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Participants enjoy some relaxing yoga with instructor Anna at the Dowd YMCA's Taylor Swift: Reputation Party.
The 'Reputation Complex' is a moving combination of various factors, components and drivers that are linked in a close and complicated way. This combination brings with it, for all organizations, equal risks and opportunities – the first to be managed and the second to be exploited in the right manner.
MSLGROUP's Chief Strategy Officer Pascal Beucler shares his thoughts on the fast transformation of reputation management and what it means for our clients and for us.
The 'Reputation Complex' is a moving combination of various factors, components and drivers that are linked in a close and complicated way. This combination brings with it, for all organizations, equal risks and opportunities – the first to be managed and the second to be exploited in the right manner.
MSLGROUP's Chief Strategy Officer Pascal Beucler shares his thoughts on the fast transformation of reputation management and what it means for our clients and for us.
1-12-13 Wyndham Street Races
Laverda (Moto Laverda S.A.S. – Dottore Francesco Laverda e fratelli) was an Italian manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The motorcycles in their day gained a reputation for being robust and innovative.
The Laverda brand was absorbed by Piaggio when, in 2004, Piaggio absorbed Aprilia. Piaggio has elected to quietly close all activities related to the Laverda brand and has publicly stated that they would be willing to sell the rights to the brand if an investor should appear. Currently Laverda.com redirects to Aprilia's website.
750:
The true birth of Laverda as a serious big bike brand occurred with the introduction of 750 cc; its appearance halted sales of the recently introduced 650. Many of the first bikes were produced for the American market under the brand "American Eagle", which were imported to the US from 1968 until 1969 by Jack McCormack. The 750 was identical to the 650 except for the lower compression and carburettor rejetting. In 1969 the "750 S" and the "750 GT" were born, both equipped with an engine which would truly start the Laverda fame. Both engine and frame were reworked: power was increased to 60 bhp (45 kW) for the S. 3 bikes were entered by the factory at the 1969 Dutch 24 hour endurance race in Oss, the 750S was clearly the fastest bike until piston failure left just one machine to finish fourth.
Just like the agricultural machinery made by Laverda S.p.A., the other family business, Laverdas were built to be indestructible. The parallel twin cylinder engine featured no less than five main bearings (four crankcase bearings and a needle-roller outrigger bearing in the primary chaincase cover), a duplex cam chain, and a starter motor easily twice as powerful as needed. Of course, this made the engine and subsequently the entire bike heavier than other bikes of the same vintage, such as the Ducati 750.
Laverda 750 SFC
The SF evolved to include disc brakes and cast alloy wheels. Developed from the 750S road bike was the 750 SFC (super freni competizione), a half-faired racer that was developed to win endurance events like the Oss 24 hours, Barcelona 24 hours and the Bol D'Or at Le Mans. This it did, often placed first, second and third in the same race, and dominating the international endurance race circuit in 1971. Distinguished by its characteristic orange paint which would become the company's race department colour, its smooth aerodynamic fairing and upswept exhaust, the SFC was Laverda's flagship product and best advertisement, flaunting pedigree and the message of durability, quality, and exclusivity. The SFC "Series 15,000" was featured in the Guggenheim Museum in New York's 1999 exhibit The Art of the Motorcycle as one of the most iconic bikes of the 1970s.
Source: Wikipedia
Review:
By the late 1990s Laverda were developing their parallel twin sportster into a decent bike, which was also getting cheaper in the UK as the pound got stronger.
An almost entirely new engine, watercooled and breathing through fuel injection, boosted power to over 80bhp, plus vibration was reduced with balancer shafts.
The crude, twin cylinder motor had always been the Laverda’s weak point and now, with a torquier, smoother mill, the twin spar chassis and Brembo brakes could really shine. Suddenly, the old fashioned big twin concept seemed to make sense.
One quick blast up the road is all it takes to confirm that the 750S is the start of something big for Laverda. At a glance the bike is very similar to the firm’s previous parallel twins. Its chassis is almost identical, its styling owes much to earlier models, and despite being watercooled the new, grey-finished motor fires up with a mechanical whir and a familiar chuffing from its twin pipes.
But the 750S motor responds more quickly to a blip of the throttle, its clutch is notably lighter than before, and the new twin has a distinctly smoother feel as it pulls away. There’s still plenty of Laverda twin character, but the whole bike seems more refined. Then you crack open the throttle in first gear, and the front wheel heads for the clouds to show that, despite its sophisticated manners, this bike is much more of a hooligan than any of its predecessors.
If that hasn’t convinced you that the 750S is a brilliantly enjoyable motorbike, the first tight bend will do the trick. Squeeze the Laverda’s big front Brembo discs and you slow with tackle-crunching ferocity. Flick the clip-ons and the bike cranks onto its side with suspension and tyres carving a precise line through the corner. Wind open the throttle and the twin-pot motor revs smoothly and hard towards its redline at just over nine grand.
Those first few hundred yards are what stick in my mind after a day spent thrashing about on the new Lav mainly because I hadn’t expected the bike to be anything like this good. Laverda have been steadily refining the age-old parallel twin format since bike-mad local textile baron Francesco Tognon took over and began rebuilding the firm a little over three years ago. But despite that, the oil/aircooled parallel twin motors have always felt a bit crude, and I’d expected the 750S to be just another small step in the process of evolution.
Instead the new bike takes Laverda a big leap forward, thanks largely to a watercooled engine whose basic layout is similar to that of its predecessors, but which shares few components and is a far more sophisticated piece of work. The 750S is the first bike that the new company regards as its own design. Tognon says it represents the second phase of Laverda’s recovery and riding it shows that he ain’t exaggerating.
The five-strong design and engineering team at Laverda’s base in Zan in north-eastern Italy left no stone unturned in their attempt to uprate the twin-cam, eight-valve parallel twin unit that has helped put the firm back on the map. Boring out the motor from 78.5 to 83mm increases capacity to 747cc from the old lump’s 668cc.
The 180-degree crankshaft’s stroke remains at 69mm, but changes including a new balancer shaft are intended to reduce vibration. A new pair of camshafts sit in a narrower cylinder head that also features the novelty of watercooled seats for the exhaust valves. Compression ratio is up from 9:1 to 10.5:1 which, along with the new twin-pipe exhaust system, helps increase the claimed peak output from 70 to 82.5bhp at 7000rpm. The six-speed gearbox incorporates revised teeth and dogs; changes to the clutch include a new master cylinder designed to give a lighter feel at the lever.
The chassis is essentially that of the 668cc twins, based around a twin-spar aluminium frame built for the original 650 model that appeared back in 1992. Laverda have never skimped on cycle parts, and the new bike carries on the tradition. Paioli supply the 41mm upside-down forks and the rear shock, both multi-adjustable. Brembo provide brakes (four-pot calipers and 320mm discs up front); wheels are three-spoke Marchesinis wearing Pirelli Dragons.
Fork-tops are pushed well through the yokes to quicken the steering compared to the Ghost models (rake is still a less-than-racy 26.5 degrees, even so). At 192kg dry the Lav weighs a bit less than Ducati’s 748, the same as Honda’s VTR1000 and slightly more than Suzuki’s TL1000. But the 750S is very slim and low, and its under-seat fuel tank helps make for a very light and manoeuvrable bike that immediately makes you feel at home.
The motor’s new-found smoothness is obvious, and you soon discover that there’s extra power through most of the rev range too. At very low revs the bike judders like a road drill, shaking the mirrors that are mounted to the flimsy fairing. But the vibration fades by 3000rpm, and from then on the Laverda punches with a force that is not exactly earth-shattering (Ducati’s 900SS probably has slightly more midrange), but which is more than enough to make you grin.
Previous Laverda twins certainly don’t wheelie like this bike does given a first-gear crack of the throttle and they don’t tempt you to keep thrashing them in the same way either. Response from the revised, faster-reacting Weber fuel-injection system is ace. And the motor’s added smoothness is just as important as its extra power, because you’re more tempted to keep the revs in the sweet zone between 6000 and 8000rpm.
Same goes for the new gearbox, which is a big improvement on previous Laverda efforts. The box shifted cleanly at speed, and was let down only by an occasional reluctance to find neutral at a standstill. Word from the factory is that this was caused by this pre-production bike’s slightly dragging clutch, and that a modification has already been found to prevent the same thing happening to production machines. (What’s more, Laverda seem so on-the-ball these days that it’s probably true...)
Provided it’s kept revving the 750S is respectably quick as it heads for a top speed of close to 140mph. Granted, that makes it by no means the fastest sports bike in the world. Acceleration above 120mph is pretty gentle, and many riders would doubtless prefer a bit more poke for track days and serious Sunday morning scratching. But the rest of the time that performance gives the perfect excuse for plenty of full-throttle craziness.
Predictably the chassis copes effortlessly with everything the engine and rider can throw at it. Laverda really got it right with the 668cc models a few years ago, since when they’ve merely added a few refinements. The hefty twin-spar frame doesn’t have to break sweat to keep 80 horses under control. Forks and shock are firm enough to jar a bit over big bumps, and the riding position means you wouldn’t want to ride in traffic for long (steering lock is pretty tight too). But suspension control is superb and the bike feels better the harder it’s ridden.
Despite its less than radical geometry the short, light 750S steers pretty quickly. And it also has a stunningly stable, well-planted cornering feel, with no sign of TL1000-style twitchiness. The rear Dragon is a fairly narrow 160-section cover on a five-inch rim, but for road use the 750S has heaps of grip, and enough ground clearance to need it. The front tyre has to work hard, too, when Brembo’s excellent stoppers are used in anger.
Not that I needed the brakes to slow down when, only a few miles after setting off from importers Three Cross, the bike suddenly lost all life and coasted to a halt at the roadside. It turned out that the sidestand cut-out switch was killing the sparks, although the stand was fully retracted. A few turns of a spanner from the toolkit soon had it sorted, but this is the sort of silly problem that Laverda need to avoid if they’re going to steal sales from the big boys.
Another electrics-related niggle was that the 19 litre fuel tank’s low warning light had a habit of flashing on far too early, in typical Italian fashion. But quality generally seemed good. Laverda boss Tognon has made a serious investment in an attempt to improve reliability. Finish of parts such as the frame, bodywork and paint (any colour you like as long as it’s black) is well up to standard.
When you consider that only a few years ago Laverda seemed to be in a terminal crisis, following the collapse of yet another attempted revival, the appearance of the firm’s first truly new bike is a result in itself. That the 750S is so good is a minor miracle. And what’s more, the normal Italian bike sting in the tail a price several thousand quid higher than the Japanese competition doesn’t apply.
Three Cross have pitched the 750S at a very competitive £7499 on the road, hardly more than the 668cc Lavs and substantially cheaper than the TL1000S and VTR1000, let alone Ducati’s 748. If you’re looking for a twin-cylinder sports bike with a bit of character, the 750S is worth checking out. One quick blast up the road is all it takes...
Source: www.carolenash.com/insidebikes/bike-reviews/laverda/750s/
I went to Rock Creek Station, State Historical Park on 6/2/18 for their annual historical reenactment. The reenactment involved people dressed in historically accurate costumes doing some of the activities common in the 1850's and 1860's when the station was active on the Oregon and California trails and also when it was one of the stations in the short lived Pony Express system. One of the main attractions was a reenactment of the "McCanles - Hickok Fracas". This 'fracas' was the start to Wild Bill Hickok's legendary status as a lawman, soldier, gunfighter, and gambler. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok). McCanles was the first person Hickok killed in the establishment of his reputation.
"Established in 1857 along the Oregon and California Trails, Rock Creek Station, near what is now Fairbury, Nebraska, is today preserved as a Nebraska State Park.
The history here is rich in its tales of emigrating pioneers as well as legends of the Old West. Located along the west bank of Rock Creek, the station served as a supply center and resting spot for the many travelers headed westward in the 19th century.
When it was originally built by S.C. Glenn, the "station" consisted of little more than a cabin, a barn, and a make-shift store, where Glenn sold limited supplies, hay, and grain.
In the Spring of 1859 along came a man named David C. McCanles, and his brother, James, who were on their way to the Colorado gold fields.
David became discouraged as he continually met miners returning from Colorado with nothing in their pockets but disappointment. Changing tactics, David McCanles bought the Rock Creek Station from Glenn in March, deciding to take up "road ranching" rather than gold prospecting.
McCanles continued to operate the small store and built a toll bridge across the creek. Prior to the bridge, pioneers were required to hoist and lower their wagons down into the creek, before pulling it up on the other side - quite a tedious process that could take hours for each wagon. When the toll bridge opened, each wagon paid from 10¢ to 50¢ to cross the bridge depending on the size of their load and their ability to pay. McCanles also built a cabin and dug a well on the east side of Rock Creek which became known as the East Ranch.
The following year, McCanles leased the East Ranch to the Russell, Waddell, and Majors Company, which owned the Overland Stage Company and founded the Pony Express. They installed Horace G. Wellman as their company agent and station keeper and hired James W. "Doc" Brink as a stock tender. Later, the company made arrangements with McCanles to buy the station with a cash down payment and the remainder in installments.
The East Ranch was then used as a stage and Pony Express relay station, while the West Ranch continued to be used as an emigrant rest stop, a freight station, and the home of the McCanles family.
In April 1861, McCanles sold the West Ranch to freighters Hagenstein and Wolfe and moved his family to another location about three miles south of Rock Creek Station. Always trying to make money, McCanles sold the toll bridge several times with a number of specific requirements in the contract. When the new owner failed to meet the stipulations, he would take it back and sell it again.
In April or early May of 1861, the station hired on then-24-year-old stock tender James Butler "Bill" Hickok and he became immediately at odds with David McCanles, who had earned a reputation as the local bully. Allegedly, McCanles teased Hickok unmercifully about his girlish build and feminine features, as well as nicknaming him "Duck Bill" referring to his long nose and protruding lips.
Perhaps in retaliation, Hickok began courting a woman by the name of Kate Shell, who, even though McCanles was married, apparently had his eye on.
In the meantime, the Overland Stage Company had fallen behind on their installment payments and on July 12, 1861, McCanles, along with his 12-year-old son, Monroe, and two friends by the names of James Woods and James Gordon came to the station to inquire upon the status of the installments.
Not long after their arrival, an argument ensued and profanities were exchanged, soon leading to gunfire. In the melee, Hickok shot David McCanles, and both James Woods and James Gordon, who was seriously wounded, later died of their wounds. Twelve-year-old Monroe escaped to his home some three miles south of Rock Creek.
Though the details of what actually happened on that fateful day continue to be debated, the versions vary widely. Monroe McCanles, who witnessed the entire event, told a version something like this: When David McCanles had not received full payment from the Overland Stage Company, he planned to take it up with the station manager, Horace Wellman. That very day, the station manager had allegedly gone to the company office in Brownville in order to obtain the money, he returned empty-handed.
Upon hearing this, an angry McCanles soon arrived with two options in mind - either collect the money owed or repossess the ranch. Showing up with his son, and two employees - James Woods and James Gordon, McCanles called for Wellman to come out. Instead, Jane Wellman, the station managerâs wife, appeared at the door, closely followed by James (Bill) Hickok. Horace Wellman's specific whereabouts are unknown, but he was obviously close by.
Disconcerted by Hickok's interference, McCanles alleged asked, "Jim, haven't we been friends all the time?" After Hickok assured him that they were, McCanles, biding his time, asked for a drink of water and came inside. The other three stayed outside the cabin.
Suddenly, McCanles sensed danger, returned the dipper and moved toward the other door at about the same time Hickok moved behind a curtain partition. Unarmed, McCanles said, "Now, Jim, if you have anything against me, come out and fight me fair."
However, Hickok's answer was a blast from a rifle, killing McCanles and dropping him to the floor. Ironically, the story tells that it was McCanles' own rifle that he had left with Wellman to defend the station that he was killed with. Hearing the blast, Woods and Gordon rushed toward the cabin, but Woods was stopped with Hickok's Colt revolver. In the meantime, Wellman bludgeoned him with a hoe, until he died. Gordon, who was also wounded by gunfire, fled to the creek but was followed by Doc Brink, the station's stock tender, who killed him with a blast from his shotgun. Monroe dodged a blow from Wellman's hoe and escaped to his home some three miles south.
McCanles and Woods were originally buried in a single crude box on Soldier Hill. Gordon was buried in a blanket at the spot where he was killed near Rock Creek. In the early 1880's the construction of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad intersected Soldier Hill and the bodies of McCanles and Woods were re-interred at the Fairbury Cemetery.
In the meantime, James A. McCanles, David's brother, filed an arrest warrant for Hickok, Wellman, and Brink on July 15, 1861, and the trio were charged for the murders of McCanles, Woods, and Gordon. A trial was held in Beatrice and though Monroe McCanles adamantly claimed that his father and the other two men were unarmed, he was not allowed to testify because of his age. After the trio plead self-defense and defense of company property, all three were acquitted.
Later, when Hickok's fame began to spread, he told an entirely different version of the tale, making McCanles out to be a ruthless killer and an outlaw, who was the leader of a vicious gang who was terrorizing the region. This story, told by Colonel Ward Nichols and published in Harper's Monthly Magazine in 1867, tells a version that is embellished to the degree that Wild Bill had polished off ten of the West's most dangerous desperados and was left with eleven buck-shot and thirteen knife wounds.
Hickok's tale describes himself as scouting for the U.S. Cavalry detachment when he arrived at Rock Creek that fateful day, rather than working as a stock tender. Describing the McCanles' Gang as reckless, blood-thirsty devils, he said he came upon the station to hear a tale from Mrs. Wellman that McCanles was within minutes of the cabin, dragging a preacher by his neck with a rope.
His tale goes on to describe how he fought off the entire McCanles Gang with only a revolver and a bowie knife, killing all of them in the end and spending weeks recovering from his own injuries.
This event, called the McCanles Massacre, by writers, was the beginning of the Wild Bill Hickok legend. Though Hickok's "legend" was already well-known by the time the article appeared in Harper's Magazine in 1867, Nicholl's glamorized version of the fighting frontier hero, further perpetuated his fame.
No one really knows the specifics of this bloody and seemingly one-sided fight, with numerous versions having been provided, including tales of jealousy, theft, and the ongoing conflict between the north and south. Some tales even allege that it was not Bill Hickok who killed McCanles, rather, it was Horace Wellman.
Continuing to be scrutinized years after the incident and long after Bill Hickok's death, a man named F.G. Elliott was interviewed by a WPA writer in 1938. His tale, though not supporting the glorified story told by Nichols in Harper's Magazine, does support Hickok's rightful killing of David McCanles. It may or may not add more light on the actual events of that fateful day, depending upon your point of view.
By 1866, the railroad had reached Kearney, Nebraska and trail traffic dramatically diminished, leaving the road ranchers to find other occupations.
In 1980, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission began to develop the area as a state historical park. Today, the buildings of the original Rock Creek Station and Pony Express have been reconstructed in the park that now includes some 350 acres, a visitor's center, hiking trails, picnic areas, and a campground. The terrain includes prairie hilltops, timber-studded creek bottoms, and rugged ravines, along with the deep ruts of the Oregon and California Trails, carved more than a century ago by the many wagons that traveled westward along this path." (www.legendsofamerica.com/ne-rockcreek/2/)
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The church is dedicated to St Magnus the Martyr, earl of Orkney, who died on 16 April 1118. He was executed on the island of Egilsay having been captured during a power struggle with his cousin, a political rival. Magnus had a reputation for piety and gentleness and was canonised in 1135.
The identity of the St Magnus referred to in the church's dedication was only confirmed by the Bishop of London in 1926. Following this decision a patronal festival service was held on 16 April 1926. In the 13th century the patronage was attributed to one of the several saints by the name of Magnus who share a feast day on 19 August, probably St Magnus of Anagni (bishop and martyr, who was slain in the persecution of the Emperor Decius in the middle of the 3rd century). However, by the early 18th century it was suggested that the church was either "dedicated to the memory of St Magnus or Magnes, who suffer'd under the Emperor Aurelian in 276 [see St Mammes of Caesarea, feast day 17 August], or else to a person of that name, who was the famous Apostle or Bishop of the Orcades." For the next century historians followed the suggestion that the church was dedicated to the Roman saint of Cæsarea. The famous Danish archaeologist Professor Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (1821–85) promoted the attribution to St Magnus of Orkney during his visit to the British Isles in 1846-7, when he was formulating the concept of the 'Viking Age', and a history of London written in 1901 concluded that "the Danes, on their second invasion ... added at least two churches with Danish names, Olaf and Magnus". A guide to the City Churches published in 1917 reverted to the view that St Magnus was dedicated to a martyr of the third century, but the discovery of St Magnus of Orkney's relics in 1919 renewed interest in a Scandinavian patron and this connection was encouraged by the Rector who arrived in 1921.
A metropolitan bishop of London attended the Council of Arles in 314, which indicates that there must have been a Christian community in Londinium by this date, and it has been suggested that a large aisled building excavated in 1993 near Tower Hill can be compared with the 4th-century Cathedral of St Tecla in Milan. However, there is no archaeological evidence to suggest that any of the mediaeval churches in the City of London had a Roman foundation. A grant from William I in 1067 to Westminster Abbey, which refers to the stone church of St Magnus near the bridge ("lapidee eccle sci magni prope pontem"), is generally accepted to be 12th century forgery, and it is possible that a charter of confirmation in 1108-16 might also be a later fabrication. Nonetheless, these manuscripts may preserve valid evidence of a date of foundation in the 11th century.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the area of the bridgehead was not occupied from the early 5th century until the early 10th century. Environmental evidence indicates that the area was waste ground during this period, colonised by elder and nettles. Following Alfred's decision to reoccupy the walled area of London in 886, new harbours were established at Queenhithe and Billingsgate. A bridge was in place by the early 11th century, a factor which would have encouraged the occupation of the bridgehead by craftsmen and traders. A lane connecting Botolph's Wharf and Billingsgate to the rebuilt bridge may have developed by the mid-11th century. The waterfront at this time was a hive of activity, with the construction of embankments sloping down from the riverside wall to the river. Thames Street appeared in the second half of the 11th century immediately behind (north of) the old Roman riverside wall and in 1931 a piling from this was discovered during the excavation of the foundations of a nearby building. It now stands at the base of the church tower. St Magnus was built to the south of Thames Street to serve the growing population of the bridgehead area and was certainly in existence by 1128-33.
The small ancient parish extended about 110 yards along the waterfront either side of the old bridge, from 'Stepheneslane' (later Churchehawlane or Church Yard Alley) and 'Oystergate' (later called Water Lane or Gully Hole) on the West side to 'Retheresgate' (a southern extension of Pudding Lane) on the East side, and was centred on the crossroads formed by Fish Street Hill (originally Bridge Street, then New Fish Street) and Thames Street. The mediaeval parish also included Drinkwater's Wharf (named after the owner, Thomas Drinkwater), which was located immediately West of the bridge, and Fish Wharf, which was to the South of the church. The latter was of considerable importance as the fishmongers had their shops on the wharf. The tenement was devised by Andrew Hunte to the Rector and Churchwardens in 1446. The ancient parish was situated in the South East part of Bridge Ward, which had evolved in the 11th century between the embankments to either side of the bridge.
In 1182 the Abbot of Westminster and the Prior of Bermondsey agreed that the advowson of St Magnus should be divided equally between them. Later in the 1180s, on their presentation, the Archdeacon of London inducted his nephew as parson.
Between the late Saxon period and 1209 there was a series of wooden bridges across the Thames, but in that year a stone bridge was completed. The work was overseen by Peter de Colechurch, a priest and head of the Fraternity of the Brethren of London Bridge. The Church had from early times encouraged the building of bridges and this activity was so important it was perceived to be an act of piety - a commitment to God which should be supported by the giving of alms. London’s citizens made gifts of land and money "to God and the Bridge". The Bridge House Estates became part of the City's jurisdiction in 1282.
Until 1831 the bridge was aligned with Fish Street Hill, so the main entrance into the City from the south passed the West door of St Magnus on the north bank of the river. The bridge included a chapel dedicated to St Thomas à Becket for the use of pilgrims journeying to Canterbury Cathedral to visit his tomb. The chapel and about two thirds of the bridge were in the parish of St Magnus. After some years of rivalry a dispute arose between the church and the chapel over the offerings given to the chapel by the pilgrims. The matter was resolved by the brethren of the chapel making an annual contribution to St Magnus. At the Reformation the chapel was turned into a house and later a warehouse, the latter being demolished in 1757-58.
The church grew in importance. On 21 November 1234 a grant of land was made to the parson of St Magnus for the enlargement of the church. The London eyre of 1244 recorded that in 1238 "A thief named William of Ewelme of the county of Buckingham fled to the church of St. Magnus the Martyr, London, and there acknowledged the theft and abjured the realm. He had no chattels." Another entry recorded that "The City answers saying that the church of ... St. Magnus the Martyr ... which [is] situated on the king's highway ... ought to belong to the king and be in his gift". The church presumably jutted into the road running to the bridge, as it did in later times. In 1276 it was recorded that "the church of St. Magnus the Martyr is worth £15 yearly and Master Geoffrey de la Wade now holds it by the grant of the prior of Bermundeseie and the abbot of Westminster to whom King Henry conferred the advowson by his charter."
In 1274 "came King Edward and his wife (Eleanor) from the Holy Land and were crowned at Westminster on the Sunday next after the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady (15 August), being the Feast of Saint Magnus (19 August); and the Conduit in Chepe ran all the day with red wine and white wine to drink, for all such as wished." Stow records that "in the year 1293, for victory obtained by Edward I against the Scots, every citizen, according to their several trade, made their several show, but especially the fishmongers" whose solemn procession including a knight "representing St Magnus, because it was upon St Magnus' day".
An important religious guild, the Confraternity de Salve Regina, was in existence by 1343, having been founded by the "better sort of the Parish of St Magnus" to sing the anthem 'Salve Regina' every evening. The Guild certificates of 1389 record that the Confraternity of Salve Regina and the guild of St Thomas the Martyr in the chapel on the bridge, whose members belonged to St Magnus parish, had determined to become one, to have the anthem of St Thomas after the Salve Regina and to devote their united resources to restoring and enlarging the church of St Magnus. An Act of Parliament of 1437 provided that all incorporated fraternities and companies should register their charters and have their ordinances approved by the civic authorities. Fear of enquiry into their privileges may have led established fraternities to seek a firm foundation for their rights. The letters patent of the fraternity of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr of Salve Regina in St Magnus dated 26 May 1448 mention that the fraternity had petitioned for a charter on the grounds that the society was not duly founded.
In the mid-14th century the Pope was the Patron of the living and appointed five rectors to the benefice.
Henry Yevele, the master mason whose work included the rebuilding of Westminster Hall and the naves of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, was a parishioner and rebuilt the chapel on London Bridge between 1384 and 1397. He served as a warden of London Bridge and was buried at St Magnus on his death in 1400. His monument was extant in John Stow's time, but was probably destroyed by the fire of 1666.
Yevele, as the King’s Mason, was overseen by Geoffrey Chaucer in his capacity as the Clerk of the King's Works. In The General Prologue of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales the five guildsmen "were clothed alle in o lyveree Of a solempne and a greet fraternitee" and may be thought of as belonging to the guild in the parish of St Magnus, or one like it. Chaucer's family home was near to the bridge in Thames Street.
In 1417 a dispute arose concerning who should take the place of honour amongst the Rectors in the City churches at the Whit Monday procession, a place that had been claimed from time to time by the Rectors of St Peter Cornhill, St Magnus the Martyr and St Nicholas Cole Abbey. The Mayor and Aldermen decided that the Rector of St Peter Cornhill should take precedence.
St Magnus Corner at the north end of London Bridge was an important meeting place in mediaeval London, where notices were exhibited, proclamations read out and wrongdoers punished. As it was conveniently close to the River Thames, the church was chosen by the Bishop between the 15th and 17th centuries as a convenient venue for general meetings of the clergy in his diocese. In pictures from the mid-16th century the old church looks very similar to the present-day St Giles without Cripplegate in the Barbican. According to the martyrologist John Foxe, a woman was imprisoned in the 'cage' on London Bridge in April 1555 and told to "cool herself there" for refusing to pray at St Magnus for the recently-deceased Pope Julius III.
Simon Lowe, a Member of Parliament and Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company during the reign of Queen Mary and one of the jurors who acquitted Sir Nicholas Throckmorton in 1554, was a parishioner. He was a mourner at the funeral of Maurice Griffith, Bishop of Rochester from 1554 to 1558 and Rector of St Magnus from 1537 to 1558, who was interred in the church on 30 November 1558 with much solemnity. In accordance with the Catholic church's desire to restore ecclesiastical pageantry in England, the funeral was a splendid affair, ending in a magnificent dinner.
Lowe was included in a return of recusants in the Diocese of Rochester in 1577, but was buried at St Magnus on 6 February 1578. Stow refers to his monument in the church. His eldest son, Timothy (died 1617), was knighted in 1603. His second son, Alderman Sir Thomas Lowe (1550–1623), was Master of the Haberdashers' Company on several occasions, Sheriff of London in 1595/96, Lord Mayor in 1604/05 and a Member of Parliament for London. His youngest son, Blessed John Lowe (1553–1586), having originally been a Protestant minister, converted to Roman Catholicism, studied for the priesthood at Douay and Rome and returned to London as a missionary priest. His absence had already been noted; a list of 1581 of "such persons of the Diocese of London as have any children ... beyond the seas" records "John Low son to Margaret Low of the Bridge, absent without licence four years". Having gained 500 converts to Catholicism between 1583 and 1586, he was arrested whilst walking with his mother near London Bridge, committed to The Clink and executed at Tyburn on 8 October 1586. He was beatified in 1987 as one of the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales.
Sir William Garrard, Master of the Haberdashers' Company, Alderman, Sheriff of London in 1553/53, Lord Mayor in 1555/56 and a Member of Parliament was born in the parish and buried at St Magnus in 1571. Sir William Romney, merchant, philanthropist, Master of the Haberdashers' Company, Alderman for Bridge Within and Sheriff of London in 1603/04 was married at St Magnus in 1582. Ben Jonson is believed to have been married at St Magnus in 1594.
The patronage of St Magnus, having previously been in the Abbots and Convents of Westminster and Bermondsey (who presented alternatively), fell to the Crown on the suppression of the monasteries. In 1553, Queen Mary, by letters patent, granted it to the Bishop of London and his successors.
The church had a series of distinguished Rectors in the second half of the 16th and first half of the 17th century, including Myles Coverdale (Rector 1564-66), John Young (Rector 1566-92), Theophilus Aylmer (Rector 1592-1625), (Archdeacon of London and son of John Aylmer), and Cornelius Burges (Rector 1626-41). Coverdale was buried in the chancel of St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange, but when that church was pulled down in 1840 his remains were removed to St Magnus.
On 5 November 1562 the churchwardens were ordered to break, or cause to be broken, in two parts all the altar stones in the church. Coverdale, an anti-vestiarian, was Rector at the peak of the vestments controversy. In March 1566 Archbishop Parker caused great consternation among many clergy by his edicts prescribing what was to be worn and by his summoning the London clergy to Lambeth to require their compliance. Coverdale excused himself from attending. Stow records that a non-conforming Scot who normally preached at St Magnus twice a day precipitated a fight on Palm Sunday 1566 at Little All Hallows in Thames Street with his preaching against vestments. Coverdale's resignation from St Magnus in summer 1566 may have been associated with these events. Separatist congregations started to emerge after 1566 and the first such, who called themselves 'Puritans' or 'Unspottyd Lambs of the Lord', was discovered close to St Magnus at Plumbers' Hall in Thames Street on 19 June 1567.
St Magnus narrowly escaped destruction in 1633. A later edition of Stow's Survey records that "On the 13th day of February, between eleven and twelve at night, there happened in the house of one Briggs, a Needle-maker near St Magnus Church, at the North end of the Bridge, by the carelessness of a Maid-Servant setting a tub of hot sea-coal ashes under a pair of stairs, a sad and lamentable fire, which consumed all the buildings before eight of the clock the next morning, from the North end of the Bridge to the first vacancy on both sides, containing forty-two houses; water then being very scarce, the Thames being almost frozen over." Susannah Chambers "by her last will & testament bearing date 28th December 1640 gave the sum of Twenty-two shillings and Sixpence Yearly for a Sermon to be preached on the 12th day of February in every Year within the Church of Saint Magnus in commemoration of God's merciful preservation of the said Church of Saint Magnus from Ruin, by the late and terrible Fire on London Bridge. Likewise Annually to the Poor the sum of 17/6. "The tradition of a "Fire Sermon" was revived on 12 February 2004, when the first preacher was the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.
Parliamentarian rule and the more Protestant ethos of the 1640s led to the removal or destruction of "superstitious" and "idolatrous" images and fittings. Glass painters such as Baptista Sutton, who had previously installed "Laudian innovations", found new employment by repairing and replacing these to meet increasingly strict Protestant standards. In January 1642 Sutton replaced 93 feet of glass at St Magnus and in June 1644 he was called back to take down the "painted imagery glass" and replace it. In June 1641 "rail riots" broke out at a number of churches. This was a time of high tension following the trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford and rumours of army and popish plots were rife. The Protestation Oath, with its pledge to defend the true religion "against all Popery and popish innovation", triggered demands from parishioners for the removal of the rails as popish innovations which the Protestation had bound them to reform. The minister arranged a meeting between those for and against the pulling down of the rails, but was unsuccessful in reaching a compromise and it was feared that they would be demolished by force. However, in 1663 the parish resumed Laudian practice and re-erected rails around its communion table.
Joseph Caryl was incumbent from 1645 until his ejection in 1662. In 1663 he was reportedly living near London Bridge and preaching to an Independent congregation that met at various places in the City.
During the Great Plague of 1665, the City authorities ordered fires to be kept burning night and day, in the hope that the air would be cleansed. Daniel Defoe's semi-fictictional, but highly realistic, work A Journal of the Plague Year records that one of these was "just by St Magnus Church".
Despite its escape in 1633, the church was one of the first buildings to be destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. St Magnus stood less than 300 yards from the bakehouse of Thomas Farriner in Pudding Lane where the fire started. Farriner, a former churchwarden of St Magnus, was buried in the middle aisle of the church on 11 December 1670, perhaps within a temporary structure erected for holding services.
The parish engaged the master mason George Dowdeswell to start the work of rebuilding in 1668. The work was carried forward between 1671 and 1687 under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, the body of the church being substantially complete by 1676. At a cost of £9,579 19s 10d St Magnus was one of Wren's most expensive churches. The church of St Margaret New Fish Street was not rebuilt after the fire and its parish was united to that of St Magnus.
The chancels of many of Wren’s city churches had chequered marble floors and the chancel of St Magnus is an example, the parish agreeing after some debate to place the communion table on a marble ascent with steps and to commission altar rails of Sussex wrought iron. The nave and aisles are paved with freestone flags. A steeple, closely modelled on one built between 1614 and 1624 by François d'Aguilon and Pieter Huyssens for the church of St Carolus Borromeus in Antwerp, was added between 1703 and 1706. London's skyline was transformed by Wren's tall steeples and that of St Magnus is considered to be one his finest.
The large clock projecting from the tower was a well-known landmark in the city as it hung over the roadway of Old London Bridge. It was presented to the church in 1709 by Sir Charles Duncombe (Alderman for the Ward of Bridge Within and, in 1708/09, Lord Mayor of London). Tradition says "that it was erected in consequence of a vow made by the donor, who, in the earlier part of his life, had once to wait a considerable time in a cart upon London Bridge, without being able to learn the hour, when he made a promise, that if he ever became successful in the world, he would give to that Church a public clock ... that all passengers might see the time of day." The maker was Langley Bradley, a clockmaker in Fenchurch Street, who had worked for Wren on many other projects, including the clock for the new St Paul's Cathedral. The sword rest in the church, designed to hold the Lord Mayor's sword and mace when he attended divine service "in state", dates from 1708.
Duncombe and his benefactions to St Magnus feature prominently in Daniel Defoe's The True-Born Englishman, a biting satire on critics of William III that went through several editions from 1700 (the year in which Duncombe was elected Sheriff).
