The Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt, 1949
23/12/2011 § 2 Comments
Photos of the Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt, March 1949, at Badminton House in Gloucestershire, England. The Beaufort is one of the oldest and largest fox hunts in England. Founded by the 1st Duke of Beaufort in 1682, later heads of the House of Beaufort have all either hunted or occupied The Beaufort’s mastership, and the hounds, kennels and stables are still held by the family. The 11th and current Duke of Beaufort, David Robert Somerset, currently occupies the mastership of the pack and acts as its patron.
Two unfortunate things about these photos. First, the pictures are not captioned so I have no idea who is who — but I do know that the 10th Duke of Beaufort isn’t shown. Second, as the pictures are in black and white, you don’t get to notice the distinctive livery color of the Duke’s Hunt. Instead of wearing the traditional red, the huntsman and whippers-in wear green, while the subscribers wear blue coats with buff facings (you can notice the buff facings, though).
Aside from that, they’re really great. I especially love the ladies sitting sidesaddle with their top hats, and the servants navigating their way around the horses with their silver trays. Lovely. It’s no accident I’ve been finding myself looking for a beaver fur top hat of my own…
A lovely illustration of the Beaufort Hunt I found over at The Anglophile:
And a few images of the Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt today:
To learn more about the Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt, head over to their website here.
I’m also excited to mention that I’ve started my own club.
More on that in a bit…
All other images via LIFE and Beaufort Hunt.
LIFE Archives: The Rabbit Hunt
09/12/2011 § 6 Comments
A rabbit hunt somewhere in Britain in 1950 seems perfectly apropos after the chilly weather that descended upon New York today, does it not? Lovely tweed and leather and even a lady in a tie. This hunt was shot for LIFE Magazine by William J. Sumits, but I have been unable to find the accompanying article. In any event, the small wooly dogs — the Sealyham Terrier — seem to be the central focus, but I was quite drawn to the hunting party’s clothes. Of course.
Embrace your modern huntress in this lovely herringbone overcoat, these knickerbocker pants — both by Rugby, this tie by Pierrepont Hicks, these riding boots by Frye, this pretty lavender wool scarf from J.Press (on sale!), and these leather driving gloves from Dents. Dandy it up a bit by adding a vintage brooch and a leather and chrome liquor caddy from Orvis. Tally-ho!
All images via the LIFE Archive.
LIFE Archives: New Hampshire Girls’ ROTC, 1942
07/11/2011 § 1 Comment
All images via LIFE Archive.
LIFE Archives: Nantucket Boys In Winter, 1959
27/10/2011 § 1 Comment
From the article The Winter Joys of Children Summer Left Behind.
Published in LIFE Magazine February 23, 1959.
Under a cold winter sky a knot of Nantucketers, among them the three boys at right, watch incoming steamer Nobska stuck in the ice with its cargo of food and mail for the island.
Muffled in parkas, Dana Perkins, 10 (left), Bruce Bartlett, 12, and Jack Peters, 14 (holding his .22), go off to hunt rabbits on the moors.
All photographs by Alfred Eisenstaedt, via the LIFE Archives.
Reading List || LIFE Magazine July 6, 1959: Big Sur, California Story
18/10/2011 § Leave a comment
Henry Miller, second from left, in Big Sur in 1959.
I was pleased to discover that in 1959, LIFE Magazine sent J. R. Eyerman to capture a portrait of the creative colony that called Big Sur home at the time. Shooting in color, Eyerman returned with sun-bleached moments of artists, yogis, writers, families and local businessmen living in the picturesque California mountainside town. And after spending a few days there last week, I am happy to confirm that Big Sur definitely retains some of this same arty, offbeat and bohemian personality.
To read this lovely article, head here.
All images via the LIFE Archive.
LIFE Archives: Back to School, Winchester College 1951
14/09/2011 § 1 Comment
Cornell Capa captures returning students at Winchester College in 1951.
I actually have the AC on as I write this — hello Indian summer!
Seeing all of this delicious tweed is such a tease.
LIFE Archives: Glenn Miller {A Nightingale Sang…}
02/09/2011 § 1 Comment
Do you recall I went to Sleep No More a few months ago? I noted that the production’s music was an interesting oeuvre, spanning decades and genres — but there was one song that I liked most of all, a jazz standard written in 1939 called “A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square.” About a magical night spent falling in love, this song has been sung by many, but the version I prefer — and the version used in Sleep No More — is by the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Isn’t it just gorgeous…?
While I was familiar with a number of Glenn Miller Orchestra classics — Chattanooga Choo Choo, In the Mood, Moonlight Serenade, among others — I realized I actually did not know all that much about Glenn Miller himself, and upon a quick LIFE Archive search (which has been down for ages, praise Google for finally fixing the bug!), I turned up a batch of great photos of the band leader and band performing for US troops in Connecticut in 1943.
