By a Hair

Well, here's an interesting bit! On Tuesday, April 15, a lock of Napoleon's hair was stolen from a museum in Melbourne, Australia. The nemesis of the British Royal Navy during the Enlightened Age, Napoleon was referred to as "Old Bony" by the Brits, and the focus of many a battle at sea in the Channel, or along the coast of France, the blockade at Brest.

Police said that the thief, or thieves, cracked open a cabinet and stole among the items, a frame that housed Bonaparte's hair, a ring, a ribbon inscribed by Napoleon in 1815, and a snuff box. The perpetrators entered through a bathroom window of the Briars Park home/museum where the collection of artifacts was kept.  The collection was put together by an Englishman Alexander Balcombe, who had met Old Bony when he (Bony) was exiled on the island of St. Helena from 1815 until his death in 1821. The Balcombe and Bonaparte families knew each other fairly well despite the political situation. Australia was a long way from England, I guess!! 

Ten items were stolen in all, and happily some have been already recovered, but not the hair, and that is really not replaceable. Hair was a very personal and intimate gift at the time, and it's value is priceless when connected with sentiment or personal relationship.

Officers in Melbourne surmise the items are probably destined for a private collection, and stolen purposely for that collection! The plot thickens! Time will tell.

Hotels Old and New

Last week I saw the new movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. The story is rather quirk, following the escapades of a concierge of exceptional talent and diplomatic skill. The story takes place in a fictional Eastern European country. The concierge, Mr. Gustav H., over the course of the movie, is accused of a murder, thrown into an Eastern European prison, escapes, and is on the run. I won't give away the story, but visually it is stunning. The director depicts the times (most of the story set in the early 1930's) most excellently. And, the director gives a glimpse of the five-star hotel in all its glory, and then, as the towering institution becomes a decaying relic, a shadow of its former self. It is an interesting two-hour ride.

The word "hotel" comes from the French, "hote" meaning host. Originally it referred to any building that had frequent visitors. Today it represents an establishment that provides accommodations, meal, services to travelers. The earliest record of a "hotel or inn" comes from the Bible, with Mary and Joseph finding "no room at the inn".

As far as our 18th Century focus is concerned, I found the City Hotel, the first publically held hotel, open in New York in 1792. The Tremont Hotel opened in Boston in 1809. Prior to this time, it was not a particularly attractive thing to stay in a hotel. If it was necessary, sure, but generally the well-to-do stayed with friends in their manor house, country estate, etc. But, inns began to cater to richer clients by the mid 1700's, growing in grandeur, with concierge and staff to cater to the wishes and whims of its clients. America had hotels, but the best and most enduring are from Europe. Many of these had their hayday, and then closed, but some, remain to this day. And, one of the most famous that still remains is, of course, in London! With Londoners famed attention to every detail, courtesy and discretion, Claridge's fills the bill.

Claridge's opened in 1812 as Mivart's Hotel, but later the name was changed. Located on Brooks Street, in Mayfair, London, it is a luxury hotel par excellence. For the discerning guest, it offers the best of everything in a hotel experience. The building is a terraced house/hotel, its owner, Mr. Mivart, sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Claridge, who owned a smaller hotel next door. The two operations were combined, and the name changed to Claridge's. It's reputation was sealed in 1860 when the Empress Eugenie made a visit to London and entertained Queen Victoria at the hotel. It is known for Royal Family guests, and for its famed Christmas tree, decorated each year by a notable like John Galliano, or Kally Ellis from McQueens.

By the way, the word CONCIERGE is French, comes from the old French "cumcerges" which is related to the Medieval Latin "consergius" or the Latin "conservus" meaning "fellow slave"!

Down to the Sea in Ships

As the drama of the Malaysian 370 lost airline further unfolds, it gives me pause to think on all the ships that lie at the bottom of the ocean. Equivalent to "airships" of the day, there are many historic 18th Century accounts of ships sunk in various oceans around the world. Generally these ships belonged to the government or monarchy as war ships, or trading vessels bound for exotic lands, but there are many, I'm sure, we know nothing about.