Shortly before his death in 1711, Duncombe commissioned an organ for the church, the first to have a swell-box, by Abraham Jordan (father and son). The Spectator announced that "Whereas Mr Abraham Jordan, senior and junior, have, with their own hands, joinery excepted, made and erected a very large organ in St Magnus' Church, at the foot of London Bridge, consisting of four sets of keys, one of which is adapted to the art of emitting sounds by swelling notes, which never was in any organ before; this instrument will be publicly opened on Sunday next [14 February 1712], the performance by Mr John Robinson. The above-said Abraham Jordan gives notice to all masters and performers, that he will attend every day next week at the said Church, to accommodate all those gentlemen who shall have a curiosity to hear it".
The organ case, which remains in its original state, is looked upon as one of the finest existing examples of the Grinling Gibbons's school of wood carving. The first organist of St Magnus was John Robinson (1682–1762), who served in that role for fifty years and in addition as organist of Westminster Abbey from 1727. Other organists have included the blind organist George Warne (1792–1868, organist 1820-26 until his appointment to the Temple Church), James Coward (1824–80, organist 1868-80 who was also organist to the Crystal Palace and renowned for his powers of improvisation) and George Frederick Smith FRCO (1856–1918, organist 1880-1918 and Professor of Music at the Guildhall School of Music). The organ has been restored several times - in 1760, 1782, 1804, 1855, 1861, 1879, 1891, 1924, 1949 after wartime damage and 1997 - since it was first built. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was one of several patrons of the organ appeal in the mid-1990s and John Scott gave an inaugural recital on 20 May 1998 following the completion of that restoration. The instrument has an Historic Organ Certificate and full details are recorded in the National Pipe Organ Register.
The hymn tune "St Magnus", usually sung at Ascensiontide to the text "The head that once was crowned with thorns", was written by Jeremiah Clarke in 1701 and named for the church.
Canaletto drew St Magnus and old London Bridge as they appeared in the late 1740s. Between 1756 and 1762, under the London Bridge Improvement Act of 1756 (c. 40), the Corporation of London demolished the buildings on London Bridge to widen the roadway, ease traffic congestion and improve safety for pedestrians. The churchwardens’ accounts of St Magnus list many payments to those injured on the Bridge and record that in 1752 a man was crushed to death between two carts. After the House of Commons had resolved upon the alteration of London Bridge, the Rev Robert Gibson, Rector of St Magnus, applied to the House for relief; stating that £48 6s. 2d. per annum, part of his salary of £170 per annum, was assessed upon houses on London Bridge; which he should utterly lose by their removal unless a clause in the bill about to be passed should provide a remedy. Accordingly, Sections 18 and 19 of 1756 Act provided that the relevant amounts of tithe and poor rate should be a charge on the Bridge House Estates.
A serious fire broke out on 18 April 1760 in an oil shop at the south east corner of the church, which consumed most of the church roof and did considerable damage to the fabric. The fire burnt warehouses to the south of the church and a number of houses on the northern end of London Bridge.
As part of the bridge improvements, overseen by the architect Sir Robert Taylor, a new pedestrian walkway was built along the eastern side of the bridge. With the other buildings gone St Magnus blocked the new walkway. As a consequence it was necessary in 1762 to 1763 to remove the vestry rooms at the West end of the church and open up the side arches of the tower so that people could pass underneath the tower. The tower’s lower storey thus became an external porch. Internally a lobby was created at the West end under the organ gallery and a screen with fine octagonal glazing inserted. A new Vestry was built to the South of the church. The Act also provided that the land taken from the church for the widening was "to be considered ... as part of the cemetery of the said church ... but if the pavement thereof be broken up on account of the burying of any persons, the same shall be ... made good ... by the churchwardens".
Soldiers were stationed in the Vestry House of St Magnus during the Gordon Riots in June 1780.
By 1782 the noise level from the activities of Billingsgate Fish Market had become unbearable and the large windows on the north side of the church were blocked up leaving only circular windows high up in the wall. At some point between the 1760s and 1814 the present clerestory was constructed with its oval windows and fluted and coffered plasterwork. J. M. W. Turner painted the church in the mid-1790s.
The rector of St Magnus between 1792 and 1808, following the death of Robert Gibson on 28 July 1791, was Thomas Rennell FRS. Rennell was President of Sion College in 1806/07. There is a monument to Thomas Leigh (Rector 1808-48 and President of Sion College 1829/30, at St Peter's Church, Goldhanger in Essex. Richard Hazard (1761–1837) was connected with the church as sexton, parish clerk and ward beadle for nearly 50 years and served as Master of the Parish Clerks' Company in 1831/32.
In 1825 the church was "repaired and beautified at a very considerable expense. During the reparation the east window, which had been closed, was restored, and the interior of the fabric conformed to the state in which it was left by its great architect, Sir Christopher Wren. The magnificent organ ... was taken down and rebuilt by Mr Parsons, and re-opened, with the church, on the 12th February, 1826". Unfortunately, as a contemporary writer records, "On the night of the 31st of July, 1827, [the church's] safety was threatened by the great fire which consumed the adjacent warehouses, and it is perhaps owing to the strenuous and praiseworthy exertions of the firemen, that the structure exists at present. ... divine service was suspended and not resumed until the 20th January 1828. In the interval the church received such tasteful and elegant decorations, that it may now compete with any church in the metropolis."
In 1823 royal assent was given to ‘An Act for the Rebuilding of London Bridge’ and in 1825 John Garratt, Lord Mayor and Alderman of the Ward of Bridge Within, laid the first stone of the new London Bridge. In 1831 Sir John Rennie’s new bridge was opened further upstream and the old bridge demolished. St Magnus ceased to be the gateway to London as it had been for over 600 years. Peter de Colechurch had been buried in the crypt of the chapel on the bridge and his bones were unceremoniously dumped in the River Thames. In 1921 two stones from Old London Bridge were discovered across the road from the church. They now stand in the churchyard.
Wren's church of St Michael Crooked Lane was demolished, the final service on Sunday 20 March 1831 having to be abandoned due to the effects of the building work. The Rector of St Michael preached a sermon the following Sunday at St Magnus lamenting the demolition of his church with its monuments and "the disturbance of the worship of his parishioners on the preceeding Sabbath". The parish of St Michael Crooked Lane was united to that of St Magnus, which itself lost a burial ground in Church Yard Alley to the approach road for the new bridge. However, in substitution it had restored to it the land taken for the widening of the old bridge in 1762 and was also given part of the approach lands to the east of the old bridge. In 1838 the Committee for the London Bridge Approaches reported to Common Council that new burial grounds had been provided for the parishes of St Michael, Crooked Lane and St Magnus, London Bridge.
Depictions of St Magnus after the building of the new bridge, seen behind Fresh Wharf and the new London Bridge Wharf, include paintings by W. Fenoulhet in 1841 and by Charles Ginner in 1913. This prospect was affected in 1924 by the building of Adelaide House to a design by John James Burnet, The Times commenting that "the new ‘architectural Matterhorn’ ... conceals all but the tip of the church spire". There was, however, an excellent view of the church for a few years between the demolition of Adelaide Buildings and the erection of its replacement. Adelaide House is now listed. Regis House, on the site of the abandoned King William Street terminus of the City & South London Railway (subsequently the Northern Line), and the Steam Packet Inn, on the corner of Lower Thames Street and Fish Street Hill, were developed in 1931.
By the early 1960s traffic congestion had become a problem and Lower Thames Street was widened over the next decade to form part of a significant new east-west transport artery (the A3211). The setting of the church was further affected by the construction of a new London Bridge between 1967 and 1973. The New Fresh Wharf warehouse to the east of the church, built in 1939, was demolished in 1973-4 following the collapse of commercial traffic in the Pool of London and, after an archaeological excavation, St Magnus House was constructed on the site in 1978 to a design by R. Seifert & Partners. This development now allows a clear view of the church from the east side. The site to the south east of The Monument (between Fish Street Hill and Pudding Lane), formerly predominantly occupied by fish merchants, was redeveloped as Centurion House and Gartmore (now Providian) House at the time of the closure of old Billingsgate Market in January 1982. A comprehensive redevelopment of Centurion House began in October 2011 with completion planned in 2013. Regis House, to the south west of The Monument, was redeveloped by Land Securities PLC in 1998.
The vista from The Monument south to the River Thames, over the roof of St Magnus, is protected under the City of London Unitary Development Plan, although the South bank of the river is now dominated by The Shard. Since 2004 the City of London Corporation has been exploring ways of enhancing the Riverside Walk to the south of St Magnus. Work on a new staircase to connect London Bridge to the Riverside Walk is due to commence in March 2013. The story of St Magnus's relationship with London Bridge and an interview with the rector featured in the television programme The Bridges That Built London with Dan Cruickshank, first broadcast on BBC Four on 14 June 2012. The City Corporation's 'Fenchurch and Monument Area Enhancement Strategy' of August 2012 recommended ways of reconnecting St Magnus and the riverside to the area north of Lower Thames Street.
The church is dedicated to St Magnus the Martyr, earl of Orkney, who died on 16 April 1118. He was executed on the island of Egilsay having been captured during a power struggle with his cousin, a political rival. Magnus had a reputation for piety and gentleness and was canonised in 1135.
The identity of the St Magnus referred to in the church's dedication was only confirmed by the Bishop of London in 1926. Following this decision a patronal festival service was held on 16 April 1926. In the 13th century the patronage was attributed to one of the several saints by the name of Magnus who share a feast day on 19 August, probably St Magnus of Anagni (bishop and martyr, who was slain in the persecution of the Emperor Decius in the middle of the 3rd century). However, by the early 18th century it was suggested that the church was either "dedicated to the memory of St Magnus or Magnes, who suffer'd under the Emperor Aurelian in 276 [see St Mammes of Caesarea, feast day 17 August], or else to a person of that name, who was the famous Apostle or Bishop of the Orcades." For the next century historians followed the suggestion that the church was dedicated to the Roman saint of Cæsarea. The famous Danish archaeologist Professor Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (1821–85) promoted the attribution to St Magnus of Orkney during his visit to the British Isles in 1846-7, when he was formulating the concept of the 'Viking Age', and a history of London written in 1901 concluded that "the Danes, on their second invasion ... added at least two churches with Danish names, Olaf and Magnus". A guide to the City Churches published in 1917 reverted to the view that St Magnus was dedicated to a martyr of the third century, but the discovery of St Magnus of Orkney's relics in 1919 renewed interest in a Scandinavian patron and this connection was encouraged by the Rector who arrived in 1921.
A metropolitan bishop of London attended the Council of Arles in 314, which indicates that there must have been a Christian community in Londinium by this date, and it has been suggested that a large aisled building excavated in 1993 near Tower Hill can be compared with the 4th-century Cathedral of St Tecla in Milan. However, there is no archaeological evidence to suggest that any of the mediaeval churches in the City of London had a Roman foundation. A grant from William I in 1067 to Westminster Abbey, which refers to the stone church of St Magnus near the bridge ("lapidee eccle sci magni prope pontem"), is generally accepted to be 12th century forgery, and it is possible that a charter of confirmation in 1108-16 might also be a later fabrication. Nonetheless, these manuscripts may preserve valid evidence of a date of foundation in the 11th century.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the area of the bridgehead was not occupied from the early 5th century until the early 10th century. Environmental evidence indicates that the area was waste ground during this period, colonised by elder and nettles. Following Alfred's decision to reoccupy the walled area of London in 886, new harbours were established at Queenhithe and Billingsgate. A bridge was in place by the early 11th century, a factor which would have encouraged the occupation of the bridgehead by craftsmen and traders. A lane connecting Botolph's Wharf and Billingsgate to the rebuilt bridge may have developed by the mid-11th century. The waterfront at this time was a hive of activity, with the construction of embankments sloping down from the riverside wall to the river. Thames Street appeared in the second half of the 11th century immediately behind (north of) the old Roman riverside wall and in 1931 a piling from this was discovered during the excavation of the foundations of a nearby building. It now stands at the base of the church tower. St Magnus was built to the south of Thames Street to serve the growing population of the bridgehead area and was certainly in existence by 1128-33.
The small ancient parish extended about 110 yards along the waterfront either side of the old bridge, from 'Stepheneslane' (later Churchehawlane or Church Yard Alley) and 'Oystergate' (later called Water Lane or Gully Hole) on the West side to 'Retheresgate' (a southern extension of Pudding Lane) on the East side, and was centred on the crossroads formed by Fish Street Hill (originally Bridge Street, then New Fish Street) and Thames Street. The mediaeval parish also included Drinkwater's Wharf (named after the owner, Thomas Drinkwater), which was located immediately West of the bridge, and Fish Wharf, which was to the South of the church. The latter was of considerable importance as the fishmongers had their shops on the wharf. The tenement was devised by Andrew Hunte to the Rector and Churchwardens in 1446. The ancient parish was situated in the South East part of Bridge Ward, which had evolved in the 11th century between the embankments to either side of the bridge.
In 1182 the Abbot of Westminster and the Prior of Bermondsey agreed that the advowson of St Magnus should be divided equally between them. Later in the 1180s, on their presentation, the Archdeacon of London inducted his nephew as parson.
Between the late Saxon period and 1209 there was a series of wooden bridges across the Thames, but in that year a stone bridge was completed. The work was overseen by Peter de Colechurch, a priest and head of the Fraternity of the Brethren of London Bridge. The Church had from early times encouraged the building of bridges and this activity was so important it was perceived to be an act of piety - a commitment to God which should be supported by the giving of alms. London’s citizens made gifts of land and money "to God and the Bridge". The Bridge House Estates became part of the City's jurisdiction in 1282.
Until 1831 the bridge was aligned with Fish Street Hill, so the main entrance into the City from the south passed the West door of St Magnus on the north bank of the river. The bridge included a chapel dedicated to St Thomas à Becket for the use of pilgrims journeying to Canterbury Cathedral to visit his tomb. The chapel and about two thirds of the bridge were in the parish of St Magnus. After some years of rivalry a dispute arose between the church and the chapel over the offerings given to the chapel by the pilgrims. The matter was resolved by the brethren of the chapel making an annual contribution to St Magnus. At the Reformation the chapel was turned into a house and later a warehouse, the latter being demolished in 1757-58.
The church grew in importance. On 21 November 1234 a grant of land was made to the parson of St Magnus for the enlargement of the church. The London eyre of 1244 recorded that in 1238 "A thief named William of Ewelme of the county of Buckingham fled to the church of St. Magnus the Martyr, London, and there acknowledged the theft and abjured the realm. He had no chattels." Another entry recorded that "The City answers saying that the church of ... St. Magnus the Martyr ... which [is] situated on the king's highway ... ought to belong to the king and be in his gift". The church presumably jutted into the road running to the bridge, as it did in later times. In 1276 it was recorded that "the church of St. Magnus the Martyr is worth £15 yearly and Master Geoffrey de la Wade now holds it by the grant of the prior of Bermundeseie and the abbot of Westminster to whom King Henry conferred the advowson by his charter."
In 1274 "came King Edward and his wife (Eleanor) from the Holy Land and were crowned at Westminster on the Sunday next after the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady (15 August), being the Feast of Saint Magnus (19 August); and the Conduit in Chepe ran all the day with red wine and white wine to drink, for all such as wished." Stow records that "in the year 1293, for victory obtained by Edward I against the Scots, every citizen, according to their several trade, made their several show, but especially the fishmongers" whose solemn procession including a knight "representing St Magnus, because it was upon St Magnus' day".
An important religious guild, the Confraternity de Salve Regina, was in existence by 1343, having been founded by the "better sort of the Parish of St Magnus" to sing the anthem 'Salve Regina' every evening. The Guild certificates of 1389 record that the Confraternity of Salve Regina and the guild of St Thomas the Martyr in the chapel on the bridge, whose members belonged to St Magnus parish, had determined to become one, to have the anthem of St Thomas after the Salve Regina and to devote their united resources to restoring and enlarging the church of St Magnus. An Act of Parliament of 1437 provided that all incorporated fraternities and companies should register their charters and have their ordinances approved by the civic authorities. Fear of enquiry into their privileges may have led established fraternities to seek a firm foundation for their rights. The letters patent of the fraternity of St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr of Salve Regina in St Magnus dated 26 May 1448 mention that the fraternity had petitioned for a charter on the grounds that the society was not duly founded.
In the mid-14th century the Pope was the Patron of the living and appointed five rectors to the benefice.
Henry Yevele, the master mason whose work included the rebuilding of Westminster Hall and the naves of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, was a parishioner and rebuilt the chapel on London Bridge between 1384 and 1397. He served as a warden of London Bridge and was buried at St Magnus on his death in 1400. His monument was extant in John Stow's time, but was probably destroyed by the fire of 1666.
Yevele, as the King’s Mason, was overseen by Geoffrey Chaucer in his capacity as the Clerk of the King's Works. In The General Prologue of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales the five guildsmen "were clothed alle in o lyveree Of a solempne and a greet fraternitee" and may be thought of as belonging to the guild in the parish of St Magnus, or one like it. Chaucer's family home was near to the bridge in Thames Street.
In 1417 a dispute arose concerning who should take the place of honour amongst the Rectors in the City churches at the Whit Monday procession, a place that had been claimed from time to time by the Rectors of St Peter Cornhill, St Magnus the Martyr and St Nicholas Cole Abbey. The Mayor and Aldermen decided that the Rector of St Peter Cornhill should take precedence.
St Magnus Corner at the north end of London Bridge was an important meeting place in mediaeval London, where notices were exhibited, proclamations read out and wrongdoers punished. As it was conveniently close to the River Thames, the church was chosen by the Bishop between the 15th and 17th centuries as a convenient venue for general meetings of the clergy in his diocese. In pictures from the mid-16th century the old church looks very similar to the present-day St Giles without Cripplegate in the Barbican. According to the martyrologist John Foxe, a woman was imprisoned in the 'cage' on London Bridge in April 1555 and told to "cool herself there" for refusing to pray at St Magnus for the recently-deceased Pope Julius III.
Simon Lowe, a Member of Parliament and Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company during the reign of Queen Mary and one of the jurors who acquitted Sir Nicholas Throckmorton in 1554, was a parishioner. He was a mourner at the funeral of Maurice Griffith, Bishop of Rochester from 1554 to 1558 and Rector of St Magnus from 1537 to 1558, who was interred in the church on 30 November 1558 with much solemnity. In accordance with the Catholic church's desire to restore ecclesiastical pageantry in England, the funeral was a splendid affair, ending in a magnificent dinner.
Lowe was included in a return of recusants in the Diocese of Rochester in 1577, but was buried at St Magnus on 6 February 1578. Stow refers to his monument in the church. His eldest son, Timothy (died 1617), was knighted in 1603. His second son, Alderman Sir Thomas Lowe (1550–1623), was Master of the Haberdashers' Company on several occasions, Sheriff of London in 1595/96, Lord Mayor in 1604/05 and a Member of Parliament for London. His youngest son, Blessed John Lowe (1553–1586), having originally been a Protestant minister, converted to Roman Catholicism, studied for the priesthood at Douay and Rome and returned to London as a missionary priest. His absence had already been noted; a list of 1581 of "such persons of the Diocese of London as have any children ... beyond the seas" records "John Low son to Margaret Low of the Bridge, absent without licence four years". Having gained 500 converts to Catholicism between 1583 and 1586, he was arrested whilst walking with his mother near London Bridge, committed to The Clink and executed at Tyburn on 8 October 1586. He was beatified in 1987 as one of the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales.
Sir William Garrard, Master of the Haberdashers' Company, Alderman, Sheriff of London in 1553/53, Lord Mayor in 1555/56 and a Member of Parliament was born in the parish and buried at St Magnus in 1571. Sir William Romney, merchant, philanthropist, Master of the Haberdashers' Company, Alderman for Bridge Within and Sheriff of London in 1603/04 was married at St Magnus in 1582. Ben Jonson is believed to have been married at St Magnus in 1594.
The patronage of St Magnus, having previously been in the Abbots and Convents of Westminster and Bermondsey (who presented alternatively), fell to the Crown on the suppression of the monasteries. In 1553, Queen Mary, by letters patent, granted it to the Bishop of London and his successors.
The church had a series of distinguished Rectors in the second half of the 16th and first half of the 17th century, including Myles Coverdale (Rector 1564-66), John Young (Rector 1566-92), Theophilus Aylmer (Rector 1592-1625), (Archdeacon of London and son of John Aylmer), and Cornelius Burges (Rector 1626-41). Coverdale was buried in the chancel of St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange, but when that church was pulled down in 1840 his remains were removed to St Magnus.
On 5 November 1562 the churchwardens were ordered to break, or cause to be broken, in two parts all the altar stones in the church. Coverdale, an anti-vestiarian, was Rector at the peak of the vestments controversy. In March 1566 Archbishop Parker caused great consternation among many clergy by his edicts prescribing what was to be worn and by his summoning the London clergy to Lambeth to require their compliance. Coverdale excused himself from attending. Stow records that a non-conforming Scot who normally preached at St Magnus twice a day precipitated a fight on Palm Sunday 1566 at Little All Hallows in Thames Street with his preaching against vestments. Coverdale's resignation from St Magnus in summer 1566 may have been associated with these events. Separatist congregations started to emerge after 1566 and the first such, who called themselves 'Puritans' or 'Unspottyd Lambs of the Lord', was discovered close to St Magnus at Plumbers' Hall in Thames Street on 19 June 1567.
St Magnus narrowly escaped destruction in 1633. A later edition of Stow's Survey records that "On the 13th day of February, between eleven and twelve at night, there happened in the house of one Briggs, a Needle-maker near St Magnus Church, at the North end of the Bridge, by the carelessness of a Maid-Servant setting a tub of hot sea-coal ashes under a pair of stairs, a sad and lamentable fire, which consumed all the buildings before eight of the clock the next morning, from the North end of the Bridge to the first vacancy on both sides, containing forty-two houses; water then being very scarce, the Thames being almost frozen over." Susannah Chambers "by her last will & testament bearing date 28th December 1640 gave the sum of Twenty-two shillings and Sixpence Yearly for a Sermon to be preached on the 12th day of February in every Year within the Church of Saint Magnus in commemoration of God's merciful preservation of the said Church of Saint Magnus from Ruin, by the late and terrible Fire on London Bridge. Likewise Annually to the Poor the sum of 17/6. "The tradition of a "Fire Sermon" was revived on 12 February 2004, when the first preacher was the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.
Parliamentarian rule and the more Protestant ethos of the 1640s led to the removal or destruction of "superstitious" and "idolatrous" images and fittings. Glass painters such as Baptista Sutton, who had previously installed "Laudian innovations", found new employment by repairing and replacing these to meet increasingly strict Protestant standards. In January 1642 Sutton replaced 93 feet of glass at St Magnus and in June 1644 he was called back to take down the "painted imagery glass" and replace it. In June 1641 "rail riots" broke out at a number of churches. This was a time of high tension following the trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford and rumours of army and popish plots were rife. The Protestation Oath, with its pledge to defend the true religion "against all Popery and popish innovation", triggered demands from parishioners for the removal of the rails as popish innovations which the Protestation had bound them to reform. The minister arranged a meeting between those for and against the pulling down of the rails, but was unsuccessful in reaching a compromise and it was feared that they would be demolished by force. However, in 1663 the parish resumed Laudian practice and re-erected rails around its communion table.
Joseph Caryl was incumbent from 1645 until his ejection in 1662. In 1663 he was reportedly living near London Bridge and preaching to an Independent congregation that met at various places in the City.
During the Great Plague of 1665, the City authorities ordered fires to be kept burning night and day, in the hope that the air would be cleansed. Daniel Defoe's semi-fictictional, but highly realistic, work A Journal of the Plague Year records that one of these was "just by St Magnus Church".
Despite its escape in 1633, the church was one of the first buildings to be destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. St Magnus stood less than 300 yards from the bakehouse of Thomas Farriner in Pudding Lane where the fire started. Farriner, a former churchwarden of St Magnus, was buried in the middle aisle of the church on 11 December 1670, perhaps within a temporary structure erected for holding services.
The parish engaged the master mason George Dowdeswell to start the work of rebuilding in 1668. The work was carried forward between 1671 and 1687 under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, the body of the church being substantially complete by 1676. At a cost of £9,579 19s 10d St Magnus was one of Wren's most expensive churches. The church of St Margaret New Fish Street was not rebuilt after the fire and its parish was united to that of St Magnus.
The chancels of many of Wren’s city churches had chequered marble floors and the chancel of St Magnus is an example, the parish agreeing after some debate to place the communion table on a marble ascent with steps and to commission altar rails of Sussex wrought iron. The nave and aisles are paved with freestone flags. A steeple, closely modelled on one built between 1614 and 1624 by François d'Aguilon and Pieter Huyssens for the church of St Carolus Borromeus in Antwerp, was added between 1703 and 1706. London's skyline was transformed by Wren's tall steeples and that of St Magnus is considered to be one his finest.
The large clock projecting from the tower was a well-known landmark in the city as it hung over the roadway of Old London Bridge. It was presented to the church in 1709 by Sir Charles Duncombe (Alderman for the Ward of Bridge Within and, in 1708/09, Lord Mayor of London). Tradition says "that it was erected in consequence of a vow made by the donor, who, in the earlier part of his life, had once to wait a considerable time in a cart upon London Bridge, without being able to learn the hour, when he made a promise, that if he ever became successful in the world, he would give to that Church a public clock ... that all passengers might see the time of day." The maker was Langley Bradley, a clockmaker in Fenchurch Street, who had worked for Wren on many other projects, including the clock for the new St Paul's Cathedral. The sword rest in the church, designed to hold the Lord Mayor's sword and mace when he attended divine service "in state", dates from 1708.
Duncombe and his benefactions to St Magnus feature prominently in Daniel Defoe's The True-Born Englishman, a biting satire on critics of William III that went through several editions from 1700 (the year in which Duncombe was elected Sheriff).
Shortly before his death in 1711, Duncombe commissioned an organ for the church, the first to have a swell-box, by Abraham Jordan (father and son). The Spectator announced that "Whereas Mr Abraham Jordan, senior and junior, have, with their own hands, joinery excepted, made and erected a very large organ in St Magnus' Church, at the foot of London Bridge, consisting of four sets of keys, one of which is adapted to the art of emitting sounds by swelling notes, which never was in any organ before; this instrument will be publicly opened on Sunday next [14 February 1712], the performance by Mr John Robinson. The above-said Abraham Jordan gives notice to all masters and performers, that he will attend every day next week at the said Church, to accommodate all those gentlemen who shall have a curiosity to hear it".
The organ case, which remains in its original state, is looked upon as one of the finest existing examples of the Grinling Gibbons's school of wood carving. The first organist of St Magnus was John Robinson (1682–1762), who served in that role for fifty years and in addition as organist of Westminster Abbey from 1727. Other organists have included the blind organist George Warne (1792–1868, organist 1820-26 until his appointment to the Temple Church), James Coward (1824–80, organist 1868-80 who was also organist to the Crystal Palace and renowned for his powers of improvisation) and George Frederick Smith FRCO (1856–1918, organist 1880-1918 and Professor of Music at the Guildhall School of Music). The organ has been restored several times - in 1760, 1782, 1804, 1855, 1861, 1879, 1891, 1924, 1949 after wartime damage and 1997 - since it was first built. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was one of several patrons of the organ appeal in the mid-1990s and John Scott gave an inaugural recital on 20 May 1998 following the completion of that restoration. The instrument has an Historic Organ Certificate and full details are recorded in the National Pipe Organ Register.
The hymn tune "St Magnus", usually sung at Ascensiontide to the text "The head that once was crowned with thorns", was written by Jeremiah Clarke in 1701 and named for the church.
Canaletto drew St Magnus and old London Bridge as they appeared in the late 1740s. Between 1756 and 1762, under the London Bridge Improvement Act of 1756 (c. 40), the Corporation of London demolished the buildings on London Bridge to widen the roadway, ease traffic congestion and improve safety for pedestrians. The churchwardens’ accounts of St Magnus list many payments to those injured on the Bridge and record that in 1752 a man was crushed to death between two carts. After the House of Commons had resolved upon the alteration of London Bridge, the Rev Robert Gibson, Rector of St Magnus, applied to the House for relief; stating that £48 6s. 2d. per annum, part of his salary of £170 per annum, was assessed upon houses on London Bridge; which he should utterly lose by their removal unless a clause in the bill about to be passed should provide a remedy. Accordingly, Sections 18 and 19 of 1756 Act provided that the relevant amounts of tithe and poor rate should be a charge on the Bridge House Estates.
A serious fire broke out on 18 April 1760 in an oil shop at the south east corner of the church, which consumed most of the church roof and did considerable damage to the fabric. The fire burnt warehouses to the south of the church and a number of houses on the northern end of London Bridge.
As part of the bridge improvements, overseen by the architect Sir Robert Taylor, a new pedestrian walkway was built along the eastern side of the bridge. With the other buildings gone St Magnus blocked the new walkway. As a consequence it was necessary in 1762 to 1763 to remove the vestry rooms at the West end of the church and open up the side arches of the tower so that people could pass underneath the tower. The tower’s lower storey thus became an external porch. Internally a lobby was created at the West end under the organ gallery and a screen with fine octagonal glazing inserted. A new Vestry was built to the South of the church. The Act also provided that the land taken from the church for the widening was "to be considered ... as part of the cemetery of the said church ... but if the pavement thereof be broken up on account of the burying of any persons, the same shall be ... made good ... by the churchwardens".
Soldiers were stationed in the Vestry House of St Magnus during the Gordon Riots in June 1780.
By 1782 the noise level from the activities of Billingsgate Fish Market had become unbearable and the large windows on the north side of the church were blocked up leaving only circular windows high up in the wall. At some point between the 1760s and 1814 the present clerestory was constructed with its oval windows and fluted and coffered plasterwork. J. M. W. Turner painted the church in the mid-1790s.
The rector of St Magnus between 1792 and 1808, following the death of Robert Gibson on 28 July 1791, was Thomas Rennell FRS. Rennell was President of Sion College in 1806/07. There is a monument to Thomas Leigh (Rector 1808-48 and President of Sion College 1829/30, at St Peter's Church, Goldhanger in Essex. Richard Hazard (1761–1837) was connected with the church as sexton, parish clerk and ward beadle for nearly 50 years and served as Master of the Parish Clerks' Company in 1831/32.
In 1825 the church was "repaired and beautified at a very considerable expense. During the reparation the east window, which had been closed, was restored, and the interior of the fabric conformed to the state in which it was left by its great architect, Sir Christopher Wren. The magnificent organ ... was taken down and rebuilt by Mr Parsons, and re-opened, with the church, on the 12th February, 1826". Unfortunately, as a contemporary writer records, "On the night of the 31st of July, 1827, [the church's] safety was threatened by the great fire which consumed the adjacent warehouses, and it is perhaps owing to the strenuous and praiseworthy exertions of the firemen, that the structure exists at present. ... divine service was suspended and not resumed until the 20th January 1828. In the interval the church received such tasteful and elegant decorations, that it may now compete with any church in the metropolis."
In 1823 royal assent was given to ‘An Act for the Rebuilding of London Bridge’ and in 1825 John Garratt, Lord Mayor and Alderman of the Ward of Bridge Within, laid the first stone of the new London Bridge. In 1831 Sir John Rennie’s new bridge was opened further upstream and the old bridge demolished. St Magnus ceased to be the gateway to London as it had been for over 600 years. Peter de Colechurch had been buried in the crypt of the chapel on the bridge and his bones were unceremoniously dumped in the River Thames. In 1921 two stones from Old London Bridge were discovered across the road from the church. They now stand in the churchyard.
Wren's church of St Michael Crooked Lane was demolished, the final service on Sunday 20 March 1831 having to be abandoned due to the effects of the building work. The Rector of St Michael preached a sermon the following Sunday at St Magnus lamenting the demolition of his church with its monuments and "the disturbance of the worship of his parishioners on the preceeding Sabbath". The parish of St Michael Crooked Lane was united to that of St Magnus, which itself lost a burial ground in Church Yard Alley to the approach road for the new bridge. However, in substitution it had restored to it the land taken for the widening of the old bridge in 1762 and was also given part of the approach lands to the east of the old bridge. In 1838 the Committee for the London Bridge Approaches reported to Common Council that new burial grounds had been provided for the parishes of St Michael, Crooked Lane and St Magnus, London Bridge.
Depictions of St Magnus after the building of the new bridge, seen behind Fresh Wharf and the new London Bridge Wharf, include paintings by W. Fenoulhet in 1841 and by Charles Ginner in 1913. This prospect was affected in 1924 by the building of Adelaide House to a design by John James Burnet, The Times commenting that "the new ‘architectural Matterhorn’ ... conceals all but the tip of the church spire". There was, however, an excellent view of the church for a few years between the demolition of Adelaide Buildings and the erection of its replacement. Adelaide House is now listed. Regis House, on the site of the abandoned King William Street terminus of the City & South London Railway (subsequently the Northern Line), and the Steam Packet Inn, on the corner of Lower Thames Street and Fish Street Hill, were developed in 1931.
By the early 1960s traffic congestion had become a problem and Lower Thames Street was widened over the next decade to form part of a significant new east-west transport artery (the A3211). The setting of the church was further affected by the construction of a new London Bridge between 1967 and 1973. The New Fresh Wharf warehouse to the east of the church, built in 1939, was demolished in 1973-4 following the collapse of commercial traffic in the Pool of London and, after an archaeological excavation, St Magnus House was constructed on the site in 1978 to a design by R. Seifert & Partners. This development now allows a clear view of the church from the east side. The site to the south east of The Monument (between Fish Street Hill and Pudding Lane), formerly predominantly occupied by fish merchants, was redeveloped as Centurion House and Gartmore (now Providian) House at the time of the closure of old Billingsgate Market in January 1982. A comprehensive redevelopment of Centurion House began in October 2011 with completion planned in 2013. Regis House, to the south west of The Monument, was redeveloped by Land Securities PLC in 1998.
The vista from The Monument south to the River Thames, over the roof of St Magnus, is protected under the City of London Unitary Development Plan, although the South bank of the river is now dominated by The Shard. Since 2004 the City of London Corporation has been exploring ways of enhancing the Riverside Walk to the south of St Magnus. Work on a new staircase to connect London Bridge to the Riverside Walk is due to commence in March 2013. The story of St Magnus's relationship with London Bridge and an interview with the rector featured in the television programme The Bridges That Built London with Dan Cruickshank, first broadcast on BBC Four on 14 June 2012. The City Corporation's 'Fenchurch and Monument Area Enhancement Strategy' of August 2012 recommended ways of reconnecting St Magnus and the riverside to the area north of Lower Thames Street.
DLC 2009 flier design by shotahirama.
11th July. 2009
OPEN17:00 CLOSE22:30
TICKET 1000YEN + 500YEN for 1drink
at Loopline Tokyo.
christophe charles (Mille Plateaux)
Tetsuo Furudate (Subrosa)
Chihei Hatakeyama (Spekk)
ENG / electronoise group with Cal Lyall, Taishin Inoue, Kelly Churko, Blackphone666, Daisuke Kitabayashi
Darren McClure
enormous O'clock
Moze
Yuji Kondo
a snore.
Canceled
shiho kano+Yurihito Watanabe
English text-
Deep Listening Chair 2009, the 3rd edition of Tokyo's festival for Experimental Digital Music and related Visual Arts will take place under the theme Surrealistic Minimalism. Sound and other media from July 10 till July 11, 2009 at various venues in Tokyo.
Edition NIkO will address both theoretical and practical aspects of today’s independent and experimental music production at the intersections of digital music and sound & media arts. Artists, experts and theorists will present their work as a means to pool knowledge and sketch out the sector’s future prospects. Visitors can hone their personal skills in workshops designed to encourage and support DIY experimentation. Selected projects and initiatives will demonstrate what they do in a hybrid formats fusing exhibitions and work-in-progress sessions that engage visitors’ participation. Actions and installations will illustrate further examples of creative output wiring music, art and digital culture.
For the DLC.09 on July 11, legendary mille plateaux artist and one of the most respected reputations in avant-garde laptop music, and rightfully so, as he has established a highly notable presence in the multimedia experimentation of the late 20th and early 21st century. "Christophe Charles" will perform his live using his computer programs, insisting on the autonomy of each sound and the absence of hierarchical structure.
On a same day, most revered name in noise-electronic music today, Tetsuo Furudate will perform his noise-opera composition. Contributing to the development of the Japanese noise music in its early period with other pioneers, and apart from his numerous solo works as Furudate Tetsuo, Tetsuo has collaborated with Achim Wollscheid (selektion), Merzbow (mego), Zbigniew Karkowski (sub rosa), Kasper T. Toeplitz (NIkO) and more other noise musicians.
