From "The Hampstead [England] Synagogue: 1892-1967" by its then rabbi, Raymond Apple:
"A recent guide to London, in a chapter on 'Jewish London', praises the quality of the sermons and the cantorial choral music at Hampstead as the best in any of the London synagogues, but suggests that Hampstead's decorum goes with a cold, unfriendly attitude. This kind of judgement is necessarily subjective....The dignity and decorum, so long proud boasts of the congregation, are maintained, but sartorially there has been a great change in the last thirty years. No longer are silk hats and frock coats de rigueur on Sabbaths, and dinner jackets or full evening dress on Kol Nidre night; nor are Bar Mitzvah boys attired in silk hats and Eaton suits....Hampstead is not what is colloquially called Heimish, but its members would strongly resent being called cold and unfriendly."
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Who knows Adolph Cluss?
Adolph Cluss was an architect who designed about 90 buildings in Washington between 1850 and, say, 1890, of which only 7 remain.
One of the 7 is the Sumner School on 17th and M, NW, formerly a segregated school for African Americans. Another is the Franklin School at 14th and K, NW, which was for white children. He also designed Eastern Market, and the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. Virtually everything he designed was in red-brick, and looked like it would last forever. The demolition of all of these buildings show the changes that have taken place in Washington in a very dramatic fashion. Many school buildings, apartment buildings, government offices, markets and single family homes are gone.
He came here from Germany, a '48er, after the failure of the popular revolts there, at the age of 23, and lived here until 1905. In the 1880s, he went to work for the federal government as a building inspector at sites around the country.
In addition to his architecture, Cluss was very active in German-American affairs here and across the country (there were many German-Americans in the D.C. area, and a large number of them, Christian and Jewish, were financially successful and created a number of communal organizations), and also interested in left-wing (read: 19th century liberal/socialist) politics, having among other things an extensive correspondence with Karl Marx, whom he knew in Germany.
He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.
An exhibit (mainly posters, but well done) is now on display (through early January) at the Sumner School. It's free.
I was glad I went, as I had never heard his name before, and now know how central he was to post-Civil War DC architectural development.
One of the 7 is the Sumner School on 17th and M, NW, formerly a segregated school for African Americans. Another is the Franklin School at 14th and K, NW, which was for white children. He also designed Eastern Market, and the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. Virtually everything he designed was in red-brick, and looked like it would last forever. The demolition of all of these buildings show the changes that have taken place in Washington in a very dramatic fashion. Many school buildings, apartment buildings, government offices, markets and single family homes are gone.
He came here from Germany, a '48er, after the failure of the popular revolts there, at the age of 23, and lived here until 1905. In the 1880s, he went to work for the federal government as a building inspector at sites around the country.
In addition to his architecture, Cluss was very active in German-American affairs here and across the country (there were many German-Americans in the D.C. area, and a large number of them, Christian and Jewish, were financially successful and created a number of communal organizations), and also interested in left-wing (read: 19th century liberal/socialist) politics, having among other things an extensive correspondence with Karl Marx, whom he knew in Germany.
He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.
An exhibit (mainly posters, but well done) is now on display (through early January) at the Sumner School. It's free.
I was glad I went, as I had never heard his name before, and now know how central he was to post-Civil War DC architectural development.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
She Had an Oddventure
Elinor Mordaunt, an Englishwoman who lived for a long time in Australia, wrote a book in the 1920's about her voyage through the Caribbean, across the Panama Canal and through much of the South Pacific. It is an interesting book, because it tells of lands much more primitive than they are today, but whether or not her descriptions were accurate (I have not found any overall criticism on the internet), I do not know. One item, quoted below, was very interesting, except that I find no corroboration, and therefore it, in my mind, colors everything she says on any topic.
She says here: "Before ever the Fijians were known in Fiji, they came here [Tonga]; and the place where they knelt, thanking the God of the Jews for their safety and prosperity - men with hooked noses and full lipped mouths and curling hair, more red than black - is still shown beneath the spreading roots of the banyan tree which forms the roof of the meetingplace of the city fathers of Haapai.....The Taufaa Hau - the Great Ones - brought with them the high priests and the preistesses, all the rituals of the ancient Jewish religion...."
Anybody have a clue about what she is describing? "The Venture Book" published in 1926, and still readily available in used book stores.
She says here: "Before ever the Fijians were known in Fiji, they came here [Tonga]; and the place where they knelt, thanking the God of the Jews for their safety and prosperity - men with hooked noses and full lipped mouths and curling hair, more red than black - is still shown beneath the spreading roots of the banyan tree which forms the roof of the meetingplace of the city fathers of Haapai.....The Taufaa Hau - the Great Ones - brought with them the high priests and the preistesses, all the rituals of the ancient Jewish religion...."
Anybody have a clue about what she is describing? "The Venture Book" published in 1926, and still readily available in used book stores.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
What do Israelis Want to See?
Squirrels.
Whenever Israelis come to Washington for the first time, they are interested in the monuments, they are interested in the buildings, they are interested in the parks.
But what they really want to see are the squirrels.
(P.S., there are no squirrels in Israel, and they seem to be an extraordinary sight for sore Israeli eyes.)
Whenever Israelis come to Washington for the first time, they are interested in the monuments, they are interested in the buildings, they are interested in the parks.
But what they really want to see are the squirrels.
(P.S., there are no squirrels in Israel, and they seem to be an extraordinary sight for sore Israeli eyes.)
Tidbits (2 cents)
These come from last month's Smithsonian Magazine. I used to ignore it when it came, but have realized that that is a mistake. Had I not read last month's issue, for example, you would not know the following:
1. Bruce McCandless, the first astronaut to take an untethered space walk (not connected by rope to the spacecraft) is now a research scientist working on the Hubble Space Telescope. His mission's pilot, Robert Gibson, is a pilot on Southwest Airlines. In other words, they have become normal people.
2. The land speed record was set in 1997 at Black Rock Desert in Nevada at 763 miles per hour. But people still like the Bonneville Salt Flats better.
3. Sacagawea, the famous Louis and Clark guide, died at age 25 of an infection. She had married a Frenchman, and had two children, a boy who became a trapper in the west, and a girl about whom nothing is known, except that her name was Lisette.
4. Bruce Molnia, a geologist with the US Geological Survey in Reston has looked at more than 200 old photos of glaciers in Alaska and has retaken the pictures from the same place, at the same time of the year, etc., to show the amount that the glaciers have melted. The amount is a lot.
5. They are tagging blue crabs in the Chesapeake to look at migration patterns as part of tracking the reduction in crab populations, and offering rewards to crabbers who turn in marked crabs. One was found 600 miles from where it was tagged.
6. When Teddy Roosevelt went on his African safari in 1909, his expedition killed 11,397 birds and animals, including 18 rhinosceroses, one of which is still on exhibit at the Museum of Natural History.
7. You can now look at 18th and 19th century Lakota history drawings at http://wintercounts.si.edu.
8. The first person to swim the English channel made it is 21 3/4 hours in 1875. The current record is 7 hours, 17 minutes.
9. In 1937, two fisherman caught an 84 pound bull shark in the Mississippi River at Alton, Illinois,just upriver from St. Louis. Sharks have the ability to live in salt or fresh water.
10. Stonehenge was built about 4000 years ago. In 2002, archeologists discovered a tomb near Stonehenge dating from that time. It was the oldest tomb from the area by 2000 years. From examining dental remains of the skeleton (who was buried with some indicia of wealth and importance), they determined that this individual grew up in Central Europe, and not Britain. More questions.
11. Da Lat, from the late 19th century a resort in Viet Nam, is staging a comeback. It is still difficult to get to, and therefore uncrowded. In addition to the elegant Palace Hotel, it has become somewhat of an artists colony. Access is by air from Ho Chi Minh city only, and by road. The railway has not been repaired.
12. The first Guiness Book of Records came out in 1955; it was put together in 16 weeks by Norris and Ross McWhirter, two young sportswriters. The record for balancing a car on your head is held by John Evans who, in 1999, balanced a Mini Cooper on his head for 33 seconds. (Then what happened????)
13. Between 2004 and 2009, Americans will dispose of about 250 million personal computeres, or about 136,000 every day. Each contains toxic metals that can leach into the soil. Americans also dispose of 100,000,000 cell phones annually.
14. There is a real question (as there always has been) about whether the A-bomb was needed to end World War II in the Pacific, or if the Japanese were ready to surrender in any event. The firebombing of Tokyo, before the atomic bomb was dropped, killed more people than did the bomb in Hiroshima.
15. People really do think that an ivory billed woodpecker was spotted last year in the forests of southeastern Arkansas. It would be the first time since the 1970s.
There will be a test on a subsequent posting.
1. Bruce McCandless, the first astronaut to take an untethered space walk (not connected by rope to the spacecraft) is now a research scientist working on the Hubble Space Telescope. His mission's pilot, Robert Gibson, is a pilot on Southwest Airlines. In other words, they have become normal people.
2. The land speed record was set in 1997 at Black Rock Desert in Nevada at 763 miles per hour. But people still like the Bonneville Salt Flats better.
3. Sacagawea, the famous Louis and Clark guide, died at age 25 of an infection. She had married a Frenchman, and had two children, a boy who became a trapper in the west, and a girl about whom nothing is known, except that her name was Lisette.
4. Bruce Molnia, a geologist with the US Geological Survey in Reston has looked at more than 200 old photos of glaciers in Alaska and has retaken the pictures from the same place, at the same time of the year, etc., to show the amount that the glaciers have melted. The amount is a lot.
5. They are tagging blue crabs in the Chesapeake to look at migration patterns as part of tracking the reduction in crab populations, and offering rewards to crabbers who turn in marked crabs. One was found 600 miles from where it was tagged.
6. When Teddy Roosevelt went on his African safari in 1909, his expedition killed 11,397 birds and animals, including 18 rhinosceroses, one of which is still on exhibit at the Museum of Natural History.
7. You can now look at 18th and 19th century Lakota history drawings at http://wintercounts.si.edu.
8. The first person to swim the English channel made it is 21 3/4 hours in 1875. The current record is 7 hours, 17 minutes.
9. In 1937, two fisherman caught an 84 pound bull shark in the Mississippi River at Alton, Illinois,just upriver from St. Louis. Sharks have the ability to live in salt or fresh water.
10. Stonehenge was built about 4000 years ago. In 2002, archeologists discovered a tomb near Stonehenge dating from that time. It was the oldest tomb from the area by 2000 years. From examining dental remains of the skeleton (who was buried with some indicia of wealth and importance), they determined that this individual grew up in Central Europe, and not Britain. More questions.
11. Da Lat, from the late 19th century a resort in Viet Nam, is staging a comeback. It is still difficult to get to, and therefore uncrowded. In addition to the elegant Palace Hotel, it has become somewhat of an artists colony. Access is by air from Ho Chi Minh city only, and by road. The railway has not been repaired.
12. The first Guiness Book of Records came out in 1955; it was put together in 16 weeks by Norris and Ross McWhirter, two young sportswriters. The record for balancing a car on your head is held by John Evans who, in 1999, balanced a Mini Cooper on his head for 33 seconds. (Then what happened????)
13. Between 2004 and 2009, Americans will dispose of about 250 million personal computeres, or about 136,000 every day. Each contains toxic metals that can leach into the soil. Americans also dispose of 100,000,000 cell phones annually.
14. There is a real question (as there always has been) about whether the A-bomb was needed to end World War II in the Pacific, or if the Japanese were ready to surrender in any event. The firebombing of Tokyo, before the atomic bomb was dropped, killed more people than did the bomb in Hiroshima.
15. People really do think that an ivory billed woodpecker was spotted last year in the forests of southeastern Arkansas. It would be the first time since the 1970s.
There will be a test on a subsequent posting.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Jewish Population Statistics for 1910 (5 cents)
Thought you would be interested.
In 1915, there were 13,277,542 Jews in the world (apparently, not one more, not one less). Of these:
9,988,197 were in Europe, and 2,500,054 in America. There were 413,259 in Africa, 356,617 in Asia, and 19,415 in Australia.
Of the European Jews, 6,606,415 were in the Russian empire, and 2,258,602 were in Austria-Hungary. There were 615,021 in Germany, 269,015 in Rumania, 245,000 in the U.K., 188,900 in Turkey, 106,000 in the Netherlands, 100,000 in France. Other populations, obviously, were smaller.
In North America, the vast bulk of the population was in the United States, with only 75,681 in Canada, 8,972 in Mexico and 4,000 in Cuba. There were 55,000 in Argentina and 3,000 in Brazil. Only 2500 in the remainder of Latin America.
Asia was 177,500 in Turkish Asia (Ottoman Empire)and 78,000 in Palestine (which was part of Ottoman empire, but calculated separately), 18,000 in Afghanistan, 49,500 in Persia, and 20,980 in India. Iraq was part of Turkish Asia.
In Africa, there were 110,000 in Morocco, 108,500 in Tunisia, 64,000 in Algeria, 38,000 in Egypt, 18,000 in Libya, 25,000 in Ethiopia and 46,700 in South Africa.
This of course was pre-World War I (when political boundaries were shifted) and pre- World War II and the Holocaust.
Today, the Jewish world population is about the same as it was in 1915 (in spite of the 6 million deaths in the Holocaust), but it is not growing much now, largely because of lower birth rates.
Of the approximately 13,000,000 Jews today, almost 5,000,000 are in Israel, and about 6,000,000 in the United States. There are 372,000 in Canada, 185,000 in Argentina, 100,000 in Brazil, 600,000 in France, 300,000 in the U.<., 115,000 in Germany, 80,000 in Hungary, 235,000 in Russia, 115,000 in the Ukrane, 90,000 in South Africa and about 100,000 in Australia. Other Jewish populations are much lower (probably no other is greater than 50,000).
If you look at the migration of this population over the past 90 years, you see that just about everyone has moved. And this is dealing only with international moves. Looking at it as an overall phenomenon, it strikes me as extraordinary.
By the way, moving back further in time (according to something I just saw in the book about Jews still living in Poland in 1985, called "Remnants"), in 1800, 75% of the Jews in the entire world lived in Poland. So the movement was not only a 20th century phenomenon.
In 1915, there were 13,277,542 Jews in the world (apparently, not one more, not one less). Of these:
9,988,197 were in Europe, and 2,500,054 in America. There were 413,259 in Africa, 356,617 in Asia, and 19,415 in Australia.
Of the European Jews, 6,606,415 were in the Russian empire, and 2,258,602 were in Austria-Hungary. There were 615,021 in Germany, 269,015 in Rumania, 245,000 in the U.K., 188,900 in Turkey, 106,000 in the Netherlands, 100,000 in France. Other populations, obviously, were smaller.
