Monday, December 31, 2012

New Year's Eve 2012




On this last day of the year 2012, I extend to you, the readers of this blog, and to those close to you, the above blessing and best wishes. 

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Here is a selection of New Year postcards and items from 100 years ago... 


Happy New Year for 1913 from the Cut-outs For Children newspaper paper doll series. This paper doll appeared in newspapers on December 29, 1912. 

Antique postcard dating from 1913. 

Cover of the Saturday Evening Post on 28 December 2012. The Saturday Evening Post is a US magazine that published weekly under that name from 1897 to 1969, then quarterly, then bimonthly from 1971. 
 It is interesting to note how many new year illustrations feature naked toddlers and young children, images that would be considered inappropriate today. They are posted here as illustrative of changes in community attitudes, concerns and perceptions. 
(Why does the toddler look like it is covered in coal dust?)

"New Year Resolutions -- Till They Melt," Puck Magazine, January 1913. 

1913 German New Year postcard 

French postcard 

1913 Wrigley’s New Year advertisement 

1913 postcard 

Dinner menu, New Year’s Eve 1913, Menger Hotel, San Antonio, Texas 

Embossed 1913 postcard 

Another 1913 postcard. 
 One commentator mentioned that the card seemed to suggest that health, happiness and prosperity were all in different locations and directions. Someone else responded that it would be fine as long as a person stood at the location of the sign, where they intersected. 

1913 Good Luck postcard 

Creepy 1913 champagne toast postcard. Note the man’s shoes. 

1913 New Year postcard with photograph of Dungog, New South Wales, Australia. 

Another 1913 German New Year postcard. 
Does anyone else find these a bit creepy and predatory?

Racist Bergman postcard from 1913 



A selection of some more 1913 New Year postcards. 

Clifford Berryman cartoon from New Year’s Eve in 1913 called A Packing Problem. In it Berryman depicts Father Time having a hard time fitting into the suitcase labelled 1913 all of the year’s major issues, including the debates over the Parcel Post, Currency Law, Tariff Revision, various constitutional amendments, the Mexican revolution, and events such as the first ascent of Mount McKinley, the Democratic take-over of Congress and the presidency, the floods in the Ohio Valley, the sinking of the SS Volturno in the North Atlantic, and the defeat of Tammany Hall. 

What would be spread on the table today? – terrorist threats; boat people; wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; poverty; financial crises and bailouts; pollution; outsourcing and offshore production; the increasing military and economic power of China; cyber bullying and loss of privacy; racial and religious conflict; aging populations? 

Let's, however, enter into 2013 on a positive note:


"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death." 

- Anne Frank

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Tiffany's


Byter Jess, cake maker extraordinaire, asked me to do an item on Tiffanys. I asked why and she said that she liked their fine jewellery and the colour of their boxes.  

So here we go. . .


“Time rolls on and youth is gone and you can't straighten up when you bend
But stiff back or stiff knees you stand straight at... Tiffany's..." 
- Lyric from Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend 

  • Tiffany & Co (usually shortened to Tiffany’s) was founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium”. The store sold mostly stationery and operated as Tiffany, Young and Ellis. 
Charles Lewis Tiffany 
  • In 1853 Charles Tiffany took control, shortened the name to Tiffany & Co and began the emphasis on fine jewellery. 
  • Some Tiffany innovations and notable items: 
       -  marking all goods with prices; 
       -  no haggling on prices; 
       -  cash only, no credit; 
       -  one of the first to publish its mail order catalogue (“The Blue Book”) in colour; 
  • Tiffany & Co was sold to Avon in 1978 for $104m. The new owners began stocking inexpensive items, so much so that Newsweek commented in 1984 that the store looked like Macy’s during a sale. There were also complaints from customers about declining quality and service. 
  • That same year, 1984, Avon sold Tiffany & Co to an investor group for $135m. The 1990 recession encouraged Tiffany’s to start mass merchandising and this was accompanied by advertising that a diamond ring was affordable to everyone. Rings were advertised from $850 but the image of exclusivity was maintained by displaying only luxury, high end items in the stores. 

“Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany's
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me” 
- Lyric from Santa Baby 

  • Tiffany’s supplied the Union Army with swords, surgical implements and flags during the American Civil War. It also designed and manufactured various awards and honours for the military, including the Medal of Honour. 
  • In 1877 Tiffany’s designed and produced a medal of honour that was issued to the first New York City police officer shot in the line of duty. It featured the letters NY interlocked. In 1903 the Yankees baseball team moved from Boston to New York. As late as 1909 they were still called the New York Highlanders and were still seeking a signature insignia. That year Bill Devery, one of the club’s owners and a former NYC police chief, recalled the stylised NY that had appeared on the Tiffany medal of honour years earlier. The club adopted it and it remains the insignia of the club to the present day: 
Lou Gehrig, one of the NY Yankees’ past greats, in 1939. The uniform displays the Tiffany's stylised NY identification logo. 


“the best place in the world, where nothing bad can take place." 
- Holly Golightly in novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s 
by Truman Capote (1958) 

  • In 2004 Tiffany & Co sued ebay in respect of the sale of counterfeit items. Tiffany claimed that the online auctioneer aided violations of the Tiffany trademark by letting counterfeit items be sold on its web site. A study of certain pieces of "Tiffany" jewellery sold on eBay that year showed that 73% of the jewellery was counterfeit. The company felt that sale of shoddy merchandise marketed as Tiffany’s items harmed its reputation. The lawsuit asked that eBay be stopped from listing any "Tiffany" merchandise that is not genuine and for eBay to account for profits it made on the sale of counterfeit Tiffany merchandise or else pay up to $1 million for each type of fake Tiffany merchandise sold on the Web site. 
  • The Tiffany’s case was one of a number of cases in various countries that have attempted to define whether Internet-based service providers can be held liable for infringing conduct of their users. 
  • Unfortunately for Tiffany’s, it lost both the original case (2008) and the appeal (2010). 

“I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is but I know what it is like. It's like Tiffany's.”
- Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (film, 1961) 

  • Author Truman Capote envisioned Marilyn Monroe in the role of Holly Golightly when his novella was turned into a film. Monroe was cast in the role but her drama coach, Lee Strasberg, told Monroe that playing an escort/call girl would not be good for her image.  She pulled out of the film and the role was given to Audrey Hepburn who scored an Oscar nomination. 
  • Tiffany's opened its doors on a Sunday for the first time since the 19th century so that filming could take place inside the store. 
  • Steve McQueen was offered the co-starring role. However, he was still under contract for the show Wanted: Dead or Alive, which prevented him from appearing. The role eventually went to George Peppard. 

“Private Pyle you had best square your ass away and start shitting me Tiffany cufflinks or I will definitely fuck you up!” 
- Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, Full Metal Jacket 

  • From the Tiffany website: 
The color known as Tiffany Blue was selected by founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for the cover of Blue Book, Tiffany’s annual collection of exquisitely handcrafted jewels, first published in 1845. Also referred to as robin’s-egg blue or forget-me-not blue, this distinctive color may have been chosen because of the popularity of the turquoise gemstone in 19th-century jewellery. Turquoise was also a favorite of Victorian brides who gave their attendants a dove-shaped brooch of turquoise as a wedding day memento. 
 Tiffany Blue was later adopted for use on shopping bags, as well as in advertising and other promotional materials. True to the founder’s vision, the Tiffany Blue Box® became an icon of luxury and exclusivity. As The New York Sun reported in 1906, 
(Charles Lewis) Tiffany has one thing in stock that you cannot buy of him for as much money as you may offer; he will only give it to you. And that is one of his boxes. The rule of the establishment is ironclad, never to allow a box bearing the name of the firm, to be taken out of the building except with an article which has been sold by them and for which they are responsible. 
 Charles Tiffany’s coveted box is today an international icon of elegance and sophistication. On a more personal level, it is a certain sign that a magical moment has arrived. The box may reveal a dazzling diamond ring that changes the course of love; or it may honor a personal achievement, a birthday or an anniversary. 
Glimpsed on a busy street or resting in the palm of a hand, the Tiffany Blue Box® evokes happy thoughts of the present that will be opened with the greatest pleasure. 
  • Because the particular blue used by Tiffany’s is protected as a colour trademark, it is not publicly available. 
Tiffany bonus item: 

A lady walks into Tiffany’s. She looks around, spots a beautiful diamond bracelet and walks over to inspect it. 