Perhaps one of the most prolific and ceaselessly inventive personalities to come out of the electronic music community since the 1990s, Yurihito Watanabe, the man behind yxetm+, has accumulated literally dozens of musical directions over the course of his illustrious career. Working with David Toop, Alva noto, CM von Hausswolff, Yurihito is increasingly attracted to pushing the barriers of his art form in new directions.
An ambient showcase featuring ENG/electronoise group (feat. Cal Lyall, Taishin Inoue, Kelly Churko, Blackphone666, Daisuke Kitabayashi) by Edition NIkO curator shotahirama, presenting projects that technologically alter the shape and sound of our relationship with industrial. And more artists coming up... Between Darren McClure, enormous O'clock, Moze (ex-Provoke), yuji kondo, a snore, and few more international acts, we’ve endeavored to represent every corner of the electronic arts in motion today.
Edition NIkOはSurrealistic Minimalismを掲げ、パリ、ベルリン、バルセロナ、ロンドン、ニューヨークそしてここ日本と、世界中の電子音響家を擁するネットレーベルである。コンピューターで生成されるマイクロスコピックな電子音を構成素とし、抽象的な音響空間を創出するため、個々のそのデジタルクリエーションの中に「常識を外れた奇妙で既存の状態を超越している状況」を提示するsurrealisticなartistが集まる。レーベルディレクターは、ダダやバウハウスなどの反社会主義性と合理主義的な思想をモデルに、スペインや ロンドンを中心にヨーロッパでのリリース／ライブ活動を続けるサウンドアーティスト、shotahirama (平間翔太)。ENG（electronoise group)、またJANDEATHの名義にてZbigniew KarkowskiやToshiji Mikawa (Incapacitants、非常階段)、Tetsuo Furudate、ASTRO (Hiroshi Hasegawa)、Pain Jerk、Justice Yehldamなど数多くのノイズアーティストとライブ活動を行う。そして２００７年に当レーベルを設立。
そのEdition NIkOのレーベルショーケースとなるDeep Listening Chairが今年も東京のLooplineにて7月11日に開催される。
ラインナップは以下の通りだ。今や東京を代表する美術家/音楽家であり、Mille Plateauxをはじめ数多くのレーベルから作品をリリースし、ICCや成田空港第一ターミナル中央アトリウムなどでのサウンドインスタレーション、また、OVAL (Mille Plateaux)、渋谷慶一郎 (ATAK)、半野善弘 (PROGRESSIVE FOrM)らとのコラボレーションも記憶に新しい、メディアアートを専門に活動を続けるフランス人電子音響家、christophe charlesがヘッドライナーとしてDeep Listening Chairに初登場。
またMerzbowと共に８０年代からノイズミュージシャンとして活動を続け、Sub rosaやStaalplaatなどEdition NIkOも強く影響を受けた名門レーベルから幾つもの作品をリリースし、近年はシェークスピア、エドガー・アラン・ポー、ゲオルグ・ピュヒナー等の作品をベースにしたノイズ音楽劇作品を手がける、今や世界を代表するジャパノイズアーティスト、Tetsuo Furudateも参加が決定。
さらにはレーベルオーナーであるshotahiramaが最も影響の受けた画家、菅野まり子や、David Toop (Samadhisound)、Carsten Nicolai (Raster-noton)、C M Von Hausswolff (Laton)など新進気鋭の音楽家達との共作、共演でも知られておりサウンドアートの世界で活躍するYurihito Watanabeも初登場。今回は世界15カ国以上の映画祭、美術館等で上映され世界でも高い評価を受けている映像作家の狩野 志歩とともに、Feinfügig… unüberholbar… 「しなやかに、追いこすこともかなわぬまま」を上演。
そしてもちろん、Edition NIkOのオリジナルアーティスト達もこの日の為に日本中から集結。２００７年のレーベル創設時からのメンバーであり、毎年このフェスティバルに出演をしている北アイルランド出身、現在は長野に在住のLaptopアーティスト、Darren McClure。更に、モダンエレクトロニックミュージックをジャズやテクノ、ヒップホップなど独自のリズムサイエンスで稀有なサウンドとアンビエンスを生み出すことに成功した名盤、INFORMATION WARFARE (AI Records)が記憶に新しい京都在住の電子音楽家、enormous O’clockも登場。また、２００８年にはヘッドライナーも務めた大阪在住の２人組ProvokeからはMoze、これまでに現音作曲新人賞など数々の受賞経歴を持ち、彼が最も影響を受けてきたであろう、クラシックや映画音楽などの断片をコラージュしていく手法で、映像的なエレクトロニカを提示する。同じ大阪からは、今や関西地区で最も影響力のある若手Laptopアーティストと称されるまでになったYuji KondoもEdition NIkOのオリジナルメンバーであり、去年、そして今年京都で行われたDeep Listening Kyotoに続き３度目の出演となる。さらには京都在住の５人組、a snoreは今年初登場となり、今後が最も期待される京都音響の新世代を代表する存在であろう。
最後にEdition NIkOそして今回のDeep Listening Chairのキューレーターであるshotahiramaは古くからの名義であるENG (electronoise group)で出演する。今回は、現代即興のシーンで最も今注目されるアーティストであり、六本木Super Deluxにて行われるイベントtest toneの主宰者でもあるCal Lyallが参加。これまでにTetuzi Akiyama, Chie Mukai, Samm Bennett, Yoshio Otani, Yoshio Machida, Damo Suzuki等と共演している。さらには、Sound Folliesを主宰しこれまでにGovernment Alpha, Astro, Zbigniew Karkowski, Bastard Noise等多くのノイジシャンと共演し、東京の即興シーンと並び今最も革新的な動きが続くジャパノイズシーンで知らない者はいないKelly Churkoも参加。また、東京の電子音響シーンを牽引するイベントとして多くの若手アーティストを輩出してきたORASPを主宰する、電子音響家Taishin Inoueもこの集団即興に参戦。最後に、古くから続く伝統を継承し新しい方向へと導いていく、ハードコアシーンの新潮流となり絶大な支持を得ている、黒電話ことBlackphone666も参加する。ハーシュやテクノイズ等のパワーエレクトロニクスなアーティストをオーガナイズするDPGレーベルを主宰しており、今回はこのENGにてどんな即興を披露してくれるのか。と、今回のENG/electronoise groupには即興、ノイズ、音響、そしてさらにはハードコアのシーンと。各メディアのオーガナイザーが集合し、全員での即興演奏を披露する。
Deep Listening Chair Festival 2009は以上の豪華メンバーによる、シュールレアリズムな電子音響イベントを披露する。
*Yurihito Watanabe+Shiho KanoはYurihito Watanabeさんの体調不良の為キャンセルになります。変わって、Chihei Hatakeyama (Spekk, Kranky)に急遽出演頂く事になりました。Chihei Hatakeyamaさん、ありがとうございます。
Artists info:
Christophe Charles
Christophe Charles (born Marseille 1964), works with found sounds, and makes compositions using computer programs, insisting on the autonomy of each sound and the absence of hierarchical structure. Graduated from Tsukuba University (Phd., 1996) and Paris INALCO (Phd., 1997). Currently Associate Professor at Musashino Art University (Tokyo), has released music on the German label Mille Plateaux / Ritornell ("undirected" series), and on several compilations (Mille Plateaux, Ritornell, Subrosa, Code, Cirque, Cross, X-tract, CCI, ICC, etc).
Group exhibitions : ICC "Sound Art" (Tokyo, 2000), V&A "Radical Fashion" (London, 2001), etc. Permanent sound installations at Osaka Sumai Jouhou center (1999), Narita International Airport Central Atrium (2000). Collaborations with musicians (Henning Christiansen, Shiomi Mieko, Chino Shuichi, Markus Popp, Hanno Yoshihiro/hoon, Kako Yuzo, Shibuya Keiichiro, et al), visual artists (Yamaguchi Katsuhiro, Yamamoto Keigo, Visual Brains, Osaka Takuro, Kai Syng Tan et al), and performers (Ishii Mitsutaka, Kazakura Sho, Osanai Mari, Ishikawa Fukurow, Salvanilla, et al).
Christophe Charles（クリストフ・シャルル）、1964年フランス生まれ。1996年、筑波大学大学院芸術学研究科博士課程修 了。1997年、フランス国立東 洋文化東洋言語研究所大学院博士課程修了。2000年より武蔵野美 術大学映像学科准教授。環 境芸術学会理事。メディアアートを専門に、現代芸術における理論的・歴史的な研究を行いながら、内外空間を問わずインスタレーション及びコンサー トを行い、それぞれの要素のバランス、独立性及び相互浸透を追求している。
主な作品として、CD作品：「undirected」 シリーズ（Mille Plateaux, Subrosa, CCI, ICC, Code, Cirque, Cross, X-tractレーベル などでリリース）やパブリックアート作品：大阪市住まい情報センターモニュメント（山口勝弘監修）音響担当、東京成田国際空港第一ターミナル中央アトリウ ム常設サウンドインスタレーション。また、山 口勝弘、山本圭吾、風倉匠、Henning Christiansen、 逢坂卓郎、向井千恵、古館徹夫、 武井よしみち、oval、半野善弘、Numb、石川 ふくろう、JOU、久保田晃弘、渋谷慶一郎等とのコラボレーションを多数行っている。
Tetsuo Furudate
Born in Tokyo. Started his career in experimental firm and video art in 1981.From middle of 80's,he gradually turned into music through performing art,contributing to the development of the Japanese noise music in its early period with other pioneers such as Merzbow. He spreads his activities over Europe since 1998,with many concerts not only CD releases,corroborating with Zbigniew Karkowski,Kasper T. Toeplitz and Leif Elggren. He achieved the premier show of his newest experimental noise opera,"Othello",at Podwil in Berlin in 2001.He stayed in Berlin as a artist residence of Podewil in 2003. During them he had premieres of "Wozzeck" at Podewil in Berlin and "Auditory Sence of Mr.Roderick Usher" at Dresdner Zentrums für zeditgenössische Musik (DZzM) in Dresden. "Auditory Senced...."won the BLAUE BRÜCKE prize 2003. “Motome-Zuka” radio version won second prize of The Internationales Festivals für Hörkunst 2007 by Akademie der Hünste of Berlin. He has collaboration works with Achim Wollscheid, Lillevän, Dickson Dee, Akemi Takeya, Sigrid Schnückel and .....
古舘徹夫。80年代より活動を続けるノイズ・ミュージシャン。2003年ドレ スデン「ドレスデン国際音楽祭」でポーの「アッシャー家の崩壊」を ベースにした「ロデリック・アッシャー氏の聴覚」を上演、大賞受賞。 2006年、ラジオ作品「求塚」がベルリン国際ラジオ芸術祭入賞。その後 も欧州を中心にイスラエル、中国等でのコンサート活動を続ける。 2008年、委嘱作品「ゴヤ」がドイチェンランド・ラジオにより放送。 デュラス原作「ヒロシマ、わが恋人」をベルリン及び京都で上演
Chihei Hatakeyama
www.myspace.com/chiheihatakeyama
chihei Hatakeyama was born in 1978, and lives in the outskirts of Tokyo. He has performed for years under his given name and also as one half of the electroacoustic duo Opitope, along with Tomoyoshi Date. Hatakeyama got involved in playing music through strumming a guitar in a few rock-oriented bands in his teenage years. Subsequently a laptop computer superseded his bands as his main platform. Hatakeyama polychromes memory-evoking soundscapes with various recorded materials of acoustic instruments such as guitars, vibraphone, and piano; mostly played by hand and processed time and time again via laptop. His first album Minima Moralia was commissioned for release by the Chicago-based label kranky in early 2006. Opitope actively organizes a continuous live performance event named Kuala Mute Geek in Tokyo (Kuala means "a crossing point of streams" in Malay). The event is powered by hand-made vacuum tube amplifiers and speakers in up to eight channel settings. Electroacoustic and improvisational artists such as Taylor Duepree, Christopher Willits, Toshimaru Nakamura, Christophe Charles, Hans Reichel, Uchihashi Kazuhisa, Tamaru, Carl Stone, Keiichi Sugimoto, Tetsuro Yasunaga, Boris D Hegenbart, Yoshio Machida and many more have performed. Kuala Mute Geek creates possibilities for interaction and dialogue among the artists and listeners. Hatakeyama collaborated with Tomoyoshi Date on a track on the compilation Small Melodies from Spekk in 2005. He also organizes the improvisation band Copa del Papa with a rotating lineup. Hatakeyama and Date launched a label Kualauk Table to release compilations of their selected sessions with guest artists like Christophe Charles, Tamaru, Tagomago, Asuna, Askococo and others in late 2005.
Darren McClure
Results from a combination of digital sounds generated from software and field recordings. Often the field recordings are processed, but other times are left untreated. The sounds I look to create tend to be textural and warm, laying down drones and atmospheres on top of which fragmented melodies appear and disappear in the mix. Collaborated with various people including Allan Hughes (Belfast sound/video artist), Lezrod (Colombian sound artist), Takahiro Kawaguchi (sound/performance artist and field-recordist) and Hiroyuki Ura (sound artist and co-runner of Two-lines label in Tokyo). Released music on net/CD-R labels including Oblast, Test-tube, Factotum Arts, Cherry Music, 2063music, Standard-klik-music, zymogen, Rain Music and Peppermill.
北アイルランド出身。長野県松本市在住。彼が創る音楽はソフトウェアとフィールドレコーディングのサウンドのコンビネーションから成り立つ。フィールドレコーディングの多くはプロセスされているが、時にそのまま使われることもある。ミックスの中で見え隠れするメロディーの断片を単調音に載せ、テクスチュアルかつ温かい音を、彼は創り出している。
enormous O'clock
www.myspace.com/enormousoclock
Born in 1977 in Kyoto, Katsunori Sawa has held an interest in European music since childhood and while many producers often cite a wide variety of influences, it’s quicker to name the genres that EOC doesn’t feel have shaped him as his near endless list ranges from jazz and classical to electro and techno via noise, mambo and folk (to name but a few!)
WIRE、BBC RADIO 1等EUラジオ番組のオンエアーにより海外から注目を浴びる。2008年、モダンエレクトロニックミュージックをジャズやテクノ、ヒップホップなど独自のリズムサイエンスで稀有なサウンドとアンビエンスを生み出すことに成功した名盤、INFORMATION WARFARE (AI Records)が記憶に新しい京都在住の電子音楽家。今年は既にイギリスから３枚のバイナルリリースが決定している。
Moze (Provoke)
PROVOKE is a multi-media group consisting of Moze and Ryota Mikami. Introduce a "political" "inaudible" "experimental" form of electronica music. Combines themes of gender, sexuality, class, linguistics, ethnicity and race.... This diversity of themes is matched by PROVOKE' wide range of production styles, which include film music, Sine-wave, digital jazz, ambient, and computer-composed neo-expressionist piano solos.
森崇博, 三上良太の２人から成るユニット。２００４年「赤い束縛（２００５年, ２００６年度劇場公開長編映画）」音楽、２００５年オーディオ・ビジュアル・ピース「aspectation」ドイツNippon Connection出品, live conｃert@bridge２００６年 「モスリン橋の、袂に潜む（２００６年上映＠HEPP HALL, 大阪）」音響・同作品ＣＯ２技術賞受賞,景山伸夫退官記念コンサート委嘱作品初演, MU楽団室内楽カフェ「音楽の作り方」委嘱作品初演, 舞台「タキオン」音楽, 「吉田喜重 反＝映画史 はじまりの映画、おわりの映画」に寄稿。
ENG (electronoise group)
Radical free/spontaneous music/art ensemble, The Electronoise Group (ENG) founded in early 2006 by Japanese-American soundArtist, shotahirama. It is a group that are making concrete drone sounds with their free-improv expression and the ideas from "laptop" "noise" and "Art".
Using laptop, tape-operation, and tape-loop, generated guitar, the project ideal is to express the content of various psycho pathological conditions, especially depressive psychosis, and paranoia. And also making an art design, a photomontage with strong attention to Dada and Bauhaus.
shotahirama is a Japanese-American concrete sound artist and also known as a photomontage artist, inspired by Dada and Bauhaus. Most people also know him under the name ENG (electronoise group) or JANDEATH. He uses laptop and sinewave generator, some tape-operation and tape-loops, or some kind of machine, making concrete-noise-drone or a power electronics.
He has been documented on a number of projects, each revealing new facets of his wide-ranging and unique talents on both laptop and tape-operation. He has recorded and performed with Zbigniew Karkowski (mego/subrosa), Toshiji Mikawa (ex-incapacitants, Hijokaidan), ASTRO (Ant-Zen), Adachi Tomomi (Tzadik), Kelly Churko (Canada), Justice Yeldham (Australia) and more...
ダダイズムの既成の秩序や常識に対する、否定、攻撃、破壊といった思想や バウハウスに見られる合理主義的・機能主義的な芸術に強く興味を持ち、 電子機材を用いたノイズコンクレート、持続音響な作品制作、またその演出、表現への応用可能性、方法を探る電子音響グループ、ENG (electronoise group)を２００６年に結成した音響家、shotahirama（平間翔太。1984年アメリカ、ニューヨーク生まれ）。ス ペイン、バルセロナからのアルバムリリースを始めこれまでに２つのオリジナルアルバム（"Barcelona"、"Kollaps"）、４曲の楽曲提供と、そのリリース活動は頻繁である。また坂本龍一 のラジオ番組 J−WAVE「RADIO SAKAMOTO」にてルーマニア人の女性SSW、Monookaとのコラボ曲、"Fruhling"がO.A.された事により実現されたイギリス、ロンドンを中心に行われた"Dada Lives Tour"など、ヨーロッパでのリリースからライブ、サウンドインスタレーションまで精力的な活動を続ける。
２００８年にはshotahirama単独のソロ活動となるJANDEATHを始動。ポーランドのハーシュノイズアーティスト、zbigniew karkowski (mego)や、MERZBOWと共に日本のジャパノイズシーンを牽引するToshiji Mikawa (incapacitants)、ASTRO (Hiroshi Hasegawa)、Adachi Tomomi (Tzadik)、Pain Jerkなどの数々のノイジシャンとのライブを行う。産業主義を連想させる金属音や破壊音的電子音響に、２台のElektronを扱い現代音楽のシンボルであるリズムをクリックならぬポイントに置き換え、複雑なシーケンスに溶け込ませたPointilism Musicを提案する。また自身が開発したプログラムソフト、R systemにてそのリズムストラクチャーが持つミニマリズムをそのまま具象化、映像化するライブもJANDEATHではおなじみの光景である。同じ年、兼ねてから共演を熱望していた東京の最新デジタルクリエーションコレクティブ、SOUPのメインアクト、MICLO DIETとのデュエットとなるMICLODEATHも実現。
Cal Lyall
www.myspace.com/hermetictindrum
Currently active in Japan's free improvisation scene and member of drone-psych trio Tetragrammaton, ecstatic choral unit Jahiliyyah, electro-acoustic duo Missing Man Foundation and avant disco unit FDF (with Kumiko Okamura). Other projects include Golden Parabola, Palimpsest (with Kelly Churko), Auraboris (duo with TOMO from Tetragrammaton), Laptop Orchestra, Aktion Directe (with Akira Yamamichi and Masatsugu Hattori), Nikkasen (with Mitsuru Tabata, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto and Kelly Churko), zycOs (with Masatsugu Hattori, Keigo Iwami, and Kouzou Komori), Electroacoustic Jazz Quartet (with Peter Slade, Akira Yamamichi and Jimanica) while also performing as a solo artist with distinctive artists such as Tetuzi Akiyama, Chie Mukai, L?K?O, Samm Bennett, Coppe', Hideo Ikegami, Yasumune Morishige, Yoshio Otani, Yoshio Machida, Damo Suzuki and many more.
Irregularly manages the Subvalent record label and soundispatch imprint / collective and quite regularly mismanages the monthly event Test Tone at Super Deluxe in Nishi-Azabu (Tokyo).
Taishin Inoue
Is a Japanese sound artist, and he was born in Tokyo on September 21, 1981. He lived in the suburbs in Osaka from 3 years old to 19 years old. Now, he is making an electronic music, movie, drawing, magazine, living in the music studio in koenji Tokyo. And he also organize an electronic music event, "ORASP". It is a coined word which connects the initial of “Organic-Reaction Around Spiral-Process”. Orasp includes the image which organic energy circulates through the inner side and outside of the image space produced from the sequence distribution which whirls spirally. ORASP mainly focus on electronica, IDM, ambient, noise, drone, breakcore, minimal techno, abstract hiphop, sonic dub, contemporary music, an acoustic sound, improvised music, experimental jazz, original musical instrument, band, and DJ perform.
ORASP主宰。東京都在住。ORASPとは“Organic-Reaction Around Spiral-Process”の頭文字を取った造語。 ジャンルという区分を越えて紡がれるその一貫性は革新的フィルターとして空間を彩る。主宰である彼の音はまさに、螺旋状に展開するエネルギー体に他ならず、フロアによる有機反応へと回答を託す。大気の振動を手に取るように操られた音塊は詩的にエモーションを掻き立て、その圧倒的存在感から命の息吹すら香るだろう。好意を具現化したような彼の好奇心は広く深く、ただひたすらにピュアな存在として、電子音楽を中心に、ドローイング、映像など多岐に渡り活動を展開中。
Kelly Churko
Kelly Churko was born in Moose Jaw, Canada in 1977 and has been based in Japan since 2001. In addition to solo performances, he also plays in Hospital (w/ Ben Wilson, Masa Anzai, Chris Kelly), Ossuary (w/ Sotoyama Akira, Ito Keita), Almost Transparent Blue (w/ Masa Anzai, Skye Brooks), AKBK, Guilty Connector, Lethal Firetrap, Palimpsest (w/ Cal Lyall), Nikka-sen (w/ Tabata Mitsuru, Cal Lyall, Yamamoto Tatsuhisa), Toque (w/ Tim Olive), Fujii Satoko Orchestra, etc. He also has collaborated live or on recording with Government Alpha, Astro, Zbigniew Karkowski, Bastard Noise, Ilios, Paal Nilssen-Love, Jason Mears, Harris Eisenstadt, and plays regularly with Japanese improvisers including Tamura Natsuki, Kawai Shinobu, Iwami Keigo, Ikezawa Ryusaku, Kamimura Taiichi, Matsumoto Kenichi, Nakamura Kenji, Ando Akihiko, Saito "Shacho" Ryoichi and more.
Blackphone 666
www.geocities.jp/made_in_nakano/index.html
Using Japanese old school black phone and some other electronics, Blackphone666 makes a power electronics sound and most people known him as a real Japanese harsh noise artist. Since 2007, Blackphone666 established "Discord Proving Ground" with Direct Lightning Stroke (bug-noise artist using TV), mainly focus on actiosnim, electric wave and electricity performing art.
黒電話を配備した"HAZARD TELEPHONE SYSTEM"で多様なノイズエレクトロニクスを実戦する、極電式黒電話六百六十六型。'02年から不定期にライブ活動を開始。録音物は'07年までに数作存在するが、現在は沈黙中。 '07年より、十数台のTVを遣いバグノイズを発生させる"DLS"と共に、テクノ〜ノイズまで広範囲の電子音楽をテーマにした"Discord Proving Ground"というイベントを企画・運営している
Daisuke Kitabayashi
www.myspace.com/falteringperformanceband
Daisuke Kitabayashi is a founder of the japanese improvising emsemble Faltering Performance Band (FPB), established in 2008. Already in the late 1990´s Daisuke started experimenting with preparations on the guitar, influenced by the ideas of Keith Rowe. In the beginning of the 2007´s he has been a member of shotahirama's ENG/electronoise group. Since then Daisuke is exclusively playing the "table top guitar" - as a soloist, in FPB and in various other groups.
Yuji Kondo
Yuji Kondo is a sound artist and composer from Japan.In late 2005, he started his solo project, and currently based in the Kansai region. He makes compositions using computer programs, and restructure the sounds such as snow noise, sine wave, stylus tip noise, tape hiss, impulse click, field recording sources, acoustic percussion instruments, random tuning electric bass guitar tones, and voices in unconventional ways. Generated materials are fed back by the matrix-switch system on DAW software. The grand feedback soundscape woven by frequency operation is as beautiful as the fog, subtle and profound. His sound is a unique blend of electronic sounds and acoustic instruments, and the minimal and the complexities coexist there. the electronics function just as any other instruments.
主にフィールドレコーディングなどの素材を扱い、それらを和音化、または聴感におけるデジタル化したものを複数のチャンネルへ走らせ、壮大かつ幽玄なフィードバックサウンドスケープを生成、さらに時間化する。故障音響を「音楽」へと移行する。Jun Nishimura aka JadeGardenの楽曲リミックス、ENG (electronoise group)のオーディオヴィジュアル作品等に参加、shotahiramaらとのコラボレートも記憶に新しい。また、Edition NIkOへ楽曲提供もしており、関西を拠点にライヴを行うなど精力的にその独自のサウンドを展開している。
a snore
coming soon...
映像とノイズ。環境音を取り込みながらミニマルにサウンドを構築してゆく。音や映像による物語性の構築よりも、むしろ事故ったクルマのバンパーのように、剥き出しの美しさ、強度がある。それはコード進行のイリュージョンではなく、現実の連続の沸騰である。(永江大)
不思議な音楽であり素敵な音楽ですね、まるで知らない町に居るかのような錯覚にもなる。背景の映像もカッコイイし。私はa snore.を尊敬します。(グラフィックデザイナー・mamoco)
for more information about this festival, go to
Edition NIkO official website
shotahirama official website
The Adoration of the Magi
www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436504
Artist:Giotto di Bondone (Italian, Florentine, 1266/76–1337)
Date:possibly ca. 1320
Medium:Tempera on wood, gold ground
Dimensions:17 3/4 x 17 1/4 in. (45.1 x 43.8 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1911
Accession Number:11.126.1
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 602
Dating to about 1320, this panel is one of seven showing the life of Christ. Nothing is known of their early history beyond the fact that they were painted for a Franciscan church or convent; however, the masterly depiction of the stable, the carefully articulated space, and the columnar solidity of the figures testify to Giotto’s reputation as the founder of European painting. The impetuous action of the kneeling king, who picks up the Christ Child, and Mary’s expression of concern translate the Biblical account into deeply human terms. "He made [art] natural and gave it gentleness" (Ghiberti, ca. 1450).
Catalogue Entry
The Artist: Giotto is the key figure of Western painting. His emphasis on solidly described figures and his exploration of a rational pictorial space set the course of European art for the next five hundred years. His achievement was celebrated by contemporaries from Dante and Petrarch to Boccaccio, who included a story about the artist in the Decameron (sixth day, fifth story). Vasari accords him the leading role in his famous Lives of the Artists, noting that he revived "the methods and outlines of good painting [that] had been buried for so many years . . .". He was in great demand and worked throughout Italy—Rome, Assisi, Rimini, Padua, Florence, Naples, Bologna, and Milan. His transformative impact on Italian art is due to the fact that in each place he worked he engaged local artists as assistants. Four main fresco cycles attributable to Giotto and assistants survive: that of the life of Saint Francis in the church of San Francesco, Assisi (the attribution and date were long disputed but it has been demonstrated that the cycle was begun under the reign of Nicholas IV, between 1288 and 1292, and completed by 1297; further cycles related to his presence there at later dates are in the lower church); the life of Christ in the Arena Chapel, Padua, one of the defining works of European Painting (completed by 1305); and two later fresco cycles in the church of Santa Croce, Florence. Each of these cycles has a distinctive character and reveals an artist who was constantly evolving. Giotto's towering genius was recognized as exceptional—if not unique—by his contemporaries, but the fact that—like Raphael two centuries later—he usually worked with a team of assistants and sometimes seems to have restricted his role to that of impresario, laying out the designs, has posed problems of interpretation for modern critics, wedded to the idea of "the master's hand."
The Picture: The MMA picture combines two events: the foreground shows the Adoration of the Magi while in the left background an angel announces the birth of Christ to two shepherds. It thus combines the narratives of the gospels of Matthew (2:1–12) and Luke (2:8–13). The Adoration is unusual, if not unique, in showing the oldest king kneeling, his crown set on the ground, and taking the Christ Child from the manger. Joseph, who holds the king's gift, looks on fixedly while the Virgin, depicted reclining on a mattress within the stable, wears a concerned expression. Next to Joseph are two black and one white sheep. The treatment of a canonical scene in terms of a human drama is typical of Giotto, and builds on his fresco cycle in the Arena Chapel in Padua. There, in the scene of the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Virgin is shown reclining on a mattress beneath the stable, turning to place her child in the manger. In the scene of the Adoration of the Magi she is depicted seated, flanked by two attendant angels, regally holding the Christ Child on her lap while in front of her the oldest king kneels to kiss the child. There is no known literary source for the features of the Museum's picture; however, a similar, humanizing, approach to the sacred story was promoted by devotional literature, such as the thirteenth-century Meditations on the Life of Christ, and was developed in liturgical dramas and mystery plays. These popular sources underscore one aspect of Giotto's pictorial revolution, which has often been linked to the populist ministry of the Franciscan order. No less characteristic of the pictorial revolution he promoted is the clear articulation of the space in three stepped tiers, with the shepherds shown as though standing on a notional, far side of the hill behind the stable. The roof of the stable is shown as though viewed from below and to the right. Of the two stars, that in front of the hill is a later addition.
The series to which it belonged: It has now been firmly established that the picture formed part of a series of seven scenes, all painted on a single, horizontal plank of wood, each scene separated from the adjacent one by a thin, vertical band of gold. Left to right, the series showed: The Nativity (MMA), the Presentation (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston), the Last Supper and Crucifixion (Alte Pinakothek, Munich), the Entombment (Berenson Collection, Florence), the Descent into Limbo (Alte Pinakothek, Munich), and Pentecost (National Gallery, London). All scenes are the same size and the events follow in chronological order. A raised edge (or barb) on the left side of the first panel and the right side of the last demonstrate that an engaged frame once surrounded the series. Uniquely, the reverse of the MMA panel preserves intact part of its gesso preparation as well as a porphyry-colored, reddish paint and graffiti that possibly dates to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (see Additional Images, fig. 2). There is also the space where, originally, a vertical batten was affixed, both as a restraining element against warping but possibly also attaching the plank to a more elaborate structure or frame. The scene of the Last Supper, in Munich, and the panels in the National Gallery, London, and in the Berenson Collection, Florence, also have traces of a vertical batten (though the paint has been scraped off). The gold leaf in all of the panels is on a green preparation rather than on the more usual red bole (the use of a green preparation for the gold is also found on panels from an altarpiece painted by Giotto for the chapel of Saint Stephen in the church of Santa Croce, Florence). That the reverse was painted and accessible (and thus vulnerable to being marked by graffiti) pretty much excludes that the series was incorporated into a piece of liturgical furniture, such as the sacristy cupboard panels by Taddeo Gaddi from Santa Croce, Florence (now divided among the Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence; the Alte Pinakothek, Munich; and the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin). More probably, the series formed a low dossal.
Of notable importance is the omission from the series of key events that normally form part of a synoptic narrative, most conspicuously the Annunciation and the Resurrection. Although in a letter of 1807 it was stated that the Last Supper in Munich belonged to a group of twelve panels, this is contradicted by the technical evidence and must be incorrect (see Strehlke 2015). Rather, the omissions indicate a theologically motivated selection. It might, for example, be noted that while the inclusion of the Epiphany, the Presentation, and Pentecost can be seen as emphasizing Christ’s manifestation and ministry to the Gentiles, the trio of Passion scenes at the center underscores the theme of sacrifice—also present in the scene of the Presentation (the two pigeons required by Jewish law).
Theories relating to its commission: The center scene of the Crucifixion includes a figure in a Franciscan habit—undoubtedly Saint Francis—kneeling to one side of the cross with, on the other side, a female and male donor. Given the presence of Saint Francis there can be no doubt that the series was painted for a Franciscan church. What church this might have been has been much discussed. Ghiberti states that Giotto painted four altarpieces in the church of Santa Croce and it has been proposed (Christiansen 1982) that the series could have served as an altarpiece for the Bardi Chapel, which was dedicated to Saint Francis and in which the figural style is related. Vasari also mentions a picture by Giotto with small figures ("di piccolo figure") that had been brought from Borgo San Sepolcro to Arezzo and cut up; the pieces were, again according to Vasari, subsequently acquired by a member of the Gondi family in Florence. The possibility that this unspecified work, conceivably from the church of San Francesco in San Sepolcro, might relate to the series has been proposed (Davies 1951 and Gordon 1989). However, since—as documented by Strehlke (2015)—in 1609 the Gondi's panel was described as "Un quadro con più storiette drento il nostro Signore e della Madonna con figure piccolo, di mano di Giotto, con adornamento arabescato d'oro" (a picture with many small stories of Our Lord and the Madonna, with small figures, by the hand of Giotto, with a frame adorned with gilt arabesques), there is a contradiction with Vasari's account, since according to him the panel from Sansepolcro had already been cut up. Finally, a third proposal would have it that the scenes formed a dossal for the high altar of the church of San Francesco in Rimini, where we know Giotto worked and for which he painted a monumental crucifix, still in the church. However, the further suggestion that the two donor figures in the Munich Crucifixion are identifiable with Malatesta di Verucchio and his wife or sister (Gordon 1989) can be excluded, for the male figure is clearly dressed in liturgical vestments. As pointed out by Strehlke (2015), the priest wears a green alb and a gilt-decorated collar known as an amice. He also has a maniple over his right arm such as is used at mass and this gives the scene a specifically sacral allusion. The woman has a hood that could indicate that she belongs to a lay order. After all is said and done, concrete evidence for any of these suggestions regarding the origin of the series is lacking and each one involves a different chronological placement. The series has been dated as early as about 1305 (D'Arcais 1995) but is more generally—and convincingly—placed in the second or third decade of the century (a minute discussion of the various arguments put forward can be found in Strehlke 2015).
Attribution: Just as there is a variety of views regarding the dating of the series, so their attribution—whether they were entirely painted by Giotto or merely designed by the master and painted with workshop assistance—has been much discussed. Suffice it to say that Giotto's oeuvre has undergone much re-evaluation in the last few decades and that, today, it would generally be conceded that he painted a good deal more than Anglo-American scholars ascribed to him throughout most of the twentieth century. The most celebrated artist of his day, Giotto clearly had a highly organized workshop to deal with the many commissions he received. However, this series ranks among the finest produced in that shop and most scholars would ascribe to Giotto himself a large hand in the creation of these panels. The Metropolitan’s panel is of exceptionally high quality.
[Keith Christiansen 2016]
Despite St Brendan’s bleak reputation, the hospital was established on foot of a wave of sensitivity towards the needs of the mentally ill. In postrevolutionary France, Philippe Pinel struck the chains off his patients at an asylum, convinced a more humanitarian approach would be more effective than restraint and control. This “moral management” philosophy had much in common with what we now consider key aspects of mental-health treatment: a good doctor-patient relationship, a therapeutic environment, good diet, exercise and an occupation.
Richmond Asylum, as St Brendan’s was formerly known, was established on these principles. It was the beginning of a frenzied period of asylum-building that resulted in large-scale institutions being established in towns and cities around the country. In reality, most asylums quickly became overcrowded, dirty and unmanageable.
“When you look back you find that many physicians had progressive plans, and they implemented many of them to do with education or living outside the asylum,” says Dr Brendan Kelly, a consultant psychiatrist with the Health Service Executive, who has researched the history of psychiatry in Ireland. “However, the asylums became too large. Once an institution becomes sufficiently large, attention shifts from caring for the individual to managing the institution. Once that happens, problems emerge.”
Asylums, which were run initially by lay people, were gradually were taken over by the medical establishment. Medical superintendents – the equivalent of psychiatrists – introduced a medical approach to treating mental ill health, and moral management, with its focus on the individual, began to fade. This was a time of discredited and experimental approaches to treating people with mental-health problems. They included “Dr Cox’s circulating swing”, which involved spinning a patient at high speed; the “bath of surprise”, a gallows-style platform that dumped a patient into icy water; and enforced “purging”, or vomiting.
Much later, other forms of brutal treatment came and went, including insulin-coma therapy, where patients were repeatedly injected with the hormone to induce a coma, and lobotomies, which involved removing parts of the brain. These procedures continued in some Irish psychiatric hospitals until the 1960s and 1970s.
The sheer number of people admitted to mental institutions in the years after the Famine was striking. The number of “certified lunatics” increased by 60 per cent in two decades in the late 1800s. Little of this had anything to do with an increase in mental ill health.