In North America, the vast bulk of the population was in the United States, with only 75,681 in Canada, 8,972 in Mexico and 4,000 in Cuba. There were 55,000 in Argentina and 3,000 in Brazil. Only 2500 in the remainder of Latin America.
Asia was 177,500 in Turkish Asia (Ottoman Empire)and 78,000 in Palestine (which was part of Ottoman empire, but calculated separately), 18,000 in Afghanistan, 49,500 in Persia, and 20,980 in India. Iraq was part of Turkish Asia.
In Africa, there were 110,000 in Morocco, 108,500 in Tunisia, 64,000 in Algeria, 38,000 in Egypt, 18,000 in Libya, 25,000 in Ethiopia and 46,700 in South Africa.
This of course was pre-World War I (when political boundaries were shifted) and pre- World War II and the Holocaust.
Today, the Jewish world population is about the same as it was in 1915 (in spite of the 6 million deaths in the Holocaust), but it is not growing much now, largely because of lower birth rates.
Of the approximately 13,000,000 Jews today, almost 5,000,000 are in Israel, and about 6,000,000 in the United States. There are 372,000 in Canada, 185,000 in Argentina, 100,000 in Brazil, 600,000 in France, 300,000 in the U.<., 115,000 in Germany, 80,000 in Hungary, 235,000 in Russia, 115,000 in the Ukrane, 90,000 in South Africa and about 100,000 in Australia. Other Jewish populations are much lower (probably no other is greater than 50,000).
If you look at the migration of this population over the past 90 years, you see that just about everyone has moved. And this is dealing only with international moves. Looking at it as an overall phenomenon, it strikes me as extraordinary.
By the way, moving back further in time (according to something I just saw in the book about Jews still living in Poland in 1985, called "Remnants"), in 1800, 75% of the Jews in the entire world lived in Poland. So the movement was not only a 20th century phenomenon.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Recent Cultural Activity (2 cents)
I have recently read two books, heard two speakers and seen one play. I must be in a good mood, because I was very high on all of them (but for one), which is almost unheard of.
The books.
"The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss is an extraordinary novel -- thematically, with regard to character development, and organizationally. Everyone should read it. Period. I will not give away the plot, except to say that it is both intricate and intriguing, and not too hard to follow at all.
"From Berlin to Jerusalem", the memoirs of the early years of religious historian Gershon Sholem, was also a delight, giving you insight into Sholem's youth amidst the German/Jewish social milieu of the early 20th century (the book basically runs the first three decades of the century). Born in an assimilating family, where each sibling followed a different life course, intellectually precocious and clearly personable, Sholem's venture into a life centered, if not on religion, on the study of Jewish history and culture is fascinating. For someone (like me, for example) who has recently been in Berlin, it also was very interesting to follow the course of his activities, as he was very good at naming streets and neighborhoods. I took out my pocket travel map and followed them. To top it off, the book (in a Schocken paperback edition) is short.
The speakers.
Garry Wills, Northwestern University professor of something or other, has written a book about Henry Adams, concentrating not on his "Life", but on his writing of his nine volume history of the United States, which he apparently started shortly after the end of the Civil War. The lecture was fine, and he had many interesting (and a few amusing) anecdotes about Adams (who I think was the grandson of John Quincy, although maybe I skipped a generation), and about Adams' relationship to others and views on his Adams and Quincy family members. And it was moderately interesting to learn that nobody reads the nine volumes (you know why) and those who refer to it give Adams a different viewpoint than he in fact had. But, having said all of that, Wills did not make you want to read the book. There were about 150 people at Politics and Prose for the talk, and when I got there the books were almost gone, so I picked one up before the speech. There was only one left at the time. After the talk and q and a, I decided not to buy the book, and to put it back on the table. At least a half dozen others must have felt the same way.
Robert Pinsky, Boston University creative writing teacher and three term U.S. poet laureate, has written a prose book (again, short) on the biblical King David. He is a poet, and not a religious historian or religious scholar. In fact, he did not even sound like he was at all religious. And, he used limited sources, mainly the text of Samuel I and II, a couple of annotated texts, and Guinzberg's Legends of the Jews. Whether the book is good or bad, I do not know, but I bought it, because Pinsky is such a delightful presenter, and takes such an artistic, storyteller approach to his subject, with no pretention to religiosity or scholarship. I will probably read it, hopefully this weekend.
The Play.
I finally saw "The Disputation" by Hayim Maccaby, with Theodore Bikel, Edward Gero and others. Peter Marks (see early blog), hang your head in shame. It was simply terrific.
The books.
"The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss is an extraordinary novel -- thematically, with regard to character development, and organizationally. Everyone should read it. Period. I will not give away the plot, except to say that it is both intricate and intriguing, and not too hard to follow at all.
"From Berlin to Jerusalem", the memoirs of the early years of religious historian Gershon Sholem, was also a delight, giving you insight into Sholem's youth amidst the German/Jewish social milieu of the early 20th century (the book basically runs the first three decades of the century). Born in an assimilating family, where each sibling followed a different life course, intellectually precocious and clearly personable, Sholem's venture into a life centered, if not on religion, on the study of Jewish history and culture is fascinating. For someone (like me, for example) who has recently been in Berlin, it also was very interesting to follow the course of his activities, as he was very good at naming streets and neighborhoods. I took out my pocket travel map and followed them. To top it off, the book (in a Schocken paperback edition) is short.
The speakers.
Garry Wills, Northwestern University professor of something or other, has written a book about Henry Adams, concentrating not on his "Life", but on his writing of his nine volume history of the United States, which he apparently started shortly after the end of the Civil War. The lecture was fine, and he had many interesting (and a few amusing) anecdotes about Adams (who I think was the grandson of John Quincy, although maybe I skipped a generation), and about Adams' relationship to others and views on his Adams and Quincy family members. And it was moderately interesting to learn that nobody reads the nine volumes (you know why) and those who refer to it give Adams a different viewpoint than he in fact had. But, having said all of that, Wills did not make you want to read the book. There were about 150 people at Politics and Prose for the talk, and when I got there the books were almost gone, so I picked one up before the speech. There was only one left at the time. After the talk and q and a, I decided not to buy the book, and to put it back on the table. At least a half dozen others must have felt the same way.
Robert Pinsky, Boston University creative writing teacher and three term U.S. poet laureate, has written a prose book (again, short) on the biblical King David. He is a poet, and not a religious historian or religious scholar. In fact, he did not even sound like he was at all religious. And, he used limited sources, mainly the text of Samuel I and II, a couple of annotated texts, and Guinzberg's Legends of the Jews. Whether the book is good or bad, I do not know, but I bought it, because Pinsky is such a delightful presenter, and takes such an artistic, storyteller approach to his subject, with no pretention to religiosity or scholarship. I will probably read it, hopefully this weekend.
The Play.
I finally saw "The Disputation" by Hayim Maccaby, with Theodore Bikel, Edward Gero and others. Peter Marks (see early blog), hang your head in shame. It was simply terrific.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Praise and Pan
Praises to Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld who got the ear of the Washington Nationals, resulting in the suspension of the team's unofficial chaplain, who was preaching that only believing Christians, and not Jews, would go to heaven.
Pan to the Washington Nationals' organization who let this type of preaching go on in the first place.
How about separation between church and team as a good American principle?
In fact, many Christians believe that only believing Christians go to heaven. Many Christians believe that only believing Christians of their particular demonination and belief system go to heaven. Jewish doctrine does not even talk about going to heaven.
But this is the kind of debate that starts world wars. Ridiculous.
Pan to the Washington Nationals' organization who let this type of preaching go on in the first place.
How about separation between church and team as a good American principle?
In fact, many Christians believe that only believing Christians go to heaven. Many Christians believe that only believing Christians of their particular demonination and belief system go to heaven. Jewish doctrine does not even talk about going to heaven.
But this is the kind of debate that starts world wars. Ridiculous.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
The Book Shelf Behind My Desk
I know you are getting tired of this, but..... so what?
As you would expect, on the bookcase behind my desk, I attempt to keep a reference library of sorts. I have dictionaries (English and foreign), a Thesaurus, a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, atlases, a current almanac, and so forth.
But for some reason, on the top shelf of the bookcase, I have placed a potpourri of material, most of which would be of no use to anyone, much less me. Why have I give such a prominent place to the following?
1. "Ethe" by Lieutenant Colonel A. Grasset, "Le 22 Aout 1814 Au 4 Corps D'armee", published in Paris in 1927. It tells the story of a battle, it has pictures, it has detailed fold-out battlefield maps (and I mean detailed) and someone has annotated parts of it in the margins as if he might have been there. It was part of a series called "La Guerre en Action".
2. An "Illustrated Michelin Guide to the Battlefields (1914-1918), this one being "Arras, Lens-Douai and The Battles of Artois", being both a battlefield history and a tourist guide. Probably also from the 20s, but undated. In English.
3. Roland de Vaux's "Ancient Israel", a detailed study of life and society in biblical Israel.
4. Hyman E. Goldin's "The Jew and His Duties", a summary volume of the Shulchan Arukh "ethically presented". Published 1953
5. Werner Keller's "The Bible as History" Published 1956
6. Samuel Schultz's "The Old Testament Speaks" Third edition (1980)
7. Nora Levin's "The Jews in the Soviet Union", volumes One and Two
8. Seven brief UNESCO paperbacks (each about 50 pages), entitled Race and Biology, Race and History, Buddhism and the Race Question, The Roots of Prejudice, Race and Psychology, Race and Culture and The Signs of Racial Differences. Published in the early 1960s
9. "Profile of a Patriot" by Mary Stanely Hessel, the story of John Wright Stanly, Revolutionary War Privateer (1983)
10. A paperback edition of "Behind the Forbidden Door", by Tiziano Terzani. Signed. Story of communist China.
11. Theodore Noyes' "Our National Capital and its Un-Americanized Americans". Editor in Chief of the Washington Star from 1908 through 1946. An early book suggesting that it is time to give DC residents voting rights and all that goes with it.
12. A softcover, "Brief Guide to Al-Haram Al-Sharif", on the temple mount in Jerusalem, published by the Moslem Orphanage Press in Jerusalem in 1950.
13. A softcover "the History and Religion of the Samaritans" by Priest Amran Ishak, Nablus, Palestine. And a loose photograph. From first half of 20th century.
14. A softcover "Die Elephantiner Papuyri und Die Bucher Esra-Nehemja" by G. Jahn, published Leyden in 1913.
15. "Echoes of Normandy" written in 1905 by a ten year old boy and his mother, and published for their friends. Lengthy inscription by mother, Laura Hayes Fuller.
16. Softcover, "Selected Poems of Du Fu", published by Sichuan People's Publishing House.
17. Softcover, "The Complete Edition of the 6th and 7th Books of Moses, or Moses' Magical Spirit Art". Hard to say what this is, although it is in English.
18. Softcover, "The Secret World Government" by Maj Gen Count Cherep-Spiridovich, published in 1926 by the Anti-Bolshevist Publishing Association. Anti-Semitic stuff.
19. Softcover "New Life in Galilee" by Dorothy Kahn Bar-Adon, published in 1943, by the American Zionist Youth Commission.
20. Softcover, "Chaco" by Stig Ryden in Swedish, about Indian tribes in Bolivia and Argentina. Signed by author. Published in 1936.
21. Script to the drama version of "The Diary of Anne Frank" from 1958.
22. Philips' ABC Pocket Atlas-Guide to London, with sectional maps and street gazateer. From 1930s.
23. "The Oases of Egypt", vol 2 only by Ahmed Fakhry. 1974
24. Mrs. Herman Halls' "Two Travelers in Europe", a large book written in 1898. I think I will read the chapter called 'Vienna and Budapest'.
25. Even larger book called "Our Republic and a Review of the World's Progress" The story of 19th century achievement by Edward Ellis, published in 1900.
26. The Department of State's "Nazi-Soviet Relations, 1939-1941, published in 1948.
27. Hillel Marans' "Jews in Greater Washington", a paperback published in 1960.
28. "Max and Moritz", famous German nonsense cartoon book, published in Munich sometime in the 19th century.
29. The "Ten MIle Road Map of Great Britain", sheet 2, from 1946, heavy paper large foldout map.
30. The paperback edition of "Man's Journey Through Time", written by my Uncle Milton.
31. Three volumes, services for Pesach, Sukkot and Shavuout, published in 1900 in Vienna by Josef Schlesinger. Hebrew and German
32. A home-made book, the story of Elizabeth Howe Davis of Santa Fe, New Mexico, written by her grandson. Signed. handbound and hand-written, but xeroxed.
33. A large, German children's poem and cartoon book, a terrific book, not in good shape (pages are ok) Published in Munich in the 19th century.
34. Large fancy book, of Memorial Addresses in Congress folllowing the assassination of President McKinley in 1903. The copy belonged to H.C. Block, whose name is embossed on it. I think he was a senator or congressman.
35. Large Passover Haggadah, in Hebrew only. Origin unknown. Nice pictures.
36. Large 19th century picture book of Versailles
37. Large 19th century picture book of the Rhein.
38. Large soft cover portrait book of English Kings and Queens, published in 1911.
39. Westminster Historic Atlas of the Bible
40. Modern coffee table book about Peter Puget, explorer of the north west, signed by author.
41. Book of Dali art work
42. "Jerusalem" by Jill and Leon Uris, signed by Jill.
43. "Men From Earth", Buzz Aldrin's story of the Apollo mission to the moon. Signed by Aldrin.
44. "The Story of Arlington", an 1897 softcover book giving detailed descriptions of Arlington National Cemetery and many of those buried there. By John Hall Osborne, and signed by him.
45. "The Chinese Decameron" translated by Carlo DeFonaro and published in New York in 1927. One of 25 copies signed by the translator, with handcolored illustrations. This is apparently the first translations of certain 16th century writings.
46. Actress Joan Bennett's "How to Be Attractive", signed, printed in 1943.
47. Desmond Stewart's biography of Theodore Herzl, signed.
48. A 1929 edition of Candide, with woodcuts by Howard Simon. Unsigned.
49. Paperback copy of Graham Swift's Book Prize winning "Last Orders", signed by Swift.
50. "The History of Yale Law School", a 2004 volume
51. Wallace Duel's "People Under Hitler", published in 1942.
52. "The Balance of Power" by former German Prime Minister Helmut Schmidt, signed by Schmidt.
53. "The Bible and Modern Scholarship" by Sir Frederic Kenyon, a small book from 1948, somehow signed by Arnold Toynbee.
Looking at all of this, with few exceptions, I know why I have all these books. Why any other than a few are so prominently placed, I am not sure.
