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or Khatem Sulayman. King David and King Solomon are revered prophets in Islam and I shouldn't be surprised to see the star (or 'seal') in Arabic decorations - but I had to refresh my memory by looking things up online, to make the connections...
Last image from that place - for now. We'll be coming back for more some day :)
Update: I should have probably translated that Najmat Dawood is Arabic for Star of David (and Khalem Sulayman is the Seal of Solomon). Nobody showed to have noticed :(
This star by Fujimoto is broadly speaking a level-2 Lucky Star Fractal folded from a slightly smaller hexagon (twist’s central hexagon has a side ⅓ the side of the hexagon rather than ¼) so that there is less paper available on the back side.
Therefore, you can use instructions for Lucky Star Fractal at origami.kosmulski.org/instructions/lucky-star-fractal to fold this model.
This model can also be found in Shuzo Fujimoto’s books, but only in the form of pictures of finished model and information about the starting twist:
* Twist Origami I, page 9 (labeled “No 21”)
* Introduction to Creative Playing with Origami, page 103 (labeled “15”)
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
(From "A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches" by Martin Luther King Jr.)
Amazing symbols gathered all together on a huge bowl in the gardens of the National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum in New Delhi.
With "Om" everything begins, it is a mantra and mystical Sanskrit sound of Hindu origin sacred and important in various Dharmic religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
Like Ganesha who is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, he is the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom, the god of beginnings and therefore he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies.
Then the hexagram which has deep significance in most of the Dharmic and Abrahamic religions.
In Christianity it is often called the star of creation, while it is known as Najmat Dāwūd (Star of David) or Khātem Sulaymān (Seal of Solomon) in Islam and becomes the Magen David when it is recognized as the symbol of Judaism.
In many ways this picture unites us all and allows me to wish everyone, whatever your faith is, "A Guit Your", "Shana Tova" or, in other words, a Happy New Year.
It is easier to love than to hate, and as we are at the edge of a new conflict I truly want peace to prevail.
May this year be peaceful for all of us…
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An advanced, sentient clay soldier built to protect the tomb of China's first emperor. He was rebuilt into a weaponized, robotic form to join the Great Ten, the Chinese government's own super-team. Even still, he speaks only in I-Ching Hexagrams - an ancient form of binary code.
This guy is probably getting replaced when the Overwatch theme gets to Zenyatta. I probably should've used some pieces of the Genji minifigure, because in retrospect, this guy really is just somewhere between those two. Ah well, there's always room for improvement!
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David. Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles. The Star of David is not and was never a uniquely Jewish symbol.
What is considered by Western world as Star of David, is a mandala in Indic Religions - in Hinduism and Jainism, it epitomizes the essential meditative balance between Man & God and in Buddhism, it symbolizes the Origin of Phenomenon (of life/world/God).
What will seem like an ordinary hexagram to a non-believer or man of science, is so laden with meaning and philosophy in ancient religions and its interpretors. Isnt it fascinating?:)
This one was seen at Monkey Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Esta foto participó en el juego En un lugar de Flickr
El rosetón (románico de transición al gótico/protogótico, siglo XIII) de la fachada occidental de la Iglesia de San Felipe de Brihuega, la villa capital de municipio, situado en la comarca natural de La Alcarria (subcomarca de Alcarria Alta), en la provincia de Guadalajara, Castilla-La Mancha, España.
Se considera que esta iglesia, dedicada a San Felipe Apóstol, fue construída entre 1209-1246 bajo el mecenazgo del Arzobispo de Toledo y el señor de Brihuega Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada, a pesar de no existir documentación escrita que confirme este hecho o aclare la historia anterior de este templo.
"...Según nos describe García López en su Catálogo Monumental de Guadalajara: "Ennoblece más esta elegante fachada un rosetón circular, abierto bajo el ángulo en que concluye el muro central. Consta de un círculo rodeado de seis medios círculos uno y otros con lóbulos, redientes y arquillos que forman una elegante tracería ojival.
Las líneas rectas dominantes forman el exalfa o sello de Salomón sin intención notoria de que resalte."
La Iglesia de San Felipe de Brihuega
"...Conotado ao simbolismo do hexalfa, além deste exposto de forma clara, encontra-se nos templos cristãos o seu derivado hexafólio ou sexifólio, a estrela de seis raios e a rosácea ou roseta hexapétala, e apesar das suas numerosas variantes é normalmente interpretado como símbolo solar – o rosetão ou roseta do Sol, antigo símbolo mitraico herdado pelos cristãos para designarem Christus Sollis, o Cristo Solar ou Iluminado, e também a Rosa Mística da ladainha mariana, a Virgem Mãe de Deus, dependendo do sentido geral do simbolismo exposto a qual dos Dois se deve atribuir no caso particular esse símbolo."
O Hexalfa é igual à Alma Universal (por Vitor Manuel Adrião)
LA LEYENDA SOBRE SAN FELIPE APÓSTOL Y EL DRAGÓN DE MARTE:
San Felipe aparece en quinto lugar en las listas de los apóstoles (Mt 10, 3; Mc. 3, 18; Lc 6, 14; Hch 1, 13). Era originario de Betsadia, y de profesión pescador. Junto con Andrés, son los únicos que tienen nombres griegos entre los apóstoles
San Felipe es llamado por el Señor al grupo de sus discípulos al día siguiente de haber llamado a Andrés, Juan y Pedro (Jn 1, 43-44). San Felipe es quien invita a Natanael a conocer al Señor (Jn 1, 45). Tiene otras intervenciones significativas en el Evangelio. El día la multiplicación de los panes el Señor, para probarlo, se dirige a él preguntándole dónde comprarían pan para tanta gente (Jn 6, 5-7). Es a San Felipe a quien se dirigen los extranjeros deseosos de conocer al Señor (Jn 12, 20-22) y es él el que le pide al Señor en la última cena que le "muestre al Padre" (Jn 14, 8-11)
San Felipe se dedicó a predicar en las regiones de Frigia, actualmente Turquía, y Escitia, actualmente Moldavia, Ucrania, Hungría y el este de Rusia. Fue martirizado y muerto en Hierápolis. Su martirio consistió en ser crucificado y apedreado. Posteriormente sus reliquias se trasladan a Roma...
El relato tradicional sobre San Felipe Apóstol y el Dragón de Marte se basa en el texto incluído en la Leyenda Dorada de Jacopo Vorágine, pero se narra en diferentes versiones:
«...Una leyenda cuenta que los paganos querían obligarlo a hacer un sacrificio a una estatua de Marte, pero un dragón, colocado bajo el pedestal, mata con su aliento al sacerdote que ordena el sacrificio y a dos soldados. Felipe, apiadado de ellos, pone en fuga al dragón y resucita a los tres muertos.»
«...Los paganos quisieron obligarle a adorar una imagen de Marte, pero el santo hizo que del pedestal saliera un dragón, que mató al hijo del pontífice y varios personajes más con su aliento. El santo sanó a los heridos y resucitó a los muertos, a petición de la muchedumbre que allí se había congregado, a cambio de que se rompiera la estatua para eregir una cruz en su lugar.»
«...En Escitia fue apresado y llevado delante de una estatua de Marte para obligarle a hacer sacrificios. Pero de debajo de la estatua salió un dragón que mató al instante a tres personas. San Felipe se ofreció a resucitarlos si derribaban la estatua, por lo que expulsó al dragón del lugar y resucitó a los muertos, consiguiendo así muchas conversiones.»
«...San Felipe Apóstol...desterró al desierto al dragón que devoró al hijo del pontífice y a dos tribunos que presenciaban como era sacrificado a Marte en la ciudad de Escytia...»
Las páginas y obras consultadas y citadas:
www.aciprensa.com/catequesis/apostoles/felipe.htm
cuadrosparaunaexposicion.blogspot.ru/2010/03/san-felipe-i...
www.caminando-con-jesus.org/CRISTOLOGIA/APOSTOLES/apostol...
There is no longer any doubt the Hebrew word “Adon” (Lord) is from the ancient Egyptian “Aten” or “Aton” as it is spelled by some scholars. The name “Aten” also closely resmbles the Hebrew word “Adonai” which means “my Lord” – the root being “Adon.”.Many have pointed out the numerous similarities between the Hebrew or Aramaic hymn Psalm 104 and the Great Hymn to Aten composed by Akhenaten. Psalm 104 is attributed to the great Prophet Moses, who has also been identified as none other than Akhenaten (Akhnaten) himself.While the sun is used as a symbol to represent God in many cultures, Aten is neither the sun nor is He the “sun god” as some have erroneously suggested. The Scriptures use the symbol of the sun as representing God. Notice how the Psalmist describes the attributes of God: “Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters. Who maketh the clouds his chariot; Who walketh on the wings of the wind; Who maketh winds his messengers; flames of fire his ministers (Psalm 104:2,3) It should be noted that the sun itself was not worshipped by the faithful monotheistic Egyptians or Hebrews, but it was served as a ruling deity by the polytheists among other ancient Egyptians.
Fang, Chunyang 方春陽 ed. 1988. The Great Anthology of Chinese Qi Gong Classics, Zhongguo Qigong Dacheng 中國氣功大成. Jiling: Jiling Science and Technology Press.
Pregadio, Fabrizio “A Short Introduction to Chinese Alchemy, (2) Doctrines” venus.unive.it/dsao//pregadio/articles/intro/intro_2.html
Qiu Chuji 丘處機 (1148-1229). “Clear Directions on the Great Elixir” Dadan zhizhi 大丹直指 in Fang ed. Zhongguo Qigong Dacheng.
Robinet, Isabelle. 1989. “Original Contributions of Neidan to Taoism and Chinese Thought” in Livia Kohn ed. Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques. Ann Arbor: Center For Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan.
Dinglu, or the cauldron and the furnace, are the “range and vessel” in the inner alchemical process, which represent certain parts/locations in human body functioning as that in Alchemy. Most of the inner alchemical classics depict that the furnace and cauldron locate in the areas of dantian 丹田, or the cinnabar fields. The earliest cogent descriptions on the idea of dantian made by Ge Hong 葛洪 (283-363): “The Ultimate One (Tao) has names and demeanors. It is nine-tenths of an inch tall in man, and six-tenths of an inch in woman. It resides at two and four-tenths of inches below the navel in the lower dantian, or below the heart at jianggong 絳宮, and jinque 金闕, in the middle dantian, or between the eye brow in the depths (of the skull): the location of the first of the inch named mingtang 明堂; the location of the second of the inch named tongfang 洞房; and the location of the third of the inch named upper dantian. These names and locations are so crucial for Taoists, which only have been transmitted orally to those who have taken the “blood-oaths” generation after generation.” (Wang, 323) Then again, very few texts articulate which, or where exactly the inner furnace and cauldron allocated among the three dantian, or cinnabar fields. In 1988, the Taoist scholar and inner alchemist Zhao Songfei 趙松飛 decoded and interpreted The Heart Transmission of Heavenly Immortal's Gold Elixir for the first time, which is one of the few exposed and detailed Inner Alchemical manuals. According to Zhao's studies, the position of the inner furnace and cauldron is located at shenque 神闕, inside of the body behind the navel area, which is near or above the lower cinnabar field. (Zhao, 242) Huohou, or the fire time, is a technical term borrowed from waidan, which concerns regulating temperature and time of the furnace in Alchemical operation. Interacting of yin and yang, namely, interchanging the hexagrams of I Ching, represents this operation. Alchemical operation is also associated not only with the phases of the moon, but also with the cyclical signs of traditional Chinese time calculation—the heavenly stems and earthly branches signifying the hours, the days, and months—and with the rhythm of the seasons. These multi-correspondences are assigned with the Five Agents in their male and female aspects.
In the process of Inner alchemy, yi 意 and nian 念, or the intent and focus are the source of fire, breathing is the wind, or the source of oxygen. In other words, by means of intent and focus to regulate breathing patterns in order to manipulate, increase or decrease, time and level of functions of the subtle bodies (bodily fluids, hormones, and secretions of glands etc.) is the inner alchemical firing time.
There has been very little written on the technique of fire time. Even these received texts on the subject often are written in highly symbolic and hidden terms. For instance, Sanbai liushi zhoutian huohou 三百六十周天火候, or “the three hundred sixty orbit fire time,” Miaoyou zhoutian 卯酉周天, or “the mao you orbit,” mao is the fourth of the earthly branches, while you is the tenth. Because of the complexity and subtlety of the practice, the technique of fire time is transmitted to the student only orally under an adept/master's careful supervision. As the Inner Alchemical classic Central Directions states: “Since the sage only transmits the ingredients not the fire, and there are very few who know the fire time.” (Fang, 717)
This is the front of Star Ananke, variant D. The basic variant (A) was designed independently by myself and by others before me: Wei Fu, and Robin Glynn (with minor differences). This particular variant differs from Robin Glynn’s version only by the direction of one fold which results in the small color-change star being located on the back rather than the front side of the model. This is the simplest modular star, in terms of folding complexity, I have been able to come up with so far.
You can see the back side of this model (folded from a different paper) at flic.kr/p/2icu3Sp
Une production en des étudiants de deuxième année du Baccalauréat en médias interactifs de l’UQAM, réalisée dans le cadre d’une recherche-création à Hexagram.
😎*** Check out my latest uploads from the 'SOUND & VISION' archives - Aviation Archive Two - sounds of the 70s - 45mins of live Air Traffic Control broadcasts + Aviation Archive Three - sounds of the 70s - 45mins of live Air Traffic Control broadcasts + Aviation Archive Four - sounds of the 70s - over an hour of live Air Traffic Control broadcasts ***😎
Find the latest recordings on SoundCloud here: soundcloud.com/sound-vision-10193594/aviation-archive-4-s...
here: soundcloud.com/sound-vision-10193594/aviation-archive-thr...
here: soundcloud.com/sound-vision-10193594/aviation-archive-2-s...
and you can find Aviation Archive One - sounds of the 70s - an hour of live Air Traffic Control broadcasts here: soundcloud.com/sound-vision-10193594/aviation-archive-1?s...
Aviation Nostalgia - more from my archives :)
‘London Airport is planned for visitors and welcomes you.’ - summing up the heyday of London Airport when it was the place to go for a welcoming day out for families and enthusiasts - days long gone now sadly.
London Airport Found this very nostalgic publicity leaflet in my archives :) I believe it dates from 1956/57 as it mentions the newly built Queen's Building and Roof Gardens, Control Building (The Tower) and Passenger Building (later to be Terminal 2) all opened in 1955.
The cover art on the front panel of the leaflet shows the newly opened Roof Gardens (which were still a delight to visit when I started my aviation hobby in 1976) - it shows clearly a Lockheed Constellation on a 10R departure. The back panel is really interesting as it shows a map of Heathrow at the time, with just the three new buildings making up the Central Area. The biggest surprise for me was SIX RUNWAYS! Not just 28L/10R, 28R/10l and 23L/05R which was ‘MY’ runway (with the approach going right over my house in Southall), but 23R/05L as well (which was disused by the 1970s). And I never knew about parallel runways 15L/33R and 15R/33L?
Found some gen on these on Wiki:
'Early 1950s: Three more runways completed the hexagram; two runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction.’
'By 1961: Runway lengths: 28R/10L 9313 ft, 28L/10R had been extended west to 11000 ft, 23R/05L 6255 ft, 23L/05R 7734 ft, 33L/15R 7560 ft, 33R/15L not in use.'
'By 1970: Heathrow's two main east-west runways, 10L/28R and 10R/28L (later re-designated 09L/27R and 09R/27L) were extended to their current lengths to accommodate new large jets such as the Boeing 747. The other runways (i.e. 23R/05L 6255 ft, 33L/15R 7560 ft, 33R/15L) were closed to facilitate terminal expansion, except for Runway 23, which remained available for crosswind landings until 2002. For more info see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Heathrow_Airport#1960s
'Aircraft spotting or plane spotting is a hobby of tracking the movement of aircraft, which is often accomplished by photography. Besides monitoring aircraft, aircraft spotting enthusiasts (who are usually called plane spotters) also record information regarding airports, air traffic control communications and airline routes.'
See more here! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_spotting
You can see a random selection of my aviation memories here: www.flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/
on some winter nights, we keep silence. on some winter nights, we wait...
love and best wishes,
jeanne
scanned, assembled and altered image, january 2, 2007
a resource for the journey: hexagram 5 of the i ching or book of changes (wilhelm/baynes translation with foreword by c.g. jung)
The entrance of a local synagogue. Technically the Star of David is a hexagram in which two equilateral triangles overlap to form a central hexagon.
Our Daily Challenge - Hexagon/Hexagonal - 7/21/14
Introduction
The doctrine of the ‘Body of Light’ is replete throughout Western esoteric literature. Unfortunately, while many references are made to the concept, little information is supplied regarding its origin (or formation), stages of growth, and applications. The purpose of this document is to supply qabalistic and alchemical students with a workable esoteric theory, and practical technique, regarding this often obscure subject.
Theoretical and Historical Background
The origin of the “body of light” is seen in gnostic literature as early as the first century. However, extensive documentation and theory exist in Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Indian literature and practices of an earlier date. Under the general heading of chi kung, or Chinese internal alchemy, these practices are designed to create and mature a body of subtle astral and etheric energy that is capable of existence independent of material consciousness. This body is also thought to be capable of infusing the material body with sufficient energy to allow it to become more subtle and ‘etherial’. This ‘etherialization’ is said to make the physical body, under the direction of the adept, capable of de-materialization at the time of death. Enoch, Ezekiel, the ascension of Jesus, his mother Mary, and even Mohammed with his horse, are often given as examples of this form of dematerialization in Western spiritual literature.
Unfortunately, while Eastern systems have maintained a working technical tradition of the theory and its application needed to achieve this goal, little information remains in the West of a similar nature. The idea of the ‘simulacrum’ is the closest we have, and may very well be the starting point of such experimentation. It can be seen from the Eastern literature available, that the idea of the “Body of Light” often called the “Rainbow” or “Diamond Body” is the perfection of a vehicle for the exteriorization (projection), and continuation of consciousness beyond material reality. This paper will attempt to show how the development of this body can be achieved through existing qabalistic practices, and that the stages of its growth corresponds to total realization on the Lunar (Yetzirah), Solar (Briah), and Saturnian (Daath) planes of consciousness.
It is important to realize what is meant by these ‘planes’ however, as they can be confusing when first encountered as an esoteric teaching. When the Cosmic created the universe, humanity, or the ‘human seed’, that aspect of consciousness which was to grow into realization of godhood, descended from primal unity. This unity is symbolized by the Divine World of Atzilooth, and the Holy Upper Trinity in the Tree of Life.
When consciousness experiences increasing levels of density as matter is created, duality forms and continues to the material world. This first descent from unity to duality is the so-called “Fall” and to prevent a premature return to Unity, that is before all of creation could be encountered, a barrier was placed called in qabalistic literature, the Abyss. This is the “First Day of Creation” or appearance of time/space. As the descent continued, the human seed experienced progressive levels of sexual polarization as well as being further removed from its memory of Divine consciousness. After the level of Divine Harmony in creation, or Tiphareth, the center of humanity's sense of self, an additional barrier was created, the Veil, or Paroketh. This is the appearance of individuality free of the Divine spark. Finally, a third barrier of Veil is encountered, and that is what separates material creation from the psychic and spiritual worlds. Here, humanity has no memory of its Divine origin, and has complete free will to seek what it desires.
Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, states, “When working in this way [Pathworking] you are using the astral body, and you know already about your Magical Personality1) which has been quietly growing in strength with each month’s work. But there is another form used by some magicians, the Body of Light. Some think that it is the same as the astral body, but it is in fact quite different. The astral is an etheric form common to everyone, a Magical Personality is acquired through practice and concentration. The Body of Light is deliberately built for a purpose, another term for it is ‘cowan’. It is not easily formed, some people never manage it, or at least not fully, and once it is formed it can be troublesome, and requires firm handling.” P. 153, The Ritual Magic Workbook Ms. Ashcroft-Nowicki further states that the Body of Light can acquire a kind of ‘self consciousness’ after a period of development. This idea is also stated in Tibetan and Chinese literature. The small ‘child of light’ is often compared to a fetus in the astral womb of the practitioner’s aura and temple. It must be matured, fed, educated, and grown to proper strength so that is can be a help to the magician and not a hindrance, or even potential danger. However, like in all occult activity, dangers come more often from rushing through preliminary work instead of allowing it to proceed in a healthy and natural pace, than from the exercises themselves actually being psychically dangerous. She also goes on to say that few Western magicians have ever been able to master the technique fully, although no reasons are given. When we attempt esoteric exercises and a return to Primal Unity, we must pierce the first Veil, or that of the Gate of Life and Death. So called, because few people pierce it except during near-death-experiences (NDE’s), Out-of-Body experiences (OOBE’s), or physical death itself. The astral body has access to three levels of consciousness, and then must be shed, encountering the ‘Second Death” in order to penetrate the Veil, or Paroketh, to the next three levels. However, precautions must be undertaken to avoid the destruction of the astral body if the Second Death is to be avoided. If this is not done, then it must be reconstructed with a new birth. Above the Solar World, the Resurrection Body is established, and it is the ‘body’ or expression of consciousness used for Reintergration to Unity.2)
It is possible, as this paper will attempt to show, that just as there is confusion among some students regarding the Body of Light as being the astral body, there may also be confusion regarding its actual purpose — that of extended consciousness, or ‘surviving the Second Death’. When its function is clearly understood, then greater attempts can be made to realize its full potential. Mead and the Subtle Body: GRS Mead wrote a booklet around the turn of the century titled, The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in the Western Tradition. It very well may be one of the few books dedicated to this subject available, and while it is full of scholarly research regarding the theories and beliefs regarding the subtle body, it lacks any description of the techniques used to experience it. The material quoted is almost exclusively Gnostic-Christian in origin: Mead states that the doctrine of the subtle body achieved its highest expression in India, although he may have been unaware of other oriental teachings, and that notions of the subtle body develop along with those of alchemy and astrology. This is both true in East and West, and is seen in the techniques often suggested for use by the student. This astrology has nothing to do with “..vulgar horoscopy, philosophic astral theory set up a ladder of ascent from the earth to the light world.” (p.9) Mead also states: “But even as there was a deeper, more vital, side of astrology, a subtler phase intimately bound up with the highest themes of sidereal religion, so there was a supra-physical, vital and psychic side to alchemy — a scale of ascent leading finally to man’s perfection in spiritual reality.” (p.13)
Mead also states that Zosimus states catagorecally that the Rites of Mithras were identical in purpose to the practices of alchemy, and is the only complete ritual of the Mithrian cult that has survived to present time, and its theurgical practices are similar to Indian yoga. (p.30) The ritual also states clearly that it is the method whereby spiritual perfection and birth of the subtle body are attained. As in the Sepher Yetzirah and the Golem, the body of Light is often suggested.