As she bends over to look more closely, she lets out a fart. 

Very embarrassed, she looks around nervously to see if anyone has noticed her little accident and prays that a sales person doesn’t pop up right now. 

As she turns around, her worst nightmare materializes in the form of a salesman standing right behind her. 

Cool as a cucumber, he displays all of the qualities one would expect of a professional salesman in a store like Tiffany’s. He greets the lady with, ‘Good day, Madam. How may we help you today?’ 

Feeling uncomfortable, but still hoping that the salesman may not have been there at the time of her little ‘accident’, she asks, ‘Sir, what is the price of this lovely bracelet?’ 

He answers, ‘Madam, if you farted just looking at it, you’re going to shit when I tell you the price!’ 


There you go, Jess, hope you enjoyed it. 

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Addendum:

After preparing the above item but before posting it on Bytes, some further things happened concerning Tiffany’s that deserve mention: 

#1: 

Jess had asked me some months ago to do a piece on Tiffany’s and it was an item I planned to get around to. I tackled it in the early hours of Saturday morning, that was when I sent a text message to Jess asking her what was special for her about Tiffany’s and she responded that it was their fine jewellery and the colour of the box. The only thing I knew about Tiffany’sliked to have breakfast there in the famous film. I had no knowledge of Tiffany boxes, much less the colour thereof or its significance. Since writing about the signature Tiffany blue colour I have found out that the perfectly tied white bows are also an integral part of Tiffany’s packaging: 


#2: 

Which leads to Item 2. Unbeknownst to me, I had chosen the same time to write about Tiffany’s as Jess was making a cake for my wife, Kate’s, birthday that same Saturday. Jess gave Kate her cake after we all came back from seeing Les Miserables (loved it!!!), and no need to second guess what the cake was: 



Superb, Jess, and very caring. Thanks. :-)

#3: 

Jess, it turns out, has a Tiffany’s charm bracelet and she asked me to find out why the heart charms have “Return to Tiffany & Co New York) embossed on their backs, as well as the number 925. A little bit more research revealed that: 
  • The number .925 indicates .925 sterling silver. 
  • I have read quite a number of references to the return message and they tend to fall into two categories: one that says that since 1969 the message has been accompanied by an embossed registration number so that when returned to Tiffany’s if lost (yeah, right!), Tiffany’s will be able to contact the owner; the other says that these days the message is a continuation of the past registration system but without the number, so that it is a branding device. Not sure which is correct. 
#4: 

Something else that I was not aware of is that Tiffany’s rigidly follows the protocols for the ethical acquisition of diamonds. Those who have seen the Di Caprio movie Blood Diamond will know the sad and horrific circumstances that accompany the mining and sale of diamonds in African war zones, the money therefrom financing conflicts, warlords and diamond companies. These diamonds are also known as conflict diamonds. The ethical sourcing of the diamonds by Tiffany’s contributes to the higher cost of the jewellery.

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

World Open of Photography - 2012


As readers will be aware, I have been working my way through a review of the Pulitzer Press Photograph of the Year (started in 1942) and the World Press Photograph of the Year (started in 1955). Just before Christmas I posted the Pulitzer for 1954, which means that there have not yet been any WP reviews. 

It is fascinating to look at the winners and the stories behind those photographs. They are reflections of time, events and history, as well as of human interest. 

This post is also about photographic awards, but not the Pulitzer or WP awards. 

Last week I became aware of a photographic competition with annual awards, The World Open of Photography

According to its website: 
The Open is a worldwide search for the greatest photographers of our generation. It features both online and live events and delivers one of the largest prize purses in the photo industry: $50,000US. It is an exposure powerhouse that connects photographers with a global audience. ... (It) is a worldwide photo competition to search and recognize the most inspirational photographers of our generation. The competition is for pros and aspiring pros from any country in the world. The categories of competition are: action, street, nature, people and ‘open.’  
The reason that I became aware of it was that The Open had announced its 2012 winners. Those winning photographs follow, with comments by the photographers where available. 


Photographer of the Year: 

Lorenz Holder 

Lorenz Holder

Holder also won the Action category. Comments about Lorenz Holder and the Photographer of the Year award appear below in the Action category. 


