Goal for the Day: Be Happy to See People

Again, more from the file of the “Wisdom of Dogs.” This morning, as I was taking Bertie for his “spa day” (the groomer), we stopped at a red light where the median was being tended by city gardeners. Bertie spotted them immediately and his ears perked up. When they crossed the street in front of my car, Bertie stood up, put his paws on the window and wagged his tail. I asked him, “Are those your friends?” His response was a plaintiff howl followed by the murmuring, squeaking noise he makes when he sees something he wants but can’t have.


As the light turned green and we hurried off, I couldn’t help but laugh. I’ve always thought it quite humorous that I’ve got the world’s friendliest dog, but I’m quite shy and reserved. Once again, I learned something from Bertie. While I’d certainly not have rolled down my window to wish the road workers a good morning, I should be happier to see people and find some excitement in the fact that the world is filled with other people who have ideas and voices. Bertie seizes every opprtunity he can to learn and discover. There’s no reason that the rest of us can’t do the same.

Object of the Day: A Vintage Portrait

Those of us who prowl around antique malls see all sorts of merchandise. Much of it is authentic—real antiques. However, there’s a spate of convincing-looking objects which are either relatively new or fresh from the factory. When you’re buying an object, make sure that you know what you’re buying—especially if you’re paying “antiques” prices for market materials.

When I first bought my house and was initially furnishing it, I was basically looking for things to fill these Victorian walls and was drawn to anything that I thought fit the theme. Thankfully, I have a background in art history and knew what I was looking at. I came across this portrait. With its velvet inset and hobnail details, it has the look of a Victorian miniature painting on board. However, I knew immediately that it wasn’t.

It is, however, vintage and interesting in its own right. This item was produced by the Turner Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois between 1960 and 1975. It’s part of the company’s line of “Royal Portraits.” The Turner Manufacturing Company was the country’s largest producer of low-cost, attractive home décor and served the “five-and-dime” community. Their products were actually very high quality objects and reproductions. Most Turner products are clearly marked on the reverse with a rather obvious label.

If you’re browsing an antique shop and looking for a nice-looking, low-cost piece, you might keep your eyes open for items that had been produced by the Turner Manufacturing Company. While they’re not going to cost you the few cents that they originally did, you can get most of them for less than $60. You won’t be getting a family heirloom, but you will get an attractive object which will stand the test of time.

Her Majesty’s Furniture: King George IV’s Bath Cabinet

Bath Cabinet
Morel & Seddon, 1828
Made for King George IV
The Royal Collection

Once King George IV had finished redecorating Carlton House, he turned his attention to refurbishing the Royal apartments at Windsor Castle. The first order of business was to redo his bedroom and bath. The trouble with George IV was that he had so many passions and so many tastes that combining his desires into one cohesive interior design was somewhat complicated if not impossible. George IV wanted his bedroom and bath to be hung with blue silk—like a tent in the Persian style—into which mirrored alcoves would be inset for his bed and bath.


To this end, this bath cabinet was made from panels from a cabinet built in 1810. The three-sided casket of purplewood, satinwood, pietra dura and gilt bronze was set on casters. It opened at the top to allow access to the bathtub. By all accounts it was strange and awkward to use—being at once difficult to get into and out of and quite sloppy to transport. The King quickly grew tired of the cumbersome tub and its preventative case and had the thing put in storage soon after it was introduced to him in 1828.

Later, Prince Albert, being an industrious and frugal sort of chap, came upon the bath cabinet in storage and thought it would make a nice folio cabinet. He had the bathtub removed and the back closed-in so that the piece would have some degree of usefulness.

Film of the Week: The Letter, 1940

The early 40’s belonged to Bette Davis who created some of her finest film roles during this period. One of the best of her career, and one of my favorite films of all time, is 1940’s The Letter directed by the great William Wyler and starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Gale Sondergaard and (Victor) Sen Yung.

The Letter is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham. This is the second film version of the story. The tale of adultery and murder had been previously filmed in 1929. The story concerns Leslie Crosbie, the wife of a British rubber plantation owner in Malaya and her manipulations and sins. The film opens after a moody montage which was cleverly devised by Wyler to capture the spirit of sultry Malaya. A cockatoo squawks as a gun is fired and we soon see a man stumble down a short flight of stairs to his death as Bette (as Leslie) swaggers out, her arm stiff, her face mesmerized, as she empties the gun into the man’s body.

At first, Leslie’s husband, Robert (played by Herbert Marshall) and their lawyer, Howard Joyce (played by James Stephenson) appear to believe that the murdered man, Geoff Hammond, had attempted to rape Leslie and she shot him in self defense. Howard, however, seems to doubt some of the facts of the case, but supports his client/friend nonetheless. Then, Howard’s clerk, Ong Che Seng ((Victor) Sen Yung) reveals that there’s in existence a letter which damns Leslie. What follows is a tale of treachery, murder, adultery and shattered morals.

