VSA e-newsletter

THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY IN AMERICA 205 S. Camac St, Philadelphia, PA 19107 ~ Phone: 215-545-8340 ~ Fax: 215-545-8379
EMAIL NEWSLETTER Spring 2004		Girard College
		web site links
Welcome to the Spring issue of the VSA's email newsletter.

Spring Morning* by William J. C. Bond, 1856 Oil on board: 12" x 20"
’TIS spring; come out to ramble, suggested Victorian poet A. E. Housman. Clearly he was not in Philadelphia. 'Tis not Spring-like at the VSA, and besides, we are between rambles. First our Winter Board Meeting was concluded successfully at head office. A notable adjunct was a private visit to Girard College, Philadelphia, the school endowed from the fortune of Stephen Girard (1750-1831), a French immigrant who was probably the richest man in America at the time of his death. The money he left to create Girard College was then the largest private charitable donation in American history. The purpose of this unprecedented act of philanthropy was to create Girard's vision of a school for poor, orphan boys, Founder’s Hall, which was completed in 1848 from design by architect Thomas U. Walter. It is one of America’s greatest Greek Revival buildings, and the tour was a privilege. Our thanks to Board member Hyman Myers for organizing, and to Girard College curator Elizabeth Laurent, for conducting the tour. Our next ramble will be the Annual Meeting to be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Throughout the week Victorian lovers will visit historical buildings, homes, churches and private collections, and enjoy fabulous foods, and interesting lectures. There are a few places remaining so please contact us as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Click here for full details.
VSA TOUR OF CANADA - RADIO BROADCAST Tour Guide, John Adams and VSA Board member and organizer, Bruce Davies, will soon appear on the Victoria, B.C. radio talk-show program "Remember When" to discuss the VSA's BC Study Tour. The program will last for an hour and they are the only guests. The radio station broadcasts live on the Internet, so you can listen online in real-time. Simply go to: http://www.cfax1070.com/ and click on the microphone to listen. The interview takes place on Sunday, April 4 at 2:05 pm Pacific/5.05 pm Eastern. Mark your calendar and remember to listen in.
WEBSITE OF THE MONTH You may not be aware of the VSA's website of the month. Since the re-launch of the VSA's website, we have featured worthy, interesting or educational websites. We showcase one each month here - with an archive of previous websites listed here. You might be amused with the following from this month's website: WARNING TO LONDON TRAVELERS Routledge's Popular Guide to London, [c.1873] Do not relieve street-beggars, and avoid bye-ways and poor neighbourhoods after dark. Never enter into conversation with men who wish to show you the way, offer to sell "smuggled cigars" or invite you to take a glass of ale or play a game at skittles. Monday is the workman's holiday; Saturday the most aristocratic day for the Opera, Crystal Palace, &c. In walking through the streets, avoid lingering in crowded thoroughfares, and keep on the right-hand side of the footway. If in doubt about the direction of any street or building, inquire at a respectable shop or of the nearest policeman. Consult the Post Office Directory for addresses of friends who do not live in lodgings. Carry no more money about you than is necessary for the day's expenses. Look after your watch and chain, and take care of your pockets at the entrance to theatres, exhibitions, churches, and in the omnibuses and the streets. From our Web Site of the Month.