As you would expect, on the bookcase behind my desk, I attempt to keep a reference library of sorts. I have dictionaries (English and foreign), a Thesaurus, a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, atlases, a current almanac, and so forth.
But for some reason, on the top shelf of the bookcase, I have placed a potpourri of material, most of which would be of no use to anyone, much less me. Why have I give such a prominent place to the following?
1. "Ethe" by Lieutenant Colonel A. Grasset, "Le 22 Aout 1814 Au 4 Corps D'armee", published in Paris in 1927. It tells the story of a battle, it has pictures, it has detailed fold-out battlefield maps (and I mean detailed) and someone has annotated parts of it in the margins as if he might have been there. It was part of a series called "La Guerre en Action".
2. An "Illustrated Michelin Guide to the Battlefields (1914-1918), this one being "Arras, Lens-Douai and The Battles of Artois", being both a battlefield history and a tourist guide. Probably also from the 20s, but undated. In English.
3. Roland de Vaux's "Ancient Israel", a detailed study of life and society in biblical Israel.
4. Hyman E. Goldin's "The Jew and His Duties", a summary volume of the Shulchan Arukh "ethically presented". Published 1953
5. Werner Keller's "The Bible as History" Published 1956
6. Samuel Schultz's "The Old Testament Speaks" Third edition (1980)
7. Nora Levin's "The Jews in the Soviet Union", volumes One and Two
8. Seven brief UNESCO paperbacks (each about 50 pages), entitled Race and Biology, Race and History, Buddhism and the Race Question, The Roots of Prejudice, Race and Psychology, Race and Culture and The Signs of Racial Differences. Published in the early 1960s
9. "Profile of a Patriot" by Mary Stanely Hessel, the story of John Wright Stanly, Revolutionary War Privateer (1983)
10. A paperback edition of "Behind the Forbidden Door", by Tiziano Terzani. Signed. Story of communist China.
11. Theodore Noyes' "Our National Capital and its Un-Americanized Americans". Editor in Chief of the Washington Star from 1908 through 1946. An early book suggesting that it is time to give DC residents voting rights and all that goes with it.
12. A softcover, "Brief Guide to Al-Haram Al-Sharif", on the temple mount in Jerusalem, published by the Moslem Orphanage Press in Jerusalem in 1950.
13. A softcover "the History and Religion of the Samaritans" by Priest Amran Ishak, Nablus, Palestine. And a loose photograph. From first half of 20th century.
14. A softcover "Die Elephantiner Papuyri und Die Bucher Esra-Nehemja" by G. Jahn, published Leyden in 1913.
15. "Echoes of Normandy" written in 1905 by a ten year old boy and his mother, and published for their friends. Lengthy inscription by mother, Laura Hayes Fuller.
16. Softcover, "Selected Poems of Du Fu", published by Sichuan People's Publishing House.
17. Softcover, "The Complete Edition of the 6th and 7th Books of Moses, or Moses' Magical Spirit Art". Hard to say what this is, although it is in English.
18. Softcover, "The Secret World Government" by Maj Gen Count Cherep-Spiridovich, published in 1926 by the Anti-Bolshevist Publishing Association. Anti-Semitic stuff.
19. Softcover "New Life in Galilee" by Dorothy Kahn Bar-Adon, published in 1943, by the American Zionist Youth Commission.
20. Softcover, "Chaco" by Stig Ryden in Swedish, about Indian tribes in Bolivia and Argentina. Signed by author. Published in 1936.
21. Script to the drama version of "The Diary of Anne Frank" from 1958.
22. Philips' ABC Pocket Atlas-Guide to London, with sectional maps and street gazateer. From 1930s.
23. "The Oases of Egypt", vol 2 only by Ahmed Fakhry. 1974
24. Mrs. Herman Halls' "Two Travelers in Europe", a large book written in 1898. I think I will read the chapter called 'Vienna and Budapest'.
25. Even larger book called "Our Republic and a Review of the World's Progress" The story of 19th century achievement by Edward Ellis, published in 1900.
26. The Department of State's "Nazi-Soviet Relations, 1939-1941, published in 1948.
27. Hillel Marans' "Jews in Greater Washington", a paperback published in 1960.
28. "Max and Moritz", famous German nonsense cartoon book, published in Munich sometime in the 19th century.
29. The "Ten MIle Road Map of Great Britain", sheet 2, from 1946, heavy paper large foldout map.
30. The paperback edition of "Man's Journey Through Time", written by my Uncle Milton.
31. Three volumes, services for Pesach, Sukkot and Shavuout, published in 1900 in Vienna by Josef Schlesinger. Hebrew and German
32. A home-made book, the story of Elizabeth Howe Davis of Santa Fe, New Mexico, written by her grandson. Signed. handbound and hand-written, but xeroxed.
33. A large, German children's poem and cartoon book, a terrific book, not in good shape (pages are ok) Published in Munich in the 19th century.
34. Large fancy book, of Memorial Addresses in Congress folllowing the assassination of President McKinley in 1903. The copy belonged to H.C. Block, whose name is embossed on it. I think he was a senator or congressman.
35. Large Passover Haggadah, in Hebrew only. Origin unknown. Nice pictures.
36. Large 19th century picture book of Versailles
37. Large 19th century picture book of the Rhein.
38. Large soft cover portrait book of English Kings and Queens, published in 1911.
39. Westminster Historic Atlas of the Bible
40. Modern coffee table book about Peter Puget, explorer of the north west, signed by author.
41. Book of Dali art work
42. "Jerusalem" by Jill and Leon Uris, signed by Jill.
43. "Men From Earth", Buzz Aldrin's story of the Apollo mission to the moon. Signed by Aldrin.
44. "The Story of Arlington", an 1897 softcover book giving detailed descriptions of Arlington National Cemetery and many of those buried there. By John Hall Osborne, and signed by him.
45. "The Chinese Decameron" translated by Carlo DeFonaro and published in New York in 1927. One of 25 copies signed by the translator, with handcolored illustrations. This is apparently the first translations of certain 16th century writings.
46. Actress Joan Bennett's "How to Be Attractive", signed, printed in 1943.
47. Desmond Stewart's biography of Theodore Herzl, signed.
48. A 1929 edition of Candide, with woodcuts by Howard Simon. Unsigned.
49. Paperback copy of Graham Swift's Book Prize winning "Last Orders", signed by Swift.
50. "The History of Yale Law School", a 2004 volume
51. Wallace Duel's "People Under Hitler", published in 1942.
52. "The Balance of Power" by former German Prime Minister Helmut Schmidt, signed by Schmidt.
53. "The Bible and Modern Scholarship" by Sir Frederic Kenyon, a small book from 1948, somehow signed by Arnold Toynbee.
Looking at all of this, with few exceptions, I know why I have all these books. Why any other than a few are so prominently placed, I am not sure.
Continuing Where I Left Off (6 cents)
Before I signed off last night, I told you that I was almost finished listing everything found on the shelves in my home office. That was no lie. I am going to finish the list now.
First, before I go into detail, there is a radio/cd player, a fax machine and a lamp behind my desk. I don't think they should be part of this list, but I see that they are not books, and I told you I was going to list everything else. Here goes --
1. Another post card, this one showing King George VI and his Queen Elizabeth waving to the crowd in Montreal on May 18, 1939.
2. Miniature dictionaries translating from Spanish, German, French, and Italian into English. Very small books in their own little case. Long words are omitted; they do not fit.
3. A green, rubber spider
4. A bookplate signed by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
5. Horverstehen Teil 1, 4 cds to help you learn German.
6. 7 quarters, each from a different state (a collection that never got off the ground because of the necessity of feeding parking meters)
7. A lacquered Russian shot glass, one of a number that I brought back from the USSR in 1974.
8. 3 bookmarks from the French Line, advertising le plus long paquebot du monde.
9. A lucite rectangle with a piano keyboard and two floating hands inside.
10. An historic American flag on a playing card (it's a joker).
11. A ceramic cup with fancy people on the side, made by daughter Hannah
12. A photograph labeled "Baltimore 1931" that seems to be of my mother in law and two others.
13. A photograph of a outside painted wall in Belfast that I took last year, showing George Bush smoking something illicit, with the title "America's Greatest Failure".
14. Two cassettes I used to help learn a Torah portion and a haftorah.
15. Another cassette entitled "Songs of the Jews of Calcutta"
16. A calling card giving you a Herzlich Willkommen to the Hotel Sacher Wien from the Familie Gurtler.
17. A fancy, carved Mexican gourd, with a mask-like face.
18. One piece of a pair of bookends, in the form of a bookcase, made of dark wood, that I have had since childhood.
19. A bust of (I think and am not sure why) Moses. I have given him both my Harvard Crimson medalion, and my father in law's Good Conduct pin.
20. Two "cigarette box" silks from the very early 1900s, one showing the flag of Russia (now again the flag of Russia) and one showing the Zionist flag (not quite the current flag of Israel) along with the first three measures of Ha-tikvah.
21. A nice, fancy yamokah, black with colored trim.
22. A scoring card from the Leisure World Golf Course.
That's all, folks. Everything one day will be for sale on e-bay.
First, before I go into detail, there is a radio/cd player, a fax machine and a lamp behind my desk. I don't think they should be part of this list, but I see that they are not books, and I told you I was going to list everything else. Here goes --
1. Another post card, this one showing King George VI and his Queen Elizabeth waving to the crowd in Montreal on May 18, 1939.
2. Miniature dictionaries translating from Spanish, German, French, and Italian into English. Very small books in their own little case. Long words are omitted; they do not fit.
3. A green, rubber spider
4. A bookplate signed by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
5. Horverstehen Teil 1, 4 cds to help you learn German.
6. 7 quarters, each from a different state (a collection that never got off the ground because of the necessity of feeding parking meters)
7. A lacquered Russian shot glass, one of a number that I brought back from the USSR in 1974.
8. 3 bookmarks from the French Line, advertising le plus long paquebot du monde.
9. A lucite rectangle with a piano keyboard and two floating hands inside.
10. An historic American flag on a playing card (it's a joker).
11. A ceramic cup with fancy people on the side, made by daughter Hannah
12. A photograph labeled "Baltimore 1931" that seems to be of my mother in law and two others.
13. A photograph of a outside painted wall in Belfast that I took last year, showing George Bush smoking something illicit, with the title "America's Greatest Failure".
14. Two cassettes I used to help learn a Torah portion and a haftorah.
15. Another cassette entitled "Songs of the Jews of Calcutta"
16. A calling card giving you a Herzlich Willkommen to the Hotel Sacher Wien from the Familie Gurtler.
17. A fancy, carved Mexican gourd, with a mask-like face.
18. One piece of a pair of bookends, in the form of a bookcase, made of dark wood, that I have had since childhood.
19. A bust of (I think and am not sure why) Moses. I have given him both my Harvard Crimson medalion, and my father in law's Good Conduct pin.
20. Two "cigarette box" silks from the very early 1900s, one showing the flag of Russia (now again the flag of Russia) and one showing the Zionist flag (not quite the current flag of Israel) along with the first three measures of Ha-tikvah.
21. A nice, fancy yamokah, black with colored trim.
22. A scoring card from the Leisure World Golf Course.
That's all, folks. Everything one day will be for sale on e-bay.
New Feature: Praise and Pan (2 cents)
A new daily (?) feature, praising someone for doing something positive, and panning someone for doing something negative. (No research here; I have to trust my informal sources for accuracy)
Praise: the UK officials who sent 400,000 NATO rations to Louisana at the cost of millions of pounds to help feed evacuees (these are the same rations used to feed NATO soldiers on duty around Europe).
Pan: the USDA officials who decided that, because they contain meat from the UK, they all have to be destroyed.
Unbelievable?
Praise: the UK officials who sent 400,000 NATO rations to Louisana at the cost of millions of pounds to help feed evacuees (these are the same rations used to feed NATO soldiers on duty around Europe).
Pan: the USDA officials who decided that, because they contain meat from the UK, they all have to be destroyed.
Unbelievable?
Monday, September 19, 2005
The Stuff on My Shelves
OK, I said I would do it, and I might as well get it over with.
What do I have on my home office bookshelves (other than books).
First, the ground rules.
1. Perfect honesty.
2. Short descriptions.
3. No books included (except for "ephemera" that is there more for show than content)
Here goes:
A. The shelf as you enter the room.
a. Five St. Louis Browns baseball cards: Clint Courtney, Vic Wertz, Ken Wood, Bill Hunter and Johnny Groth (with that talent, why did they move to Baltimore?)
b. St. Louis Bar Association mug (I think from 1974, its 100th anniversary), which contains the left-over paper money from various trips (not enough to retire on), including Euros, Canadian dollars, Israeli shekels, English pounds, French francs, Spanish pesatas, Russian rubles.
c. A stand-up movable Valentine's Day card that says: "This gay parrot loves to say "Fondest Greetings on Valentine's Day". The head of the parrot moves (if you move it)
d. Two dinner place cards, one with my name and one with my wife's, with pictures of the Jefferson Memorial on them, the photograph made by a former lawyer in my office.
e. The official program of the visit of President and Mrs. Kennedy to Canada in May 1961. Contains an hour by hour detailed program.
f. Two marble fountain pen stands (and pens), one grey and one green, which belonged to my parents.
g. A ticket to see Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg at Bayreuth on Sunday, August 5, 1956.
h. A Barricini candy tin with pictures of old synagogue interiors in Vienna, London, Amsterdam and Florence, and which used to contain "vanilla flavored dark caramel almondettes"
i. A Austro-Hungarian 1000 Kroner bill from 1902, and a German 100,000 mark note from 1923.
j. A snap shot of my wife
h. A bookmark from El Lector, Asuncion, Paraguay (located at the corner of 25 de Mayo and Antequera).
i. A brass circular tray with a turkish coffee pot and six cups (ceramic inners, and brass outers) which, for reasons unclear to me, I think comes from Saudi Arabia.
j. A cloth shoulder patch waiting to be sewn on the right shirt or jacket, from a volunteer fire department in California that bears my last name.
k. A large globe, dating from the early 1960s, which is printed in Russian and comes from the USSR. Interestingly, no political boundaries are shown. Just natural formations (rivers, mountains, etc.) and cities.
l. Two framed photographs I took some years ago in Seattle with a panoramic camera, one showing barrels at a winery, and one showing spices in jars in the downtown market (Pike Market?)
m. a Lenox white and gold candlestick, which happens to match perfectly another one that we have that is broken and that I have been supposed to fix now for about two years.
n. a small bowl of artificial bing cherries, that look good enough to eat.
o. a table card from the Vaad Hoeir of St. Louis, guaranteeing the the meal is kosher (I stole this from a wedding table, when the son of a friend was married; thought it might come in handy)
p. a cookie (still in cellophane) in the shape of a St. Louis Cardinal.
q. three mazzuzahs, one of which was my father in law's (and might have come from Poland), one of which has no known provenance, and one of which was given to me as thanks for serving the board of a local Jewish day school.
r. two guides to having fun in Havana, one from 1948 and one from 1951
s. a small book by Christopher Morley, called "The goldfish under the ice", signed in a limited edition by Morley.
t. brochures on the Jewish communities of old New Mexico and of Morroco, on the life of Jackie Robinson, and on the art of colonial Peru.