Today's technology allows us to search vast areas of the sea and sea floor and find perhaps some trace or recorder-box "ping", and then begin a specific search. After reading a recent Malaysian Airline news account, it struck me incredible that they have discovered some kind of emitting sound from the Flight 370, and can now search a smaller area, they said. The smaller area is the size of Los Angeles!!!

Many ships from the past were never found, with no ability to even imagine their location or recovery of any items, be they bodies, treasure, documents or pieces from the construction of the ship itself. Think of the Titanic, and all the wonderful historic items found and brought up from 2 miles down!

And so, I dived in, so to speak, and found the following accounts of some ships lost at sea in the 18th Century.

To begin, 2 fleets of Spanish ships were lost, including one in 1715 and another in 1733. Both left Spain, sailing up the Atlantic coast to present-day US, into the Gulf Stream. Both left in the Fall, and were destroyed by hurricanes. They both carried a wealth of gold, silver and precious stones. Salvage efforts were performed for the 1733 fleet throughout the 1730's and much was recovered. Salvage efforts for the 1715 fleet were found by contemporary, private treasure hunters.

Between 1750 and 1760, a French ship sank off the north cost of Haiti. There is a mystery connected with the disappearance as any information regarding the ship or its purpose in the Caribbean was lost.

The Reijgersdaal, a Dutch East India merchant ship, sank between the islands of Robben and Dassen near Cape Town, South Africa  in 1747 carrying eight chests of silver coins. Illness spread among the crew, 125 out of 297 died and 83 were incapacitated. Only 20 men survived when a gale snapped the anchor line and blew them into rocks.

The El Cazador, carrying 450,000 pesos sank in 1784. The monies were to help stabilize the Spanish Louisiana economy, but the ship never arrived. Perhaps this hastened the ceding of Louisiana to the French in 1800. The wreck was found in 1993, off of New Orleans when a fishing boat pulled in a net filled with silver coins!

The Hartwell, with 209,280 oz of silver on board, sank on its maiden voyage. An East India Company ship, the crew mutinied, and when the captain was able to subdue the crew, he put in for the Cape Verde Islands, and the ship struck a reef. One good thing, all the crew was saved.

Finally, the Bonhomme Richard, a warship of the Continental Navy, was lost. The ship was built in France, and placed at the disposal of John Paul Jones in 1765, by King Louis as a result of a loan to the United States. Its final resting place is a matter of speculation, somewhere off the coast of Yorkshire during her final battle.
And so, not only are ships lost, but those who man them. Countless people who went down to the sea in ships. We will not know them until the Glorious Day when the Sea shall give up her dead.

Mellow Cello

I love the sound of the cello. It's rich, warm, sometimes haunting, sometimes joyful in a mature and uncommon way. A couple years ago I invested in one, and wanted to start learning to use it. I spent some time at it, but then one thing or another got in the way. I have decided to begin again, with much more discipline. I am looking for a proper teacher, but meanwhile I am plowing ahead slowly and carefully.

The cello is actually the abbreviated version of "violoncello", which means "little violone", the violone being an instrument of the lowest pitch in the viol family. It is said that the cello is the closest instrument to the human voice. And, if you have heard some of the greats play, like Yo Yo Ma, the sound is like it is speaking to you. 

The Viol group of instruments went out of fashion in the late 17th Century, but remained of interest in France. The cello is usually associated with European classical music. The invention of wire-wound strings, allowed for a finer bass sound, and the body of the instrument to be shortened. Many bass violins were cut down in size and converted into cellos. Stradivarius, the famous instrument maker, worked on a new pattern for producing the instrument, and many sizes were employed, mostly geographically according to taste, until 1750 when the size was standardized. Bows are generally made from pernambuco, or brazilwood. By the way, pernambuco is the heart of the brazilwood, heavy, resinous and elastic in properties. The bow hairs are horsehair, and conifer resin is applied to the hairs for added friction, to allow for better sound production, or bite, as it is sometimes called. The whole instrument is rather organic by nature, as are most of the stringed instruments. There is something magical about holding them, something warm and mellow and friendly.