“The population had halved, but the number of beds remained the same,” says Dr Ivor Browne, former chief psychiatrist with the Eastern Health Board, who began working at St Brendan’s in 1962. “Conditions for many were desperate, so the asylums were like a suction [drawing people in]. People could get three meals a day.”
Overcrowding and unsanitary conditions remained major problems for decades afterwards. As a result, there was no meaningful relationship between doctor and patient. Browne recalls visiting the women’s section of St Brendan’s in the 1950s, not long after qualifying as a doctor. Even though he had worked in other areas of psychiatry, he was shocked by what he saw. “Many of the wards had more than 100 people in them. There were crowds of patients, jostling each other, some of the women with their dresses pulled over their heads, and here and there a nurse, struggling amid the chaos,” he says.
“There was a cacophony of sound, and I felt as though I was lost in some kind of hell . . . I remember passing a little old lady, quite sane and conscious, sitting in bed and shaking with terror.”
Anyone who fell through society’s cracks tended to end up in an asylum. He recalls seeing patients being admitted for spurious reasons – alcoholism, disruptive behaviour, promiscuity – who often never left. They aged inside and became hopelessly institutionalised.
But the perception of the asylum as a simply brutal environment is too simplistic and doesn’t credit the efforts of staff and doctors, according to Dick Bennett, a former staff nurse who worked at St Brendan’s from the 1970s to the 1990s.
“It was like an asylum in the old meaning of the word: it was a refuge from the outside world,” he says. “There was a sense of community there. The standard of care was excellent. There were older people who lived to their 80s or 90s, which says something about the care.”
Browne adds: “In many ways, there was a great humanity about the place because they couldn’t refuse anyone. There was a kind of acceptance of suffering. There were some nurses who could be quite brutal, but most were quite benign.”
When he took over as chief psychiatrist, in the mid 1960s, one of the first things he did was arrange for some of the high perimeter walls to be knocked down, a symbolic demolition of the barrier between the patients and the community. “Ironically, we ended up having to put up railings instead. Not to keep people in but to prevent antisocial behaviour from outside.” He also set up an assessment unit to try to prevent unnecessary admissions and set about transferring some patients back into the community. Sometimes people were so institutionalised that the prospect of leaving was terrifying.
“I remember one fellow who was keen on gardening and growing things. He had a little hut. I thought he would be a prospect for living in the community. We got a place for him in the community. But he walled himself up in his hut and suffocated himself, because he couldn’t face leaving.”
By the time Browne left, in the late 1990s, the population of St Brendan’s, which had peaked at 2,500, had fallen to about 400.
He says moving patients into the community made sense, but he acknowledges that it didn’t fully work. “What I didn’t realise early on was that any real community in a city like Dublin had ceased to exist. So the only place they could go to was either some offshoot of a mental hospital, like a day hostel, or a rehabilitation centre, which were often like mini-institutions.”
In a few days the old asylum will close and the care centre, which looks more like a corporate headquarters, will take its place. Much has changed in our approach to mental ill health in the past two centuries, and nowadays the vast majority of people are cared for and supported in the community.
Some aspects of the system are still considered antiquated – the admission of teenagers into adult units or the housing of intellectually disabled in “de-designated” wings of old psychiatric hospitals – and concern remains about patchy community-based care and an overreliance on medicine rather than talk therapy. But most agree that we are on the right road to a service that involves patients in their own care and respects their human rights.
“What’s very positive about the future is that the size of the in-patient unit is much smaller,” Kelly says. “The Phoenix Care Centre has a maximum of 54 beds, compared to 2,500 beds at the start of the 1900s. That’s a huge change. It allows more focus on the individual. Sometimes, in the history of the asylums, that’s what was lost, quite simply.”
Source : Irish Times Health Supplement, February 2013
1-12-13 Wyndham Street Races
Laverda (Moto Laverda S.A.S. – Dottore Francesco Laverda e fratelli) was an Italian manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The motorcycles in their day gained a reputation for being robust and innovative.
The Laverda brand was absorbed by Piaggio when, in 2004, Piaggio absorbed Aprilia. Piaggio has elected to quietly close all activities related to the Laverda brand and has publicly stated that they would be willing to sell the rights to the brand if an investor should appear. Currently Laverda.com redirects to Aprilia's website.
750:
The true birth of Laverda as a serious big bike brand occurred with the introduction of 750 cc; its appearance halted sales of the recently introduced 650. Many of the first bikes were produced for the American market under the brand "American Eagle", which were imported to the US from 1968 until 1969 by Jack McCormack. The 750 was identical to the 650 except for the lower compression and carburettor rejetting. In 1969 the "750 S" and the "750 GT" were born, both equipped with an engine which would truly start the Laverda fame. Both engine and frame were reworked: power was increased to 60 bhp (45 kW) for the S. 3 bikes were entered by the factory at the 1969 Dutch 24 hour endurance race in Oss, the 750S was clearly the fastest bike until piston failure left just one machine to finish fourth.
Just like the agricultural machinery made by Laverda S.p.A., the other family business, Laverdas were built to be indestructible. The parallel twin cylinder engine featured no less than five main bearings (four crankcase bearings and a needle-roller outrigger bearing in the primary chaincase cover), a duplex cam chain, and a starter motor easily twice as powerful as needed. Of course, this made the engine and subsequently the entire bike heavier than other bikes of the same vintage, such as the Ducati 750.
Laverda 750 SFC
The SF evolved to include disc brakes and cast alloy wheels. Developed from the 750S road bike was the 750 SFC (super freni competizione), a half-faired racer that was developed to win endurance events like the Oss 24 hours, Barcelona 24 hours and the Bol D'Or at Le Mans. This it did, often placed first, second and third in the same race, and dominating the international endurance race circuit in 1971. Distinguished by its characteristic orange paint which would become the company's race department colour, its smooth aerodynamic fairing and upswept exhaust, the SFC was Laverda's flagship product and best advertisement, flaunting pedigree and the message of durability, quality, and exclusivity. The SFC "Series 15,000" was featured in the Guggenheim Museum in New York's 1999 exhibit The Art of the Motorcycle as one of the most iconic bikes of the 1970s.
Source: Wikipedia
Review:
By the late 1990s Laverda were developing their parallel twin sportster into a decent bike, which was also getting cheaper in the UK as the pound got stronger.
An almost entirely new engine, watercooled and breathing through fuel injection, boosted power to over 80bhp, plus vibration was reduced with balancer shafts.
The crude, twin cylinder motor had always been the Laverda’s weak point and now, with a torquier, smoother mill, the twin spar chassis and Brembo brakes could really shine. Suddenly, the old fashioned big twin concept seemed to make sense.
One quick blast up the road is all it takes to confirm that the 750S is the start of something big for Laverda. At a glance the bike is very similar to the firm’s previous parallel twins. Its chassis is almost identical, its styling owes much to earlier models, and despite being watercooled the new, grey-finished motor fires up with a mechanical whir and a familiar chuffing from its twin pipes.
But the 750S motor responds more quickly to a blip of the throttle, its clutch is notably lighter than before, and the new twin has a distinctly smoother feel as it pulls away. There’s still plenty of Laverda twin character, but the whole bike seems more refined. Then you crack open the throttle in first gear, and the front wheel heads for the clouds to show that, despite its sophisticated manners, this bike is much more of a hooligan than any of its predecessors.
If that hasn’t convinced you that the 750S is a brilliantly enjoyable motorbike, the first tight bend will do the trick. Squeeze the Laverda’s big front Brembo discs and you slow with tackle-crunching ferocity. Flick the clip-ons and the bike cranks onto its side with suspension and tyres carving a precise line through the corner. Wind open the throttle and the twin-pot motor revs smoothly and hard towards its redline at just over nine grand.
Those first few hundred yards are what stick in my mind after a day spent thrashing about on the new Lav mainly because I hadn’t expected the bike to be anything like this good. Laverda have been steadily refining the age-old parallel twin format since bike-mad local textile baron Francesco Tognon took over and began rebuilding the firm a little over three years ago. But despite that, the oil/aircooled parallel twin motors have always felt a bit crude, and I’d expected the 750S to be just another small step in the process of evolution.
Instead the new bike takes Laverda a big leap forward, thanks largely to a watercooled engine whose basic layout is similar to that of its predecessors, but which shares few components and is a far more sophisticated piece of work. The 750S is the first bike that the new company regards as its own design. Tognon says it represents the second phase of Laverda’s recovery and riding it shows that he ain’t exaggerating.
The five-strong design and engineering team at Laverda’s base in Zan in north-eastern Italy left no stone unturned in their attempt to uprate the twin-cam, eight-valve parallel twin unit that has helped put the firm back on the map. Boring out the motor from 78.5 to 83mm increases capacity to 747cc from the old lump’s 668cc.
The 180-degree crankshaft’s stroke remains at 69mm, but changes including a new balancer shaft are intended to reduce vibration. A new pair of camshafts sit in a narrower cylinder head that also features the novelty of watercooled seats for the exhaust valves. Compression ratio is up from 9:1 to 10.5:1 which, along with the new twin-pipe exhaust system, helps increase the claimed peak output from 70 to 82.5bhp at 7000rpm. The six-speed gearbox incorporates revised teeth and dogs; changes to the clutch include a new master cylinder designed to give a lighter feel at the lever.
The chassis is essentially that of the 668cc twins, based around a twin-spar aluminium frame built for the original 650 model that appeared back in 1992. Laverda have never skimped on cycle parts, and the new bike carries on the tradition. Paioli supply the 41mm upside-down forks and the rear shock, both multi-adjustable. Brembo provide brakes (four-pot calipers and 320mm discs up front); wheels are three-spoke Marchesinis wearing Pirelli Dragons.
Fork-tops are pushed well through the yokes to quicken the steering compared to the Ghost models (rake is still a less-than-racy 26.5 degrees, even so). At 192kg dry the Lav weighs a bit less than Ducati’s 748, the same as Honda’s VTR1000 and slightly more than Suzuki’s TL1000. But the 750S is very slim and low, and its under-seat fuel tank helps make for a very light and manoeuvrable bike that immediately makes you feel at home.
The motor’s new-found smoothness is obvious, and you soon discover that there’s extra power through most of the rev range too. At very low revs the bike judders like a road drill, shaking the mirrors that are mounted to the flimsy fairing. But the vibration fades by 3000rpm, and from then on the Laverda punches with a force that is not exactly earth-shattering (Ducati’s 900SS probably has slightly more midrange), but which is more than enough to make you grin.
Previous Laverda twins certainly don’t wheelie like this bike does given a first-gear crack of the throttle and they don’t tempt you to keep thrashing them in the same way either. Response from the revised, faster-reacting Weber fuel-injection system is ace. And the motor’s added smoothness is just as important as its extra power, because you’re more tempted to keep the revs in the sweet zone between 6000 and 8000rpm.
Same goes for the new gearbox, which is a big improvement on previous Laverda efforts. The box shifted cleanly at speed, and was let down only by an occasional reluctance to find neutral at a standstill. Word from the factory is that this was caused by this pre-production bike’s slightly dragging clutch, and that a modification has already been found to prevent the same thing happening to production machines. (What’s more, Laverda seem so on-the-ball these days that it’s probably true...)
Provided it’s kept revving the 750S is respectably quick as it heads for a top speed of close to 140mph. Granted, that makes it by no means the fastest sports bike in the world. Acceleration above 120mph is pretty gentle, and many riders would doubtless prefer a bit more poke for track days and serious Sunday morning scratching. But the rest of the time that performance gives the perfect excuse for plenty of full-throttle craziness.
Predictably the chassis copes effortlessly with everything the engine and rider can throw at it. Laverda really got it right with the 668cc models a few years ago, since when they’ve merely added a few refinements. The hefty twin-spar frame doesn’t have to break sweat to keep 80 horses under control. Forks and shock are firm enough to jar a bit over big bumps, and the riding position means you wouldn’t want to ride in traffic for long (steering lock is pretty tight too). But suspension control is superb and the bike feels better the harder it’s ridden.
Despite its less than radical geometry the short, light 750S steers pretty quickly. And it also has a stunningly stable, well-planted cornering feel, with no sign of TL1000-style twitchiness. The rear Dragon is a fairly narrow 160-section cover on a five-inch rim, but for road use the 750S has heaps of grip, and enough ground clearance to need it. The front tyre has to work hard, too, when Brembo’s excellent stoppers are used in anger.
Not that I needed the brakes to slow down when, only a few miles after setting off from importers Three Cross, the bike suddenly lost all life and coasted to a halt at the roadside. It turned out that the sidestand cut-out switch was killing the sparks, although the stand was fully retracted. A few turns of a spanner from the toolkit soon had it sorted, but this is the sort of silly problem that Laverda need to avoid if they’re going to steal sales from the big boys.
Another electrics-related niggle was that the 19 litre fuel tank’s low warning light had a habit of flashing on far too early, in typical Italian fashion. But quality generally seemed good. Laverda boss Tognon has made a serious investment in an attempt to improve reliability. Finish of parts such as the frame, bodywork and paint (any colour you like as long as it’s black) is well up to standard.
When you consider that only a few years ago Laverda seemed to be in a terminal crisis, following the collapse of yet another attempted revival, the appearance of the firm’s first truly new bike is a result in itself. That the 750S is so good is a minor miracle. And what’s more, the normal Italian bike sting in the tail a price several thousand quid higher than the Japanese competition doesn’t apply.
Three Cross have pitched the 750S at a very competitive £7499 on the road, hardly more than the 668cc Lavs and substantially cheaper than the TL1000S and VTR1000, let alone Ducati’s 748. If you’re looking for a twin-cylinder sports bike with a bit of character, the 750S is worth checking out. One quick blast up the road is all it takes...
Source: www.carolenash.com/insidebikes/bike-reviews/laverda/750s/
Nowadays in Mumbai there is a trend to damage peoples reputation , malign them online , write stupid damning articles on Wassup , and instigate one Shia against another Shia by hardcore anti Human Shia bigots who exist only to cause mischief and rake up issues that are figments of their corrupt evil mind , for a long time I have kept quiet , but being a blogger , a person who respects all communities shoots documents all faith without selling pictures , I am a hobbyist photographer , with 290000 images housed at Flickr..I shot photos of various faith purely as photo journalism, I have never proselytized my Faith as a Shia , but I am a Shia and I cant change the humility of my birth.. born in the womb of a Syed Shia Mother .. descendant of poet Mir Anees.
I am not a member of any group , I owe allegiance to no Anjuman or Shia factions ..The Shias mourn for Moharam when Moharam begins my Moharam never ends I wear only black clothes , and I dont need a character certificate from a Maulana as much as I respect them I think they are as human as the next person.. I am not a groupie and I have been bought among Christian and Hindus , all our servants in those early years at Wodehouse Road were Christians or Maharashtrian maids and they imbibed great values ..so I cannot borrow your narrow mindedness or your lack of secular understanding, I was lucky inspite of uneducated parents I studied in a European school and the Convent education made me a good human being I think so, I am not a criminal so I hate being blackened online by hate filled Shia bigots how I do Matam, or how I call it Tandav is the terminology of my cultural inheritance .. and honestly I am proud to be a Shia with his roots embedded in Hindustan the land even our Imam loved immensely , so poetically I began calling myself Hindu Shia or a Shia Pandit and after seeing my Hindu friends scourging their backs on Ashura , crying with me I took a vow I will shoot their Faith and I shoot it as passionately as my own..
I owe no explanation to those Shias who were nowhere in sight when we lost our home our belongings during the 93 Riots , it was my Hindu friends who helped me and my Hindu bosses who saw that I stood up on my feet again.. I did go to the office of a famous Shia builder but he could not help us , is part of my cosmic fate ..
So abusing us online , does not do much if on the other hand you talk about Hussain is Humanity and tell me what have you contributed to humanity .. forget the poor Shias , have you forged ties with your neighbor or you just want to be divert attention from your own child abuse , the hammerings you got , so now you are turning your ire and venom on other Shia who have nothing to do with you.. Please grow up.. and get your facts right , or do you have some personal enmity or did the Shia Wahabbis pay you to malign us so that we stop shooting Shia pictures .. what is your evil agenda or is this your Door of Knowledge that leads through hatredness , yes my grand children are better Shias than you will ever be in your lifetime yes they recognize Jesus Lord Ganesha and they shoot Hindu Temples Churches because I dont want them to end up as you losers in life ..
You have destroyed the minds of young children against Azadari, because you hate us bleeding , it chills your own evil blood , you bring in Israel, and what has Israel against Indian Shias .. you madman hallucinating son of a sea cook..I have friends from all over the world shooting Moharam , is it your fundamental right to stop them , you coward you cant stop the killings of Shia all over the world and you want to stop our matam s .. is this what your mother father your spiritual leaders taught you , hitting out at others in a hijab without your name , you faceless Shia bigot coward..
Go to Hyderabad , go to Chennai go to Kolkattta go to Delhi see their fervor see their love for the Imam , their path of humanity, perhaps than will you know the real meaning of Ghame Hussain and Maksade Hussain..
I hope and pray to our Imam to add a bit of sanity to your brain , and make you normal.. you are a danger to cosmopolitan society and a greater insult to Shiasm than me calling myself Hindu Shia .. or doing Tandav on the Soul of Shimr...
Yes I am proud of what I am.. my Karbala is my Motherland and unlike your warped brains I celebrate Ashura everyday..
1-12-13 Wyndham Street Races
Laverda (Moto Laverda S.A.S. – Dottore Francesco Laverda e fratelli) was an Italian manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The motorcycles in their day gained a reputation for being robust and innovative.
The Laverda brand was absorbed by Piaggio when, in 2004, Piaggio absorbed Aprilia. Piaggio has elected to quietly close all activities related to the Laverda brand and has publicly stated that they would be willing to sell the rights to the brand if an investor should appear. Currently Laverda.com redirects to Aprilia's website.
750:
The true birth of Laverda as a serious big bike brand occurred with the introduction of 750 cc; its appearance halted sales of the recently introduced 650. Many of the first bikes were produced for the American market under the brand "American Eagle", which were imported to the US from 1968 until 1969 by Jack McCormack. The 750 was identical to the 650 except for the lower compression and carburettor rejetting. In 1969 the "750 S" and the "750 GT" were born, both equipped with an engine which would truly start the Laverda fame. Both engine and frame were reworked: power was increased to 60 bhp (45 kW) for the S. 3 bikes were entered by the factory at the 1969 Dutch 24 hour endurance race in Oss, the 750S was clearly the fastest bike until piston failure left just one machine to finish fourth.
Just like the agricultural machinery made by Laverda S.p.A., the other family business, Laverdas were built to be indestructible. The parallel twin cylinder engine featured no less than five main bearings (four crankcase bearings and a needle-roller outrigger bearing in the primary chaincase cover), a duplex cam chain, and a starter motor easily twice as powerful as needed. Of course, this made the engine and subsequently the entire bike heavier than other bikes of the same vintage, such as the Ducati 750.
Laverda 750 SFC
The SF evolved to include disc brakes and cast alloy wheels. Developed from the 750S road bike was the 750 SFC (super freni competizione), a half-faired racer that was developed to win endurance events like the Oss 24 hours, Barcelona 24 hours and the Bol D'Or at Le Mans. This it did, often placed first, second and third in the same race, and dominating the international endurance race circuit in 1971. Distinguished by its characteristic orange paint which would become the company's race department colour, its smooth aerodynamic fairing and upswept exhaust, the SFC was Laverda's flagship product and best advertisement, flaunting pedigree and the message of durability, quality, and exclusivity. The SFC "Series 15,000" was featured in the Guggenheim Museum in New York's 1999 exhibit The Art of the Motorcycle as one of the most iconic bikes of the 1970s.
Source: Wikipedia
Review:
By the late 1990s Laverda were developing their parallel twin sportster into a decent bike, which was also getting cheaper in the UK as the pound got stronger.
An almost entirely new engine, watercooled and breathing through fuel injection, boosted power to over 80bhp, plus vibration was reduced with balancer shafts.
The crude, twin cylinder motor had always been the Laverda’s weak point and now, with a torquier, smoother mill, the twin spar chassis and Brembo brakes could really shine. Suddenly, the old fashioned big twin concept seemed to make sense.
One quick blast up the road is all it takes to confirm that the 750S is the start of something big for Laverda. At a glance the bike is very similar to the firm’s previous parallel twins. Its chassis is almost identical, its styling owes much to earlier models, and despite being watercooled the new, grey-finished motor fires up with a mechanical whir and a familiar chuffing from its twin pipes.
But the 750S motor responds more quickly to a blip of the throttle, its clutch is notably lighter than before, and the new twin has a distinctly smoother feel as it pulls away. There’s still plenty of Laverda twin character, but the whole bike seems more refined. Then you crack open the throttle in first gear, and the front wheel heads for the clouds to show that, despite its sophisticated manners, this bike is much more of a hooligan than any of its predecessors.
If that hasn’t convinced you that the 750S is a brilliantly enjoyable motorbike, the first tight bend will do the trick. Squeeze the Laverda’s big front Brembo discs and you slow with tackle-crunching ferocity. Flick the clip-ons and the bike cranks onto its side with suspension and tyres carving a precise line through the corner. Wind open the throttle and the twin-pot motor revs smoothly and hard towards its redline at just over nine grand.
Those first few hundred yards are what stick in my mind after a day spent thrashing about on the new Lav mainly because I hadn’t expected the bike to be anything like this good. Laverda have been steadily refining the age-old parallel twin format since bike-mad local textile baron Francesco Tognon took over and began rebuilding the firm a little over three years ago. But despite that, the oil/aircooled parallel twin motors have always felt a bit crude, and I’d expected the 750S to be just another small step in the process of evolution.
Instead the new bike takes Laverda a big leap forward, thanks largely to a watercooled engine whose basic layout is similar to that of its predecessors, but which shares few components and is a far more sophisticated piece of work. The 750S is the first bike that the new company regards as its own design. Tognon says it represents the second phase of Laverda’s recovery and riding it shows that he ain’t exaggerating.
The five-strong design and engineering team at Laverda’s base in Zan in north-eastern Italy left no stone unturned in their attempt to uprate the twin-cam, eight-valve parallel twin unit that has helped put the firm back on the map. Boring out the motor from 78.5 to 83mm increases capacity to 747cc from the old lump’s 668cc.
The 180-degree crankshaft’s stroke remains at 69mm, but changes including a new balancer shaft are intended to reduce vibration. A new pair of camshafts sit in a narrower cylinder head that also features the novelty of watercooled seats for the exhaust valves. Compression ratio is up from 9:1 to 10.5:1 which, along with the new twin-pipe exhaust system, helps increase the claimed peak output from 70 to 82.5bhp at 7000rpm. The six-speed gearbox incorporates revised teeth and dogs; changes to the clutch include a new master cylinder designed to give a lighter feel at the lever.
The chassis is essentially that of the 668cc twins, based around a twin-spar aluminium frame built for the original 650 model that appeared back in 1992. Laverda have never skimped on cycle parts, and the new bike carries on the tradition. Paioli supply the 41mm upside-down forks and the rear shock, both multi-adjustable. Brembo provide brakes (four-pot calipers and 320mm discs up front); wheels are three-spoke Marchesinis wearing Pirelli Dragons.
Fork-tops are pushed well through the yokes to quicken the steering compared to the Ghost models (rake is still a less-than-racy 26.5 degrees, even so). At 192kg dry the Lav weighs a bit less than Ducati’s 748, the same as Honda’s VTR1000 and slightly more than Suzuki’s TL1000. But the 750S is very slim and low, and its under-seat fuel tank helps make for a very light and manoeuvrable bike that immediately makes you feel at home.
The motor’s new-found smoothness is obvious, and you soon discover that there’s extra power through most of the rev range too. At very low revs the bike judders like a road drill, shaking the mirrors that are mounted to the flimsy fairing. But the vibration fades by 3000rpm, and from then on the Laverda punches with a force that is not exactly earth-shattering (Ducati’s 900SS probably has slightly more midrange), but which is more than enough to make you grin.
Previous Laverda twins certainly don’t wheelie like this bike does given a first-gear crack of the throttle and they don’t tempt you to keep thrashing them in the same way either. Response from the revised, faster-reacting Weber fuel-injection system is ace. And the motor’s added smoothness is just as important as its extra power, because you’re more tempted to keep the revs in the sweet zone between 6000 and 8000rpm.
Same goes for the new gearbox, which is a big improvement on previous Laverda efforts. The box shifted cleanly at speed, and was let down only by an occasional reluctance to find neutral at a standstill. Word from the factory is that this was caused by this pre-production bike’s slightly dragging clutch, and that a modification has already been found to prevent the same thing happening to production machines. (What’s more, Laverda seem so on-the-ball these days that it’s probably true...)
Provided it’s kept revving the 750S is respectably quick as it heads for a top speed of close to 140mph. Granted, that makes it by no means the fastest sports bike in the world. Acceleration above 120mph is pretty gentle, and many riders would doubtless prefer a bit more poke for track days and serious Sunday morning scratching. But the rest of the time that performance gives the perfect excuse for plenty of full-throttle craziness.
Predictably the chassis copes effortlessly with everything the engine and rider can throw at it. Laverda really got it right with the 668cc models a few years ago, since when they’ve merely added a few refinements. The hefty twin-spar frame doesn’t have to break sweat to keep 80 horses under control. Forks and shock are firm enough to jar a bit over big bumps, and the riding position means you wouldn’t want to ride in traffic for long (steering lock is pretty tight too). But suspension control is superb and the bike feels better the harder it’s ridden.
Despite its less than radical geometry the short, light 750S steers pretty quickly. And it also has a stunningly stable, well-planted cornering feel, with no sign of TL1000-style twitchiness. The rear Dragon is a fairly narrow 160-section cover on a five-inch rim, but for road use the 750S has heaps of grip, and enough ground clearance to need it. The front tyre has to work hard, too, when Brembo’s excellent stoppers are used in anger.
Not that I needed the brakes to slow down when, only a few miles after setting off from importers Three Cross, the bike suddenly lost all life and coasted to a halt at the roadside. It turned out that the sidestand cut-out switch was killing the sparks, although the stand was fully retracted. A few turns of a spanner from the toolkit soon had it sorted, but this is the sort of silly problem that Laverda need to avoid if they’re going to steal sales from the big boys.
Another electrics-related niggle was that the 19 litre fuel tank’s low warning light had a habit of flashing on far too early, in typical Italian fashion. But quality generally seemed good. Laverda boss Tognon has made a serious investment in an attempt to improve reliability. Finish of parts such as the frame, bodywork and paint (any colour you like as long as it’s black) is well up to standard.
When you consider that only a few years ago Laverda seemed to be in a terminal crisis, following the collapse of yet another attempted revival, the appearance of the firm’s first truly new bike is a result in itself. That the 750S is so good is a minor miracle. And what’s more, the normal Italian bike sting in the tail a price several thousand quid higher than the Japanese competition doesn’t apply.
Three Cross have pitched the 750S at a very competitive £7499 on the road, hardly more than the 668cc Lavs and substantially cheaper than the TL1000S and VTR1000, let alone Ducati’s 748. If you’re looking for a twin-cylinder sports bike with a bit of character, the 750S is worth checking out. One quick blast up the road is all it takes...
Source: www.carolenash.com/insidebikes/bike-reviews/laverda/750s/
The Journey so far.
New Model Army played their first gig in Bradford on October 23rd 1980. Its founding members were Justin Sullivan, Stuart Morrow and Phil Tompkins. The threesome had already been together for a couple of years in a number of Bradford bands with other musicians and singers but in the Autumn of 1980, they decided to form a stripped-down three-piece, their music drawing on a wide collection of influences and fuelled by their passions for Punk Rock and Northern Soul. Within a few months drummer Phil Tomkins had left to be replaced by Rob Waddington. The band slowly built up a local following and created a unique style based on Justin's song-writing and Stuart's virtuosity on lead-bass.
In Summer 1982, whispers about this band reached London and they were invited to perform at a couple of showcases. But in a scene hungry for "the next big thing" (the coming "New Romantics"), NMA's fearsome music and northern style did not win over the Major Record Companies and they returned to Bradford empty-handed. Rob Waddington left to be replaced by Robert Heaton, who had been working as a drum tech and occasional drummer for the band ‘Hawkwind‘. Undeterred by the indifference of the Music Business, NMA began to perform more and more around the country and frequently featured as opening act on a series of all-day concerts at the London Lyceum which heralded many of the "Post-Punk" bands. Although this meant traveling for several hours to play a twenty-five minute set for no money, the band embraced the opportunity and their reputation as a live act grew. A first small-label independent single "Bittersweet" was released in the summer of 1983, followed by "Great Expectations" on Abstract Records that autumn, both played frequently on late night radio by John Peel. Suddenly the band had a "Following", people who would travel to every concert around the country to see them.
Early in 1984, the producer of "The Tube", the most important live music show on TV, had seen NMA in concert and invited them to fill the ‘unknown' slot on the programme. Having originally asked the band to perform their provocative anti-anthem, "Vengeance", the TV Company suddenly got cold feet about the song's lyrics minutes before broadcast and asked the band to change songs. It made no difference. Somehow twenty to thirty followers had managed to get into the TV studio and when NMA began with "Christian Militia" the crowd went wild and an electric atmosphere was transmitted around the country. Suddenly NMA were underground news. Their first mini-album, "Vengeance" knocked "The Smiths" from the top of the Independent Charts and the major record companies, who had rejected them less than two years earlier, were now begging to sign the band.
The autumn of 1984 was a time of political turmoil in Britain. After five years of Mrs Thatcher's right-wing government, which had already fuelled so much of NMA's early fury, a final showdown with the National Union of Mineworkers (the strike that had begun in March and had split the country), entered a critical phase and much of Northern England began to resemble a Police State. NMA's last Independent EP "The Price" also featured "1984" a song written directly about the strike and, with their declared left-wing views, NMA's concerts became increasingly intense.
At the end of the year, NMA signed a contract of "complete artist control" with EMI (which included EMI giving a donation to a miners fund). The move surprised many people but the band were already looking beyond the confines of Britain and considered the deal to be the right one. In the Spring of 1985 the album "No Rest For The Wicked" and the single "No Rest" both reached the national top 40, but this success and now relative financial security had done little to soften NMA's confrontational attitude. They appeared on Top Of The Pops wearing T-shirts with a motif reading "Only Stupid Bastards Use Heroin" (a reaction against the fashionable drug of the time).
Then, halfway through the "No Rest" tour, the day after their hometown gig, Stuart Morrow decided to leave the band for personal reasons. Frantic negotiations were made (by a strange unhappy co-incidence, on the very same day as the Bradford City fire disaster killed 56 people at a football match), but to no avail. As a result, Justin and Robert decided to follow up the success of "No Rest" with an acoustic song from the album "Better Than Them" which had not involved Stuart and accompanied it with three specially recorded acoustic tracks, a move of principle which dumbfounded EMI. By the summer, Stuart had been replaced by 17 year-old Jason 'Moose' Harris, whose first gig was at a benefit for the families of the fire tragedy, and the "No Rest" tour continued.
Thatcher's victory over the miners, and by extension over all organised opposition, marked a new political reality. This, coupled with the shock of Stuarts's departure and increasing media hostility, resulted in the band taking an ever more defiant posture, exemplified by a typically fiery performance at the Glastonbury Festival. Then, despite being signed to Capitol Records in North America, all attempts to tour there were prevented when the band were refused visas. Many people, on both sides of the Atlantic, believed that this was for political reasons although this was never possible to prove. Instead, that autumn NMA set out on their first long tour of the European mainland, which unlike many UK acts, they found much to their liking, and later a trip to Japan. The year ended with yet another UK tour in support of a newly recorded EP: "Brave New World", a savage portrait of the Thatcher's Britain and "RIP", an equally furious study of the band's history thus far.
If 1985 had been a traumatic year, then 1986 saw one of the band's many resurrections, with the legendary Glyn Johns agreeing to produce their third album. Though relations between band and producer were often difficult, Justin recalls the sessions as "the biggest musical learning curve of my life". "The Ghost Of Cain" was well received by the critics and audience and many people began to see a band that were capable of developing and changing and adjusting to new realities while still staying true to their own principles; this was a band that were now pursuing their own musical agenda, completely unmoved by the whims of the music industry or the expectations of fans. Outside Britain, their name was slowly becoming known and in December of 1986, they finally made a first short tour of America.
1987 was a year of full bloom. In January, Justin and Robert recorded an album with the poet Joolz Denby. Joolz had been the band's first manager and has remained as a driving force and responsible for all of the band's artwork from the beginning to the present day. She had previously made spoken word albums and a series of EPs with Jah Wobble but it was inevitable that she would collaborate with NMA. The album "Hex" was recorded at the very special Sawmills Studio, a unique place in Cornwall, only reachable at high tide by boat. Although the studio is now well known, at that time it was infrequently used and accommodation was in primitive cabins deep in the woods. From this new setting, and freed from the pressures of "being New Model Army", Justin and Robert were able to explore all kinds of ideas and musical avenues that their experience with Glyn Johns had opened up. Later, they both considered "Hex" to have been one of the creative highlights of their musical partnership, with its strong, romantic soundscapes acting as the perfect accompaniment to Joolz' poetry.
Much of the writing of "Hex" had been done using samplers and the use of this new tool continued to take the band in unexpected directions. That summer they recorded the "Whitecoats" EP with its ecological lyric and mystical atmosphere. An interest in mysticism and spirituality had been becoming more and more apparent in Justin's lyrics (though this was no surprise to those who knew of his family's Quaker roots). The same summer, Red Sky Coven was born out of a group of friends who shared these interests and ideas. It included Justin, Joolz, singer-songwriter and storyteller Rev Hammer and musician Brett Selby. Together, the foursome decided to create a performance based on this friendship, a unique show which continues to tour on an occasional basis.
1987 also saw plenty more NMA concerts, including Reading Festival, a gig with David Bowie in front of the Reichstag in Berlin and a show-stopping performance at the Bizarre Festival at Lorelei in Germany. From time to time, the band added their friend Ricky Warwick as a second guitarist and also enlisted Mark Feltham, the legendary harmonica player who had graced "The Ghost Of Cain" and "Hex" to join them. At the very end of the year and the beginning of 1988, they returned to the Sawmills for two more inspired writing sessions, which laid the foundations for "Thunder and Consolation".
The following months, though, were far more difficult, while NMA chose a producer, another music legend - Tom Dowd - and set about recording the album. It was a long drawn-out process and relationships between band members became increasingly strained, only really maintained by the knowledge that they were making something truly special. "Thunder and Consolation" was finally released early in 1989, striking a perfect balance between the band's fascinations with rock, folk and soul music and Justin's lyrical interest in spirituality, politics and family relationships. The album brought critical praise and new levels of commercial success and the band toured Europe and North America, joined by Ed Alleyne Johnson playing electric violin and keyboards and Chris Mclaughlin on guitar. However, despite the success, relationships at the heart of the band had not really mended and even after Jason Harris left that summer, stresses remained.
By autumn Justin and Robert were back in the Sawmills working towards another album and, in the new year, they were joined by a new (and still current) bass player, Nelson, previously of a number of East Anglian cult bands, and a new second guitarist, Adrian Portas from Sheffield. The new musicians brought a stronger atmosphere to the touring band while, in the studio, Justin and Robert continued to explore different musical ideas. Partly self-produced, "Impurity" was finally finished and mixed by Pat Collier in the summer of 1990. Still featuring Ed Alleyne Johnson' violin, the album was more eclectic than "Thunder" but continued to win new fans and the world-wide tour that followed its release lasted the best part of a year, culminating in a rolling Festival in Germany involving David Bowie, Midnight Oil, The Pixies and NMA.
In mid-1991, "Raw Melody Men", a live album from the tour, was put together and released. It was to be NMA's last album for EMI. Unusually, given the history of the music business, the relationship between band and record company had always remained cordial but had now simply grown stale. There were minor dissatisfactions on both sides and, after lengthy negotiations, it was agreed to simply terminate the contract. NMA's own Management Company also imploded at this time and new management was drawn up. The band was not short of new record company offers and eventually chose Epic, for reasons to do with support in the US.
