Red Bandana
THE RED BANDANA One Sunday morning in 1984, a young boy of seven named Welles Crowther, having been gifted with his very first suit, enlisted help from his dad to tie his necktie. As his father knelt before him, the boy noticed a crisply folded pocket square in his father’s breast pocket and asked “What’s that? Can I have one of those?” In response, his father retreated to his bedroom and returned with two hankies. The white one he carefully folded and tucked in his son’s breast pocket, explaining it was “for show.” The second hankie, a crimson bandana, was “for blow” said his dad, to be...
Read MoreShakespeare in the Park
Summer spells surrender – to long sultry days, balmy twilights and star studded evenings. It’s a time to indulge not only in the pleasure of being outdoors, but perhaps even delight in the brilliance of a Shakespearean play. It’s gratifying to see people lining up for Shakespeare in the Park tickets before Central Park opens at 6:00 a.m. People know a good thing when they see it! From comedy to tragedy, to history, it’s all there for the taking. Comedy Tragedy History All’s Well That Ends Well As You Like It Comedy of Errors Love’s Labour’s Lost Measure for Measure...
Read MorePan Pacific International Exposition
While working on Castles & Heraldry I visited the deYoung Museum to view “Jewel City: Art from San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915.”1 So with my mind still focused on lords and ladies, knights and valor, I was drawn to this image of a crusading knight in armor dragging his heraldic flag behind him in “The Vanquished”, by George Hitchcock (1898). Both horse and rider convey the feeling of exhaustion and surrender. It was one of 200 works of art on exhibition, painstakingly researched and recovered from more than 11,000 works originally at the Exhibition....
Read MoreAntiques
“Collectors are happy people.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe A cursory glance at the September/October issue of Antiques Magazine confirms that fall heralds good hunting for antique lovers. Heirloom treasures abound at the International Show at Park Avenue Armory, Fall Antiques at Rhinebeck, Boston International Fine Art Show, Deerfield Antiques Show, Delaware Antiques Show, Philadelphia Antiques & Art Show, Shenandoah Antique Expo, Natchez Antique Forum, Louisiana Purchase Auction, Houston Antiques & Art & Design, San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, and that’s just the tip of the...
Read MoreAntique Signs and Weathervanes
The short but succulent season of fall is upon us, and as we head to the country to sip sparkling cider pressed at the mill, we invariably pass a barn or village “shoppe” brimming with antiques. With a nip in the air and a skip in our step we’re ready for adventure and a little sly sleuthing. (I know someone who wears a fanny pack equipped with jeweler’s loupe, tiny flashlight, black light, bic lighter & needle for the hot pin test, thin plastic gloves, baby wipes, cotton balls and more.) Collecting seems to bring out that primitive instinct for the hunt in some of its devotees, who...
Read MoreCastles & Heraldry
“The very purpose of a knight is to fight on behalf of a lady.” Thomas Malory Fall hastens her steps in a leafy swirl of gold and crimson, as the scents of cider and cinnamon, wood smoke and pumpkins signal it’s harvest time. With a skip and a smile we saunter forth to enjoy the pleasures proffered at Reaissance Faires across the country. In pseudo-Medieval villages and hamlets, we encounter blacksmiths and barkeeps, constables and country maids. Everyone from Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake and Shakespeare, to knaves, knights, and troubadours stroll the streets to delight and...
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