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 A Little History of the World
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| Christmas lights. 11:30 PM. Photo: JH. |
Fair and mild weekend in New York with lots of sunshine as well as the Lunar Eclipse on Saturday night.
On Friday I went down to Archivia and bought E.H. Gombrich’s “A Little History of the World.” If you took an art history class in college, you probably read his “The Story of Art” which has sold millions of copies.
This book was written decades ago but was first published in German in 1935. It was published in English only six years ago, and has now sold more than a half million copies.
As a history student, I was curious to see Gombrich’s Story of Man told in 40 chapters – from the Stone Age to the Atomic Age. It was written so that it could be read to children (and understood). Which means it can be read by adults (and understood). It is simply told, and simply wonderful.
For those of us who are readers of history and avid followers of current events, Mr. Gombrich’s work is, in its way, a palliative, as it celebrates the progress man has made despite ourselves. It is an excellent gift for anyone you know who shares these interests (and concerns). And it is also a book that can be read to children of all ages.
The town seemed to quiet down some for the weekend although I was told midtown and the Tree at Rockefeller Center was drawing huge crowds. Nevertheless, the holiday spirit is beginning to infiltrate our thoughts and our neighborhoods. Walking home from dinner last night I got these shots: |
| The front door of the Lotus Club at 5 East 66th Street. |
The window at Treillage on 73rd and Lex. |
| The second window at Treillage. |
| Oscar goes for fir and golden feathers on 68th and Madison. |
The Christmas tree in my lobby. |
Last Sunday evening, the balmy weather brought out a record number of people for the annual lighting of the Park Avenue Memorial trees. About 6000 people gathered on Park Avenue and 91st Street outside of the Brick Presbyterian Church.
The tradition of lighting the trees was begun in 1945 by Mrs. Stephen C. Clark in honor of her son Robert who was killed in the Second World War, as well as all who served and especially those who lost their lives.
Mrs. Clark chose Park Avenue because her son grew up just a few doors in from the avenue, in a house built by his father in 1912 on 46 East 70th Street that now is the Explorers Club.
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| Members of the Brick Church Children's Choir. |
| Reverend Michael Lindvall and Tom Hoyt playing Taps. |
| Minister of Music Keith Tóth. |
The evening draws a big family turnout. It was led by the Reverend Michael Lindvall, senior pastor of Brick Church, who dedicated “these trees and their lights to those who died for peace and freedom.” He also thanked everyone “who made contributions to provide for the trees” and recognized the role of The Fund for Park Avenue in coordinating the effort.
Minister of Music, Keith S. Tóth, led the crowd and members of the Brick Church Children’s Choir in several Christmas carols. Following a rendition of “Taps,” Rev. Lindvall said the “traditional words of hope: ‘Let There Be Light!.” With that, the tree opposite the church lit up, and then the others followed in rapid succession. |
| Kevin, Barbara, and Hugh McLaughlin (above, left) were among the thousands of guests. |
Barbara McLaughlin, President of The Fund for Park Avenue, confirmed that the 104 Balsam firs which line the avenue from 54th to 96th Streets are lit each night from 5 p.m. until midnight – each with approximately 25 strands of white and gold lights. She said that none of this would be possible without the support that The Fund receives from the community.
Each year over 1200 “friends of Park Avenue.” They contribute close to $400,000 which covers all of the costs associated with the Tree Lighting. |
| Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and friends. |
| The Stowe family. |
Janice and Kent Goodwin with Teddy and Topper. |
| Laura Doyle with Petal Hammam. |
| Nark and Jackie Yale with their son. |
| Mary Jane McLaughlin, Bill Goodhart, and Louise Mansano. |
| Karen Chase and Larry Leighton. |
| Catherine Davis with Carol and Sally . |
Gail and Joe Gromack with Braedon, Elise, and Megan. |
| Alejandro and Juana de Ramón-Laca with José and Caroline Los Arcos. |
| Caroline Los Arcos and Georgina Schaeffer. |
| Tom, Karen, and Thomas Glover. |
Lisa and Philip Gorrivan with Isabelle and Charlie. |
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This week begins the extraordinary auction of the Elizabeth Taylor Collection at Christie’s. NYSD readers may have seen my diary last week about lunching with Ward Landrigan of Verdura and talking about Miss Taylor’s jewels.
Ward began his career working for Sotheby’s in the jewelry department in the late 1960s. He personally dealt with the star on the purchase of three major pieces in her collection – including the Krupp Diamond that she acquired in 1968 for a then record price of $305,000, as well as the 68 carat diamond ring that’s she acquired indirectly at auction in 1972.
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The Legendary Jewels Evening Sale (1)
Tues, Dec 13th at Christie's
Lot 12: LA PEREGRINA A NATURAL PEARL, DIAMOND, RUBY AND CULTURED PEARL NECKLACE, BY CARTIER.
Estimate: $2,000,000 - $3,000,000. |
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The third important piece that Ward was associated with and which is going up for auction this week at Christie’s was the La Peregrina Pearl which the Burtons purchased in 1969 at auction at Sotheby’s for $37,000.
