Monarchies · Observations · Society · Humour
The Battle of Caransebeș will go down in history as one of the most absurd engagements ever fought: the Austrian army managed to defeat itself. My thanks to Twitter's algorithmic feed for this staggering story. One is deeply sorry for the men who perished in this tragedy, yet
NB! · Aristocracy · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
Remember: if you see me in the guise of Leopold I, in full ceremonial dress and a gigantic headdress of white plumes with a peacock atop, it means I am returning with good news. If I appear as Prince Gundaker of Liechtenstein, with a sail of black feathers upon my
Aristocracy · Cinema · Books · Observations · Mores
I owe my first impression of consanguineous marriage among aristocrats to the tale of Babar the elephant, which I read in early childhood. If you remember the opening of the plot, once he has become a famous elephant, Babar goes off into the forest with his cousins Arthur and Celeste,
Museums · Observations · Society
It seems to me only fair that access to cultural sites should cost the same for everyone. Apart from special concessionary categories, naturally
Museums · Observations · Society · Saint Petersburg
From today the Hermitage raises the price of its combined ticket, for the time being only for foreigners: it will now cost 800 roubles. I do not know how you feel about it, but I, having held a foreign passport for many years, am somewhat vexed. To put it mildly,
Museums · Mores · Humour
The Poor Man's Friend is an excellent solution for men of 1914 in straitened circumstances. A reusable condom, washable, and coiled up by means of a metal spiral at its base so that it may also serve as a female contraceptive. Thank God it is sold together with
NB! · Archive · Cinema · Observations · Pop Culture
The 33-year-old Chaplin and Anna Pavlova. How handsome they are! And how well Charlie looks without make-up and moustache
Coming Up · Architecture · Monarchies · Moscow · Museums
The grandiose Model of the Grand Kremlin Palace, which gathered dust for 20 years in the storerooms of the Shchusev Museum of Architecture, is perhaps the most vivid testimony to Catherine II's sweeping idea of remodelling the ensemble of the Kremlin and Red Square. Alas, the plan was
Archive · Faith · Mores · Saint Petersburg · Humour
A story comes to mind, told on the word of a participant in the events, which took place in the capital in early 1888. It concerns Isidore, Metropolitan of Novgorod, Saint Petersburg and Finland, who had conducted the funeral service for Alexander II and crowned Alexander III, and who was
Art · London · Monarchies · Museums
The best-known portrait of King Henry VIII today is a replica of a group portrait by Hans Holbein from 1537. The mural on the wall of the royal palace of Whitehall showed Henry VIII with his father Henry VII standing behind him, and, on the other side, Queen Jane
Art · Museums · Observations · Humour
This sculpture was once considered a self-portrait of Gauguin, but a growing number of experts now agree that the head was in fact made by an unknown Polynesian puppet-maker in 1894. In principle, the Getty has money to burn, so it is not all that vexing that in
Art · Monarchies · Museums · Paris · People
1960: De Gaulle at the Nicolas Poussin exhibition in the Louvre with the Minister of Culture, André Malraux. The exhibition was organised by the Poussin specialist Anthony Blunt (pictured with Elizabeth), a man of remarkable biography. Blunt was a second cousin of Elizabeth II's mother through his own