Although Mrs Thatcher had been ousted by her own Party in 1990 (a memorable night coinciding with NMA's first visit to Rome), the Conservative monolith that had ruled the country for so long remained in power and, against all expectations, won a further election in 1992. Outside Britain though, much was changed: there was recession and instability and a so-called "New World Order" in the wake of the collapse of Soviet Communism and the 1st Gulf War. Already the band was embarked upon a very dark album, driven equally by personal traumas, including Justin's near-death electrocution on stage in Switzerland and the changes in the world around them. Produced by Niko Bolas and mixed by Bob Clearmountain, "The Love Of Hopeless Causes" was not what anyone was expecting. Just as folk-rock, pioneered and inspired in part by NMA, became a fashionable and commercial sound, the band made a deliberate move away from it and straight and into guitar-driven rock music.
Replacing Adrian with Dave Blomberg on guitar, they embarked on the album tour and the European section featured their most successful concerts yet. However NMA's relationship with their new record company quickly deteriorated. Worse still, they found themselves caught in corporate dispute between London and New York, which was in no way related to them. By June, the band found themselves on an exhaustive US tour, in which they had invested much of their own money, with no support of any kind from Epic or any other source. The tour featured many outstanding concerts but it was a bittersweet experience. By the end of the summer, it had been agreed that there should be a year off for everyone to rest and consider the future, while the contract with Epic was quickly terminated.
Justin used 1993-4 to produce other artists (a second collaboration with Joolz entitled "Weird Sister", Rev Hammer's "Bishop Of Buffalo" album and also the unusual Berlin combo, The Inchtabokatables), tour with Red Sky Coven and create another way of performing NMA songs - in a duo with new guitarist Dave Blomberg. Together they went back to Justin's first love - small club touring - and eventually released an album of the live show entitled "Big Guitars in Little Europe", an album, which has proved enduringly popular. Robert's main wish was to spend more time at home with his family, which he was now able to do and Nelson formed a new band "Nelson's Column" which toured England. Ed Alleyne Johnson followed up his first solo album "The Purple Electric Violin Concerto" which had been so successful with a second entitled "Ultraviolet".
After the year was up, Justin and Robert tentatively began work on a new project and in December 1994, the band (with Dean White on keyboards replacing Ed Alleyne Johnson) reassembled to play a short series of concerts. However, the next two years were lost while Justin and Robert, plagued by ill health and personal-life distractions tried unsuccessfully to pin down hundreds of new musical ideas into an album. It became increasingly obvious to both of them (and everyone else in and around the band) that they were now on very different musical paths. In 1997, Tommy Tee who had been the band's Tour Manager in the 1980s returned to take control of the band's drifting affairs. He enlisted producer Simon Dawson to help finish the project and by the autumn "Strange Brotherhood" was completed. Unsurprisingly, it's an album full to the brim with different and contrasting musical ideas while the lyrics range from the politics of the British Road Protest movement (in which Sullivan had been actively involved during 1996) to the deeply personal and sometimes unusually obscure. During the mixing, it was agreed that Justin and Robert would go their separate ways after the tour.
Then, suddenly Robert was diagnosed as having a brain tumour, and though the operation to remove it was successful, any prospect of touring was impossible. So he suggested that his place be taken by Michael Dean, a young drummer who had been working as his technician since 1993. Having watched Robert for some years, Michael was immediately comfortable with the role of drummer and with all other aspects of the band. The "Strange Brotherhood" tour began in the spring of 1998 and, happy to be back on the road at last, for the first couple of months, the band embarked on an ambitious programme of doing two sets each night, a 50 minute acoustic set followed by a full 90 minute rock. The tour continued on and off through to the end of the year.
By now Justin and Tommy Tee had restructured New Model Army's set-up to take account of the changes that the Internet was bringing to the whole music industry. This included making sure that the band owned every aspect of their work, and included their own record label (Attack Attack) to be distributed by different companies in different territories. 1999 began with a review of live shows recorded the previous year and their amalgamation into a live double album entitled "New Model Army and Nobody Else". After this Justin (assisted by Michael) began to write new songs for the next album. This was done quickly and easily for the first time since "Thunder", with Justin claiming to be "reborn as a song-writer." To keep up the momentum, it was decided to self-produce and to record the album in the band's own studio. Again this was done quickly with mostly Justin, Michael and Dean at the controls. (Living 250 and 300 miles from Bradford meant that Nelson and Dave were more occasional contributors for purely geographical reasons). The whole process was very much a reaction to the slow progress of "Strange Brotherhood", with the album given the simple name "Eight" to go with its whole stripped-down approach. It was released in the Spring of 2000 and was followed by more touring.
On October 23rd 2000, the band celebrated their 20th anniversary by playing another two set marathon at Rock City in Nottingham and then three months later, further special concerts in London and Koln which featured four completely different sets spread over two nights - a 57 song marathon in each city attended by over 7000 people.
One of the legacies of the lost years of the mid 1990s was a lot of unfinished material and next, Justin, Michael and Dean worked to finish and assemble this into accessible form, a double album "Lost Songs" released in 2002. Another ‘unfinished' project was Justin's long promised solo album and it was at this moment that he decided to pursue it. Meant to take just a few weeks to record and tour, "Navigating By The Stars" became another marathon. Hooking up with film and TV music producer, Ty Unwin, the first week of working coincided with ‘9/11'. Rather than making a political or angry response to unfolding events, the album's purpose was to ‘make something beautiful in an increasingly ugly World'. The album came out in 2003 to surprised and favourable reaction. At first touring alone with Dean (including a long awaited return to America), Justin was then joined by Michael playing percussion and the threesome bought a large mobile home and set off across Europe. The live album "Tales of the Road", released in 2004 captures their unique sound and stripped-down rearrangements of some of NMA's lesser known songs.
In 2004, an exhibition of all Joolz' artwork for the band plus collected memorabilia was assembled for a touring exhibition. Entitled ‘One Family, One Tribe' it has been on display in art galleries in Otley, York, Bradford and Hamm in Germany and there are plans for more future showings. Meanwhile, the band work began work on a new NMA album, at first focused around Michael's increasing creativity as a drummer. "Carnival" was recorded with producer Chris Tsangerides and mixed by Nat Chan. It's lyrical subjects and musical roots were as usual very eclectic but included many people's favourite NMA track, "Fireworks Night", Justin's emotional response to the sudden and unexpected death of Robert that Autumn. "Carnival" was released in September 2005, but when it came to the tour, Dave Blomberg was unable to participate for family reasons and his place was taken by Marshall Gill, a blues guitarist from Ashton Under Lyne, completing the band's current line-up in what Sullivan calls “the best version of NMA since 1985”.
The Carnival Tour marked another dynamic new beginning for the band, with Nelson sometimes playing as a second drummer, Dean sometimes as third guitarist and Michael and Marshall's energy much in evidence. Such was the sense of momentum and togetherness that for the first time in years, NMA moved quickly on to making another album with major contributions from all members. "High" was written and recorded in five months at the beginning of 2007, produced by old friend (and another production star, Chris Kimsey) and was ‘angrier' than any releases for a while and lyrically very much in tune with current realities.
The "High" tour rolled through 4 continents with the new line up now firmly in tune with itself and Marshall bringing a tougher edge to the band's sound - even managing to re-arrange the classic violin led anthem "Vagabonds" into a guitar led version. This and 16 other songs were released on a new live album, "Fuck Texas, Sing For Us", in November 2008 (the title taken from a chant at the band's New Orleans show that serves as the intro to the album).
The year ended with tours in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and the customary December run of London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Koln with the band playing a fiery set of recent material. Remarkably, the band’s main 17 song set featured only two pre-2000 songs, as well as brand new material, a sure sign of the band’s forward momentum - and with their ticket sales up everywhere. Then, at Christmas, manager Tommy Tee died suddenly and unexpectedly. This was a major shock to everyone in and around the band, not only because as he ran all aspects of the band's affairs but also as a major part of the NMA family and history since 1982.
It took a while before the band could refocus but by Spring 2009, they were back in the studio working on their eleventh studio album, “Today Is A Good Day”. Mostly written in the wake of the 2008 Wall Street Collapse (an event celebrated in the white-hot opening title track), it was recorded in the band’s own studio in Bradford with Chris Kimsey once more at the controls. Chris wrote “the NMA 'family business' is back in full swing. The boys sound brave & united.” The album was hailed as one of their very best and the album tour began with a month in North America and went on for a further six months ending with a triumphant return to Glastonbury and other Festivals in the summer.
In the Autumn of 2010, the band celebrated their 30th Anniversary with the release of boxsets, books, DVDs and a full set of retrospective material and set out on the curious and challenging schedule. Promising to play a minimum of four songs from each of their 13 albums (including the two B-sides compilations) over two nights, they performed this marathon in different cities on four continents every weekend from September until Christmas. The final weekend in London was recorded and released in full as a five hour DVD.
After such a hectic year, 2011 was always going to be relatively quiet with the band concentrating on writing material for their next project. Consciously looking for something new after two convincing great rock band recorded live in a studio albums. this is a work in progress interrupted only by a handful of full band shows and rather more of the semi-acoustic Justin and Dean duo concerts. But then, as the year ended, disaster once again struck with a fire, started in the next door furniture outlet, raging through the band's Bradford base destroying pretty their whole studio set-up. No one was injured and the band have remarkably been able to salvage some of their touring gear from inside flight-cases. However, while remaining characteristically upbeat about the future, the band acknowledge that the loss of so much gear and a place to work will delay their plans for 2012. Meanwhile, in the background, BBC/Channel Four diector, Matt Reid, has been putting together a documentary film about the group for release sometime this year.
This is a remarkable band - as hungry and focused as ever, with a continually regenerating audience and insatiable creative ambition.
Late turned the Austrian Academy of Sciences itself to its Nazi history: The Learned Society was more deeply involved than it seemed. More than half of its members were party members.
By Marianne Enigl and Christa Zöchling
At its inception in 1847, the Academy of Sciences should be a haven of free thought, research and publishing. The complete independence the imperial family had guaranteed. The Oriental Studies and the Natural Sciences soon acquired a reputation beyond the borders of the Habsburg empire. Here worldwide the first institute was established to study the radioactivity.
With the end of the monarchy became the illustrious circle, who had been appointed by the Emperor, the Republic of Scholars, which chose its members.
All this abandoned the professors in 1938. On 18 March they sent Hitler a telegram of submissivity. As the scholars the "leader" five days after the German invasion insured their loyalty in the noble halls of their Vienna's city palace, SA, SS and Gestapo had already begun mass arrests.
For the 75th Anniversary of the so-called "Anschluss" is the Austrian Academy of Sciences for the first time based keeping track its history in the National Socialism. profile there has present the as yet unpublished study, which will be presented on 11th March 2013. ("The Academy of Sciences in Vienna from 1938 to 1945," edited by Feichtinger/ Matis/ Sienell/ Uhl, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2013, the exhibition catalog)
Many Academy members had for years offered their servises as illegal Nazis the new rulers. The highest administrative staff of the Academy, in which all the threads of the learned society came together, had been as "Old Fighter" since 1933 in the NSDAP.
Their high level of education put the men assiduously in the service of Nazi policies. Just a year before, in 1937, they had discussed in a joint meeting with the German Academies on the exclusion of Jewish colleagues.
Under its new president, the historian and admirer of Adolf Hitler Heinrich Srbik, in 1939 they were "free of Jews", as noted in a log. The Vienna Academy had 21 of their most respected members excluded. Among them three Nobel Prize winners.
Absolutely thrilled, anthropologists, historians, geographers, biologists, medical physicists put themselves into the service of the Nazis, wanted the racial fanatism, the conquests, the enslavement of the "Easterners" "scientifically substantiate". For the "racial science" and measurement of prisoners of war, the scientists had even actively applied.
Only the mounting of a Hitler Bust, the Academy offered, she refused. For cost reasons.
When the war ended in 1945, more than half of the members of the Academy of Sciences were National Socialist Party members . A denazification was practically non-existent. Even an SS-Sturmbannführer was recorded "resting" after a few years of membership.
What the German historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler noted for society as a whole, was especially valid for the circle of top scholars: "Not Hitler's individual psychopathology is the real problem but the condition of a society that had him ascended and ruled till April 1945".
Who moved with the time
Henry Knight of Srbik: (1878-1951), whose ancestors had been poor Czech peasants in spite of his proud name, which throughout his life he tried to hide, was up in the sixties considered as one of the most important Austrian historians. The passage of time can be seen in his attitude. The imperial period, he conducted research - towards the Habsburgs friendly disposed - ober the dominions, after the collapse of the monarchy, he published essays, which suggested a closeness to social democracy. In time for the seizure of power by the National Socialists in Germany, he published his major work "The German unity", a witness of German megalomania an a plea for German living space. The time of Nazi rule were Srbiks best years. In May 1938 his application for membership to the Nazi Party, in which he had introduced himself as "the founder of the all-German conception of history", was approved. Srbiks anti-Semitism was based on the belief in the superiority of the German "race". He got honorary a low member number of the NSDAP to which otherwise only illegal members had been entitled. For president of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna him the Nazi rulers suggested. Adolf Hitler personally sent him to the German Reichstag.
In his inaugural speech as the new president of the Academy in 1938 Srbik thanked "the genius of our leader", and urged the "communion of the blood the earth, the spirit and the heart and the epochal changes of the body of the Reich and the German people". Science should not be in "complete objectivity lose", it had to put itself in the "service of the German people". The Nazi bombast ran through each of his appearances. In the academy, he performed the exclusion of all Jewish scientists and the occupation of their positions with meritorious Nazi party supporters. In one case, his employment for a candidate has been documented who "was recommended by the Party as an illegal".
From 1943, when the German Wehrmacht in Russia was on the decline and Stalingrad had been lost, there were exhortations to hold out. Srbik praised the "sacrifice of his own life for the mission of the nation". It must "burn pure life so that it illuminates the world as a flame of sacrifice".
In March 1945, the President of the Academy went off and away to the Tyrolean Ehrwald. Srbik owned a second home there. Vienna, he should never enter again. Now in his numerous publications, he represented a cultural Austria-German patriotism. As a sign of detachment from the Nazi regime, he led the denazification process, he had the Nazi Party candidate and poet Max Mell awarded the Grillparzer Prize, although propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels did not fully appreciate this. And he had insisted on the term "archives for the Austrian history". Srbiks Friends brought after the war in his favor, he had allowed to quote "non-Aryan" scientists.
Srbik was then already 70 years old. Over the intervention of the Social Democratic Interior Minister Oskar Helmer him was undiminished awarded his pension. Some of his students made great careers in the Second Republic: in his lectures the openly anti-Semitic World Trade Professor Taras Borodajkewycz however triggered the largest post-war protests and was forced to retire in 1966. Christian Broda, who had doctoral work at Srbik 1940 "People and Leadership" was SPÖ Minister of Justice. Srbiks former student was ÖVP Chancellor Josef Klaus.
Srbiks Nazi past had been concealed or glossed over in the postwar period Legends arose. He is said to have as president of the Academy rescued Dutch cultural historian Johan Huizinga, who had been transferred to a concentration camp as a hostage. In fact, he had written a letter, but his request was denied. Huizinga was released for health reasons at the end. The historian and Srbik-expert Martina Pesditschek considers it "unlikely" that Srbiks intervention was decisive.
When Henry Srbik died in 1951, his three honorific obituaries were written in the context of the academy. The uncritical praise lasted until the late seventies. In Ehrwald today is even a street named after him.
Expelled and persecuted
Karl Bühler: (1879-1963), psychologist and philosopher, teacher of Karl Popper, was appointed in the twenties from Dresden to Vienna University, where he with his wife Charlotte, inter alia, set important stimuli in the Gestalt and child psychology. From 1934 he was a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences. 1938 Buhler lost on "racial" grounds his professorship, was imprisoned, escaped with his wife in the United States. In October 1940, he was expelled from the Academy of Sciences.
Victor Franz Hess (1883-1964), born in Styria, working as a physicist at the famous Institute for Radium Research of the Academy - the first to explore the radioactivity worldwide. Hess was awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics for the of him in 1912 in Vienna discovered cosmic radiation. Professorships at several universities in Austria (he initiated the station Hafelekar, Innsbruck), cooperation in the construction of the Radium Corporation in the United States, 1938 loss of professor in Graz, imprisonment and exile with his Jewish wife to the USA. Corresponding member of the Academy since 1933, exclusion from the Academy in 1940.
Stefan Meyer (1872-1949), born in Vienna, Ludwig Boltzmann's assistant at the Physics Institute of the University of Vienna and later professor here, directed the Academy-Institute for Radium Research. After the "Anschluss" of "racial" reasons persecuted, survived retreated in Bad Ischl. Member of the Academy since 1921, declared himself his resignation in late 1938, and so he forestalled his exclusion.
Erwin Schrödinger: (1887-1961), Vienna, taught theoretical physics at Jena, Zurich, Berlin, 1933 Nobel Laureate in Physics. In the same year emigrated to England. From 1936 professor in Graz, in 1938 flight to Ireland. Member of the Academy of Sciences in 1928, 1940 excluded. He was taken in 1945 again .
Nazi careers
Victor Christian: (1885-1963), member of the NSDAP and SS -Hauptsturmführer. The Viennese philologist in 1938 was dean at the University of Vienna and head of the SS Research Centre "Ancestral Heritage" in 1939, the Academy elected him as a full member. In 1945 he was one of four with Nazi heavily burdened whose membership was declared "extinct" than five years later resumption.
Fritz Knoll: (1883-1981), the Styrian-born was a botanist, a German National, emerged as "Illegal" desolate agitating at the University of Vienna in leather boots and black riding pants on, the secret police recorded 1937 in Knolls Institute reign a "provocative Nazi majority". After the "Anschluss" of Austria in March 1938, he was Acting Rector of the University and immediately launched the "wild expulsions" (historian Gerhard Botz) until the end of April 1938 250 teachers were removed of "racial" or political reasons. At the same time, "Your Magnificence" Knoll end of March was politely asked by the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences", ... to take over the interests of the Nazi Party" in the academy. The following year, Academy President Srbik declared himself Nazi officer, Knoll received the honor of full membership. 1945, this was listed as "extinct". Three years later, Knoll was resumed, the Academy president wrote to him". It will be my pleasure to welcome you at the next meeting again". At the University the ex-rector further had ban on entering the house, at the Academy of Sciences, should he ascend the late fifties to the Secretary General. The Republic honored Knoll, who had once proudly proclaimed", the Jew is gone from our science and indeed for all times", with the Cross of Honor for Science and Art, First Class, the academy thanked itself with the medal "Bene Merito".
Oswald Menghin: (1888-1973) was born in Merano, prehistory at the University of Vienna, mid thirties Rector and active in the integration of "Illegal" in the corporate state. Member of the NSDAP in 1938 as minister of education responsible for political and "racial" cleansing of the universities. 1945, the "first List of war criminals", U.S. internment, then escape to Argentina. Membership in the Academy were suspended in 1945, resumed in 1959.
Josef Nadler: (1884-1963), German scholar from Bohemia, appointed with his literary history of the German estates to professor, since 1934 regular Academy member. NSDAP-party member; in National Socialism director of Germanic Languages at the University of Vienna. 1945 was banned from teaching at the University of Vienna, his academy membership were suspended, reactivated from 1948.
Gustav Ortner: (1900-1984), physicist, born in Styria, "Illegal", took over in 1938 the famous Institute for Radium Research of the Academy. Ortner 1945 was seized by the University of Vienna with teaching ban, put his academy affiliation dormant and reactivated in 1948. Ortner 1960 was a professor at the Vienna University of Technology, 1961, he was Head of the Atomic Institute of the Austrian Universities.
www.profil.at/articles/1306/560/352237/die-ns-geschichte-...
The World Museum of Mining was founded in 1963 when the close of Butte's mining heyday was less than two decades away. In the end Butte Montana experienced a century of hardrock mining and earned the reputation of being home to one of the world's most productive copper mines of all time. The Museum exists to preserve the enduring history of Butte and the legacy of its rich mining and cultural heritage.
The World Museum of Mining is one of the few museums in the world located on as actual mine yard- the Orphan Girl Mine. With fifty exhibit buildings, countless artifacts, and sixty-six primary exhibits in the mine yard.
Niagara
•Church, Frederic Edwin
•American, 1826-1900
•1857
•Oil on Canvas
•Dimensions:
oOverall: 101.6 × 229.9 cm (40 × 90½ in.)
oFramed: 164.5 × 286.4 × 17.8 cm (64¾ × 112¾ × 7 in.)
•Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund)
•2014.79.10
•On View
Overview
Niagara’s tremendous success both in the United States and abroad secured Frederic Edwin Church’s reputation as the most famous American painter of his time. The acquisition of Niagara by the young Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1876 secured the institution’s reputation and inspired other major artists to seek representation in the collection.
In the 19th century, many American artists attempted to capture the power and beauty of Niagara Falls. Widely considered the nation’s greatest natural wonder as well as a symbol of its youthful vigor and promise, the site was also deemed far superior to any natural phenomenon in Europe. Church’s majestic 1857 canvas reveals the vista from the Canadian shore, based on oil and pencil sketches he had made during several visits to the site in 1856. He was the first to render the spectacle on such a grand scale, with such fine detail, naturalism, and immediacy. He heightened the illusion of reality by selecting a non-traditional format of canvas with a width twice as wide as its height to convey the panoramic expanse of the scene. Moreover, he pushed the plane of the falls nearest the viewer significantly downward to reveal more of the far side as well as the dramatic rush of water. Most notably, he eliminated any suggestion of a foreground, allowing the viewer to experience the scene as if precariously positioned on the brink of the falls. As one writer enthusiastically noted, “this is Niagara, with the roar left out!”
Critics and public alike marveled at the painting, which debuted in a one-painting exhibition at a New York City gallery shortly after its completion. The 25-cent admission allowed each visitor to view the monumental canvas, sometimes using binoculars or other optical aids to enhance the experience. The admission price also included a pamphlet reprinting critics’ praises of the canvas and offered exhibition-goers the opportunity to purchase a chromolithograph of the painting. Within two weeks, Niagara had lured 100,000 visitors to glimpse what one newspaper critic described as “the finest oil picture ever painted on this side of the Atlantic.” Following its phenomenal success in New York, the painting was exhibited in major cities along the eastern seaboard, made two tours of Britain, and was included in the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris.
Inscription
•Lower Right: F.E. Church / 1857
Provenance
Sold 1857 by the artist to (Williams, Stevens & Williams, New York); forfeited to (Brown Brothers Bankers, New York); (sale, Exhibition to Benefit the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, Tiffany & Co., New York, December 1861);[1] purchased by John Taylor Johnston, New York; purchased 1876 by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2014 by the National Gallery of Art.
[1] Jeremy Elwell Adamson, “Frederic Edwin Church’s ‘Niagara’: The Sublime as Transcendence,” 3 vols., Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1981, believes there to have been an as-yet unidentified owner between the Brown Brothers and Johnston, but cites no evidence for this claim beyond a letter from Church to MacLeod, 11 January 1877, which makes no such assertion. Adamson believed that Niagara was purchased by this unidentified owner from the bank for $5,000. This is the amount Church believed Johnston paid for the painting.
Exhibition History
•1857—Lloyd’s Gallery, Gracechurch Street, London, June-August 1857, no catalogue.
•1857—Tenth-Street Studio Building, New York, May 1857, no. catalogue.
•1857—Williams, Stevens and Williams, New York, May 1857, unnumbered catalogue, as The Great Fall, Niagara.
•1858—German Gallery, London, April-May 1858, no catalogue.
•1858—James McClure and Son Gallery, Glasgow, June 1858, no catalogue.
•1858—Manchester, England, June-July 1858, no catalogue.
•1858—Mr. Grundy’s Gallery, Church Street, Liverpool, July 1858, no catalogue.
•1858—Samson Cariss and Co., Baltimore, December-December 1858, no catalogue.
•1858—Washington, D.C., December 1858-January 1859, no catalogue.
•1858—Williams, Stevens & Williams, New York, September-December 1858, no catalogue.
•1859—Armory Hall, New Orleans, March-May 1859, no catalogue.
•1859—Hall of the Mechanics’ Institute, Richmond, January-January 1859, no catalogue.
•1859—Williams and Everett’s Gallery, Boston, December 1859-February 1860, no catalogue.
•1859—Williams, Stevens & Williams, New York, July 1859, no catalogue.
•1860—Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, 11 October 1860, no catalogue.
•1860—Messrs. James S. Earle & Sons, Philadelphia, 28 February 1860, no catalogue.
•1861—Tiffany Exhibition (To benefit the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor), Old Dusseldorf Gallery, New York, 1861-1862, no catalogue.
•1864—Art Exhibition at the Metropolitan Fair, in Aid of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, New York, 4 April 1864, no. 14.
•1867—Exposition Universelle, United States Section, Class 1: Paintings on Canvas, Paris, 1867, no. 8.
•1867—First Winter Exhibition, Including the First Annual Collection of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors, and the Works from the American Art Department of the Paris Universal Exposition, National Academy of Design, New York, November 1867-March 1968, no. 646.
•1870—Second Annual Exhibition of the Yale School of the Fine Arts, Founded as a Department of Yale College, by the Late Augustus Russell Street, of New Haven, Conn., Yale School of Fine Arts, New Haven, 1870, no. 52.
•1874—Exhibition of Paintings, Engravings, Drawings, Aquarelles, and Works of Household Art, in the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, Cincinnati, 1874, no. 132.
•1876—John Taylor Johnston’s Collection, National Academy of Design, New York, November-December 1876, no. 147.
•1876—New York Centennial Loan Exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, July 1876, no. 102.
•1900—Paintings by Frederic E. Church, N.A., Special Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1900, unnumbered catalogue.
•1915—Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915-1916, no. 2935.
•1940—Survey of American Painting, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1940, no. 97.
•1949—De Gustibus: An Exhibition of American Paintings Illustrating a Century of Taste and Criticism, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949, no. 12.
•1957—Painting in America: The Story of 450 Years, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1957, no. 106.
•1962—American Painting, 1857-1869, Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, Delaware Art Center, 1962, no. 13.
•1964—Three Centuries of Niagara Falls, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, 1964, no. 23.
•1966—Frederic Edwin Church, National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington; Albany Institute of History and Art; M. Knoedler and Company, New York, 1966, no. 39 (shown only in Washington).
•1970—19th-Century America: Paintings and Sculpture, An Exhibition in Celebration of the Hundredth Anniversary of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, no. 105.
•1971—The Beckoning Land: Nature and the American Artist: a Selection of Nineteenth Century Paintings, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, April-June 1971, no. 49.
•1971—The Natural Paradise: Painting in America, 1800-1950, Museum of Modern Art, New York, October-November 1971, unnumbered catalogue.
•1971—Wilderness, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 9 October – 14 November 1971, no. 62 (organized by the National Endowment for the Arts).
•1976—Corcoran [The American Genius]. Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 1976, unnumbered catalogue.
•1976—The Natural Paradise: Painting in America, 1800-1950, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1 October – 30 November 1976, no. 23.
•1978—The American Landscape Tradition, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 31 January – 31 August 1978, no catalogue.
•1979—Close Observation: Selected Oil Sketches by Frederic E. Church, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery; Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University; University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor; Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Brunnier Gallery, Iowa State University, Ames; Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri; Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York, 1979, not in catalogue (shown only in Washington).
•1983—A New World: Masterpieces of American Painting 1760-1910, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Grand Palais, Paris, 1983-1984, no. 38.
•1985—Niagara: Two Centuries of Changing Attitudes, 1697-1901, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; New-York Historical Society, 1985-1986, no. 49.
•1987—American Paradise: The World of the Hudson River School, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1987-1988, unnumbered catalogue.
•1989—Frederic Edwin Church, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1989-1990, no. 30.
•1998—New Worlds From Old: 19th Century Australian and American Landscapes, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 1998-1999, no. 73, repro.
•2002—American Sublime: Landscape Painting in the United States, 1820-1880, Tate Britain, London; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2002, unnumbered checklist (shown only in Philadelphia).
•2005—Encouraging American Genius: Master Paintings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Parrish Art Museum, Southampton; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, 2005-2007, checklist no. 26.
•2008—Nature as Nation: 19th-Century American Landscapes from the Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 30 August 2008 – 18 October 2009, unpublished checklist.
•2009—American Paintings from the Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 6 June – 18 October 2009, unpublished checklist.
•2013—American Journeys: Visions of Place, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 21 September 2013 – 28 September 2014, unpublished checklist.
The 'Reputation Complex' is a moving combination of various factors, components and drivers that are linked in a close and complicated way. This combination brings with it, for all organizations, equal risks and opportunities – the first to be managed and the second to be exploited in the right manner.
MSLGROUP's Chief Strategy Officer Pascal Beucler shares his thoughts on the fast transformation of reputation management and what it means for our clients and for us.
Anti-Murdoch flashmob demands Rebekah Brooks' sacking. London, 07.07.2011
On what proved to be a momentous day in UK press history, News International, the owners of the scandal-ridden News of The World newspaper suddenly announced the paper's shut-down following a last edition to be published this weekend. The newspaper's reputation has been destroyed by the infamous phone-hacking scandal which News International has tried desperately to underplay over the past few months, but which suddenly erupted into a fully-blown national outrage this week when it was revealed that the Metropolitan Police had evidence to suggest that not only had the newspaper's journalists been behind the hacking of murdered teenager Millie Dowler, the families of several of the victims of the 7/7 London Underground bombings and the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also that the News of the World had been secretly - and illegally - paying members of the Metropolitan Police to get hold of confidential data on up to a thousand people over the years to provide the paper with insider knowledge and many scoops.
These very serious allegations have been revealed against the backdrop of News International's current bid to buy the remaining 61% of shares in the pay-to-view TV company BSkyB, which had been protested vigorously by many people concerned about the unchallenged domination of Rupert Murdoch's media empire in the United Kingdom.
Today's flashmob, organised by the group 'Take Back Parliament', congregated outside the Department of Culture, Media and Sport - the domain of Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who, despite many demands for a full review of News International's suitability and trustworthiness in the light of months of revelations about the phone-hacking and News International's attempts to deceive Parliament during questioning several months ago, has ignored all the warnings and was pushing the Murdoch bid through the official channels at an indecent speed, raising suspicions that David Cameron's close relationship with News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brookes and with Rupert Murdoch himself was influencing Hunt's professional judgement.
The flashmob protesters - some wearing cutout masks of Rupert Murdoch - held up copies of today's London Evening Standard (which is not a Murdoch newspaper), displaying the front page headline "Murdoch Staff Pay Met £100K In Bribes", referring to the illegal supply of highly confidential information to reporters by trusted police officers to News of The World journalists.
Demanding an immediate and complete halt to the BSkyB bid attempt, the protesters also called for the sacking of News International's Chief Executive Rebekah Brookes who was Editor in Chief of the News of The World when all the worst offences were supposedly carried out and who, many maintain, must have known what was happening, despite her frequent denials of any knowledge of the phone-hacking offences. Also of the utmost concern is Brookes' close personal friendship with Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, and the depth of the debt of gratitude he feels he owes to Rupert Murdoch and his media empire for the massive support he got from the Murdoch press during the last general election.
Many, many questions remain unanswered right now about "who knew what and when did they know it?", and as police enquiries commence it was announced today that five journalists will be arrested, as will ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson who resigned when the first scandal broke after Royal Correspondent Clive Goodman was famously imprisoned for hacking into Prince William's phone. Coulson immediately became David Cameron's election strategist and press spokesman until more recent discoveries obliged him to resign his post as Cameron's spokesperson. Coulson has always maintained he had no knowledge whatsoever of the phone-hacking, but a cache of emails was handed to the police a few days ago which allegedly contradict Coulson's claims of innocence in the matter, and of the clandestine payments made to corrupt police officers, may be behind the news of Coulson's imminent arrest.
Today's shock announcement of the newspaper's sudden demise saw around 200 journalists made redundant today, almost none of whom were working on the paper during the period in question, prompting National Union of Journalist General secretary Michelle Stanistreet to make the following official statement this afternoon:
“This shows the depths to which Rupert Murdoch and his lieutenants at News International are prepared to stoop. The announcement James Murdoch should be making today is the dismissal of Rebekah Brookes as chief executive of News International. The shocking revelations this week show beyond doubt the systemic abuse and corruption at the top of the operation ran by both Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson. Yet News International has persistently lied about the extent of this scandal and tried to pass it off as a problem created by a couple of rogue reporters.
“Closing the title and sacking over 200 staff in the UK and Ireland, and putting scores more freelances and casuals out of a job, is an act of utter cynical opportunism. Murdoch is clearly banking on this drawing a line under the scandal, removing an obstacle to the BskyB deal, and letting his senior executives off the hook. That simply won’t wash. It is not ordinary working journalists who have destroyed this paper’s credibility – it is the actions of Murdoch’s most senior people.
“James Murdoch was absolutely right when he said in his statement today that ‘Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad.’ Yet those wrongdoers are still there today, at the top of the News International empire and ordinary staff at the paper are paying with their livelihoods.
“The closure of the News of the World – a newspaper that has been in print now for 168 years – is a calculated sacrifice by Rupert Murdoch to salvage his reputation and that of News International, in the hope that readers will switch allegiance to a new seven-day operation at The Sun, the government will wave through the BskyB deal and he will widen his grip on the UK’s media landscape.
“It is ironic that 25 years after the Wapping dispute it is the behaviour of Rupert Murdoch and his management that has caused the closure of the newspaper. The NUJ will offer all support to its members at the News of the World facing compulsory redundancies and will be organising an emergency meeting of all journalists at the title to offer advice and support.”
All photos © 2011 Pete Riches
Do not reproduce, alter or reblog my images without my permission.
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GP500 motorcycle windshields
Kawasaki Motorcycle History
Kawasaki emerged out of the ashes of the second World War to become one of the big players from Japan. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Kawasaki built a reputation for some of the most powerful engines on two wheels, spawning legendary sportbikes like the Ninja series and a line of championship-winning off-road bikes. .1896
The company is founded by Shozo Kawasaki. His firm will come to be known as Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Over time, the company’s principal areas of activity will be shipbuilding, railroad rolling stock, and electrical generating plants. Motorcycles will become a small part of this diversified industrial conglomerate. 1960
Kawasaki signs agreement to take over Meguro motorcycles, a major player in the nascent Japanese motorcycle manufacturing business. Meguro is one of the only Japanese companies making a 500cc bike. In England and the UK, Meguro’s 500 – which bears a strong resemblance to the BSA A7 – is derided as a cheap copy. But in fact, it is a pretty high-quality bike. 1961
Kawasaki produces its first complete motorcycle – the B8 125cc two-stroke. 1962
A series of the two-stroke models from 50-250cc is released. The 250cc disc-valve ‘Samurai’ attracts notice in the U.S. 1966
The 650W1 is released and is the biggest bike made in Japan at the time. It’s inspired by the BSA A10. Over the next few years it will get twin carbs, and high pipes for a ‘scrambler’ version. 1969
Dave Simmonds gives Kawasaki its first World Championship, in the 125cc class
The striking Kawasaki H1 (aka Mach III) a 500cc three-cylinder two-stroke is released. Although its handling leaves something to be desired, the motor is very powerful for the day. It’s one of the quickest production bikes in the quarter-mile. The Mach III establishes Kawasaki’s reputation in the U.S. (In particular, it establishes a reputation for powerful and somewhat antisocial motorcycles!) A wonderful H1R production racer is also released – a 500cc racing bike.
Over the next few years, larger and smaller versions of the H1, including the S1 (250cc) S2 (350cc) and H2 (750cc) will be released. They’re successful in the marketplace, and the H2R 750cc production racer is also successful on the race track, but Kawasaki knows that the days of the two-stroke streetbike are coming to an end.
The company plans to release a four-stroke, but is shocked by the arrival of the Honda 750-Four. Kawasaki goes back to the drawing board.
1973
The first new four-stroke since the W1 is released. It’s worth the wait. The 900cc Z1 goes one up on the Honda 750 with more power and double overhead cams. Over the next few years, its capacity will increase slightly and it will be rebadged the Z-1000. 1978
Kork Ballington wins the 250cc and 350cc World Championships with fore-and-aft parallel-Twin racers (Rotax also built racing motors in this configuration. Ballington will repeat the feat in ’79. In 1980 he will finish second in the premier 500cc class. Anton Mang takes over racing duties in the 250 and 350 classes, and he will win four more titles over the next three years. This is the most successful period for Kawasaki in the World Championship.
Kawasaki’s big-bore KZ1300 is released. Honda and Benelli have already released six-cylinder bikes by this time, but Kawasaki’s specification includes water cooling and shaft drive. To underline the efficiency of the cooling system, its launch is held in Death Valley. Despite its substantial weight, journalists are impressed.