In the 18th Century, many baroque works were composed for the cello, Bach's suites among the most famous, and its popularity returned. Today, many Gothic bands have employed them, which is interesting, as a lot of that style of music is very grand and spectacular, and benefit by an orchestral sound.

A good cello never grows old, but gets better with age, as long as it is treated with care and respect.Some of the most famous cellos include:

1) the "King" by Andrea Amati, one of the oldest known, built between 1538 and 1560.It is in the National Music Museum of South Dakota.

2) The Servais Stradivarius 1701 in the Smithsonian collection in Washington DC.

3) The Davidov Stradivarius 1712 played currently by Yo Yo Ma.

4) Barjansky Stradivarius 1690, played by Julian Lloyd Webber.

5) Bonjour Stradivarious 1692, played Soo Bae.

6) Paganini-Ladenburg Stradivarius 1736, played by Clive Greensmith of the Tokyo String Quartet.

7) Duport Stradivarius 1711, formerly played by Rostropovich.

8) Piatti Stradivarius, 1720, played by Carlos Prieto

It's interesting that the best of them are from the 1700's. Of course, today modern technology has brought us some unusual cellos of composite materials, and their electrification does not even require a box, or body, to the instrument. They look so strange, but complement contemporary music. Brave New World!

The Great White

I began reading Moby Dick last week. It was a gift to me, and having finished a number of other stories, I started this classic. I try each year to tackle one of the great classics. I say "tackle" because they are usually large, detailed, ponderous in fact. (think of Dickens works). When you start one, you must be up for the challenge, but when you finish, you know why they endure. They speak to us universally. The characters may be dressed or speak differently today, but everyone knows these people. The ambitious Becky Sharp, the analytical Sherlock Holmes, the honorable Jean Valjean, the obsessive Captain Ahab!

 

Yes, Ahab is obsessed with catching up with the whale who took off his leg, but of course, the story goes much deeper than that. But, in beginning my reading, the story makes mention of how does one classify the Whale...animal or fish? And then a particular paragraph mentions Carl Lenneaus, and his classification system of taxonomy, published 1735. As he uncovered more and more information, later editions were published. Known as the Systema Naturae, it was rather revolutionary for its time.

Linneaus sites the whale as a mammal, in the CETE classification. He states, "Animals that suckle their young by means of lactiferous teats. In external and internal structure they resemble man: most of them are quadrupeds; and with man, their natural enemy, inhabit the surface of the Earth. The largest, though fewest in number, inhabit the ocean."

His Mammalian Characteristics include

• Heart: 2 auricles, 2 ventricles. Warm, dark red blood
• Lungs: respires alternately
• Jaw: incombent, covered. Teeth usually within
• Teats: lactiferous
• Organs of Sense: tongue, nostrils, eyes, ears, & papillae of the skin
• Covering: hair, which is scanty in warm climates, hardly any on aquatics
• Supports: 4 feet, except in aquatics; and in most a tail. Walks on the Earth & Speaks

His Cete Characteristics include

• Fins: pectoral instead of feet
• Tail: horizontal, flattened
• Claws: none
• Hair: none
• Teeth: in some cartilaginous, in some bony
• Nostrils: none, instead of which is a fistulous opening in the anterior and upper part of the head
• Food: mollusca & fish
• Habitation: the ocean

Linneaus goes on to include the different types of cete, including narwhals, dolphins, porpoise, various whales and then the great sperm whale (The Great White), the largest and the object of Captain Ahab's obsession.

This is what I like about a good book. It makes you want to know more, and as they say, the more you know, the less you know.

