A Pinterest Post - Basil Gill

I recently came across the arresting photo above while looking through the Pinterest boards. Hello, said I, this face begs further scrutiny. Clicking through, I discovered that this is the English actor Basil Gill (1877 - 1955) and s further search through Google Images led me to the discovery that I'd already pinned another photo of Mr. Gill to my board Absolutely Fabulous. In that photo (below) Mr. Gill resembles nothing so much as the quintessential English Dandy.

Searching the web for concrete facts about Basil Gill turned up not much more than bare bones credits for roles he'd played, until I found a site called a site called Shakespeare - The Players, which provided the following information.

"Basil Gill's first stage appearance was in Wilson Barrett's The Sign of the Cross. After touring in Australia and the United States, he had his chance to play Shakespeare when he joined Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company in 1903. He stayed with Tree until 1907, and during those years he played in Richard II, Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ferdinand in The Tempest, Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Horatio in Hamlet, Richard II, Brutus in Julius Caesar, Orsino in Twelfth Night, Florizel in The Winter's Tale, and Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra. This range of parts offered Gill do not occur often in an actor's life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"After he left Tree Gill still performed in many of Shakespeare's plays; there were so many that it is simpler just to list them: 1908, Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice; 1910, Henry VIII, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Julius Caesar; 1911, Malcolm in Macbeth; 1912, he played in revivals of many of the parts he had played before; 1913, Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice with Johnston Forbes-Robertson; Twelfth Night, and Julius Caesar; 1914, Henry IV; 1915, Henry VIII; 1916, played in Julius Caesar for the Shakespeare Tercentenary at the Drury Lane Theatre; 1616, Romeo; 1920, Julius Caesar; 1926 and 1928, Macbeth; 1932, he twice played Brutus in Julius Caesar; 1933, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Twelfth Night; 1934, Henry VIII, Julius Caesar, and The Merchant of Venice; 1935, The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth; 1936, Richard II and the ghost in Hamlet.

"Gill was a handsome leading man, something of a matinee idol, so he played romantic parts in many modern and "popular" plays as well, but he was best known as one of the theatre's leading performers of Shakespeare for almost four decades. He also played in thirty-five films during his career. His first part was in 1911 when he played Buckingham with Sir Henry Beerbohm Tree as Wolsey in Henry VIII; his last film was in 1939 and it was in the late 30's he played in two popular movies, Journey's End and The Citadel."

 

 

 

 

Gill died at his home in Hove, Sussex. If you know anything else

regarding Basil Gill, pleasae let me know.

 

 

 

A Pinterest Post: Juana Galán

This is one of my favorite Pinterest posts because Juana Galán (1787–1812), above, was fierce, feisty and would no doubt have been a favorite of the Duke of Wellington. During the Peninsular War, twenty year old Juana worked in a tavern in her home town of Valdepeñas, Spain, when she gathered the intelligence that the French were preparing to invade the town. As most of the men were away from the town already fighting in the war against Napoleon, Juana took matters into her own hands and rallied the townswomen in order to form a battle plan of their own.

On June 6, 1808, Napoleon's troops entered the town, whereupon the women, strategically placed in windows about the square, poured boiling water and oil over the heads of the soldiers who rode past. Juana, armed with either a baton or a cast iron stew pot (depending on which version you believe) then went into the street and beat the soldiers about their heads like there was no tomorrow. No doubt Juana had help in the pummeling, as a single person, man or woman, could not have taken on an entire regiment of French cavalry by themselves, however history credits Juana alone for the deed. The French fled and subsequently abandoned their aim of conquering the region of La Mancha altogether. Soon afterwards, the Spanish army were victorious at the Battle of Bailen against the French.

On May 2, 1810, Juana married Bartolomé Ruiz de Lerma,  with whom she had two daughters. She died during the birth of her second daughter on September 24, 1812.

 

You can find all my Pinterest boards here.

A Pinterest Post

The theme of this Pinterest Post is "things that might appear in an historical novel set in London."

