Beloved Eleanor

Some more of my collection:

First is a vintage Valentine’s card franked February 14th, 1901 and is my only American postcard.  The lucky lady is Miss Rubie Bray of Bethlehem, PA.

The second pretty Sarah card has not been franked, but was sent to Miss Sarah Hawkin by her friend Bertha.  I think the images of Sarah may be that of Sarah Bernhardt, the actress.

The final card I believe is a WWI card, and has not been used.  It does however advertise the purchase of Government Securities.

Longtime readers may remember I bought an original watercolour of Eleanor some years ago.  I’ve just come across a comission the same artist has completed of her husband Edward I!

I do like it – just wish it wasn’t modelled on the Braveheart image of him.  Obviously it was a comission though.   I hope that Mark manages to do his own version!

Whilst I’m on the subject of art, and was on Mark Satchwill’s site it reminded me he also recently completed a gorgeous picture of Elizabeth and Darcy from the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice.

This leads me to the final piece of news today…a great Austen site, which recently wrote about the recycling of Regency costumes.  Check it out for yourselves…

For some reason at the beginning of this week, for at least three nights in a row I dreamt about Venice.  Why?  I just don’t know.  I haven’t watched, read, looked at or otherwise done anything remotely involving Venice.  Yet, here we are.

I should explain my relationship with Venice, such as it is.  Years ago, I think it was when I was in my mid to late teens my maternal Aunt bought me a book called Tregaron’s Daughter by Madeleine Brent.  My Aunt, it should be said was, and is, a fabulous book and trinket supplier

Tregaron’s Daughter is a mystery story set in Cornwall and Venice.  I don’t know what it was about it exactly, as the book isn’t about to set the world on fire, (though I still love it anyway) but it instilled in me a deep desire to visit Venice myself when I was older.  By the age of 20, I had fulfilled that dream.

I visited museums and galleries, including the Basilica San Marco and the Doge’s Palace, I took boat rides – including one on a gondola – and walked the length and breadth of Venice.  Sadly, I didn’t take very many pictures, and I think they are rubbish, so I won’t include them here!  The fact is, when I left all those years ago, I didn’t feel that I needed to return.

So why now?  No idea, not a clue.  I hunted out my photos (eek), found a couple of guidebooks, and most importantly – remembered my Venetian Palazzi book – which is gorgeous indeed.  Even while writing this I remembered my Venetian mask that I bought (I was enthralled by the mask and costume shops), but it doesn’t seem to be enough.

I suppose time will tell, but I cannot see myself getting to Venice any time soon, time permitting, never mind anything else!  So, I have ordered myself a second hand copy of Tregaron’s Daughter (no idea what I did with the last one) and a DVD of Francesco’s Venice which is supposed to be very good.  All I know is that for now, my subconscious mind will have to be content.

Been thinking about these a lot lately, keep updating and trimming the list.  Have absolutely no space in the house either, but who cares…

Here are my top books that I want to own:

• Sir Thomas Lawrence: the Artist by Mark Levey
• Momento Mori: Churches and Churchyards of England by Simon Marsden
• Strawberry Hill: Horace Walpole’s Gothic Castle by Anna Chalcraft and Judith Viscardi
• Thomas Hope: Designer and Patron in Regency London by David Watkin and Philip Hewat-Jaboor
• Saving the Tsar’s Palaces by Christopher Morgan and Irina Orlova
• William Morris and Red House: A Collaboration Between Architect and Owner by Jan Marsh
• Adam Houses (Country Life) by Eileen Law
• The Jacobean Country Houses (Country Life) by Nicholas Cooper
• The Regency Country House (Country Life) by John Martin Robinson
• Versailles: A Biography of a Palace by Tony Spawforth
• Van Dyck and Britain by Karen Hearn
• The Wallace Collection by Stephen Duffy
• The V&A Guide to Period Styles by Anna Jackson
• Discovering Scottish Architecture by T.W. West
• 1001 Paintings From the Louvre by Vincent Pomarede
• Art Treasures of Kelvingrove by Hugh Stevenson
• The National Gallery Complete Illustrated Catalogue by C. Baker
• Jane Austen: the World of Her Novels by Deidre Le Faye
• The History of British Art 1600-1870 by David Bindman
• Shoes, Hats and Fashion Accessories by Carol Belanger Grafton
• The Lonely Empress: Life of Elizabeth, Empress of Austria by Joan Haslip
• Emperor Francis Joseph by John Van Der Kiste
• Childhood At Court 1819-1914 by John Van Der Kiste
• Mode Ilustree Fashion Plates by Florence Leniston
• Houses of the National Trust by Lydia Greeves
• Treasures From the Trust
• Belton House by Adrian Tinniswood
• London’s Country Houses by Caroline Knight
• Sir John Soane’s Museum, London by Tim Knox
• Sleuth: the Amazing Quest for Lost Art Treasures by Philip Mould

This also doesn’t include the books that I’m looking for that are out of print!  Any recommendations?

I finally managed to finish photographing my Victorian album!  I know, it has taken me forever – but I have so many projects to get through at any one time.

A brief introduction for any of you that don’t know, I bought a poor, abused photo album some time ago.  It has been robbed of most of its contents, the spine has fallen off, and the clasp is missing.  It still, however, manages to be beautiful.

It still has the beautiful leather cover with decoration, you can also still see some of the flowers and decorative scenes painted inside, plus many of the photos that are left are interesting to look at.  It does also make you wonder who the people belonged to.  It must have been cherished at one time.

Here are a few images of the album:

Read the rest of this entry »

Very pretty shampoo advertising cards dating from the 1920s.  The final picture is my favourite.

I’ve been thinking about the upcoming Armistice (11 November) and the souls that were and are being lost in times of conflict.

I think I will write more about this next week at a more appropriate time, but offer one of my ladies from my collection for your viewing pleasure.

I think she is proof enough, even though I don’t know who she is, that the dead never leave us.

These 2 are photographs mounted on postcards.  As you can see, they are probably from the First World War period.  I often wonder in these cases, whether the person photographed survived or not.

These are the last of my pictures.  Can you give them a home?

To follow on from my Motleys post, these are 3 photos I will probably be keeping.

When looking at the back of the images I noticed they have ‘Mother’, ‘Father’ and ‘Lilian’ inscribed on them.  I am particularly fond of the 2 ladies images, but found the man a little scary.

Needless to say, being me, now I’ve discovered they’re a family I can’t split them up.  I’m sentimental that way.

I will be posting about the Motley Postcards shortly…

Some of you may have noticed a little while ago I mentioned that I purchased a Victorian photo album.  I’m going to try and photograph it carefully to show you all, but it is in a very sorry state, and has been robbed of all but a few of its original photographic entries.  Sad, and I felt sorry for it, which is why I bought it in the first place!

I’d forgotten, until I was searching for it, that as a bonus I got a random envelope of photos and postcards with it too.  Probably no-one loved these either, some are quite faded, or have seen better days.

My question is, I am going to keep one or two of them, but could you love any of my motley collection?  I don’t want these to be re-sold, I’d like to find them a home.  Please see the first set.  I’m going to do a few more another day, including postcards.