BOOKS The Publications Committee convened at the recent Winter Board Meeting. Among their deliberations were dozens of books of Victorian interest: some perhaps to be short-listed for the VSA Book Awards, and some to be reviewed in our magazine 19th Century. The Committee also commended many recently published books as recommended reading. We shall feature several of these each month in the email newsletter. Should members wish to purchase any books, the VSA will benefit if the purchase is made via Amazon.com by clicking on the picture links to the books. Similarly, any purchase made within 24 hours of visiting Amazon via their logo here or on our website will also benefit the VSA. Thank you. Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford by Kevin J. Avery (Editor), Eleanor Jones Harvey, Franklin Kelly, Heidi Applegate This volume is the catalogue for an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (October 7, 2003 to February 8, 2004); the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth (March 4 to May 16, 2004); and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (June 27 to September 26, 2004). This volume features essays examining Gifford's position in the Hudson River School, his Catskill and Adirondack subjects, his patrons, and his adventures as a traveler both at home and abroad. More than seventy of the artist's best-known sketches and paintings are discussed and reproduced in color. Flora Symbolica: Flowers in Pre-Raphaelite Art by Debra N. Mancoff This stunning bouquet of romantic paintings brings together two important aspects of Victorian life—the pre-Raphaelite movement and the language of flowers—in one exquisite volume. Fifty Houses: Images from the American Road by Sandy Sorlien, William Least Heat-Moon In 1988, photographer Sandy Sorlien set out on a series of journeys to document the rich architectural heritage that America is losing to the cheap and banal design aesthetic of tract housing, strip malls, and big-box stores. Her eight-year odyssey took her over ninety thousand miles of back roads to every state in the Union in search of homes that reflect and define the region in which they stand. After making over a thousand "house portraits," Sorlien has chosen one representative image from each state and collected them in Fifty Houses. Henry and Mary Ponsonby: Life at the Court of Queen Victoria by William M. Kuhn A unique insider’s view of the mechanics of the British monarchy at one of its most unpopular moments in history, based on letters. This entertaining biography paints a seldom seen intimate picture of the inner workings of the monarchy. See also our Book Store at: http://www.victoriansociety.org/bookstore.html
GRAND TOUR 2004 Tour of British Columbia, 2004 This exclusive 10-day tour visits some of the most historic and scenic places in Canada. Places still available. Click flag to view the brochure [Adobe Acrobat Reader required]	Take a look at the VICTORIA logo above. At first, a stylish but simple rendering of the name. But a closer look will reveal the art: the word is the same upside down. This image is a type of ambigram. Readers of popular fiction may recognize the technique from the best-selling novel Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. The artist for that book, John Langdon, was kind enough to send us this ambigram of a word familiar to members of the VSA. Many thanks to him. The logo is strictly copyrighted and may not be used without permission. ©2002 John Langdon; www.johnlangdon.net
ADVERTISERS WANTED The Victorian Society in America offers the opportunity of advertising in its flagship magazine, 19th Century, and on its popular web site. If members can suggest a suitable company as a prospective advertiser, please contact our magazine Advertising Manager, Ivy Strickler at ivy@brewsterinn.com. Meanwhile, the VSA benefits if members support existing advertisers. Please call or email our advertisers on the website or in the magazine for information.
NOTABLE MEMBERS Walter Nold Mathis is a long-standing VSA member, and for almost 50 years, he has devoted himself to celebrating and protecting the heritage of Texas - particularly his hometown of San Antonio. Serving as chairman of the city's Historic Review Board for 20 years, Mr. Mathis set a high standard for projects that made San Antonio the tourist attraction that it is today. In the mid 1960s, Mr. Mathis bought, restored (and has now donated) Villa Finale, an 1870s limestone mansion in San Antonio: a home and show place for his collections of historic artifacts. He subsequently bought and restored other houses in the Victorian neighborhood, which led to its designation as the King William Historic District. In October, 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation presented Mr. Mathis with its most prestigious award, the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award, for his dedication to historic preservation spanning half-a-century.
A. E. Housman (1859–1936) A Shropshire Lad. 1896. XXIX. ’Tis spring; come out to ramble The Lent Lily ’TIS spring; come out to ramble The hilly brakes around, For under thorn and bramble About the hollow ground The primroses are found. And there’s the windflower chilly With all the winds at play, And there’s the Lenten lily That has not long to stay And dies on Easter day. And since till girls go maying You find the primrose still, And find the windflower playing With every wind at will, But not the daffodil, Bring baskets now, and sally Upon the spring’s array, And bear from hill and valley The daffodil away That dies on Easter day. Ô	LENSLESS PHOTOGRAPHY Since 1972, VSA member and artist of paintings, serigraphs, and drawings, Willie Anne Wright, has focused on pinhole photography as her primary creative medium. Since then her pinhole photographs have been exhibited internationally, and are in private and public collections. and recognized in many books and periodicals. Visit her work at: http://www.savedge.com/pinhole/ image © Willie Anne Wright ARCHITECTURAL IRON COMPANY A Pennsylvania based corporation engaged in the restoration and reproduction of 18th & 19th century cast and wrought iron work and ornamental roof crestings. Recommended for preservation and restoration projects. Visit Architectural Iron or contact info@architecturaliron.com
AND FINALLY, Your staff of one at the e-newsletter wishes to thank those have commented favorably on the website. It continues to be (yes we know) updated. Currently the Preservation pages are being re-organized in anticipation of this year's awards to be presented at the Annual Meeting.
*For a commentary of the Spring painting pictured above please visit Victorian Web
Let us know what you think of the e-newsletter and what you like to see in it. UNTIL NEXT TIME visit us on the web at www.victoriansociety.org The Victorian Society in America 205 S. Camac Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 info@victoriansociety.org Copyright 2004. Victorian Society in America. All rights reserved.