Art · Mores · Humour

Portrait of Mrs Mary Lewin and pink hair in 18th century men's fashion

Fops of the eighteenth century would be greatly astonished to step into a branch of Sberbank on pension day: pink curls flit across the heads of grandes dames more often than they could ever have imagined. The more so as in those days pink hair was considered chiefly a masculine

Art · Observations · Mores · Pop Culture

Pink hair powder for hair and wigs in fashion in the late 18th century

Like other finest discoveries of mankind, pink hair came into fashion in the glorious eighteenth century. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, many dandies perfected their coiffures and full-bottomed wigs with the help of plain pink powder. Now and again I come across miniature portraits of that era

Cinema · Moscow · Observations · Mores

Raizman’s 1984 film “Time of Desires” about the daily life of Muscovites in the late USSR

For those weary of the January marathon of old films, I recommend a 1984 picture about metropolitan life in the late USSR, "A Time of Desires" with Vera Alentova and Anatoly Papanov. Admirers of "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" may find this melodrama of some

Colour catalogue illustration of two theatre seats with perforated backs and cast iron frames, hats held under the seat and on the back, labelled No. 5 and No. 5½.

NB! · Archive · Mores · Humour

American Furniture Company Offers Theatre Seats with Hat Space Under the Seat

Where to put one's hat during the performance? As you see, an ingenious American furniture company has found a solution for gentlemen, allowing them to go to the theatre without disturbing the comfort of those around them.

Archive · Books · Mores · People

The legend of Herzen's family life retold by Chernyshevsky, and the actual facts

It is amusing that as early as the 1860s Chernyshevsky was in the thrall of a tale told about Herzen. Herzen married for great love and on the whole lived a happy family life. But the first years of his marriage to the girl he had loved since childhood, and

Moscow · Mores · People

Faina Ranevskaya saw Stanislavsky in the street and greeted him with delight

Faina Ranevskaya recalled meeting Stanislavsky near his house as she was crossing Leontyevsky Lane. Stanislavsky was riding in a cab, and on seeing him Ranevskaya began to jump up and down, crying “my boy! my boy!” Faina Georgievna and Konstantin Sergeyevich were 33 years apart in age, yet to her

The East · Mores · Society · Humour

There is a tale about Soviet diplomats in China in the 1950s: they refused to ride in rickshaws, since to them the rickshaw seemed the very embodiment of the exploitation of man by man, even though giving up this transport meant endless lateness

There is a tale about Soviet diplomats in China in the 1950s: they refused to ride in rickshaws, since to them the rickshaw seemed the very embodiment of the exploitation of man by man, even though giving up this transport meant endless lateness. In those years China still suffered from

Archaeology · Art · Museums · Mores

The Getty Museum acquired a 6th century BC kouros that proved a probable forgery

Before the New Year, a gripping tale for you of the eighties, an ancient statue and the Getty collection. At the close of 1983 the art dealer Gianfranco Becchina approached the Getty Museum in California with an offer to sell it a superbly preserved marble statue of the 6th century

Archive · Books · Mores · People · Saint Petersburg

There is a poem by Mikhail Kuzmin called "Theatre"

You will come quite unexpectedly, Clattering loudly down the corridor – Oh, how much meaning is attached To a gait, a smile, a glance! How sweet to be kissed before everyone. With a greeting that seems heartless, To hearken with a shackled heart To dear, indifferent words. Literal translation "Clattering

Science · Mores · Nature · Humour

The Thirtieth American President, Calvin Coolidge, Gives His Name to an Effect in Biology Characterised by an Increase in Libido at the appearance of New Sexual Partners, Despite a Decline in Desire for the Existing One

The effect is believed to be named after Coolidge because of a curious incident that befell the President and his wife when they were visiting a poultry farm. Mrs Coolidge took an interest in the farm's productivity, and was told that the cocks could perform their duties many

Archaeology · Mores · Humour

Hairstyles like that of Federation Council member Valentina Petrenko were already fashionable in Ancient Rome

Hairstyles like that of Federation Council member Valentina Petrenko were already fashionable in Ancient Rome. Marciana, for instance, the sister of the Emperor Trajan, who lived in the 1st century AD, wore her hair in much the same manner. Elaborate chignons and specially braided plaits were arranged over wire frames,

Museums · Science · Mores · Humour

Francis Buckland's armchair made from the hospital bed of John Hunter

Now you know what the bastard offspring of a stool and a four-poster looks like. This dreadful armchair is possibly one of the most preposterous and uncomfortable pieces of furniture I have ever had occasion to see. And yet so hideous a throne is not merely a monument to