Basque Anthropology/Ethnography

Anthropology is the intellectual result of the comparative methods developed in the earlier 19th century. 

Theorists in such diverse fields as anatomy, linguistics, and ethnology, making feature-by-feature comparisons of their subject matters, were beginning to suspect that similarities between animals, languages, and folkways were the result of processes or laws unknown to them then. 

For them, the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was the epiphany of everything they had begun to suspect. Darwin himself arrived at his conclusions through comparison of species he had seen in agronomy and in the wild.

The study (sometimes scientific, often not) of people and ethnicities became very popular early last century.

The Basques, a unique people in Europe, were often portrayed on postcards, pointing out various characteristics in their appearance. 

Tagging

Cartoon (2007) held by the New Zealand National Library:

A tagger is annoyed that a mountain scene being painted by an artist wearing a Basque beret is on a part of the wall that he wants to tag.

Prieto Manuel Benitez

 (1912 - 1991) was a Spanish painter and medal sculptor.

Manolo Prieto in El-Puerto-de-Santa-María, 1929

His most well-known graphic work is a silhouette of the Osborne Bull (1956), originally an Osborne Group advertisement but so successful that it has become the “cultural and artistic heritage of the peoples of Spain” according to a court ruling.

He is also the author of various designs of medals, such as those found in the municipal museum of his hometown El Puerto de Santa María, some with erotic themes.

Prieto was also a recognized militant of the Spanish Communist Party. During the Spanish Civil War, he supported the Republican side and collaborated with drawings for Altavoz del Pueblo and newspaper El Sol, in addition to being artistic director of a newspaper for the V Army Corps. 

Later, during Franco's dictatorship, he illustrated articles in the national press under the pseudonym Teté, worked for theNational Factory of Currency and Stamps as sculptor of medals, and received numerous prizes. He achieved great recognition for his designs of bullfight posters.

The Junta de Andalucía registered its famous design of the bull, of which up to five hundred were distributed alongside hundreds of roads throughout the country.

Manolo Prieto once expressed his disappointment because, after all he had done in artistic matters, of the very different registers he had played in the plastic creation, he will end up being known, generally, as the author of the bull on the road.

British made Free French Airborne Beret

Sometimes, looking on Ebay for vintage berets, one comes across a real treasure.

This 1944 paratrooper’s beret for example, made by the” British Beret Basque Ltd.”

The beret was issued to commando’s/paratroopers of the "Free French", fighting the Nazi’s and Vichy French Government. 

The winged badge is numbered 875; a truly rare find. 

Breton Berets

A collection of vintage photo's of fishermen from Brittany, dated around 1900-1910. 

No Caps - Berets Only

I have come across a lot of stupid signs in my life; most of them pretty harmless like "No shirt, no shoes, no service" or "Don't sleep on the grass", but sometimes a sign can feel very offensive. 

The (Australian based) Bank of New Zealand for example, tells people entering the bank's premises to take off their hat and yes, that includes berets!

The sign shown here, offered by a French stationary supplier, should be used in any public (and private) space really, as far as I'm concerned. 

Going South

Tony, from Tasmania

From today, The Beret Project is on leave, until the 30th of this month; an exploratory mission further south from Wellington, to Tasmania.

Feeding a Wallaby, Tasmania

All orders placed over the next 10 days will ship on 30 March and whenever possible, questions will be responded to.

Tasmanian painter Max Angus

Serigraf Ball

 

A football is a clever assembly of pentagons and hexagons that must be combined to form a harmonious and colorful design. Simon Mutscher and Louis-Bernard Guillizzoni, two young friends from Nantes, became ball designers and launched their brand: Serigraf Ball. The two are complementary: Simon is a rugby fan, Louis-Bernard, a football fan.

French Resistance: Isabelle Nacry

One of the iconic photos of the French Resistance, pictruring Isabelle Nacry.

