Timber

 Working with timber in the UK.

Man chopping a tree down in Ashridge Park, Hertfordshire. 18th May 1954

Man in timber yard, sawing tree trunk, Devon.

🐨ANZAC Day Australia Launch🦘

ANZAC Day, today, is also the launch of South Pacific Berets' completely new line of 100% Australian made wool berets!

The Melbourne made Otto & Spike berets are of old-world quality; exceptionally comfortable, showing beautiful material and craftsmanship and simply look and feel great. 

Otto and Spike make two beret models, both in unfelted pure Australian lamb's wool: the Otto & Spike Basque Beret in black and 6 colours @ $59.00 and the Tam o' Shanter-like 'Whippet' in black and 3 colours @ $54.00.

Unlike the felted Basque berets, Otto and Spike's are made of raw lamb's wool, similar to the original shepherd's berets of old in the Pyrenees.

Otto and Spike's knitted berets are ethically and sustainably* manufactured in Melbourne, Australia.

*Ethical Clothing Australia credited

ANZAC Day

Anzac Day Māori: Rā Whakamahara ki ngā Hōia o Ahitereiria me Aotearoa) is a National Day of Remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".

Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).

The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand; however, the ceremonies and their meanings have changed significantly since 1915.

The number of New Zealanders attending Anzac Day events in New Zealand, and at Gallipoli, is increasing. For some, the day adds weight to the idea that war is futile.

Anzac Day now promotes a sense of unity, perhaps more effectively than any other day on the national calendar. People whose politics, beliefs and aspirations are widely different can nevertheless share a genuine sorrow at the loss of so many lives in war.

Paper poppies are widely distributed by the Returned Services Association and worn as symbols of remembrance. This tradition follows that of the wearing of poppies on Remembrance Sunday in other Commonwealth countries.

In Turkey the name "ANZAC Cove" was officially recognised by the Turkish government on Anzac Day in 1985.

 

Elton John at the 1977 Reading Rock Festival.

The Reading Rock Festival 1977 was a true "sea of mud " festival as it rained spectacularly for several weeks beforehand.

As a consequence, the arena was a mudbowl with a veritable lake near the front of the stage. 

The inevitable coterie of 'mudpeople' had a ball, the rest just suffered and deadened their discomfort by indulging to excess with whatever stimulants were available.

🐐Just arrived: the BIQUE-LES cotton berets!🐐

🐐Just arrived: the BIQUE-LES cotton berets!🐐

The Bique-les berets in cotton are a densely knitted cotton beret in a heavy (>100 gram) weight, fitted with a pure cotton lining and the woven Bique-les label.

Available in black, navy and green @ $52.50.

Normandy Fisherman

A Normandy fisherman, 1912. 

From The Living Races of Mankind, Vol. II. [Hutchinson & Co, London, 1912].

At the Scrapyard

A scrapyard worker beside a set of Linderman Alista cutting jaws which were used to reduce scrap before being baled and sent for melting at the Edgar Allen Steel Cos scrap facility in Rotherham.

Photographer Michael Walters, South Yorkshire, 1963.

Below, Scrapyard Mark:

A Hobby channel for scrap metal, junk & steam engines.

R.A.C.

In this photograph, we are transported back to the 1970s, a time when the R. A. C. (Royal Automobile Club) provided essential breakdown assistance to motorists in need. The focal point of the image is a classic 1973 Ford Cortina, parked on the side of a road.

A uniformed R. A. C. technician can be seen working on changing one of its wheels while wearing a beret that adds an air of professionalism. The scene captures not only the technical expertise required to fix vehicles but also serves as a snapshot of social history from that era.

Saddam Hussein in Le Monde

Front cover of Le Monde, Febuary 1991. Le Monde (The World) is a French daily evening newspaper. 

The cover shows Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein at the time of the First Gulf War.

Lulu and Roger Moore

These images capture singer Lulu and actor Roger Moore in the rain together, outside the Hilton Hotel, October 1974.

Lulu, known for her powerful voice and magnetic stage presence, holds a Dunhill gun, adding an unexpected twist to this otherwise glamorous scene. Dressed in a classic trench coat and sporting a beret, he epitomizes sophistication even amidst the pouring rain.

Princess Diana with Luciano Pavarotti

Princess Diana with Luciano Pavarotti in his home town of Modena, in Northern Italy. The event is a star studded concert in aid of Bosnias children, organised by Pavarotti himself.

