Magnificent Beasts

Man has always had a fascination with exotic animals. Of course we have made our way along with our domesticated dog or cat, “man’s best friends”, but exotics are another thing. We can come close to them, but a danger always exists. We might assume they can be friendly, but the fact remains that we really don’t know. They are mysterious, and that’s their appeal.

And so, people like to “collect” them if they can. Often times, they can only be obtained, or purchased and maintained, if one has tremendous means….Like Kings! Herein lies the idea of the Royal Menagerie!

Though there is one in Versailles in France, I am familiar with the one in London! The actual animals don’t exist there anymore, but they once lived and amused the English kings. Actually, in the 12^th Century, during the reign of King John, a group of exotic beasts arrived by three ships from Europe and Africa.  In a sense, his collection became one of Britian’s oldest zoos. Some say the menagerie began with King Henry III’s gift of a white bear from the King of Norway. Supposedly the king had a chain put on its leg so it could fish in the Thames River, but not escape.  In Elizabethan times, the collection grew and became a popular tourist attraction. These animals were housed somewhere in the Tower of London’s walled grounds, though the actual location is not known.

By 1704, the Menagerie included six lions, two leopards or tigers, three eagles, two Swedish owls, two “cats of the mountains”, and a jackal. The guidebook, published in 1741 listed the lions as Marco and Phillis; Jenny and Nancy (lionesses); leopard called Will, a panther called Jenny. The book also mentions a porcupine, ape, raccoon and a strange bird from the East Indies called a warwoven.

During the 18^th Century, the Dey of Tunis sent two ostriches to the King, and to their detriment, it was thought they liked to eat iron. They were fed nails, and soon died.   The popularity of the Menagerie declined towards the end of the 18^th Century, with poor care of the animals and unsanitary conditions. We have come a long way where preserves and zoos are at issue.

Lions were prized as living symbols of royalty for England. The big cats in the Tower were an impressive sight, but upon their death, they were just dumped on the site. Recently two skulls were discovered by archeologists, carbon dated to the 12^th Century. The other sometime from the 1400’s. A leopard’s skull, though quite damaged, was also found, thought from the Tudor reign.

Currently, there is an incredibly beautiful display of some of the royal beasts at The Tower. They are sculptural pieces so very real, though made of metal mesh, that you feel they might spring or pounce at any minute. I love them. The artist who created them is Kendra Haste.  One area has the lions, another, an elephant, and finally a grouping of monkeys that are located, perhaps guarding, near the jewelry gift shop. And so, with these marvelous sculptures, we can honor the original Menagerie of magnificent beasts.

The Unknown Shore

I just finished a wonderful book by Patrick O’Brian, the author of the Master and Commander series. Written in 1959, this book, entitled The Unknown Shore, was a prototype of sorts for the characters in the M&C stories. O’Brian formulated the personalities, set up one character as a member of the Royal Navy, though a sympathetic, duty-bound midshipman, and the other, who would later become Dr. Maturin, as a quirky, nerd-like fellow with a penchant for natural history and the sciences, unemotional and detached. Think of Mr. Spock!

The story, though, is not truly fiction, but an account of an actual event, with the characters dropped into the scene. Some of the action takes place on Wager Island near the bottom of South America, and Cape Horn. I was intrigued and looked it up, only to find not only the island is an actual place but the ship it was named, the HMS Wager, actually foundered near there, the result of storms, and with a mutiny following.

HMS Wager was a square-rigged, 28 gun ship of the Royal Navy, built in 1734 as an Indiaman, and made a few trips for the East India Company to India. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1739, and under Commodore George Anson, set sail for Chile in 1741. After it was wrecked, the survivors where marooned on an island in Patagonia, and under extreme weather conditions and lack of food, they mutinied.

 The lesson learned from the Wager was going forward, naval officers would retain formal authority over crew, even if their ships were lost or captured. This was an important point as with lack of authority on land, the crew, generally uneducated or rebellious having been pressed into service, did not necessarily make the best decisions. Though most of the crew of the Wager perished, the captain, named Cheap, did survive, and was able to secure passage eventually back to England where a court martial was held. Those that remained with him were acquitted of any wrong-doing. Not to say Cheap was a good, decent man. He was rather cruel and pitiless, but bottom line, his followers made it back.

Captain Cheap eventually was promoted to post captain and commanded the 40-gun Lark. He was loyal and steadfast. He died in 1752, his records and reports recorded in the National Archives. The actual midshipman from the story eventually rose to the rank of vice admiral. His name was John Byron (at right, painted by Joshua Reynolds), and his grandson would become the famed poet George Gordon Byron, who wrote an account of the Wager in The Narrative of the Honorable John Byron (1768). It sold well enough to appear in several editions.