Over the next few years, the KZ1300 will get digital fuel injection and a full-dress touring version will be sold as the ‘Voyager.’ This model is marketed as “a car without doors”!
1981
Eddie Lawson wins the AMA Superbike championship for Kawasaki after an epic battle with Honda’s Freddie Spencer. He will repeat as champion the following year.
Kawasaki releases the GPz550. It’s air-cooled and has only two valves per cylinder, but its performance threatens the 750cc machines of rival manufacturers. This is the bike that launches the 600 class.
1983
The liquid-cooled four-valve GPz900R ‘Ninja’ is shown to the motorcycle press for the first time at Laguna Seca. They’re stunned. 1985
James “Bubba” Stewart, Jr. is born. Kawasaki supplies his family with Team Green diapers. 1989
The first ‘ZXR’-designated bikes reach the market. They are 750cc and 400cc race replicas. 1990
The ZX-11 is launched and features a 1052cc engine. It is the first production motorcycle with ram-air induction and the fastest production bike on the market. 1991
The ZXR750R begins a four year run as the top bike in the FIM Endurance World Championship. 1993
Scott Russell wins the World Superbike Championship, much to Carl Fogarty’s dismay. 2000
The ZX-12R is released – the new flagship of the ZX series. 2002
Bubba Stewart wins AMA 125 MX championship. 2003
Stewart is AMA 125 West SX champ. “What the heck is he doing on the jumps?” people wonder. It’s the “Bubba Scrub.”
In a daring move that acknowledges that only a small percentage of supersports motorcycles are ever actually raced, Kawasaki ups the capacity of the ZX-6R to 636cc. Ordinary riders welcome a noticeable increase in mid-range power, and the bike is the king of the ‘real world’ middleweights.
2004
Stewart wins the AMA 125 East SX title, and the 125cc outdoor championship. There are only one or two riders on 250s who lap any faster than he does on the little bikes.
Just when we thought motorcycles couldn’t get any crazier, the ZX-10R is released. OMG, the power!
2007
Although his transition to the big bikes hasn’t been as smooth as many expected it to be, Stewart wins the 2007 AMA SX championship. 2008
Kawasaki gives the Concours a much-needed revamp in the Concours 14. Sharing the 1352cc engine from the ZX-14, it’s touted as the ultimate sport touring motorcycle.
While they’re at it, Kawasaki also decides to give the Ninja 250 and KLR 650 major updates, after years of inactivity.
FBI Stolen motorcycles
gp500.org/FBI_stolen_motorcycles.html
Motorcycles VIN Decoder
The 'Reputation Complex' is a moving combination of various factors, components and drivers that are linked in a close and complicated way. This combination brings with it, for all organizations, equal risks and opportunities – the first to be managed and the second to be exploited in the right manner.
MSLGROUP's Chief Strategy Officer Pascal Beucler shares his thoughts on the fast transformation of reputation management and what it means for our clients and for us.
Download the full deck from: www.scribd.com/doc/245373381/The-Reputation-Complex-Navig...
MORT WALKER
Beetle Bailey
Mort's Biography
Beetle Bailey, the world's most famous work-shirking private, must envy the comfortable lifestyle now enjoyed by his creator, celebrated cartoonist Mort Walker. But making it to the top of the competitive newspaper comics field took plenty of hard work, which was never popular in Beetle's bailiwick.
The year 2000 marked the completion of "Mort Walker's Private Scrapbook". For half a century Beetle has lived up to his reputation for sowing laziness in the ranks, while Walker earned his rank as the world's most prolific cartoonist, along with stacks of prestigious honors and awards.
In May 2000, Walker was honored by the United States Army at the Pentagon with The Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service, the highest award the Secretary of the Army can bestow on a civilian. He was also lauded at the Pentagon ceremony by the Association of the United States Army, the National World War II Memorial Campaign and the Non Commissioned Officers Association for his efforts to help build awareness and raise funds for the National World War II Memorial. A Twilight Tattoo sunset parade, hosted by the Army Office of Public Affairs and the Military District of Washington, was performed in his honor.
The University of Missouri, Walker's alma mater, mounted a Beetle Bailey 50th anniversary exhibition in the grand concourse of the Elmer Ellis Library from Sept. 1-30, 2000. The exhibition included original daily and Sunday strips, copies of published reprints of the strips, and poster-size lithographs of selected strips. The retrospective also includes a section on Walker's days on campus, focused primarily on his editorship of a campus humor magazine that was regularly in trouble with the campus administration. And the exhibition looks back at a visit Walker paid to the campus in 1992 for the dedication of a life-sized Beetle Bailey statue, which resides in front of the University alumni center on a busy campus street.
Beetle, in a proud military salute, was featured as a 45-foot tall helium parade balloon that made its television debut in the 2000 Fourth of July Parade in Philadelphia. The Beetle balloon also highlighted the Thanksgiving parade on Nov. 19, 2000 and in 2005, in Stamford, Conn.
Born in 1923 in El Dorado, Kan., Walker published his first comic when he was 11. He sold his first cartoon at 12, and at 14 he was selling gag cartoons regularly to Child Life, Inside Detective and Flying Aces magazines. At 15, he was comic-strip artist for a weekly metropolitan newspaper. At 18, he became chief editorial designer at Hall Bros., ushering in a light, playful style for the company's Hallmark Cards line.
The following year, 1943, Walker was drafted into the Army. He served in Italy as an intelligence and investigating officer and was also in charge of a German POW camp. He was discharged as a first lieutenant four years later, and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1948. While at M.U., he was editor of the school magazine.
He then went to New York City to pursue his cartooning career. In order to survive he worked as editor of three magazines for Dell Publishing Company. His first 200 cartoons were rejected, but he persisted, and editors started to recognize his talent and in two years he was the top-selling magazine cartoonist.
His first big break came in 1950, when King Features picked up "Beetle Bailey" for syndication.
Beetle, who was originally called "Spider," began as a college cutup. When he stumbled into an Army recruiting post in 1951 during the Korean War, circulation began to climb.
The comic strip experienced two other notable jumps in circulation. In 1954, when the Tokyo edition of Stars & Stripes dropped the strip because it supposedly engendered lack of respect for officers, the U.S. press had a field day attacking the maneuver, and 100 more newspapers enlisted "Beetle Bailey." Then in 1970, when Lt. Jack Flap first marched into Sarge's office, "Beetle Bailey" became the first established strip to integrate a black character into a white cast. Stars & Stripes and some Southern newspapers quickly discharged the strip, but 100 other newspapers joined up.
King Features now distributes "Beetle Bailey" to roughly 1,800 newspapers, to over 50 countries with a combined readership of over 200 million every day.
Walker's comic strip "Hi and Lois," which he created with Dik Browne, began in 1954 as a spin-off of "Beetle Bailey," when Beetle went home on furlough to visit his sister Lois and brother-in-law Hi.
Walker also created "Boner's Ark" in 1968 under the name "Addison," and created "Sam & Silo" with Jerry Dumas in 1977.
Walker has been recognized not only for the wide and enduring popularity of his work but also for his stylistic innovations and his leadership in the comics field. His use of high-contrast, deceptively simple imagery and compact gags became the standard for a generation of cartoonists and endures today.
Walker also recognized the historic contributions of his predecessors and contemporaries and in 1974, he founded the Museum of Cartoon Art, the first museum dedicated to the preservation and elevation of the art of comics. The museum now houses the largest complete collection of its kind, making it the premier showcase for one of America's few indigenous art forms. Walker was inducted into The Hearst Hall of Fame in 1989.
The museum started in a mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, then moved to a castle in Rye Brook, New York.
In 1992 it relocated to Boca Raton, Florida. It's new name is The National Cartoon Museum. Walker's dedication to the project is tireless. He organizes exhibitions, creates fund-raising campaigns and is involved in all facets of the museum. A retrospective exhibit commemorating "50 years of Beetle Bailey" opened at the Museum on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2000 and ran through February 2001. The exhibition featured original comic strips and character art, special interactive exhibits for children, animated Beetle Bailey cartoons, Beetle and Sarge costumed character appearances, and a 16-foot-high birthday cake display, complete with animatronic Beetle and Sarge characters.
Walker has written several books on the art and history of comics, as well as children's books. He has published numerous collections of his comics work, including 92 "Beetle Bailey" and 35 "Hi and Lois" paperbacks. Available here, online or in bookstores is Walker's autobiography, "Mort Walker's Scrapbook: Celebrating a Life of Love and Laughter". An animated "Beetle Bailey" television special was created for CBS in 1989 and "Beetle" animated shorts are available on DVD.
Walker still oversees the 9-to-5 work of the staff at his Connecticut laugh factory studio, which was unofficially dubbed "King Features East" because the work generated there once rivaled the combined output of the entire King Features Syndicate comics department.
Walker and his wife, Catherine, have 9 children between them from previous marriages. Six of his children, as well as the son of his former collaborator Dik Browne, contribute to the funny business, along with several other artists and writers. The shop uses only the best gags -- there are more than 10,000 unused gags in the vault -- and in 55 years, the studio has never missed a deadline, keeping King Features happy and comics fans in stitches.
Some of Walker's many awards:
1953: "Cartoonist of the Year, "National Cartoonists Society" ("The Reuben").
1955: Banshee Award, Silver Lady, "Outstanding Cartoonist."
1966: "Best Humor Strip, "National Cartoonists Society."
1969: "Best Humor Strip, "National Cartoonists Society."
1972: Il Secolo XIX Award, Italy.
1975: Adamson Award, "Best International Cartoonist," Sweden.
1977: Power of Printing Award.
Elzie Segar Award, "Lifetime Achievement."
1978: Fourth Estate Award, American Legion.
1979: The Jester, Newspaper Features Council.
Inkpot Award, San Diego Comic Convention.
1980: Faculty Alumni Award, University of Missouri. Scholar in residence.
1981: Doctor of Letters, William Penn College.
1987: "Man of the Year," Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
1988: Adamson Award Platinum ( Sweden
1990: U.S. Army Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service
1999: Golden T-Square, National Cartoonists Society ( 50 years of service
(Second ever to receive award)
1999: Order of Chevalier, French Minister of Culture and Communication
1999: Elzie Segar Award
2000: The Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service
2005: The Connecticut Legend Award
MORT WALKER MILESTONE
Here’s a milestone we passed a while back and should have taken notice of. As of September 4, 2006, Mort Walker achieved a record: 56 years doing a syndicated daily comic strip, Beetle Bailey. I was jolted into this realization while proofing the last chapter of my biography on Milton Caniff, in which I asserted that he had been doing a syndicated daily comic strip for 55 years, a record that, at the time of his death, had not been surpassed by anyone. Well, now it has been exceeded. Congratulations, Mort—many happy returns. R.C. HARVEY
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
August 16, 1994
This Week's Sign That The Apocalypse Is Upon Us
Edited by Hank Hersch, Richard O'Brien
Artist David Barsalou has created an exhibit at the Holyoke (Mass.) Community College art gallery entitled 4,256: The Rose Garden, which consists of 4,256 identical images of Pete Rose reproduced across 700 square feet of wall space as a way to "visualize Rose's career hit total."
vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MA...
GP500 motorcycle windshields
Kawasaki Motorcycle History
Kawasaki emerged out of the ashes of the second World War to become one of the big players from Japan. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Kawasaki built a reputation for some of the most powerful engines on two wheels, spawning legendary sportbikes like the Ninja series and a line of championship-winning off-road bikes. .1896
The company is founded by Shozo Kawasaki. His firm will come to be known as Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Over time, the company’s principal areas of activity will be shipbuilding, railroad rolling stock, and electrical generating plants. Motorcycles will become a small part of this diversified industrial conglomerate. 1960
Kawasaki signs agreement to take over Meguro motorcycles, a major player in the nascent Japanese motorcycle manufacturing business. Meguro is one of the only Japanese companies making a 500cc bike. In England and the UK, Meguro’s 500 – which bears a strong resemblance to the BSA A7 – is derided as a cheap copy. But in fact, it is a pretty high-quality bike. 1961
Kawasaki produces its first complete motorcycle – the B8 125cc two-stroke. 1962
A series of the two-stroke models from 50-250cc is released. The 250cc disc-valve ‘Samurai’ attracts notice in the U.S. 1966
The 650W1 is released and is the biggest bike made in Japan at the time. It’s inspired by the BSA A10. Over the next few years it will get twin carbs, and high pipes for a ‘scrambler’ version. 1969
Dave Simmonds gives Kawasaki its first World Championship, in the 125cc class
The striking Kawasaki H1 (aka Mach III) a 500cc three-cylinder two-stroke is released. Although its handling leaves something to be desired, the motor is very powerful for the day. It’s one of the quickest production bikes in the quarter-mile. The Mach III establishes Kawasaki’s reputation in the U.S. (In particular, it establishes a reputation for powerful and somewhat antisocial motorcycles!) A wonderful H1R production racer is also released – a 500cc racing bike.
Over the next few years, larger and smaller versions of the H1, including the S1 (250cc) S2 (350cc) and H2 (750cc) will be released. They’re successful in the marketplace, and the H2R 750cc production racer is also successful on the race track, but Kawasaki knows that the days of the two-stroke streetbike are coming to an end.
The company plans to release a four-stroke, but is shocked by the arrival of the Honda 750-Four. Kawasaki goes back to the drawing board.
1973
The first new four-stroke since the W1 is released. It’s worth the wait. The 900cc Z1 goes one up on the Honda 750 with more power and double overhead cams. Over the next few years, its capacity will increase slightly and it will be rebadged the Z-1000. 1978
Kork Ballington wins the 250cc and 350cc World Championships with fore-and-aft parallel-Twin racers (Rotax also built racing motors in this configuration. Ballington will repeat the feat in ’79. In 1980 he will finish second in the premier 500cc class. Anton Mang takes over racing duties in the 250 and 350 classes, and he will win four more titles over the next three years. This is the most successful period for Kawasaki in the World Championship.
Kawasaki’s big-bore KZ1300 is released. Honda and Benelli have already released six-cylinder bikes by this time, but Kawasaki’s specification includes water cooling and shaft drive. To underline the efficiency of the cooling system, its launch is held in Death Valley. Despite its substantial weight, journalists are impressed.
Over the next few years, the KZ1300 will get digital fuel injection and a full-dress touring version will be sold as the ‘Voyager.’ This model is marketed as “a car without doors”!
1981
Eddie Lawson wins the AMA Superbike championship for Kawasaki after an epic battle with Honda’s Freddie Spencer. He will repeat as champion the following year.
Kawasaki releases the GPz550. It’s air-cooled and has only two valves per cylinder, but its performance threatens the 750cc machines of rival manufacturers. This is the bike that launches the 600 class.
1983
The liquid-cooled four-valve GPz900R ‘Ninja’ is shown to the motorcycle press for the first time at Laguna Seca. They’re stunned. 1985
James “Bubba” Stewart, Jr. is born. Kawasaki supplies his family with Team Green diapers. 1989
The first ‘ZXR’-designated bikes reach the market. They are 750cc and 400cc race replicas. 1990
The ZX-11 is launched and features a 1052cc engine. It is the first production motorcycle with ram-air induction and the fastest production bike on the market. 1991
The ZXR750R begins a four year run as the top bike in the FIM Endurance World Championship. 1993
Scott Russell wins the World Superbike Championship, much to Carl Fogarty’s dismay. 2000
The ZX-12R is released – the new flagship of the ZX series. 2002
Bubba Stewart wins AMA 125 MX championship. 2003
Stewart is AMA 125 West SX champ. “What the heck is he doing on the jumps?” people wonder. It’s the “Bubba Scrub.”
In a daring move that acknowledges that only a small percentage of supersports motorcycles are ever actually raced, Kawasaki ups the capacity of the ZX-6R to 636cc. Ordinary riders welcome a noticeable increase in mid-range power, and the bike is the king of the ‘real world’ middleweights.
2004
Stewart wins the AMA 125 East SX title, and the 125cc outdoor championship. There are only one or two riders on 250s who lap any faster than he does on the little bikes.
Just when we thought motorcycles couldn’t get any crazier, the ZX-10R is released. OMG, the power!
2007
Although his transition to the big bikes hasn’t been as smooth as many expected it to be, Stewart wins the 2007 AMA SX championship. 2008
Kawasaki gives the Concours a much-needed revamp in the Concours 14. Sharing the 1352cc engine from the ZX-14, it’s touted as the ultimate sport touring motorcycle.
While they’re at it, Kawasaki also decides to give the Ninja 250 and KLR 650 major updates, after years of inactivity.
The 'Reputation Complex' is a moving combination of various factors, components and drivers that are linked in a close and complicated way. This combination brings with it, for all organizations, equal risks and opportunities – the first to be managed and the second to be exploited in the right manner.
MSLGROUP's Chief Strategy Officer Pascal Beucler shares his thoughts on the fast transformation of reputation management and what it means for our clients and for us.
FINALLY finished with this transformation. After being completely rerooted and rebodied, my Funny Face Vanessa is finally the badass I invisioned her to be :)
The Postcard
A postcard that was published by Rotary Photo of London E.C. that was posted in Hastings on Tuesday the 29th. August 1905 to:
Miss Winnie Judd,
106 Turnpike Lane,
Hornsey,
London N.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"c/o Mrs. Riley,
'The Highlands',
Wellington Road,
Hastings.
With love from
A. and Edie".
Miss Julia Neilson
Julia Emilie Neilson (12th. June 1868 – 27th. May 1957) was an English actress best known for her numerous performances as Lady Blakeney in 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', for her roles in many tragedies and historical romances, and for her portrayal of Rosalind in a long-running production of 'As You Like It'.
After establishing her reputation in a series of plays by W. S. Gilbert in 1888, Neilson joined the company of Herbert Beerbohm Tree, where she remained for five years, meeting her future husband, Fred Terry (brother to actresses Kate, Ellen, Marion and Florence Terry and great uncle of John Gielgud).
With Terry, she played in London and on tour for nearly three decades. She was the mother of the actress Phyllis Neilson-Terry and actor Dennis Neilson-Terry.
Julia Neilson - The Early Years
Neilson was born in London, the only child of Alexander Ritchie Neilson, a jeweller, and his wife, Emilie Davis, a member of a family of five Jewish sisters, many of whose offspring became actresses.
Neilson's parents divorced shortly after her birth, and her father soon died, leaving her mother to struggle to support her child. Her mother later married a solicitor, William Morris, the widower of the actress Florence Terry, elder sister of the actor Fred Terry, who had, by that time, married Neilson.
Neilson was an indifferent student. At the age of twelve, she was sent to a boarding school in Wiesbaden, Germany, where she learned to speak French and German and began to study music, discovering that she excelled at this.
She returned to England to enter the Royal Academy of Music in 1884, at the age of fifteen, to study the piano. She soon discovered that she had a talent as a singer, winning the Llewellyn Thomas Gold Medal (1885), the Westmoreland Scholarship (1886) and the Sainton Dolby Prize (1886). While at the Academy, in 1887, she sang at the St James's Hall and also played roles in amateur theatre.
Neilson met the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, who cast her in her first professional stage appearance in March 1888. She played Cynisca in a charity matinée of his play, 'Pygmalion and Galatea', at the Lyceum Theatre, and later that year, in the same play, she was the lead character, Galatea, in a similar matinée at the Savoy Theatre.
Gilbert suggested that the statuesque young woman concentrate her career on acting rather than singing, and he coached her on acting. Her next role was Lady Hilda in a revival of Gilbert's 'Broken Hearts'. Gilbert wrote the lyrics to a short song for her to sing during Act I, and she proposed that a fellow student of hers at the Royal Academy, Edward German, should set it to music.
She then played Selene in a revival of Gilbert's 'The Wicked World'. In November 1888, she created the role of Ruth Redmayne in Rutland Barrington's production of Gilbert's 'Brantinghame Hall'.
These roles led to an invitation for Neilson to join Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company, in which she toured in 'Captain Swift', 'The Red Lamp' and 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'.
She remained with Tree's company for five years at the Haymarket Theatre as a tragedienne, beginning with the role of Julie de Noirville in 'A Man's Shadow', which opened in September 1889.
In 1891, Neilson married another actor in the company, Fred Terry, the brother of Gilbert's former protégée, Marion Terry (and the actresses Kate, Ellen and Florence Terry).
Neilson and her husband appeared together in Sydney Grundy's translation of the French play 'A Village Priest' and numerous other productions together with Tree's company, including 'Beau Austin', 'Hamlet', 'Peril', and Gilbert's 'Comedy and Tragedy' (1890).
She also played Drusilla Ives in 'The Dancing Girl' (1891) by Henry Arthur Jones.
Terry and Neilson's daughter Phyllis was born in 1892. Neilson was soon back on stage as Lady Isobel in Jones's 'The Tempter' (1893), and created the role of Hester Worsley in Oscar Wilde's 'A Woman of No Importance' (1893). A review of Neilson's performance in the play 'Ballad Monger' in 1890 declared:
"Miss Neilson's really wonderful singing
took the curtain up on the very keynote
of the beautiful and pathetic play.
And to her singing no higher tribute can
be paid.
One of these days, we do not doubt, it will
be possible to write in the same strain about
her acting. In that there is splendid promise.
And the promise will come the more near to
performance when she is a trifle less conscious
of her remarkable physical beauty, and of the
fact that she has been to some extent rushed
into her present position."
In June 1894, Neilson and Terry appeared together in 'Shall We Forgive Her?' by Frank Harvey at the Adelphi Theatre, with Neilson as Grace. The next year, she played Lady Chiltern in Wilde's comedy 'An Ideal Husband' at the Haymarket under the management of Lewis Waller.
She gave birth to her second child, Dennis, in October 1895. Two months later, the family travelled to America to perform with John Hare's company. There they played together in New York in 'The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith' by Arthur Wing Pinero, with Neilson as Agnes.
Julia Neilson - The Later Years
In 1896, they returned to England where, at the St James's Theatre, Neilson played Princess Flavia in 'The Prisoner of Zenda' by Anthony Hope, remaining at that theatre for two years. There she played Rosalind in the extremely successful run of 'As You Like It' (in which role she toured North America in 1895 and 1910).
She played the title role in Pinero's 'The Princess and the Butterfly' in 1897. Her husband appeared with her in 'The Tree of Knowledge' and other plays from October 1897 until the summer of 1898; her roles included Beatrice in 'Much Ado About Nothing'.
Next, they appeared in 'The Gypsy Earl'. Again with Tree's company, now at Her Majesty's Theatre, Neilson was Constance in 'King John' (1899) (and appeared in an early short silent movie recreating King John's death scene at the end of the play) and Oberon in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (1900).
The couple entered into management together in 1900, producing and starring in 'Sweet Nell of Old Drury' by Paul Kester.
They would continue to produce plays together for the next 30 years, most notably, 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' (1905 at the New Theatre), which they also starred in and, with J. M. Barstow, adapted for the stage from Baroness Orczy's manuscript. Despite scathing reviews from the critics, the play was a record-breaking hit and played for more than 2,000 performances, then enjoying numerous revivals.
Neilson's roles also included the title role in Kester's adaptation of 'Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall' (1907). Neilson's and Terry's productions continued to favour historical romances or comedy melodramas, including 'Henry of Navarre' by William Devereux (1909 at the New Theatre). Henry and Sweet Nell became their signature pieces during many tours of the British provinces and during their US tour in 1910.
They also produced and starred with much success in 'For Sword or Song' by Robert Legge and Louis Calvert (1903), 'Dorothy o' the Hall' by Paul Kester and Charles Major (1906), 'The Popinjay' by Boyle Lawrence and Frederick Mouillot (1911), 'Mistress Wilful' by Ernest Hendrie (1915), 'The Borderer' (1921), 'The Marlboroughs' (1924), and 'The Wooing of Katherine Parr' by William Devereux (1926).
They also starred in 'A Wreath of a Hundred Roses' (1922), which was a masque by Louis N. Parker at the Duke's Hall to celebrate the Royal Academy's centenary. In 1926, Neilson starred alongside Lawrence Grossmith in a revival of 'Henry of Navarre', which toured the provinces. She later starred in 'This Thing Called Love' in 1929.
Her son Dennis died of pneumonia in 1932, and her husband, Fred Terry, died in 1933. Neilson retired from the stage after a run as Josephine Popinot in the revival of the farce 'Vintage Wine' by Seymour Hicks and Ashley Dukes at Daly's Theatre.
In 1938, she was given a testimonial luncheon to mark her fiftieth anniversary as a performer. Neilson made a brief return to the stage in 1944 to play Lady Rutven in 'The Widow of 40' by Heron Carvic. She wrote a memoir entitled, 'This For Remembrance', which gives an account of her life in the theatre business.
Death of Julia Neilson
Neilson died in a hospital in Hampstead, London, after a fall at her home, in 1957 at the age of 88. She was cremated at Golders Green, and she and her husband are both buried at Hampstead Cemetery in London.
John Waldegrave (Royal Navy officer)
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, the 29th. August 1905 marked the birth of Commander John Montagu Granville Waldegrave, DSC. He was a British naval commander during World War II.
Waldegrave was the only son of the 5th Baron Radstock. He commanded the cruiser HMS Vindictive from 1938 to 1939, and the sloop HMS Puffin in 1939.
John was awarded the DSC for anti-submarine work performed while commanding the Puffin.
On the 29th. June 1940, he married Lady Hersey Boyle, the second daughter of the retired navy man, the 8th. Earl of Glasgow, and they had two daughters:
- Hon. Horatia Marion Waldegrave (born 1st. August 1941), who married Oliver John Diggle and had three children with him.
- Hon. Griselda Hyacinthe Waldegrave (born 6th. June 1943), who married and also had issue.
From 1942–1943, John Waldegrave served in the Operations Division, attached to shore station HMS President.
On the 6th. September 1943, he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Penelope as executive officer.
The Death of John Waldegrave
On the 18th. February 1944, the Penelope was torpedoed by the U-boat U-410 while returning from Anzio, and Cmdr. Waldegrave was lost with the ship.
The fifth person to receive the Freedom of the County Borough of Middlesbrough was Sir Lowthian Bell Bart who was awarded freedom on 2 November 1894. A portrait of Sir Lowthian Bell Bart FRS 1826-1904 is hung in the Civic Suite in the Town Hall. It was painted by Henry Tamworth Wells RA and was presented in 1894 by Joseph Whitwell Pease MP on Tuesday 13 November in the Council Chamber at 3.00pm. Joseph Pease was Chairman of the Sir Lowthian Bell presentation committee.
It was presented to the Corporation of Middlesbrough by friends in Great Britain, Europe and America as a record of their high esteem and to commemorate his many public services and those researches in physical science by which he has contributed to the development of the staple industries of his own country and the world.
ISAAC LOWTHIAN BELL - from "Pioneers of The Cleveland Irontrade" by J. S. Jeans
THE name of Mr. Isaac Lowthian Bell is familiar as a " household word " throughout the whole North of England. As a man of science he is known more or less wherever the manufacture of iron is carried on. It is to metallurgical chemistry that his attention has been chiefly directed; but so far from confining his researches and attainments to this department alone, he has made incursions into other domains of practical and applied chemistry. No man has done more to stimulate the growth of the iron trade of the North of England. Baron Liebig has defined civilisation as economy of power, and viewed in this light civilisation is under deep obligations to Mr. Bell for the invaluable aid he has rendered in expounding the natural laws that are called into operation in the smelting process. The immense power now wielded by the ironmasters of the North of England is greatly due to their study and application of the most economical conditions under which the manufacture of iron can be carried on. But for their achievements in this direction, they could not have made headway so readily against rival manufacturers in Wales, Scotland, and South Staffordshire, who enjoyed a well-established reputation. But Mr. Bell and his colleagues felt that they must do something to compensate for the advantages possessed by the older iron- producing districts, and as we shall have occasion to show, were fully equal to the emergency, Mr. Isaac Lowthian Bell is a son of the late Mr. Thomas Bell, of the well-known firm of Messrs. Losh, Wilson, and Bell, who owned the Walker Ironworks, near Newcastle. His mother was a daughter of Mr. Isaac Lowthian, of Newbiggen, near Carlisle. He had the benefit of a good education, concluded at the Edinburgh University, and at the University of Sorbonne, in Paris. From an early age he exhibited an aptitude for the study of science. Having completed his studies, and travelled a good deal on the Continent, in order to acquire the necessary experience, he was introduced to the works at Walker, in which his father was a partner. He continued there until the year 1850, when he retired in favour of his brother, Mr. Thomas Bell. In the course of the same year, he joined his father-in-law, Mr. Pattinson, and Mr. R. B. Bowman, in the establishment of Chemical Works, at Washington. This venture was eminently successful. Subsequently it was joined by Mr. W. Swan, and on the death of Mr. Pattinson by Mr. R. S. Newall. The works at Washington, designed by Mr. Bell, are among the most extensive of their kind in the North of England, and have a wide reputation. During 1872 his connection with this undertaking terminated by his retirement from the firm. Besides the chemical establishment at Washington, Mr. Bell commenced, with his brothers, the manufacture of aluminium at the same place this being, if we are rightly informed, the first attempt to establish works of that kind in England. But what we have more particularly to deal with here is the establishment, in 1852, of the Clarence Ironworks, by Mr. I. L. Bell and his two brothers, Thomas and John. This was within two years of the discovery by Mr. Vaughan, of the main seam of the Cleveland ironstone. Port Clarence is situated on the north bank of the river Tees, and the site fixed upon for the new works was immediately opposite the Middlesbrough works of Messrs. Bolckow and Vaughan. There were then no works of the kind erected on that side of the river, and Port Clarence was literally a " waste howling wilderness." The ground on which the Clarence works are built where flooded with water, which stretched away as far as Billingham on the one hand, and Seaton Carew on the other. Thirty years ago, the old channel of the Tees flowed over the exact spot on which the Clarence furnaces are now built. To one of less penetration than Mr. Bell, the site selected would have seemed anything but congenial for such an enterprise. But the new firm were alive to advantages that did not altogether appear on the surface. They concluded negotiations with the West Hartlepool Railway Company, to whom the estate belonged, for the purchase of about thirty acres of ground, upon which they commenced to erect four blast furnaces of the size and shape then common in Cleveland. From this beginning they have gradually enlarged the works until the site now extends to 200 acres of land (a great deal of which is submerged, although it may easily be reclaimed), and there are eight furnaces regularly in blast. With such an extensive site, the firm will be able to command an unlimited "tip" for their slag, and extend the capacity of the works at pleasure. At the present time, Messrs.. Bell Brothers are building three new furnaces. The furnace lifts are worked by Sir William Armstrong's hydraulic accumulator, and the general plan of the works is carried out on the most modern and economical principles. As soon as they observed that higher furnaces, with a greater cubical capacity, were a source of economy, Messrs. Bell Brothers lost no time in reconstructing their old furnaces, which were only 50 feet in height ; and they were among the first in Cleveland to adopt the Welsh plan of utilising the waste furnace gases, by which another great economy is effected. With a considerable frontage to the Tees, and a connection joining the Clarence branch of the North-Eastern Railway, Messrs. Bell Brothers possess ample facilities of transit. They raise all their own ironstone and coal, having mines at Saltburn, Normanby, and Skelton, and collieries in South Durham. A chemical laboratory is maintained in connection with their Clarence Works, and the results thereby obtained are regarded in the trade as of standard and unimpeachable exactitude. Mr. I. L. Bell owns, conjointly with his two brothers, the iron -works at Washington. At these and the Clarence Works the firms produce about 3,000 tons of pig iron weekly. They raise from 500,000 to 600,000 tons of coal per annum, the greater portion of which is converted into coke. Their output of ironstone is so extensive that they not only supply about 10,000 tons a- week to their own furnaces, but they are under contract to supply large quantities to other works on Tees-side. Besides this, their Quarries near Stanhope will produce about 100,000 tons of limestone, applicable as a flux at the iron works. Last year, Mr. Bell informed the Coal Commission that his firm paid 100,000 a year in railway dues. Upwards of 5,000 workmen are in the employment of the firm at their different works and mines. But there is another, and perhaps a more important sense than any yet indicated, in which Mr. Bell is entitled to claim a prominent place among the " Pioneers of the Cleveland Iron Trade." Mr. Joseph Bewick says, in his geological treatise on the Cleveland district, that " to Bell Brothers, more than to any other firm, is due the merit of having fully and effectually developed at this period (1843) the ironstone fields of Cleveland. It was no doubt owing to the examinations and surveys which a younger member of that firm (Mr. John Bell) caused to be made in different localities of the district, that the extent and position of the ironstone beds became better known to the public." Of late years the subject of this sketch has come to be regarded as one of the greatest living authorities on the statistical and scientific aspects of the Cleveland ironstone and the North of England iron trade as a whole. With the Northumberland and Durham coal fields he is scarcely less familiar, and in dealing with these and cognate matters he has earned for himself no small fame as a historiographer. Leoni Levi himself could not discourse with more facility on the possible extent and duration of our coal supplies. When the British Association visited Newcastle in 1863, Mr. Bell read a deeply interesting paper " On the Manufacture of Iron in connection with the Northumberland and Durham Coal Field," in which he conveyed a great deal of valuable information. According to Bewick, he said the area of the main bed of Cleveland ironstone was 420 miles, and estimating the yield of ironstone as 20,000 tons per acre, it resulted that close on 5,000,000,000 tons are contained in the main seam. Mr. Bell added that he had calculated the quantity of coal in the Northern coal field at 6,000,000,000 tons, so that there was just about enough fuel in the one district, reserving it for that purpose exclusively, to smelt the ironstone contained in the main seam of the other. When the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics' Institutes visited Darlington in the spring of 1872, they spent a day in Cleveland under the ciceroneship of Mr. Bell, who read a paper, which he might have entitled "The Romance of Trade," on the rise and progress of Cleveland in relation to her iron manufactures; and before the Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club, when they visited Saltburn in 1866, he read another paper dealing with the geological features of the Cleveland district. Although not strictly germane to our subject, we may add here that when, in 1870, the Social Science Congress visited Newcastle, Mr. Bell took an active and intelligent part in the proceedings, and read a lengthy paper, bristling with facts and figures, on the sanitary condition of the town. Owing to his varied scientific knowledge, Mr. Bell has been selected to give evidence on several important Parliamentary Committees, including that appointed to inquire into the probable extent and duration of the coal-fields of the United Kingdom. The report of this Commission is now before us, and Mr. Bell's evidence shows most conclusively the vast amount of practical knowledge that he has accumulated, not only as to the phenomena of mineralogy and metallurgy in Great Britain, but also in foreign countries. Mr. Bell was again required to give evidence before the Parliamentary Committee appointed in 1873, to inquire into the causes of the scarcity and dearness of coal. In July, 1854, Mr. Bell was elected a member of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. He was a member of the Council of the Institute from 1865 to 1866, when he was elected one of the vice-presidents. He is a vice-president of the Society of Mechanical Engineers, and last year was an associate member of the Council of Civil Engineers. He is also a fellow of the Chemical Society of London. To most of these societies he has contributed papers on matters connected with the manufacture of iron. When a Commission was appointed by Parliament to inquire into the constitution and management of Durham University, the institute presented a memorial to the Home Secretary, praying that a practical Mining College might be incorporated with the University, and Mr. Bell, Mr. G. Elliot, and Mr. Woodhouse, were appointed to give evidence in support of the memorial. He was one of the most important witnesses at the inquest held in connection with the disastrous explosion at Hetton Colliery in 1860, when twenty-one miners, nine horses, and fifty-six ponies were killed; and in 1867 he was a witness for the institute before the Parliamentary Committee appointed to inquire into the subject of technical education, his evidence, from his familiarity with the state of science on the Continent, being esteemed of importance. Some years ago, Mr. Bell brought under the notice of the Mining Institute an aluminium safety lamp. He pointed out that the specific heat of aluminum was very high, so that it might be long exposed to the action of fire before becoming red-hot, while it did not abstract the rays of light so readily as iron, which had a tendency to become black much sooner. Mr. Bell was during the course of last year elected an honorary member of a learned Society in the United States, his being only the second instance in which this distinction had been accorded. Upon that occasion, Mr. Abram Hewitt, the United States Commissioner to the Exhibition of 1862, remarked that Mr. Bell had by his researches made the iron makers of two continents his debtors. Mr Bell is one of the founders of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain, and has all along taken a prominent part in its deliberations. No other technical society, whether at home or abroad, has so rapidly taken a position of marked and confirmed practical usefulness. The proposal to form such an institute was first made at a meeting of the North of England Iron Trade, held in Newcastle, in September, 1868, and Mr. Bell was elected one of the first vice-presidents, and a member of the council. At the end of the year 1869 the Institute had 292 members; at the end of 1870 the number had increased to 348; and in August 1872, there were over 500 names on the roll of membership. These figures are surely a sufficient attestation of its utility. Mr. Bell's paper " On the development of heat, and its appropriation in blast furnaces of different dimensions," is considered the most valuable contribution yet made through the medium of the Iron and Steel Institute to the science and practice of iron metallurgy. Since it was submitted to the Middlesbrough meeting of the Institute in 1869, this paper has been widely discussed by scientific and practical men at home and abroad, and the author has from time to time added new matter, until it has now swollen into a volume embracing between 400 and 500 pages, and bearing the title of the " Chemical Phenomena of Iron Smelting." As a proof of the high scientific value placed upon this work, we may mention that many portions have been translated into German by Professor Tunner, who is, perhaps, the most distinguished scientific metallurgist on the Continent of Europe. The same distinction has been conferred upon Mr. Bell's work by Professor Gruner, of the School of Mines in Paris, who has communicated its contents to the French iron trade, and by M. Akerman, of Stockholm, who has performed the same office for the benefit of the manufacturers of iron in Sweden. The first president of the Iron and Steel Institute was the Duke of Devonshire, the second Mr. H. Bessemer, and for the two years commencing 1873, Mr. Bell has enjoyed the highest honour the iron trade of the British empire can confer. As president of the Iron and Steel Institute, Mr. Bell presided over the deliberations of that body on their visit to Belgium in the autumn of 1873. The reception accorded to the Institute by their Belgian rivals and friends was of the most hearty and enthusiastic description. The event, indeed, was regarded as one of international importance, and every opportunity, both public and private, was taken by our Belgian neighbours to honour England in the persons of those who formed her foremost scientific society. Mr. Bell delivered in the French language, a presidential address of singular ability, directed mainly to an exposition of the relative industrial conditions and prospects of the two greatest iron producing countries in Europe. As president of the Institute, Mr. Bell had to discharge the duty of presenting to the King of the Belgians, at a reception held by His Majesty at the Royal Palace in Brussels, all the members who had taken a part in the Belgium meeting, and the occasion will long be remembered as one of the most interesting and pleasant in the experience of those who were privileged to be present. We will only deal with one more of Mr. Bell's relations to the iron trade. He was, we need scarcely say, one of the chief promoters of what is now known as the North of England Ironmasters' Association, and he has always been in the front of the deliberations and movements of that body. Before a meeting of this Association, held in 1867, he read a paper on the " Foreign Relations of the Iron Trade," in the course of which he showed that the attainments of foreign iron manufacturers in physical science were frequently much greater than our own, and deprecated the tendency of English artizans to obstruct the introduction of new inventions and processes. He has displayed an eager anxiety in the testing and elucidation of new discoveries, and no amount of labour or cost was grudged that seemed likely, in his view, to lead to mechanical improvements. He has investigated for himself every new appliance or process that claimed to possess advantages over those already in use, and he has thus rendered yeoman service to the interest of science, by discriminating between the chaff and the wheat. For a period nearly approaching twenty- four years, Mr. Bell has been a member of the Newcastle Town Council, and one of the most prominent citizens of the town. Upon this phase of his career it is not our business to dwell at any length, but we cannot refrain from adding, that he has twice filled the chief magistrate's chair, that he served the statutory period as Sheriff of the town, that he is a director of the North-Eastern Railway, and that he was the first president of the Newcastle Chemical Society. In the general election of 1868, Mr. Bell came forward as a candidate for the Northern Division of the county of Durham, in opposition to Mr. George Elliot, but the personal influence of the latter was too much for him, and he sustained a defeat. In the general election of 1874, Mr. Bell again stood for North Durham, in conjunction with Mr. C. M. Palmer, of Jarrow. Mr. Elliott again contested the Division in the Conservative interest. After a hard struggle, Mr. Bell was returned at the head of the poll. Shortly after the General Election, Mr. Elliott received a baronetcy from Mr, Disraeli. A short time only had elapsed, however, when the Liberal members were unseated on petition, because of general intimidation at Hetton-le-Hole, Seaham, and other places no blame being, however, attributed to the two members and the result of afresh election in June following was the placing of Mr. Bell at the bottom of the poll, although he was only a short distance behind his Conservative opponent Sir George Elliott."
