On my nightstand

Christmas past

All images have full size views. Just click on any one

A soldier carrying a Christmas tree, 1915

A woman returns home from the market with a Christmas tree, 1895

A Christmas tree in an Edwardian parlour, 1905

A young sailor buys a Christmas tree at a greengrocer's and a young boy
waits in a queue of children to buy some mistletoe, 1918

Source: Vintagephoto on Livejournal

Nostalgia

In the early 60's, before the British Invasion. I had this thing about Bert Kaempfert's music. I owned a lot of his albums, which back then were about $6.00 or $7.00 at Woolco - April in Portugal, Afrikaan Beat And Other Favorites, A Swingin' Safari, That Happy Feeling among others and, of course, Wonderland by Night. I think I even continued to buy until I started university in 1964.

My days of Kaempfert's music are well past. I lean toward the Baroque/Classical/Romantic periods with a mix of 50's and 60's, Edith Piaf and now and then Anne Murray - after all she is Canada's Songbird(1). But occasionally I get nostalgic, particularly at this time of the year when the nights are early, the weather is cold and there's a hint of snow in the air. And nothing speaks to that nostalgia more than this song.

1: More on Piaf and Murray in later posts.

Konrad Helbig (1917 - 1986)

All images have full size views. Just click on any one

 

Attila Richard Lukacs

These are some Lukacs' earlier (the paintings, but not the Polaroid), homoerotic works. For more recent paintings, including some interesting abstracts labelled as "New Work", visit his site which is linked below.

Attila Richard Lukacs official site

Toronto Argonauts would welcome a gay teammate

"The world of professional football may still be very homophobic and there are no out gay professional players, but that’s changing, according to two Toronto Argonauts who have come out as allies, vowing to help change the culture from within.

"And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Right now, the eyes of the Canadian football world are on Toronto, which is hosting the 100th Grey Cup final next weekend. The home team will be in the finals if they win against the Montreal Allouettes Nov 18."

The complete article is at Xtra

The lowdown

Henry Scott Tuke: Idylls of youth (1858 - 1929)

O delicate youth, thy praises shall be sung
While yet my heart is young . . .
While Life and I, in search of lovely things,
Go out with dancing feet and dreaming eyes,
And find wild Folly, with her rainbow wings,
Sweeter than all the wisdom of the wise.

O delicate Youth, thy praises shall be sung
While yet my heart is young . . .
Thy whiteness, and thy brightness, and the sweet
Flushed softness of thy little restless feet . . .
The tossed and sunny tangle of thy hair,
Thy swiftness, slimness, shyness, simpleness,
That set the old folk sighing for the rare
Red rose of Joy thy careless days possess.

. . . And when at last, with sad, indifferent face,
I walk in narrow pathways patiently;
Forgetful of thy beauty, and thy truth,
Thy ringing laughter, thy rebellious grace . . .
When fair Love turns his face away from me . . .
Then, let me die, O delicate sweet Youth!

---

Olive Custance (1874 - 1944)
In Praise of Youth

Henry Scott Tuke

Henry Scott Tuke (1858 - 1929) was a British painter and photographer. Shown here are some of his paintings of youths, most from the late 1890's, early 1900's, in Falmouth, Cornwall. For those who might question the age of the models, we should remember that this was over a century ago and attitudes reflected a much different time than today. It's unfortunate that we have apparently lost the freedom that allowed Tuke to paint his models and that allowed the youths the simplicity of their innocence. It should be noted that,

"Although Tuke's paintings of nude youths undoubtedly appealed to his gay friends and art-buyers, they are never explicitly sexual. The models' genitals are almost never shown, they are almost never in physical contact with each other, and there is never any suggestion of overt sexuality. Most of the paintings have the nude models standing or crouching on the beach facing out to sea, so only the back view is displayed."
Catherine Wallace, Catching the Light: the art and life of Henry Scott Tuke 1858–1929

According to Wallace, all of Tuke's regular models were called up during WWI and, as expected, some did not return.