Savoy Biscuits

Lots of people enjoy playing chef, experimenting with recipes, creating their own. But how about a US president? Yes! As a matter of fact Thomas Jefferson, the 18^th Century man for all seasons, spent time in the kitchen. He actually wrote a recipe for Savoy biscuits, exclaiming, “Take care not to shut the oven til the biscuit begins to swell up, then close the oven.”

Savoy biscuits are tasty indeed, buttery and rich in flavor, though light and airy.  They are kind of a “ladyfinger”, and folklore suggests that Peter the Great of Russia and his wife so enjoyed them when they had them in France when visiting King Louis XV, that they purchased the baker and sent him to St. Petersburg!

Though the Library of Congress gives no specific date, it is assumed Jefferson wrote out his recipe when in Paris sometime from 1784-1789. See below his words:

 

 

To make biscuit de Savoy

 

12 eggs 12 table spoonfuls of sugar
separate the yolk and white perfectly
grate [zest] the peal of one orange.
mix the whole and beat them very well
6 spoonfuls of flour; put this a searce [sieve]
beat well the whites separately
mix the whole gently
grease the mould with butter
powder it with sugar.
put in the mixture and put it in the oven.
of the eggs beat as directed
in the _?__ of the Macarons.
["beating them always to prevent
their turning into oil"]
take care not to shut the oven till
the biscuit begins to swell up,
then close the oven.
a half an hour suffices to bake
more or less according to size.

 Monticello Kitchen

A Find at The Wallace Collection

On my last trip to London, my brother took me to a museum I was unfamiliar with, a beautiful home right in the middle of town, the Wallace Collection. It is now a national museum, organized into 25 galleries with an incredible display of French 18^th Century paintings, furniture, porcelains, Old Masters paintings, and armor from around the world. It was established in 1897, by Richard










Seymour Conway, 4^th Marquess of Hertford, leaving it to his illegitimate son Sir Richard Wallace. After Sir Richard’s death in 1890, his wife bequeathed the entire collection to the nation. The only stipulation was that none of the objects ever leave their home, not even for loan exhibitions. So, if you want to see The Laughing Cavalier by Franz Hals, 1624, you will have to see it there!

While perusing the various, gorgeous rooms, my eye fell upon a desk by Jean-Henri Riesener (at left), German cabinet maker, (1734-1806), at left. It is a bureau a cylindre, circa 1785, that graces the center of the room. It is an early example of a writing table that has small stacked shelves in front of the user's main work surface, and a revolving cylinder part that comes down to hide and lock up the working papers when the desk is not in use. It is basically a roll-top desk, but a very new and innovative idea for the times. By the way, Riesener was one of the two favorite cabinet-makers of Marie Antoinette! He used floral and figures in his marquetry (the application of pieces of veneer to form decorative patterns), disguising screwheads and other structural elements with carved or cast foliage.

Jean-Henri Riesener became the French royal ebeniste,
the word stemming from “ebony”. He is responsible for some of the most exquisite examples of Louis XVI period furniture. Between 1774 and 1784 his average commissions while working for the French court was amounting to 100,000 livres per annum. Nice work!

The Fighting Temeraire!

 

I've been obsessed lately about Skyfall, the latest James bond film (20th, I think). I get obsessed now and again, and HAVE TO KNOW! I guess that's why I enjoy this blogging thing, having to research and find out, getting to the bottom of things.

In the film, when Bond hooks up with Q, his quartermaster, and the one that provides him with all the quintessential spy gadgets, James is sitting in the National Art Gallery in London. He is looking at a painting in particular, JMW Turner's "The Fighting Temeraire" (1838). The ship is shown making its last voyage before going up for salvage. Turner called this work his favorite, a kind of reflection on his own life.

HMS Temeraire, a 98-gun ship of the line, was launched in 1798, serving during the Napoleonic Wars on blockade duty, except for her brilliant involvement in the Battle of Trafalgar. So, she is dubbed "The Fighting Temeraire". She came to Nelson's flgship "Victory"'s rescue, and so, is ever remembered.

After her career was over, she was sold in 1838, and towed up the Thames to be broken up. The painting remains Britian's favorite, honored as such in 2005!

So why, is it included in the film, and discussed in the dialog between Q and Bond? Well, it is eluded to that Bond is portrayed as a man running out of time, and aging man-of-war, as it were. Modern methods are taking his place. Or are they?! That is the question! The new Q is portrayed as a very young man, a computer nerd of sorts, extremely intelligent, but as Bond offers, “Youth is no guarantee of innovation!” I love it! Without giving anything away, it becomes evident that Bond’s experience pays off!