"Isaac Lowthian Bell, 1st Baronet FRS (1816-1904), of Bell Brothers, was a Victorian ironmaster and Liberal Party politician from Washington, Co. Durham.
1816 February 15th. Born the son of Thomas Bell and his wife Katherine Lowthian.
Attended the Academy run by John Bruce in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edinburgh University and the Sorbonne.
Practical experience in alkali manufacture at Marseilles.
1835 Joined the Walker Ironworks; studied the the operation of the blast furnaces and rolling mills.
A desire to master thoroughly the technology of any manufacturing process was to be one of the hallmarks of Bell's career.
1842 Married Margaret Elizabeth Pattinson
In 1844 Lowthian Bell and his brothers Thomas Bell and John Bell formed a new company, Bell Brothers, to operate the Wylam ironworks. These works, based at Port Clarence on the Tees, began pig-iron production with three blast furnaces in 1854 and became one of the leading plants in the north-east iron industry. The firm's output had reached 200,000 tons by 1878 and the firm employed about 6,000 men.
1850 Bell started his own chemical factory at Washington in Gateshead, established a process for the manufacture of an oxychloride of lead, and operated the new French Deville patent, used in the manufacture of aluminium. Bell expanded these chemical interests in the mid-1860s, when he developed with his brother John a large salt working near the ironworks.
In 1854 he built Washington Hall, now called Dame Margaret's Hall.
He was twice Lord Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Member of Parliament for North Durham from February to June 1874, and for Hartlepool from 1875 to 1880.
1884 President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
In 1895 he was awarded the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts, 'in recognition of the services he has rendered to Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, by his metallurgical researches and the resulting development of the iron and steel industries'.
A founder of the Iron and Steel Institute, he was its president from 1873 to 1875, and in 1874 became the first recipient of the gold medal instituted by Sir Henry Bessemer. He was president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1884.
1842 He married Margaret Pattison. Their children were Mary Katherine Bell, who married Edward Stanley, 4th Baron Stanley of Alderley and Sir Thomas Hugh Bell, 2nd Baronet.
1904 December 20th. Lowthian Bell died at his home, Rounton Grange, Rounton, Northallerton, North Riding of Yorkshire
1904 Obituary [1]
"Sir ISAAC LOWTHIAN BELL, Bart., was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne on 15th February 1816, being the son of Mr. Thomas Bell, an alderman of the town, and partner in the firm of Messrs. Losh, Wilson and Bell, of Walker Iron Works, near Newcastle; his mother was the daughter of Mr. Isaac Lowthian, of Newbiggin, Northumberland.
After studying at Edinburgh University, he went to the Sorbonne, Paris, and there laid the foundation of the chemical and metallurgical knowledge which he applied so extensively in later years.
He travelled extensively, and in the years 1839-40 he covered a distance of over 12,000 miles, examining the most important seats of iron manufacture on the Continent. He studied practical iron-making at his father's works, where lie remained until 1850, when he joined in establishing chemical works at Washington, eight miles from Newcastle. Here it was also that his subsequent firm of Messrs. Bell Brothers started the first works in England for the manufacture of aluminium.
In 1852, in conjunction with his brothers Thomas and John, he founded the Clarence Iron Works, near the mouth of the Tees, opposite Middlesbrough. The three blast-furnaces erected there in 1853 were at that time the largest in the kingdom, each being 47.5 feet high, with a capacity of 6,012 cubic feet; the escaping gases were utilized for heating the blast. In 1873 the capacity of these furnaces was much increased.
In the next year the firm sank a bore-hole to the rock salt, which had been discovered some years earlier by Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. in boring for water. The discovery remained in abeyance till 1882, when they began making salt, being the pioneers of the salt industry in that district. They were also among the largest colliery proprietors in South Durham, and owned extensive ironstone mines in Cleveland, and limestone quarries in Weardale.
His literary career may be said to have begun in 1863, when, during his second mayoralty, the British Association visited Newcastle, on which occasion he presented a report on the manufacture of iron in connection with the Northumberland and Durham coal-fields. At the same visit he read two papers on " The Manufacture of Aluminium," and on "Thallium." The majority of his Papers were read before the Iron and Steel Institute, of which Society he was one of the founders; and several were translated into French and German.
On the occasion of the first Meeting of this Institution at Middlesbrough in 1871, he read a Paper on Blast-Furnace Materials, and also one on the "Tyne as Connected with the History of Engineering," at the Newcastle Meeting in 1881. For his Presidential Address delivered at the Cardiff Meeting in 1884, he dealt with the subject of "Iron."
He joined this Institution in 1858, and was elected a Member of Council in 1870. In 1872 he became a Vice-President, and retained that position until his election as President in 1884. Although the Papers he contributed were not numerous, he frequently took part in the discussions on Papers connected with the Iron Industry and kindred subjects.
He was a member of a number of other learned societies — The Royal Society, The Institution of Civil Engineers, the Iron and Steel Institute, of which he was President from 1873 to 1875, the Society of Chemical Industry, the Royal Society of Sweden, and the Institution of Mining Engineers, of which he was elected President in 1904.
He had also received honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh, the Durham College of Science, and the University of Leeds. In 1885 a baronetcy was conferred upon him in recognition of his distinguished services to science and industry. In 1876 he served as a Commissioner to tile International Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, where he occupied the position of president of the metallurgical judges, and presented to the Government in 1877 a report upon the iron manufacture of the United States. In 1878 he undertook similar duties at the Paris Exhibition.
He was Mayor of Newcastle in 1854-55, and again in 1862-3. In 1874 he was elected Member of Parliament for Durham, but was unseated; he sat for the Hartlepools from 1875 to 1880, and then retired from parliamentary life. For the County of Durham he was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant, and High Sheriff in 1884. For many years he was a director of the North Eastern Railway, and Chairman of the Locomotive Committee.
His death took place at his residence, Rounton Grange, Northallerton, on 20th December 1904, in his eighty-ninth year.
1904 Obituary [2]
SIR LOWTHIAN BELL, Bart., Past-President, died on December 21, 1904, at his residence, Rounton Grange, Northallerton, in his eighty-ninth year. In his person the Iron and Steel Institute has to deplore the loss of its most distinguished and most valuable member. From the time when the Institute was founded as the outcome of an informal meeting at his house, until his death, he was a most active member, and regularly attended the general meetings, the meetings of Council, and the meetings of the various committees on which he served.
Sir Lowthian Bell was the son of Mr. Thomas Bell (of Messrs. Losh, Wilson, & Bell, iron manufacturers, Walker-on-Tyne), and of Catherine, daughter of Mr. Isaac Lowthian, of Newbiggin, near Carlisle. He was born in Newcastle on February 15, 1816, and educated, first at Bruce's Academy, in Newcastle, and afterwards in Germany, in Denmark, at Edinburgh University, and at the Sorbonne, Paris. His mother's family had been tenants of a well-known Cumberland family, the Loshes of Woodside, near Carlisle, one of whom, in association with Lord Dundonald, was one of the first persons in this country to engage in the manufacture of soda by the Leblanc process. In this business Sir Lowthian's father became a partner on Tyneside. Mr. Bell had the insight to perceive that physical science, and especially chemistry, was bound to play a great part in the future of industry, and this lesson• he impressed upon his ions. The consequence was that they devoted their time largely to chemical studies.
On the completion of his studies, Lowthian Bell joined his father at the Walker Iron Works. Mr. John Vaughan, who was with the firm, left about the year 1840, and in conjunction with Mr. Bolckow began their great iron manufacturing enterprise at Middlesbrough. Mr. Bell then became manager at Walker, and blast-furnaces were erected under his direction. He became greatly interested in the ironstone district of Cleveland, and as early as 1843 made experiments with the ironstone. He met with discouragements at first, but was rewarded with success later, and to Messrs. Bell Brothers largely belongs the credit of developing the ironstone field of Cleveland. Mr. Bell's father died in 1845, and the son became managing partner. In 1852, two years after the discovery of the Cleveland ironstone, the firm acquired ironstone royalties first at Normanby and then at Skelton in Cleveland, and started the Clarence Iron Works, opposite Middlesbrough. The three blast-furnaces here erected in 1853 were at that time the largest in the kingdom, each being 47.5 feet high, with a capacity of 6012 cubic feet. Later furnaces were successively increased up to a height of. 80 feet in 1873, with 17 feet to 25 feet in diameter at the bosh, 8 feet at the hearth, and about 25,500 cubic feet capacity. On the discovery of a bed of rock salt at 1127 feet depth at Middlesbrough, the method of salt manufacture in vogue in Germany was introduced at the instance of Mr. Thomas Bell, and the firm of Bell Brothers had thus the distinction of being pioneers in this important industry in the district. They were also among the largest colliery proprietors in South Durham, and owned likewise extensive ironstone mines in Cleveland, and limestone quarries in Weardale. At the same time Mr. Bell was connected with the Washington Aluminium Works, the Wear blast-furnaces, and the Felling blast-furnaces.
Although Sir Lowthian Bell was an earnest municipal reformer and member of Parliament, he will best be remembered as a man of science. He was mayor of Newcastle in 1863, when the British Association visited that town, and the success of the gathering was largely due to his arrangements. As one of the vice-presidents of the chemical section, he contributed papers upon thallium and the manufacture of aluminium; and, jointly with the late Lord Armstrong, edited the souvenir volume entitled " The Industrial Resources of the Tyne, Wear, and Tees." In 1873, when the Iron and Steel Institute visited Belgium, Mr. Bell presided, and delivered in French an address on the relative industrial conditions of Great Britain and Belgium. Presiding at the Institute's meeting in Vienna in 1882, he delivered his address partly in English and partly in German, and expressed the hope that the ties between England and Austria should be drawn more closely.
On taking up his residence permanently at Rounton Grange, near Northallerton, Sir Lowthian made a present to the city council, on which he had formerly served for so many years, of Washington Hall and grounds, and the place is now used as a home for the waifs and strays of the city. It is known as Dame Margaret's Home, in memory of Lady Bell, who died in 1886. This lady, to whom he was married in 1842, was a daughter of Mr. Hugh Lee Pattinson, F.R.S., the eminent chemist and metallurgist.
Sir Lowthian earned great repute as an author. He was a prolific writer on both technical and commercial questions relating to the iron and steel industries. His first important book was published in 1872, and was entitled " Chemical Phenomena of Iron Smelting : An Experimental :and Practical Examination of the Circumstances which Determine the Capacity of the Blast-Furnace, the Temperature of the Air, and the Proper Condition of the Materials to be Operated upon." This book, which contained nearly 500 pages, with many diagrams, was the direct outcome of a controversy with the late Mr. Charles Cochrane, and gave details of nearly 900 experiments carried out over a series of years with a view to finding out the laws which regulate the process of iron smelting, and the nature of the reactions which take place among the substances dealt with in the manufacture of pig iron. The behaviour of furnaces under varying conditions was detailed. The book was a monument of patient research, which all practical men could appreciate. His other large work—covering 750 pages—was entitled " The Principles of the Manufacture of Iron and Steel." It was issued in 1884, and in it the author compared the resources existing in different localities in Europe and America as iron-making centres. His further investigations into the manufacture of pig iron were detailed, as well as those relating to the manufacture of finished iron and steel.
In 1886, at the instance of the British Iron Trade Association, of which he was then President, he prepared and published a book entitled " The Iron Trade of the United Kingdom compared with other Chief Ironmaking Nations." Besides these books and numerous papers contributed to scientific societies, Sir Lowthian wrote more than one pamphlet relating to the history and development of the industries of Cleveland.
In 1876 Sir Lowthian was appointed a Royal Commissioner to the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, and wrote the official report relating to the iron and steel industries. -This was issued in the form of a bulky Blue-book.
As a director of the North-Eastern Railway Company Si Lowthian prepared an important volume of statistics for the use of his colleagues, and conducted exhaustive investigations into the life of a steel rail.
The majority of his papers were read before the Iron and Steel Institute, but of those contributed to other societies the following may be mentioned :— Report and two papers to the second Newcastle meeting of the British Association in 1863, already mentioned. " Notes on the Manufacture of Iron in the Austrian Empire," 1865. " Present State of the Manufacture of Iron in Great Britain," 1867. " Method of Recovering Sulphur and Oxide of Manganese, as Practised at Dieuze, near Nancy," 1867. " Our Foreign Competitors in the Iron Trade," 1868; this was promptly translated into French by Mr. G. Rocour, and published in Liege. " Chemistry of the Blast-Furnace," 1869. " Preliminary Treatment of the Materials Used in the Manufacture of Pig Iron in the Cleveland District" (Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1871). " Conditions which Favour, and those which Limit, the Economy of Fuel in the Blast-Furnace for Smelting Iron " (Institution of Civil Engineers, 1872). "Some supposed Changes Basaltic Veins have Suffered during their Passage through and Contact with Stratified Rocks, and the Manner in which these Rocks have been Affected by the Heated Basalt " : a communication to the Royal Society on May 27, 1875. " Report to Government on the Iron Manufacture of the United States of America, and a Comparison of it with that of Great Britain," 1877. "British Industrial Supremacy," 1878. " Notes on the Progress of the Iron Trade of Cleveland," 1878. " Expansion of Iron," 1880. " The Tyne as connected with the History of Engineering " (Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1881). " Occlusion of Gaseous Matter by Fused Silicates and its possible connection with Volcanic Agency : " a paper to the third York meeting of the British Association, in, 1881, but printed in the Journal of the Iron and Steel• Institute. Presidential Address on Iron (Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1884). " Principles of the Manufacture of Iron and Steel, with Notes on the Economic Conditions of their Production," 1884. " Iron Trade of the United Kingdom," 1886. " Manufacture of Salt near Middlesbrough" (Institution of Civil Engineers, 1887). " Smelting of Iron Ores Chemically Considered," 1890. " Development of the Manufacture and Use of Rails in Great Britain " (Institution of Civil Engineers, 1900). Presidential Address to the Institution of Junior Engineers, 1900.
To him came in due course honours of all kinds. When the Bessemer Gold Medal was instituted in 1874, Sir Lowthian was the first recipient. In 1895 he received at the hands of the King, then. Prince of Wales, the Albert Medal of the Society of Arts, in recognition of the services he had rendered to arts, manufactures, and commerce by his metallurgical researches. From the French government he received the cross of the Legion of Honour. From the Institution of Civil Engineers he received the George Stephenson Medal, in 1900, and, in 1891, the Howard Quinquennial Prize which is awarded periodically to the author of a treatise on Iron.
For his scientific work Sir Lowthian was honoured by many of the learned societies of Europe and America. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1875. He was an Hon. D.C.L. of Durham University; an LL.D. of the Universities of Edinburgh and Dublin; and a D.Sc. of Leeds University. He was one of the most active promoters of the Durham College of Science by speech as well as by purse; his last contribution was made only a short time ago, and was £3000, for the purpose of building a tower. He had. held the presidency of the North of England Institution of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, and was the first president of the Newcastle Chemical Society.
Sir Lowthian was a director of the North-Eastern Railway Company since 1865. For a number of years he was vice-chairman, and at the time of his death was the oldest railway director in the kingdom. In 1874 he was elected M.P. for the Borough of the Hartlepools, and continued to represent the borough till 1880. In 1885, on the advice of Mr. Gladstone, a baronetcy was conferred upon him in recognition of his great services to the State. Among other labours he served on the Royal Commission on the Depression of Trade, and formed one of the Commission which proceeded to Vienna to negotiate Free Trade in Austria-Hungary in 1866. For the County of Durham he was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant, and High Sheriff in 1884. He was also a Justice of the Peace for the North Riding of Yorkshire and for the city of Newcastle. He served as Royal Commissioner at the Philadelphia Exhibition in 1876, and at the Paris Exhibition of 1878. He also served as Juror at the Inventions Exhibition in London, in 1885, and at several other great British and foreign Exhibitions.
Of the Society of Arts he was a member from 1859. He joined the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1867, and the Chemical Society in 1863. He was a past-president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and of the Society of Chemical Industry; and at the date of his death he was president of the Institution of Mining Engineers. He was an honorary member of the American Philosophical Institution, of the Liege Association of Engineers, and of other foreign societies. In 1882 he was made an honorary member of the Leoben School of Mines.
In the Iron and Steel Institute he took special interest. One of its original founders in 1869, he filled the office of president from 1873 to 1875, and was, as already noted, the first recipient of the gold medal instituted by Sir Henry Bessemer. He contributed the following papers to the Journal of the Institute in addition to Presidential Addresses in 1873 and 1874: (1) " The Development of Heat, and its Appropriation in Blast-furnaces of Different Dimensions" (1869). (2) " Chemical Phenomena of Iron Smelting : an experimental and practical examination of the circumstances which determine the capacity of the blast-furnace, the temperature of the air, and the proper conditions of the materials to be operated upon " (No. I. 1871; No. II. 1871; No. I. 1872). (3) " Ferrie's Covered Self-coking Furnace" (1871). (4) "Notes on a Visit to Coal and Iron Mines and Ironworks in the United States " (1875). (5) " Price's Patent Retort Furnace " (1875). (6) " The Sum of Heat utilised in Smelting Cleveland Ironstone" (1875). (7) "The Use of Caustic Lime in the Blast-furnace" (1875). (8) "The Separation of Carbon, Silicon, Sulphur, and Phosphorus in the Refining and Puddling Furnace, and in the Bessemer Converter " (1877). (9) " The Separation of Carbon, Silicon, Sulphur, and Phosphorus in the Refining and Puddling Furnaces, in the Bessemer Converter, with some Remarks on the Manufacture and Durability of Railway Bars" (Part II. 1877). (10) " The Separation of Phosphorus from Pig Iron" (1878). (11) " The Occlusion or Absorption of Gaseous Matter by fused Silicates at High Temperatures, and its possible Connection with Volcanic Agency" (1881). (12) " On Comparative Blast-furnace Practice" (1882). (13) "On the Value of Successive Additions to the Temperature of the Air used in Smelting Iron " (1883). (14) "On the Use of Raw Coal in the Blast-furnace" (1884). (15) "On the Blast-furnace value of Coke, from which the Products of Distillation from the Coal, used in its Manufacture, have been Collected" (1885). (16) "Notes on the Reduction of Iron Ore in the Blast-furnace" (1887). (17) "On Gaseous Fuel" (1889). (18) " On. the Probable Future of the Manufacture of Iron " (Pittsburg International Meeting, 1890). (19) " On the American Iron Trade and its Progress during Sixteen Years" (Special American Volume, 1890). (20) " On the Manufacture of Iron in its Relations with Agriculture " (1892). (21) " On the Waste of Heat, Past, Present, and Future, in Smelting Ores of Iron " (1893). (22) " On the Use of Caustic Lime in the Blast-furnace" (1894).
Sir Lowthian Bell took part in the first meeting of the Institute in 1869, and was present at nearly all the meetings up to May last, when he took part in the discussion on pyrometers, and on the synthesis of Bessemer steel. The state of his health would not, however, permit him to attend the American meeting, and he wrote to Sir James Kitson, Bart., Past-President, a letter expressing his regret. The letter, which was read at the dinner given by Mr. Burden to the Council in New York, was as follows :— ROUNTON GRANGE, NORTHALLERTON, 12th October 1904.
MY DEAR SIR JAMES KITSON,-Four days ago I was under the knife of an occulist for the removal of a cataract on my right eye. Of course, at my advanced age, in deference to the convenience of others, as well as my own, I never entertained a hope of being able to accompany the members of the Iron and Steel Institute in their approaching visit to the United States.
You who knew the regard, indeed, I may, without any exaggeration, say the affection I entertain for my friends on the other side of the Atlantic, will fully appreciate the nature of my regrets in being compelled to abstain from enjoying an opportunity of once more greeting them.
Their number, alas, has been sadly curtailed since I first met them about thirty years ago, but this curtailment has only rendered me the more anxious again to press the hands of the few who still remain.
Reference to the records of the Iron and Steel Institute will show that I was one of its earliest promoters, and in that capacity I was anxious to extend its labours, and consequently its usefulness, to every part of the world where iron was made or even used; with this view, the Council of that body have always taken care to have members on the Board of Management from other nations, whenever they could secure their services. Necessarily the claims upon the time of the gentlemen filling the office of President are too urgent to hope of its being filled by any one not a resident in the United Kingdom. Fortunately, we have a gentleman, himself a born subject of the United Kingdom, who spends enough of his time in the land of his birth to undertake the duties of the position of Chief Officer of the Institute.
It is quite unnecessary for me to dwell at any length upon the admirable way in which Mr. Andrew Carnegie has up to this time discharged the duties of his office, and I think I may take upon me to declare in the name of the Institute that the prosperity of the body runs no chance of suffering by his tenure of the Office of President.— Yours faithfully, (Signed) LOWTHIAN BELL.
The funeral of Sir Lowthian Bell took place on December 23, at Rounton, in the presence of the members of his family, and of Sir James Kitson, Bart., M.P., past-president, and Sir David Dale, Bart., past-president. A memorial service was held simultaneously at the Parish Church, Middlesbrough, and was attended by large numbers from the North of England. A dense fog prevailed, but this did not prevent all classes from being represented. The Iron and Steel Institute was represented by Mr. W. Whitwell, past-president, Mr. J Riley, vice-president, Mr. A. Cooper and Mr. Illtyd Williams, members of council, Mr. H. Bauerman, hon. member, and the Secretary. The Dean of Durham delivered an address, in which he said that Sir Lowthian's life had been one of the strenuous exertion of great powers, full of bright activity, and he enjoyed such blessings as go with faithful, loyal work and intelligent grappling with difficult problems. From his birth at Newcastle, in 1816, to the present day, the world of labour, industry, and mechanical skill had been in constant flow and change. Never before had there been such a marvellous succession of advances, and in keeping pace with these changes Sir Lowthian might be described as the best scientific ironmaster in the world. He gave a lifelong denial to the statement that Englishmen can always " muddle through," for he based all his action and success on clearly ascertained knowledge.
The King conveyed to the family of the late Sir Lowthian Bell the expression of his sincere sympathy on the great loss which they have sustained. His Majesty was pleased to say that he had a great respect for Sir Lowthian Bell, and always looked upon him as a very distinguished man.
Immediately before the funeral an extraordinary meeting of council was held at the offices of Bell Brothers, Limited, Middlesbrough, when the following resolution was unanimously adopted :— " The council of the Iron and Steel Institute desire to place on record their appreciation of the loss which the Institute has sustained by the death of Sir Lowthian Bell, Bart., a past-president and one of the founders of the Institute. The council feel that it would be difficult to overrate the services that Sir Lowthian rendered to the Institute in the promotion of the objects for which it was formed, and his constant readiness to devote his time and energies to the advancement of these objects. His colleagues on the council also desire to assure his family of their most sincere sympathy in the loss that has befallen them." Find a Grave.
Isaac Lowthian Bell was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on the 16th of February 1816. He was the son of Thomas Bell, a member of the firm of Losh, Wilson and Bell Ironworks at Walker. Bell was educated at Dr Bruce’s Academy (Newcastle upon Tyne), Edinburgh University, and the University of the Sorbonne (Paris).
In 1850 Bell was appointed manager of Walker Ironworks. In the same year he established a chemical works at Washington with Mr Hugh Lee Pattinson and Mr R. B. Bowman (the partnership was severed in 1872). In 1852 Bell set up Clarence Ironworks at Port Clarence, Middlesbrough, with his brothers Thomas and John which produced basic steel rails for the North Eastern Railway (From 1865 to 1904, Bell was a director of North Eastern Railway Company). They opened ironstone mines at Saltburn by the Sea (Normanby) and Skelton (Cleveland). Bell Brothers employed around 6,000 workmen. They employed up to the minute practises (for example, utilizing waste gases which escaped from the furnaces) and were always keen to trial improvements in the manufacture of iron. In 1882 Bell Brothers had a boring made at Port Clarence to the north of the Tees and found a stratum of salt, which was then worked. This was sold to Salt Union Ltd in 1888.
Bell’s professional expertise was used after an explosion at Hetton Colliery in 1860. He ascertained that the cause of the explosion was due to the presence of underground boilers.
In 1861 Bell was appointed to give evidence to the Commission to incorporate a Mining College within Durham University. Durham College of Science was set up 1871 in Newcastle with Bell as a Governor. He donated £4,500 for the building of Bell Tower. Large collection of books were donated from his library by his son to the College.
Bell served on the Royal Commission on the Depression of Trade. He was a Justice of Peace for County of Durham, Newcastle and North Riding of Yorkshire, and was Deputy-lieutenant and High Sheriff for Durham in 1884. In 1879 Bell accepted arbitration in the difficulty with the miners during the General Strike of County Durham miners
Between 1850 and 1880 Bell sat on the Town Council of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1851 he became sheriff, was elected mayor in 1854, and Alderman in 1859. In 1874 Bell was the Liberal Member of Parliament for North Durham, but was unseated on the ground of general intimidation by agents. Between 1875 and 1880 he was the Member of Parliament for the Hartlepools.
Bell was an authority on mineralogy and metallurgy. In 1863 at the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Newcastle, he read a paper ‘On the Manufacture of Iron in connection with the Northumberland and Durham Coalfield’ (Report of the 33rd meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Newcastle upon Tyne, 1863, p730).
In 1871 Bell read a paper at a meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute, Middlesbrough on ‘Chemical Phenomena of Iron smelting’. (The Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1871 Vol I pp85-277, Vol II pp67-277, and 1872 Vol I p1). This was published with additions as a book which became an established text in the iron trade. He also contributed to ‘The Industrial Resources of the Tyne, Wear and Tees (1863)’.
In 1854 Bell became a member of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers and was elected president in 1886. Bell devoted much time to the welfare and success of the Institute in its early days.
During his life Bell was a founder member of the Iron and Steel Institute (elected President in 1874); a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Chemical Society of London; a member of the Society of Arts, a member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers; President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers; President of the Society of Chemical Industry; and a founder member of the Institution of Mining Engineers (elected President in 1904)
Bell was the recipient of Bessemer Gold Medal, from Iron and Steel Institute in 1874 and in 1885 recieved a baronetcy for services to the State. In 1890 he received the George Stephenson Medal from The Institute of Civil Engineers and in 1895 received the Albert Medal of the Society of Arts for services through his metallurgical researches.
Bell was a Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) of Durham University, a Doctor of Laws (LLD) of Edinburgh University and Dublin University, and a Doctor of Science (DSc) of Leeds University.
Bell married the daughter of Hugh Lee Pattinson in 1842 and together they had two sons and three daughters. The family resided in Newcastle upon Tyne, Washington Hall, and Rounton Grange near Northallerton.
Lowthian Bell died on the 21st of December 1904. The Council of The Institution of Mining Engineers passed the following resolution:
“The Council have received with the deepest regret intimation of the death of their esteemed President and colleague, Sir Lowthian Bell, Bart, on of the founders of the Institution, who presided at the initial meeting held in London on June 6 th 1888, and they have conveyed to Sir Hugh Bell, Bart, and the family of Sir Lowthian Bell an expression of sincere sympathy with them in their bereavement. It is impossible to estimate the value of the services that Sir Lowthian Bell rendered to the Institution of Mining Engineers in promoting its objects, and in devoting his time and energies to the advancement of the Institution.”
Information taken from: - Institute of Mining Engineers, Transactions, Vol XXXIII 1906-07
The new tool, developed by Rome's La Sapienza University with support from Nestlé, is hoped will enable food producers, growers, processors and marketeers to better understand what we think about when we think of food.
GP500 motorcycle windshields
Kawasaki Motorcycle History
Kawasaki emerged out of the ashes of the second World War to become one of the big players from Japan. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Kawasaki built a reputation for some of the most powerful engines on two wheels, spawning legendary sportbikes like the Ninja series and a line of championship-winning off-road bikes. .1896
The company is founded by Shozo Kawasaki. His firm will come to be known as Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Over time, the company’s principal areas of activity will be shipbuilding, railroad rolling stock, and electrical generating plants. Motorcycles will become a small part of this diversified industrial conglomerate. 1960
Kawasaki signs agreement to take over Meguro motorcycles, a major player in the nascent Japanese motorcycle manufacturing business. Meguro is one of the only Japanese companies making a 500cc bike. In England and the UK, Meguro’s 500 – which bears a strong resemblance to the BSA A7 – is derided as a cheap copy. But in fact, it is a pretty high-quality bike. 1961
Kawasaki produces its first complete motorcycle – the B8 125cc two-stroke. 1962
A series of the two-stroke models from 50-250cc is released. The 250cc disc-valve ‘Samurai’ attracts notice in the U.S. 1966
The 650W1 is released and is the biggest bike made in Japan at the time. It’s inspired by the BSA A10. Over the next few years it will get twin carbs, and high pipes for a ‘scrambler’ version. 1969
Dave Simmonds gives Kawasaki its first World Championship, in the 125cc class
The striking Kawasaki H1 (aka Mach III) a 500cc three-cylinder two-stroke is released. Although its handling leaves something to be desired, the motor is very powerful for the day. It’s one of the quickest production bikes in the quarter-mile. The Mach III establishes Kawasaki’s reputation in the U.S. (In particular, it establishes a reputation for powerful and somewhat antisocial motorcycles!) A wonderful H1R production racer is also released – a 500cc racing bike.
Over the next few years, larger and smaller versions of the H1, including the S1 (250cc) S2 (350cc) and H2 (750cc) will be released. They’re successful in the marketplace, and the H2R 750cc production racer is also successful on the race track, but Kawasaki knows that the days of the two-stroke streetbike are coming to an end.
The company plans to release a four-stroke, but is shocked by the arrival of the Honda 750-Four. Kawasaki goes back to the drawing board.
1973
The first new four-stroke since the W1 is released. It’s worth the wait. The 900cc Z1 goes one up on the Honda 750 with more power and double overhead cams. Over the next few years, its capacity will increase slightly and it will be rebadged the Z-1000. 1978
Kork Ballington wins the 250cc and 350cc World Championships with fore-and-aft parallel-Twin racers (Rotax also built racing motors in this configuration. Ballington will repeat the feat in ’79. In 1980 he will finish second in the premier 500cc class. Anton Mang takes over racing duties in the 250 and 350 classes, and he will win four more titles over the next three years. This is the most successful period for Kawasaki in the World Championship.
Kawasaki’s big-bore KZ1300 is released. Honda and Benelli have already released six-cylinder bikes by this time, but Kawasaki’s specification includes water cooling and shaft drive. To underline the efficiency of the cooling system, its launch is held in Death Valley. Despite its substantial weight, journalists are impressed.
Over the next few years, the KZ1300 will get digital fuel injection and a full-dress touring version will be sold as the ‘Voyager.’ This model is marketed as “a car without doors”!
1981
Eddie Lawson wins the AMA Superbike championship for Kawasaki after an epic battle with Honda’s Freddie Spencer. He will repeat as champion the following year.
Kawasaki releases the GPz550. It’s air-cooled and has only two valves per cylinder, but its performance threatens the 750cc machines of rival manufacturers. This is the bike that launches the 600 class.
1983
The liquid-cooled four-valve GPz900R ‘Ninja’ is shown to the motorcycle press for the first time at Laguna Seca. They’re stunned. 1985
James “Bubba” Stewart, Jr. is born. Kawasaki supplies his family with Team Green diapers. 1989
The first ‘ZXR’-designated bikes reach the market. They are 750cc and 400cc race replicas. 1990
The ZX-11 is launched and features a 1052cc engine. It is the first production motorcycle with ram-air induction and the fastest production bike on the market. 1991
The ZXR750R begins a four year run as the top bike in the FIM Endurance World Championship. 1993
Scott Russell wins the World Superbike Championship, much to Carl Fogarty’s dismay. 2000
The ZX-12R is released – the new flagship of the ZX series. 2002
Bubba Stewart wins AMA 125 MX championship. 2003
Stewart is AMA 125 West SX champ. “What the heck is he doing on the jumps?” people wonder. It’s the “Bubba Scrub.”
In a daring move that acknowledges that only a small percentage of supersports motorcycles are ever actually raced, Kawasaki ups the capacity of the ZX-6R to 636cc. Ordinary riders welcome a noticeable increase in mid-range power, and the bike is the king of the ‘real world’ middleweights.
