, but so little of his real artistry is seen because the books that he specialised in making are usually closed, sitting on shelves or closed on desks and table surfaces. Therefore, it is a pleasure to give you a glimpse inside one of the books he has made. To give you an idea of the work that has gone into this volume and the others, the books contain dozens of double sided pages of images and writing. What might amaze you even more is that all Ken Blythe’s opening books are authentically replicated 1:12 scale miniatures of real volumes. “The mansions of England in the Olden Times” was a four volume set published between 1839 and 1849 by English watercolourist and lithographer, Joseph Nash (1809 – 1878) who specialised in historical buildings. The four volume set is considered to be his major life’s work. “The Royal Palaces, Historic Castles and Stately Homes of Great Britain” is an interesting work on the Royal palaces, historic castles and stately homes of Great Britain. With an informative introduction by John Geddie, followed by the plates. Published in 1913 by Otto Schulze and Company, it features ninety-six full-page monochrome photograph plates including Buckingham Palace, Balmoral Castle, Kensington Palace and Edinburgh Castle. To create something so authentic to the original in such detail and so clearly, really does make this a miniature artisan piece. Ken Blythe’s work is highly sought after by miniaturists around the world today and command high prices at auction for such tiny pieces, particularly now that he is no longer alive. I was fortunate enough to acquire pieces from Ken Blythe prior to his death about four years ago. His legacy will live on with me and in my photography which I hope will please his daughter. I hope that you enjoy this peek at just two of hundreds of his books that I own, and that it makes you smile with its sheer whimsy!
Also on the desk are some old leatherbound volumes, and to the left stands a calendar with its back facing the camera, Mr. Mayhew’s pot of ink and quill pen, a cashbox tin with a historical building image on its top and a pair of Mr. Mayhew’s spectacles. All these I acquired from Kathleen Knight’s Dollhouse Shop in the United Kingdom.
The Chippendale desk itself is made by Bespaq, and it has a mahogany stain and the design is taken from a real Chippendale desk. Its surface is covered in red dioxide red dioxide leather with a gilt trim. Bespaq is a high-end miniature furniture maker with high attention to detail and quality.
The photos you can see in the background, all of which are all real photos, are produced to high standards in 1:12 size on photographic paper by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire. The frames are from various suppliers, but all are metal.
The aspidistra in the blue jardiniere in the background, the pipe and pipestand, and the map also came from Kathleen Knight’s Dollhouse Shop in the United Kingdom.
The gold flocked Edwardian wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend, which inspired the whole “Cavendish Mews – Lettice Chetwynd” series.