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NB! · Archive · Humour
Just a trifle, merely a Mozart autograph
Monarchies · Observations
The Romanov dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty have rather a lot in common
Both were marked by great achievements, by tragedy, and by a pronounced peculiarity of historical fate. Both dynasties had their adventurers and desperate men. The Romanov dynasty was founded by a man with flimsy rights but a great deal of adventurism. Strictly speaking, that was not the seventeen-year-old
NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Observations
I have prepared a note on the Château de Chambord, whose compositional centre is the famous staircase after Leonardo's sketches
I have prepared a note on the Château de Chambord, whose compositional centre is the famous staircase after Leonardo's sketches. The staircase is so contrived that those ascending by its two separate flights will never cross paths, yet will meet at the top
NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage
Francis I's Salamander at Blois, the Valois Family Château
Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies
The Orléans branch of the Valois comes to power and the salamander on its coat of arms
One branch of the House of Valois is that of Charles VI, the very man who was crowned thanks to Joan of Arc. The other branch of the House of Valois is the Dukes of Orléans. Charles d'Orléans, the great poet, returns from captivity, and is regarded with
NB! · Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage
Coffered Ceiling of a Gallery at Château de Chambord with Salamanders and the Monogram of Francis I
The gallery at the Château de Chambord, founded by Francis I. The gallery ceiling is adorned with bas-reliefs of the royal salamander and the monogram F
Books · Mores · People · Humour
Balzac's love affairs and his epistolary romance with Evelina Hanska
The notion that Balzac remained a virgin until the age of forty, and that he is forever being dragged into all manner of lists of celibates, deserves to be treated with suspicion. It is especially odd, of course, to imagine that he could have lost his virginity at forty: potbellied,
NB! · Architecture · Books · Museums · People
Balzac's Drawing Room and Bedroom at the Château de Saché, Where He Lived for Seven Years
The modest drawing room of the small Château de Saché, where Balzac lived for seven years. His bedroom under the attic is far humbler still: a bed and a table in a cramped little room. But a fair number of the writer's personal belongings have survived here
NB! · Architecture · Books · People
The Château de Saché belonged to a friend of Balzac's father; the writer lived here for a time and wrote "Père Goriot" and "The Lily of the Valley"
The Château de Saché belonged to a friend of Balzac's father; the writer lived here for a time and wrote "Père Goriot" and "The Lily of the Valley". Balzac was perpetually short of money, and either borrowed from friends or begged a roof
NB! · Archive · Books · Mores · People
Proofs of “The Lily of the Valley” with Balzac’s Corrections and the Women Behind Its Heroines
"The Lily of the Valley" with Balzac's corrections before printing. In this novel he portrayed the ladies he loved: Laure de Berny as Madame de Mortsauf and Countess Sara Guidoboni-Visconti as Lady Arabella Dudley
NB! · Archive · Architecture · Observations · Heritage