On September 9, 1944, the commander of the 8th Canadian Brigade, Brigadier Blackader, gave orders for the regrouping of his units to the North-East of Boulogne (St Martin les Boulogne, Pittefaux, Wimille), in order to deliver the final blow. The region was to be occupied by the 9th Brigade. In the center of La Capelle, the Canadian soldiers prepared to continue their journey. One of the German shells fell right in the center of the village: two FFI leaders, Marcel Caudevelle and Jean Legrand, were killed instantly. The command of the La Capelle free corps was then assumed by Isabelle Nacry, a first-time resistance fighter and liaison agent.

They continued their mission with rare efficiency beyond the capture of Boulogne (September 18) and until the neutralization of all German opposition. 

On Monday, November 8, 1944, in the Schramn barracks in Arras, during the parade, General Deligne awarded Isabelle Nacry the Croix de Guerre with citation, "showing the greatest courage, reasoned composure and the purest patriotism. Adored by her men, she never stopped commanding."

Belgian Resistance: Andrée Dumon

Andrée Dumon (5 September 1922 – 30 January 2025), codenamed Nadine, was a Belgian member of the Comet Line network of the Belgian Resistance during the Second World War. She was betrayed in August 1942 and captured, spending time in Ravensbrück and later Mauthausen concentration camps, where she was liberated in April 1945. Her elder sister, Micheline Dumon, was a leader of the Comet Line.

In 2018 she published her memoirs under the title Je ne vous ai pas oubliés ("I have not forgotten you"). Dumon died on 30 January 2025, at the age of 102.

Belgian Resistance: Witte-Brigade Fidelio

Witte-Brigade Fidelio was founded in Antwerp by Marcel Louette, a veteran of both 1914-18 and 1940. Louette’s group was particularly active during the occupation, involving itself in both passive and active resistance. Witte Brigade-Fidelio disseminated anti-German propaganda, hid Jews, and other vulnerable people, maintained a list of collaborators, gathered intelligence about German Flak defenses and troop movements, and conducted several high-profile acts of sabotage and vandalism. It was the only major resistance movement headquartered in Flanders and it was particularly active in the Flemish region, though it also had a limited presence in Wallonia.

Witte Brigade-Fidelio members

In May 1944, the Gestapo arrested most of the Antwerp membership, including Louette, and Witte Brigade-Fidelio was decapitated. Once among the most significant resistance groups in Antwerp, Witte Brigade-Fidelio could muster just twenty men to participate in the battle for the liberation of the city, all of whom were placed under the command of local FI/OF and PA leader Edouard Pilaet. Though the national organization was crippled, and the Witte Brigade had been largely rooted out of Antwerp, some local chapters continued to thrive.

Belgian Resistance: Front de l'indépendance/Onafhankelijkheidsfront

Founded in 1941, the FI/OF represented the communist resistance in Belgium. Though officially a national organization, it was strongest in Hainaut, Namur, Brussels, and the major cities in Flanders. It maintained only a limited presence in Limburg and the eastern portions of the country. Like the MNB/BNB, it involved itself in both civil and military resistance, including the sheltering of Jews, clandestine press, forgery, intelligence gathering, and sabotage. The armed wing of the FI/OF was the Armée belge des partisans or Partisans armés (armed partisans). Many other left or far left sub-organizations existed within the FI/OF, among them the Milices patriotiques (patriotic militias), a communist youth movement.

On paper, the Partisans armés (PA) maintained a strict hierarchical organization. Sector commands controlled several corps which in turn were divided into battalions and companies, each with a prescribed allotment of personnel. In practice, PA organization was more flexible, especially during the liberation. Though the Belgian government did not recognize the FI/OF, PA, and other communist organizations, the SOE maintained contact with the partisans and provided them with some equipment.

Belgian Resistance: Mouvement national belge/Belgisch National Beweging

Founded in 1940 by Aimé Dandoy, the MNB/BNB was strongly associated with the center-right Bloc Catholique Belge party and closely aligned with the Belgian government-in-exile. The MNB/BNB involved itself in a wide array of resistance activities, both civil and military. At the height of its operations, it maintained and extensive intelligence network which passed on information to London and ran the Belgian portion of the Comet Line which helped to exfiltrate downed Allied airman. In addition, the MNB/BNB printed the clandestine newspaper Le Voix des Belges and its members hid Jews and other threatened people and conducted acts of sabotage.