B. Bookcase #1.
a. an empty Camel cigarette package from France, but a special Perestroika edition, touting that Camels finally came to Russia in 1990.
b. a card wishing me a pleasant trip. Actually not me; it's an old card.
c. A small butterly statue of no value whatsoever (monetary or aesthetic)
d. a photo of my wife and myself
e. a double deck of cards from Bermuda (souvenir type) in a nice case.
f. a Harvard Guide from 1903
g. A small book, Get Into Your Dance, with Ruby Keeler and my cousin Al Jolson on the cover.
h. a small bust of Tschaikovsky
i. a small photo album with pictures of the flooded Potomac and monuments that I took in 1972, or some such year.
j. a gold medal from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair that was made into a pin.
k. three white and gold butterflies (dead) mounted on and in plastic.
l. a small statue of me, made by the secretary of a client in the 1980s, meant to be a Christmas tree ornament.
m. a small ceramic mask made by one of my daughters (a long time ago)
n. 20 "genuine photographs of Chicago", probably from the 1930s, in a small mailing envelope that takes a 1 1/2 cent stamp. maybe 1 inch by 2 inches
o. a small globe/bank circulated in 1938 by the Golden Rule Foundation, preaching brotherhood on the base.
p. 13 Susan B. Anthony dollar coins
q. a working flashlight, just in case.
r. a picture of a pig, painted on velvet and framed in a handpainted frame, not large, purchased at a craft fair in Pennsylvania.
s. a Star Trek card with a picture of B'Elanna Torres (half human, half Klingen)
t. 20 colored views of Arizona in a mailing card, which also takes a 1 1/2 cent stamp, although this one is 2 inches by 3 inches.
u. a Jewish National Fund collection box, which looks like it has been around for a while.
v. a model truck, one piece, green (peeling) metal, which I had when I was very young and which I think belonged to my cousin Eddie before me.
w. a newer small model car, a 2 seater GT, made in Thailand
x. a silver car, which also was my cousin Eddie's, and was one of my all time favorites.
y. A statue of a clown (copywright, Ron) affixed to a quartz base.
z. a small prayerbook in Hebrew and Yiddish. It was printed by a Mordecai Ziegelbaum, but I cannot tell where. I also cannot tell when, although it has a previous owner's mark with a 1903 date, so it is at least that old.
C. The second bookcase.
a. a coffee mug, grey with an imprint of a brown candleholder (almost a menorah). I once had four of these, but three broke or vanished. This is the remainder of the first coffee mugs I bought when I graduated from law school, at Brown Drugs in Brentwood MO in 1967.
b. a Waterford capitol dome, which I received as a gift for serving as a trade association president.
c. a small ceramic box (maybe a pin holder, but empty), with the Colisseum on it.
d. a mug from the Daniel Boone home in Defiance, MO. It is a very ugly mug, and I have never been to Defiance, MO. (although my great uncle Morris and great aunt Mary lived there many years)
e. a photo of one of my great grandmothers (so they say)
f. a mug from my mother's law school 50th year reunion, Washington University, 1986.
g. a ceramic do-dad that allows you to moisten stamps without licking them that belonged to my father.
h. a nice silver tzedakah box which I think I gave to my wife once.
i. a pair of weird plastic sunglasses, which was a gift from a daughter.
j. a picture of my great grandmother, and great grandfather and family.
k. a mug with an embossed and colored rendering of Washington DC, which I bought in an antique store, maybe in St. Louis
l. a letter holder that says Shalom, Jerusalem city, and which holds various ancestor photos (mostly reproductions), as well as a high holiday ticket to the Consistoire Israelite de Paris for 1972, a bookplate signed by Richard Dreyfus at the St. Louis Jewish festival, a 1951 postcard showing the changing of the guard at Whitehall, London, a postcard showing the Judaism exhibit at the 1967 Montreal World's Fair, a souvenir envelope marking the visit to Cairo of Abdel Aziz El-Saud, King of Saudi Arabia in 1946, and an old post card showing the lake front at a small town in Michigan that bears my family name.
m. a souvenir coin from the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904 of the Majestic Stove Company, a Indian head nickel, and a 1946 penny.
n. another ceramic piece (abstract) made by a daughter.
o. older paper money from the Ukraine, Zambia and Egypt.
p. a post card (new) showing the Fox and Grape Bed & Breakfast, Williamsburg VA (never heard of it: this one gets the random award)
q. two bookmarks or some such thing on very heavy paper/board adversiting Gitanes Balto and Week-end cigarettes. Very nice.
r. a picture of my daughters
s. a plastic pig (very kitschy)
t. a souvenir pen for the S.S. Theodor Herzl with the ship suspended in water in the stock. souvenir of Zim Israel Navigation Company. Must be from 1940s or 1950s.
u. book of matches from le Jardin restaurant in Ottawa.
v. a nice blue glass flowered paperweight
w. an antique magnifying glass on a stand (a present from my wife)
x. another old car, red and orange, made from rubber
y. a new model car (about 2 years old); a NY taxi cab (bought it myself)
z. a button with a picture of Shakespeare looking like Groucho, or vice versa (don't know where this came from or why it is here)
aa. a five inch pile of photographs I have taken
bb. old souvenir fold out post card sets (either with about twenty views that all spin out, or about twenty separate cards in a box, or in a perforated book. All from between 1915 to 1955 (I would guess). In no particular order: Luxembourg, Granada, Glenwood Mission Inn, Arlon, Calcutta, San Sebastian Spain, Chamonix, Rocky Mountain National Park, Charteau Thierry, Saint Nazarre, Bruxelles, Verdun, St. Louis, Napoli, Aix les Bains, Padua, Hollywood, Adirondacks, Harpers Ferry, Toronto, Albany, Miami, Queluz Portugal, Library of Congress, Kansas, U.S. Capitol, Washington DC, Berkshire Hills MA, Great Smoky Mountains, Boston, Reno, Li River China, Phantom Canyon/Royal Gorge Highway, and (last and least) Poughkeepsie. Some of these show World War I destruction.
cc. a group of old postcards, showing such things as Potsdammer Platz in Berlin, the statue of John Harvard, St. Louis Worlds Fair at Night (with electricity no less), Washington DC (a post card with glitter), Wenceslas Square Prague destroyed in WWI, mosques in Tunis, Roman ruins in Algeria, Cuernavaca, 35 old St. Louis cards, Mukden, Woodrow Wilson, Signing of armistace on 11-11-18 (WWI), French victory, Havana, Interlochen Music Camp, Jerusalem, Shanghai, 11 old Palestine, Constantinople, Nova Scotia, Picking Tomatoes, "Frohliche Weihnachten", Astorga, Constantinople Man o War, Washington DC Natural History Museum, Sorrento, White House, Bedouin Girl, WWI Poem, General George Marshall, 8 more Washington, Paris, Lebanon, Santa Fe, Bedouin man, San Francisco, another Interlochen, Lisbon, New York, plus several others.
Going to stop now. Two more bookcases and one more ledge, but this is the bulk, but you are tired (I say, speaking to myself) of all of this right now.
What do I have on my home office bookshelves (other than books).
First, the ground rules.
1. Perfect honesty.
2. Short descriptions.
3. No books included (except for "ephemera" that is there more for show than content)
Here goes:
A. The shelf as you enter the room.
a. Five St. Louis Browns baseball cards: Clint Courtney, Vic Wertz, Ken Wood, Bill Hunter and Johnny Groth (with that talent, why did they move to Baltimore?)
b. St. Louis Bar Association mug (I think from 1974, its 100th anniversary), which contains the left-over paper money from various trips (not enough to retire on), including Euros, Canadian dollars, Israeli shekels, English pounds, French francs, Spanish pesatas, Russian rubles.
c. A stand-up movable Valentine's Day card that says: "This gay parrot loves to say "Fondest Greetings on Valentine's Day". The head of the parrot moves (if you move it)
d. Two dinner place cards, one with my name and one with my wife's, with pictures of the Jefferson Memorial on them, the photograph made by a former lawyer in my office.
e. The official program of the visit of President and Mrs. Kennedy to Canada in May 1961. Contains an hour by hour detailed program.
f. Two marble fountain pen stands (and pens), one grey and one green, which belonged to my parents.
g. A ticket to see Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg at Bayreuth on Sunday, August 5, 1956.
h. A Barricini candy tin with pictures of old synagogue interiors in Vienna, London, Amsterdam and Florence, and which used to contain "vanilla flavored dark caramel almondettes"
i. A Austro-Hungarian 1000 Kroner bill from 1902, and a German 100,000 mark note from 1923.
j. A snap shot of my wife
h. A bookmark from El Lector, Asuncion, Paraguay (located at the corner of 25 de Mayo and Antequera).
i. A brass circular tray with a turkish coffee pot and six cups (ceramic inners, and brass outers) which, for reasons unclear to me, I think comes from Saudi Arabia.
j. A cloth shoulder patch waiting to be sewn on the right shirt or jacket, from a volunteer fire department in California that bears my last name.
k. A large globe, dating from the early 1960s, which is printed in Russian and comes from the USSR. Interestingly, no political boundaries are shown. Just natural formations (rivers, mountains, etc.) and cities.
l. Two framed photographs I took some years ago in Seattle with a panoramic camera, one showing barrels at a winery, and one showing spices in jars in the downtown market (Pike Market?)
m. a Lenox white and gold candlestick, which happens to match perfectly another one that we have that is broken and that I have been supposed to fix now for about two years.
n. a small bowl of artificial bing cherries, that look good enough to eat.
o. a table card from the Vaad Hoeir of St. Louis, guaranteeing the the meal is kosher (I stole this from a wedding table, when the son of a friend was married; thought it might come in handy)
p. a cookie (still in cellophane) in the shape of a St. Louis Cardinal.
q. three mazzuzahs, one of which was my father in law's (and might have come from Poland), one of which has no known provenance, and one of which was given to me as thanks for serving the board of a local Jewish day school.
r. two guides to having fun in Havana, one from 1948 and one from 1951
s. a small book by Christopher Morley, called "The goldfish under the ice", signed in a limited edition by Morley.
t. brochures on the Jewish communities of old New Mexico and of Morroco, on the life of Jackie Robinson, and on the art of colonial Peru.
B. Bookcase #1.
a. an empty Camel cigarette package from France, but a special Perestroika edition, touting that Camels finally came to Russia in 1990.
b. a card wishing me a pleasant trip. Actually not me; it's an old card.
c. A small butterly statue of no value whatsoever (monetary or aesthetic)
d. a photo of my wife and myself
e. a double deck of cards from Bermuda (souvenir type) in a nice case.
f. a Harvard Guide from 1903
g. A small book, Get Into Your Dance, with Ruby Keeler and my cousin Al Jolson on the cover.
h. a small bust of Tschaikovsky
i. a small photo album with pictures of the flooded Potomac and monuments that I took in 1972, or some such year.
j. a gold medal from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair that was made into a pin.
k. three white and gold butterflies (dead) mounted on and in plastic.
l. a small statue of me, made by the secretary of a client in the 1980s, meant to be a Christmas tree ornament.
m. a small ceramic mask made by one of my daughters (a long time ago)
n. 20 "genuine photographs of Chicago", probably from the 1930s, in a small mailing envelope that takes a 1 1/2 cent stamp. maybe 1 inch by 2 inches
o. a small globe/bank circulated in 1938 by the Golden Rule Foundation, preaching brotherhood on the base.
p. 13 Susan B. Anthony dollar coins
q. a working flashlight, just in case.
r. a picture of a pig, painted on velvet and framed in a handpainted frame, not large, purchased at a craft fair in Pennsylvania.
s. a Star Trek card with a picture of B'Elanna Torres (half human, half Klingen)
t. 20 colored views of Arizona in a mailing card, which also takes a 1 1/2 cent stamp, although this one is 2 inches by 3 inches.
u. a Jewish National Fund collection box, which looks like it has been around for a while.
v. a model truck, one piece, green (peeling) metal, which I had when I was very young and which I think belonged to my cousin Eddie before me.
w. a newer small model car, a 2 seater GT, made in Thailand
x. a silver car, which also was my cousin Eddie's, and was one of my all time favorites.
y. A statue of a clown (copywright, Ron) affixed to a quartz base.
z. a small prayerbook in Hebrew and Yiddish. It was printed by a Mordecai Ziegelbaum, but I cannot tell where. I also cannot tell when, although it has a previous owner's mark with a 1903 date, so it is at least that old.