Three Levels of Light: The three basic ideas around the subtle body are that it progresses though the levels of the spheres, increases in power and purity, and is made of light and/or fire. It is described as : the spirit-body, the radiant body, and the resurrection body, depending on its degree of purity. Mead points out that there is the possibility of extreme confusion when reading the ancient literature and the vocabulary used to describe the spiritual body. Despite appearances to the contrary, Mead asserts that the spiritual body is essentially one, and that the sidereal body, has nothing to do with today’s (1919) astral body. The Spirit-Body, orsoma pheumatikon, is the force closely aligned to the physical body. Similar to the nephesch, or vegetative-animal soul, in Jewish Qabalah. The Radiant Body, allows us to experience the Vision of Beauty Triumphant as referred to in modern qabalistic schools: “Tiphareth translates to Beauty. It is located on the Pillar of Balance which is the Pillar of consciousness and corresponds, we are told, to the highest state in which a man incarnate on this earth can live, that is, a man “of flesh and blood.” This does not mean that he cannot receive the influences of the higher sepheroth (higher according to the Tree), perceive or live something of their nature and mode of action. This means that a man capable of remaining in Tiphareth has “spiritualized” his matter, has formed his glorious body and has obtained the power to go beyond incarnation.” “There was a time when we they could behold Beauty in all its brilliance, when, together with the rest of the Blessed Company — we [philosophers] in the train of Zeus, and other [ranks of souls] in the train of the Gods — they both beheld the beatific spectacle and [divine] vision, and where initiated into that mystery, which may be called the holiest of all, in which we joyed in mystic ecstasy.” (p. 58) Proclus states,
“Moreover, the radiant vehicle (augoeides ochema) [corresponds] with heaven, and this mortal [frame] with the sublunary [region]”. While the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh was hotly contested during its developmental stages, with the ‘flesh lovers as they were called, winning out over those believing in a purely spiritual resurrection. Mead points out that the belief in physical resurrection was not universally accepted by the Jews of Jesus’ day, yet, there was a strong Biblical and midrashic tradition of increasing in grades of purity of the individual allowing for ascension and resurrection to take place. The descriptions of these accounts, Elijah and Jesus, suggest that the bodies they inhabited were the same, and yet not the same. They were tangible, yet could overcome material limitations, such as Jesus’ passing through the locked door. Elijah, unlike Jesus however, did not die, but was taken into heaven bodily in a chariot of fire. These ‘bodies’ in fact, are not really separate bodies, but increasingly purified expressions of the personality, the individual and unique expression of God we all carry within us. As one ‘body’ or expression is purified and ‘dies’ another takes its place. What makes the resurrection body different is that while it can and does exist within the material world, it is free from material constraints. This perfect body was, or is, essentially a quintessence. It is differentiated into subtle and simple elements, where as the physical body is contaminated by the grosser elements. The Mithraic initiation states:“O Primal Origin of my origination; Thou Primal Substance of my substance; First Breath of breath, the breath that is in me; First Fire, God-given for the Blending of the blendings in me; First Fire of fire in me; First Water of my water, the water in me; Primal Earth-essence of the earthly essence in me; Thou Perfect Body of me!..” (p. 102, and A Mithraic Ritual, London 1907)
The technique suggested by Ashcroft-Nowicki is the simplest and most direct. However, while no specific rituals are employed, as in A.S. method, it is suggested that the ritual be performed in a consecrated temple to prevent the simulacrum from wondering. She also states that when the B.O.L. is sufficiently developed to begin to desire acting on its own, that it should be given firm disciplining.“With the constant implanting of consciousness, even the tiny amount used here, the cowan [Body of Light] will eventually gain a half conscious mind of its own. You will in fact have partially ensouled it. At this point, it will almost certainly make a bid for freedom. Something you cannot allow for it has no protection against the darker forces who will take it over and use it against you and even against those with whom you are involved. They will think it is you and trust the appearance. Therefore the moment you feel as if the cowan is getting above itself, give it a good psychic shake, and in no uncertain terms remind it who is boss.” She then suggests withdrawing all contact with the cowan for a lunar month, and to feel no sympathy for this self-created and projected aspect of ourselves. To do otherwise, she warns, is to court disaster. This would in fact, be tantamount to “the Fall” in our own personal microcosm. Yet despite these warnings, and problems, the creation of the BOL, even partially, can be a very rewarding psychic and spiritual experience. It offers many avenues for psychological cleansing, as we shall see, and psychic enhancement. These four directives: going slow, performing in a sacred space or enclosure, preventing it from wondering, and reminding the BOL who is boss, are common to Eastern and Western methods of creating the BOL. What is missing in the modern accounts, but clearly stated in the Oriental ones, is that the BOL is a superior being to physical world, and can be directed to have effects on the physical body, if they are desired. It is these effects which allow for the etherialization of the physical body, increased health, longevity, and possibly even a kind of ‘psychic mutation’ that allows for increased psychic activity along family lines. The Western schools are silent about what the implications of the Hermetic axiom, “The subtle rules the dense” and how it might apply here. Despite the projective imagery, the genuine sense of the simulacrum being ‘other’, and unconscious, often violent imagery that can be dredged up from a nephesch (subconscious) that doesn’t want to be integrated into the workings of the ruach (Mental-Spiritual functions), the BOL is still a part of us. By disciplining it, giving it function and purpose, and guiding it with a firm hand, we are in reality giving those things to our self. The simulacrum however, shows us in no uncertain terms, that these forces and ideas within us, left unregenerated and when given the opportunity, will seek to manifest, and to take on self-consciousness. In magical work we see this clearly in the creation of the BOL; in psychology in neurotic and schizophrenic behavior; and even in severe forms of psychosis. Esoteric work allows us to address these diverse aspects of our being, to integrate them, and in doing so, to prevent psychic ruptures that might otherwise manifest in modern terms as mental illness. The following method can be performed by anyone regardless of their level of experience. Ideally however, it would be best if it is done during the third or fourth year of qabalistic study. The reasons for this are simple: the more experience you have in psychic and occult matters, the easier it will be to achieve noticeable success. In addition, the required skills of concentration, visualization, and creating a strong working environment for psychic activity will have become second nature. In relation to what has been said previously, by the third or fourth year of study, the aspiring qabalistic magician will hopefully have worked through some of their more obvious psychological issues, as seen and experienced through the multi-colored glasses of the Lesser Pentagram and Hexagram Rituals. Previous experience with planetary invocations will make some of the following instructions easier. Within the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the first 3-3 ½ years is spent learning very basic magical procedures, coupled with the memorization and intellectual comprehension of a vast amount of qabalistic, alchemical, and astrological knowledge. The techniques given by Regardie in The Golden Dawn, such as the Supreme Rituals of the Pentagram and Hexagram, and the Rose+Cross Ritual, are not generally taught until the 5=5 Grade, or Adeptus Minor. On occasion, they may be given in the preliminary section, known as the Portal Grade. All magical tools are also constructed after being received into the Second Order, or Adeptus Minor grade. Only after this period are planetary rituals, talismans, and related techniques as seen in Regardie’s work undertaken.4) For those who do not belong to any formal course of study, it is generally suggested that the first year of activity be spent learning Elemental and Pentagram work. The second year doing planetary work; with the third year being spent integrating the two. The fourth year often focuses on zodiacal magic and the completion of any Pathworking. Pathworking can be started anywhere from the first year on and requires about 1 1/2 years to fully do all of the 32 Paths of the Tree of Life. Since each Path is often done more than once, it is best to allow two to three years for this additional aspect of magical training. Pathworking, particularly Paths 32 through 24 are critical for psychological health and should be done two or three times before doing the second set of Paths, or 23 through 19.5) Of course, the speed at which one works is not important. It is better to go slowly and diligently and make real progress, than to rush through and simply do the work haphazardly. The most complete method available for creating the Body of Light is in the ritual called “The Magician” in Mysteria Magica, vol 3 of The Magical Philosophy by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips.6) The material belongs to the curriculum of the Aurlem Solis Sacra Verbum. The ritual is divided into five main sections, composed of fourteen distinct parts in total. A note belonging to the title suggests that the ritual is considered most effective when performed at the beginning of the day. Presumably, during the first planetary hour of the day.
Among the most important points in gnostic and Platonic literature is the need to separate the subtle body from the physical body for its purification. This imagined, and eventually real separation, forms the core of the technique. Only by freeing the psychic self from the constraints of material life can we experience the full degree of good and evil in our psyche. The methodical and militant purification of our psyche and integration of its diverse aspects constitutes the most difficult, and rewarding, psycho-spiritual practices known.
Preliminaries: The temple area should be set as usual, with alter in the middle, or slightly East of center. If possible, wear a consecrated Rose+Cross present, and place the Pentacle of Earth on the altar.7). Establishing the Temple: Perform the Banishing Ritual of the Lesser or Greater Pentagram.8)
Higher Self: Place your left hand, the hand of Mercy, upon the Earth Pantacle. Invoke the presence of your Higher Self. Imagine in brilliant phosphorescence a flaming sphere, or flaming yod, touching your crown and uniting you with the cosmos. Stand in the posture of the Adeptus Minor. (Tau Cross, arms outstretched).
Lower arms and meditate on the significance of your Higher Self, this flame of Creation within you. This cosmic seed. Perform the Middle Pillar exercise.: Affirm your intentions for performing this exercise, and appreciation for consciousness and the opportunity to develop in awareness and Service. Ask that Light, Life, and Love be expressed in every cell, thought, and action of your being. The Lower Self: Turning clockwise, face the West of the Temple. Pause and imagine the great streams of energy circulating through your physical and psychic bodies. Energize your heart center, feeling a stream of energy running from your crown to your heart, and feet, and back up again. Affirm your position of authority over your lower self and physical body in a loving, but firm manner. Be thankful that they are present to serve you, but that they are at the service of the development of Self, and not as independent beings. Assume the position of the Adeptus Minor, and imagine yourself growing to a vast and immense size. Maintain or reformulate your Flaming Crown center. Feeling most of your consciousness operating from inside of it. Send thoughts of blessing, love, good health, and well being to your lower self and guph. Pause for a few moments as the feeling of vastness disappears and you return to normal awareness of the temple. Turn to the East and ask that the Powers of the Higher Self be present and fully utilized for this operation and at all times forward. Move to the eastern Quarter and Face the West again. Perform the Middle Pillar a second time if needed. Project the simulacrum from the solar plexus, upper abdomen region. Have it facing East, or toward the operator, with the silvery-bluish cord visible between the simulacrum and the operator’s abdomen or solar plexus.
Exhortation and Instruction: In the Name of your Higher Self, address the image before you firmly and lovingly that it is to give your full assistance in the Great Work. If any particular instruction, assistance, or additional work is needed, it is to be interjected here. Give blessing to your Nephesh, in the Name of the Most High, and thank it for its participation in this ritual.
Energize and imagine the simulacrum attaining a high degree of integration. Completion: Re-absorb the simulacrum and the silver cord by imaging it return to a cloud or mist of bright bluish-gray or silver psychic protoplasm and collapsing backward along the cord (bring the cord with it) into your body at the level it was projected from. Close down firmly. Feel the energy move throughout your body and sink deep into your muscles, bones, marrow, and envelope you in a body of light, just below the surface of the skin. Rejoice in the successful operation.
Instructing the Simulacrum: After a two or three weeks of successful projection and reabsorbing of the simulacrum, you can begin projecting specific ideas into it. This can be done in several ways depending on your personal preference. First, use a general plan of associating the simulacrum with the planets, by imagining them along the spinal column from Saturn at the base, to Luna and Sol at the head. Imagine them in bright white light, or the Queens Color Scale. Using the colors, symbols, and sounds of the planets, the simulacrum can be tincted with particular qualities and virtues. Or imagine counterparts of physical organs inside the simulacrum and them having the colors and sounds of their planetary counterparts, filling the whole image with the light and sense and virtues of that planet.
This is the Lunar, or Astral purification of the simulacrum so that it can be rightly called a Silver Body, as it will be influenced and influential upon the Lunar and Astral worlds as a whole. At some point you can then begin to educate it further, that it might become a Solar, or Golden, Radiant Body, influenced by the Briactic Worlds. Beyond this, it would find perfection in the Diamond, or Resurrection Body, under the influence of the Sphere of Saturn. Also, practice performing the Middle Pillar inside the simulacrum, after it has been projected. Always reabsorb the energy, either as a mist, or a shadow image fusing itself into your earthly body. When venturing into the Quarters, use the simulacrum and tune it to the Element you seek to explore, making it a body of Fire, Air, Water, or Earth. When generally projected, it should be thought of as a body of Quintessence, or Spirit, of dynamic electric and magnetic qualities containing within it the balanced potential for all bodies of the four Elements. The simulacrum can also be projected and modified to a deific image or godform. The effects of this are different than the usual methods for Assumption of the Godform. In this instance it is helpful to grow the image in size and stature to a larger than normal appearance after it has been created. It is important that your consciousness be projected firmly into the simulacrum during any working, and that the energy be completely reabsorbed after it is over. The simulacrum can be charged with Hebrew letters. Engraving them according to there location and association with the physical organs as outlined in the Sepher Yetzirah. This can be done to the physical body as well, prior to projection of the simulacrum, and will assist in its creation and projection.9) The letters can be done in blazing white, or according to the Queen’s Scale. It can also be charged with the Tetragrammaton, in the normal Y (Head) Heh (Shoulders) Vau (Spine) Heh (Hips Feet) fashion. As with the alphabet, they should be seen as existing inside the figure, glowing and strong, and not carved on the surface, or projected onto it from elsewhere. The purpose of the simulacrum is to create a vehicle for the purification and expression of astral (Yetziric) and mental (Briah) energies. As such, it also acts as a bridge between not just our objective and subjective worlds, but also between our emotional and physical realities. As stated, we can in effect, alter our physical appearance and health through proper and loving purification of our astral matrix. The Nephesch, which constitutes the bulk of the ‘self’ that we are refining in this work, overlaps and connects the worlds of matter (forming our Salt) and mind (forming our Mercury). When we address it from the perspective of our Kether, we are adding the third Essential, or the overlap of Mind and Spirit (forming our Sulfur). These Four Qabalstic Worlds and their overlapping, forming the Three Essentials, form the basis for inner and outer alchemy. The 27th Path is also a sort of Kundalini Yoga exercise, whereas the 24th Path is the arousal of Kundalini. Where the 27th connects Natural Energy to the Intellectual World, the 24th Path converts Solar (soul) energy into Natural (psychic) energy. Both are under the influence of Mars, or Will, as they reverse the flow of Mezla, and clear out psychic blockages on the Path of Return. This exercise will have secondary effects on the 24th Path, and some effects on the 28th Path (Net-Yes) as this Path governs the flow of Psychic energy through our Psychic centers. All of the Paths of Yetzirah will be effected to some degree by this exercise. We cannot ascend and take our mistaken ideas with us, or our passions and lusts. Both are eradicated, disciplined, or redirected by the Sword of Geburah, or an Enlightened Will. The Lightning Bolt on the tarot card the Tower, sometimes called the House of God (Deu) or Fire (Feu) shows us that the ever flowing lightning bolt of Mezla will destroy any imperfections that it comes in contact with. 1) The Magical Personality is defined as a self-created image of one’s self that allows for greater power and presence when doing esoteric work. 2) See: Fundamentals of Esoteric Knowledge, Lesson 1-3. The Philosopher’s of Nature (PON), Wheaton, Ill. ©1988. 3) See: Qabala Course, Lesson 17. The Philosophers of Nature (PON), Wheaton, Ill. © 1995.
4) See: Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition by Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. Llewellyn Publications. Saint Paul, MN. Copyright 1995 5) For more information on Pathworking see: PON Qabala Course, Lessons through . Highways of the Mind by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, and Magical States of Consciousness by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips. 6) P. 359-362.
7) As mentioned, in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Hermetic Rose+Cross and the Pantacle of Earth are ‘adept level’ tools. In The Philosopher’s of Nature (PON) Qabala Course, they are not constructed until the very end of the six year course. However, the Supreme Pentagram and Hexagram rituals are presented in the second year. 8) Use of the ‘Elemental Grade Signs’ or the ‘Rending of the Veil’ is at the performers discretion.
9) One student who did this noted that the simulacrum was more vital, but also slightly more difficult to control. They also noted, they when they imagined the letters within their physical body when falling asleep, that astral projection occurred rapidly, often before the fifth or sixth letter was reached.
hermetic.com/stavish/essays/bodylight
The Advanced Middle Pillar Ritual: The Middle Pillar ritual seems to be a ritual that one can progressively build upon. Visualization of the 5 central spheres and reciting the corresponding God-names is obviously the foundation. From there on, I have begun incorporating the remainder of the spheres - and also reciting the Angelic correspondences too (Metatron - Raphael - Gabriel - Sandalphon). Upon adding these to the ritual - it has become considerably more powerful (in terms of how strongly it alters my consciousness) and immersive. I am looking to further energize and advance the ritual. From those of you who have developed their own Middle Pillar Ritual - what have you specifically done, and what has been in the effect? Also, do you supplement the process by topping it off with another ritual (Bornless Ritual, LIRP, etc...) This practice is based on the symbolism of the Middle Pillar of the qabalistic Tree of Life. Alternately, this pillar is known by the titles Equilibrium, Balance, or Mildness. The Middle Pillar Exercise imagines bright spiritual light descending and flowing through the central axis of the body, marked by a series of energy centers (circles 1, 6, 9, 10, and the unmarked throat center in the diagram). Visualizing certain colors and using intense vocalization, called vibration, of the associated name of G-d activates these centers. Then the light is circulated, or directed into a certain pattern of flow, throughout the whole energy field. This practice connects us to the Divine, clears and recharges our personal energy field, and increases our capacity to channel spiritual energy. Additionally, it brings us a sense of peace and harmonious balance. Many teachers recommend performing a clearing ritual prior to practicing the Middle Pillar Exercise. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP) is frequently used. I have used the Middle Pillar Exercise with students for many years without a prefatory clearing ritual and with no ill effects. However, if you feel your energy is disproportionately out-of-balance, please consider using the LBRP or otherwise setting sacred space before beginning this meditation.The name of the exercise is taken from the position of the central Sephiroth on the diagrammatic Tree of Life.
As has been said... "The Secret of Wisdom can be discerned only from the place of balanced power" - that is, from between the pillars of Severity and Mercy. The Middle Pillar positions us at a balanced point, neutralizing to some extent the swing of the psychic pendulum from one extreme to the other.
In this exercise we will visualize the sephiroth of the middle pillar as part of our bodies, illuminating them in descending order while vibrating the sephiroth's divine name. This establishes balance and fills us with energy.Once the middle pillar is 'lit' we will circle the energy around and through our bodies, to cleanse and fortify. Think of the names as vibratory rates.
The exercise can be performed standing, sitting, or lying down. Names can be vibrated aloud or internally.Kether
After a few minutes of relaxation, imagine a sphere of white light just above your head. Vibrate the name Eheieh (pronounced Eh-hey-yay, meaning I am). Keep vibrating this word until it is the only thought in your conscious mind. Then imagine a shaft of light descending from your Kether center to your Daath center at the nape of the neck.
Daath: Form a sphere of light at the Daath center. Vibrate the name YHVH Elohim (pronounced Yode-heh-vav-heh El-oh-heem, meaning Lord of Hosts).
Tiphareth: Bring a shaft of light down from the Daath center to the Tiphareth center around your heart. Form a sphere of light there. Vibrate the name YHVH Eloah ve-Daath (pronounced Yode-heh-vav-heh El-oh-ah v’-Dah-ath, meaning Lord of Knowledge).
Yesod: See the shaft of light descending from Tiphareth into the Yesod center in the genital region. Imagine a sphere of light formed there. Intone the name Shaddai El Chai (pronounced Shah-dye El-Chai meaning Almighty Living God.
Malkuth: Visualize the shaft of light descending from Yesod into your Malkuth center at the feet and ankles. Vibrate the name Adonai ha-Aretz (pronounced Ah-doe-nye ha-Ah-retz, meaning Lord of Earth). Visualize the Middle Pillar complete.
Circulating the light: Then circulate the light you have brought down through the Middle Pillar around the outside of your body to strengthen your aura (Perform each circulation a number of times.): Circulation One: Side to Side. Using the cycles of rhythmic breathing, bring the light down one side of the body and up the other, from Kether to Malkuth and back to Kether. Exhale and visualize the light descending the left side of the body. Inhale and imagine the light ascending the right side of the body back to Kether.. Circulation Two: Front to Back:
After performing this for a short space of time, imagine the ribbon of light descending from Kether down the front of your body to Malkuth and rising up your back, returning again to Kether. Circulation Three: The Shower of Light Still employing rhythmic breathing, visualize the sphere of Malkuth, then see the shaft of light rising up the Middle Pillar in the center of your body. When it reaches Kether, imagine a shower of light cascading down the outside of your body as it descends to Malkuth again. Circulate the light in this manner for some time. Circulation Four: The Ascending Spiral Then see the light rise again in a ribbon that spirals around the outside of your body from Malkuth to Kether. Closing Finally focus some of the energy back into your Tiphareth center, the seat of equilibrium and balance.
Often, the Middle Pillar is combined with the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (see also Site "Rituals") To do this:
Perform the opening Kabalistic Cross .Formulate the Pentagrams
Call the Archangels: Perform the Middle Pillar exercise
Perform the closing Kabalistic Cross. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. The Kabalistic Cross: Face east. Perform the Kabalistic Cross as follows:. Imagine a sphere of light just above the crown of your head. Touch the forehead and vibrate Ateh (Thou Art, or, Unto Thee) Bring hand down the body. At about the level of the genitals, indicate the feet and vibrate Malkuth (The Kingdom) Imagine a shaft of light descending from the Crown Sphere to the feet where another sphere expands just under your feet. Touch the right shoulder and vibrate Ve-Geburah (and The Power) Imagine a 6 inch sphere of brilliant white light appear just next to the right shoulder.
Touch the left shoulder and vibrate Ve-Gedulah (and The Glory)
Imagine a shaft of light emerge from the right Sphere and cross your breast to expand and form another Sphere at your left shoulder. Clasp the hands before you and vibrate Le-Olam (For Ever) Imagine clearly the cross of light as it extends through your body.
Amen.
The Pentagrams
Draw, in the air facing east, a banishing Earth Pentagram (Begin at the lower left corner and trace clockwise). Bringing your hand to the center of the Pentagram, vibrate the Name Y H V H (pronounced Yahd Hey Vau Hey)
Trace a semicircle before you as you turn toward the south. Again trace the Pentagram, bring your hand to the center of it, and vibrate the Name Adonai, (pronounced Ah-Do-Neye)
Again, trace the semicircle with the dagger to the west, trace the Pentagram, bring your hand to the center, and vibrate the Name Eheieh, (pronounced Eh-Hey-Yay)
Then, turn towards the north, trace the circle, trace the Pentagram, bring your hand to the center and vibrate the Name AGLA, (pronounced either Ah-Gah-Lah or Atah Gibor Le-Olahm Adonai) Return to the EAST, completing tracing the circle of Light, bringing your hand to the center of the east Pentagram.
The Archangels
Extend the arms in the form of a cross, say:
Before me (then vibrate) Raphael
Behind me (then vibrate) Gabriel
At my right hand (then vibrate) Michael
At my left hand (then vibrate) Ariel
About me flames the pentagrams, and in the column shines the six-rayed star.
At this point, perform the Middle Pillar exercise
Repeat the Kabalistic Cross
Adding Color
Once the ritual becomes familiar, try adding color to the spheres. While white light contains all colors within it, visualizing the spheres in color can strengthen the individual energy of each.
Colors in the Middle Pillar
Kether – White
Daath – Lavender or grey
Tiphareth - Yellow
Yesod – Violet
Malkuth – Traditionally a swirl of russet, olive, citrine and black. Or simply brown.
Colors in the LBR
Ateh – White
Malkuth – Brown, or russet – olive - citrine – black
Ve-Geburah – Red
Ve – Gedula – Blue
Le-Olam – Yellow
Visualize the complete cross in white.