People’s Choice Award: 


Photographer: Scott Bauer 

Bauer’s photograph, Cloud 9 Philippines, won the People’s Choice Award. He has been taking photographs professionally for 14 years, his work reflecting his interest in free diving, surfing and photography. He hails from North Western Australian 


Street:


Photographer: Javier Arcenillas 

“One of the most popular and respected professions in Latin America is that of the Sicarios. Although revenues are variable (for killing someone can be charged from 15 € up to tens of thousands), the killings in Guatemala, Salvador and Mexico is recruiting many young people, including minors, who are seduced by the ease of earn money to offer respect and fear. 

In their training, young people begin killing dogs and pets to lose all your nerves. In the professional hit men indoctrinated in school most destitute areas, have to kill a person with the condition that the situation involves risk. The satire in the sicarios is shown in another of his evidence. Once a goal killed the murderer has to attend the funeral of the victim to make sure no one looked committing the crime. Satisfied that the subject becomes a professional assassin. In the Picture, The 31 year old Karina Marlene was gunned down with 6 shots from a taxi in zone 10 of Guatemala city.” 

- Javier Arcenillas 


Nature:


Photographer: Jody MacDonald 

“This is Rajan. He is a 60yr old Asian elephant who was brought to the Andaman Islands for logging in the 1970's. He along wiht a small group of 10 elephants were brutally forced to learn how to swim in the ocean so that they could bring the logged trees to nearby boats and then eventually swim onto the next island. When logging became banned in 2002, Rajan was out of a job. He has been living out his days on one of the Islands where I caught up with him and his Mahout(caretaker) named Nazroo who have been together for 30 yrs. and have a truly amazing bond. Rajan is truly the last of his kind. When he dies we will probably never see an ocean swimming elephant again.”

- Jody MacDonald 


People:


Photographer:  Lee Jeffries 

Thomas, a homeless man in Manchester, UK. 


Action:


Photographer: Lorenz Holder 

“I found this pretty unique spot in the summer and I really wanted to shot a snowboard picture there. I told Xaver Hoffmann about the spot and he was fascinated as well. My idea to shoot this in heavy snowfall wasn't too easy, because it was only snowing once at the spot last season. I'm pretty happy that we made it there on that day.” 

“I grew up in Munich, close to the Bavarian mountains, and it is those mountains that have always played a major role in my life. I was a semi-professional snowboarder back in the day, until I injured myself badly and I pretty much had to quit snowboarding for a whole season in 2003. In that time I discovered the pleasure of photography for myself. I was fascinated by photos that could describe a whole scene, a whole story or even a whole day, in just one small moment caught on film. This fascination was one of the biggest motivations for me to start my career as a professional photographer. Right now I work as senior photographer for Pleasure Snowboard Magazine and as a staff photographer for Nitro Snowboards. I travel pretty much the whole winter, always on the search for the best snow conditions and creative locations. I love shooting snowboarding in fresh, uncommon locations. In my photos I like to show the viewers a different angle, something they normally wouldn’t notice, even if they were there at the scene.” 

- Lorenz Holder 


Open:


Photographer:  Rich Lam 

Riot police walk in the street as a couple kiss on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. The male, Australian Scott Jones, was trying to calm his girlfriend of 6 months, Alex Thomas, by hugging her and kissing her after they were caught in the middle of the riot and knocked down by police. 


Some others that I liked that didn’t win first prize: 

3rd place, Open category, Mihail Kopychko. Repairing a car in Belarus. 

3rd place Nature category, Peter Lik 

2nd place, Open category, Chris Burkard (note the surfer in the wave, bottom right) 

“The shore break was so big, and the offshores’ plumes so high, that I was missing most of the best waves, but finally a set came through. The light, the wind, and the swell were perfect. It was as if everything in nature fell into perfect harmony for this single moment. As Peter Mendia eased into this wave, the backwash hit, sending a golden shower of water ten feet above his head, and sending him down the line of another 20-second barrel.” 

- Chris Burkard 

3rd place, Action category, Marcel Lammerhirt (Red Bull cliff diving competition, held at 3 different locations) 

Jeremy Wilmotte, photograph of Sarah Wilmotte swimming under a wave in Fiji