In “the old days”—before direct-dial telephones—one would ring the operator and she would connect you to your desired party. In the event of an emergency, the operator (who was often local) would connect you with the fire department, police or a doctor (whom she happened to know was in-town at that moment). As phones became […]
The Stonewall Inn was a restaurant and bar in Greenwich Village. In 1966, three mafiosi bought the Inn and re-opened it as a gay bar. It quickly became popular because management allowed dancing—despite NYC law forbidding men dancing together. Indeed, it was illegal to even serve a drink to a “known homosexual.” The Stonewall had […]
After enduring nine months of scaffolding outside our shop, finally it has been removed, revealing a beautifully-restored nineteenth century brick building! What’s more, new shop lights over our awning provide a rosy, nighttime glow. We’re thrilled to be able to breathe again! Please stop by to see “the improved location.”
The Book of Exodus tells us the story of the Jews in Egypt—enslaved by Pharaoh—and how God freed them, to be lead-out of the desert by Moses. In the story, God inflicts ten plagues upon the Egyptians, culminating with “The Death of the First-born.” On the appointed night, the spirit of the Lord came over […]
Long considered the “gold standard” of the American Arts & Crafts Movement, Gustav Stickley is generating quite a buzz some seven decades after his death—and Stickley furniture collectors are none too happy about it! At last month’s “National Arts & Crafts Conference” in Asheville, North Carolina, the great grand nephew of Gustav Stickley was invited […]
In 1857, New York City merchant E.V. Haughwout (pronounced “How-it”) built a five story building at 488 Broadway (and Broome) to house his emporium of expensive luxury goods including antiques, silver, crystal, china, chandeliers, bronzes and other irresistible treasures. His carriage trade clientele included Mrs. Lincoln who purchased the White House’s hand-painted china at his […]
With two months of snow and freeze behind us—hopefully!—it’s worth looking-back on the poor NYC denizens of 1888. On this day of that year, after a period of unseasonably warm weather, “The Great Blizzard of 1888” struck the East Coast, dumping 50+ inches of snow on parts of the Eastern Seaboard over a three day […]
After a week of visiting my family on Kauai, I head back to New York today. I’ve had a brief reprieve from single-digit temperatures and a chance to “stretch the legs” of my camera—which is so used to tight, up-close merchandise shots. Above, a photo of Makaleha, visible from my father’s front deck. Roughly translated […]
Shop dog extraordinaire, Benji—and the rest of the LEO Design staff—wish you a Happy New Year and look-forward to seeing you in the shop in 2015. From 26 December through New Year’s Day, LEO Design is open from noon to 6:00 pm daily.
In times past, English servants were required to work on Christmas—serving the family for the holiday. Their special day was 26 December—Boxing Day—when they would receive their presents and have a day of ease. For me, I begin my next buying trip today. As you read this, I am headed to Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, […]
The Ukrainian flag flies bright and crisp—a clear blue sky over a golden wheat field. Today is Independence Day of Ukraine and it commemorates the country’s Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Celebrations are held throughout Ukraine, as well as in Brussels (capital of the European Union), Chicago, and (sometimes) in Russia. […]
On this day in 1898, Maurits Cornelius Escher was born in Leeuwarden, capital of Friesland, Northern Netherlands. Poor Maurits suffered poor health which affected his academics—he was always a poor student except when it came to art and drawing. He was accepted into The Haarlem School of Architecture and Decorative Arts, where he studied architecture […]
On this day in 1828, Anglo-Italian painter and poet Gabriel Dante Rossetti was born in London to a Sicilian father and half-Italian mother. As a young man, enchanted with the literature, art and culture of Medieval Italy, he rearranged the order of his name to Dante Gabriel Rossetti—an homage to the towering 13th Century poet. […]
Sculptor extraordinaire, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, was born on this day in 1827, in the little French village of Valenciennes, near the Belgian border. His father was a stone mason and the boy inherited his father’s talent for working with stone. Carpeaux is among the greatest sculptors of the Nineteenth Century, much-commissioned for Emperor Napoleon III and […]