East - a yellow pentagram
South – a red pentagram
West – a blue pentagram
North – a green pentagram
The national flag of the State of Israel (Hebrew: דגל ישראל Degel Yīsraʾel; Arabic: علم إسرائيل ʿAlam Israʾīl) was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the establishment of the state. It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes. The Israeli flag legislation states that the official measurements are 160 × 220 cm. Therefore, the official proportions are 8:11. Variants can be found at a wide range of proportions, with 2:3 being common.*
Image is a tapestry forming the flag of Israel.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Israel
Philadelphia, PA, est. 1682; pop. 1,567,442 (metro 6MM)
• built in 1740 • earliest known photograph is dated 1859 — bldg. was then 119 yrs. old [photo] • Georgian-Colonial trinity aka "bandbox" design • typically, trinity houses had 1 room per floor & were built facing each other in rows of 4 identical bldgs. • in addition to the room on each floor, this house had a walkable attic room & a cellar
• served as both business & residence for shopkeepers & artisans for over 150 yrs. • among the occupants in the 18th c. were a shoemaker, apothecary & an upholsterer named Betsy Ross, who is said to have sewn the first American flag in this building • estimates of when & how long she lived here have her arriving in 1773 at the earliest & departing as late as 1791
• over time the house changed in appearance [photos] as neighborhood houses were razed & replaced w/larger commercial buildings —Where's Betsy
Betsy Ross
• Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom (1752-1836) was a fourth-generation American • daughter of Samuel Griscom (1717-1793) & Rebecca James (c. 1730-1793) • the 8th of their 17 children • great granddaughter of Andrew Griscom (c. 1654-1694), a Quaker carpenter who migrated from England to New Jersey in 1680, 1 yr. before William Penn founded Philadelphia
"She often laughed at the curious fact that she was born on the first day of the week, the first day of the month, the first day of the year, and the first year of the 'new style' [which was] the dividing line between the old way of measuring the years time and the new method under the [Gregorian calendar… She was also] the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter." —C.B. Satterthwaite, great grandson, The Des Moines Register, 07 Jan, 1906
• at age 3 Betsy's family moved to a large home at 4th & Arch Sts. • went to a Friends (Quaker) public school • 8 of her siblings died before adulthood • lost her mother, father & sister, Deborah, to the 1793 yellow fever epidemic
• upon completion of her schooling at age 12, her father apprenticed her to upholsterer John Webster • fell in love with fellow apprentice John Ross (1752-1773), son of an Episcopal asst. rector at Christ Church • defying her parents, in 1773 Betsy, age 21, eloped w/John
• Betsy's sister Sarah & her husband Capt. Wm. Donaldson rowed the couple across the Delaware River, heading 5 miles downstream to Gloucestertown, NJ • they were married at family friend William Hugg Jr.'s tavern & inn, known locally as Hugg's …more: The New Jersey Hugg Line
• because her marriage to a non-Quaker was considered an act of "disorderly and undutiful conduct," Betsy was split from her family & read out of meeting, i.e., disowned by her Quaker community • became a member of Christ Church • the Ross's pew No. 12 [photo] was adjacent to Martha & George Washington's No. 56 & not far from Deborah & Benjamin Franklin's No. 70
• the newlyweds — now trained upholsterers — opened their own business • c. 1773 they rented a house, probably at what is today 239 Arch St. although the exact site is still debated by historians • most records point to this house or one next door at No. 241, long since razed
"The identity of the location was always preserved in the family, which agrees with the records in the old Philadelphia directories… from 1785, the first published, to the removal of Betsy Ross and her husband from 239 Arch Street, in 1791" —Betsy Ross grandson George Canby, New York Times, 05 July, 1908
• Benjamin Franklin & Benjamin Chew were among the Rosses' customers • business slowed during the Revolutionary War as fabric was in short supply • John Ross joined the Pennsylvania militia • mid-Jan., 1776, he was gravely wounded by a powder explosion at a Delaware River ammunition cache, apparently while standing guard • Betsy nursed him in their home, but he died within days
• in June, 1777, Betsy married girlhood suitor Joseph Ashburn, a privateer who commanded the sailing sloop Swallow • the couple had 2 daughters • the 1st, Aucilla ("Zillah"), died in infancy
• British troops entered Philadelphia on 26 Sep., 1777 after their victory at the Battle of Brandywine • the Ashburn home was forcibly shared with British occupation soldiers as the Continental Army suffered through the killing winter at Valley Forge • the British soldiers nicknamed Betsy "Little Rebel" —US History•org
• Betsy was pregnant with Elizabeth ("Eliza") when Joseph accepted a job offer & shipped out as first mate on the 6-gun brigantine, Patty • returned to be present for the Feb., 1781 birth of their 2nd daughter
• Joseph became master of the 18-gun Lion & took her to sea late in the summer of 1781 • on 31 Aug., his ship was captured off the coast of France by a 44-gun British frigate, the HMS Prudente
• prior to March, 1782, the British refused to designate captured rebels as prisoners of war, thus the captives from the Lion were viewed as traitors, charged with high treason & committed to Plymouth, England's Mill Prison [images] • while incarcerated, Ashburn met fellow prisoner John Claypoole, a longtime friend of the Ross family
• Claypoole, a Continental Army vet, had been wounded at Germantown & consequently discharged • in 1781 he signed on to man the 18-gun Pennsylvania privateer Chevalier de la Luzerne & was captured in April • in the spring of 1782 Ashburn died in prison, leaving Betsy a 2-time war widow at age 30 —Betsy Ross and the Making of America
"In the Night of the 3d of March Mr Joseph Ashburn departed this life after an illness of about a week which he bore with amazing fortitude & resignation" —John Claypoole, Mill Prison
"The story goes that Ashburn, while in Mill Prison, often talked with John Claypoole about his wife, Betty*, and at his death sent farewell messages by him to her. Claypoole, on his arrival in Philadelphia, hastened to deliver these messages, and inside of eight months he married her." —John Claypoole's Memorandum-Book *Betsy is referred to as "Betty" in some 18th, 19th & early 20th c. books & media
• in 1782 Claypoole returned to Philadelphia, called on Betsy & married her the following year • gave up his seafaring career to join her at the Arch St. upholstery shop • though renamed "John Claypoole, upholsterer," to customers the shop remained Betsy's place • the couple had 5 daughters: Clarissa, Susanna, Rachel, Jane & Harriet, who died at 9 months • sometime after Susanna's birth in 1786, the Claypooles moved from Arch St. to a larger house on 2nd
• Betsy returned to her Quaker roots, albeit with the Free (Fighting) Quakers, a group exiled from the main Quaker community when their support for the Revolution was ruled a violation of the faith's peace testimony • the couple became members c. 1785 • image: Betsy Claypoole signature taken from the Meeting House roster
• it is widely believed that when the Free Quaker Meeting House shut down in 1834, it was its last attending members — Elizabeth Claypoole & Samuel Wetherill — who closed the doors
• in 1817, after a long illness, John Claypoole died • Betsy never remarried • after retiring, she moved to the home of her daughter, Susanna • she died on 30 Jan, 1836, age 84
The American Flags
"Flags were a rare sight on land in the British North American colonies," —Wooden Teachout, Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism
• American flags were seldom used in parades or displayed by private citizens • colors were flown mainly in battle, over government institutions & on ships, where they were essential to identifying other vessels & determining friend or foe
• this changed after America's 1876 Centennial Exposition, which explains why "flags made prior to the Civil War are extremely rare, and flags made before 1820 are practically nonexistent." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, Stars and Stripes, Early American Life, Aug. 2011
• with the onset of the Revolutionary War, a flag for the "United Colonies" was created without the sanction of the Continental Congress • this 1775 flag was known as the Continental Colors, aka Grand Union, Congress Flag, Cambridge Flag
• on 2 Dec., 1775, the 1st Continental Colors flag was hand sewn by milliner Margaret Manny, who had begun making flags & ensigns the previous year
"Everyone knows about Betsy Ross, why do we know nothing about Margaret Manny? Probably for no better reason than that she had fewer articulate friends and relatives to build a story around her." —historian Barbara Tuchman, The First Salute
• the Continental Colors had 13 alternating red & white stripes with the British Union crosses in the canton • was created to replace the use of individual colony flags • prior to the Declaration of Independence, it was probably the most used unofficial flag of the revolution • American Flag Timeline
• the inclusion of the British Jack in the design signals that this flag was intended not for a civil war of secession, but rather a crusade to secure the American colonists' rights as Englishman • prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Gen. George Washington, still hoping for reconciliation with Mother England, would occasionally toast the King —The Forgotten Flag of the American Revolution and What It Means
• on 3 Dec, 1775, the new flag was raised by 1st Lt. John Paul Jones (1747-1792) on the 30-gun Continental Navy frigate USS Alfred [painting], the 1st national ensign to fly on an American fighting vessel —Naval History Blog
• the flag later flew over the signing of the Declaration of Independence & according to tradition (contested by some scholars), it was raised on a ship's mast atop Charlestown's Prospect Hill [painting] during Washington's 1 Jan., 1776 siege of Boston
• spotting the hybrid British/American flag for the first time, confused British observers took it as a signal of submission: “By this time, I presume, they begin to think it strange that we have not made a formal surrender of our lines,” Washington wrote • his psychological weaponry also included an early form of war propaganda
• absent a single government-mandated flag design, a variety of others were used • within a yr. after Prospect hill, the Continental Colors' Union Jack was replaced by a blue field w/13 white stars in various arrangements, e.g., rows, or possibly a circle?
• on 14 June, 1777, now celebrated as Flag Day, the American Flag was born by resolution of the Continental Congress, the country’s 1st flag law • during the Revolutionary period that followed, the stars on most American flags were arranged in rows of 4-5-4 with the number of points on most stars ranging from 4 to 8 • compared to the Continental Colors, the rows of stars made it easier to identify the flag/ship/nationality at sea —The 13 Stars & Stripes
The Story
• about a year before the Flag Resolution of 1777 Betsy Ross, 5-months a widow & struggling to make a ends meet, is said to have received a visit from a Continental Congress flag committee (apparently a secret one as there are no records of its existence)
• according to the well known Betsy Ross story, in late May of 1776 (but possibly 1777) 3 heroes of the revolution — George Ross, the uncle of Betsy's late husband, financier/slave trader Robert Morris & Betsy's pew neighbor Gen. George Washington [portraits] — called on her to discuss a flag for the new nation
• Rachel Fletcher (Betsy's daughter) recalled that "…she was previously well acquainted with Washington, and that he had often been in her house in friendly visits, as well as on business. That she had embroidered ruffles for his shirt bosoms and cuffs, and that it was partly owing to his friendship for her that she was chosen to make the flag." —Rachel's affidavit
• as told by Betsy, Gen. Washington, then head of the Continental Army, showed her a rough design of a flag with 6-pointed stars • she offered suggestions for modifications & stated a preference for 5-pointed stars • when her visitors expressed concern over the difficulty of producing them, she replied, "Nothing easier," which she then proved by cutting a 5-pointed star in a single snip • video: Make a perfect star with ONE cut! (1:15) • Two Conundrums Concerning the Betsy Ross Five-Pointed Star
• changes approved, Washington redrew the flag w/a pencil • Betsy's friend & collaborator William Barrett, a Cherry St. ornamental painter created a water color copy of the drawing for her to work from • 1-2 other seamstresses sewed alternate designs for the committee, but only Betsy's was approved & used
• what is known today as the "Betsy Ross flag" has 13 red & white stripes & a ring of 13, white 5-pointed stars • though the design may have been in use by 1777, vexillologists believe that between 1777-1795, (the yrs. the official flag had 13 stars) most flags displayed stars in rows, which are easier to produce than a circle
• None of the surviving flags from the 18th century exhibit the Betsy Ross pattern • however a few examples are depicted in the art of the era (although period art is notoriously unreliable for flag research)
• the flag depicted in Chas. Willson Peale's 1779 George Washington at the Battle of Princeton is generally considered credible & "may be the only evidence in a painting… that suggests that a circle-pattern flag may have existed in colonial times… Otherwise, you won't see an American flag with a perfect circle of stars made before the 1890s." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, loc. cit.13 Stars in the Betsy Ross Pattern • historically significant the American flags [images]
• though known as an upholsterer, there is no doubt that Betsy made flags, having sewn pennants & ensigns for the Pennsylvania State Navy Board (as did Margaret Manning & Rebecca Young, whose daughter Mary Pickersgill would go on to sew the enormous flag that inspired the U.S. National Anthem, Francis Scott Key's The Star-Spangled Banner)
• a month before Congress passed the Flag Resolution, Betsy was paid 14 pounds, 12 shillings, 2 pence (~$2,300 in 2017 USD) for what must have been a prodigious quantity of Pennsylvania Navy flags • there is no hard evidence that any of these were American flags • "...today we are reasonably convinced that Betsy’s flag was a naval flag, with a simple ‘in line’ arrangement of the stars…" —John B. Harker, Historian & Betsy Ross descendent
• Betsy (Elizabeth Claypool) was now in the business of producing flags & ensigns for the federal govt. • throughout the Jefferson & Madison admins. the skilled needlewoman made flags as large as 18' x 24' for American military installations, with demand peaking during the War of 1812
• for the rest of her life she — in her words — "never knew what it was to want employment" • her oldest daughter, Clarissa Sidney Wilson (1785-1864) [portrait], succeeded her, supplying arsenals, navy yards & the mercantile marine with flags for years —Betsy Ross•org
"In the last years of her life, Ross was neither more nor less important than other aging women who had lived through the Revolution. That she became famous while others were forgotten exposes the interlocking power of family history, local memory, and national politics." —How Betsy Ross Became Famous by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Historian
The Legend
"…at a time of great historic import such as that time when the Declaration was signed, people have no leisure to think about the minor events which are taking place. Thus, during the revolution no one thought of Betsy Ross as a national heroine, and it was not, in fact until 1870 that William J. Canby (1825-1890) first brought the story of how the first flag was made into general prominence." —Dr. Lloyd Balderston, great-grandson of Betsy Ross, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3 Jul, 1908
• there is no record of the the Betsy Ross story prior to 1870 • that year — 34 years after her death — Betsy's 45 yr. old grandson, a title processor named William Jackson Canby, presented a paper titled The History of the Flag of the United States to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania • the document, accompanied by sworn affidavits, was an oral history passed on by descendants of Betsy Ross, including Canby himself who was 11 yrs. old when she died • …more: The Evolution of the American Flag by (Betsy Ross descendants) George Canby (1829-1907), Lloyd Balderston, Ph.D (1863-1933)
• the story was largely ignored until it was mentioned in historian George Henry Preble's 1872 book Our Flag & appeared in the July, 1873 Harper's Monthly [illustration] • with Civil War wounds slowly healing & the 1876 centennial celebration fast approaching, Betsy Ross & the flag entered American consciousness • in the 1880's her story began to appear in textbooks • by the mid 1890s it was often illustrated by an engraving of The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag, an 1893 painting by Charles H. Weisgerber (1856-1932)
• oral tradition has it that in 1892 Weisgerber, a 36 yr. old aspiring artist, was bent on winning a forthcoming art competition • walking along Arch St., he noticed a plaque at No. 239 which identified the bldg. as the site where Betsy Ross sewed the 1st American flag
• inspired, Weisgerber envisioned a scene of Betsy & the 1st flag set in her shop • to fill in details of the story, characters & setting, he drew on period portraits, the testimony of living descendants & the 22 yr. old Canby paper
• with no authentic image of Betsy in existence (according to her relatives), Weisgerber painted a composite taken from images of 4 of her daughters & a granddaughter who was said to closely resemble her • the resulting portrait was critiqued by relatives who had known her & modified accordingly • Weisgerber then created a massive 9' x 12' painting • portrayed the young Widow Ross, saintly matriarch of a new nation, as she presents the 1st American flag to 3 revered American patriarchs
• "the image was [said] …by Mrs. Ross' grandson, George Canby, to be the only correct likeness of [her]" — he was 7 yrs. old when Betsy Ross died —The Times (Philadelphia) 15 Jun 1893
• the flag depicted in the painting — with no evidence to support the authenticity of its design — has since been known as the "Betsy Ross flag," the standard for celebrating the U.S.A.'s birthday each 4th of July
The Apotheosis
• Weisgerber's painting won the $1,000 prize & in 1893 was showcased in the Pennsylvania Building at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition • seen by millions of visitors • contributed to the nascent reverence for Betsy Ross & the flag as sacred symbols of the emerging, quasi-religious American civil religion • politicians, patriotic societies & public sentiment propelled the flag's transformation into an object of veneration, its role expanding well beyond the customary military & govt. functions
On Flag Day, 1894, the Colonial Dames gathered 500 schoolchildren to honor “the adoption by Congress . . . of the flag made by Betsy Ross from the design submitted to her by Gen. Washington” • by 1895, 10 states had laws requiring public schools to display the flag on all school days — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, loc. cit.
• in 1897 the City of New York bought thousands of lithographs of Weisgerber’s painting for its public schools: “It is thought that the representation which is declared historically correct, together with such lectures as the teachers may deliver, will add much to the pupil’s knowledge and keep alive a proper reverence for the country’s emblem.” —New York Times, 14 Feb, 1897
• in 1885, NYC school principal George T. Balch (1821-1908), a vet. of the Indian & Civil Wars, wrote Salute to the Flag, the U.S.A.'s first pledge of allegiance
"I give my hand and my heart to my country — one nation, one language, one flag."
• the heightened patriotism of the era inspired a movement to organize schoolyard flag raising ceremonies • the American Flag Assn. was founded in 1897 for the "fostering of public sentiment in favor of honoring the flag in our country and preserving it from desecration" • Natl. Flag Day was proclaimed in 1917
• Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), who worked in the premium dept. of The Youth's Companion magazine, wrote a new U.S. Pledge of Allegiance (1892) for his employer • created as part of the magazine's campaign to sell American flags to public schools • goal was a flag in every classroom • 25,000 schools acquired flags the 1st yr. • though priced "at cost," banner sales proved profitable
• Bellamy also choreographed a salute — the "Bellamy Salute" — to accompany the pledge • because of its similarity to the Nazi heil it was replaced by a right-hand-over-heart gesture during World War II • another Youth's Companion employee, James Upham, headed a flag-centric project designed to engage public schools in the commemoration of the U.S.A.'s 1st Columbus Day (Oct. 1892)
The Verdict
• for nearly a century-and-a-half, historians have debated the available evidence in an attempt to prove that Betsy Ross either did or did not produce the 1st American flag: "There’s no good historical evidence that she did. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t. There’s simply a lack of documentation. Most historians believe the story is apocryphal." —Marc Leepson, author of Flag: An American Biography, The Truth About Betsy Ross
• the identity of the woman who sewed America's 1st flag may never be certain, but there is good reason to believe that its designer may have been Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) • the NJ representative to the Continental Congress & signer of the Declaration of Independence is the only person entered into the Congressional record for designing the 1st American flag
• it has been speculated that on 14 June, 1777, it was Hopkinson who replaced the British crosses in the Continental Colors with white stars on a blue field • no original sketch of a Hopkinson flag exists, but surviving rough sketches including his design for the Great Seal of the U.S. incorporate elements of 2 of his flag designs —Wikipedia
On 25 May, 1780, Hopkinson wrote to the Continental Board, requesting "a Quarter Cask of the public Wine" as payment for several itemized "patriotic designs" he had completed, most notably, "the flag of the United States of America" • submitted another bill on 24 June for "drawings and devices," including "the Naval Flag of the United States"
• the Treasury Board rejected his request for payment because he "was not the only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy" & furthermore was not entitled to compensation as he was already on the government payroll —Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags?, Earl P. Williams, Jr.
• Hopkinson is also considered America's 1st poet-composer • written at age 21, his song My Days have been so Wondrous Free (1759) is regarded as the earliest surviving American secular composition [listen] —UPen•edu
Saving Betsy's House
• by 1859, 239 Arch St. was occupied by the family of German immigrant (Carl) Philip Mund (1822-1883), who operated a tailor's shop on the 1st floor • the landlord, after collecting rent for the first year, never returned • over the succeeding rent-free decades, the Munds operated a variety of businesses in their retail space
• after Canby's 1870 speech identified the location of Betsy Ross's house as Arch between 2nd & 3rd, the Munds — occupants of the block's last standing colonial house — posted a sign: "First Flag of the US Made in this House" • in 1876, as visitors poured into the city for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, the Munds ran an ad for their latest 1st floor business: "Original Flag House, Lager, Wine and Liquors. This is the house where the first United States flag was made by Mrs. John Ross." —Historic Philadelphia
• after Philip Mund died his wife Amelia, who objected to running a saloon, converted the space into a cigar store & candy shop which operated until 1892 — her son Charles then devoted the space to a museum/souvenir shop [photo] —The Betsy Ross House Facts, Myths, and Pictures by G.A. Anderson
• c. 1897 citizens led by Charles Weisgerber organized the American Flag Soc. & Betsy Ross Memorial Assn. • goal was to rescue the house from imminent demolition • intended to purchase it from Charles Mund, restore it to its 18th-c. appearance, preserve the memory of Betsy Ross & honor the American flag
• to raise the funds for purchasing the Betsy Ross "American Flag House," the Association devised a rudimentary multi-level marketing strategy • sold lifetime memberships for 10 cents • each member was encouraged to recruit others & form a group of 30; each group founder received a chromolithographograph of Weisgerber's painting • over 2 million monochrome certificates were sold at ten cents each • the colorful chromoliths were available at addl. cost (frame not included) —Enjoying Philadelphia
• the Association leased the house in 1898, purchased it in 1903 • Weisgerber & his family moved in • lived upstairs, kept the museum & a souvenir shop on the 1st floor • in 1902 they named their newborn son Charles Vexil Domus, Latin for "flag house" [photo] • he would later replace his parents as custodian of the house —G.A. Anderson, loc. cit.
• by 1936 the house was on the verge of ruin • in 1937 Philadelphia Mayor Davis Wilson proposed a restoration by WPA workers • this provoked "a storm of protest" from critics
• Pennsylvania Historical Soc. members wrote off the Betsy Ross story as "hokum" and "the bunk" • the protests from scholars & historians sparked an unwinnable faith vs. reason culture war with patriotic organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution & the Patriotic Order Sons of America
• amid the controversy, Philadelphia radio manufacturer & philanthropist A. Atwater Kent (1873-1949) offered to pay up to $25K for the restoration • Historical architect, Richardson Brognard Okie (1875-1945) won the commission
• the design for the restoration was derived from evidence & conjecture • goal was to return the bldg. to its c. 1777 appearance • surviving architectural elements were preserved when possible • materials salvaged from demolished colonial era homes were also used • in 1941, the Association gave the property to the city • the house now stands as one of Philadelphia's most popular tourist attractions
Postscript
• in 1929 Hugg's tavern, where Betsy Griscom defied family & church to marry John Ross, was demolished to make way for the Proprietor's Park swimming pool, which no longer exists • the Revolutionary War-era Hugg-Harrison-Glover House (1764), built on property owned by the Hugg family as early as 1683, was razed in the face of fervent opposition, March, 2017 —Facebook
• 178 yrs. after Betsy's wedding & just 5 blocks from where Hugg's once stood, another American legend was born at the Twin Bar [photo] when Bill Haley (and the Saddlemen) performed there in the early 1950s [poster] • in 1952 Haley's band laid down a cover of Rock the Joint [listen], an historic 1949 recording by Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians [listen] • each of these recordings has been cited as a candidate for the title of first rock 'n' roll song • Gloucester City thus became one of several U.S. sites that claims the title "Cradle of Rock 'n Roll"
Charles H. Weisgerber died in 1932 • his magnum opus, The Birth of the American Flag lay rolled up & hidden away in a barn loft & later in the back of a South Jersey dye-making workshop • his grandson Stuart (son of Vexil Domus) found it — still rolled up — in his mother's basement • its poor condition precluded exhibition: in the 50s, hanging in the old State Museum at Harrisburg, it had been vandalized, then incurred additional damage from repeated unrolling
• Weisgerber sought a Philadelphia home for the massive work but was unsuccessful • after a $40K restoration in 2002 the painting, it's appraised market value just $50K, returned to the State Museum at Harrisburg
• in 1976 the remains of Betsy Ross & 3rd husband John Claypoole were moved from Mount Moriah cemetery, Yeadon, PA, to the garden on the west side of the Betsy Ross House courtyard
La bandera de Israel (en hebreo: דגל ישראל, "Degel Israel") fue adoptada el 28 de octubre de 1948 (25 Tishrei, 5709), cinco meses después del establecimiento del Estado de Israel. Está representada con la Estrella de David en color azul sobre fondo blanco, entre dos franjas azules horizontales del mismo tamaño. La bandera fue diseñada por el movimiento sionista en 1891. El diseño básico recuerda el Talit, el manto de oración judía, que es de color blanco con franjas azules. El hexagrama en el centro es el Maguen David ("Escudo de David"). Se convirtió en un símbolo judío desde finales de la Praga medieval, y fue adoptada por el Primer Congreso Sionista en 1897
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The flag of Israel (Hebrew: דגל ישראל Degel Yisrael, Arabic: علم إسرائيل 'Alam Isra'īl) was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after the country's establishment. It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes.
En: Wikipedia
This star is decorated with a molecule of my Unicursal Hexagram Tessellation. The color-change rays are the same as in Star a la Fujimoto.
I took the info from wikipedia
I ask everyone to respect this page.
I do not want this to be used for a struggle of good against evil.
A fight Isreal-Iran or Israel-Palestine.
Á proper channels for this.
This page is ara to reveal a bit of Israel.