C. The second bookcase.
a. a coffee mug, grey with an imprint of a brown candleholder (almost a menorah). I once had four of these, but three broke or vanished. This is the remainder of the first coffee mugs I bought when I graduated from law school, at Brown Drugs in Brentwood MO in 1967.
b. a Waterford capitol dome, which I received as a gift for serving as a trade association president.
c. a small ceramic box (maybe a pin holder, but empty), with the Colisseum on it.
d. a mug from the Daniel Boone home in Defiance, MO. It is a very ugly mug, and I have never been to Defiance, MO. (although my great uncle Morris and great aunt Mary lived there many years)
e. a photo of one of my great grandmothers (so they say)
f. a mug from my mother's law school 50th year reunion, Washington University, 1986.
g. a ceramic do-dad that allows you to moisten stamps without licking them that belonged to my father.
h. a nice silver tzedakah box which I think I gave to my wife once.
i. a pair of weird plastic sunglasses, which was a gift from a daughter.
j. a picture of my great grandmother, and great grandfather and family.
k. a mug with an embossed and colored rendering of Washington DC, which I bought in an antique store, maybe in St. Louis
l. a letter holder that says Shalom, Jerusalem city, and which holds various ancestor photos (mostly reproductions), as well as a high holiday ticket to the Consistoire Israelite de Paris for 1972, a bookplate signed by Richard Dreyfus at the St. Louis Jewish festival, a 1951 postcard showing the changing of the guard at Whitehall, London, a postcard showing the Judaism exhibit at the 1967 Montreal World's Fair, a souvenir envelope marking the visit to Cairo of Abdel Aziz El-Saud, King of Saudi Arabia in 1946, and an old post card showing the lake front at a small town in Michigan that bears my family name.
m. a souvenir coin from the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904 of the Majestic Stove Company, a Indian head nickel, and a 1946 penny.
n. another ceramic piece (abstract) made by a daughter.
o. older paper money from the Ukraine, Zambia and Egypt.
p. a post card (new) showing the Fox and Grape Bed & Breakfast, Williamsburg VA (never heard of it: this one gets the random award)
q. two bookmarks or some such thing on very heavy paper/board adversiting Gitanes Balto and Week-end cigarettes. Very nice.
r. a picture of my daughters
s. a plastic pig (very kitschy)
t. a souvenir pen for the S.S. Theodor Herzl with the ship suspended in water in the stock. souvenir of Zim Israel Navigation Company. Must be from 1940s or 1950s.
u. book of matches from le Jardin restaurant in Ottawa.
v. a nice blue glass flowered paperweight
w. an antique magnifying glass on a stand (a present from my wife)
x. another old car, red and orange, made from rubber
y. a new model car (about 2 years old); a NY taxi cab (bought it myself)
z. a button with a picture of Shakespeare looking like Groucho, or vice versa (don't know where this came from or why it is here)
aa. a five inch pile of photographs I have taken
bb. old souvenir fold out post card sets (either with about twenty views that all spin out, or about twenty separate cards in a box, or in a perforated book. All from between 1915 to 1955 (I would guess). In no particular order: Luxembourg, Granada, Glenwood Mission Inn, Arlon, Calcutta, San Sebastian Spain, Chamonix, Rocky Mountain National Park, Charteau Thierry, Saint Nazarre, Bruxelles, Verdun, St. Louis, Napoli, Aix les Bains, Padua, Hollywood, Adirondacks, Harpers Ferry, Toronto, Albany, Miami, Queluz Portugal, Library of Congress, Kansas, U.S. Capitol, Washington DC, Berkshire Hills MA, Great Smoky Mountains, Boston, Reno, Li River China, Phantom Canyon/Royal Gorge Highway, and (last and least) Poughkeepsie. Some of these show World War I destruction.
cc. a group of old postcards, showing such things as Potsdammer Platz in Berlin, the statue of John Harvard, St. Louis Worlds Fair at Night (with electricity no less), Washington DC (a post card with glitter), Wenceslas Square Prague destroyed in WWI, mosques in Tunis, Roman ruins in Algeria, Cuernavaca, 35 old St. Louis cards, Mukden, Woodrow Wilson, Signing of armistace on 11-11-18 (WWI), French victory, Havana, Interlochen Music Camp, Jerusalem, Shanghai, 11 old Palestine, Constantinople, Nova Scotia, Picking Tomatoes, "Frohliche Weihnachten", Astorga, Constantinople Man o War, Washington DC Natural History Museum, Sorrento, White House, Bedouin Girl, WWI Poem, General George Marshall, 8 more Washington, Paris, Lebanon, Santa Fe, Bedouin man, San Francisco, another Interlochen, Lisbon, New York, plus several others.
Going to stop now. Two more bookcases and one more ledge, but this is the bulk, but you are tired (I say, speaking to myself) of all of this right now.
Peyote
To add to the mix of state and religion, I was interested in the article in Sunday's NY Times about legalized peyote sellers in the southwest. Peyote is an illegal substance (categorized the same as heroin, marijuana or LSD), but is permitted to be collected (apparently it has not been domesticated) by licensed collectors and sold to members of the Native American Church who can prove that they are (a) church members and (b) at least 1/4 American Indian.
Think of the consitutional issues that raises.
Think of the consitutional issues that raises.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
The Walls of My Study (one cent)
Sitting in my home office, my eyes naturally tend to look at the walls (when not looking at the birdfeeder outside the window, or not being distracted by the television). It is important in a room where you spend a lot of time that you are comforted, and encouraged, by your wall decorations. But I have never given them any systematic thought.
So, for the next few moments, I thought I would.
My home office is not large (maybe 12 feet by 15 feet?), and it has four doors and two windows, so the wall space is limited. Nevertheless, as I sit here and count, there appear to be 18 items hanging on the walls.
As I sit at my desk and look straight ahead, the wall opposite me has two, the wall to my left has two, the wall to my right has three, the wall behind me has (wait a minute while I turn my head) 6, and the short passage to the family room (also to my right, but hard to see well from my chair) has the final 4.
The two items in front of me.
1. One of my favorite items is a hand colored map of the Kingdom of Poland, the map about 22 x 24 inches, with a nice double matting in a red/rust colored metal frame. The map, dating from 1750, was published in France (and in French) and made by Tob. Mayer. It shows most of the places from which my grandparents came (most of them were, in 1750, in Poland), but it is harder for me to locate them than it was when I could read the small print without artificial support. I bought the map in an antique map and print shop in Philadelphia, probably 20 or so years ago.
2. To the left is an engraving on Napolean, which I bought in Budapest in the early 1970s. Black and white in a black frame. It is a fine etching, but it is not a numbered limited edition, although it is signed. I cannot read the signature. It was not expensive. Why it has held this prominent position in my study all of these years is an unknown. I guess I like the way it looks (it is a portrait going from mid-chest up, and shows a relatively young Napolean), but I certainly have no particular affinity for Napolean.
But wait. A couple of things. Maybe I do like Napolean. Did he ever do anything bad? (For a military conquerer, I mean) And, come to think of it, maybe it's not even Napolean. Maybe it is a Hungarian guy who looks and dresses like Napolean. Why would they be selling engravings of Napolean in Community Hungary in 1973?
More research needed.
The two items to my left.
They are placed vertically, not horizontally. A photo on top; a map beneath. They are related to each other.
3. The photo at the top, not particularly well framed (there is no matting; I framed it during days of my impoverishment), of the Old Court House in St. Louis. It is an original photograph, maybe 15 by 20 inches (you can see that I am not using a tape measure as I write). It dates from, I would guess the very late 19th century. The courthouse looks very dirty (the concrete needs cleaning, perhaps coal in those days dirtied everything and it was well before the extraordinary invention of pressure washing), and the top of the dome is cut off. There is an electric streetcar running in front of the building, on Broadway. There are several horse drawn vehicles, and a number of people on the street in late 19th century dress. It is summer time, although no skin shows on any of passersby, but the streetcare is an open car with people hanging out the windows and the courthouse, and two buildings in the background have awnings over the windows (on the courthouse, they are striped) to hold off the summer sun. It does not look very pleasant there, and clearly does not look as spiffed up as this building does today. I bought this a long time ago, as well, at a gallery on Euclid, in the St. Louis West End.
4. Under it is a St. Louis city street map, drawn and published by S. Augustus Mitchell in 1872, probably a little earlier than the photograph. The western boundary of the city, for those of you who know St. Louis, is just beyond Grand Avenue. The furthest most street to the South is Chippewa, and to the North Angelica. Several major roads head off beyond the city lines to the west, including Arsenal, New Manchester, Old Manchester, Clayton, Page and St. Charles. Also the "Central Plank Road", which of course does not exist under that name. I am sure it came from an old atlas. It could stand to be reframed, as well, because the gold painted plain wood frame is beginning to peel, and the clay colored matting is pretty ugly. Probably always has been. I am not sure where I bought this map. Won't speculate.
Looking at the wall to my right, I see three smaller maps, again placed vertically (the vertical placements in general are due to lack of wall space, as I am sure you can figure out).
5. The top map is a map of the Western Hemisphere. It is a round map on a square piec of paper, in a larger square frame with an antiqued bronze paint and a dark aqua matte. It was published by P. Lapie in 1810 in Naples. The projection is very graceful. It is hand colored in pastel blues and yellows. Boston, Washington, Charleston and Savannah make the map; New York City does not. Nor does Philadelphia. (Part of this has to do, I am sure, with the small size of the map.)
While North America looks like it has pretty much the right shape, South America is too squat. In what is now California, there are a few cities marked which either did not exist then or have long disappeared. New Orleans is marked, but for some reason is well west of the mouth of the Mississippi. The most unusual facet is that, at the top of Baffin Bay, there is a land bridge that connects North America with Greenland.
My Aunt Loraine gave me this map. I had it framed in Georgetown.
6. The middle map is a map of North America, also of small size, pasteled in yellows and pinks, with a soft blue border on the coast. It is a bit older than the map above, because the Louisiana Purchase has yet to be purchased, and the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers mark national boundaries. I would guess it to be about 1800. Unfortunately, there are no identifying marks on it; although it, as well, is Italian. I do not remember where I bought it.
7. The bottom map is similar to, though a bit larger than, the middle map, and not colored. Also the west coast of North America, and particularly the northwest coast is left formless (i.e., no coast line, it just sort of fades away, with Parts Unknown marked). The map is in English, and I assume is English in that distances are "dist. west from London", but again nothing identifies the map maker. It is, I believe, older, and predates the 1780s and the independence of the United States. The colonies are marked as colonies, and not as states (for instance, Boston appears not to be in Massachusetts but in New England; there is one Carolina, not a North and South Carolina). Florida is misshaped, too short and fat; and Mexico is much too skinny,with Yucutan protruding too far.
The wall behind me (which I can only see if I turn around).
8. One of the largest items on my study wall is an old English deed, handwritten on parchment, with signatures of the seller, Thomas Loman, and the buyer, William Mayo, both of County Dorset, as well as their wax stamps, along with the official stamps of the Crown. The handwriting is very attractive, and equally unreadable. It deserves better framing than it has; it is in a plain brown wood frame (not contemporary with the indenture), with no matting, so looks a little cramped. As to size, it is a little larger than the map of Poland. It is dated in 1867.
For some odd reason, when I was in law school, the New Haven Co-op one day got a very large supply of these "old, original English indentures", and was selling them for the ridiculous price of $15, or something like that. I should have bought more, but $15 was about my budget in those days.
9. Next to the English deed is a travel poster (framed in a serrated blue wood frame that I remember buying at Pier One) from Cyprus. My guess is that is from the 1950s or early 1960s. It simply says "Beautiful Cyprus", and is drawn in a simple block style, without realistic detail. In the background is the blue-grey sky, the bluer sea, a grey mountain and a purple mountain (the grey in the background). There is yellow orange village reaching out to the sea, and a golden beach in front, blocked pretty much by a large Venus de Milo like statue (except Venus' hair is flying in the wind). There is a simple white church with a dome and a cross, and a multitude of colorful flowers in the foreground. Beautiful Cyprus. We found this poster was in the basement of my mother-in-law's house when we were cleaning it out.
10-14. More mystery here. We have four original photographs, that I bought in an antique store in St. Charles, Mo. many years ago. They had a large number of these, and I should have bought them all. But I didn't, and I selected four that I liked the best. I do not know who took them, and do not even know when they were taken, although I would guess that they are 19th and not 20th century photographs.
Two are Indian and two are Chinese. They are all sepia prints.
The Indian prints are, first, a young girl dressed up and covered with jewelry, looking at the camera. I would guess that she was 12. Just a guess. One ear has a very fancy earing that hangs straight down. The other ear (I know this won't make sense) seems to have the same kind of earing, half of which is hanging down, and the other half extends to her nose, where perhaps it is attached to some sort of nose ring, or something. Or maybe it is just the wind, but I don't think so. Again, more research needed.
The second Indian photo is the Ganges or some other holy river, with maybe 100 or more people bathing and standing on the steps. Maybe it is not a holy river; maybe they are just bathing. There are fishing boats in the background, and we are in a city.
As to the Chinese photgraphs, one is of a very elegant, very well dressed and well coiffed woman, probably in her 40s, who is sitting on an upholstered chair, with her feet resting on what I assume to be some sort of covered foot-rest. But she is barefoot, and has bound feet, so you can see how they are disfigured. The other Chinese photograph is of a busy commerical street (you are looking right down it) in some unknown city. It is not a wealthy neighborhood. People live above the shops, with their laundry on the windows to dry. There are signs in Chinese. There are many pedestrians, and no signs of any sort of animal or vehicle.
The small passageway to the family room.
15. Here we have a small, old handcolored print of Harvard College. Drawn by A.J. Davis, I do not have a date for it. It shows Harvard Hall and University Hall from Massachusetts Avenue. People are on horseback. There is no fence. Across Mass Ave. appears to be park-like lawn. Provenence unknown.
16. This is a more recent lithograph, by Mickie (not sure who Mickie is) and dated 1991, entitled The Lawyers Creed, showing a Hebraicized pattern surrounding quotations, in Hebrew and English, from Deutoronomy 16: 18-20, including the famous "Justice, Justice, shall thou pursue....". Another gift from my Aunt Loraine.
17. This is an original water color of the Old Court House in St. Louis, the same building that looks at me from my left. The artist is named Collins, and I believe that I got this when I graduated from college, but I don't remember exactly how. Whether I bought it, or if it was a gift, I just don't know. At any rate, it is a very nice painting, and I am not sure why I have it where I can't see it. I can't even see it when I am coming into the room, because the door from the family room pretty well blocks it. Maybe I should switch it with Napolean?
18. Finally, under the Court House, and therefore also usually blocked, is another map. This one is called "Rusia de Europa" and was made by Don Juan Lopez. Obviously, it a Spanish published map. It is extraordinarily detailed. It is not quite as large as the map of Poland, but equally hard to read. I cannot tell the date. I assume it is an early 19th century map, but just cannot tell. It does not contain all of Poland that was given to Russian through the partitians, but does have Vilna, for example. More research required once again. It is possible that it was published between the partitions, before the final one. But this would make it older than I thought it was.
This was sorta fun. Maybe I'll do "trinkets on the bookshelves in my study" next.
So, for the next few moments, I thought I would.
My home office is not large (maybe 12 feet by 15 feet?), and it has four doors and two windows, so the wall space is limited. Nevertheless, as I sit here and count, there appear to be 18 items hanging on the walls.
As I sit at my desk and look straight ahead, the wall opposite me has two, the wall to my left has two, the wall to my right has three, the wall behind me has (wait a minute while I turn my head) 6, and the short passage to the family room (also to my right, but hard to see well from my chair) has the final 4.
The two items in front of me.
1. One of my favorite items is a hand colored map of the Kingdom of Poland, the map about 22 x 24 inches, with a nice double matting in a red/rust colored metal frame. The map, dating from 1750, was published in France (and in French) and made by Tob. Mayer. It shows most of the places from which my grandparents came (most of them were, in 1750, in Poland), but it is harder for me to locate them than it was when I could read the small print without artificial support. I bought the map in an antique map and print shop in Philadelphia, probably 20 or so years ago.