Princess Dianas appearance was a thank you to the singer performing free during the VE Celebrations in June.

Princes Diana is wearing a white dress designed by Versace.

Pictures taken 12th September 1995

Musical Scooter Riders

Felix Ruether and Bernhard Ricker, musical scooter riders. Germany, date and photographer unknown. 

Alfred Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson FRS (1809 –1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign.

In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, "Timbuktu". He published his first solo collection of poems, Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, in 1830. "Claribel" and "Mariana", which remain some of Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were included in this volume. Although described by some critics as overly sentimental, his verse soon proved popular and brought Tennyson to the attention of well-known writers of the day.

Alfred Sisley

Alfred Sisley (1839 –1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedication to painting landscape en plein air. He deviated into figure painting only rarely and, unlike Renoir and Pissarro, he found that Impressionism fulfilled his artistic needs. 

La Seine au point du jour, 1877

Among his important works are a series of paintings of the River Thames, mostly around Hampton Court, executed in 1874, and landscapes depicting places in or near Moret-sur-Loing. 

The notable paintings of the Seine and its bridges in the former suburbs of Paris are like many of his landscapes, characterised by tranquillity, in pale shades of green, pink, purple, dusty blue and cream. Over the years Sisley's power of expression and colour intensity increased.

Lieutenant Colonel Driant

Lieutenant Colonel Driant and his Chasseur battalions defending the Bois des Caures, Verdun.

Front cover illustration from Le Petit Journal, 2nd April 1916 (colour litho) by Eugene Damblans, (1865-1945).

Pietro Marussig

Portrait of a young painter, 1932 (oil on canvas) by Italian painter Pietro Marussig, (1879-1937).

Clinton Parry by Julia Margaret Cameron

This black and white albumen print, created by the talented British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron in the late 19th century, showcases a distinguished gentleman named Charles Clinton Parry. The photograph is currently housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, where it stands as a testament to Cameron's mastery of her craft. 

In this portrait, Parry exudes an air of sophistication and refinement that was characteristic of Victorian men during this era. His beard and facial hair are impeccably groomed, adding to his aura of maturity and wisdom. A stylish beret adorns his head, complementing his elegant attire with its timeless charm. Cameron's artistic vision shines through in her attention to detail - every fold in Parry's clothing is meticulously captured on film. The use of photography adds depth and texture to the image while emphasizing the subject's features. As we gaze upon this remarkable piece from our past, we are transported back to a time when photography was still in its infancy but already capable of capturing moments frozen in time. This portrait serves as a window into both history and artistry - reminding us that even after more than a century has passed since its creation, beauty can still be found within these delicate silver prints.

Christian and Oda Krohg

Christian Krohg (1852 –1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motifs from everyday life. 

Self portrait, 1883

He was the director and served as the first professor at the Norwegian Academy of Arts from 1909 to 1925.

He was married to artist Oda Krohg (née Lasson; 1860–1935). In 1885, their daughter Nana was born and in 1889 their son muralist Per Lasson Krohg. In 1888 Oda obtained a divorce from her first husband Jørgen Engelhardt; they were married in that same year. 

Christian Krohg: Hal inn!, 1893

In 1897, his wife took their son Per and moved to Paris with dramatist Gunnar Heiberg. They were later reconciled. In 1914, Christian Krohg established residence near Frogner Park where he died in 1925. Oda Krohg died in 1935. Both were buried at Vår Frelsers gravlund in Oslo.

Oda Krohg, B. Lasson, 1888 by Christian Krohg

Oda with friend and lover, the poet Jappe Nilssen, in 1891

Walter Kuhn

Walter Francis Kuhn (1877 –1949) was an American painter and an organizer of the famous Armory Show of 1913, which was America's first large-scale introduction to European Modernism.

Clown with Beret, 1942 (oil on canvas)

By the 1940s, Kuhn became increasingly irascible and distant from old friends. When the Ringling Brothers Circus was in town, he attended night after night. He also became frustrated by the lack of attention his own work was receiving and was particularly strident about the Museum of Modern Art's support of abstraction and neglect of American art in the postwar period.

In 1948, he was institutionalized, and on July 13, 1949, he died suddenly from a perforated ulcer. 

Snow in New York

Commuters prepare to board a subway car at an outdoor station in Brooklyn during a snowstorm in New York, U.S. January 4, 2018.