Thank you all for understanding
Is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.[6] Also adjacent are the West Bank to the east and Gaza Strip to the southwest. Israel is the world's only predominantly Jewish state with a population of about 7.5 million people, of whom approximately 5.7 million are Jewish. The largest ethnic minority group is the segment denominated as Arab citizens of Israel, while minority religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Druze, Samaritans, most of whom are found within the Arab segment.
The modern state of Israel has its historical and religious roots in the Biblical Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), also known as Zion, a concept central to Judaism since ancient times, and the heartland of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Following the birth of political Zionism in 1897 and the Balfour Declaration, the League of Nations granted Great Britain the Mandate for Palestine after World War I, with responsibility for establishing "...such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and the development of self-governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion..."
In November 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of the partition of Palestine, proposing the creation of a Jewish state, an Arab state and a UN-administered Jerusalem. Partition was accepted by Zionist leaders but rejected by Arab leaders leading to the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948 and neighboring Arab states attacked the next day. Since then, Israel has fought a series of wars with neighboring Arab states, and in consequence occupies territories beyond those delineated in the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Some international borders remain in dispute. Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, though efforts to resolve conflict with the Palestinians have so far only met with limited success.
Israel is a developed country and a representative democracy with a parliamentary system and universal suffrage. The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel's legislative body. The economy, based on the nominal gross domestic product, was the 41st-largest in the world in 2008. Israel ranks highest among Middle Eastern countries on the UN Human Development Index, and has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. Jerusalem is the country's capital, although it is not recognized internationally as such,[a] while Israel's main financial center is Tel Aviv.
Etymology
Over the past three thousand years, the name "Israel" has meant in common and religious usage both the Land of Israel and the entire Jewish nation. According to the Bible, Jacob is renamed Israel after successfully wrestling with an angel of God.
The earliest archaeological artifact to mention "Israel" (other than as a personal name) is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated the late 13th century BCE), which refers to a people of that name. The modern country was named Medinat Yisrael, or the State of Israel, after other proposed names, including Eretz Israel ("the Land of Israel"), Zion, and Judea, were rejected. In the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett.
History
Please go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Israel
Geography
Please go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Israel
Other Info
Oficial Name:
מדינת ישראל
(Medīnat Yisra'el)
دولة إسرائيل
(Dawlat Isrā'īl)
Independence:
Declaration 14 May 1948 (05 Iyar 5708)
Area:
20.425km2
Inhabitants:
7.910.000
Languages:
Adyghe [ady] 3,000 in Israel (1987). Kafr Kama and Rehaniya, small border villages. Alternate names: West Circassian, Adygey. Classification: North Caucasian, West Caucasian, Circassian
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Amharic [amh] 40,000 in Israel (1994 H. Mutzafi). Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, South, Ethiopian, South, Transversal, Amharic-Argobba
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Arabic, Judeo-Iraqi [yhd] 100,000 in Israel (1994). Population total all countries: 100,100. Originally from Iraq. Also spoken in India, Iraq, United Kingdom. Alternate names: Iraqi Judeo-Arabic, Jewish Iraqi-Baghdadi Arabic, Arabi, Yahudic. Dialects: Not intelligible with Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic, Judeo-Tunisian Arabic, or Judeo-Moroccan Arabic. Close to Baghdadi Arabic and North Mesopotamian Arabic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
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Arabic, Judeo-Moroccan [aju] 250,000 in Israel (1992 H. Mutzafi). Population total all countries: 258,925. Also spoken in Canada, France, Morocco. Dialects: Many dialects. Much intelligibility with Tunisian Judeo-Arabic, some with Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic, but none with Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. May be inherently intelligible with Moroccan Arabic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
More information.
Arabic, Judeo-Tripolitanian [yud] 30,000 in Israel (1994 H. Mutzafi). Population total all countries: 35,000. Originally from Tripolitania, Libya. None left in Libya. Also spoken in Italy. Alternate names: Tripolitanian Judeo-Arabic, Jewish Tripolitanian-Libyan Arabic, Tripolita'it, Yudi. Dialects: Not intelligible with Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. Medium intelligibility with Judeo-Tunisian Arabic and Judeo-Morocco Arabic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
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Arabic, Judeo-Tunisian [ajt] 45,000 in Israel (1995 H. Mutzafi). Population total all countries: 45,500. Also spoken in France, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, USA. Dialects: Medium intelligibility with Judeo-Moroccan Arabic and Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic, but none with Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. A lexicon of 5,000 words in 1950 had 79% words of Arabic origin, 15% Romance loanwords, 4.4% Hebrew loanwords, 1.6% others (D. Cohen 1985:254). Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
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Arabic, Judeo-Yemeni [jye] 50,000 in Israel (1995 Y. Kara). Population total all countries: 51,000. Also spoken in Yemen. Alternate names: Judeo-Yemeni, Yemenite Judeo-Arabic. Dialects: San`a, `Aden, Be:da, Habban. Language varieties are all markedly different from their coterritorial Muslim ones. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
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Arabic, South Levantine Spoken [ajp] 910,000 in Israel. Alternate names: Levantine, Palestanian-Jordanian Arabic. Dialects: Madani, Fellahi. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
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Arabic, Standard [arb] Middle East, North Africa. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
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Armenian [hye] 3,000 in Israel (1971 The Armenian Review). Jerusalem. Alternate names: Haieren, Somkhuri, Ermenice, Armjanski. Dialects: Western Armenian. Classification: Indo-European, Armenian
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Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic [bjf] 20 (2004 Mutzafi). In Israel since 1951. Alternate names: Lishan Didan, Lishan Dideni, Bijil Neo-Aramaic. Dialects: Barzan, Shahe, Bijil. Sandu is a Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect closely related to Barzani, but evinces several isoglosses binding it with Lishana Deni. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern Nearly extinct.
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Bukharic [bhh] 50,000 in Israel (1995 H. Mutzafi). Population total all countries: 110,000. Also spoken in USA, Uzbekistan. Alternate names: Bokharic, Bukharian, Bokharan, Bukharan, Judeo-Tajik. Dialects: Related to Tajiki Persian. May be easily intelligible with Tajiki or Farsi. Also close to Judeo-Persian. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian
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Domari [rmt] 2,000 in Israel (1997 Yaron Matras). Population includes Palestinian West Bank and Gaza. Mainly Jerusalem (Old City), Bir Zeit near Ramallah, and Gaza. Alternate names: Nawari, Dom, Near-Eastern Gypsy. Dialects: Nawari. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Dom
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Dzhidi [jpr] 60,000 in Israel (1995). Also spoken in Iran. Alternate names: Judeo-Persian. Dialects: Close to Bukharic, Western Farsi. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian
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English [eng] 100,000 in Israel (1993). Alternate names: Anglit. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
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Hebrew [heb] 4,847,000 in Israel (1998). Population total all countries: 5,055,000. Also spoken in Australia, Canada, Germany, Palestinian West Bank and Gaza, Panama, United Kingdom, USA. Alternate names: Ivrit. Dialects: Standard Hebrew (General Israeli, Europeanized Hebrew), Oriental Hebrew (Arabized Hebrew, Yemenite Hebrew). Not a direct offspring from Biblical or other varieties of Ancient Hebrew, but an amalgamation of different Hebrew strata plus intrinsic evolution within the living speech. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Canaanite
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Hulaulá [huy] 10,000 in Israel (1999 H. Mutzafi). Population total all countries: 10,300. Also spoken in Iran, USA. Alternate names: Judeo-Aramaic, Lishana Noshan, Lishana Axni, Jabali, Kurdit, Galiglu, 'Aramit, Hula Hula. Dialects: Saqiz, Kerend, Sanandaj, Suleimaniya. Very different and not intelligible with the Christian Aramaic languages or Lishana Deni. 60% to 70% intelligibility of Lishanan and Lishanid Noshan. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern
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Hungarian [hun] 70,000 in Israel (1998 H. Mutzafi). Classification: Uralic, Finno-Ugric, Ugric, Hungarian
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Israeli Sign Language [isr] 5,000 users including some hearing persons (1986 Gallaudet Univ.). Alternate names: ISL. Dialects: Not derived from and relatively little influence from other sign languages. No special signs have been introduced from outside by educators. Minor dialect variation. Classification: Deaf sign language
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Judeo-Berber [jbe] 2,000 (1992 Podolsky). Formerly High Atlas range, Tifnut, and other communities. Speakers went to Israel from 1950 to 1960. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern, Atlas
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Judeo-Georgian [jge] 59,800 in Israel (2000 WCD). Population total all countries: 79,800. Some have gone elsewhere in the former USSR and to other countries. Also spoken in Georgia. Dialects: Oriental and Ashkenazic Jews in Georgia live separately. Judeo-Georgian speakers live separately from non-Jewish Georgian speakers. May not be a separate language from Georgian, but a dialect using various Hebrew loanwords. Classification: Kartvelian, Georgian
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Judeo-Tat [jdt] 70,000 in Israel (1998). Population total all countries: 101,000. Sderot, Haderah, and Or Akiva, Israel. None in Iran. They are emigrating from the Caucasus Mountains to Israel at the rate of 2,000 a year. Also spoken in Azerbaijan, Russia (Europe). Alternate names: Judeo-Tatic, Jewish Tat, Bik, Dzhuhuric, Juwri, Juhuri. Dialects: Derbend. Several dialects. Difficult intelligibility of Mussulman Tat. There may also be a Christian dialect. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Tat
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Ladino [lad] 100,000 in Israel (1985). Population total all countries: 110,000. Ethnic group members also in Salonica, Greece; Sofia, Bulgaria. Formerly also in Morocco. Also spoken in Greece, Puerto Rico, Turkey (Europe), USA. Alternate names: Judeo Spanish, Sefardi, Dzhudezmo, Judezmo, Spanyol, Haquetiya. Dialects: Judezmo (Judyo, Jidyo), Ladino, Haquetiya (Haketia, Haketiya, Hakitia). The Balkan dialect is more influenced by Turkish and Greek. The North African dialect is more influenced by Arabic and French. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, West Iberian, Castilian
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Lishán Didán [trg] 4,228 in Israel (2001 WCD). Population total all countries: 4,378. Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv area mainly. Originally Iranian Azerbaijan and southeast Turkey. Also spoken in Azerbaijan, Georgia. Alternate names: Lishanán, Lishanid Nash Didán, Persian Azerbaijan Jewish Aramaic, Lakhlokhi, Galihalu. Dialects: Northern Cluster Lishán Didán, Southern Cluster Lishán Didán. 60% to 70% intelligibility of Hulaulá and Lishanid Noshan, but not of other Aramaic languages. Northern cluster subdialects are Urmi, Salmas, Anatolia; southern cluster dialects are Naghada, Ushno, Mahabad. The Urmi subdialect of Lishán Didán is different from the Urmi subdialect of Assyrian Neo-Aramaic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern
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Lishana Deni [lsd] 7,000 to 8,000 (1999 H. Mutzafi). Ethnic population: 9,061 (2000 WCD). Jerusalem and vicinity, including Maoz Tsiyon. Originally from northwest Iraqi Kurdistan. Alternate names: Judeo-Aramaic, Lishan Hudaye, Lishan Hozaye, Kurdit. Dialects: Zakho, Amadiya, Barashe, Shukho, Nerwa, Dohuk, Atrush, Bétanure. Resembles Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, but there are differences in morphology and other features. Inherent intelligibility is high between them. Low intelligibility of Ashirat dialects of Assyrian New-Aramaic; not intelligible with other Neo-Aramaic varieties. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern
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Lishanid Noshan [aij] 2,000 to 2,500 (1994 H. Mutzafi). Originally eastern and southern Iraqi Kurdistan. Alternate names: Lishana Didán, Hulani, Kurdit, Galigalu, Jbeli, Hula'ula. Dialects: Arbel (Arbil), Dobe, Koy Sanjaq, Rwanduz, Rustaqa, Shaqlawa, Ranye, Qaladze. 60% to 70% inherent intelligibility of Lishanan and Hulaulá. Very different and not inherently intelligible with the Christian Aramaic languages and Lishana Deni. Western cluster subdialects are Arbil, Dobe. Eastern cluster subdialects are Southeastern varieties: Koy Sanjaq, Qaladze. Northeastern varieties: Rwanduz, Rustaqa. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Eastern, Central, Northeastern
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Polish [pol] 100,000 in Israel (1992 H. Mutzafi). Alternate names: Polski. Classification: Indo-European, Slavic, West, Lechitic
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Romanian [ron] 250,000 in Israel (1993 Statistical Abstract of Israel). Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Eastern
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Russian [rus] 750,000 in Israel (1999 H. Mutzafi). Alternate names: Russit, Russki. Classification: Indo-European, Slavic, East
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Tigrigna [tir] 10,000 in Israel (1994 H. Mutzafi). Alternate names: Tigrinya. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, South, Ethiopian, North
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Yevanic [yej] 35 in Israel. There were a few semispeakers left in 1987 and may be none now. Population total all countries: 50. There may be a handful of older adult speakers still in Turkey. Also spoken in USA. Alternate names: Judeo-Greek, Yevanitika. Classification: Indo-European, Greek, Attic Nearly extinct.
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Yiddish Sign Language [yds] Classification: Deaf sign language
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Yiddish, Eastern [ydd] 215,000 in Israel (1986). Population total all countries: 3,142,560. Southeastern dialect in Ukraine and Romania, Mideastern dialect in Poland and Hungary, Northeastern dialect in Lithuania and Belarus. Also spoken in Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Panama, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia (Europe), South Africa, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA. Alternate names: Judeo-German, Yiddish. Dialects: Southeastern Yiddish, Mideastern Yiddish, Northeastern Yiddish. Has many loans from Hebrew and local languages where spoken. Eastern Yiddish originated east of the Oder River through Poland, extending into Belarus, Russia (to Smolensk), Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Rumania, Ukraine, and pre-state British-Mandate Palestine (Jerusalem and Safed). Western Yiddish originated in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Alsace (France), Czechoslovakia, western Hungary, and is nearing extinction. It branched off medieval High German (mainly Rhenish dialects) and received Modern German influences during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Eastern and Western Yiddish have difficult inherent intelligibility because of differing histories and influences from other languages. There are some Western Yiddish speakers in Israel (M. Herzog 1977). Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, Yiddish
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Extinct languages
Hebrew, Ancient [hbo] Extinct. Alternate names: Old Hebrew. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Canaanite
Capital city:
Jerusalem
Meaning country name:
Israel takes its name from the biblical patriarch Jacob, later known as Israel, literally meaning "struggled with God/he struggles with God". According to the account in the Book of Genesis, Jacob wrestled with a stranger (in later tradition said to have been an angel) at a river ford and won through perseverance. God then changed his name to Israel signifying that he had deliberated with God and won as he had wrestled and won with men.
Description Flag:
The flag of Israel was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after the country's establishment. It depicts a blue Star of David on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes. The blue color is mandated only as "dark sky-blue", and varies from flag to flag, ranging from a hue of pure blue, sometimes shaded almost as dark as navy blue, to hues about 75% toward pure cyan and shades as light as very light blue. The flag was designed for the Zionist Movement in 1891. The basic design recalls the Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl, which is white with blue stripes. The hexagram in the centre is the Magen David ("shield of David"). It became a Jewish symbol starting in late medieval Prague, and was adopted by the First Zionist Congress in 1897.
Coat of arms:
The coat of arms of Israel shows a menorah surrounded by an olive branch on each side, and the writing "ישראל" (Hebrew for Israel) below it. While the background of the emblem is always blue, the menorah and olive branches can be either white or golden. The white-on-blue version appears on the presidential standard, while the gold-on-blue version is the common one when showing the emblem independently.
The State of Israel adopted its coat of arms after a design competition held in 1948. The design is based on the winning entry submitted by Gabriel and Maxim Shamir's proposal, with elements taken from other submissions, such as Oteh Walisch and W. Struski's and Itamar David and Yerachmiel Schechter's entries.
The image seems as if borrowed from the Zachariah (chapter 4); "I looked and behold a golden menorah with a bowl upon the top of it and seven lamps to it…and there are two olive trees by it, one upon the right of the bowl the other upon the left." However it is unclear whether this resemblance is intended or merely coincidental. The Shamir brothers did not mention this passage from Zachariah as the source of their design, even though they gave detailed account on their work in an interview to Maariv (February 16, 1949).
The menorah has been a symbol of Judaism for almost 3000 years. It was used in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. The olive branches symbolize peace.
National Anthem: הַתִּקְוָה (Hatkvah)
Hebrew
כל עוד בלבב פנימה
נפש יהודי הומי
ולפאתי מזרח קדימה,
עין לציון צופיה,
עוד לא אבדה תקוותנו,
התקווה בת שנות אלפים,
להיות עם חופשי בארצנו,
ארץ ציון וירושלים.
Translitaration
Kol od baleivav p'nimah
Nefesh y'hudi homiyah
Ulfa'atei mizrach kadimah
Ayin l'tziyon tzofiyah
Od lo avdah tikvateinu
Hatikvah bat sh'not alpayim
Lihyot am chofshi b'artzeinu
Eretz tziyon viyrushalayim
Arab
طالما في القلب تكمن،
نفس يهودية تتوق،
وللأمام نحو الشرق،
عين تنظر إلى صهيون.
أملنا لم يضع بعد،
أمل عمره ألفا سنة،
أن نكون أمّة حرّة في بلادنا،
بلاد صهيون وأورشليم القدس.
أملنا لم يضع بعد،
الأمل الأزلي
أن نعود إلى بلاد آبائنا،
إلى المدينة التي نزل عليها داود
English
As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul is yearning,
And to the edges of the East, eastward,
An eye watches towards Zion,
As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul is yearning,
And to the edges of the East, eastward,
An eye watches towards Zion,
Internet Page: www.gov.il
Israel in diferent languages
eng | afr | arg | ast | bre | cat | cym | dan | dsb | eus | fin | fry | glg | glv | hsb | ibo | ina | jav | lin | lld | nor | por | roh | ron | rup | sme | spa | swe | tgl | tpi: Israel
ces | csb | hrv | hun | mfe | pol | slk | slv | szl: Izrael
fra | jnf | lim | nld: Israël
cos | ita | srd: Israele
deu | ltz | nds: Israel / Israel
aze | crh: İsrail / Исраил
bos | slo: Izrael / Израел
est | vor: Iisrael
gag | kaa: İzrail / Израиль
ind | msa: Israel / ايسرائل
kin | run: Israyeli
tur | zza: İsrail
bam: Isirayɛli
cor: Ysrael
dje: Israyla
epo: Israelo
fao: Ísrael
fij: Isireli
frp: Israyèl
fur: Israêl
gla: Iosrael; Israel
gle: Iosrael / Iosrael
hat: Izrayèl
hau: Isra’ila; Yahudawa
haw: ʻIseraʻela
isl: Ísrael; Gyðingaland
kab: Israil / ⵉⵙⵔⴰⵉⵍ
kmr: Îsraîl / Исраил / ئیسرائیل; Îzraîl / Израил / ئیزرائیل
kur: Israyil / ئسرایل; Îsrayil / ئیسرایل; Îsraîl / ئیسرائیل
lat: Israel; Israhel
lav: Izraēla
lit: Izraelis
liv: Izraēl
lug: Buyudaya
mlg: Israely; Isiraely
mlt: Iżrael
mol: Israel / Исраел
mos: Israyɛl
mri: Īharaira
nrm: Israêl
oci: Israèl
que: Israyil
rmy: Israel / इस्राएल
sag: Isaraëli
scn: Israeli
smg: Ėzraelis
smo: Isaraelu
som: Israa’iil
sqi: Izraeli
swa: Israeli; Uyahudi
tet: Izraél
ton: ʻIsileli
tsn: Iseraele
tuk: Izrail / Израиль
uzb: Isroil / Исроил
vie: Do Thái; I-xra-en
vol: Yisraelän
wln: Israyel
wol: Israayil
xho: kwaSirayeli
zul: KwaIsrayeli
chu: Исраиль (Israilĭ); Издраиль (Izdrailĭ); Израиль (Izrailĭ)
alt | che | chm | chv | kbd | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | mon | oss | rus | tyv | udm: Израиль (Izrail')
bak | tat: Израиль / İzrail
bul | mkd: Израел (Izrael)
abq: Израиль (Izrail)
bel: Ізраіль / Izrail
kaz: Израиль / Ïzraïl / يزرايل
lbe: Израэл (Izraėl)
srp: Израел / Izrael
tab: Изряил (Izräil)
tgk: Исроил / اسرائیل / Isroil
ukr: Ізраїль (Izraïl')
ara: إسرائيل (Isrāʾīl)
ckb: ئیسرائیل / Îsraîl
fas: اسرائیل / Esrâil
prs: اسراییل (Esrāyīl)
pus: اسراييل (Isrāyīl); اسرائيل (Isrāʾīl)
snd: اسرائيل (Isrāʾīlu)
uig: ئىسرائىلىيە / Israiliye / Исраилийә
urd: اسرائیل (Isrāʾīl); ازرائیل (Izrāʾīl)
div: އިސްރާއީލް (Isrā'īl)
syr: ܐܝܣܪܐܝܠ (Īsraʾīl)
heb: ישראל (Yiśraʾel)
lad: ישראל / Yisrael
yid: ישׂראל (Yiśroel)
amh: እስራኤል (Əsra'el)
cop-boh: Ⲓⲥⲣⲁⲏⲗ (Israīl)
ell-dhi: Ισραήλ (Israī́l)
ell-kat: Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl)
hye: Իսրայել (Israyel); Իզրաել (Izrayel)
kat: ისრაელი (Israeli)
hin: इसराइल (Isrāil); इस्राइल (Isrāil); इज़राइल (Izrāil); ईसराइल (Īsrāil); इज़राईल (Izrāīl)
mar: इस्रायल (Isrāyal)
nep: इज्राइल (Idzrāil)
ben: ইসরাইল (Isrāil); ইজরায়েল (Ijrāyel); ইস্রায়েল (Isrāyel); ইসরায়েল (Isrāyel)
pan: ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲ (Izrāīl)
kan: ಇಸ್ರೇಲ್ (Isrēl)
mal: ഇസ്രയേല് (Israyēl); ഇസ്രായേല് (Isrāyēl)
tam: இஸ்ரேல் (Isrēl); இசுரேல் (Ičurēl)
tel: ఇస్రాయెల్ (Isrāyel)
zho: 以色列 (Yǐsèliè)
yue: 以色列 (Yíhsīkliht)
jpn: イスラエル (Isuraeru)
kor: 이스라엘 (Iseurael)
bod: ཨི་སི་ར་ཨེལ་ (I.si.ra.el.); དབྱི་སེ་ལེ་ (dByi.se.le.); ཡི་ཟི་རེ་ལ་ (Yi.zi.re.la.)
dzo: ཨིཛ་རཱེལ་ (Idz.rēl.)
mya: အစ္စရေး (Iʿsẏè)
tha: อิสราเอล (Itrā'ēn)
lao: ອິດສະລະແອນ (Itsala'ǣn)
khm: អ៊ីស្រាអែល (Īsrā'æl)
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Oktoberfest?
The 6 pointed Brewer’s star’s, identical to the Jewish Star of David, actually has its roots in alchemy.
For centuries, it was customary for brewers -- particularly those in Europe and, later, in America -- to brand or paint a six-point star on the ends of their beer kegs. And, indeed, many brewers of the 19th and early 20th centuries actually fashioned their logos to incorporate the six-point star.
In alchemy, the two triangles represent the reconciliation of the opposites of fire and water. Non-Jewish Kabbalah (also called Christian or Hermetic Kabbalah) interprets the hexagram to mean the divine union of male and female energy, where the male is represented by the upper triangle (referred to as the "blade") and the female by the lower one (referred to as the "chalice"). Moreover, it derives four triangular symbols from it (two triangles crossed like a capital letter A and two uncrossed) to represent the four elements: water, fire, air, and earth.
Members of the Hitler-Jugend can be seen in the front wearing a HJ-Dienstmutze.
Four Interlocking Irregular Ditrigonal Triangularly Distorted Hexgrammically Paraugmented Hexagonal Prisms 72 units 2-fold view.