William Wyler and Bette Davis (who had been having an affair) often clashed during the production. This feuding came to a climax during the filming of one of the final scenes in which Leslie delicates, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. With all my heart, I still love the man I killed.” Davis insisted that Leslie—or any woman—could not look her husband in the eye and say such a horrible thing. Wyler disagreed and pressed Davis to look squarely at Marshall as she delivered the line. Davis stormed off the set. Later, she returned and finished the scene as directed, but she spent the rest of her life—truly—complaining about it.

One thing everyone could agree about was the fact that no one liked the ending that the Hays Office forced upon the picture. According to the Production Code, anyone who committed murder had to be punished by the end of the picture, preferably by also being killed. In the original story, Leslie declares that she loved the man she killed, leaves her husband and goes on about her life. However, in the film version, she states her feelings and, then, wanders out in the garden where she meets a strange kind of justice.

The cast is superb. While Warner Brothers wanted the character of Howard Joyce to be played by a bigger star than James Stephenson, they were surprised by his Academy Award nominated performance. Herbert Marshall shines as Robert. Curiously Marshall was in the 1929 version as the man that Leslie kills. Much credit should be given to Gale Sondergaard who plays the grotesque Eurasian wife of Geoff Hammond and the owner of the damning letter. And, Bette Davis, truly gives one of her most controlled and subtle performances.

With a soundtrack by Max Steiner and some lovely costumes, this picture hits all the right notes and is rightfully put in a place on honor in film history.

Humanitarian of the Week: Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr.

Whether you think of him as a talented singer, a movie star or even as Grace Adler’s wayward husband on Will & Grace, there’s one thing that always comes to mind when one thinks of Harry Connick, Jr.—his birthplace, New Orleans, Louisiana.


Connick was born in New Orleans in 1967 to Anita and Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Sr. As a student in Louisiana, Connick always had an interest in jazz and showed a talent for music at an early age. By 1987, with two albums to his credit, Harry Connick, Jr. had already established himself as an up-and-coming performer who was popular in up-market New York clubs. His growing reputation led Rob Reiner to contract Connick for music for the soundtrack of the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally. The film’s success and its outstanding soundtrack opened even more doors to Connick who continued to explore his music, free his talent and even enter into the world of cinema as an actor in comedic, dramatic and romantic roles.

With all of his success, Connick never lost sight of his roots. Loyal to New Orleans, Connick has often paid homage to the Crescent City in his music. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the Gulf Coast, Connick was among he first to lend a hand to helping the citizens of New Orleans rebuild and grow again. He used his celebrity to enlist television networks like NBC to encourage restoration of New Orleans, organized A Concert for Hurricane Relief and donated many hours building houses for those whose homes had been lost. His work led him to be named honorary chair of Habitat for Humanity’s Operation Home Delivery.

Furthermore, with musician Branford Marsalis, Connick has worked to encourage the growth of New Orlean’s musical heritage by helping to create Musician’s Village where Habitat for Humanity built homes are built to provide affordable housing for musicians or anyone who qualifies.

For his celebrated work in the arts as well as his magnificent kindness and charitable works, Harry Connick, Jr. is this week’s “Humanitarian of the Week.”

The Belle Époque Today: The Art of Peter Kuhfeld, RP

The Wyndham Family
Peter Kuhfeld

A member of the Royal Academy, The Royal Society of Portrait Painters, and the New English Art Club, Peter Kuhfeld has been painting since 1972. This multiple-prize winning figurative painter has impressed critics and art lovers with his richly-colored portraits.


Kuhfeld not only shows the essence of his sitters in his romanticized portraits, but also has mastered showing them in their natural surroundings and in compositions which don’t appear to be posed, but rather seem to be captured moments in time. While his loose brushstrokes lend an ethereal quality to his subjects, his brave use of color affords them weight and permanence while his brilliant rendering of light and shadow anchor his subjects into the frame of the composition.

HRH Charles, The Prince of Wales
Peter Kuhfeld

A proponent of the New English Art Movement, Kuhfeld continues to prove that a portrait doesn’t need to be a photographic representation in order to effectively and attractively showcase both the sitter’s beauty and the artist’s talent.

Punch's Cousin, Chapter 183

Barbara Allen sat down on a bench in Jackson Square and took a bite from a warm beignet, being careful not to get powdered sugar on her dark blue dress.


“You’re hungry.” Charles laughed.

“Terribly sorry,” Barbara looked up, embarrassed. “My mother would have had apoplexy if she saw me being so greedy. I was taught to pick at my food. But, yes, I am hungry. I’m not ashamed of it. Food is in short supply these days. It’s a far cry from the groaning sideboards at Fallbridge Hall.”

“Eat up,” Charles winked. “I like to see a girl with a healthy appetite.”

“Good to know,” Barbara grinned before taking another bite of the fried pastry that Charles had bought for her on their walk.

“Here,” Charles said, sitting down next to her. “Take mine, too.”