Plaque in memory of Aimé Dandoy

Like the AS/GL, the MNB/BNB divided the country into Zones which roughly corresponded to the Belgian provinces. Each zone was subdivided into sectors, and each sector command controlled several local “brigade” commands. Unfortunately, a precise reconstruction of the MNB/BNB’s entire organization is not possible.

In February 1944, the MNB/BNB was compromised, and mass arrests crippled its national leadership. Though it was not dissolved, the organization largely collapsed and was incapable of further coordinated action. In Limburg Province the local MNB/BNB commands were absorbed by the AS/GL. By September, MNB/BNB activities were mostly restricted to the western portions of Hainaut and Flanders where the organization maintained close ties to the FFI. Though only a shadow of its former self, MNB/BNB members were among the first resistance fighters to greet the Allies.

Belgian Resistance: Armée secrète”/”Geheim Leger

The Belgian Resistance consisted of many organizations, some local and some national, with competing ideologies and goals.

Due to sharp political divisions, efforts to unify the various organizations under a single command failed and the Belgian Resistance always remained fractured. Though the various organizations were divided politically, they shared many of the same short goals, adopted similar methods, and engaged in many of the same activities.

Lt. Urbain Reniers of the AS-GL (center) co-chaired the Antwerp Coordinating Committee

The “Armée secrète”/”Geheim Leger “(AS/GL, “Secret Army”):

The Armée secrète/Geheim Leger was by far the largest and most capable resistance group in Belgium during the liberation. The AS/GL’s origins date to late 1940 with the formation of the Légion belge and the Armée belge reconstituée. These two organizations, both led by veterans of the 1940 campaign and dedicated to the continuation of the war, merged in 1941 and, after a couple of name changes and significant reorganization, became the AS/GL in early 1944. The AS/GL was a strictly military organization dedicated to preparing for a guerrilla war. True to its name, the AS/GL was to remain largely invisible until ordered into action.

AS/GL Squad posing with a German prisoner

The AS/GL was not politically affiliated and much of its membership had no political agenda other than the overthrow of the occupiers, but it always remained associated with the far right, royalist politics of one of its predecessor Légion belge. Due to its perceived support of the monarchy, a certain mistrust always existed between the Belgian parliament in London and AS/GL. Nonetheless, British military authorities recognized that the AS/GL was the organization most capable of taking military action and chose to support it.

Canada’s National Memorial at Vimy Ridge

 Unveiling of Canada’s National Memorial at Vimy Ridge, July 26, 1936.

Close-up of Mrs. C.S. Woods of Winnipeg, Manitoba, mother of twelve sons who served in the war, five of whom were killed. She represented the Silver Star Mothers of Canada at the Ceremony.

The Pot of Gold Buried at the End of the Rainbow

Legends about pots of gold buried at the ends of rainbows originate from long ago. Vikings invaded Ireland in 795 AD, and were known for looting and burying gold and other treasures in undisclosed locations. The legend of pots of gold began when they eventually departed the shores of Ireland, leaving some of their stolen gold behind.

Folklore depicts leprechauns as mistrustful creatures who detest humans. According to legend, leprechauns found the abandoned gold and buried it again so no human could ever find it. The old folktales tell us that there is a pot of gold hidden where the end of any rainbow touches the earth. Unfortunately, science tells us that rainbows do not have an end since their arch shape is an illusion...

 

Walking Ships

 

O Father Dear

         do ships at sea

have legs way down below?

Of course they do,

                Little goosie, you!

                For how else could they go?

8 March - International Women's Day

 

Maori party co-leader Tariana Turia

Madonna

Rita Angus (self portrait)

Carice van Houten - Dutch actress

Marlene Dietrich

Traci Bingham

Beyoncé