For Money or For Penicillin…

It all started well enough for both of them… She, young, talented and ambitious.  He twice her age, well traveled and most importantly for her, with deep pockets.   From the beginning all seemed perfect. A petit manse in the garden by a lake, a FAB apartment on the other coast and lots of free time for her to pursue her passions and dreams… He traveled much for business and mostly lived away on the other coast but established her creative business for her, down to buying her a business complex to work out of.   Her addiction for fine 16^th Century antiques could be fed without discretion.  No price tags needed to be checked, after all the golden coffers were always full. 

And so life went on for many years, most of her youth in fact passed without much of a worry, that is until she started to gain a few pounds here & there, until the youth that had so attracted him started to loose its rosy color.  She noticed that more and more he did not send the monthly deposit on time for her expenses, I mean how was she expected to live on her own salary from her business? That was exclusively for her to buy more antiques!  The visits back to the Garden became less frequent and the excuses longer and more intricate.   But more alarming became the unusual changes in her health.  Odd symptoms that she could not account for. 

After a quick visit to the Doctor, it was revealed she was suffering from the unwanted & much stigmatized crotch rot! How could this be? Considering she was all but a nun except for her much absent & much valued partner, she knew no other lovers.  The truth did not take much imagination to conjure but what to do was much harder.  She decided that the constant flow of cash & luxury was more important than finding out the particulars & facing the dilemma of dealing with the truth…and so she carried on bravely like a soldier, spending freely & taking her medication on time.   She cleverly of course, found the way to hint enough during his bi-monthly visits to ensure that he knew that she was aware of his indiscretions and therefore an additional stipend needed be added to the monthly checks.

I would like to tell you that at some point she decided that there was not enough penicillin to keep going but she was ready for years of enduring as a trade off and was not at all prepared for the shock of his reaction to the hint.  The effect was immediate.  The checks ceased to materialize in the old bank account, phone calls were not returned and pleas for forgiveness for her rudeness to have brought up the entire affair & complain about her health only made things worse. Dahhling the electricity was on the verge of being cut when she decided something had to be done she needed to find another way to retain the lifestyle she had become accustomed to… She held a by invitation only fire sale of anything that was not bolted to the floors to raise some funds and promptly hired herself an attorney that would be willing to take the gigantic task of suing her ex.  The argument being that for all the years she had given him of her youth spending his money freely, were worth something!  And that something was for him to sell the petit manse by the lake, give her the profits and throw in the business complex for the insult of having to rid herself of the unwanted rot! 

What the P.I uncovered involved  every type of imaginable dilly dallying one dare imagine with cyber ad postings to shame even the most creative & successful marketing genius. She threaten to shame him publicly in business and otherwise with all her findings if he did not give her the golden egg she desperately needed….but to him the real act of shame was for her to have lived a lifetime using his money to live a life of luxury without ever doing anything to earn it…let alone to keep it. 

And so she lingered, practically squatting in the formerly much photographed interiors of the petit manse by the lake, selling jewelry and artifacts, previously too precious to touch, let alone trade for the basic necessities like botox and restylane.

I wish I could tell you that it all turned out in someone’s favor, but in these types of cases no one ever wins except perhaps the doctor, the pharmacist and the lawyer! No?

Until soonest…

HRH

The Duchess of State

Porcelains: Gold Scroll – Bavaria Schumann

Dahhling, a few post back I promised I was going to tell you more about a recent addition to my growing collections of dinnerware, particularly the one shown during our 10^th year anniversary black tie dinner. The patter is called Gold Scroll made by Bavaria Schumann, circa 1940. 

I found this set for (8) at one of my favorite antiques shops in the garden, 37^th Street Antiques.  In fact it came from the private collection of the FAB Stephanie Scott Stroud .  During one of my visits to the shop she presented it to me, knowing well I would not resist!  In fact, it was the addition of this beautiful set that inspired the table setting of mixing Minton China and Thomas Haviland limoge pieces with this new set. 

The marking on the plates say: Bavaria, Schumann Arzberg Germany.  This refers to the Carl Schumann Porcelain Factory, AG with the original founding name of Schumann & Riess in 1881 in Arzberg, Bavaria, Germany c. 1881-1994, directly under the Jakobsburg castle, next to the market square in the town center.   

The company was founded in  1881 by Christian Heinrich Schumann (1822-1884) Heinrich and Christiana Schumann's 4th and youngest child was Carl Schumann I (1871-1926).  Heinrich named Carl I as his sole heir to the Schumann factory.  At Heinrich's passing in 1884, his wife Christiana Schumann (1838-1928) took charge of the factory  and the factory was renamed Carl Schumann & Co. c.1892.   The factory was converted to a corporation (AG) on July 19, 1923, and became Carl Schumann Porzellanfabrik AG under the ownership of Carl II.