I originally sketched out a series of cyclically symmetric hybrid self-interlocking prism/star prism compounds years ago, and recently decided to wander off from my main projects for a few days in order to pursue the simplest of these ideas. Essentially, what this resulted in is “Gasherbrum” + “4 Interlocking Triangles #2” + “4 Interlocking Hexagons” all connected together with the edges of a hexagonal prism. Of course, octahedral, icosahedral, and dodecahedral versions should be possible as well, which I may get around to at some point in the future. Describing these shapes geometrically is a bit awkward: “ditrigonal” refers to the fact that the edges of the hexagonal prism are grouped into 2 sets of 3 edges, “triangularly distorted refers to the fact that 3 of the 6 edges are lower and wider (or higher and thinner, depending on how you want to look at it) than the other 3, and “hexagrammically paraugemented” refers to the fact that one side of each prism is a hexagonal face while the other is a hexagram (or would be, if it were not distorted). The prefix “para” thus refers to “along the side of” which is one face of each prism. Apologies if that does not seem very clear- as anyone can see, this is not that complicated an idea, it is just difficult to describe geometrically.
Designed by me. (5 different paper proportions)
Folded out of copy paper.
S, Mansur by Mansoor Saleem
Some notes ABOUT MY WORK (a brief sample of local or regional anthropology at micro level):
The word "Gravity" is a symbol of reality that exists. Similarly E=mc2 is a combination of symbols trying to express some reality. In similar fashion my depiction of flashes (kashf) should be conceived that they are equations not in math but in language that nature uses. Perhaps fate had dropped flashes in my lap and I am depicting these flashes for world to know how to derive knowledge out of these flashes. May be from Archetypal plane I am receiving flashes and transforming these into phenomenal plane, but for more perfect transformation, sponsorship is required, like flashes roughly depicted demands super realistic treatment or animations at some points, or arrangements in 3- Dimension or performing activities or etc. at some other points, because each of my work either illustrated or arranged for photo is a part of animation and is just a one shot from one angle of bigger reality, therefore I am not a sur-realist. For deriving knowledge from my flashes their access to wider researchers in form of website, book, Museum, CD, video, etc. are required. And due to unavailability of resources, most of the paintings were sold before I could photographed these works which basically are like the fossils of the time and region and are done with hope that in future in order to get some data out of these works, the dimensions of anthropology, psychology, historiography, neurology, neuro-physics and other aspects will also be taken into account and the result may benefit in understanding some aspect of the complex Nature. The importance of flashes can be realized from the ripple effect observable in art and multi-media community that somehow came in contact with the work and hijacked ideology out of these flashes, such benefits, scientific community has not taken yet. From art point of view the art community produced high quality variations out of flashes but their work lack archetypal dimension which is one of the aspect, useful for scientific community to explore.
For cataloguing purpose somewhere title or art terminology like: "oil on canvas", "collage", "performance", "installations", "construction", etc. are used has nothing to do with meaning of the work, flashes are independent of these terminologies borrowed from art for cataloguing purpose only, flashes are beyond art. Flashes can include any ism, any element, bizarre thing, anything or things we don't know, that's why thousands of my flashes goes waste due to lack of energy and resources. Besides colorful images, performance and animation, Flashes also comes in form of sound as well, for instance I heard the sound: "Quranic archaeology is a mighty subject," this flash took me into the archaeology.
Researchers are invited to reply on enigma of colorful flashes. From where they come? they come to all or to few,? Few interesting pieces of writing below could be the starting point for debate: One is by David V. Tansley in his book: 'Subtle body' , author writes,..."the pineal gland has been found to contain vestigial traces of optic tissue. Experiments have shown that nerve impulses arise in the pineal in response to stimulation by light. Galen claimed that the pineal was a regulator of thought, and the Greeks said that the soul was anchored there. According to esoteric tradition this gland is the focal point for the masculine positive energy of spirit which is represented by the first hexagram of l-Ching, its six yang lines symbolizing the primal power of heaven and the creative action of the holy man".
But spirituality or metaphysical dimension is relevant in my case or not is a question unsolved or perhaps I should confine myself to physical dimension of Flashes (or call it images) which stay in my eyes just for less than a half second, perhaps for 0.01 second and I simply illustrate these Flashes and what it holds for future Fine Art, Sciences, Meta-science or Spirituality, I do not know yet, so I isolate myself from dada and sur-realism because I avoid title and avoid mixing my imagination or experimentation in recording of Flashes which is very rare or unrecorded. In dada and sur-realism we do read about dreams and drug infused random thoughts, but not flashes, so far no word about flashes I find even in Freud or Jungian psychology, they talk about dream importance. And in Christian art history so far I have only observed mixing of dream and inspiration from Bible. No body so far I have read in Dada and sur-realism that somebody is claiming that he is depicting Flashes or depicting flashes without mixing his imagination or experimentation. After seeing the difference between two (1) Pure Flashes and (2) some of my work based on mixing of imagination or experimentation with Flashes, now I can pin point the Flash, mixed or unmixed. My major work which is unmixed are pure Flashes (1) and my mixed work (2) can be termed as sur-realistic which I did for commercial reason on client's demand who was mad of sur-realism, I wish I could destroy these sur-realistic works. Since I can now perceive the difference between Flashes and work based on mixing of imagination or experimentation, now I can pin point the Flash, mixed or unmixed, so my major work should not be equate with William Blake, Dali, De Chirico, Carra, Marcel Duchamp, Magrette, etc., because I am not competing in art aesthetic, or in painterly compositions, I have no experience of spirituality, so my work should not also be confuse with any oriental mystics or artists who refer to the metaphysical in some form or another.
My work from (1974-81) of installations, performances based on flashes is still unpublished, so new generation do not know about it, in South Asian art also so far, no artist has ever claimed flashes mixed or un-mixed. For future science world, un-mixed flashes will be more important. Please inform on email mansursalim@hotmail.com, if reader come up with something related to science of flashes, or near to it, for instance few near relevant things I found are:
Physicist Mitchell Feigenbaum (reported in the New York Times, 1984), that when inspiration came to Feigenbaum, it was in the form of a picture, a mental image of two small wavy forms and one big one. This gave him an idea about scaling, the way the small features of a thing relate to the large features, it gave him the path he needed. For period doubling, scaling showed not only when one value-a total population or a fluid speed-would break into two, but also just where the new values would be found, Scaling was an intimate feature of the peculiar world Feigenbaum was beginning to explore.
Arthur I. Miller in a discussion of "redefining visualizability" makes it clear...the experimental evidence prevents us from forming a mental image bridging the wave-particle duality, such an image is available by 'Anschaulichheit' (German term for intuition, plus more) of another kind. It is the kind of image the physicist Werner Heisenberg had in mind when he asserted that, although the causality of classical mechanics has no access to quantum theory, quantum mechanics should not be considered unanschaulich, that is, excluded from imagery (Miller, Imagery in Scientific Thought). One example of such image is Albert Einstein's famous thought experiment in which he demonstrated the equivalence of inertia and gravitation by imagining an observer pulled through empty space in a closed container. Such images, however, lead by degrees of abstraction to others limited to spatial diagrams of a theoretical situation. Sigmund Freud, for example, writes, "We assume that the psychic life has the function of an apparatus, to which we attribute spatial extension and which we imagine as being composed of several pieces, similar to a telescope or microscope" Although such an image provides complementarity with a concrete percept of its models, it would not seem to provide it with a representable reality. But some physicists disagree that Niels Bohr never apply his notion of complementarity to subject other than physics. But for some physicists the contrary is true. (From Rudolf Arnheim's essay: “Complementarity from the outside” in book: Rescue of art).
May be or may not be these above references are relevant here for flashes I do not know, but for scientific analysis it is important to state briefly here the background of how I realized the importance of these flashes, but for scientific cause I have to write what I should not. I hope my friends will forgive me for this cause, because for good Gestalt one should have all the possible details in mind, it is beyond humans to perceive Perfect Gestalt, only Allah knows everything. A year before Metric and much before Diploma in fine art, my art works (flashes, mixed and unmixed) since 1974 were on display at Atelier BM and at Indus gallery, and since then I am observing the ripple effect of those works. After solo show of my works at Pakistan American Cultural Center, January 1979, I went to CIAC, Karachi Arts Council, to check effects of my Flash-works among artists. Before flashes since 1973 I was only doing super realistic sort of paintings of surrounding and of interior Sindh culture and capturing the local environment to come up with something: Pakistani avant-garde which I displayed at PACC solo show in Jan. 1979. But was ignored by media, only small press coverage came with a suggestion: "Mansoor has to stick to his remarkably sound realistic style instead of delving into many styles". (Art show, Daily News, Jan. 9, 1979). But anyhow I was realizing the importance of my flashes which were inspiring the most intelligent and talented of artist community for example: Ghalib Baqar changed his Dali sort of Sur realism into experimental water color, other water colorists like Abdul Hayee, Ather Jamal, Zahin Ahmad, Hanif Shezad, etc. added Karachi and interior Sindh imagery into their work. But at the same time I was learning the techniques of art from them. From Hayee and Baqar I learned the techniques of water color, from Farhan Ehsan I learned the techniques of drawing and calligraphy, from Amir Khan Tareen I learned the techniques of Rembrandt, from Abul Fateh I learned the techniques of ceramics, from Dr. Sajid Khan and Naseem Khan I learned the techniques of photography, from A.G. Khalid I learned the techniques of using computer and so on.
One of world's best super realist artist Shakil Siddiquei changed his Rembrandt sort of style into super realistic abstraction, for instance his paintings of Book shelf, Notice board, door, windows, composition with Dawn news paper, Sindhi dari, fruit packing wooden peyti, Chilmun and etc., in subject matter, were directly inspired by my flashes in form of photos or artworks I shared with him. Art critic Dr. S. Amjad Ali in his article: "Growing trend towards realism", wrote;..."Saleem Mansoor was the first to begin this kind of realism in Karachi but he was well advised to give up after creating a few interesting pieces. It is a good way of gaining command over technique and then putting it to other use in which more thought and feeling comes into play." (Dawn, April 20, 1984).
Ejazul Hassan wrote in Page 17, 123 in the catalogue of 5th National Exhibition, 1985, Published by Idara Saqafat Pakistan, written by Ejazul Husan.
"Young Mansoor Saleem has his own unusual way with objects and space. He sometimes likes to call his work as "installation" in the environment around him. He always wants to place things where he thinks these should be placed. The coiled wire, with a crescent on top, placed on a gray composition is evidence of his restless imagination. The title "Pakistani Avant Garde" also shows his wit." (—page 123, Ejazul Husan)
"The young painter Saleem Mansoor....investigates new methods and techniques not only meant to widen the scope and definition of realism but also to discover fresh methods to stimulate the viewers' response. His 'painting' titled The Pakistani Avant-garde' is wittily fabricated with tan-gue-in-cheek humor making an apt comment on elitist attitudes and trends in modern art."—(page: 17, from the introduction of 5th National Exhibition by Ejazul Hasan)
Most helping and highly creative artist and multi media man Imran Mir in 1975 appreciated my work in high remarks when he was discussing with Bashir Mirza at Atelier BM. BM was telling him that before going to Canada what Imran observed in art scene was still the same when he returned after many years, that Ahmed Pervaiz is repeating Allen Davy, and Shakir Ali, Mansur Rahi and their students were repeating Picasso and Braque's cubism in Indian or Bengali styles and Jamil Naqsh, Lubna Agha, Mansur Aye, Mashkoor, and others are repeating the same compositions, Rabia Zuberi and Shahid Sajjad repeating Henry Moor and so on. Imran pointing towards my work replied: "he is the change"! and BM acknowledged it. Imran like Zahoor ul Akhlaque, also absorbed elements from my flashes (like geometry, etc) but both only absorbed post modern art-elements from my flashes (but they absorbed postmodern element from other sources like we see in work of Herbert Bayer, Jennifer Bartlett, Ross Blacker, Sean Scully and etc) which not much is my concerned.
During my slide show at NCA in 1981, Zahoor and his wife asked me about my future plan, they were surprised to hear that I will soon be joining Archaeology Department in some university because from inside I am an anthropologist also. All my work is not only a statement in anthropology, but is also a statement in neurology, physics, and other sciences. Imran sincerely wanted to bring post modern trends in the region, perhaps for variety he introduced me to many artists, for instance, one day Imran came to me and carried my work's photos in his car and took me to David Alesworth's house and showed my work to him and his wife Durriya and Imran told them to do something like that and after one month of that, Imran's wife Nighat, told me; "Mansoor! You know Durriya is taking your sort of Truck art from Karachi to Peshawar". Nighat was saying that because she much before this event has written an article in press on my 1977 Truck art collection and Sara Irshad has written on my 1981 work: "Taking art show on donkey cart to the folk". Durriya and David not only took the advantage of my flashes but others also followed similar ideology, for instance Ruby Chisti, Masooma Syed, Naiza Khan, Adeela Khan, Rashid Rana, Noorjehn Bilgramy, Huma Mulji, Farida Batool, Ali Raza, Sophie Ernst, Faiza But, M. Ali Talpur, Imran Qureshi, Ameen Gulgee, Jamal Shah, Nazish Ataullah, Aaisha Khalid, Risham Syed and many others who spread the ideology to Melbourne, Dubai, London, New York, Berlin, etc.
Before their first thesis, IVSAA'S principal invited me for slide show of my work, but to my surprise only the faculty staff was invited and not the students. After a month or so one of the faculty member Kamran Hamid told me, "Mansoor go and see student's thesis at IVSAA where teachers has influenced students to do work which is similar to your ideology"." Now it is a tradition there. Even their very architecture is based on the ideology of some of my old flashes and on article published in press. Against me, I even find wrong propaganda by hijackers of my work. And rather through lobby in media they even sensor or edit my interviews according to their need of representing me with those works which they have not preferred to hijack from my flashes. In Shisha, Shanakht, Carce, IVSAA, Fomma and VASL works I have observed direct influence of ideologies, imageries derived out of my flashes. For assessment of the influence, historiographical approach is required. For commercial reason, they can ignore me too but future history will not. Local art magazine and art book writers were chased to ignore me.
I also held slide show of the work at NCA in 1981, where Zahoor-ul-Akhlaque, his wife and his students saw the show. Salima Hashmi wrote an article on my exhibition at Alhambra gallery Lahore, in March, 1984. The effort bore its fruit, through historiography one can trace after 1981, the change in NCA and change in Zahoor, Ejazul Hasan, Salima Hashmi, Shahid Sajjad, Mehar Afroze, etc., and change in their younger generation of students. They and other agents and technology (since 1974 perhaps) spread the influence of my flashes abroad as well, for instance on Beverly Pepper, Nicole Eisenman, Anish Kapoor, Mohsin Zaidi, Susanne Kessler and etc.
All the names mentioned above have the right to disagree with me, these are just friendly assumptions for researchers to look at such debate too to guess what the Flashes are? I too was inspired by many but after receiving Flashes from nature, I painted these with realization that they are more important than Mona Lisa, E=mc2 or Taj Mahal. I have no solo shows in prestigious gallery abroad I have no big post, scholarship or any sponsorship or awards, etc. But what Nature has given me in form of Flashes is more important that they are prototype for all time to come, back to the future or forward into the past. All artists are free to make anything they wish or according to market forces but I have to make (for science) what I receive in form of Flashes. Historiographicaly speaking Flashes' influence is more than what the work of Shakir Ali, Sadequein, Gulgee, M.F. Hussain and etc. had. But no comment I see in the catalogue of 2007- National exhibition, even the Karachiets have ignored me too. Sindh Governor is not using his Legend Fund; I now in time of Parkinson disease need sponsorship to continue the mission, if possible Inshallah. ...MS
Mansoor Saleem's solo show, May, 2008
Shakil Ismail Art Gallery
Ground Floor, Marine Point, Block 9, Clifton Karachi. Tel: 0321-2409949, E-mail: shakilismailartgallery@yahoo.com
Gallery is not responsible what artists express freely
Philadelphia, PA, est. 1682; pop. 1,567,442 (metro 6MM)
• built in 1740 • earliest known photograph is dated 1859 — bldg. was then 119 yrs. old [photo] • Georgian-Colonial trinity design aka "bandbox" • typically, trinity houses had 1 room per floor & were built facing each other in rows of 4 identical bldgs. • in addition to the room on each floor, this house had a walkable attic room & a cellar
• served as both business & residence for shopkeepers & artisans for over 150 yrs. • among the 18th c. occupants were a shoemaker, apothecary & upholsterer Betsy Ross, who is said to have sewn the 1st American flag in this building • estimates of when & how long she lived here have her arriving in 1773 at the earliest & departing as late as 1791
• over time the house changed in appearance [photos] as neighborhood houses were razed & replaced w/larger commercial buildings —Where's Betsy
Betsy Ross
• Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom (1752-1836) was a fourth-generation American • daughter of Samuel Griscom (1717-1793) & Rebecca James (c. 1730-1793) • 8th of their 17 children • great granddaughter of Quaker carpenter Andrew Griscom (c. 1654-1694), who migrated from England to New Jersey in 1680, 1 yr. before William Penn founded Philadelphia
"She often laughed at the curious fact that she was born on the first day of the week, the first day of the month, the first day of the year, and the first year of the 'new style' [which was] the dividing line between the old way of measuring the years time and the new method under the [Gregorian calendar… She was also] the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter." —C.B. Satterthwaite, great grandson, The Des Moines Register, 07 Jan, 1906
• at age 3 Betsy's family moved to a large home at 4th & Arch • attended a Friends (Quaker) public school • 8 of her siblings died before adulthood • lost her mother, father & sister, Deborah, to the 1793 yellow fever epidemic
• upon completion of her schooling at age 12, her father apprenticed her to upholsterer John Webster • fell in love with fellow apprentice John Ross (1752-1773), son of an Episcopal asst. rector at Christ Church • defying her parents Betsy, age 21, eloped w/John in 1773
• on a November night, Betsy's sister Sarah & her husband Capt. Wm. Donaldson rowed the couple across the Delaware River, heading 5 miles downstream to Gloucestertown, NJ • they were married at family friend William Hugg Jr.'s tavern & inn, known locally as Hugg's
• because her marriage to a non-Quaker was considered an act of "disorderly and undutiful conduct," Betsy was split from her family & read out of meeting, i.e., disowned by her Quaker community • became a member of Christ Church • the Ross's pew No. 12 [photo] was adjacent to Martha & George Washington's No. 56 & near Deborah & Benjamin Franklin's No. 70
• the newlyweds — now trained upholsterers — opened a business • c. 1773 they rented a house, probably at what is today 239 Arch St. although the exact site is still debated by historians • most records point to this house or one next door at No. 241, long since razed
"The identity of the location was always preserved in the family, which agrees with the records in the old Philadelphia directories… from 1785, the first published, to the removal of Betsy Ross and her husband from 239 Arch Street, in 1791" —Betsy Ross grandson George Canby, NY Times, 05 July, 1908
• business slowed during the Revolutionary War as fabric was in short supply • John Ross joined the Pennsylvania militia • mid-Jan., 1776, he was gravely wounded by a powder explosion at an ammunition cache, apparently while standing guard • Betsy nursed him in their home, but he died within days
• in June, 1777, Betsy married girlhood suitor Joseph Ashburn, a privateer who commanded the sailing sloop Swallow • the couple had 2 daughters • the 1st, Aucilla ("Zillah"), died in infancy
• British troops entered Philadelphia on 26 Sep., 1777 after their victory at the Battle of Brandywine • the Ashburn home was forcibly shared with British occupation soldiers as the Continental Army suffered through the killing winter at Valley Forge • the British soldiers nicknamed Betsy "Little Rebel" —US History•org
• Betsy was pregnant with Elizabeth ("Eliza") when Joseph accepted a job offer & shipped out as first mate on the 6-gun brigantine, Patty • returned to be present for the Feb., 1781 birth of their 2nd daughter
• Joseph became master of the 18-gun Lion & took her to sea late in the summer of 1781 • on 31 Aug., his ship was captured off the coast of France by a 44-gun British frigate, the HMS Prudente
• prior to March, 1782, the British refused to designate captured rebels as prisoners of war, thus the captives from the Lion were viewed as traitors, charged with high treason & committed to Plymouth, England's Mill Prison [images] • while incarcerated, Ashburn met fellow prisoner John Claypoole, a longtime friend of the Ross family
• Claypoole, a Continental Army vet, had been wounded at Germantown & consequently discharged • in 1781 he signed on to man the 18-gun Pennsylvania privateer Chevalier de la Luzerne & was captured in April • in the spring of 1782 Ashburn died in prison, leaving Betsy a 2-time war widow at age 30 —Betsy Ross and the Making of America
"In the Night of the 3d of March Mr Joseph Ashburn departed this life after an illness of about a week which he bore with amazing fortitude & resignation" —John Claypoole, Mill Prison
"The story goes that Ashburn, while in Mill Prison, often talked with John Claypoole about his wife, Betty*, and at his death sent farewell messages by him to her. Claypoole, on his arrival in Philadelphia, hastened to deliver these messages, and inside of eight months he married her." —John Claypoole's Memorandum-Book *Betsy is referred to as "Betty" in some 18th, 19th & early 20th c. books & media
• in 1782 Claypoole returned to Philadelphia, called on Betsy & married her the following year • gave up his seafaring career to join her at the Arch St. upholstery shop • though renamed "John Claypoole, upholsterer," to customers the shop remained Betsy's place • the couple had 5 daughters: Clarissa, Susanna, Rachel, Jane & Harriet, who died at 9 months • sometime after Susanna's birth in 1786, the Claypooles moved from Arch St. to a larger house on 2nd
• Betsy returned to her Quaker roots, albeit with the Free (Fighting) Quakers, a group exiled from the main Quaker community when their support for the Revolution was ruled a violation of the faith's peace testimony • the couple became members c. 1785 • image: Betsy Claypoole signature taken from the Meeting House roster
• it is widely believed that when the Free Quaker Meeting House shut down in 1834, it was its last attending members — Elizabeth Claypoole & Samuel Wetherill — who closed the doors
• in 1817, after a long illness, John Claypoole died • Betsy never remarried • after retiring, she moved to the home of her daughter, Susanna • she died on 30 Jan, 1836, age 84
The American Flags
"Flags were a rare sight on land in the British North American colonies," —Wooden Teachout, Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism
• American flags were seldom used in parades or displayed by private citizens • colors were flown mainly in battle, over government institutions & on ships, where they were essential to identifying other vessels & determining friend or foe
• this changed after America's 1876 Centennial Exposition, which explains why "flags made prior to the Civil War are extremely rare, and flags made before 1820 are practically nonexistent." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, Stars and Stripes, Early American Life, Aug. 2011
• with the onset of the Revolutionary War, a flag for the "United Colonies" was created without the sanction of the Continental Congress • this 1775 flag was known as the Continental Colors, aka Grand Union, Congress Flag, Cambridge Flag
• on 2 Dec., 1775, the 1st Continental Colors flag was hand sewn by milliner Margaret Manny, who had begun making flags & ensigns the previous year
"Everyone knows about Betsy Ross, why do we know nothing about Margaret Manny? Probably for no better reason than that she had fewer articulate friends and relatives to build a story around her." —historian Barbara Tuchman, The First Salute
• the Continental Colors had 13 alternating red & white stripes with the British Union crosses in the canton • was created to replace the use of individual colony flags • prior to the Declaration of Independence, it was probably the most used unofficial flag of the revolution • American Flag Timeline
• the inclusion of the British Jack in the design signals that this flag was intended not for a civil war of secession, but rather a crusade to secure the American colonists' rights as Englishman • prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Gen. George Washington, still hoping for reconciliation with Mother England, would occasionally toast the King —The Forgotten Flag of the American Revolution and What It Means
• on 3 Dec, 1775, the new flag was raised by 1st Lt. John Paul Jones (1747-1792) on the 30-gun Continental Navy frigate USS Alfred [painting], the 1st national ensign to fly on an American fighting vessel —Naval History Blog
• the flag later flew over the signing of the Declaration of Independence & according to tradition (contested by some scholars), it was raised on a ship's mast atop Charlestown's Prospect Hill [painting] during Washington's 1 Jan., 1776 siege of Boston
• spotting the hybrid British/American flag for the first time, confused British observers took it as a signal of submission: “By this time, I presume, they begin to think it strange that we have not made a formal surrender of our lines,” Washington wrote • his psychological weaponry also included an early form of war propaganda
• absent a single government-mandated flag design, a variety of others were used • within a yr. after Prospect hill, the Continental Colors' Union Jack was replaced by a blue field w/13 white stars in various arrangements, e.g., rows, or possibly a circle?