Hard to say Good-bye!

It is with a nostalgic twinge that I come to the end of a twenty-one book journey, following Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and the crew of the Surprise. Books penned by Patrick O'Brian from 1969 to 2004, these stories of nautical fiction were really something to look forward to. I started, of course, with the first, Master and Commander, after I saw the film of the same name. Actually, the movie was a joining of the first book to one that O'Brian wrote in 1984 (The Far Side of the World). I love that film, especially because it is a real look into how it was on board a vessel of those times. It is not romanticized or subject to Hollywood's all-too-dangerous artistic "license".

The books are the same. Not dumbed down. The vocabulary is filled with full-on naval terminology for how to sail, which sails are used, the protocols of the Royal Navy, etc etc. The dialog between the characters is typical of how they spoke at that time: the formality of address, the courtesy, the hierarchy.

The final book is a partial book, because O'Brian passed away in 2000. "The Final Voyage of Jack Aubrey", or  "21" as it is lovingly known, was not published until 2004 (hence the dates above). An interesting bit about the book is that it is not only published in text, but at the side of each of the three chapter pages, you see O'Brian's hand-written version, before editing, and finalization. He hand-wrote all the books.

The stories, as they always say, are truly better than the movie (in this case, if that's possible). The characters are developed over time, and the friendship of the Captain and the Doctor, which is really at the heart of the stories, is so very real. The Captain, though a true leader and commanding authoritarian while on the high seas, is a bit unsophisticated and emotional on land. Aubrey is totally loyal to his duty and the Crown. The Doctor is a physician which is something very much more than a surgeon, or pill-pusher. He is analytical and a bit mysterious, and plagued by some medicinal demons. And, he is a spy for the British government, and a secret sympathizer of the rebel Irish cause. They are the ying and yang of their times. They are one-another's conscience. I love them, and will miss their adventures.

I will have to start the series over again one day, but meanwhile, they have travelled forth, and now made landfall on my bookshelves.

Gieve's and Hawkes: Tailor to Naval Stars!

The other day I saw a photo of a wonderful item auctioned at Bonhams, London in June of 2012. The item, a bicorn hat from a Royal Navy officer along with its tin transit case, and a pair of epaulets. Though a bit worn and faded, here it was, a piece of history, in all its glory. Though you can't see it, the lining of the hat is distinguished by the "London" maker's mark that features the Prince of Wales plumes. The inside of the tin is lined in red velour. The lot sold for $351.

But one of the most interesting things to me was the gold stamping on the case, "By Appointment/ Gieve's Ltd./London/and/Portsmouth.

I looked up Gieve's and found that it was a bespoke gentleman's tailor founded in 1771, located at #1 Savile Row, London."Bespoke" is defined as clothing specifically made to order. Gieve's, or Gieve's and Hawkes, as it later became, is one of the oldest continual bespoke tailors in the world! It holds a royal warrant, and these days, also sells ready-to-wear items.

Back in the day, even King George III was a customer. The first store was located on Brewer Street, then moved to Piccadilly in 1793. By the early 1800's another store was included, in Portsmouth, the main naval port of England. The tailor at the Portsmouth location, Mr. Meredith, was the person who tailored the uniform of Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson! And, that's saying something! Nelson, with the winning of the Battle of Trafalgar, has been elevated to god-like stature.

Other customers include Winston Churchill, the Duke of Wellington, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, David Beckham, and Diana, Princess of Wales.

In 2007, Robert Gieve died, the fifth and last generation of the family to serve G&H. In 2011, the Saville Row store was completely refurbished, and in 2012, it was sold to Trinity Ltd, continuing to expand in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The days of Gieve's and Hawkes is far from over. Ahhh...if the walls could speak!
When you get a chance, check out the link below. Of course, G&H has a larger site, but I think you'll find the military section interesting. Take a look at the swords! Very sharp, indeed!


http://www.gievesandhawkesmilitary.com/home.html