2. To the left is an engraving on Napolean, which I bought in Budapest in the early 1970s. Black and white in a black frame. It is a fine etching, but it is not a numbered limited edition, although it is signed. I cannot read the signature. It was not expensive. Why it has held this prominent position in my study all of these years is an unknown. I guess I like the way it looks (it is a portrait going from mid-chest up, and shows a relatively young Napolean), but I certainly have no particular affinity for Napolean.
But wait. A couple of things. Maybe I do like Napolean. Did he ever do anything bad? (For a military conquerer, I mean) And, come to think of it, maybe it's not even Napolean. Maybe it is a Hungarian guy who looks and dresses like Napolean. Why would they be selling engravings of Napolean in Community Hungary in 1973?
More research needed.
The two items to my left.
They are placed vertically, not horizontally. A photo on top; a map beneath. They are related to each other.
3. The photo at the top, not particularly well framed (there is no matting; I framed it during days of my impoverishment), of the Old Court House in St. Louis. It is an original photograph, maybe 15 by 20 inches (you can see that I am not using a tape measure as I write). It dates from, I would guess the very late 19th century. The courthouse looks very dirty (the concrete needs cleaning, perhaps coal in those days dirtied everything and it was well before the extraordinary invention of pressure washing), and the top of the dome is cut off. There is an electric streetcar running in front of the building, on Broadway. There are several horse drawn vehicles, and a number of people on the street in late 19th century dress. It is summer time, although no skin shows on any of passersby, but the streetcare is an open car with people hanging out the windows and the courthouse, and two buildings in the background have awnings over the windows (on the courthouse, they are striped) to hold off the summer sun. It does not look very pleasant there, and clearly does not look as spiffed up as this building does today. I bought this a long time ago, as well, at a gallery on Euclid, in the St. Louis West End.
4. Under it is a St. Louis city street map, drawn and published by S. Augustus Mitchell in 1872, probably a little earlier than the photograph. The western boundary of the city, for those of you who know St. Louis, is just beyond Grand Avenue. The furthest most street to the South is Chippewa, and to the North Angelica. Several major roads head off beyond the city lines to the west, including Arsenal, New Manchester, Old Manchester, Clayton, Page and St. Charles. Also the "Central Plank Road", which of course does not exist under that name. I am sure it came from an old atlas. It could stand to be reframed, as well, because the gold painted plain wood frame is beginning to peel, and the clay colored matting is pretty ugly. Probably always has been. I am not sure where I bought this map. Won't speculate.
Looking at the wall to my right, I see three smaller maps, again placed vertically (the vertical placements in general are due to lack of wall space, as I am sure you can figure out).
5. The top map is a map of the Western Hemisphere. It is a round map on a square piec of paper, in a larger square frame with an antiqued bronze paint and a dark aqua matte. It was published by P. Lapie in 1810 in Naples. The projection is very graceful. It is hand colored in pastel blues and yellows. Boston, Washington, Charleston and Savannah make the map; New York City does not. Nor does Philadelphia. (Part of this has to do, I am sure, with the small size of the map.)
While North America looks like it has pretty much the right shape, South America is too squat. In what is now California, there are a few cities marked which either did not exist then or have long disappeared. New Orleans is marked, but for some reason is well west of the mouth of the Mississippi. The most unusual facet is that, at the top of Baffin Bay, there is a land bridge that connects North America with Greenland.
My Aunt Loraine gave me this map. I had it framed in Georgetown.
6. The middle map is a map of North America, also of small size, pasteled in yellows and pinks, with a soft blue border on the coast. It is a bit older than the map above, because the Louisiana Purchase has yet to be purchased, and the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers mark national boundaries. I would guess it to be about 1800. Unfortunately, there are no identifying marks on it; although it, as well, is Italian. I do not remember where I bought it.
7. The bottom map is similar to, though a bit larger than, the middle map, and not colored. Also the west coast of North America, and particularly the northwest coast is left formless (i.e., no coast line, it just sort of fades away, with Parts Unknown marked). The map is in English, and I assume is English in that distances are "dist. west from London", but again nothing identifies the map maker. It is, I believe, older, and predates the 1780s and the independence of the United States. The colonies are marked as colonies, and not as states (for instance, Boston appears not to be in Massachusetts but in New England; there is one Carolina, not a North and South Carolina). Florida is misshaped, too short and fat; and Mexico is much too skinny,with Yucutan protruding too far.
The wall behind me (which I can only see if I turn around).
8. One of the largest items on my study wall is an old English deed, handwritten on parchment, with signatures of the seller, Thomas Loman, and the buyer, William Mayo, both of County Dorset, as well as their wax stamps, along with the official stamps of the Crown. The handwriting is very attractive, and equally unreadable. It deserves better framing than it has; it is in a plain brown wood frame (not contemporary with the indenture), with no matting, so looks a little cramped. As to size, it is a little larger than the map of Poland. It is dated in 1867.
For some odd reason, when I was in law school, the New Haven Co-op one day got a very large supply of these "old, original English indentures", and was selling them for the ridiculous price of $15, or something like that. I should have bought more, but $15 was about my budget in those days.
9. Next to the English deed is a travel poster (framed in a serrated blue wood frame that I remember buying at Pier One) from Cyprus. My guess is that is from the 1950s or early 1960s. It simply says "Beautiful Cyprus", and is drawn in a simple block style, without realistic detail. In the background is the blue-grey sky, the bluer sea, a grey mountain and a purple mountain (the grey in the background). There is yellow orange village reaching out to the sea, and a golden beach in front, blocked pretty much by a large Venus de Milo like statue (except Venus' hair is flying in the wind). There is a simple white church with a dome and a cross, and a multitude of colorful flowers in the foreground. Beautiful Cyprus. We found this poster was in the basement of my mother-in-law's house when we were cleaning it out.
10-14. More mystery here. We have four original photographs, that I bought in an antique store in St. Charles, Mo. many years ago. They had a large number of these, and I should have bought them all. But I didn't, and I selected four that I liked the best. I do not know who took them, and do not even know when they were taken, although I would guess that they are 19th and not 20th century photographs.
Two are Indian and two are Chinese. They are all sepia prints.
The Indian prints are, first, a young girl dressed up and covered with jewelry, looking at the camera. I would guess that she was 12. Just a guess. One ear has a very fancy earing that hangs straight down. The other ear (I know this won't make sense) seems to have the same kind of earing, half of which is hanging down, and the other half extends to her nose, where perhaps it is attached to some sort of nose ring, or something. Or maybe it is just the wind, but I don't think so. Again, more research needed.
The second Indian photo is the Ganges or some other holy river, with maybe 100 or more people bathing and standing on the steps. Maybe it is not a holy river; maybe they are just bathing. There are fishing boats in the background, and we are in a city.
As to the Chinese photgraphs, one is of a very elegant, very well dressed and well coiffed woman, probably in her 40s, who is sitting on an upholstered chair, with her feet resting on what I assume to be some sort of covered foot-rest. But she is barefoot, and has bound feet, so you can see how they are disfigured. The other Chinese photograph is of a busy commerical street (you are looking right down it) in some unknown city. It is not a wealthy neighborhood. People live above the shops, with their laundry on the windows to dry. There are signs in Chinese. There are many pedestrians, and no signs of any sort of animal or vehicle.
The small passageway to the family room.
15. Here we have a small, old handcolored print of Harvard College. Drawn by A.J. Davis, I do not have a date for it. It shows Harvard Hall and University Hall from Massachusetts Avenue. People are on horseback. There is no fence. Across Mass Ave. appears to be park-like lawn. Provenence unknown.
16. This is a more recent lithograph, by Mickie (not sure who Mickie is) and dated 1991, entitled The Lawyers Creed, showing a Hebraicized pattern surrounding quotations, in Hebrew and English, from Deutoronomy 16: 18-20, including the famous "Justice, Justice, shall thou pursue....". Another gift from my Aunt Loraine.
17. This is an original water color of the Old Court House in St. Louis, the same building that looks at me from my left. The artist is named Collins, and I believe that I got this when I graduated from college, but I don't remember exactly how. Whether I bought it, or if it was a gift, I just don't know. At any rate, it is a very nice painting, and I am not sure why I have it where I can't see it. I can't even see it when I am coming into the room, because the door from the family room pretty well blocks it. Maybe I should switch it with Napolean?
18. Finally, under the Court House, and therefore also usually blocked, is another map. This one is called "Rusia de Europa" and was made by Don Juan Lopez. Obviously, it a Spanish published map. It is extraordinarily detailed. It is not quite as large as the map of Poland, but equally hard to read. I cannot tell the date. I assume it is an early 19th century map, but just cannot tell. It does not contain all of Poland that was given to Russian through the partitians, but does have Vilna, for example. More research required once again. It is possible that it was published between the partitions, before the final one. But this would make it older than I thought it was.
This was sorta fun. Maybe I'll do "trinkets on the bookshelves in my study" next.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Thursday, September 15, 2005
The Name's the Same (1 cent)
Some time ago on this blog, wearing my literary hat, I told you that I discovered that Andre Maurois was not Andre Malraux.
Today, wearing my entertainment hat, I made an even more startling discovery. Did you know that Gwynneth Paltrow is not Lisa Kudrow?
What will they think of next?
Today, wearing my entertainment hat, I made an even more startling discovery. Did you know that Gwynneth Paltrow is not Lisa Kudrow?
What will they think of next?
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
One Nation Under God (1 cent)
It is a coincidence that, today, a federal district judge in San Francisco ruled that requiring the pledge of allegiance to be recited in public schools is unconstitutional because of the inclusion of the words "under God". It cited a 9th circuit court ruling as precedent.
The 9th circuit case, if I understand correctly, was the one that the U.S. Supreme Court threw out on the basis of lack of standing. If the plaintiff had no standing, then how can the 9th circuit ruling be precedent? On that basis alone, it would not surprise me if the 9th circuit overruled the district court, in order to avoid a repeat of the controversy from last year.
But let us say it goes beyond that. What happens next?
This is a terrific example of what Noah Feldman (see yesterday's blog) was talking about. He would probably argue that there is a strong literal argument that the pledge with God violates the constitutional mandate against establishment of religion. But he might also argue that popular pressure is so much in favor the keeping the pledge as-is that a contrary result would alienate the majority unnecessarily. And, since government funding is not directly involved, and no real harm comes from the inclusion of the phrase, it should be left as is.
This may be the best case imaginable to test his thesis. Let's see what happens.
The 9th circuit case, if I understand correctly, was the one that the U.S. Supreme Court threw out on the basis of lack of standing. If the plaintiff had no standing, then how can the 9th circuit ruling be precedent? On that basis alone, it would not surprise me if the 9th circuit overruled the district court, in order to avoid a repeat of the controversy from last year.
But let us say it goes beyond that. What happens next?
This is a terrific example of what Noah Feldman (see yesterday's blog) was talking about. He would probably argue that there is a strong literal argument that the pledge with God violates the constitutional mandate against establishment of religion. But he might also argue that popular pressure is so much in favor the keeping the pledge as-is that a contrary result would alienate the majority unnecessarily. And, since government funding is not directly involved, and no real harm comes from the inclusion of the phrase, it should be left as is.
This may be the best case imaginable to test his thesis. Let's see what happens.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
God and State [12 cents]
Last evening, I went to Politics and Prose to listen to NYU Law Professor Noah Feldman talk about his new book, "Divided by God". While I was not particularly impressed with the presentation, and do not think I would be particularly impressed by the book, it did give me the opportunity to think about the important issue of the relationship between God and State.
Feldman is a very young man, who studied Islam at Oxford, and was involved in the initial drafting of the proposed Iraqi constitution a few years ago. I could not help but wonder if, since the U.S. has founding fathers, if Iraq will have founding strangers.
He said that he has always been interested in the interplay between state and religion, and his new book talks not about Iraq, but about the United States.
The book apparently has two distinct parts: history and suggestions. Based on some of the internet reviews I have scanned, his writing on the history of church and state in the U.S. is quite good. Based on the same reviews, and what I heard last night, his suggestions are fairly weak.
I should say, and this is good, that he tries to take a middle position: you cannot promote religion in the public sphere, but you cannot try to eliminate it. All sides must learn to accommodate. But easier said than done.
His chief focus seemed to be on government funding for religious activities, which he believes is a no-no, rather than religious activities on government grounds, or as a part of government programs, which he does not seem to fault. I do not think it is this simple.
In talking about religious funding, he concentrated on "faith based initiatives" and school vouchers. In talking about acceptable non-financial activity, he talked about Christmas carols, representations of the ten commandments, and (in a limited sense) creationism.
His point seemed to be that if you go out of your way to eliminate all religious mention in government programs, you alienate too many people, so you must pick and choose your issues. Caroling at Christmas is to him, obviously, not an issue. To some people, on both sides, it is, and saying "don't make such a big deal of it" does not seem to me to be a meaningful answer. If the reason to abolish Christmas carols (and I don't know that I am necessarily in favor of abolition) is to protect the rights of religious minorities, it does not seem to me that they should be allowed in to protect the rights of religious majorities as the expense of those religious minorities. The issues are obviously complex.
Whether faith based programs are a problem or not, I am not certain. In some instances, they obviously will be, but whether these instances will be the exception or the rule is yet to be seen. The biggest government subsidies of religion are, of course, property tax exemption for churches and other religious properties, parsonage allowances for clergy, and chartible deductions for contributions to religious organizations. These did not come up in last night's discussion; I do not know if the book addresses them or not.
As to the presence of the ten commandments on public property, this has never been a big issue of mine, nor have crosses, creches or menorahs. They do lend a human touch (even though not necessarily a touch that represents me) to government bureaucracy. And, like the three financial contributions set forth above, religious representation is so engrained in our governmental sphere, that it would be difficult to eradicate them all.
For example, we just went through litigation on the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. I do not think that a reference to God belongs in the pledge. It was not there in my grade school years, and it has always seemed to me to be an artificial appendage added to a very acceptible pledge. It adds nothing to the pledge, and in fact detracts from it, to my mind. A nation dedicated to liberty and justice for all, I understand. But add God, and you distort the meaning of liberty and justice for all. Religion, on the one hand, and equality on the other, have never been handmaidens, here or elsewhere.
In addition, putting aside the visible case in Kentucky of the ten commandments in the courthouse, we have ten commandments all over this land in public buildings and on public parks. We have, for example, at the foot of the stairs leading the Federal courthouse in Washington DC a carved obelisk which displays both a cross, and an outline of the ten commandments. Government buildins all around Washington DC have engraved adages with religious allusions. Our coinage and paper money tells us that in God we trust. It is everywhere.
He talked about abortion and single-sex marriage, both of which he claims to be religious issues. I am not sure that they are religious issues exclusively. He said that, if you are not religious, you are not against abortion. He said that the only objection to single-sex marriage is a religious objection. I am not at all certain why this is, or why it should be, so.