On this day in 1785, Jean Rabin Audubon was born on the French colony of Saint-Domingue—now called Haiti. His father was a French naval officer who owned a sugar plantation there; his mother was the man’s mistress. The senior Audubon was an “active man”; the young Audubon grew-up amongst a number of half siblings of […]
On this day in 1917, the world was graced with the incomparably-talented Ella Fitzgerald, America’s “First Lady of Song.” A difficult childhood (and challenging final years) could not suppress Ella’s talents—or her legacy as one of the world’s greatest vocalists. Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia but soon was moved to Yonkers, New York […]
On this evening in 1913, President Woodrow Wilson flipped an electrical switch in Washington, DC, thus lighting-up the Woolworth Building in New York City. The world’s tallest skyscraper—dubbed “The Cathedral of Commerce—was officially opened! Begun in 1910, the building was originally conceived as a 20-story office building to headquarter the F. W. Woolworth Corporation. Three […]
The date 19 April 1775 marks the Battles of Lexington and Concord—the first two armed conflicts which began the American Revolutionary War. And, since 1894, Massachusetts has commemorated the day as Patriots’ Day. Costumed re-enactments are staged at Lexington Green and Concord’s Old North Bridge. And, naturally, a mounted horseman re-traces the route of Paul […]
It was just before sunrise on this day in 1387. A group of religious pilgrims gathered at the Tabard Inn in Southwark (part of modern-day Central London), about to begin their four day journey. 60 miles to the west stood their destination: The Canterbury Cathedral, specifically the shrine of Saint Thomas Beckett. Beckett, who had […]
I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils! -William Wordsworth, 1804 On this day in 1802, English poet Willam Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, were enjoying a walk around Glencoyne Bay in the Lake District in […]
In 2005, British Arts & Crafts collector Edward Smith decided he’d like to combine his two loves—his family’s (retired) Sussex, England farmland and his collection of Arts & Crafts pottery, metalwork, textiles and furniture. In a clearing amongst the trees on his property, Smith has been creating a cemetery expressly for the remains of notable […]
In the ancient Roman calendar, the “Ides” were the mid-point in a month—either the 13th or 15th, depending on the length of that particular month. Each month’s Ides were celebrated in honor of Rome’s top deity, Jupiter, and a “scapegoat” was paraded and sacrificed to that god. The Ides of March—15 March—was extra-special since March […]
Daumier’s The Third Class Carriage (detail) 1862-64 (MMA) On this day in 1808, French artist Honoré Daumier was born in Marseille. Daumier’s father, a working class tradesman with dreams of becoming a poet, moved his young son and family to Paris in pursuit of his goal. Young Honoré soon became interested in art and eventually […]
The Hagia Sophia as seen from The Sea of Marmara during my visit to Istanbul On this day in 532, Byzantine Emperor Justinian ordered that a new, grand cathedral was to be built in Constantinople. The previous church had been attacked and burned to the ground not two weeks before. Justinian was determined that the […]
We finish our three day detour through the lives of Tragic Monarchs with the death of a king’s would-be assassin, which happened on this day in 1606. Guy Fawkes was an English Catholic and part of a group who sought to restore the English throne to (in their view) its rightful, Catholic monarch. They also […]
Happy New Year”s Day! LEO Design is open today from Noon to 6:00 pm. Please visit, call, or shop in our on-line store. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2014!
Today is “Boxing Day,” the day in England (and other Commonwealth Countries) when the staff are given their gifts and given the day off. It is a public holiday in most of the British former-colonial countries. As LEO Design staff had yesterday off, we are open today: Noon ’till 6:00 pm. As for me, I […]
It’s Christmas Eve and the season will be over in a few hours. LEO Design will be closing at 8:00 pm this evening. Until then, we’re ready and happy to help you in-shop, by-phone, or on-line. Please visit, call, or view the on-line shop. Wishing you a Merry Christmas!