• on 14 June, 1777, now celebrated as Flag Day, the American Flag was born by resolution of the Continental Congress, the country’s 1st flag law • during the Revolutionary period that followed, the stars on most American flags were arranged in rows of 4-5-4 with the number of points on most stars ranging from 4 to 8 • compared to the Continental Colors, the rows of stars made it easier to identify the flag/ship/nationality at sea —The 13 Stars & Stripes
The Story
• about a year before the Flag Resolution of 1777 Betsy Ross, 5-months a widow & struggling to make a ends meet, is said to have received a visit from a Continental Congress flag committee (apparently a secret one as there are no records of its existence)
• according to the well known Betsy Ross story, in late May of 1776 (but possibly 1777) 3 heroes of the revolution — George Ross, the uncle of Betsy's late husband, financier/slave trader Robert Morris & Betsy's pew neighbor Gen. George Washington [portraits] — called on her to discuss a flag for the new nation
• Rachel Fletcher (Betsy's daughter) recalled that "…she was previously well acquainted with Washington, and that he had often been in her house in friendly visits, as well as on business. That she had embroidered ruffles for his shirt bosoms and cuffs, and that it was partly owing to his friendship for her that she was chosen to make the flag." —Rachel's affidavit
• as told by Betsy, Gen. Washington, then head of the Continental Army, showed her a rough design of a flag with 6-pointed stars • she offered suggestions for modifications & stated a preference for 5-pointed stars • when her visitors expressed concern over the difficulty of producing them, she replied, "Nothing easier," which she then proved by cutting a 5-pointed star in a single snip • video: Make a perfect star with ONE cut! (1:15) • Two Conundrums Concerning the Betsy Ross Five-Pointed Star
• changes approved, Washington redrew the flag w/a pencil • Betsy's friend & collaborator William Barrett, a Cherry St. ornamental painter created a water color copy of the drawing for her to work from • 1-2 other seamstresses sewed alternate designs for the committee, but only Betsy's was approved & used
• what is known today as the "Betsy Ross flag" has 13 red & white stripes & a ring of 13, white 5-pointed stars • though the design may have been in use by 1777, vexillologists believe that between 1777-1795, (the yrs. the official flag had 13 stars) most flags displayed stars in rows, which are easier to produce than a circle
• None of the surviving flags from the 18th century exhibit the Betsy Ross pattern • however a few examples are depicted in the art of the era (although period art is notoriously unreliable for flag research)
• the flag depicted in Chas. Willson Peale's 1779 George Washington at the Battle of Princeton is generally considered credible & "may be the only evidence in a painting… that suggests that a circle-pattern flag may have existed in colonial times… Otherwise, you won't see an American flag with a perfect circle of stars made before the 1890s." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, loc. cit.13 Stars in the Betsy Ross Pattern • historically significant the American flags [images]
• though known as an upholsterer, there is no doubt that Betsy made flags, having sewn pennants & ensigns for the Pennsylvania State Navy Board (as did Margaret Manning & Rebecca Young, whose daughter Mary Pickersgill would go on to sew the enormous flag that inspired the U.S. National Anthem, Francis Scott Key's The Star-Spangled Banner)
• a month before Congress passed the Flag Resolution, Betsy was paid 14 pounds, 12 shillings, 2 pence (~$2,300 in 2017 USD) for what must have been a prodigious quantity of Pennsylvania Navy flags • there is no hard evidence that any of these were American flags • "...today we are reasonably convinced that Betsy’s flag was a naval flag, with a simple ‘in line’ arrangement of the stars…" —John B. Harker, Historian & Betsy Ross descendent
• Betsy (Elizabeth Claypool) was now in the business of producing flags & ensigns for the federal govt. • throughout the Jefferson & Madison admins. the skilled needlewoman made flags as large as 18' x 24' for American military installations, with demand peaking during the War of 1812
• for the rest of her life she — in her words — "never knew what it was to want employment" • her oldest daughter, Clarissa Sidney Wilson (1785-1864) [portrait], succeeded her, supplying arsenals, navy yards & the mercantile marine with flags for years —Betsy Ross•org
"In the last years of her life, Ross was neither more nor less important than other aging women who had lived through the Revolution. That she became famous while others were forgotten exposes the interlocking power of family history, local memory, and national politics." —How Betsy Ross Became Famous by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Historian
The Legend
"…at a time of great historic import such as that time when the Declaration was signed, people have no leisure to think about the minor events which are taking place. Thus, during the revolution no one thought of Betsy Ross as a national heroine, and it was not, in fact until 1870 that William J. Canby (1825-1890) first brought the story of how the first flag was made into general prominence." —Dr. Lloyd Balderston, great-grandson of Betsy Ross, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3 Jul, 1908
• there is no record of the the Betsy Ross story prior to 1870 • that year — 34 years after her death — Betsy's 45 yr. old grandson, a title processor named William Jackson Canby, presented a paper titled The History of the Flag of the United States to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania • the document, accompanied by sworn affidavits, was an oral history passed on by descendants of Betsy Ross, including Canby himself who was 11 yrs. old when she died • …more: The Evolution of the American Flag by (Betsy Ross descendants) George Canby (1829-1907), Lloyd Balderston, Ph.D (1863-1933)
• the story was largely ignored until it was mentioned in historian George Henry Preble's 1872 book Our Flag & appeared in the July, 1873 Harper's Monthly [illustration] • with Civil War wounds slowly healing & the 1876 centennial celebration fast approaching, Betsy Ross & the flag entered American consciousness • in the 1880's her story began to appear in textbooks • by the mid 1890s it was often illustrated by an engraving of The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag, an 1893 painting by Charles H. Weisgerber (1856-1932)
• oral tradition has it that in 1892 Weisgerber, a 36 yr. old aspiring artist, was bent on winning a forthcoming art competition • walking along Arch St., he noticed a plaque at No. 239 which identified the bldg. as the site where Betsy Ross sewed the 1st American flag
• inspired, Weisgerber envisioned a scene of Betsy & the 1st flag set in her shop • to fill in details of the story, characters & setting, he drew on period portraits, the testimony of living descendants & the 22 yr. old Canby paper
• with no authentic image of Betsy in existence (according to her relatives), Weisgerber painted a composite taken from images of 4 of her daughters & a granddaughter who was said to closely resemble her • the resulting portrait was critiqued by relatives who had known her & modified accordingly • Weisgerber then created a massive 9' x 12' painting • portrayed the young Widow Ross, saintly matriarch of a new nation, as she presents the 1st American flag to 3 revered American patriarchs
• "the image was [said] …by Mrs. Ross' grandson, George Canby, to be the only correct likeness of [her]" — he was 7 yrs. old when Betsy Ross died —The Times (Philadelphia) 15 Jun 1893
• the flag depicted in the painting — with no evidence to support the authenticity of its design — has since been known as the "Betsy Ross flag," the standard for celebrating the U.S.A.'s birthday each 4th of July
The Apotheosis
• Weisgerber's painting won the $1,000 prize & in 1893 was showcased in the Pennsylvania Building at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition • seen by millions of visitors • contributed to the nascent reverence for Betsy Ross & the flag as sacred symbols of the emerging, quasi-religious American civil religion • politicians, patriotic societies & public sentiment propelled the flag's transformation into an object of veneration, its role expanding well beyond the customary military & govt. functions
On Flag Day, 1894, the Colonial Dames gathered 500 schoolchildren to honor “the adoption by Congress . . . of the flag made by Betsy Ross from the design submitted to her by Gen. Washington” • by 1895, 10 states had laws requiring public schools to display the flag on all school days — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, loc. cit.
• in 1897 the City of New York bought thousands of lithographs of Weisgerber’s painting for its public schools: “It is thought that the representation which is declared historically correct, together with such lectures as the teachers may deliver, will add much to the pupil’s knowledge and keep alive a proper reverence for the country’s emblem.” —New York Times, 14 Feb, 1897
• in 1885, NYC school principal George T. Balch (1821-1908), a vet. of the Indian & Civil Wars, wrote Salute to the Flag, the U.S.A.'s first pledge of allegiance
"I give my hand and my heart to my country — one nation, one language, one flag."
• the heightened patriotism of the era inspired a movement to organize schoolyard flag raising ceremonies • the American Flag Assn. was founded in 1897 for the "fostering of public sentiment in favor of honoring the flag in our country and preserving it from desecration" • Natl. Flag Day was proclaimed in 1917
• Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), who worked in the premium dept. of The Youth's Companion magazine, wrote a new U.S. Pledge of Allegiance (1892) for his employer • created as part of the magazine's campaign to sell American flags to public schools • goal was a flag in every classroom • 25,000 schools acquired flags the 1st yr. • though priced "at cost," banner sales proved profitable
• Bellamy also choreographed a salute — the "Bellamy Salute" — to accompany the pledge • because of its similarity to the Nazi heil it was replaced by a right-hand-over-heart gesture during World War II • another Youth's Companion employee, James Upham, headed a flag-centric project designed to engage public schools in the commemoration of the U.S.A.'s 1st Columbus Day (Oct. 1892)
The Verdict
• for nearly a century-and-a-half, historians have debated the available evidence in an attempt to prove that Betsy Ross either did or did not produce the 1st American flag: "There’s no good historical evidence that she did. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t. There’s simply a lack of documentation. Most historians believe the story is apocryphal." —Marc Leepson, author of Flag: An American Biography, The Truth About Betsy Ross
• the identity of the woman who sewed America's 1st flag may never be certain, but there is good reason to believe that its designer may have been Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) • the NJ representative to the Continental Congress & signer of the Declaration of Independence is the only person entered into the Congressional record for designing the 1st American flag
• it has been speculated that on 14 June, 1777, it was Hopkinson who replaced the British crosses in the Continental Colors with white stars on a blue field • no original sketch of a Hopkinson flag exists, but surviving rough sketches including his design for the Great Seal of the U.S. incorporate elements of 2 of his flag designs —Wikipedia
On 25 May, 1780, Hopkinson wrote to the Continental Board, requesting "a Quarter Cask of the public Wine" as payment for several itemized "patriotic designs" he had completed, most notably, "the flag of the United States of America" • submitted another bill on 24 June for "drawings and devices," including "the Naval Flag of the United States"
• the Treasury Board rejected his request for payment because he "was not the only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy" & furthermore was not entitled to compensation as he was already on the government payroll —Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags?, Earl P. Williams, Jr.
• Hopkinson is also considered America's 1st poet-composer • written at age 21, his song My Days have been so Wondrous Free (1759) is regarded as the earliest surviving American secular composition [listen] —UPen•edu
Saving Betsy's House
• by 1859, 239 Arch St. was occupied by the family of German immigrant (Carl) Philip Mund (1822-1883), who operated a tailor's shop on the 1st floor • the landlord, after collecting rent for the first year, never returned • over the succeeding rent-free decades, the Munds operated a variety of businesses in their retail space
• after Canby's 1870 speech identified the location of Betsy Ross's house as Arch between 2nd & 3rd, the Munds — occupants of the block's last standing colonial house — posted a sign: "First Flag of the US Made in this House" • in 1876, as visitors poured into the city for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, the Munds ran an ad for their latest 1st floor business: "Original Flag House, Lager, Wine and Liquors. This is the house where the first United States flag was made by Mrs. John Ross." —Historic Philadelphia
• after Philip Mund died his wife Amelia, who objected to running a saloon, converted the space into a cigar store & candy shop which operated until 1892 — her son Charles then devoted the space to a museum/souvenir shop [photo] —The Betsy Ross House Facts, Myths, and Pictures by G.A. Anderson
• c. 1897 citizens led by Charles Weisgerber organized the American Flag Soc. & Betsy Ross Memorial Assn. • goal was to rescue the house from imminent demolition • intended to purchase it from Charles Mund, restore it to its 18th-c. appearance, preserve the memory of Betsy Ross & honor the American flag
• to raise the funds for purchasing the Betsy Ross "American Flag House," the Association devised a rudimentary multi-level marketing strategy • sold lifetime memberships for 10 cents • each member was encouraged to recruit others & form a group of 30; each group founder received a chromolithographograph of Weisgerber's painting • over 2 million monochrome certificates were sold at ten cents each • the colorful chromoliths were available at addl. cost (frame not included) —Enjoying Philadelphia
• the Association leased the house in 1898, purchased it in 1903 • Weisgerber & his family moved in • lived upstairs, kept the museum & a souvenir shop on the 1st floor • in 1902 they named their newborn son Charles Vexil Domus, Latin for "flag house" [photo] • he would later replace his parents as custodian of the house —G.A. Anderson, loc. cit.
• by 1936 the house was on the verge of ruin • in 1937 Philadelphia Mayor Davis Wilson proposed a restoration by WPA workers • this provoked "a storm of protest" from critics
• Pennsylvania Historical Soc. members wrote off the Betsy Ross story as "hokum" and "the bunk" • the protests from scholars & historians sparked an unwinnable faith vs. reason culture war with patriotic organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution & the Patriotic Order Sons of America
• amid the controversy, Philadelphia radio manufacturer & philanthropist A. Atwater Kent (1873-1949) offered to pay up to $25K for the restoration • Historical architect, Richardson Brognard Okie (1875-1945) won the commission
• the design for the restoration was derived from evidence & conjecture • goal was to return the bldg. to its c. 1777 appearance • surviving architectural elements were preserved when possible • materials salvaged from demolished colonial era homes were also used • in 1941, the Association gave the property to the city • the house now stands as one of Philadelphia's most popular tourist attractions
Postscript
• in 1929 Hugg's tavern, where Betsy Griscom defied family & church to marry John Ross, was demolished to make way for the Proprietor's Park swimming pool, which no longer exists • the Revolutionary War-era Hugg-Harrison-Glover House (1764), built on property owned by the Hugg family as early as 1683, was razed in the face of fervent opposition, March, 2017 —Facebook
• 178 yrs. after Betsy's wedding & just 5 blocks from where Hugg's once stood, another American legend was born at the Twin Bar [photo] when Bill Haley (and the Saddlemen) performed there in the early 1950s [poster] • in 1952 Haley's band laid down a cover of Rock the Joint [listen], an historic 1949 recording by Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians [listen] • each of these recordings has been cited as a candidate for the title of first rock 'n' roll song • Gloucester City thus became one of several U.S. sites that claims the title "Cradle of Rock 'n Roll"
Charles H. Weisgerber died in 1932 • his magnum opus, The Birth of the American Flag lay rolled up & hidden away in a barn loft & later in the back of a South Jersey dye-making workshop • his grandson Stuart (son of Vexil Domus) found it — still rolled up — in his mother's basement • its poor condition precluded exhibition: in the 50s, hanging in the old State Museum at Harrisburg, it had been vandalized, then incurred additional damage from repeated unrolling
• Weisgerber sought a Philadelphia home for the massive work but was unsuccessful • after a $40K restoration in 2002 the painting, it's appraised market value just $50K, returned to the State Museum at Harrisburg
• in 1976 the remains of Betsy Ross & 3rd husband John Claypoole were moved from Mount Moriah cemetery, Yeadon, PA, to the garden on the west side of the Betsy Ross House courtyard
Philadelphia, PA, est. 1682; pop. 1,567,442 (metro 6MM)
• built in 1740 • earliest known photograph is dated 1859 — bldg. was then 119 yrs. old [photo] • Georgian-Colonial trinity aka "bandbox" design • typically, trinity houses had 1 room per floor & were built facing each other in rows of 4 identical bldgs. • in addition to the room on each floor, this house had a walkable attic room & a cellar
• served as both business & residence for shopkeepers & artisans for over 150 yrs. • among the occupants in the 18th c. were a shoemaker, apothecary & an upholsterer named Betsy Ross, who is said to have sewn the first American flag in this building • estimates of when & how long she lived here have her arriving in 1773 at the earliest & departing as late as 1791
• over time the house changed in appearance [photos] as neighborhood houses were razed & replaced w/larger commercial buildings —Where's Betsy
Betsy Ross
• Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom (1752-1836) was a fourth-generation American • daughter of Samuel Griscom (1717-1793) & Rebecca James (c. 1730-1793) • the 8th of their 17 children • great granddaughter of Andrew Griscom (c. 1654-1694), a Quaker carpenter who migrated from England to New Jersey in 1680, 1 yr. before William Penn founded Philadelphia
"She often laughed at the curious fact that she was born on the first day of the week, the first day of the month, the first day of the year, and the first year of the 'new style' [which was] the dividing line between the old way of measuring the years time and the new method under the [Gregorian calendar… She was also] the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter." —C.B. Satterthwaite, great grandson, The Des Moines Register, 07 Jan, 1906
• at age 3 Betsy's family moved to a large home at 4th & Arch Sts. • went to a Friends (Quaker) public school • 8 of her siblings died before adulthood • lost her mother, father & sister, Deborah, to the 1793 yellow fever epidemic
• upon completion of her schooling at age 12, her father apprenticed her to upholsterer John Webster • fell in love with fellow apprentice John Ross (1752-1773), son of an Episcopal asst. rector at Christ Church • defying her parents, in 1773 Betsy, age 21, eloped w/John
• Betsy's sister Sarah & her husband Capt. Wm. Donaldson rowed the couple across the Delaware River, heading 5 miles downstream to Gloucestertown, NJ • they were married at family friend William Hugg Jr.'s tavern & inn, known locally as Hugg's …more: The New Jersey Hugg Line
• because her marriage to a non-Quaker was considered an act of "disorderly and undutiful conduct," Betsy was split from her family & read out of meeting, i.e., disowned by her Quaker community • became a member of Christ Church • the Ross's pew No. 12 [photo] was adjacent to Martha & George Washington's No. 56 & not far from Deborah & Benjamin Franklin's No. 70
• the newlyweds — now trained upholsterers — opened their own business • c. 1773 they rented a house, probably at what is today 239 Arch St. although the exact site is still debated by historians • most records point to this house or one next door at No. 241, long since razed
"The identity of the location was always preserved in the family, which agrees with the records in the old Philadelphia directories… from 1785, the first published, to the removal of Betsy Ross and her husband from 239 Arch Street, in 1791" —Betsy Ross grandson George Canby, New York Times, 05 July, 1908
• Benjamin Franklin & Benjamin Chew were among the Rosses' customers • business slowed during the Revolutionary War as fabric was in short supply • John Ross joined the Pennsylvania militia • mid-Jan., 1776, he was gravely wounded by a powder explosion at a Delaware River ammunition cache, apparently while standing guard • Betsy nursed him in their home, but he died within days
• in June, 1777, Betsy married girlhood suitor Joseph Ashburn, a privateer who commanded the sailing sloop Swallow • the couple had 2 daughters • the 1st, Aucilla ("Zillah"), died in infancy
• British troops entered Philadelphia on 26 Sep., 1777 after their victory at the Battle of Brandywine • the Ashburn home was forcibly shared with British occupation soldiers as the Continental Army suffered through the killing winter at Valley Forge • the British soldiers nicknamed Betsy "Little Rebel" —US History•org
• Betsy was pregnant with Elizabeth ("Eliza") when Joseph accepted a job offer & shipped out as first mate on the 6-gun brigantine, Patty • returned to be present for the Feb., 1781 birth of their 2nd daughter
• Joseph became master of the 18-gun Lion & took her to sea late in the summer of 1781 • on 31 Aug., his ship was captured off the coast of France by a 44-gun British frigate, the HMS Prudente
• prior to March, 1782, the British refused to designate captured rebels as prisoners of war, thus the captives from the Lion were viewed as traitors, charged with high treason & committed to Plymouth, England's Mill Prison [images] • while incarcerated, Ashburn met fellow prisoner John Claypoole, a longtime friend of the Ross family
• Claypoole, a Continental Army vet, had been wounded at Germantown & consequently discharged • in 1781 he signed on to man the 18-gun Pennsylvania privateer Chevalier de la Luzerne & was captured in April • in the spring of 1782 Ashburn died in prison, leaving Betsy a 2-time war widow at age 30 —Betsy Ross and the Making of America
"In the Night of the 3d of March Mr Joseph Ashburn departed this life after an illness of about a week which he bore with amazing fortitude & resignation" —John Claypoole, Mill Prison
"The story goes that Ashburn, while in Mill Prison, often talked with John Claypoole about his wife, Betty*, and at his death sent farewell messages by him to her. Claypoole, on his arrival in Philadelphia, hastened to deliver these messages, and inside of eight months he married her." —John Claypoole's Memorandum-Book *Betsy is referred to as "Betty" in some 18th, 19th & early 20th c. books & media
• in 1782 Claypoole returned to Philadelphia, called on Betsy & married her the following year • gave up his seafaring career to join her at the Arch St. upholstery shop • though renamed "John Claypoole, upholsterer," to customers the shop remained Betsy's place • the couple had 5 daughters: Clarissa, Susanna, Rachel, Jane & Harriet, who died at 9 months • sometime after Susanna's birth in 1786, the Claypooles moved from Arch St. to a larger house on 2nd
• Betsy returned to her Quaker roots, albeit with the Free (Fighting) Quakers, a group exiled from the main Quaker community when their support for the Revolution was ruled a violation of the faith's peace testimony • the couple became members c. 1785 • image: Betsy Claypoole signature taken from the Meeting House roster
• it is widely believed that when the Free Quaker Meeting House shut down in 1834, it was its last attending members — Elizabeth Claypoole & Samuel Wetherill — who closed the doors
• in 1817, after a long illness, John Claypoole died • Betsy never remarried • after retiring, she moved to the home of her daughter, Susanna • she died on 30 Jan, 1836, age 84
The American Flags
"Flags were a rare sight on land in the British North American colonies," —Wooden Teachout, Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism
• American flags were seldom used in parades or displayed by private citizens • colors were flown mainly in battle, over government institutions & on ships, where they were essential to identifying other vessels & determining friend or foe
• this changed after America's 1876 Centennial Exposition, which explains why "flags made prior to the Civil War are extremely rare, and flags made before 1820 are practically nonexistent." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, Stars and Stripes, Early American Life, Aug. 2011
• with the onset of the Revolutionary War, a flag for the "United Colonies" was created without the sanction of the Continental Congress • this 1775 flag was known as the Continental Colors, aka Grand Union, Congress Flag, Cambridge Flag
• on 2 Dec., 1775, the 1st Continental Colors flag was hand sewn by milliner Margaret Manny, who had begun making flags & ensigns the previous year
"Everyone knows about Betsy Ross, why do we know nothing about Margaret Manny? Probably for no better reason than that she had fewer articulate friends and relatives to build a story around her." —historian Barbara Tuchman, The First Salute
• the Continental Colors had 13 alternating red & white stripes with the British Union crosses in the canton • was created to replace the use of individual colony flags • prior to the Declaration of Independence, it was probably the most used unofficial flag of the revolution • American Flag Timeline
• the inclusion of the British Jack in the design signals that this flag was intended not for a civil war of secession, but rather a crusade to secure the American colonists' rights as Englishman • prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Gen. George Washington, still hoping for reconciliation with Mother England, would occasionally toast the King —The Forgotten Flag of the American Revolution and What It Means
• on 3 Dec, 1775, the new flag was raised by 1st Lt. John Paul Jones (1747-1792) on the 30-gun Continental Navy frigate USS Alfred [painting], the 1st national ensign to fly on an American fighting vessel —Naval History Blog
• the flag later flew over the signing of the Declaration of Independence & according to tradition (contested by some scholars), it was raised on a ship's mast atop Charlestown's Prospect Hill [painting] during Washington's 1 Jan., 1776 siege of Boston
• spotting the hybrid British/American flag for the first time, confused British observers took it as a signal of submission: “By this time, I presume, they begin to think it strange that we have not made a formal surrender of our lines,” Washington wrote • his psychological weaponry also included an early form of war propaganda
• absent a single government-mandated flag design, a variety of others were used • within a yr. after Prospect hill, the Continental Colors' Union Jack was replaced by a blue field w/13 white stars in various arrangements, e.g., rows, or possibly a circle?