Date : c.1850 The Orchestra Stand at Vauxhall Gardens in the centre of the grove. The organ seen immediately below the roof with the orchestra seats below it and the supper-boxes on the ground floor. This is the first photograph I've ever seen of Vauxhall. If you know of others, please share. I must say, the image below paints a much more romantic view of the Gardens. Note: Vauxhall Gardens closed for the last and final time in 1859.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From what I can tell, this was pinned from author Jo Beverly's Flicker page - small world, isn't it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Crystal Palace fire, November 30, 1936 and the ruins of the Palace below.

 

Lamplighter, c.. 1930

 

 

 

This water gate stood at the river’s edge, fifty yards from Samuel Pepys’ house. Built in 1626, as the triumphal entry for the Duke of Buckingham to York House, since the Victoria Embankment was completed in 1870 it has been marooned a hundred yards from the Thames. From  "In Search of Relics of Old London" at Spitalfields Life.

An Edwardian housemaid

 

 

 

 

1920's chimney sweep

 

 

 

Coachman and Footmen of the 3rd Lord Egerton of Tatton outside 9 Seamore Place, Mayfair.

Before the Coronation of George V. Cheshire County Council/National Trust.

 

 

 

Aida Overton Walker dazzled early-twentieth-century theater audiences with her original dance routines, her enchanting singing voice, and her penchant for elegant costumes. One of the premiere African American women artists of the turn of the century, she popularized the cakewalk and introduced it to English society.

London Cabmen: c.1877, John Thomson

 

 

 1920's - sheep grazing beside the Serpentine, Hyde Park

 

 

You can find all of my Pinterest boards here.

A Pinterest Post: The Steiff Titantic Bear

Once again I'm reporting on the story behind a photo I've found on Pinterest, this time the subject is a Steiff Titanic Bear. On April 14th 1912 the passenger liner Titanic was sailing towards New York on her maiden transatlantic voyage when she struck an iceberg off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Canada, and sank with the loss of 1,513 lives. The whole of England was plunged into mourning and Steiff responded by producing black mohair bears to mourn the disaster. Within weeks they were displayed in shop windows throughout London and sold out very quickly. The bears' eyes were backed with red felt so that they looked as though they'd been crying. Only 1,214 black mourning bears of this type were made.

The bear above sold in 2001 at Christie's, London, for £12,925, the description read as follows: A rare Steiff black teddy bear with pronounced clipped muzzle, large black boot button eyes with red felt backing, black stitched nose, mouth and claws, swivel head, jointed elongated limbs with cream felt pads and hump --16in. (40.5cm.) high, circa 1912

On the 100th anniversary of the Titanic tragedy last year, Steiff produced three commemorative bears to mark the event.

 

 

Othello Teddy Bear Titanic Replica wears a slightly curly black mohair coat with red discs behind his eyes.  This Steiff replica is an exact copy of an original "Mourning Bear" from 1912.  Only 494 of these bears were produced in 1912, and therefore, they are greatly prized today.  Othello Teddy Bear Titanic Replica was produced as a Steiff Limited Edition of 1912 pieces.

 

 

 

Polar the Titanic Bear is made of snow white alpaca and wears a whimsical sailor suit.  The original bear was almost lost at sea during his owner's rescue from the Titanic, but was rescued by a sailor and returned to the little boy who owned him.  Polar the Titanic Bear was a Steiff Limited Edition of 1500 pieces. Further background on this particular bear was found on the Bearly A Memory website:  Daisy Spedden and her husband Frederick were a wealthy couple with a passion for travel. In early 1912, the Spedden family sailed from New York to Algiers and then on to the French Riviera. Returning through Paris, the family boarded the train for Cherbourg; there they took a small boat out to the huge Titanic. On the night of the disaster, Polar, a beloved Steiff bear purchased at FAO Schwarz, was tucked under his master's arm as the Speddens were lowered down the side of the Titanic into a lifeboat. After the sinking, the survivors were swung up the side of the rescue ship. But Polar found himself forgotten in the empty lifeboat… until a sailor rescued him and returned him to his joyous master, Douglas. Steiff brings this true story to life with “Polar, The Titanic Bear”, a magnificent interpretation of the original bear. Polar is made of snow white genuine mohair and wears a detailed sailor suit. He's every bit as charming as the original, which survived the tragedy 100 years ago, based on the popular book.