He did not focus on abortion too heavily, but did talk about marriage. To him, marriage should be a 'civil union', a certificate of domestic partnership issued by the government, having nothing to do with a religious ceremony. The religious ceremony should be separate. But to many, only a religious ceremony would create a marriage. And would you have the religious ceremony before or after the civil one?
If the issue is strictly contractual, a civil union, and if it does not have to be between a man and a woman, can you have multiple civil marriages (i.e., civil polygamy)? And if not, why not? Wouldn't he have to say that the objection here would, as well, only be a religious objection? If you can have a civic objection to polygamy, why not to single sex marriage?
His suggestions for evolution/intelligent design is equally unworkable. He wants both taught. Teach evolution in science class. Teach creationism as a branch of philosophy. That will make everyone happy!!
Of course, to him intelligent design is a euphemism for creationism, and I suppose he is correct. But, looking at it a little more broadly, evolution and intelligent design are not in conflict with each other; why can't that point be made. Evolution tells you how things, once started, proceed. Intelligent design, or creationism, tell you how things got started. Where is the necessary conflict.
Go back to the founding fathers. Deism? Deism was a form of creationism, a form of intelligent design, no? Yet it was not fundamentalism; it taught (presumably) that the universe, created by a deity, was then left to operate on its own, by the laws established by that deity to govern the universe.
And in fact, what is Deism, if not Freemasonry, God the architect, and all that? But that is for another day.
So, what does the Constitution permit? No establishment of religion. Either this means no establishment of a state religion (it surely means at least this), or it means no establishment of any (or all) religion. If the latter, then you need to wipe away all religious support from the government. If the constitution does not mandate this broad brush approach (and no one has seriously suggested that it does), you need to determine when religion is appropriate for government support, and when it is not. And this depends, as well, on your definition of religion. And on your view of the appropriate role it should play in American society.
No answers today, but this is where the problems lie. But cause these two determinations: what is religion, and what role should it play are extremely difficult questions.
One follow up question: Why should religion and state be kept apart here? Is it because that is what the constitution mandates, or is there a reason beyond that? In other words, does the constitution say what we would like it to say, if we had our choice in the matter? Presumably, we think that separation of church and state is a good thing. And, if that is the case as a matter of values, how can it be good here, and not, for example, in Iraq, where we seem to have no problem with this new state being an Islamic state? Or in Israel?
Feldman is a very young man, who studied Islam at Oxford, and was involved in the initial drafting of the proposed Iraqi constitution a few years ago. I could not help but wonder if, since the U.S. has founding fathers, if Iraq will have founding strangers.
He said that he has always been interested in the interplay between state and religion, and his new book talks not about Iraq, but about the United States.
The book apparently has two distinct parts: history and suggestions. Based on some of the internet reviews I have scanned, his writing on the history of church and state in the U.S. is quite good. Based on the same reviews, and what I heard last night, his suggestions are fairly weak.
I should say, and this is good, that he tries to take a middle position: you cannot promote religion in the public sphere, but you cannot try to eliminate it. All sides must learn to accommodate. But easier said than done.
His chief focus seemed to be on government funding for religious activities, which he believes is a no-no, rather than religious activities on government grounds, or as a part of government programs, which he does not seem to fault. I do not think it is this simple.
In talking about religious funding, he concentrated on "faith based initiatives" and school vouchers. In talking about acceptable non-financial activity, he talked about Christmas carols, representations of the ten commandments, and (in a limited sense) creationism.
His point seemed to be that if you go out of your way to eliminate all religious mention in government programs, you alienate too many people, so you must pick and choose your issues. Caroling at Christmas is to him, obviously, not an issue. To some people, on both sides, it is, and saying "don't make such a big deal of it" does not seem to me to be a meaningful answer. If the reason to abolish Christmas carols (and I don't know that I am necessarily in favor of abolition) is to protect the rights of religious minorities, it does not seem to me that they should be allowed in to protect the rights of religious majorities as the expense of those religious minorities. The issues are obviously complex.
Whether faith based programs are a problem or not, I am not certain. In some instances, they obviously will be, but whether these instances will be the exception or the rule is yet to be seen. The biggest government subsidies of religion are, of course, property tax exemption for churches and other religious properties, parsonage allowances for clergy, and chartible deductions for contributions to religious organizations. These did not come up in last night's discussion; I do not know if the book addresses them or not.
As to the presence of the ten commandments on public property, this has never been a big issue of mine, nor have crosses, creches or menorahs. They do lend a human touch (even though not necessarily a touch that represents me) to government bureaucracy. And, like the three financial contributions set forth above, religious representation is so engrained in our governmental sphere, that it would be difficult to eradicate them all.
For example, we just went through litigation on the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. I do not think that a reference to God belongs in the pledge. It was not there in my grade school years, and it has always seemed to me to be an artificial appendage added to a very acceptible pledge. It adds nothing to the pledge, and in fact detracts from it, to my mind. A nation dedicated to liberty and justice for all, I understand. But add God, and you distort the meaning of liberty and justice for all. Religion, on the one hand, and equality on the other, have never been handmaidens, here or elsewhere.
In addition, putting aside the visible case in Kentucky of the ten commandments in the courthouse, we have ten commandments all over this land in public buildings and on public parks. We have, for example, at the foot of the stairs leading the Federal courthouse in Washington DC a carved obelisk which displays both a cross, and an outline of the ten commandments. Government buildins all around Washington DC have engraved adages with religious allusions. Our coinage and paper money tells us that in God we trust. It is everywhere.
He talked about abortion and single-sex marriage, both of which he claims to be religious issues. I am not sure that they are religious issues exclusively. He said that, if you are not religious, you are not against abortion. He said that the only objection to single-sex marriage is a religious objection. I am not at all certain why this is, or why it should be, so.
He did not focus on abortion too heavily, but did talk about marriage. To him, marriage should be a 'civil union', a certificate of domestic partnership issued by the government, having nothing to do with a religious ceremony. The religious ceremony should be separate. But to many, only a religious ceremony would create a marriage. And would you have the religious ceremony before or after the civil one?
If the issue is strictly contractual, a civil union, and if it does not have to be between a man and a woman, can you have multiple civil marriages (i.e., civil polygamy)? And if not, why not? Wouldn't he have to say that the objection here would, as well, only be a religious objection? If you can have a civic objection to polygamy, why not to single sex marriage?
His suggestions for evolution/intelligent design is equally unworkable. He wants both taught. Teach evolution in science class. Teach creationism as a branch of philosophy. That will make everyone happy!!
Of course, to him intelligent design is a euphemism for creationism, and I suppose he is correct. But, looking at it a little more broadly, evolution and intelligent design are not in conflict with each other; why can't that point be made. Evolution tells you how things, once started, proceed. Intelligent design, or creationism, tell you how things got started. Where is the necessary conflict.
Go back to the founding fathers. Deism? Deism was a form of creationism, a form of intelligent design, no? Yet it was not fundamentalism; it taught (presumably) that the universe, created by a deity, was then left to operate on its own, by the laws established by that deity to govern the universe.
And in fact, what is Deism, if not Freemasonry, God the architect, and all that? But that is for another day.
So, what does the Constitution permit? No establishment of religion. Either this means no establishment of a state religion (it surely means at least this), or it means no establishment of any (or all) religion. If the latter, then you need to wipe away all religious support from the government. If the constitution does not mandate this broad brush approach (and no one has seriously suggested that it does), you need to determine when religion is appropriate for government support, and when it is not. And this depends, as well, on your definition of religion. And on your view of the appropriate role it should play in American society.
No answers today, but this is where the problems lie. But cause these two determinations: what is religion, and what role should it play are extremely difficult questions.
One follow up question: Why should religion and state be kept apart here? Is it because that is what the constitution mandates, or is there a reason beyond that? In other words, does the constitution say what we would like it to say, if we had our choice in the matter? Presumably, we think that separation of church and state is a good thing. And, if that is the case as a matter of values, how can it be good here, and not, for example, in Iraq, where we seem to have no problem with this new state being an Islamic state? Or in Israel?
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Hurricane Katrina
So how long do we think it will be before the conspiracy theorists begin to deny the existence of Hurricane Katrina on the grounds that there never was a New Orleans?
"A Number" -- a Peter Marksian mini-review
Studio Theater opened its season this week with Caryl Churchill's new play, "A Number". It is not much of a play, and besides that, as a 60 minute one act show, it does not give the playgoers much for their money.
It is a two actor play (easy on Studio's budget), and stars Ted van Griethuysen and Tom Story. We have all seen too much of van Griethuysen by now, and while Story is a good, young actor, he is wasting his time on this waste of a story.
The story is about human cloning, a topic that was done to death in Boys from Brazil, and does not merit attention anew. It is about a drunkard of a father, his son and their clones. This is not a topic to rivet the attention of anyone.
A few other points. The stage is barren, except for some flashing photos (accompanied by loud music) reflecting off the flats between scenelets. Who needs this? It appeared that its purpose was to allow van Griethuysen to cross his right leg over his left, or vice versa, without the audience seeing him. In this, it failed. In addition, although the several short scenes take place over a lengthy period of time, van Griethuysen wears the same ugly black and white pinstripe suit in each. Does he always wear the same clothes every day for years, or does he have multiple, identical (perhaps, cloned?) suits? And as for Tom Story, although he tussles his hair a bit differently and changes his gait a bit depending on which clone he is playing, he is always wearing the same ugly, tan shoes. Is one to think that 20 clones of the same person, growing up without contact with each other, thirty years after the fact would all purchase the same ugly, tan shoes? We expect more of Studio than this.
It is a mere wisp of a play. We can only hope that Studio does not continue with a mere wisp of a season.
It is a two actor play (easy on Studio's budget), and stars Ted van Griethuysen and Tom Story. We have all seen too much of van Griethuysen by now, and while Story is a good, young actor, he is wasting his time on this waste of a story.
The story is about human cloning, a topic that was done to death in Boys from Brazil, and does not merit attention anew. It is about a drunkard of a father, his son and their clones. This is not a topic to rivet the attention of anyone.
A few other points. The stage is barren, except for some flashing photos (accompanied by loud music) reflecting off the flats between scenelets. Who needs this? It appeared that its purpose was to allow van Griethuysen to cross his right leg over his left, or vice versa, without the audience seeing him. In this, it failed. In addition, although the several short scenes take place over a lengthy period of time, van Griethuysen wears the same ugly black and white pinstripe suit in each. Does he always wear the same clothes every day for years, or does he have multiple, identical (perhaps, cloned?) suits? And as for Tom Story, although he tussles his hair a bit differently and changes his gait a bit depending on which clone he is playing, he is always wearing the same ugly, tan shoes. Is one to think that 20 clones of the same person, growing up without contact with each other, thirty years after the fact would all purchase the same ugly, tan shoes? We expect more of Studio than this.
It is a mere wisp of a play. We can only hope that Studio does not continue with a mere wisp of a season.
Number: a Mini-Review [1 cent]
We went to the opening play of Studio Theater's season last night.
Ted van Griethuysen and Tom Story each do an astounding job in Caryl Churchill's new play "A Number". van Griethuysen plays an old alcoholic, whose world has clearly gone awry. Story plays his son, as well as two others who are his son's clones.
The storyline is, while not perfectly clear, fairly simple. van Griethuysen was married to a depressed woman who committed suicide by jumping in front of a subway train, leaving him with a young son. As a grieving alcoholic, with who knows what other problems, van Griethuysen was unable to raise his son as he would have liked, and it showed. At some point, it appears that his son was taken from him. But before this was done, or at least when he had some say, van Griethuysen arranges for his son to be cloned, so he can try again. He raises the second son, with better luck.
It turns out, however, that the cloners made 20 clones of van Griethuysen's son, not one, and this throws everything psychologically off-base. The cloned, but home-bred, son turns against van Griethuysen, claiming he no longer has any identity. The original son reappears and murders the first clone. The original son commits suicide. A subsequent clone appears, and turns out to be perfectly normal, an employed young man with a family.
Playing three clones who are genetically the same, but different as to background is a challenge that Story pulls off well. The play raises some obvious interesting questions about parenting, cloning, genes vs. environment, etc. Churchill's dialogue is remarkably good, and the actors bring out its best.
"A Number" is a one act play, only 60 minutes long. It ends abruptly without sufficient resolution. It is as if the waiter clears off the table before you have finished the main course. This play has been performed previously in London (according to the program). Whether changes have been made to that production, I do not know, but I would suggest that Churchill still has some work to do on the ending of the play. The audience does not need a dessert course, but it is a shame to leave a part of such a good entree on your plate.
Ted van Griethuysen and Tom Story each do an astounding job in Caryl Churchill's new play "A Number". van Griethuysen plays an old alcoholic, whose world has clearly gone awry. Story plays his son, as well as two others who are his son's clones.
The storyline is, while not perfectly clear, fairly simple. van Griethuysen was married to a depressed woman who committed suicide by jumping in front of a subway train, leaving him with a young son. As a grieving alcoholic, with who knows what other problems, van Griethuysen was unable to raise his son as he would have liked, and it showed. At some point, it appears that his son was taken from him. But before this was done, or at least when he had some say, van Griethuysen arranges for his son to be cloned, so he can try again. He raises the second son, with better luck.
It turns out, however, that the cloners made 20 clones of van Griethuysen's son, not one, and this throws everything psychologically off-base. The cloned, but home-bred, son turns against van Griethuysen, claiming he no longer has any identity. The original son reappears and murders the first clone. The original son commits suicide. A subsequent clone appears, and turns out to be perfectly normal, an employed young man with a family.
Playing three clones who are genetically the same, but different as to background is a challenge that Story pulls off well. The play raises some obvious interesting questions about parenting, cloning, genes vs. environment, etc. Churchill's dialogue is remarkably good, and the actors bring out its best.
"A Number" is a one act play, only 60 minutes long. It ends abruptly without sufficient resolution. It is as if the waiter clears off the table before you have finished the main course. This play has been performed previously in London (according to the program). Whether changes have been made to that production, I do not know, but I would suggest that Churchill still has some work to do on the ending of the play. The audience does not need a dessert course, but it is a shame to leave a part of such a good entree on your plate.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post [1 cent]
I would appreciate comments on the following letter I am thinking about sending to the Post, following the review of "The Disputation" by Peter Marks, the Post's theater critic.
Dear Editor:
The recent highly negative review by Peter Marks of Theater J's production of Hayim Maccoby's fascinating play "The Disputation" (Thursday, September 8) was an insult to the play, to Theater J, to the cast, to the Washington theater public, and to your own newspaper. Were it not for the enormous influence of the Post, it would be laughable, particularly in that other reviews have all been glowing, and run is already virtually sold out.
