History's Stylus Remains Stuck in the Same Groove

The 2016 presidential election seems the most contentious of my lifetime. The amount of cognitive dissonance and outright hypocrisy among supporters of the front runners is, well, staggering. 

My fellow Americans seem unable or unwilling to shake off the shackles of the two-party system, so other party candidates often play to matinee-sized crowds or the fringes. That's not to say these other candidates are not flawed - though for me one is, even with his flaws, the most reasonable of the bunch...not to mention the only one my conscience will not punish me for ticking the box.

Anyway, since I'll be away on election day, I cast my absentee ballot by mail earlier this week.

Around the same time I received an email from a friend asking my opinion on a critical survey of democracy in today's world by George Monbiot titled "What We Are." The essay appeared in The Guardian on October 5th.

Of course, it set me to thinking about H.G. Wells's own After Democracy of 1932 (Watts & Co., London), so I swiveled my chair and pulled my copy from the shelf. The book happened to fall open to page 22 where I found a passage on 'Liberalism' that still resonates 84 years later:

In the United States Liberalism has been completely suppressed for over a hundred years. That is due to its own blundering. In its days of opportunity it devised a Constitution of incredible pedantry, and that Constitution was studied very carefully, and then jumped by two powerful gangs, the Republican and Democratic Parties, which have ever since ruled the country with much violence and disingenuousness, a close association with gangsters, and an extremely efficient suppression of radical and socially constructive ideas.

Allegorical Fame by Hyacinth Phileas Sobre

Allegorical bronze figure of Fame by Hyacinth Phileas Sobre (French, 1826-1902)

Virgil wrote of her Roman equivalent, Fama, having "her feet on the ground, and her head in the clouds, making the small seem great and the great seem greater."

Sobre's work shows Fame running on the breath of the wind.

Evaluation of the Day: October 7th - Rembrandt van Rijn Etching

Studies of the Head of Saskia and Others 
Etching by Rembrandt Harmenz van Rijn (1606-1669), circa 1790s impression on laid paper by P.H. Basan, from C.H. Watelet/J and P.J. Mariette plates. Signed in plate, lower left.

More information soon.

Lewis Carroll, Salvador Dali and the Héliogravure

Today I had the pleasure of evaluating a copy of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, from a rare, limited edition published in 1969 by Maecenas Press - Random House, New York.

Printed in an edition of 2500, the unbound copies included an etching and twelve heliogravures, and with Salvador Dali's signature on the title page.

In case you're wondering, héliogravure is a process invented in the 19th century for reproducing photographic images and is regarded as the oldest of its type.

The copy is coming to auction in November, so I'll post more about it when it's auction catalog is released. In the meantime, here are a few quick images...

H.G. Wells's Copyright Set to Expire

I have served as Webmaster for the H.G. Wells Society since 2002. One of my responsibilities is to forward email inquiries to the society secretary for consideration and distribution. I’ve seen a lot of different kinds of inquiries through the years, but for a time, one appeared more frequently than all others: copyright.

The copyright protecting H.G. Wells’s work in Britain and the EU was once so obscure and confusing to the general inquirer that a special webpage was expanded around 2005 to better address the issue, and was inspired partly by a controversy I was involved in regarding film versions of The War of the Worlds that were in production around that time.

While copyright on much of H.G. Wells’s work has expired in the United States, for the EU and other territories throughout the world, it remains the date of the author’s death plus 70 years (through the end of the calendar year). In Wells’s case, of course this is 31^st December 2016, since he left us on 13th August 1946.

Until now, filmmakers have needed to obtain permission from the Wells estate, via agents A.P. Watt, to release films in protected regions. While the motion picture world is the big money customer, I have seen other inquiries for things as unusual as The War of the Worlds-themed gambling machines!

Beyond the motion picture world, other kinds of presentations, such as musical versions or plays were allowed through obtaining dramatic rights.

Of course H.G. Wells’s oeuvre remains a popular font of ideas for filmmakers, whether they intend to make movies or TV shows based directly on his books, or simply borrow characters for a 21^st century romp.

While I personally have rarely been satisfied or impressed by the intellectual content of the recent Wellsian reboots and palimpsests, as we approach the end of the calendar year of Wells’s death, I think it’s appropriate to say, for better and worse, I expect things will get interesting...

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and a US Liberty Loan Prussian Spike Helmet Prize, 1918

It is sometimes said that while the rest of the world goes to war for territory or to protect an empire, America goes to war for souvenirs. It's a cynical notion, clearly, though still manages to raise a smile here and there, especially among those for whom collecting historical militaria is a serious hobby.

As I'm sure we're all aware by now, nearly a century ago, the United States declared war on the Kaiser's Germany. At that time, the USA was a minor player on the world stage, despite having the most impressive industrial base of all. When congress did declare war in April 1917, the idea, at least according to President Wilson, was to 'make the world safe for democracy,' and acknowledging all the subtexts that go along with that grand-sounding idea.

Interestingly, the American army was not quite ready for combat on the scale the Great War demanded, both in terms of men and material. But as is usual in times of crisis or need, Americans rose to the challenge.

In 1913 - and about four years before the US 'threw its hat in the ring' of the Great War, the 16th Amendment to the US Constitution imposed an income tax on both individuals and corporations. Despite the influx of money to government coffers, made even greater by wartime tax increases, various drives and fundraisers were common and served very useful purposes, and none was more famous than the series of four Liberty Loans.

These loans, or bonds, were usually sold by Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and by the war's end, 2.3 million had been bought, with a total of $354 million owed to the people of the United States.

Various prizes were awarded to stimulate interest in the campaigns. One such item was this patriotic-painted Prussian enlisted spike helmet.

Captured from a Prussian soldier, the original black leather was repainted with patrioticAmerican red and white stripes across the crown, fore to aft, while the front visor was adorned with white stars on a blue field. A late 19th century braided horsehair cavalry plume was added to the spike top. 

The example pictured, sold by Manion's in September 2004, included the original leather liner. Special attention was paid to the detailing, meaning that the gilt Prussian eagle wappen (front plate), round spike base, and front visor trim were removed for painting and reapplied. 

A 'rare bird,' as we said in those days!

July Absence

July was a very busy month for my family, so the blog was neglected. I will at least post a bit about the adventures of my son and I at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation sometime soon. But, in an effort to at least post one thing every month, here's a quickie.

I've enjoyed reading the "Old Farmer's Almanac" every year since 1979, when my grandfather put me on to it. So, turning the page to August, I see a cute little aphorism, "If the first week in August is unusually warm, the winter will be white and long."

Weather forecasts are for a very warm week indeed. Oh boy!

I also grew a beard this month that was shaved earlier today. :)