 

The story is continued on a website called Enchanted Titanic:There was also a young boy travelling with his family on the Titanic. His name was Douglas Spedden. He had been given a Steiff Polar Bear a year earlier and had carried it with him throughout his travels with his parents. When the Titanic went down, he and his family went into lifeboat #3 and were picked up by the Carpathia and were returned to New York where they lived. In 1913, his mother wrote a book about the bears travels and adventures. It was called “My Story” and was told through the eyes of his beloved Polar Bear. On August 6th, 1915, Douglas Spedden was struck and killed by a car at his summer home in Maine. This was one of the first recorded car fatalities in the state. The book was put away in a trunk and was not discovered until 1982. In November of 1994, the book entitled Polar, the Titanic Bear was published and released.

 

Centenary Titanic Ted is a replica of the original "Mourning Bear" reintroduced exclusively for both the US and UK markets by Steiff.  This incredible teddy bear has red discs behind his show button eyes (just like the original)  to represent tear-stained eyes.  This Titanic Commemorative bear is from a limited edition of 1912 pieces.

A Pinterest Post: The Libby Hall Dog Photo Collection

 

 

If you've been on my Pinterest page then you know I'm a sucker for a good dog photo. Vintage dog photos are even better. Needless to say, vintage English dog photos are the cats' meow. Like the creative snap above and the one below of Charles Dickens and his dog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or this one of Lady Diana Beauclerk, circa 1866

 

 

 

or this one of actress Ellen Terry and friend. Whether the dogs are with well known people, on their own, or with their otherwise unknown but beloved owners, the vintage dog photos are compelling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a while, it began to dawn on me that many of the dog photos I was repining were noted as being from `the Libby Hall dog photo collection.' The collection, I learned upon further research, is now held by the Bishopsgate Institute and Ms. Hall has published four books based upon some of these fabulous photographs she has collected over the years.

 

 

 

 

As there's no point in re-inventing the wheel, I'm now going to turn you over to that most excellent blog, Spitalfields Life, where you can find the in-depth story and interview they did with Ms. Hall last year. I hope you will be as intrigued by Libby Hall and the funny/heartwarming/stirring and always evocative photos of England and it's dogs that she's saved from the dustbin (God bless her) and collected for us to cherish.

 

 

The Titanic's Canine Passengers

I found this picture on Pinterest, with the following caption: "Captain Edward Smith of the Titanic and his beautiful Borzoi which was saved." After re-pinning it, I'd experience a meloncholy pang every time my eye fell upon the photo as I scrolled through my board. Finally, I decided to find out more about the Captain's dog and turned to the internet for a little instant research gratification. It transpires that others had taken an interest in the Titanic's four legged passengers, as I found a wealth of material on the subject. I soon discovered that there were thirteen dogs onboard the Titanic, not including the dog pictured above, which was in fact a Russian Wolfhound. From Today.com's website -

"One photo shows the Titanic’s captain, Captain Smith, holding a Russian wolfhound called Ben, named for industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim, who gave the captain the dog as a gift for his daughter. But Ben never made the journey, as he disembarked before the ship sailed."

Assuming that you, like myself, would like to know more about the Titanic dogs, you may follow this link for an article I found on the Psychology Today website written by Stanley Coren, Ph.D., F.R.S.C.,  a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. It's an excellent summary of events.

 

You can then click here to read the full Today.com article about last year's exhibition at the Widener University Art Gallery, in Chester, Pa. that focused on the animals onboard the Titanic.