Carl II studied in America in the1920's and founded the Schumann China Corporation of New York.  The Schumann China Corporation distributed Schumann products in the U. S. in the arly 1930's (possibly late 1920's).  In 1961 Carl II resigned and was succeeded by Carl III.  The business was reorganized, but was eventually sold to investors in 1990 It finally closed in 1994.

Ebeling & Reuss of Philadelphia/ Devon/Allentown, Pennsylvania, were the exclusive American importers of Schumann beginning in the late 1940's.  They imported Schumann under the name Erphila prior to World War II.   The E & R ads from the late 1940's are advertising the many Schumann patterns they were importing at that time.  In August 1949 E & R ad is advertising specific patterns, including the popular Empress Dresden and Chateau Dresden.  The ad is also identifying them as being made in U. S. Zone Germany, which is referring to the years 1945-49 when Bavaria was occupied by the U. S. after the end of World War II. 

The E & R blue Golden Crown mark, frequently found on Schumann china, was apparently not used until the 1950's.  It is shown in reference books as having been put into use beginning in 1955. 

Here are some of the other marks you might find in your Schumann patterns:

Photo by Lily Lewin

 So you see dahhling you never know where or who might bring some treasure into your life.  But to me collections are worthless if you don’t use them and give them a chance to live! ¿no?

Until soonest…

HRH

The Duchess of State

The Fat Rat...

The Garden is infested with FAT Rats and their sidekicks, the FAT Squirrel!  I am sure dahhling, that if you take stock of where you live, you will find that you have your fare share also.

It’s certainly nothing to brag about, dear me nunca! But it is what it is.

In the many years that I have reigned over my little court in the Garden, come across many colors, sizes & shapes of them.  Of course they all share one very specific trait: not being able to breathe in their own skin.  They must always build themselves up with outrageous tales of infamy, of excellence, of living in the shadow of incredibly famous wealthy parents, or simply by claiming to be so beyond accomplished in their pseudo line of work that they are simply too FAB for you!  And yet they seek and desperately need your approval or more important your ear.  They need a captive audience that will, if only by being subjected to the endless stories, lend credence and validate their existence.

photo by Ruven Afanador

However, when asked casually for more details about their ceaseless boasting, their supposed field of expertise, talent or various accomplishments, all you end up is more shadows, side stepping and riddles than your average politician during an election campaign.  Why? Traditionally the FAT Rat is no more no less than a sad, insecure, lazy creature who will not put in the work to develop a personality based on a good old fashion assessment of character & personal ability.  Dahhhling you have to take a good look at your bare self (in private please!) and learn to own what is there! Work with what you have, develop and grow where you must and above all be comfortable in your own skin.  Nothing is more pathetic than trying to be eccentric when you are not, funny when you are a bore, smart when you don’t know the subject or accomplished by someone else’s gains. 

photo by Ruven Afanador

So dahhling, until someone develops a pesticide that will get rid of them all, should you come across one of these creatures, you must remind them that in this ever so clever, instant and overtly informed world, it’s a matter of a quick “Google” search to unmask even the most clever FAT Rat!  If only they spent more time being who they are perhaps they might actually do something interesting or of consequence?

But as I have said it in the past, the truth requires no explanation or much fanfare, it just is…

Until soonest.

HRH

The Duchess of State

A Private View....A Gentleman's City Apartment

Mid summer of 2012 I had the pleasure of decorating the apartment of what I would consider a classic "Gentleman" from an era long gone.  Exquisitely coiffed, beautiful but masculine manners and a natural charm that made him both easy to work with and enjoyable.   The Baron du Vert.

Photo by Lily Lewin

His instructions were simply, make the apartment feel comfortable like a classic men's club but modern & updated.

The apartment located in one of the garden's few "high rises" is ultra New York chic.  A gorgeous classic courtyard entrance gives way to a lobby of black & white floors with pink & green Chinoiserie wallpaper on the walls.  Every apartment has at least one balcony with collapsing french doors.  The layout again, classic 1950's.

Photo by Lily Lewin

Foto by Lily Lewin

Photo by Lily Lewin

Instead of a formal dining room I created an elegant space that would serve best with the lifestyle of Baron du Vert.  Wine tasting evenings, an afternoon cocktail or small dinner parties.  No need for a large dinning table for this space.  The "tin man" I found on one of my expeditions around the surrounding patches of land around the garden.  In this case the patch was the quirky, if somewhat Carnie town of Walterboro.

Photo by Lily Lewin

Foto by Lily Lewin

Foto by Lily Lewin

Photo by Lily Lewin

Foto by Lily Lewin

Foto by Lily Lewin

photo by Lily Lewin

Hope you enjoy the tour dahhling...
Until soonest.

HRH
The Duchess of State