“Are you sure?” Barbara asked. “You must be hungry, too. When’s the last time you’ve eaten?”

“Don’t worry about me, Miss Allen,” Charles shook his head. “I had breakfast. Besides, I’m not very hungry. I’m too excited.”

“You’re happy, then? You’re pleased to have the position with my brother?”

“Quite.” Charles said. “His Grace and his companion have afforded me a far more interesting life than I thought I’d have.”

“It will be interesting. I’ll give you that.” Barbara nodded.

“He’s a shrewd fellow, your brother—if not a bit strange.”

Barbara nodded. “Even in the grips of his lunacy, he’s still quite sharp.”

“I don’t think he’s a lunatic.” Charles shook his head. “A lunatic isn’t aware that he’s ill. Your bother seems quite aware that he’s different and seems to have embraced it. He makes no apologies for it, but he also doesn’t try to hide it.”

“Who were you dealing with?” Barbara asked. “Was he acting as a Duke should or was he affecting the rough voice and mannerisms of this persona they call ‘Mr. Punch.’”

“I don’t believe that is an affectation.” Charles sighed. “He is Mr. Punch. He’s also the Duke of Fallbridge. My conversations were with the one who calls himself Mr. Punch. I found him to be quite fair and pleasant. And very alert and observant. Whoever he is, he’s a kind and just man. I can’t help but like him.”

“And, that’s the trouble. He’s very likeable. Looking back at my life—my girlhood at the Hall—I think I grew up with Mr. Punch. I think he has all of the finest parts of Julian without any of the fear.” She began eating the other beignet. “Thank you for this. Charles, I do hope that this turns out to be a good experience for you.”

“I believe you mean that.” Charles said.

“I do.”

“I don’t think you’re the inherently wicked girl that your brother’s companion and his family have painted you as being.” Charles sighed.

Barbara sputtered a little bit, swallowing her beignet.

“I hope that doesn’t offend you.” Charles added.

“No.” Barbara shook her head. “I know what they think of me. And, in many ways, they’re not mistaken.”

“You know, you still haven’t answered my question.” Charles smiled. “You’ve done a very good job of avoiding it, in fact. So, don’t you think it’s time you are completely honest with me?”

“You want to know why I recommended that you inquire about the valet position with my brother.”

“I actually do believe that you wanted to see that your brother was looked after properly, and I suspect you’re sincere that you thought the position would be good for me, but I can’t help but think…”

“That I have some other reason. Some motive.” Barbara nodded. “I don’t blame you for thinking that. And, frankly, you’re correct. I did have another motive, but I don’t know what it is. You see, Marie Laveau suggested that I tell you about the position.”

“I thought as much.” Charles nodded. “But, what could she want from me?”

“For some reason, she wished to remove you from your present post. I’m to further insinuate myself into the life of Miss Harelda.”

“She’s after Dr. Odil, isn’t she?” Charles nodded.

“There’s some connection to Iolanthe Evangeline.” Barbara replied.

“Oh yes,” Charles nodded, chuckling. “I should say so.” He paused, looking up distractedly.

“What is it?” Barbara asked.

“Speak of the Devil.” Charles pointed forward with his chin.

Barbara brushed the powdered sugar from her hands and looked up to see Iolanthe Evangeline leading a red-headed woman toward the dock.

“Do you know that ginger woman?” Charles asked.

“Yes. I do.” Barbara answered softly. “It’s Ulrika Rittenhouse. I used to work for her.”

“Whatever is she doing with The Elegant Ogress?” Charles asked.

“Nothing good, I can assure you.”

“Do you think she’s in trouble?” Charles said.

“Most likely.” Barbara sighed.

“Shouldn’t we help her?” Charles wondered.

Meanwhile, at their borrowed house on Royal Street, Robert closed the door to Julian’s room.

“Can I give you something to help you relax?” Robert asked.

“No, Chum.” Mr. Punch shook his head. “I don’t want nothin’ that’ll weaken our thinkin’.”

“Fair enough.” Robert said. “How? Well, I mean…can you simply retreat into yourselves and commune with Julian?”

“I ‘spect so.” Punch nodded.

“Where is he now?” Robert wondered.

“There’s a room—not a room really, but a place inside us—that’s where me master stays. I was in there with him. I can’t describe it.”

“I think I understand.” Robert nodded. “Is he in there now?”

“Yes.” Mr. Punch said. “He’s waitin’ for me. He has been.”

“Has he got the key?” Robert asked.

“He does.” Punch sighed.

“Are you ready for this?”

“No.” Mr. Punch grumbled. “But, it ain’t my place to be ready. I think Julian’s ready. And, he’s the master.”

“I won’t leave your side.” Robert replied gently.

“I know.” Mr. Punch said nervously.

“You’re doing the right thing.” Robert smiled.

“Then why does it feel so terrible bad?”

“Sometimes the right thing often does.” Robert responded.



Did you miss Chapters 1-182? If so, you can read them here.