The subtleties of art direction help make a film successful or not. When the details of furnishings, costume, color and location are correct, we seem to jump right into the film, become part of it. When they are not, we feel outside, just looking in, and our attention is not focused.

I will never look at the Fighting Temeraire the same way again. It means a great deal more now, and the wonderful thing is  I know it's "new" home, and can visit it whenever I visit London!

I Cannot Live Without Books!

I love books! As Thomas Jefferson is quoted, “I cannot live without books.” That’s the way I feel. I would rather have a new book than almost anything else. I said almost, because I also love shoes, and music, and make-up, and travel. But, when all is said and done, I love books.

But they must be good literature, or history, or at least based in history, or informative and enduring like the classics. No trashy novels here. I love to browse the bookstore, though truly good books are often times missing from the bookstore. Most stores now cater to trendy bestsellers, games, kindle or nook books, coffee.

One of the best bookstores I have ever been in is Bauman Rare Books, with some very beautiful locations across the country, and lucky for me, one located in The Shoppes at The Palazzo, in Las Vegas, NV. It is more than a bookstore actually, featuring incredible first editions of antique as well as more current literature. David and Natalie Bauman began the company in 1973 with their love of literature and history. A trip to Bauman’s is like a trip to a fine boutique museum.

They send me a beautiful quarterly brochure of books available for purchase. Naturally, I have my favorites that I would like to have grace my library, but I must admit, they are a bit pricey! How about these, for example:

Edward Gibbons Decline and Fall (of the Roman Empire), 1776, First Edition, 6 volumes, for a mere $36,000.               







George Vancouver's Voyage, First Edition, 1798, one of the most important accounts of the exploration of the Pacific Northwest, for the adventurer! $72,000!

 

 

 





 Isaac Newton's Opticks, 1704, First Edition, a treatise on Reflection, Refraction, Colors of Light. Feed your inner nerd with this one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Paine's Common Sense, 1776, $35,000, First Edition, a little dog-earred, but a gem non-the-less, for American Revolution historians.

 

 

 

 

 

So, I say, if you're looking for a nice little gift for me as a thank you for all this research I bring to you on a weekly basis (ha ha!), how about looking at a book for me! HIne, hint: I kind of like Gibbon's Decline and Fall!!

 

 

 

 

Sartorial Splendor: The Evolution of the Shirt

I was looking at an article about the well-dressed man, proper shirt-wearing and shirt accessories, and interestingly enough, the shirt, originally was quite different, rather blousy, and details like cuffs were nothing more than slits that could be closed with string. But, by the 1700’s, men said enough was enough, and the cuff was given a facelift, with boutons de manchette, or “sleeve buttons” as they were called, to close the gap at the wrist.  Typically they were identical pairs of colored glass buttons, but soon, as is always the way, style gives way to the fabulous, and jewels were soon included, diamonds, ornate worked gold, silver, painted scenes, etc. Suddenly, a new industry was born, with cufflinks lending an aire of personality, individuality to the wearer.

In 1788, the first known evidence of the word “cufflink” appeared. Cufflinks are designed only for use with shirts which have buttonholes but no buttons. These may be either single or double-length fold-over or “French” cuffs. Though most men generally wear the dress shirt with its own buttons, the bon vivant truly enjoys the cuff-linked shirt. There is truly nothing like it, crisp, starched, pristine white.

The cravat, neck tie or neck band, originated in 17th Century Croatia, the band applied to any long-strip neckcloth, not a ruff (the starched pleated white linen). A band could be a plain, attached shirt collar, or a detachable band that draped over the collar. It is thought the band hid evidence of a soiled collar.

The cravat is of military origin, part of the Croatian military kit ranging from coarse cloth for enlisted soliders to fine linen or silk for officers. The word CRAVAT comes from the French word CRAVATE, pronounced CROATE, a corruption of the word for Croatia.  By the way, Croatia celebrates Cravat Day on October 18.

As time passed, the cravat was replaced with the “steinkirk”, virtually a long piece of fabric tied with a bow knot, named for the soldiers present at the Battle of Steenkerque. It was tucked into a jacket or waistcoat buttonhole. It was popular until the 1720’s. By 1715, another kind of neckwear, the "stocks"  made its appearance. It refers referred to a leather collar, laced at the back, worn by soldiers to for holding the head high in a military bearing. It also provided protection to the major blood vessels of the neck from being wounded!



 And so, the well-dressed man, just as the chic woman, must put up with a certain degree of “suffering for style”. But, ahhh! The results. Check out Taylor Lautner below, as the elegant gentleman, and as a rather scruffy kid. Which do you prefer?

Frankly, I prefer the sartorial splendor of a James Bond, or at least a gentleman of the realm!