Between the years of 1939 and 1942, the Glenn Miller Orchestra had 70 — count ’em, seven-zero — top ten hits. The Orchestra also had its own CBS radio show and appeared in feature films. Most amazing though, was to find out that in 1942, at the height of popularity, Glenn Miller disbanded the Orchestra so that he could serve his country — musically, of course — in World War II. Too old to be drafted, Miller joined the US Army Air Force, conducted and modernized army bands and eventually formed the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. On December 15, 1944 Miller boarded a Paris-bound plane in order to make performance arrangements for the band. Tragically, Miller’s plane disappeared somewhere over the English Channel and was never found.
Miller’s story was made into a film in 1954, starring James Stewart.
Ladies watching “The Glenn Miller Story” in the theatre, 1954.
New to Glenn Miller? This album has all the classics — a great starter.
Back in Action
29/08/2011 § 5 Comments
NYC Subway, 1952. Taken by Cornell Capa.
Well darlings, I am happy to report that all is well and that I was able to return to my apartment yesterday evening and even enjoyed a celebratory dinner at neighborhood standby The Odeon. All in all, for a first hurricane, I am glad to report that Irene was something of a letdown, but I’m very happy to take over-preparedness and preemptive measures over disasters and tragedy. My building took on a bit of water in her basement, but that was all. This morning I was able to hop on a very uncrowded 4 train to get to work, and Starbucks even spelled my name right. All in all, business as usual. Well, maybe not the part about Starbucks spelling my name right…
Things that were awesome about the Hurricane Irene weekend included:
- Getting invited to a very special hurricane party
- Running into this guy at Duane Reade
- My Mom suggesting we play Words With Friends, so she knew I was alive
- Hilarious hurricane banter with Jodi, Ted and Bryan
- The Muffins Cafe amazingly staying open late on Saturday and opening up early Sunday, with lines out the door both days
- My building staff toughing it out through the evacuation, with some of them staying from Friday night to Sunday afternoon
- Convincing the hurricane party (no, not the one I mentioned above, thank you, a different one.) I attended on Saturday night to watch Auntie Mame in its fabulous entirety
Great moments, all, but the absolute best part of the weekend
was hearing from everyone concerned for my well-being.
I remain very touched. You guys are awesome.
All best,
M.
…and now we return to our regularly scheduled discussion of all the random things I tend to discuss.
LIFE Archives: Rainy Days
15/08/2011 § Leave a comment
Jackie and Caroline
Princess Lee Radziwill and Tina
Summer on the Cape
Perdue homecoming game, 1961
The Mating Game, 1938
01/08/2011 § 3 Comments
Way to go Robert. Way. To. Go.
This coming weekend I am headed up to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to attend the wedding of two very special friends. They are amazing people and a doubly amazing couple and I can’t wait to celebrate them.
Apropos of the impending nuptials, I wanted to share a charming little article from my LIFE Magazine collection on the very subject. It seems in Detroit in 1938, young couples like Robert Cannell and Dorothy Frances Stark (pictured above), attended lectures and courses in order to figure out if they were suited to marry. (When Robert wasn’t hitting Dorothy in the face with his badminton racquet, that is). The main motivation for attending the classes? “…the experience of two out of ten married friends who a few years ago were wed in a shower of glory, love and rice, and now are divorced, separated or miserable.”
Catch that? The “two out of ten” part? Wonder what they would think about our five or six out of ten situation today…?
The would-be couples attended group sessions with doctors, social workers and budget experts, and had private consultations with a priest, all in the pursuit of a “successful” marriage. It seems the attitude in 1938 was that any problem could be solved, if you threw the right combination of scientists and religion at it. The article is full of amusing euphemisms, as you might expect from a family magazine from the 1930s — my favorite example: “A great percentage of divorces are due to physical maladjustment often resulting from lack of knowledge or training,” under a picture of a gynecologist pointing to a large medical diagram of a uterus. Sexy.
Concerned couples. Seasoned experts.
Don’t they look happy?
Now, for readers who didn’t happen to be in Detroit (and for those of us living in 2011), LIFE generously included a questionnaire used in the classes that was supposed to give a clear indication of whether or not a couple would “make it.” Some of my favorites:
- Do you believe sexual harmony is necessary to happy marriage?
- Do you love your fiancee more than your mother?
- Will you live with your parents?
- Do you attend church regularly?
- Do you show your fiancee little courtesies?
If any couples out there are itching to take the full length quiz, I’d be happy to send it along. I’m not sure on the shelf life, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that living with your parents is always a bad move. Oh, and physical maladjustment. Avoid that one at all costs.
Quite Continental 