But it highlights an enormous problem. Your employment of Marks in this important role has serious negative consequences for theater in Washington and, therefore, for the entire cultural life of the capital region. Marks' reviews are virtually universally negative. A quick comparison of his columns, with other reviews of the same productions, makes this clear.
What is the purpose of allowing such a bitter and fault finding critic to continue to poison the local theater scene in your newspaper? Obviously, a critic is supposed to be critical, but there is a significant difference between helpful, intellectual criticism, and the type of negativity which Marks purveys.
The chief theater critic of the region's major newspaper should be a positive force in helping Washington theaters survive. If he does not like a play, he should say so, but he should make it clear that some people may appreciate it more than he does, and that it is worth a night out to see. He should look for good performances, or good direction, or even a few good moments in a play he finds generally sub-par. He should commend theaters for their selection, their experimentation, their goals.
He does none of the above. His typical review is more likely: "I wish I stayed home and watched TV". Nothing could be more detrimental to the artistic and financial health of the theater community in Washington, or to the theater going habits of the region's residents.
Mr. Marks appears to have a personal agenda. I do not pretend to know what it is. Within the theater community, I do not think anyone takes him very seriously as a critic any more, but the increasingly bemoan his effect on their venues.
Low marks to Peter Marks. It is time for him to go.
Dear Editor:
The recent highly negative review by Peter Marks of Theater J's production of Hayim Maccoby's fascinating play "The Disputation" (Thursday, September 8) was an insult to the play, to Theater J, to the cast, to the Washington theater public, and to your own newspaper. Were it not for the enormous influence of the Post, it would be laughable, particularly in that other reviews have all been glowing, and run is already virtually sold out.
But it highlights an enormous problem. Your employment of Marks in this important role has serious negative consequences for theater in Washington and, therefore, for the entire cultural life of the capital region. Marks' reviews are virtually universally negative. A quick comparison of his columns, with other reviews of the same productions, makes this clear.
What is the purpose of allowing such a bitter and fault finding critic to continue to poison the local theater scene in your newspaper? Obviously, a critic is supposed to be critical, but there is a significant difference between helpful, intellectual criticism, and the type of negativity which Marks purveys.
The chief theater critic of the region's major newspaper should be a positive force in helping Washington theaters survive. If he does not like a play, he should say so, but he should make it clear that some people may appreciate it more than he does, and that it is worth a night out to see. He should look for good performances, or good direction, or even a few good moments in a play he finds generally sub-par. He should commend theaters for their selection, their experimentation, their goals.
He does none of the above. His typical review is more likely: "I wish I stayed home and watched TV". Nothing could be more detrimental to the artistic and financial health of the theater community in Washington, or to the theater going habits of the region's residents.
Mr. Marks appears to have a personal agenda. I do not pretend to know what it is. Within the theater community, I do not think anyone takes him very seriously as a critic any more, but the increasingly bemoan his effect on their venues.
Low marks to Peter Marks. It is time for him to go.
Friday, September 09, 2005
I bet you have not read this one! [3 cents]
Ok, readers, how many of you have read "The Russian Revolution: Childhood Recollections" by Princess Tatiana Galitzine???
How many of you thought the Nats would beat the Braves tonight?
How many of you wish I had something more interesting to ask?
How many of you thought the Nats would beat the Braves tonight?
How many of you wish I had something more interesting to ask?
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Civil War and Island Dreams
This week's "Legal Times of Washington" contains two articles worthy of attention.
The first, by Professor Sanford Levinson of the University of Texas Law School, asks chief justice-nominee Roberts what he thinks of the Civil War (or whether he calls it the War Between the States). He does this because, he says, the Civil War changed our entire concept of the Constitution, thus making questions of the founders' original intent meaningless in many ways. Issues of states' rights (the right to secede from the union being only the most obvious) and equality (as personified in the Fourteenth Amendment) were radically changed by the war, on the one hand, but also the concept of constitutional limits on executive power was eroded by Lincoln's war, that had no precedent.
Quoting Faulkner, Levinson says: "The past is never dead. It's not even past".
Which reminds me of the old Chinese historian who was asked to explain Napolean's effect on Europe. "Can't do it", he said, "it is just too soon."
The second article, written by Orlando Vidal, a D.C. lawyer, talks about the "Insular Cases", those early twentieth century Supreme Court cases which said that the United States could established commonwealths in captured lands, or "territories not destined for statehood", in effect creating second class citizens. The discussion of the cases was interesting. Equally interesting was the failure of the article to mention the District of Columbia.
Vidal's concentration is partly on the applicability of the constitution outside of the 50 states and the District, which he says not only relates to Puerto Rico and Guam, but to issues such as those now being faced at Guantanamo, again creating an area of importance in the upcoming Roberts hearings.
The first, by Professor Sanford Levinson of the University of Texas Law School, asks chief justice-nominee Roberts what he thinks of the Civil War (or whether he calls it the War Between the States). He does this because, he says, the Civil War changed our entire concept of the Constitution, thus making questions of the founders' original intent meaningless in many ways. Issues of states' rights (the right to secede from the union being only the most obvious) and equality (as personified in the Fourteenth Amendment) were radically changed by the war, on the one hand, but also the concept of constitutional limits on executive power was eroded by Lincoln's war, that had no precedent.
Quoting Faulkner, Levinson says: "The past is never dead. It's not even past".
Which reminds me of the old Chinese historian who was asked to explain Napolean's effect on Europe. "Can't do it", he said, "it is just too soon."
The second article, written by Orlando Vidal, a D.C. lawyer, talks about the "Insular Cases", those early twentieth century Supreme Court cases which said that the United States could established commonwealths in captured lands, or "territories not destined for statehood", in effect creating second class citizens. The discussion of the cases was interesting. Equally interesting was the failure of the article to mention the District of Columbia.
Vidal's concentration is partly on the applicability of the constitution outside of the 50 states and the District, which he says not only relates to Puerto Rico and Guam, but to issues such as those now being faced at Guantanamo, again creating an area of importance in the upcoming Roberts hearings.
A Book, a Movie, a Game and a Fish [5 cents]
The book is "My Dream of You" by Nuala O'Foalain. It was my second Labor Day Weekend Book. This one you can skip. I was disappointed, as I started with high hopes (not sure why). O'Foalain is an Irish journalist who has now written a couple of books; this was her first. It is 500 pages long, and I read 415 before I stopped. That is because I kept hoping that it would get better.
It is not because O'Foalain cannot write. She writes very well. Her descriptions of places are very evocative, presumably because she is using her talents as a journalist. Her problem is that, in this book, she is not a very good story teller.
The protagonist is a 50 year old Irish woman about to retire after 20 or 30 years as a travel writer for an English travel magazine. Three stories are interwoven. One is the protagonist's present. It is not very interesting. The second is the protagonist's past. It has its interesting moments, but they were few and long ago. The third is a Lady Chatterly like story, which took place in Ireland in the early 1850's , right after the Famine's end. It is really not interesting, and I wonder if this started out as two separate books, which she decided to put together. That is how it reads.
The Movie is "The Constant Gardener", with Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, which opened this week. Based on a John Le Carre novel, it tells the story of a British AIDS mission in Africa, and the young, outspoken wife of one of the mission officers, who discovers, along with a Kenyan doctor, a plot to falsify the test results of a new TB drug to the detriment of the African test participants and eventually the world, by disguising side effects of the drug. The plot is a bit convoluted and artificial, but the acting is very good, and the cinematography (the story takes place in Kenya, Sudan, London and Berlin) is top quality. You should go see it the evening that you were planning on reading "My Dream of You."
The game was yesterday's 5-2 Nationals' victory of the Marlin's, where a good time was had by all. The Nats have now won 3 in a row, probably their longest streak since July 4. Three cheers for Livan Hernandez and Marlon Byrd.
The fish was a flounder my wife cooked Sunday night with a Thai basil garlic sauce. The fish and the sauce had to fight it out for top honors.
It is not because O'Foalain cannot write. She writes very well. Her descriptions of places are very evocative, presumably because she is using her talents as a journalist. Her problem is that, in this book, she is not a very good story teller.
The protagonist is a 50 year old Irish woman about to retire after 20 or 30 years as a travel writer for an English travel magazine. Three stories are interwoven. One is the protagonist's present. It is not very interesting. The second is the protagonist's past. It has its interesting moments, but they were few and long ago. The third is a Lady Chatterly like story, which took place in Ireland in the early 1850's , right after the Famine's end. It is really not interesting, and I wonder if this started out as two separate books, which she decided to put together. That is how it reads.
The Movie is "The Constant Gardener", with Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, which opened this week. Based on a John Le Carre novel, it tells the story of a British AIDS mission in Africa, and the young, outspoken wife of one of the mission officers, who discovers, along with a Kenyan doctor, a plot to falsify the test results of a new TB drug to the detriment of the African test participants and eventually the world, by disguising side effects of the drug. The plot is a bit convoluted and artificial, but the acting is very good, and the cinematography (the story takes place in Kenya, Sudan, London and Berlin) is top quality. You should go see it the evening that you were planning on reading "My Dream of You."
The game was yesterday's 5-2 Nationals' victory of the Marlin's, where a good time was had by all. The Nats have now won 3 in a row, probably their longest streak since July 4. Three cheers for Livan Hernandez and Marlon Byrd.
The fish was a flounder my wife cooked Sunday night with a Thai basil garlic sauce. The fish and the sauce had to fight it out for top honors.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
I Read a Book
Needing a book to read at the gym this morning, I chose a short novel (novelette?) by Susan Richards Shreve, called "The Train Home", published in 1993 and set in Washington DC and Belfast. It is the story about an Irish actor who masquerades as a priest to confront the British/Irish diplomat who shot and killed the actor's younger brother during a Belfast rally in 1969, and the Texas born housewife/opera singer married to the paraplegic Connecticut Yankee, who has a thing for priests.
It reads very well, and very quickly, and Shreve tells a very good story. I recommend it. Nothing too bad happens, and you get the feeling that things may turn out all right.
It reads very well, and very quickly, and Shreve tells a very good story. I recommend it. Nothing too bad happens, and you get the feeling that things may turn out all right.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
The Titanic (14 cents)
We went to the Maryland Science Center to see the Titanic exhibit today. Three of us. The cost for admission for the three of us was $60.00. That is more than it cost to see a major league baseball game. And the MSC employees are not averaging $1 million in salary a year.
OK, so I exaggerate. In fact, I got in on a senior discount. For anyone 62 or older.
So, we didn't pay $60. We only paid $59. As my wife said, "sometimes, it doesn't pay to get older".
We also ate at the Beaker Cafe at the Science Center. Baltimore has many, many good restaurants. And some that are not so good. And a few that are bad (I am certain). And the Beaker Cafe is not quite as good as the bad ones. Enough said about that.
Was anything OK, you ask? (I am not even going to mention that there is now no parking lot at the science museum, so that you need to park in commercial lots a hike and a half from the museum. OK on a nice day like today, but in inclement weather (every day in Baltimore is not 76 degrees and cloudless) it could be a problem. They do stamp your parking ticket, so that two hours cost $6 to park, instead of $8.
But, in any event, parking, tickets and sort-of lunch cost us $100.
Back to the main question. Was anything good, you ask?
And the answer is that the Titanic exhibit (one more week to go, I understand) is terrific. It is based on items actually dredged up from 2 1/2 miles deep in the Atlantic, as well as photographs, a few posters, and a couple of videos.
It was well designed, well signed, respectful and informative.
The artifacts ranged from a rusted deck door, to china and glassware, and jewelry, tools, money and clothing. Each was interesting on its own account, as well as having intrinsic interest as being pulled from the sea.
Both the story of the Titanic, and of the salvage operations, are told, with a combination of hard data, and human interest stories, in the form of mini-biographies of crew members, and passengers from first class to steerage. As an added matter of interest, when you go into the exhibit, you are given a boarding pass with the name of a passenger and some vital information. At the very end, there is a large wall, where all passengers and crew members are listed, divided by those who died and those who survived. You can look for the name on your boarding pass and see how you fared.
By the way, it is interesting to note that about two thirds of the first class passengers survived, a little than half of the second class passengers, and a much smaller percentage of third class passengers and crew members. It is also interesting that first class passengers paid (in today's dollars) almost $50,000 per person, while third class was under $100.
As a final matter, there is a Titanic gift shop, with surprisingly nice momentos, including replica china, silver and glassware.
OK, so I exaggerate. In fact, I got in on a senior discount. For anyone 62 or older.
So, we didn't pay $60. We only paid $59. As my wife said, "sometimes, it doesn't pay to get older".
We also ate at the Beaker Cafe at the Science Center. Baltimore has many, many good restaurants. And some that are not so good. And a few that are bad (I am certain). And the Beaker Cafe is not quite as good as the bad ones. Enough said about that.
Was anything OK, you ask? (I am not even going to mention that there is now no parking lot at the science museum, so that you need to park in commercial lots a hike and a half from the museum. OK on a nice day like today, but in inclement weather (every day in Baltimore is not 76 degrees and cloudless) it could be a problem. They do stamp your parking ticket, so that two hours cost $6 to park, instead of $8.
But, in any event, parking, tickets and sort-of lunch cost us $100.
Back to the main question. Was anything good, you ask?
And the answer is that the Titanic exhibit (one more week to go, I understand) is terrific. It is based on items actually dredged up from 2 1/2 miles deep in the Atlantic, as well as photographs, a few posters, and a couple of videos.
It was well designed, well signed, respectful and informative.
The artifacts ranged from a rusted deck door, to china and glassware, and jewelry, tools, money and clothing. Each was interesting on its own account, as well as having intrinsic interest as being pulled from the sea.
Both the story of the Titanic, and of the salvage operations, are told, with a combination of hard data, and human interest stories, in the form of mini-biographies of crew members, and passengers from first class to steerage. As an added matter of interest, when you go into the exhibit, you are given a boarding pass with the name of a passenger and some vital information. At the very end, there is a large wall, where all passengers and crew members are listed, divided by those who died and those who survived. You can look for the name on your boarding pass and see how you fared.
By the way, it is interesting to note that about two thirds of the first class passengers survived, a little than half of the second class passengers, and a much smaller percentage of third class passengers and crew members. It is also interesting that first class passengers paid (in today's dollars) almost $50,000 per person, while third class was under $100.
As a final matter, there is a Titanic gift shop, with surprisingly nice momentos, including replica china, silver and glassware.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Brittany Spears is Praying (29 cents)
Netscape reports this morning on its news alert as National story number 4 that Brittany Spears is praying for hurricane victims.
Thought you would want to know.
Thought you would want to know.
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