Gifts of Grandeur: A Platinum and Diamond Bow Brooch, 1930-1940

Brooch
Platinum and Diamonds
1930-1940
The Victoria and Albert Museum

If Jack Ketch used this knot as his noose, more people would rush to be hanged. In another superb example of antique jewelry from the V&A, we see this diamond and platinum bow brooch made between 1930 and 1940.
The brooch features pavé-set brilliant-cut which create the ribbon-y loops of the bow. The knot itself is crafted from baguette-cut stones which are repeated in the tails of the bow. Black onyx—a frequent medium in Art Deco jewelry—outlines the piece and gives it added weight and depth.

Mastery of Design: Fred Tickner’s “Hangman” from Punch & Judy, 1975

Jack Ketch
Fred Tickner, 1875
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here’s another puppet by the great Punch & Judy man and puppet maker, Fred Tickner. From his group made in 1975, we see “Jack Ketch, the hangman.”
This puppet comes with his wooden gallows and rope. A glove puppet, jack features a hand-carved and painted face and hands. His head is adorned with brown artificial fur hair. Jack’s character is immediately recognizable. Fred Tickner had a mastery of representing the personalities of his characters. His celebrated work continues to influence puppet makers to this day.

Person of the Week: Sir Mark Jones

Sir Mark Jones
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We spend a lot of time here at Stalking the Belle Epoque looking over the collection at Britain’s glorious Victoria & Albert Museum. The V&A houses one of the world’s most spectacular assortments of art and artifacts ranging from paintings and sculpture to jewelry and toys. It’s an exceptional collection which has been centuries in the making.
The V&A’s director, Sir Mark Jones manages the museum brilliantly. Jones, who has a particular expertise in medals, comes by his love of art history naturally as the son of writer and historian Ann Paludan. While attending Worcester College, Oxford, Jones read Politics, Philosophy and Economics, later taking an MA degree in art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art.

Mr. Jones’ next step was to work for eighteen years in the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum. There, he curated a celebrated exhibition entitled “FAKE? The Art of Deception,” In 1992, Jones furthered his career when he was appointed director of the National Museums of Scotland, through which he managed the 1998 founding of the prize-winning Museum of Scotland. In 2001, Jones was appointed director of the V&A.

The Victoria and Albert Museum

As part of his many duties, Jones is Chairman of the National Museum Directors’ Conference, a trustee of the National Trust, the Gilbert Collection, and the Pilgrim Trust, a member of the Court and Council of the Royal College of Art, Vice President of the British Art Medal Society and the Kensington & Chelsea Decorative & Fine Arts Society, and a patron of the Embroiderers' Guild and the Heritage Crafts Association.

For his services to the arts, in 2010, Jones was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen as Part of the New Year Honors. For all that he has done to encourage the stewardship and understanding of the brilliant arts of the past, Sir Mark Jones is our Person of the Week.

Treat of the Week: Whoopie Pies and Chocolate Ice Cream

Like most beloved and popular baked goods, there’s some debate between regions as to where the Whoopie Pie was first developed. These delectable confections which consist of fluffy icing sandwiched between two mounded, cake-like chocolate cookies, certainly came from New England originally. Some feel that they were developed in Maine while others assert that they come from Pennsylvania or even Massachusetts.

One popular legend states that Pennsylvania Amish women were the first to create Whoopie Pies using left-over cake batter. They are said to have put these tender sandwich cookies (which they called “hucklebucks”) into the lunches they packed for their farmer husbands who upon discovering their dessert would shout out a joyful, “Whoopie!”

Regardless of their origin, the Whoopie pie is a long-celebrated American treat which, in recent years, has become popular abroad as well. Mildly sweet, cakey and delicious, they are the perfect end to almost any meal. These lovely treats (which really can be considered a cake, a pie or a cookie) have also been mass-produced during the Twentieth-Century by international baking companies.

I’d never had a proper Whoopie Pie until this weekend when my mother baked up a batch for the first time. I must say, I quite enjoyed them and am looking forward to devouring the rest of the batch. As my parents have been putting their new ice cream maker to good use these past few weekends, our Whoopie Pies were accompanied by wonderful dark-chocolate homemade ice cream which very much  exactly reminded me of what I consider the best ice cream I’ve ever had—the chocolate ice cream at The Fountain Restaurant at London’s Fortnum & Mason in the City of Westminster.

Punch’s Cousin, Chapter 303

Giovanni smirked as Ulrika helped him sit up in his comfortable new bed. “How you managed that, I’ll never understand. It was like a symphony.”

“I simply spoke to Edward Cage in terms he could understand,” Ulrika nodded.

“But to let a stranger—and a wounded foreigner, no less—stay in his home…a home in which he has an unmarried lady residing…well, it was a masterpiece of manipulation.”

“Edward is not what you’d call a kind man. Certainly, any other person would take pity on a wounded soul rescued from the rain, but not Edward. He is, however, shrewd and greedy. When I told him that you were a respected artist in your homeland, he was more than eager to claim you as his own.”

“How did you know that I’m an artist?” Giovanni asked.

“Your hands, my dear.” Ulrika smiled. “Those are an artist’s hands. Am I wrong?”

“No.” Giovanni shook his head. “I paint and sculpt though I haven’t in quite some time. I’ve been engaged in another sort of art.”

“What’s that?”

“The less you know about that the better.” Giovanni laughed.