The pearl itself, which is the 15th largest saltwater pearl in the world, and whose name is translated as “the Pilgrim” or “the Wanderer,” was discovered by an African slave sometime in the early to mid-16th century off the small island of Santa Margarita, one of the pearl islands in the Gulf of Panama.
Pearls were items of jewelry in the ancient civilizations of that part of the world including by the Mayans and the Incas who has mastered the art of harvesting pearls oysters from the ocean bed.
The Spanish explorers who plundered the region for gold and silver (while destroying the civilizations they discovered), taught the African slaves they imported to the area, how to harvest pearls. A Spanish explorer, Don Pedro de Temez took La Peregrina to Spain and presented it to Prince Philip II, the Crown Prince of Spain in 1554, the year it was probably discovered. The slave, for his part, was granted his freedom.
Philip II was betrothed to Mary Tudor, the daughter of Henry VIII of England. Mary had ascended the throne of England in 1553 as Queen Mary I after her brother Edward VI died of tuberculosis at age 16. When Queen Mary I married Philip II, he was still the Crown Prince of Spain.
Queen Mary, whose father, King Henry had left the Catholic Church and founded the Anglican Church (so he could divorce Mary’s mother Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn), kept her Roman Catholic religion, despite her father, and defeated a Protestant insurrection against her in 1554, the same year that she received the pearl.
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| Portrait of Queen Mary I of England, wearing the pearl. |
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Just before she married Philip II, she reversed her father’s decision and revived the laws against heresy, punishing “heretics” who continued to worship and promote the Protestant religion. More than 100 were burned at the stake, in the name of the Roman Catholic religion and Queen Mary, who became known to her people as “Bloody Mary.” Mary’s reign, however, was brief: she died only five years after ascending the throne in 1558.
After Mary’s death, La Peregrina was returned to Spain and became one of its Crown Jewels, where it remained for the next 250 years. It was very popular and worn by its monarchs and painted in many portraits including those by Velázquez. In 1660, King Philip IV wore it as a hat ornament when his daughter Marie Therese married Louis XIV of France.
Then in 1808 Napoleon came along and conquered Spain, installing his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the throne. Joseph Bonaparte’s reign was highly unpopular (and opposed by an underground resistance). Five years later, he was defeated by the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Vitoria.
Joseph Bonaparte left Spain in 1813, taking the Spanish Crown Jewels with him, including La Peregrina. The pearl remained in his family’s possession, ending up as property of Bonaparte’s nephew Charles Louis Bonaparte who later became Napoleon III.
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| Portrait of Philip IV of Spain on horseback, by Velázquez in 1635-36, wearing La Peregrina as a hat ornament. |
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During Charles Louis Bonaparte long and circuitous route to the French throne in the mid-19th century, he’d been exiled and come upon hard times. La Peregrina was sold during one of those times to Lord James Hamilton, the wealthy Marquess of Abercorn. The pearl remained in the Hamilton family for more than a century until 1969 when the family assigned it to Sotheby’s for auction.
Enter Ward Landrigan. NYSD readers already know that when Elizabeth Taylor acquired a piece of jewelry at auction, she expected it to be delivered to her immediately. In this case, in 1969, Taylor and Burton were staying in the Presidential suite of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas when it was purchased. The very next day Ward Landrigan boarded an early morning flight to Las Vegas to deliver it.
When he arrived at the door of the suite and knocked, Richard Burton, in his pajamas and bathrobe, answered the door. “Oh, it’s you again,” he remarked, then calling to Elizabeth to tell her that her pearl had arrived. She came running out of the bedroom (also in robe) very excited, and when she saw Ward holding the pearl up before Richard, coming up from behind, she threw her arms around Burton and dragged him over to a sofa where they fell on top of each other and began moving around playfully.
Within minutes, Ward was being entertained by Burton while Elizabeth went into the bedroom to try it on (it had come with a simple necklace chain attached to it). A few minutes later she came out of the bedroom upset that she’d lost the pearl, that it had fallen off its necklace and she couldn’t find it anywhere.
Ward later described the carpet in the suite as being a five inch thick pink shag. Soon the three, Burton, Taylor and Ward were on their hands and knees combing the bedroom rug for the pearl.
From Bloody Mary to Caesar’s Palace. Whereupon, in his search Ward came upon Taylor’s little Maltese under a chair and growling at him as he approached. The dog had something in his mouth, Ward noticed; and he was chewing on it. Ward could hear the crunch and quickly realized it was La Peregrina. He got hold of the dog, opened its mouth, and out fell La Peregrina. Everyone was relieved and happy. No doubt Elizabeth Taylor rewarded her pup with a treat.
The pearl was later set as a pendant to a necklace of diamonds and rubies. In tomorrow's sale, Dec. 13th – it will be auctioned with an estimate of $2.5 - $3.5 million. Complete with the tiny teethmarks of Miss Taylor’s devoted pup. |
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Photographs by Cutty McGill & Annie Watt (Park Ave).
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Comments? Contact DPC here. |
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