2004
Stewart wins the AMA 125 East SX title, and the 125cc outdoor championship. There are only one or two riders on 250s who lap any faster than he does on the little bikes.
Just when we thought motorcycles couldn’t get any crazier, the ZX-10R is released. OMG, the power!
2007
Although his transition to the big bikes hasn’t been as smooth as many expected it to be, Stewart wins the 2007 AMA SX championship. 2008
Kawasaki gives the Concours a much-needed revamp in the Concours 14. Sharing the 1352cc engine from the ZX-14, it’s touted as the ultimate sport touring motorcycle.
While they’re at it, Kawasaki also decides to give the Ninja 250 and KLR 650 major updates, after years of inactivity.
Some background:
The Bentley 4½ Litre was a British car based on a rolling chassis built by Bentley Motors. Walter Owen Bentley replaced the Bentley 3 Litre with a more powerful car by increasing its engine displacement to 4.4 L (270 cu in).
Bentley buyers used their cars for personal transport and arranged for their new chassis to be fitted with various body styles, mostly saloons or tourers. However, the publicity brought by their competition programme was invaluable for marketing Bentley's cars.
At the time, noted car manufacturers such as Bugatti and Lorraine-Dietrich focused on designing cars to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a popular automotive endurance course established only a few years earlier. A victory in this competition quickly elevated any car maker's reputation.
A total of 720 4½ Litre cars were produced between 1927 and 1931, including 55 cars with a supercharged engine popularly known as the Blower Bentley. A 4½ Litre Bentley won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1928. Though the supercharged 4½ Litre Bentley's competitive performance was not outstanding, it set several speed records, most famously the Bentley Blower No.1 Monoposto in 1932 at Brooklands with a recorded speed of 222.03 km/h (138 mph).
Although the Bentley 4½ Litre was heavy, weighing 1,625 kg (3,583 lb), and spacious, with a length of 4,380 mm (172 in) and a wheelbase of 3,302 mm (130.0 in), it remained well-balanced and steered nimbly. The manual transmission, however, required skill, as its four gears were unsynchronised.
The robustness of the 4½ Litre's lattice chassis, made of steel and reinforced with ties, was needed to support the heavy cast iron inline-four engine. The engine was "resolutely modern" for the time. The displacement was 4,398 cc (268.4 cu in): 100 mm (3.9 in) bore and 140 mm (5.5 in) stroke. Two SU carburetters and dual ignition with Bosch magnetos were fitted. The engine produced 110 hp (82 kW) for the touring model and 130 hp (97 kW) for the racing model. The engine speed was limited to 4,000 rpm.
A single overhead camshaft actuated four valves per cylinder, inclined at 30 degrees. This was a technically advanced design at a time where most cars used only two valves per cylinder. The camshaft was driven by bevel gears on a vertical shaft at the front of the engine, as on the 3 Litre engine.
The Bentley's tanks - radiator, oil and petrol - had quick release filler caps that opened with one stroke of a lever. This saved time during pit stops. The 4½ was equipped with a canvas top stretched over a lightweight Weymann body. The hood structure was very light but with high wind resistance (24 Hours Le Mans rules between 1924 and 1928 dictated a certain number of laps for which the hood had to be closed). The steering wheel measured about 45 cm (18 in) in diameter and was wrapped with solid braided rope for improved grip. Brakes were conventional, consisting of 17-inch (430 mm) drum brakes finned for improved cooling and operated by rod. Semi-elliptic leaf springs were used at front and rear.
Building the kit and its display box:
I normally do not build large scale kits, except for some anime character figures, and I especially stay away from car models because I find it very hard to come close to the impression of the real thing. But this one was a personal thing, and I got motivated enough to tackle this challenge that caused some sweat and shivers. Another reason for the tension was the fact that it was intended as a present - and I normally do not build models for others, be it as a gift or on a contract work basis.
The background is that a colleage of mine will retire soon, an illustrator and a big oldtimer enthusiast at the same time. I was not able to hunt down a model of the vintage car he actually owns, but I remembered that he frequently takes part with his club at a local car exhibition, called the "Classic Days" at a location called Schloss Dyck. There he had had the opportunity some time ago to take a ride in a Bentley 4.5 litre "Blower", and I saw the fascinationn in his eyes when he recounted the events. We also talked about car models, and I mentioned the 1:24 Heller kit of the car. So, as a "farewell" gift, I decided to tackle this souvenir project, since the Bentley drive obviously meant a lot to him, and it's a quite personal gift, for a highly respected, artistic person.
Since this was to be a gift for a non-modeler, I also had to make sure that the car model could later be safely stored, transported and displayed, so some kind of base or display bon on top was a must - and I think I found a nice solution, even with integrated lighting!
As already mentioned, the model is the 1:24 Heller kit from 1978, in this case the more recent Revell re-boxing. While the kit remained unchanged (even the Heller brand is still part of the molds!), the benefit of this version is a very nice and thin decal sheet which covers some of the more delicate detail areas like gauges on the dashboard or the protective wire mesh for the headlights.
I had huge respect for the kit - I have actually built less than 10 car models in my 40+ years of kit building. So the work started with detail picture research, esp. of the engine and from the cockpit, and I organized appropriate paints (see below).
Work started slowly with the wheels, then the engine followed, the steerable front suspension, the chassis, the cabin section and finally the engine cowling and the mudguards with the finished wheels. Since I lack experience with cars I stuck close to the instructions and really took my time, because the whole thing went together only step by step, with painting and esp. drying intermissions. Much less quickly than my normal tempo with more familiar topics.
The kit remained basically OOB, and I must say that I am impressed how well it went together. The car kits I remember were less cooperative - but the Heller Bentley was actually a pleasant, yet challenging, build. Some issues I had were the chrome parts, which had to be attached with superglue, and their attachment points to the sprues (the same green plastic is used for the chrome parts, too - a different materiallike silver or light grey would have made life easier!) could only hardly be hidden with paint.
The plastic itself turned out to be relatively soft, too - while it made cleaning easy, this caused in the end some directional issues which had to be "professionally hidden": Once the cabin had been mounted to the frame and work on the cowling started, I recognized that the frame in front of the cabin was not straight anymore - I guess due to the engine block which sits deep between the front beams. While this was not really recognizable, the engine covers would not fit anymore, leaving small but unpleasant gaps.
The engine is OOB not über-detailed, and I actually only wanted to open the left half of the cocling for the diorama. However, with this flaw I eventually decided to open both sides, what resulted in having the cowling covers sawn into two parts each and arranging them in open positions. Quite fiddly, and I also replaced the OOB leather straps that normally hold the cowling covers closed with textured adhesive tape, for a more voluminous look. The engine also received some additional cables and hoses - nothing fancy, though, but better than the quite bleak OOB offering.
Some minor details were added in the cabin: a floor mat (made from paper, it looks like being made from cocos fibre) covers the area in front of the seats and the steering wheel was wrapped with cord - a detail that many Bentleys with race history shared, for a better grip for the driver.
Overall, the car model was painted with pure Humbrol 239 (British Racing Green) enamel paint, except for the passenger section. Here I found Revell's instructions to be a bit contradictive, because I do not believe in a fully painted car, esp. on this specific Le Mans race car. I even found a picture of the real car as an exhibition piece, and it rather shows a faux leather or vinyl cladding of the passenger compartment - in a similar dark green tone, but rather matt, with only a little shine, and with a lighter color due to the rougher surface. So I rather tried to emulate this look, which would also make the model IMHO look more interesting.
As a fopundation I used a mix of Humbrol 239 and 75 (Bronze Green), on top of which I later dry-brushed Revell 363 (Dark Green). The effect and the gloss level looked better than expected - I feared a rather worn/used look - and I eventually did not apply and clear varnish to this area. In fact, no varnish was applied to the whole model because the finish looked quite convincing!
The frame and the engine were slightly weathered with a black ink wash, and once the model was assembled I added some oil stains to the engine and the lower hull, and applied dust and dirt through mineral artist pigments to the wheels with their soft vinyl tires and the whole lower car body. I wanted the car to look basically clean and in good shape, just like a museum piece, but having been driven enthusiastically along some dusty country roads (see below). And this worked out quite well!
Since I wanted a safe store for the model I tried to find a suitable display box and found an almost perfect solution in SYNAS from Ikea. The sturdy SYNAS box (it's actually sold as a toy/Children's lamp!?) had very good dimensions for what I had in mind. Unfortunately it is only available in white, but for its price I would not argue. As a bonus it even comes with integrated LED lighting in the floor, as a rim of lights along the side walls. I tried to exploit this through a display base that would leave a 1cm gap all around, so that light could be reflected upwards and from the clear side walls and the lid onto the model.
The base was created with old school methods: a piece of MDF wood, on top of which I added a piece of cobblestone street and grass embankment, trying to capture the rural atmosphere around Schloss Dyck. Due to the large scale of the model I sculpted a light side slope under the pavement (a Tamiya print with a light 3D effect), created with plaster and fine carpenter putty. The embankment was sculpted with plaster, too.
The cobblestone cardboard was simply glued to the surface, trimmed down, and then a fairing of the base's sides was added, thin balsa wood.
Next came the grass - again classic methods. First, the surface was soaked with a mix of water, white glue and brown dispersion paint, and fine sand rinsed over the surfaces. Once dry, another mix of water, white glue and more paint was applied, into which foamed plastic turf of different colors and sizes was dusted. After anothetr drying period this area was sprayed with contact glue and grass fibres were applied - unfortunately a little more than expected. However, the result still looks good.
At the border to the street, the area was covered with mineral pigments, simulating mud and dust, and on the right side I tried to add a puddle, made from Humbrol Clearfix and glue. For some more ambiance I scratched a typical German "local sight" roadsign from cardboard and wood, and I also added a pair of "Classic Days" posters to the mast. Once in place I finally added some higher grass bushels (brush fibres) and sticks (dried moss), sealing everything in place with acralic varnish from the rattle can.
In order to motivate the Bentley's open cowling, I tried to set an engine failure into scene: with the car abandoned during the Classic Days' demo races along the local country roads, parked at the side of the street, and with a puddle of engine below and a small trail of oil behind the car (created with Tamiya "Smoke", perfect stuff for this task!). A hay bale, actually accessory stuff for toy tractors and in fact a square piece of wood, covered with straw chips, subtly hint at this occasion.
Finally, for safe transport, the model was attached to the base with thin wire, the base glued to the light box' floor with double-sided adhesive tape and finally enclosed.
Quite a lot of work, the car model alone took four patient weeks to fully materialize, and the base in the SYNAS box took another two weeks, even though work proceeded partly in parallel. However, I am positively surprised how well this build turned out - the Heller kit was better/easier to assemble than expected, and many problems along the way could be solved with patience and creative solutions.
#1 third time: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, July 2013
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Spam ranked as a sneeze for infosec disease (SpamRankings.net), , .
www.perilocity.net/2013/08/1-third-time-university-of-pit...
Some background:
The Bentley 4½ Litre was a British car based on a rolling chassis built by Bentley Motors. Walter Owen Bentley replaced the Bentley 3 Litre with a more powerful car by increasing its engine displacement to 4.4 L (270 cu in).
Bentley buyers used their cars for personal transport and arranged for their new chassis to be fitted with various body styles, mostly saloons or tourers. However, the publicity brought by their competition programme was invaluable for marketing Bentley's cars.
At the time, noted car manufacturers such as Bugatti and Lorraine-Dietrich focused on designing cars to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a popular automotive endurance course established only a few years earlier. A victory in this competition quickly elevated any car maker's reputation.
A total of 720 4½ Litre cars were produced between 1927 and 1931, including 55 cars with a supercharged engine popularly known as the Blower Bentley. A 4½ Litre Bentley won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1928. Though the supercharged 4½ Litre Bentley's competitive performance was not outstanding, it set several speed records, most famously the Bentley Blower No.1 Monoposto in 1932 at Brooklands with a recorded speed of 222.03 km/h (138 mph).
Although the Bentley 4½ Litre was heavy, weighing 1,625 kg (3,583 lb), and spacious, with a length of 4,380 mm (172 in) and a wheelbase of 3,302 mm (130.0 in), it remained well-balanced and steered nimbly. The manual transmission, however, required skill, as its four gears were unsynchronised.
The robustness of the 4½ Litre's lattice chassis, made of steel and reinforced with ties, was needed to support the heavy cast iron inline-four engine. The engine was "resolutely modern" for the time. The displacement was 4,398 cc (268.4 cu in): 100 mm (3.9 in) bore and 140 mm (5.5 in) stroke. Two SU carburetters and dual ignition with Bosch magnetos were fitted. The engine produced 110 hp (82 kW) for the touring model and 130 hp (97 kW) for the racing model. The engine speed was limited to 4,000 rpm.
A single overhead camshaft actuated four valves per cylinder, inclined at 30 degrees. This was a technically advanced design at a time where most cars used only two valves per cylinder. The camshaft was driven by bevel gears on a vertical shaft at the front of the engine, as on the 3 Litre engine.
The Bentley's tanks - radiator, oil and petrol - had quick release filler caps that opened with one stroke of a lever. This saved time during pit stops. The 4½ was equipped with a canvas top stretched over a lightweight Weymann body. The hood structure was very light but with high wind resistance (24 Hours Le Mans rules between 1924 and 1928 dictated a certain number of laps for which the hood had to be closed). The steering wheel measured about 45 cm (18 in) in diameter and was wrapped with solid braided rope for improved grip. Brakes were conventional, consisting of 17-inch (430 mm) drum brakes finned for improved cooling and operated by rod. Semi-elliptic leaf springs were used at front and rear.
Building the kit and its display box:
I normally do not build large scale kits, except for some anime character figures, and I especially stay away from car models because I find it very hard to come close to the impression of the real thing. But this one was a personal thing, and I got motivated enough to tackle this challenge that caused some sweat and shivers. Another reason for the tension was the fact that it was intended as a present - and I normally do not build models for others, be it as a gift or on a contract work basis.
The background is that a colleage of mine will retire soon, an illustrator and a big oldtimer enthusiast at the same time. I was not able to hunt down a model of the vintage car he actually owns, but I remembered that he frequently takes part with his club at a local car exhibition, called the "Classic Days" at a location called Schloss Dyck. There he had had the opportunity some time ago to take a ride in a Bentley 4.5 litre "Blower", and I saw the fascinationn in his eyes when he recounted the events. We also talked about car models, and I mentioned the 1:24 Heller kit of the car. So, as a "farewell" gift, I decided to tackle this souvenir project, since the Bentley drive obviously meant a lot to him, and it's a quite personal gift, for a highly respected, artistic person.
Since this was to be a gift for a non-modeler, I also had to make sure that the car model could later be safely stored, transported and displayed, so some kind of base or display bon on top was a must - and I think I found a nice solution, even with integrated lighting!
As already mentioned, the model is the 1:24 Heller kit from 1978, in this case the more recent Revell re-boxing. While the kit remained unchanged (even the Heller brand is still part of the molds!), the benefit of this version is a very nice and thin decal sheet which covers some of the more delicate detail areas like gauges on the dashboard or the protective wire mesh for the headlights.
I had huge respect for the kit - I have actually built less than 10 car models in my 40+ years of kit building. So the work started with detail picture research, esp. of the engine and from the cockpit, and I organized appropriate paints (see below).
Work started slowly with the wheels, then the engine followed, the steerable front suspension, the chassis, the cabin section and finally the engine cowling and the mudguards with the finished wheels. Since I lack experience with cars I stuck close to the instructions and really took my time, because the whole thing went together only step by step, with painting and esp. drying intermissions. Much less quickly than my normal tempo with more familiar topics.
The kit remained basically OOB, and I must say that I am impressed how well it went together. The car kits I remember were less cooperative - but the Heller Bentley was actually a pleasant, yet challenging, build. Some issues I had were the chrome parts, which had to be attached with superglue, and their attachment points to the sprues (the same green plastic is used for the chrome parts, too - a different materiallike silver or light grey would have made life easier!) could only hardly be hidden with paint.
The plastic itself turned out to be relatively soft, too - while it made cleaning easy, this caused in the end some directional issues which had to be "professionally hidden": Once the cabin had been mounted to the frame and work on the cowling started, I recognized that the frame in front of the cabin was not straight anymore - I guess due to the engine block which sits deep between the front beams. While this was not really recognizable, the engine covers would not fit anymore, leaving small but unpleasant gaps.
The engine is OOB not über-detailed, and I actually only wanted to open the left half of the cocling for the diorama. However, with this flaw I eventually decided to open both sides, what resulted in having the cowling covers sawn into two parts each and arranging them in open positions. Quite fiddly, and I also replaced the OOB leather straps that normally hold the cowling covers closed with textured adhesive tape, for a more voluminous look. The engine also received some additional cables and hoses - nothing fancy, though, but better than the quite bleak OOB offering.
Some minor details were added in the cabin: a floor mat (made from paper, it looks like being made from cocos fibre) covers the area in front of the seats and the steering wheel was wrapped with cord - a detail that many Bentleys with race history shared, for a better grip for the driver.
Overall, the car model was painted with pure Humbrol 239 (British Racing Green) enamel paint, except for the passenger section. Here I found Revell's instructions to be a bit contradictive, because I do not believe in a fully painted car, esp. on this specific Le Mans race car. I even found a picture of the real car as an exhibition piece, and it rather shows a faux leather or vinyl cladding of the passenger compartment - in a similar dark green tone, but rather matt, with only a little shine, and with a lighter color due to the rougher surface. So I rather tried to emulate this look, which would also make the model IMHO look more interesting.
As a fopundation I used a mix of Humbrol 239 and 75 (Bronze Green), on top of which I later dry-brushed Revell 363 (Dark Green). The effect and the gloss level looked better than expected - I feared a rather worn/used look - and I eventually did not apply and clear varnish to this area. In fact, no varnish was applied to the whole model because the finish looked quite convincing!
The frame and the engine were slightly weathered with a black ink wash, and once the model was assembled I added some oil stains to the engine and the lower hull, and applied dust and dirt through mineral artist pigments to the wheels with their soft vinyl tires and the whole lower car body. I wanted the car to look basically clean and in good shape, just like a museum piece, but having been driven enthusiastically along some dusty country roads (see below). And this worked out quite well!
Since I wanted a safe store for the model I tried to find a suitable display box and found an almost perfect solution in SYNAS from Ikea. The sturdy SYNAS box (it's actually sold as a toy/Children's lamp!?) had very good dimensions for what I had in mind. Unfortunately it is only available in white, but for its price I would not argue. As a bonus it even comes with integrated LED lighting in the floor, as a rim of lights along the side walls. I tried to exploit this through a display base that would leave a 1cm gap all around, so that light could be reflected upwards and from the clear side walls and the lid onto the model.
The base was created with old school methods: a piece of MDF wood, on top of which I added a piece of cobblestone street and grass embankment, trying to capture the rural atmosphere around Schloss Dyck. Due to the large scale of the model I sculpted a light side slope under the pavement (a Tamiya print with a light 3D effect), created with plaster and fine carpenter putty. The embankment was sculpted with plaster, too.
The cobblestone cardboard was simply glued to the surface, trimmed down, and then a fairing of the base's sides was added, thin balsa wood.
Next came the grass - again classic methods. First, the surface was soaked with a mix of water, white glue and brown dispersion paint, and fine sand rinsed over the surfaces. Once dry, another mix of water, white glue and more paint was applied, into which foamed plastic turf of different colors and sizes was dusted. After anothetr drying period this area was sprayed with contact glue and grass fibres were applied - unfortunately a little more than expected. However, the result still looks good.
At the border to the street, the area was covered with mineral pigments, simulating mud and dust, and on the right side I tried to add a puddle, made from Humbrol Clearfix and glue. For some more ambiance I scratched a typical German "local sight" roadsign from cardboard and wood, and I also added a pair of "Classic Days" posters to the mast. Once in place I finally added some higher grass bushels (brush fibres) and sticks (dried moss), sealing everything in place with acralic varnish from the rattle can.
In order to motivate the Bentley's open cowling, I tried to set an engine failure into scene: with the car abandoned during the Classic Days' demo races along the local country roads, parked at the side of the street, and with a puddle of engine below and a small trail of oil behind the car (created with Tamiya "Smoke", perfect stuff for this task!). A hay bale, actually accessory stuff for toy tractors and in fact a square piece of wood, covered with straw chips, subtly hint at this occasion.
Finally, for safe transport, the model was attached to the base with thin wire, the base glued to the light box' floor with double-sided adhesive tape and finally enclosed.
Quite a lot of work, the car model alone took four patient weeks to fully materialize, and the base in the SYNAS box took another two weeks, even though work proceeded partly in parallel. However, I am positively surprised how well this build turned out - the Heller kit was better/easier to assemble than expected, and many problems along the way could be solved with patience and creative solutions.
Morecambe and Wise
Bring You Sunshine
Starline SRS 5066
1971
Today, in the popular imagination, they are inextricably linked with their block-busting 1970s show which broke records and entertained (nearly almost) an entire nation, but Morecambe and Wise had to work long and hard before they became successful and ubiquitous household names. From their first meeting in a touring troupe way back in 1940, the duo served their apprenticeship in a succession of venues all around the UK, touring, struggling and grafting, all the time striving to perfect their act and develop their unique sense of timing and delivery.
Ernie Wise though was an ambitious man, with an eye always firmly set on achieving enduring greatness and he had long coveted a television career. The nascent medium during their early years had appealed to his style of intimate joke telling, a style too subtle to be truly effective on variety stages.
As long ago as 1948 he had been writing increasingly insistent letters to the BBC begging for a chance to make a TV show.
After a disastrous, critically-panned television debut back in 1954 with the BBC series Running Wild, a sorry chapter that saw them pleading for the show to be taken off air, the duo had been brave enough to return to television a second time and try to establish themselves all over again.
Over the years they made numerous supporting appearances on the likes of The Winifred Atwell Show and the popular variety-fest that was Sunday Night at the London Palladium, diligently working away to establishing their reputation anew.
Finally in 1961, the hard work of Morecambe and Wise was rewarded by omnipotent showbiz mogul Bernard Delfont, who granted them their own ATV series, The Morecambe and Wise Show.
It was a brave decision, but I think it is fair to say that Delfont’s impetuous showbiz gamble was vindicated many, many times over.
For the next two decades Morecambe and Wise dominated television like few acts before or since, achieving huge viewing figures never likely to be surpassed, and forging the template for a comedy double act, a template that has been copied many times but never bettered.
The material on the album Bring You Sunshine is made up of songs and sketches penned by Morecambe and Wise’s regular scriptwriters Dick Hills and Sid Green.
Over six series of The Morecambe and Wise Show, Hills and Green did much to establish the personas and characters of Morecambe and Wise that would last the rest of their career.
Ernie Wise, a sensible sort with his ‘short fat hairy legs’ was the butt of many jokes and Eric Morecambe was a wisecracking interfering jester full of witty retorts and mischief.
The efforts of Morecambe and Wise and their writers paid off and they duly became bona fide TV stars.
By 1968 though their contract with ATV was due for renewal.
It was during negotiations over this contract that the particular die was cast which was to change British comedy forever.
In an office with Bernard Delfont’s brother Lew Grade, thick with the heady fog of his gargantuan cigars, Eric and Ernie picked a fight with one of the most powerful and obstinate figures in showbiz.
And won.
Eric and Ernie insisted that more money should be spent on their show and demanded that all their new shows be shown in colour.
This outraged the pug-faced cheroot-chomping mogul. It was rare that Lew Grade made mistakes in business but by refusing to accommodate the artistic and professional ambitions of Morecambe and Wise he effectively released them into the clutches of Bill Cotton over at the BBC.
Cotton realised immediately the gift he had received and saw to it that Morecambe and Wise would become the huge stars that they always believed they could be.
But there was yet more drama in the offing before they could go on to become true legends of the small screen.
In November 1968, just after their first BBC series had aired, Eric Morecambe suffered a major heart attack.
On doctor’s order he was forced to ease back on performing and the second BBC series was postponed indefinitely.
It was six months before Morecambe and Wise would appear in public together again, and before their TV series could return they were stunned by the defection of their tried and trusted writers, the reliable and dependable Green and Hill who had done so much to make them stars.
Unsettled by the long period of inactivity and fearful for their own future, Dick Hills and Sid Green were lured away from writing solely for Morecambe and Wise by their arch-nemesis Lew Grade who offered the writers a generous contract to sign exclusively for ATV.
They left without informing their former employers in a move which could have easily meant the premature end of Morecambe and Wise as a going concern.
Luckily for them though, a former Scouse market trader turned gag-writer named Eddie Braben was free after being ditched by Ken Dodd.
By building on the foundations that Green and Hill had established, the surreal wordplay and comic fantasies of Eddie Braben would make Morecambe and Wise undoubtedly the biggest, most popular comedy stars in the UK.
Bring You Sunshine captures the essence of Morecambe and Wise at this pivotal point in their long comedy career.
It was released in 1971 on EMI’s Starline label and gathered together a selection of much-loved comic routines created by Dick Hills and Sid Green for the 1960s TV series.
The sketches are, with a few exceptions, fairly insubstantial.
Ton Up Boy seems an obvious inspiration for Dick Emery and Tape Recorder is an enchanting piece of domestic comic whimsy.
The remaining sketches such as Indians and Get It Right Corporal are so brief as to almost be one line gags. Harmless filler really but not the meaty chunks that Morecambe and Wise fans were after.
The meaty comedy chunks in thick marrowbone stand-up jelly were delivered by the comic songs.
As with the sketches, the songs are also written by Dick Hills and Sid Green, with Walter Ridley taking charge of musical duties.
They are without exception an absolute joy, full of charm and gentle subtle wit, much like Morecambe and Wise’s TV act.
They do not try to force themselves on the audience, instead relying on clever, well rehearsed repartee. Singing the Blues is a faithfully rendered pastiche of white man blues and there is also an early prototype version of Eric’s brilliant mangling of Grieg’s piano concerto to enjoy, a routine which was later resurrected for none other than the great Andre Preview.
I’d love to put the entire album up for you to listen, but for the sake of brevity and bandwidth, I have selected just one track.
Bring Me Sunshine was perhaps the obvious choice, played as the end credits rolled on their TV shows and very much the signature theme of Morecambe and Wise.
As ever though, I prefer to spin the more obscure and unappreciated tracks.
So to play us out, here is Song of Youth, a wonderful comic song full of domestic violence, hard drinking, promiscuity and lunacy.
Somewhere in here lurk the spirits of John Osborne and Les Dawson, with perhaps just a dash of Violet Carson. Bring us sunshine lads:
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Late turned the Austrian Academy of Sciences itself to its Nazi history: The Learned Society was more deeply involved than it seemed. More than half of its members were party members.
By Marianne Enigl and Christa Zöchling
At its inception in 1847, the Academy of Sciences should be a haven of free thought, research and publishing. The complete independence the imperial family had guaranteed. The Oriental Studies and the Natural Sciences soon acquired a reputation beyond the borders of the Habsburg empire. Here worldwide the first institute was established to study the radioactivity.
With the end of the monarchy became the illustrious circle, who had been appointed by the Emperor, the Republic of Scholars, which chose its members.
All this abandoned the professors in 1938. On 18 March they sent Hitler a telegram of submissivity. As the scholars the "leader" five days after the German invasion insured their loyalty in the noble halls of their Vienna's city palace, SA, SS and Gestapo had already begun mass arrests.
For the 75th Anniversary of the so-called "Anschluss" is the Austrian Academy of Sciences for the first time based keeping track its history in the National Socialism. profile there has present the as yet unpublished study, which will be presented on 11th March 2013. ("The Academy of Sciences in Vienna from 1938 to 1945," edited by Feichtinger/ Matis/ Sienell/ Uhl, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2013, the exhibition catalog)
Many Academy members had for years offered their servises as illegal Nazis the new rulers. The highest administrative staff of the Academy, in which all the threads of the learned society came together, had been as "Old Fighter" since 1933 in the NSDAP.
Their high level of education put the men assiduously in the service of Nazi policies. Just a year before, in 1937, they had discussed in a joint meeting with the German Academies on the exclusion of Jewish colleagues.
Under its new president, the historian and admirer of Adolf Hitler Heinrich Srbik, in 1939 they were "free of Jews", as noted in a log. The Vienna Academy had 21 of their most respected members excluded. Among them three Nobel Prize winners.
Absolutely thrilled, anthropologists, historians, geographers, biologists, medical physicists put themselves into the service of the Nazis, wanted the racial fanatism, the conquests, the enslavement of the "Easterners" "scientifically substantiate". For the "racial science" and measurement of prisoners of war, the scientists had even actively applied.
Only the mounting of a Hitler Bust, the Academy offered, she refused. For cost reasons.
When the war ended in 1945, more than half of the members of the Academy of Sciences were National Socialist Party members . A denazification was practically non-existent. Even an SS-Sturmbannführer was recorded "resting" after a few years of membership.
What the German historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler noted for society as a whole, was especially valid for the circle of top scholars: "Not Hitler's individual psychopathology is the real problem but the condition of a society that had him ascended and ruled till April 1945".
Who moved with the time
Henry Knight of Srbik: (1878-1951), whose ancestors had been poor Czech peasants in spite of his proud name, which throughout his life he tried to hide, was up in the sixties considered as one of the most important Austrian historians. The passage of time can be seen in his attitude. The imperial period, he conducted research - towards the Habsburgs friendly disposed - ober the dominions, after the collapse of the monarchy, he published essays, which suggested a closeness to social democracy. In time for the seizure of power by the National Socialists in Germany, he published his major work "The German unity", a witness of German megalomania an a plea for German living space. The time of Nazi rule were Srbiks best years. In May 1938 his application for membership to the Nazi Party, in which he had introduced himself as "the founder of the all-German conception of history", was approved. Srbiks anti-Semitism was based on the belief in the superiority of the German "race". He got honorary a low member number of the NSDAP to which otherwise only illegal members had been entitled. For president of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna him the Nazi rulers suggested. Adolf Hitler personally sent him to the German Reichstag.
In his inaugural speech as the new president of the Academy in 1938 Srbik thanked "the genius of our leader", and urged the "communion of the blood the earth, the spirit and the heart and the epochal changes of the body of the Reich and the German people". Science should not be in "complete objectivity lose", it had to put itself in the "service of the German people". The Nazi bombast ran through each of his appearances. In the academy, he performed the exclusion of all Jewish scientists and the occupation of their positions with meritorious Nazi party supporters. In one case, his employment for a candidate has been documented who "was recommended by the Party as an illegal".
From 1943, when the German Wehrmacht in Russia was on the decline and Stalingrad had been lost, there were exhortations to hold out. Srbik praised the "sacrifice of his own life for the mission of the nation". It must "burn pure life so that it illuminates the world as a flame of sacrifice".
In March 1945, the President of the Academy went off and away to the Tyrolean Ehrwald. Srbik owned a second home there. Vienna, he should never enter again. Now in his numerous publications, he represented a cultural Austria-German patriotism. As a sign of detachment from the Nazi regime, he led the denazification process, he had the Nazi Party candidate and poet Max Mell awarded the Grillparzer Prize, although propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels did not fully appreciate this. And he had insisted on the term "archives for the Austrian history". Srbiks Friends brought after the war in his favor, he had allowed to quote "non-Aryan" scientists.
Srbik was then already 70 years old. Over the intervention of the Social Democratic Interior Minister Oskar Helmer him was undiminished awarded his pension. Some of his students made great careers in the Second Republic: in his lectures the openly anti-Semitic World Trade Professor Taras Borodajkewycz however triggered the largest post-war protests and was forced to retire in 1966. Christian Broda, who had doctoral work at Srbik 1940 "People and Leadership" was SPÖ Minister of Justice. Srbiks former student was ÖVP Chancellor Josef Klaus.
Srbiks Nazi past had been concealed or glossed over in the postwar period Legends arose. He is said to have as president of the Academy rescued Dutch cultural historian Johan Huizinga, who had been transferred to a concentration camp as a hostage. In fact, he had written a letter, but his request was denied. Huizinga was released for health reasons at the end. The historian and Srbik-expert Martina Pesditschek considers it "unlikely" that Srbiks intervention was decisive.
When Henry Srbik died in 1951, his three honorific obituaries were written in the context of the academy. The uncritical praise lasted until the late seventies. In Ehrwald today is even a street named after him.
Expelled and persecuted
Karl Bühler: (1879-1963), psychologist and philosopher, teacher of Karl Popper, was appointed in the twenties from Dresden to Vienna University, where he with his wife Charlotte, inter alia, set important stimuli in the Gestalt and child psychology. From 1934 he was a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences. 1938 Buhler lost on "racial" grounds his professorship, was imprisoned, escaped with his wife in the United States. In October 1940, he was expelled from the Academy of Sciences.
Victor Franz Hess (1883-1964), born in Styria, working as a physicist at the famous Institute for Radium Research of the Academy - the first to explore the radioactivity worldwide. Hess was awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics for the of him in 1912 in Vienna discovered cosmic radiation. Professorships at several universities in Austria (he initiated the station Hafelekar, Innsbruck), cooperation in the construction of the Radium Corporation in the United States, 1938 loss of professor in Graz, imprisonment and exile with his Jewish wife to the USA. Corresponding member of the Academy since 1933, exclusion from the Academy in 1940.
Stefan Meyer (1872-1949), born in Vienna, Ludwig Boltzmann's assistant at the Physics Institute of the University of Vienna and later professor here, directed the Academy-Institute for Radium Research. After the "Anschluss" of "racial" reasons persecuted, survived retreated in Bad Ischl. Member of the Academy since 1921, declared himself his resignation in late 1938, and so he forestalled his exclusion.
Erwin Schrödinger: (1887-1961), Vienna, taught theoretical physics at Jena, Zurich, Berlin, 1933 Nobel Laureate in Physics. In the same year emigrated to England. From 1936 professor in Graz, in 1938 flight to Ireland. Member of the Academy of Sciences in 1928, 1940 excluded. He was taken in 1945 again .
Nazi careers
Victor Christian: (1885-1963), member of the NSDAP and SS -Hauptsturmführer. The Viennese philologist in 1938 was dean at the University of Vienna and head of the SS Research Centre "Ancestral Heritage" in 1939, the Academy elected him as a full member. In 1945 he was one of four with Nazi heavily burdened whose membership was declared "extinct" than five years later resumption.
Fritz Knoll: (1883-1981), the Styrian-born was a botanist, a German National, emerged as "Illegal" desolate agitating at the University of Vienna in leather boots and black riding pants on, the secret police recorded 1937 in Knolls Institute reign a "provocative Nazi majority". After the "Anschluss" of Austria in March 1938, he was Acting Rector of the University and immediately launched the "wild expulsions" (historian Gerhard Botz) until the end of April 1938 250 teachers were removed of "racial" or political reasons. At the same time, "Your Magnificence" Knoll end of March was politely asked by the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences", ... to take over the interests of the Nazi Party" in the academy. The following year, Academy President Srbik declared himself Nazi officer, Knoll received the honor of full membership. 1945, this was listed as "extinct". Three years later, Knoll was resumed, the Academy president wrote to him". It will be my pleasure to welcome you at the next meeting again". At the University the ex-rector further had ban on entering the house, at the Academy of Sciences, should he ascend the late fifties to the Secretary General. The Republic honored Knoll, who had once proudly proclaimed", the Jew is gone from our science and indeed for all times", with the Cross of Honor for Science and Art, First Class, the academy thanked itself with the medal "Bene Merito".
Oswald Menghin: (1888-1973) was born in Merano, prehistory at the University of Vienna, mid thirties Rector and active in the integration of "Illegal" in the corporate state. Member of the NSDAP in 1938 as minister of education responsible for political and "racial" cleansing of the universities. 1945, the "first List of war criminals", U.S. internment, then escape to Argentina. Membership in the Academy were suspended in 1945, resumed in 1959.
Josef Nadler: (1884-1963), German scholar from Bohemia, appointed with his literary history of the German estates to professor, since 1934 regular Academy member. NSDAP-party member; in National Socialism director of Germanic Languages at the University of Vienna. 1945 was banned from teaching at the University of Vienna, his academy membership were suspended, reactivated from 1948.
Gustav Ortner: (1900-1984), physicist, born in Styria, "Illegal", took over in 1938 the famous Institute for Radium Research of the Academy. Ortner 1945 was seized by the University of Vienna with teaching ban, put his academy affiliation dormant and reactivated in 1948. Ortner 1960 was a professor at the Vienna University of Technology, 1961, he was Head of the Atomic Institute of the Austrian Universities.
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