• on 14 June, 1777, now celebrated as Flag Day, the American Flag was born by resolution of the Continental Congress, the country’s 1st flag law • during the Revolutionary period that followed, the stars on most American flags were arranged in rows of 4-5-4 with the number of points on most stars ranging from 4 to 8 • compared to the Continental Colors, the rows of stars made it easier to identify the flag/ship/nationality at sea —The 13 Stars & Stripes
The Story
• about a year before the Flag Resolution of 1777 Betsy Ross, 5-months a widow & struggling to make a ends meet, is said to have received a visit from a Continental Congress flag committee (apparently a secret one as there are no records of its existence)
• according to the well known Betsy Ross story, in late May of 1776 (but possibly 1777) 3 heroes of the revolution — George Ross, the uncle of Betsy's late husband, financier/slave trader Robert Morris & Betsy's pew neighbor Gen. George Washington [portraits] — called on her to discuss a flag for the new nation
• Rachel Fletcher (Betsy's daughter) recalled that "…she was previously well acquainted with Washington, and that he had often been in her house in friendly visits, as well as on business. That she had embroidered ruffles for his shirt bosoms and cuffs, and that it was partly owing to his friendship for her that she was chosen to make the flag." —Rachel's affidavit
• as told by Betsy, Gen. Washington, then head of the Continental Army, showed her a rough design of a flag with 6-pointed stars • she offered suggestions for modifications & stated a preference for 5-pointed stars • when her visitors expressed concern over the difficulty of producing them, she replied, "Nothing easier," which she then proved by cutting a 5-pointed star in a single snip • video: Make a perfect star with ONE cut! (1:15) • Two Conundrums Concerning the Betsy Ross Five-Pointed Star
• changes approved, Washington redrew the flag w/a pencil • Betsy's friend & collaborator William Barrett, a Cherry St. ornamental painter created a water color copy of the drawing for her to work from • 1-2 other seamstresses sewed alternate designs for the committee, but only Betsy's was approved & used
• what is known today as the "Betsy Ross flag" has 13 red & white stripes & a ring of 13, white 5-pointed stars • though the design may have been in use by 1777, vexillologists believe that between 1777-1795, (the yrs. the official flag had 13 stars) most flags displayed stars in rows, which are easier to produce than a circle
• None of the surviving flags from the 18th century exhibit the Betsy Ross pattern • however a few examples are depicted in the art of the era (although period art is notoriously unreliable for flag research)
• the flag depicted in Chas. Willson Peale's 1779 George Washington at the Battle of Princeton is generally considered credible & "may be the only evidence in a painting… that suggests that a circle-pattern flag may have existed in colonial times… Otherwise, you won't see an American flag with a perfect circle of stars made before the 1890s." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, loc. cit.13 Stars in the Betsy Ross Pattern • historically significant the American flags [images]
• though known as an upholsterer, there is no doubt that Betsy made flags, having sewn pennants & ensigns for the Pennsylvania State Navy Board (as did Margaret Manning & Rebecca Young, whose daughter Mary Pickersgill would go on to sew the enormous flag that inspired the U.S. National Anthem, Francis Scott Key's The Star-Spangled Banner)
• a month before Congress passed the Flag Resolution, Betsy was paid 14 pounds, 12 shillings, 2 pence (~$2,300 in 2017 USD) for what must have been a prodigious quantity of Pennsylvania Navy flags • there is no hard evidence that any of these were American flags • "...today we are reasonably convinced that Betsy’s flag was a naval flag, with a simple ‘in line’ arrangement of the stars…" —John B. Harker, Historian & Betsy Ross descendent
• Betsy (Elizabeth Claypool) was now in the business of producing flags & ensigns for the federal govt. • throughout the Jefferson & Madison admins. the skilled needlewoman made flags as large as 18' x 24' for American military installations, with demand peaking during the War of 1812
• for the rest of her life she — in her words — "never knew what it was to want employment" • her oldest daughter, Clarissa Sidney Wilson (1785-1864) [portrait], succeeded her, supplying arsenals, navy yards & the mercantile marine with flags for years —Betsy Ross•org
"In the last years of her life, Ross was neither more nor less important than other aging women who had lived through the Revolution. That she became famous while others were forgotten exposes the interlocking power of family history, local memory, and national politics." —How Betsy Ross Became Famous by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Historian
The Legend
"…at a time of great historic import such as that time when the Declaration was signed, people have no leisure to think about the minor events which are taking place. Thus, during the revolution no one thought of Betsy Ross as a national heroine, and it was not, in fact until 1870 that William J. Canby (1825-1890) first brought the story of how the first flag was made into general prominence." —Dr. Lloyd Balderston, great-grandson of Betsy Ross, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3 Jul, 1908
• there is no record of the the Betsy Ross story prior to 1870 • that year — 34 years after her death — Betsy's 45 yr. old grandson, a title processor named William Jackson Canby, presented a paper titled The History of the Flag of the United States to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania • the document, accompanied by sworn affidavits, was an oral history passed on by descendants of Betsy Ross, including Canby himself who was 11 yrs. old when she died • …more: The Evolution of the American Flag by (Betsy Ross descendants) George Canby (1829-1907), Lloyd Balderston, Ph.D (1863-1933)
• the story was largely ignored until it was mentioned in historian George Henry Preble's 1872 book Our Flag & appeared in the July, 1873 Harper's Monthly [illustration] • with Civil War wounds slowly healing & the 1876 centennial celebration fast approaching, Betsy Ross & the flag entered American consciousness • in the 1880's her story began to appear in textbooks • by the mid 1890s it was often illustrated by an engraving of The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag, an 1893 painting by Charles H. Weisgerber (1856-1932)
• oral tradition has it that in 1892 Weisgerber, a 36 yr. old aspiring artist, was bent on winning a forthcoming art competition • walking along Arch St., he noticed a plaque at No. 239 which identified the bldg. as the site where Betsy Ross sewed the 1st American flag
• inspired, Weisgerber envisioned a scene of Betsy & the 1st flag set in her shop • to fill in details of the story, characters & setting, he drew on period portraits, the testimony of living descendants & the 22 yr. old Canby paper
• with no authentic image of Betsy in existence (according to her relatives), Weisgerber painted a composite taken from images of 4 of her daughters & a granddaughter who was said to closely resemble her • the resulting portrait was critiqued by relatives who had known her & modified accordingly • Weisgerber then created a massive 9' x 12' painting • portrayed the young Widow Ross, saintly matriarch of a new nation, as she presents the 1st American flag to 3 revered American patriarchs
• "the image was [said] …by Mrs. Ross' grandson, George Canby, to be the only correct likeness of [her]" — he was 7 yrs. old when Betsy Ross died —The Times (Philadelphia) 15 Jun 1893
• the flag depicted in the painting — with no evidence to support the authenticity of its design — has since been known as the "Betsy Ross flag," the standard for celebrating the U.S.A.'s birthday each 4th of July
The Apotheosis
• Weisgerber's painting won the $1,000 prize & in 1893 was showcased in the Pennsylvania Building at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition • seen by millions of visitors • contributed to the nascent reverence for Betsy Ross & the flag as sacred symbols of the emerging, quasi-religious American civil religion • politicians, patriotic societies & public sentiment propelled the flag's transformation into an object of veneration, its role expanding well beyond the customary military & govt. functions
On Flag Day, 1894, the Colonial Dames gathered 500 schoolchildren to honor “the adoption by Congress . . . of the flag made by Betsy Ross from the design submitted to her by Gen. Washington” • by 1895, 10 states had laws requiring public schools to display the flag on all school days — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, loc. cit.
• in 1897 the City of New York bought thousands of lithographs of Weisgerber’s painting for its public schools: “It is thought that the representation which is declared historically correct, together with such lectures as the teachers may deliver, will add much to the pupil’s knowledge and keep alive a proper reverence for the country’s emblem.” —New York Times, 14 Feb, 1897
• in 1885, NYC school principal George T. Balch (1821-1908), a vet. of the Indian & Civil Wars, wrote Salute to the Flag, the U.S.A.'s first pledge of allegiance
"I give my hand and my heart to my country — one nation, one language, one flag."
• the heightened patriotism of the era inspired a movement to organize schoolyard flag raising ceremonies • the American Flag Assn. was founded in 1897 for the "fostering of public sentiment in favor of honoring the flag in our country and preserving it from desecration" • Natl. Flag Day was proclaimed in 1917
• Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), who worked in the premium dept. of The Youth's Companion magazine, wrote a new U.S. Pledge of Allegiance (1892) for his employer • created as part of the magazine's campaign to sell American flags to public schools • goal was a flag in every classroom • 25,000 schools acquired flags the 1st yr. • though priced "at cost," banner sales proved profitable
• Bellamy also choreographed a salute — the "Bellamy Salute" — to accompany the pledge • because of its similarity to the Nazi heil it was replaced by a right-hand-over-heart gesture during World War II • another Youth's Companion employee, James Upham, headed a flag-centric project designed to engage public schools in the commemoration of the U.S.A.'s 1st Columbus Day (Oct. 1892)
The Verdict
• for nearly a century-and-a-half, historians have debated the available evidence in an attempt to prove that Betsy Ross either did or did not produce the 1st American flag: "There’s no good historical evidence that she did. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t. There’s simply a lack of documentation. Most historians believe the story is apocryphal." —Marc Leepson, author of Flag: An American Biography, The Truth About Betsy Ross
• the identity of the woman who sewed America's 1st flag may never be certain, but there is good reason to believe that its designer may have been Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) • the NJ representative to the Continental Congress & signer of the Declaration of Independence is the only person entered into the Congressional record for designing the 1st American flag
• it has been speculated that on 14 June, 1777, it was Hopkinson who replaced the British crosses in the Continental Colors with white stars on a blue field • no original sketch of a Hopkinson flag exists, but surviving rough sketches including his design for the Great Seal of the U.S. incorporate elements of 2 of his flag designs —Wikipedia
On 25 May, 1780, Hopkinson wrote to the Continental Board, requesting "a Quarter Cask of the public Wine" as payment for several itemized "patriotic designs" he had completed, most notably, "the flag of the United States of America" • submitted another bill on 24 June for "drawings and devices," including "the Naval Flag of the United States"
• the Treasury Board rejected his request for payment because he "was not the only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy" & furthermore was not entitled to compensation as he was already on the government payroll —Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags?, Earl P. Williams, Jr.
• Hopkinson is also considered America's 1st poet-composer • written at age 21, his song My Days have been so Wondrous Free (1759) is regarded as the earliest surviving American secular composition [listen] —UPen•edu
Saving Betsy's House
• by 1859, 239 Arch St. was occupied by the family of German immigrant (Carl) Philip Mund (1822-1883), who operated a tailor's shop on the 1st floor • the landlord, after collecting rent for the first year, never returned • over the succeeding rent-free decades, the Munds operated a variety of businesses in their retail space
• after Canby's 1870 speech identified the location of Betsy Ross's house as Arch between 2nd & 3rd, the Munds — occupants of the block's last standing colonial house — posted a sign: "First Flag of the US Made in this House" • in 1876, as visitors poured into the city for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, the Munds ran an ad for their latest 1st floor business: "Original Flag House, Lager, Wine and Liquors. This is the house where the first United States flag was made by Mrs. John Ross." —Historic Philadelphia
• after Philip Mund died his wife Amelia, who objected to running a saloon, converted the space into a cigar store & candy shop which operated until 1892 — her son Charles then devoted the space to a museum/souvenir shop [photo] —The Betsy Ross House Facts, Myths, and Pictures by G.A. Anderson
• c. 1897 citizens led by Charles Weisgerber organized the American Flag Soc. & Betsy Ross Memorial Assn. • goal was to rescue the house from imminent demolition • intended to purchase it from Charles Mund, restore it to its 18th-c. appearance, preserve the memory of Betsy Ross & honor the American flag
• to raise the funds for purchasing the Betsy Ross "American Flag House," the Association devised a rudimentary multi-level marketing strategy • sold lifetime memberships for 10 cents • each member was encouraged to recruit others & form a group of 30; each group founder received a chromolithographograph of Weisgerber's painting • over 2 million monochrome certificates were sold at ten cents each • the colorful chromoliths were available at addl. cost (frame not included) —Enjoying Philadelphia
• the Association leased the house in 1898, purchased it in 1903 • Weisgerber & his family moved in • lived upstairs, kept the museum & a souvenir shop on the 1st floor • in 1902 they named their newborn son Charles Vexil Domus, Latin for "flag house" [photo] • he would later replace his parents as custodian of the house —G.A. Anderson, loc. cit.
• by 1936 the house was on the verge of ruin • in 1937 Philadelphia Mayor Davis Wilson proposed a restoration by WPA workers • this provoked "a storm of protest" from critics
• Pennsylvania Historical Soc. members wrote off the Betsy Ross story as "hokum" and "the bunk" • the protests from scholars & historians sparked an unwinnable faith vs. reason culture war with patriotic organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution & the Patriotic Order Sons of America
• amid the controversy, Philadelphia radio manufacturer & philanthropist A. Atwater Kent (1873-1949) offered to pay up to $25K for the restoration • Historical architect, Richardson Brognard Okie (1875-1945) won the commission
• the design for the restoration was derived from evidence & conjecture • goal was to return the bldg. to its c. 1777 appearance • surviving architectural elements were preserved when possible • materials salvaged from demolished colonial era homes were also used • in 1941, the Association gave the property to the city • the house now stands as one of Philadelphia's most popular tourist attractions
Postscript
• in 1929 Hugg's tavern, where Betsy Griscom defied family & church to marry John Ross, was demolished to make way for the Proprietor's Park swimming pool, which no longer exists • the Revolutionary War-era Hugg-Harrison-Glover House (1764), built on property owned by the Hugg family as early as 1683, was razed in the face of fervent opposition, March, 2017 —Facebook
• 178 yrs. after Betsy's wedding & just 5 blocks from where Hugg's once stood, another American legend was born at the Twin Bar [photo] when Bill Haley (and the Saddlemen) performed there in the early 1950s [poster] • in 1952 Haley's band laid down a cover of Rock the Joint [listen], an historic 1949 recording by Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians [listen] • each of these recordings has been cited as a candidate for the title of first rock 'n' roll song • Gloucester City thus became one of several U.S. sites that claims the title "Cradle of Rock 'n Roll"
Charles H. Weisgerber died in 1932 • his magnum opus, The Birth of the American Flag lay rolled up & hidden away in a barn loft & later in the back of a South Jersey dye-making workshop • his grandson Stuart (son of Vexil Domus) found it — still rolled up — in his mother's basement • its poor condition precluded exhibition: in the 50s, hanging in the old State Museum at Harrisburg, it had been vandalized, then incurred additional damage from repeated unrolling
• Weisgerber sought a Philadelphia home for the massive work but was unsuccessful • after a $40K restoration in 2002 the painting, it's appraised market value just $50K, returned to the State Museum at Harrisburg
• in 1976 the remains of Betsy Ross & 3rd husband John Claypoole were moved from Mount Moriah cemetery, Yeadon, PA, to the garden on the west side of the Betsy Ross House courtyard
The word "Gravity" is a symbol of reality that exists. Similarly E=mc2 is a combination of symbols trying to express some reality. In similar fashion my depiction of flashes (kashf) should be conceived that they are equations in language that nature uses. If “E” stand for “energy” and “=” stand for “equal to” and “m” for “mass” and so on, than in my flashes some wood or earth texture juxtaposed with some toy or any object could be some explanation of some phenomena in language that nature is accustomed to. Perhaps fate had dropped flashes in my lap and I am depicting these flashes for world to know how to derive knowledge out of these flashes. May be from Archetypal plane I am receiving flashes and transforming these into phenomenal plane, but for more perfect transformation, sponsorship is required, like flashes roughly depicted demands super realistic treatment or animations at some points, or arrangements in 3- Dimension or performing activities or etc. at some other points, because each of my work either illustrated or arranged for photo is a part of animation and is just a one shot from one angle of bigger reality, therefore I am not a sur-realist.
For deriving knowledge from my flashes their access to wider researchers in form of website, book, Museum, CD, video, etc. are required. And due to unavailability of resources, most of the paintings were sold before I could photographed these works which basically are like the fossils of the time and region and are done with hope that in future in order to get some data out of these works, the dimensions of anthropology, psychology, historiography, neurology, neuro-physics and other aspects will also be taken into account and the result may benefit in understanding some aspect of the complex Nature. The importance of flashes can be realized from the ripple effect observable in art and multi-media community that somehow came in contact with the work and hijacked ideology out of these flashes, such benefits, scientific community has not taken yet. From art point of view the art community produced high quality variations out of flashes but their work lack archetypal dimension, which is one of the aspect, useful for scientific community to explore. For cataloguing purpose somewhere title or art terminology like: "oil on canvas", "collage", "performance", "installations", "construction", etc. are used has nothing to do with meaning of the work, flashes are independent of these terminologies borrowed from art for cataloguing purpose only, flashes are beyond art. Flashes can include any ism, any element, bizarre thing, anything or things we don't know, that's why thousands of my flashes goes waste due to lack of energy and resources. Besides colorful images, performance and animation, Flashes also comes in form of sound as well, for instance I heard the sound: "Quranic archaeology is a mighty subject," this flash took me into the archaeology. For detail see at: quranicarchaeology.blogspot.com/ Please see my few recorded Flashes on address: www.flickr.com/photos/art-science-works/
Here I just want to share my personal recent refinement on my own analysis (with which you are free to agree or not), that perhaps I should confine myself to Flashes (or call it images) which stay in my eyes just for less than a half second, perhaps for 0.01 second and I simply illustrate these Flashes and what it holds for future Fine Art, Science or Spirituality, I do not know yet. So I isolate myself from dada and sur-realism because I avoid title and avoid mixing my imagination or experimentation in recording of Flashes which is very rare or unrecorded. IN DADA AND SUR-REALISM WE DO READ ABOUT DREAMS AND DRUG INFUSED RANDOM THOUGHTS, BUT NOT FLASHES, SO FAR NO WORD ABOUT FLASHES I FIND EVEN IN FREUD OR JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY, THEY TALK ABOUT DREAM IMPORTANCE. And in Christian art history SO FAR I've only observed mixing of dream and inspiration from Bible. No body so far I have read in dada and sur-realism that somebody is claiming that he is depicting Flashes or depicting flashes without mixing his imagination or experimentation. But after seeing the difference between Flashes and work based on MIXING of imagination or experimentation, now I can pin point the Flash, mixed or unmixed*, so please never mix me with William Blake, Sohail Tassaduq, De Chirico, Carra, Magrette, because I am not competing in sur-realism, art aesthetic, or in painterly compositions, I have no experience of spirituality, so I request please do not also confuse me with any oriental mystic artists. MY WORK FROM (1974-81) OF INSTALLATIONS, PERFORMANCES BASED ON FLASHES IS STILL UNPUBLISHED, so new writers do not know about it. IN PAKISTANI ART ALSO SO FAR, NO ARTIST HAS EVER CLAIMED FLASHES mixed or un-mixed. For future science world, un-mixed FLASHES will be more important. If you come up with something related to SCIENCE OF FLASHES, please refer it. * NOTE: After seeing the difference between two, that is: (1)Pure Flashes and (2) some of my work based on MIXING of imagination or experimentation with Flashes, now I can pin point the Flash, mixed or unmixed. My unmixed are pure Flashes and to my mixed work(that is no:2) you can call it sur-realistic which I did for commercial reason on client's demand who was mad of sur-realism, I wish I could destroy these sur-realistic works.
Researchers are invited to reply on enigma of colorful flashes. From where they come? they come to all or to few,? Few interesting pieces of writing below could be the starting point for debate: One is by David V. Tansley in his book: 'Subtle body' , author writes,..."the pineal gland has been found to contain vestigial traces of optic tissue. Experiments have shown that nerve impulses arise in the pineal in response to stimulation by light. Galen claimed that the pineal was a regulator of thought, and the Greeks said that the soul was anchored there. According to esoteric tradition this gland is the focal point for the masculine positive energy of spirit which is represented by the first hexagram of l-Ching, its six yang lines symbolizing the primal power of heaven and the creative action of the holy man".
And another relevant thing here is about physicist Mitchell Feigenbaum (reported in the New York Times, 1984), that when inspiration came to Feigenbaum, it was in the form of a picture, a mental image of two small wavy forms and one big one. This gave him an idea about scaling, the way the small features of a thing relate to the large features, it gave him the path he needed. For period doubling, scaling showed not only when one value-a total population or a fluid speed-would break into two, but also just where the new values would be found, Scaling was an intimate feature of the peculiar world Feigenbaum was beginning to explore. Arthur I. Miller in a discussion of "redefining visualizability" makes it clear...the experimental evidence prevents us from forming a mental image bridging the wave-particle duality, such an image is available by 'Anschaulichheit' (German term for intuition, plus more) of another kind. It is the kind of image the physicist Werner Heisenberg had in mind when he asserted that, although the causality of classical mechanics has no access to quantum theory, quantum mechanics should not be considered unanschaulich, that is, excluded from imagery (Miller, Imagery in Scientific Thought). One example of such image is Albert Einstein's famous thought experiment in which he demonstrated the equivalence of inertia and gravitation by imagining an observer pulled through empty space in a closed container. Such images, however, lead by degrees of abstraction to others limited to spatial diagrams of a theoretical situation. Sigmund Freud, for example, writes, "We assume that the psychic life has the function of an apparatus, to which we attribute spatial extension and which we imagine as being composed of several pieces, similar to a telescope or microscope" Although such an image provides complementarity with a concrete percept of its models, it would not seem to provide it with a representable reality. But some physicists disagree that Niels Bohr never apply his notion of complementarity to subject other than physics. But for some physicists the contrary is true. From Rudolf Arnheim's essay: Complementarity from the outside. May be or may not be these above references are relevant here for flashes I do not know, but for scientific analysis it is important to state briefly here the background of how I realized the importance of these flashes, but for scientific cause I have to write what I should not. I hope my friends will forgive me for this cause, because for good Gestalt one should have all the possible details in mind, it is beyond humans to perceive Perfect Gestalt, only Allah knows everything.