“Well, I think it would be a terrible sin, really, if you let your natural talents go to waste.” Ulrika smiled, beginning to undress.

“Not that I mind,” Giovanni’s eyes widened. “But, what are you doing?”

“Reintroducing you to the art world,” Ulrika grinned.

Meanwhile, Marie Laveau paced the floor of the corridor outside her larder. “How’d she die?”

“I guess she breathed in too much smoke, Mama.” Young Marie answered.

“Don’t look like it.” Marie grunted, pausing to peek inside the pantry where Nellie lay—dead—on the floor.

“Does it matter?” Young Marie asked her mother. “She’s dead. We gotta get rid of her.”

“Not so fast.” Marie shook her head. “She might come in handy still.”

“What good is she now?” Young Marie snorted.

“Honey, if you’re gonna take your mama’s place one day, you gotta use your head.” Marie laughed. “This dead witch may be just the answer we need.”

“Don’t we got bigger problems?” Young Marie muttered.

“No worries, Girl.” Marie Laveau winked. “Your papa’s brother’s got that well in hand.”

At that very moment, Louis Glapion walked toward the Baptismal font in the cathedral behind which Barbara and Charles were hidden with the baby.

“It ain’t no good you tryin’ to hide.” Louis chuckled. “I know you’re in here.”

“Please,” Charles said, standing up. “Just let us be. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Sure it does,” Louis shrugged. “You done cheated my brother’s widow. Now, come on, I don’t really want to be rough with ya. Just let me have the baby and the woman and you can go on your way.”

“I can’t let you do that.” Charles said fiercely.

“I don’t mind killin’ ya.” Louis frowned.

“You’ll have to.” Charles sighed. “It’s the only way you will get to Miss Allen and her child.”

“No, Charles,” Barbara said firmly, standing up. In her arms, she appeared to be holding the baby. “It’s not worth sacrificing yourself for us.” She turned to Louis. “I’ll go with you.”



Did you miss Chapters 1-302? If so, you can read them here.

Card of the Day: The Prince of Wales (The Briefly Reigning King Edward VIII)

I wanted to be an up-to-date king. But I didn't have much time.
--The Duke of Windsor

The Little Trouble-maker
as the Little Prince of Wales
The Royal Collection

I’ve made my opinion of King Edward VIII (The late Duke of Windsor, formerly the Prince of Wales) well known. If you listen to his abdication speech (see below), the emphasis he places on “I” very neatly summarizes who this man was—self-centered, petulant and unpleasant. I just can’t imagine how disappointed Queen Mary was to learn that he eldest son was to abdicate the throne so he could marry an American divorcee whose past was clouded in rumor (including that she was a man) and innuendo.

Still, to “David’s” credit (and I’m not eager to give him much credit), while his father was alive, he did do his best to carry out the natural duties of the Prince of Wales.

In 1935, about a year before the death of King George V, the nation celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the reign he shared with his consort, Queen Mary. Among the many souvenirs produced for this event, was the series of Cigarette Cards by Wills’s Cigarette Company from which I’ve been sharing images with you for the past 48 days. Here, we see a card in honor of the Prince of Wales—created before the death of his father and the Prince’s subsequent bizarre abdication.

The reverse of the card reads:

H.R.H THE PRINCE OF WALES


Since 1914 the Prince of Wales has strenuously served his country at home and in all parts of the world. The War found him in the trenches, and soon after Peace was declared he undertook the first of those celebrated tours which have earned him the title of "our best Ambassador," and have done so much for Great Britain's prestige. Canada, the U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Africa, South America-the Prince, to the immense benefit of the Empire, has visited these in turn. His time at home has been devoted to a host of useful causes.

Here’s the Duke of Windsor’s Abdication Speech.

Object of the Day: “Please Don’t Hang Me,” A Baby Plate by Royal Winton

This is the most wonderful thing ever. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have this plate. Here we have, as it says on the rim of this oval dish, “Baby’s Plate.” And, nothing says, “Baby’s Plate,” more than a scene of our favorite puppet anarchist, Mr. Punch, murdering his child and, with a worried look on his face, pleading with Jack Ketch, the hangman, “Please don’t hang me.” Because, after all, that’s what you want Baby to see as he finishes his strained peas—a puppet murderer begging not to be executed.

I love it!

This is among many oddly decorated baby plates produced in the late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries by Royal Winton. As we’ve said in my own family, “Royal Winton must have hated children.” Other antique “Baby” plates by Royal Winton that we’ve seen show pictures of realistic trout, scary goblins and other peculiar scenes sure to stimulate your child’s appetite. “Finish your dinner, darling, and see Mr. Punch kill his child. There’s a god boy.”

Questionable children’s dinnerware adornment notwithstanding, Royal Winton is am extremely well respected British brand of fine bone china tableware which is made by Grimwades Limited. Grimwades is a Stoke-on-Trent based company which was founded by Leonard Lumsden Grimwade in 1885.

For so many reasons, I adore this plate. It’s actually quite beautiful with its sturdy construction and attractive oval shape. But, I have to say, the greatest appeal is the adorable image of Mr. Punch. He looks genuinely concerned that he’s to be hanged. Jack Ketch looks so delighted to have caught Mr. Punch (unaware that it is he who will be hanged). It’s a brilliantly illustrated scene of one of the most famous images from the traditional puppet show.

“Please don’t hang me!”