For those who know me, I was amongst the last of the Luddites. I had to be dragged (kicking and screaming) into the on-line world. Two things precipitated my capitulation. First, I moved my shop—two blocks and a world away—and wanted my established customers to be able to find me. Web Genius Brad Soucy and […]
I am thankful for the good things in my life. My customers, my employees, and my shop certainly are amongst these blessings. Happy Thanksgiving! LEO Design is closed today as we complete our Holiday decorating. We will reopen tomorrow at noon. Here’s wishing you a Happy Holiday Season.
San Francisco de Asis by Francisco de Zurbarán, c. 1660 The Triduum of Hallowmas is a three day observance in the Catholic (and the greater Christian) church: All Hallows’ Eve (31 October), All Hallows’ Day (1 November), and All Souls’ Day (2 November). All Hallows’ Day (also known as All Saints’ Day) is when the church […]
Today I’m off on a European buying trip: first stop, London. I never know what I may find but I’ll post periodic updates from the road (or is it “the air”). Keep checking-back.
On this day in 1609, Captain Henry Hudson began exploring the river that would one day bear his name. At the time, the area was yet-to-be settled by Europeans. The Native Americans, however, had experience interacting and trading with whites in the past. It was Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano who had discovered the mouth of […]
Nijinsky in Les Orientales (1910), costumes by Bakst (Photo: Druet) For all the acclaim and artistry of The Ballets Russes, the centerpiece of the company—on stage and off—was the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. Born in Kiev (at that time a part of Russia) to traveling Polish ballet dancers, young Waclaw Nizyinski, was trained in dance from a […]
Leon Bakst: Costume rendering of Nijinsky in “Afternoon of a Faun” (1912) After relocating the company from Russia to Paris, The Ballets Russes continued to grow in fame and ambition. Its captain, Sergei Diaghilev’s genius was in identifying and recruiting exquisite talent (dancers, composers, choreographers, and designers) and pulling from them new, wonderful, and (sometimes) shocking […]
Georges Barbier: Vaslav Nijinsky in “Afternoon of a Faun” (1913) Yesterday, in Washington D.C., I had the great fortune to see a wonderful exhibit at the National Gallery: “Diaghilev & The Ballets Russes, 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music.” Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (1872-1929) sampled many fields—law, music, art, publishing, art curation—before he discovered his great […]
Fifty years ago today, a 34 year old Georgia preacher mounted the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, took the microphone, and—before a crowd of more than a quarter million people—fixed his place in American history. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is considered one of the most important—and successful—orations in […]
To wrap-up this little series on “Leos in Art,” let’s return to Venice—the city of St. Mark and his lion. Last month, my partner and I ended our summer holiday with a few days in Venice. Having been there a couple of times previously, we steered-clear of the well-worn “highlights,” choked with summer tourists (including […]
In the “modern” world, the lion has maintained pride of place in art and architecture. St. Mark, the evangelist, is usually depicted as a winged lion. He is the patron saint of Venice (at least since the Venetians smuggled his remains out of Alexandria, Egypt in 828 AD), therefore lions—winged or otherwise—are plentiful in that […]
As the sun moves-on—next week into Virgo—we have a final chance to showcase a few more Leos in art. Lions have been portrayed in some of the oldest artwork known to historians. For years, the oldest were the Cave Paintings of Lascaux, France (15,000 years old) which depict a pair of lions mating. Since then, […]
Scuola di San Rocco (c.1902-04) by John Singer Sargent In my opinion (for what it matters), “Art” is the accomplished manipulation of a medium. Some artists manipulate paint, others marble; some artists will manipulate words, while others manipulate vocal notes. Great artists—by definition—are great at doing it. On Sunday I witnessed a Master’s Class […]
Today is a landmark day. Today we launch our new (sales-capable!) website and journal. Today we’re grateful to be starting our 19th year of business. And today I celebrate my 50th birthday! Furthermore: Today is the first day of my favorite sun sign, Leo. 1995 seems like yesterday. I remember—very well—awaking on my birthday that […]