In between, some works in form of small photo with ink or other media are what I called these: Today’s Miniature Works, it’s personal feeling that any other like me can also claim we never know what time can prove but thing should be recorded, this is what I am doing here. One of the experiments was a debate on miniature art, I told many, it should be saturated with current and regional issues or concepts, which I painted with brush and camera, etc. and called it Today’s Miniature Art, long before it became a trend. Indeed now it is much refined by our younger generation of artists, I hope they remember my small contribution untold to them. such miniatures along with other experiments of early 70’s I had shown to Bashir Mirza, Ali Imam, Ahmed Pervez, Jamil Naqsh, Imran Mir, Iqbal Jaffery, Naseem Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Ali Bhatti, Dr. Sajid Khan, Iqbal Durrani, Mohsin Zaidi and other artists and art collectors. But BM and Imam refused to exhibit these experiments (flashes) on ground that these experiments will become important in future, first I should make my name famous with super realistic sort of works, which they were selling easily, so I had to exhibit these experiments (flashes) at PACC, Karachi, Jan 8, 1979, about which Daily News reported: "Artist Bashir.Mirza inaugurated an exhibition of paintings by Saleem Mansoor, a 19-year old student at the PACC yesterday. Saleem has .a distinct talent in Art. He has painted old colonial houses in a remarkably sound representational style, he has to stick to this style in order to develop his aesthetic sense instead of delving into different styles".Daily News, Jan 9, 1979 This above small press coverage is evidence of my habit of delving into different styles and evidence of how brutally my Pakistani- avant gaurd works (that I did between 1974-1978 which were displayed in this 1979 exhibition) were brutally ignored by media. I invited Dr. Akbar Naqvi the only art critic I knew at that time, but he did not came, perhaps due to reason of event of Dec. 1974, when Ali Imam told me that Dr. Akbar is offering four hundred for your painting of nine hundred rupee, but I refused, after that I was never introduced to any art critic, nor Dr, Akbar wrote a word on me and not even in his book and other art historian also not included me in their books, and no comment I see in the catalogue of 2007- National exhibition, but can history ignore the influence of my Flashes recorded in an unmistakable solid resources other than these local sources ? If conceptualy analysed what Fine Art is all about ? than even two or three flashes from my 70's or early 80's (which Dr. Naqvi has seen) will have more wheight than works represented in local art books. This is not proudness on myself this is an admiration of gift from nature that I got in form of Flashes, although my depiction of Flashes is bad, because I have no proffessional art training nor I am better artist than many artists represented in local art books, on this ground Dr. Akbar Naqvi, S. Amjad Ali, Ejazul Hassan, Salwat Ali are right in not including me in their books. But I depict or record Flashes with realization that they are more important than Mona Lisa, E=mc2 or Taj Mahal. When I put all these before Marjorie she replied my email with these highly rewarding words: " What you have to say is extremely important, but you have always been way ahead of your time and environment. Mansoor, it is very hard to be a pioneer, but you are in the best of company in art history. Do not despair"---Marjorie Hussain, 5. 19. 2008, 9.03.am. Marjorie perhaps discovered me in 1983 through BM and Imam as her this recording shows:
"Saleem Mansur is an extremely interesting artist: "an artist's artist' as Ali Imam used to say. Bashir Mirza who juried Mansur's thesis work at the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts in 1983, was also numbered among the artist's admirers and on that occasion was greatly excited by the audacious innovations of the young "avant-garde' artist. Mansur was even then into installations, happenings and conceptual art, ....... In spite of the success in terms of the work, Mansur returned totally to the conceptual language that few understood. Those who did, considered him the most innovative and promising artist of his generation." ---Marjorie Hussain, Art Views, page.146. Published by fomma. And according to founder of fomma: Imran Mir (who knew me scince 1975) use to say... "because of his "Garage Series" Mansur was an artist before admission at CIAC" . To some extent he is right, since then I am like a scientist trying to record or understand the phenomenae of Flashes which immenssly influenced even the senior artists and since than I am enjoying the ripple effects of my Flashes that I exhibited between 1974-80, because of these years' work, Imam and BM passed highly praised words to Marjorie in my 1983 show at Pakistan Arts Council, Karachi, which Dr. Akbar Naqvi also saw (in 1984 display at the same place), but avoided to write and said I will see your next show. despite all these I still like him and all other art critics because of their love with fine art.
In late 70's some art students from KSA and CIAC came to my house and told me they have taken address from the back of my canvas at BM and Indus Galleries and developed a friendship and insisted me to take admission in their art school, I told them I am refusing my father who has managed my addmission in NCA on ground that I can not work on others' assignment, but among them Mohsin Zaidi gave me inside story and assurrance that at CIAC I will have full freedom to do my own experiments, I decided to register at CIAC in 1981 where for new audience I repeated most of my earlier works for photo and film recording the facility of which I found among new friends and all these recording I took NCA (1981) to show it there as well to check the ripple effect of my Flashes and later I exhibited at NAG, Islamabad, Al-Hamra, Lahore (1984) about which Yasin Muhammad, Salima Hashmi, Ghulam Nabi and others wrote good comments. For press coverage Click Here
It was not important for me to call my small size works as "todays miniature art", because these recording of flashes are blue print for performmance, installations, 3D animation, etc., and these are blue print for science as well as specialist of quantum physics Thomas Young says, if we isolate light particle from other particle than its duplicate takes its place and that duplicate comes from other universe or from else we do not know yet but it certainly shows we all have our duplicates including universe within universe. Beyond particle there is particle-Less field in atom to which Euorpean physicst call God-particle, this field if it is realy particle-Less perhaps is a curtain between the world and the other worlds of spirits, jins, angels, etc. visible after death only and not through telescope, space ship, microscope, etc. so flashes could be the LINK with the other worlds we have yet to understand. It looks to me all the flashes came to me in one night of 1973 or 1974 and scince then I am trying to somehow to capture them in notes or in illustration and in this effort flashes do come back one by one but still my energy and skill is not sufficient to record all those moving and still flashes, I hired one video recorder in 1981 through Sadiq of CIAC to record such Flashes but budget did not allowed to refine it or to produce more. What ever Flashes I recorded between 1974-1982 is my work that has immense ripple effects without any economical reward.
A year before Metric and much before Diploma in fine art, my art works (flashes) since 1974 were on display at Atelier BM and at Indus gallery, and since then I am observing the ripple effect of those works. After solo show of my works at Pakistan American Cultural Center, January 1979, I went to CIAC, Karachi Arts Council, to check effects of my art and science works among artists. Before flashes since 1973 I was only doing super realistic sort of paintings of surrounding and of interior Sindh culture and capturing the local environment to come up with something: Pakistani avant-garde which I displayed at PACC solo show in Jan. 1979. But was ignored by media, only small press coverage came with a suggestion: "Mansoor has to stick to his remarkably sound realistic style instead of delving into many styles". (Art show, Daily News, Jan. 9, 1979). But anyhow I was realizing the importance of my flashes which were inspiring the most intelligent and talented of artist community for example: Ghalib Baqar changed his Dali sort of Sur realism into experimental water color, other water colorists like Abdul Hayee, Ather Jamal, Zahin Ahmad, Hanif Shezad, etc. added Karachi and interior Sindh imagery into their work.
One of world's best super realist artist Shakil Siddiquei changed his Rembrandt sort of style into super realistic abstraction, for instance his paintings of Book shelf, Notice board, door, windows, composition with Dawn news paper, Sindhi dari, fruit packing wooden peyti, Chilmun and etc., in subject matter, were directly inspired by my flashes in form of photos or artworks I shared with him. Art critic Dr. S. Amjad Ali in his article: "Growing trend towards realism", wrote;..."Saleem Mansoor was the first to begin this kind of realism in Karachi but he was well advised to give up after creating a few interesting pieces. It is a good way of gaining command over technique and then putting it to other use in which more thought and feeling comes into play." (Dawn, April 20, 1984). Ejazul Hassan wrote in Page 17, 123 in the catalogue of 5th National Exhibition, 1985, Published by Idara Saqafat Pakistan, written by Ejazul Husan. "Young Mansoor Saleem has his own unusual way with objects and space. He sometimes likes to call his work as "installation" in the environment around him. He always wants to place things where he thinks these should be placed. The coiled wire, with a crescent on top, placed on a gray composition is evidence of his restless imagination. The title "Pakistani Avnet Garde" also shows his wit." (—page 123, Ejazul Husan) "The young painter Saleem Mansoor....investigates new methods and techniques not only meant to widen the scope and definition of realism but also to discover fresh methods to stimulate the viewers' response. His 'painting' titled The Pakistani Avant-garde' is wittily fabricated with tan-gue-in-cheek humor making an apt comment on elitist attitudes and trends in modern art."—(page: 17, from the introduction of 5th National Exhibition by Ejazul Hasan).
Most helping and highly creative artist and multi media man Imran Mir in 1975 appreciated my work in high remarks when he was discussing with Bashir Mirza at Atelier BM. BM was telling him that before going to Canada what Imran observed in art scene was still the same when he returned after many years, that Ahmed Pervaiz is repeating Allen Davy, and Shakir Ali, Mansur Rahi and their students were repeating Picasso and Braque's cubism in Indian or Bengali styles and Jamil Naqsh, Lubna Agha, Mansur Aye, Mashkoor, and others are repeating the same compositions, Rabia Zuberi and Shahid Sajjad repeating Henry Moor and so on. Imran pointing towards my work replied: "he is the change"! and BM acknowledged it. Imran like Zahoor ul Akhlaque also absorbed important elements from my flashes but both only absorbed postmodern art-elements from my flashes (but they absorbed postmodern element from other sources also like we see in work of Herbert Bayer, Jennifer Bartlett, Ross Blacker, Sean Scully and etc), which not much is my concerned. During my slide show at NCA in 1981, Zahoor and his wife asked me about my future plan, they were surprised to hear that I will soon be joining Archaeology Department in some university because from inside I am an anthropologist also. All my work is not only a statement in anthropology, but is also a statement in neurology, physics, and other sciences. Imran sincerely wanted to bring post modern trends in the region, perhaps for variety he introduced me to many artists, for instance, one day Imran came to me and carried my work's photos in his car and took me to David Alesworth's house and showed my work to him and his wife Durriya and Imran told them to do something like that and after one month of that, Imran's wife Nighat, told me; "Mansoor! You know Durriya is taking your sort of Truck art from Karachi to Peshawar". Nighat was saying that because she much before this event has written an article in press on my 1977 Truck art collection and Sara Irshad has written on my 1981 work: "Taking art show on donkey cart to the folk". Durriya and David not only took the advantage of my flashes but others also followed similar ideology, for instance Ruby Chisti, Masooma Syed, Naiza Khan, Adeela Khan, Rashid Rana, Noorjehn Bilgramy, Huma Mulji, Farida Batool, Ali Raza, Sophie Ernst, Faiza But, M. Ali Talpur, Imran Qureshi, Ameen Gulgee, Jamal Shah, Nazish Ataullah, Aaisha Khalid, Risham Syed and many others who spread the ideology to Melbourne, Dubai, London, New York, etc.
Before their first thesis, IVSAA'S principal invited me for slide show of my work, but to my surprise only the faculty staff was invited and not the students. After a month or so one of the faculty member Kamran Hamid told me, "Mansoor go and see student's thesis at IVSAA where teachers has influenced students to do work which is similar to your ideology"." Now it is a tradition there. Even their very architecture is based on the ideology of some of my old flashes and on article published in press. Despite their ignorance I still like IVSAA for their spirit to move forward.
Against me, I even find wrong propaganda by hijackers of my work. And rather through lobby in media they even sensor or edit my interviews according to their need of representing me with those works which they have not preferred to hijack from my flashes. In Shisha, Shanakht, Carce, IVSAA, Fomma, VASL and VSDKU works I have observed direct influence of ideologies, imageries derived out of my flashes. For assessment of the influence, historiographical approach is required. For commercial reason, they can ignore me too but future history will not. Local art magazine and art book writers were chased to ignore me If media is free or they have no lobby system, than why merit is ignored in my case, why Dawn's Gallery, The News, Jung, avoid covering my art shows. I also held slide show of the work at NCA in 1981, where Zahoor-ul-Akhlaque, his wife and his students saw the show. Salima Hashmi wrote an article on my exhibition at Alhambra gallery Lahore, in March, 1984. The effort bore its fruit, through historiography one can trace after 1981, the change in NCA and change in Zahoor, Ejazul Hasan, Salima Hashmi, Shahid Sajjad, Mehar Afroze, etc., and change in their younger generation of students. They and other agents and technology (since 1974 perhaps) spread the influence of my flashes abroad as well, for instance on Beverly Pepper, Nicole Eisenman, Anish Kapoor, Mohsin Zaidi, Susanne Kessler and etc. Etc. All the names mentioned above have the right to disagree with me, these are just friendly assumptions for researchers to look at such debate too to guess what the flashes are? I too was inspired by many but after receiving Flashes from nature, I painted these with realization that they are more important than Mona Lisa, E=mc2 or Taj Mahal. I have no solo shows in prestigious gallery abroad I have no big post, scholarship or any sponsorship or awards, etc. But what Nature has given me in form of Flashes is more important that they are prototype for all time to come, back to the future or forward into the past. All artists are free to make anything they wish or according to market Forces but I have to make (for science) what I receive in form of flashes. Historiographicaly speaking Flashes' influence is more than what the work of Shakir Ali, Sadequein, Gulgee, M.F. Hussain and etc. had. But no comment I see in the catalogue of 2007- National exhibition, even the Karachiets have ignored me too, but not artchowk.com, I admire the support I am getting from people behind artchowk. I need Du'a to continue the mission, if possible Inshallah. ......MS
FROM DUBAI BASED ART GALLERY YOU CAN ACQUIRE MY FLASHES FROM: www.artchowk.com/Views/gallery/exhibition
Four Interlocking Irregular Ditrigonal Triangularly Distorted Hexgrammically Paraugmented Hexagonal Prisms 72 units In my hand.
I originally sketched out a series of cyclically symmetric hybrid self-interlocking prism/star prism compounds years ago, and recently decided to wander off from my main projects for a few days in order to pursue the simplest of these ideas. Essentially, what this resulted in is “Gasherbrum” + “4 Interlocking Triangles #2” + “4 Interlocking Hexagons” all connected together with the edges of a hexagonal prism. Of course, octahedral, icosahedral, and dodecahedral versions should be possible as well, which I may get around to at some point in the future. Describing these shapes geometrically is a bit awkward: “ditrigonal” refers to the fact that the edges of the hexagonal prism are grouped into 2 sets of 3 edges, “triangularly distorted refers to the fact that 3 of the 6 edges are lower and wider (or higher and thinner, depending on how you want to look at it) than the other 3, and “hexagrammically paraugemented” refers to the fact that one side of each prism is a hexagonal face while the other is a hexagram (or would be, if it were not distorted). The prefix “para” thus refers to “along the side of” which is one face of each prism. Apologies if that does not seem very clear- as anyone can see, this is not that complicated an idea, it is just difficult to describe geometrically.
Designed by me. (5 different paper proportions)
Folded out of copy paper.
David Levy Chinese Checkerboard
Silverfork Cabin, UT, 2001
My only extracurricular activity in high school — other than the newspaper and ‘B’ team tennis — was the Chinese Checkers Club. We went to old folks' homes and played board games and lost because old folks cheat surprisingly often.
Chinese checkers is misnamed. It isn’t really from China, and its not really much like checkers, but it is one of the more entertaining board games, especially with six players in the action.
The game is most often played with marbles on cheap tin or plastic, but that setup is simply too volatile: one errant elbow or frustrated slam on the table and the game is over. No, in my family (who is very serious about the game) wooden pegs are the only way to go. And when its not in use, a quality board with multicolored pieces makes for lovely decor — the perfect showpiece for your mid-century modern wall unit or credenza. I’ve logged hundreds of games on the David Levy board pictured above. Levy is known for his beautiful handcrafted furniture striped with various hardwoods. His game boards and cutting boards are most marvelous.
More on The Mid-Century Modernist.
Nourishing on spiritual levels, particularly for those feeling restless and dissatisfied, or those with addictive tendencies. Helps in finding positive outlets, including artistic for energy and expression. Brings balance for meditation.
Bach believed that illness was the result of a conflict between the purposes of the soul and the personality's actions and outlook. This internal war, according to Bach, leads to negative moods and to "energy blocking", thought to cause a lack of "harmony", thus leading to physical diseases. Bach derived his solutions intuitively[ and based on his perceived psychic connections to the plants, rather than using research based on scientific methods. If Bach felt a negative emotion, he would hold his hand over different plants, and if one alleviated the emotion, he would ascribe the power to heal that emotional problem to that plant. He imagined that early-morning sunlight passing through dew-drops on flower petals transferred the healing power of the flower onto the water,[15] so he would collect the dew drops from the plants and preserve the dew with an equal amount of brandy to produce a mother tincture which would be further diluted before use.[16] Later, he found that the amount of dew he could collect was not sufficient, so he would suspend flowers in spring water and allow the sun's rays to pass through them.[15] If this was impractical because of lack of sunlight or other reasons, he wrote that the flowers may be boiled. The result of this process Bach termed the "mother tincture", which is then further diluted before sale or use. Bach was satisfied with the method, because of its simplicity, and because it involved a process of combination of the four elements: The earth to nurture the plant, the air from which it feeds, the sun or fire to enable it to impart its power, and water to collect and be enriched with its beneficent magnetic healing.
By the time of his death in 1936 at 50 years of age, Bach had created a system of 38 different flower remedies along with their corresponding theories of ailments.
Bach flower remedies (BFRs) are solutions of brandy and water—the water containing extreme dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English homeopath, in the 1930s. Bach claimed that the dew found on flower petals retains the supposed healing properties of that plant.[1] Systematic reviews of clinical trials of Bach flower solutions have found no efficacy beyond that of a placebo.
The Bach flower remedy solutions, which contain a 50:50 mix of water and brandy, are called mother tincture.[4] Stock remedies—the solutions sold in shops—are dilutions of mother tincture into other liquid. Most often the liquid used is alcohol, so that the alcohol level by volume in most stock Bach remedies is between 25 and 40%[5][better source needed] (50 to 80 proof). The solutions do not have a characteristic scent or taste of the plant because of dilution. The dilution process results in the statistical likelihood that little more than a single molecule may remain; it is claimed that the remedies contain "energetic" or "vibrational" nature of the flower and that this can be transmitted to the user.[2] The solutions are described by some as vibrational medicines,[6][better source needed] which implies they rely on the pseudoscientific concept of water memory. They are often labeled as homeopathic because they are extremely diluted in water, but are not homeopathy as they do not follow other homeopathic ideas such as the law of similars.
The hypothesis that flower remedies are associated with effects beyond a placebo response is not supported by data from rigorous clinical trials.
All randomized double-blind studies, whether finding for or against the solutions, have suffered from small cohort sizes but the studies using the best methods found no effect over placebo.[3][2] The most likely means of action for flower remedies is as placebos, enhanced by introspection on the patient's emotional state, or simply being listened to by the practitioner. The act of selecting and taking a remedy may act as a calming ritual.
Most of the available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of BFRs has a high risk of bias. We conclude that, based on the reported adverse events in these six trials, BFRs are probably safe. Few controlled prospective trials of BFRs for psychological problems and pain exist. Our analysis of the four controlled trials of BFRs for examination anxiety and ADHD indicates that there is no evidence of benefit compared with a placebo intervention.
Bach flower remedies are an alternative or complementary treatment that is used for emotional problems and pain. They're made out of watered-down extracts from the flowers of wild plants. Edward Bach, a medical doctor and homeopath, created these remedies in the early 1900s.
The center of a Tulip bud is known for being almost perfectly symmetrical. It has a geometric pattern of a hexagram. This is the symbol of the human position between the cosmos and the Earth. Tulip brings balance like the inward and outward expressions, like the tides of water being pulled by the Moon. Tulip helps us to see deeper and find balance within the shadow. Ruled by the Moon Tulip empowers us to make our own decisions through self-value and personal knowledge confidently. Planetary characteristics: Venus
Latin Name: Tulipa X gensneriana
Seven of Hearts: The Chariot & Tulip
From The Flower Attunement Guidebook-
The Tulip brings the feeling that spring has arrived in the northern hemisphere. Its assortment of beautiful chalice-like petals reaches high to the heavens but holds various sacred geometric patterns inside. In this flower essence from the Tulip, we look inside to see the patterns of the hexagrams; this is a symbol of the human position between the cosmos and the Earth, the inward and outward expression in nature like the tides of the water being pulled by the cycles of the Moon. This acknowledgment brings us psychic awareness into a fully embodied Venus quality of personal growth and self-value and worth. Tulip brings balance and stability in the search for personal growth and enlightenment. Tulip flower essence helps us to embody wisdom from the stars giving us insight and keeping us connected to Mother Earth.
Flower essence tinctures work by modifying energy flow through the typical acupuncture meridians. Shifts in these energetic patterns influence the consciousness in helpful ways, both emotionally and physically. These homeopathic remedies can be described as “vibrational” or energy medicine. Flowers themselves contain the highest concentration of life force energy of the plant. Through the sun infusion method, we can harness the flower's healing vibrational pattern and energy. This is imprinted in the water and then preserved as medicine. Preserved with brandy but can be replaced with glycerin upon request.
A Tulip's flower essence is only the plant's vibration, and no plant material is used in the harvesting process.
This can be used as a tincture ingested neat or added to water, tea, or whatever you feel. I recommend one drop in water three times a day. All of the essences can also be added to a bath.
1/2oz 15ml
Made intentionally by hand in Portland, OR
***Disclaimer
results vary and are not 100% guaranteed.
The blends are not intended to replace any medical or mental treatments by a qualified health physician. This information is for educational purposes.
primroseapothecary.com/flower-essences/tulipfloweressence
Flower remedies are sometimes promoted as being capable of boosting the immune system, but "there is no scientific evidence to prove that flower remedies can control, cure or prevent any type of disease, including cancer". Each solution is used alone or in conjunction with other solutions, and each flower is said by advocates to impart specific qualities. Remedies are usually taken orally.
The solutions may be recommended by a naturopath or by a trained Bach flower practitioner after an interview.
The best known solution product is the Rescue Remedy combination, which contains an equal amount each of rock rose, impatiens, clematis, star of Bethlehem and cherry plum remedies. Rescue Remedy is a trademark and other companies produce the same formula under other names, such as Five Flower Remedy.[10] Rescue Cream contains the same remedies in a cream form, with the addition of crab apple.
Notch Hexagram 6 units
This is another edge unit technology I have been experimenting with over the last few weeks. Each triangle is only three units, which notch around each other, but because there is no slack in the units (the notch's "cut" through exactly 50% of the unit) the frames are a bit tight and twisted. I plan on incorporating a better version into a larger project soon.
Designed by me.
Folded out of kami paper.
#case 12: // detect pi'ing in initial
.. if (lastPi'ing)
.. {
.... calculatingUpdated
.. }
.. else // lastTai'ing
.. {
.... calculatingUpdated
.... if (Pi) changeTo13StopingStopped4NewCYCLE;
.. }
.. break
..
.
#case 11: // detect tai'ing in initial
..
.. calculatingUpdated
.. if (Pi) changTo12;
..
.. break
..
.
/*
.
..
.. 初去而返，見走止於寜
.. 先迎後背，去而復返，再離止於野
..
.
*/
- - 07/11/2015 Photo
- - 17/11/2015
《*》 又逢雨季，雷电交加，浓云滚滚 …..
#Hexagram 11 is named 泰 (tài) = (合)
"Pervading". Other variations include "peace" and "greatness".
Its inner trigram is ☰ (乾 qián) force = (天) heaven, and its outer trigram is ☷ (坤 kūn) field = (地) earth.
#Hexagram 12 is named 否 (pǐ) = (分)
"Obstruction". Other variations include "standstill (stagnation)" and "selfish persons".
Its inner trigram is ☷ (坤 kūn) field = (地) earth, and its outer trigram is ☰ (乾 qián) force = (天) heaven.
《__..
---- hide line ----
..__》
#《卷38》王莽下，天鳳二年（乙亥，公元一五年）
.
.. 春，二月，大赦天下，
.. 民訛言，黃龍墮死黃山宮中，
.. 百姓奔走，往觀者有萬數
.. 莽惡之，捕系，問語所從起，不能得
..
.
- - 15/11/2015
Budapest, inner city
Grünzweil House, built in 1854-55 for Grünzweil Norbert
Romantic Gothic Revival style
Architect and constructor: Brein Ferenc
Today it's a hotel.
Decoration above the windows: head(s) of Haydn and Händel as mascarons
In the past a synagogue was in the courtyard.
About Grünzweil: he was the financial partner of Gyula Rózsavölgyi. The Rózsavölgyi & Co. Firm, which has a special role in the Hungarian music scene, was founded in 1852.
Shortly after the foundation, the music shop became the very centre of the Hungarian music scene. It wasn't only a music shop anymore, but also a book and music publisher, an organiser of concerts, a manager of music bands. It was originally a meeting place of regular guests like Ferenc Liszt, Richard Wagner and many other well-known Hungarian and foreign composers and musicians.
The shop and music salon still works in the inner city.: www.flickr.com/photos/37578663@N02/14823470631/in/photoli...
Grünzweil-ház
Épült 1854-55-ben, romantikus stílusban
Építtető: Grünzweil Norbert
Tervező és kivitelező: Brein Ferenc
A ház udvarán valaha zsinagóga állt.
A ház különleges dísze az ablakok felett: Haydnt és Händelt ábrázoló fejek.
Grünzweilről: Rózsavölgyi Gyula tőkéstársa volt. 1852-ben alapították a Rózsavölgyi és Társa céget, amely rövid időn belül kiemelkedő fontosságúvá vált a magyarországi zenei életben. Rózsavölgyiék nemcsak kereskedelemmel, hanem zenemű- és könyvkiadással, hangversenyek szervezésével, zenei együttesek menedzselésével is foglalkoztak. Üzletük találkozóhelye volt neves magyar és külföldi zenészeknek, többször járt itt Liszt Ferenc és Wagner is, és egy idő után csak úgy emlegették a boltot, mint a „Rózsavölgyi Kaszinót”.
Az épület a szomszédos házzal együtt ma hotelként működik.