|
In 1901, with her affluent mother Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander Jones having just died & an inheritance forthcoming, author, designer & dog-lover Edith Wharton & her husband Edward ("Teddy") Robbins Wharton, purchased 113 acres in Lenox, MA for $40,600. Here, Edith would design "The Mount", collaborating with her friend Ogden Codman II & her niece, noted landscape architect Beatrix Jones Farrand. "The Mount,” Edith wrote in her memoir, “was to give me country cares and joys, long happy rides and drives through the wooded lanes of that loveliest region, the companionship of a few dear friends, and the freedom from trivial obligations, which was necessary if I was to go on with my writing.” Edith Newbold Jones had been married to fellow dog lover Teddy since 1885. Though they shared few common interests, were untethered & childless, they had 2 consuming passions: travel & dogs...they indulged thusly in the early days of their marriage which was filled with Teddy’s terrier "Jules", Edith’s Poodle "Mouton" & her two Papillons, "Mimi" & "Miza" (see below). Edith Newbold Jones was born in NYC when her mother Lucretia was 37 years of age & her brothers, Frederic & Harry were well on their way (at ages 16 & 11, respectively). The aristocratic Jones ("keeping up with the Joneses") family traveled abroad during Edith's early childhood, instilling within Edith a great love of travel, as well as a fluency in several languages. Lucretia has been classified, by all accounts, as an intensely vapid snob (I see it more as she being a creature of the times), with Lucretia & Edith having a complex relationship in which Edith was, among other things, banned from reading novels until she was married. It is quite evident that Lucretia stood stolidly in victorianism....whilst Edith forged through the social intricacies of same, rejecting them quite openly & plunging through to the newly emerged social mores. The torrid mother-daughter relationship plays out quite forensically in Edith's novels where the vulgarity of victorian frivolity is sacked with feminine rebellion & savvy...all quite embryonic when Edith wrote her remarkable "House Of Mirth". “What is writing a novel like? The beginning: a ride through a spring wood. The middle: the Gobi desert. The end: a night with a lover.” In 1897, Edith & her friend Ogden had co-authored the much celebrated book: "The Decoration of Houses" (which lives on to this day as the bible of interior design). Thus, their collaboration in designing The Mount, was a natural evolution which coalesced from Edith's belief in simple, straight-forward proportion, harmony & sensibility as regards one's surroundings. We can tour the mansion today (see video below) & wonder where on God's green earth that the simplicity, proportion & sensibility are....but, for the era, The Mount was the height of restraint! The 1901-02 construction expenses of the estate are as follows: (16,850 sq. ft. main house: $57,619; stable: $20,354; gatehouse: $5,356). To provide some insight, the average annual salary in 1901 was $676.00. Fraught with difficulties & anxieties borne largely from Teddy's depression (in fact, his father had been institutionalised with "melancholia") & the occasional butting of heads between he & Ogden, Edith ultimately had to change architects just to complete The Mount. By the time she & Teddy finally moved into their estate in September of 1902, Teddy had descended into an acute, restless & ultimately incurable depression. He was often gone to the family compound in Newport, Rhode Island, thus, Edith's dogs kept her company whilst she wrote in bed...a habit which lasted her entire lifetime. Though the marriage eventually disintegrated in 1913 (it is rumored that Teddy had spent a formidable chunk of Edith's inheritance, thereby forcing the sale of The Mount), the house succeeded as being the atmospheric stream which fed Edith's most spectacular works. With her dogs underfoot & acting almost as conduit, she wrote "Ethan Frome" (1911), "Custom of the Country"(1913) & " The Age of Innocence"(1920) (which won the Pulizter Prize in 1921) were born. In the end (she sold The Mount in 1911), she candidly wrote in her memoir "A Backward Glance": “It was only at the Mount that I was really happy...” Edith's dog Mimi died a year after the acreage for The Mount had been purchased...it is touching that Mimi's hillside grave, visible from the library and sitting room, took into account such especial placement. Three more gravesites in the pet cemetery were to follow...(see below)... In the end, Edith passed into the aethyr at her home in the south of France. & always, dogs provided her with comfort, companionship & cardinal direction throughout an undoubtedly turbulent life. We can gaze at fotos of Edith (particularly the startling early childhood fotos...) & see a lonely little person. Yet, that stubborn set-of-jaw reveals far more in it's absolution, it is prelude to the very nature of her life-path. Dignified, stubborn & independent, just like the dogs she chose to live with. Imagine one of these little darlings in your boudoir....! They're known as French Loulou Pyjama Dogs...these frightful little beasts are papier mache with mohair atop... I know...I know...I have posted photo #1 several times over the years...but...SHE ROCKS! Gee, Manet slays the challenge of expression & delivers it so gorgeously... I can recall (pre-2020)...how excited I was about the year 2020. Our settings are such that 2020 promised to be grand...(in a good way). What a cool number...right? I suppose that if one were to mine for goodness, in the recesses of one's own akashic library one could find seeds of greatness from good ol' 2020. But, as a musician...2020 has been quite a musical trauma for me. We've lost loads of brilliance... Tony Rice being a shimmering rainbow. I love being vulnerable...that's what "being" is all about right? Having the guts to be vulnerable is 20/20 vision on a soul-level. There's a super-band in the heavens now...goodbye Tony.
The grand bouffant! Posh, over-the-top, a true continental clip (aka "lion cut")...canine coiffure at it's finest. There is nothing I love more. Actually, my adoration of the ancient continental cut, is the reason I became a dog groomer in the first place. I LOVE IT (the cut...not necessarily the dog grooming job...)! Nothing (for me...) is more gorgeous than seeing a duck-dog ("Pudel") prancing around in a continental cut. Originating not in Beverly Hills, CA circa 1960...but rather in Europe in the 15th century...this clip is wholly utilitarian! You see in the slideshow below, that I have cited a horse (clipped for outdoor hacking & hunting)...the lower chest/shoulder/forearm region shaved down to allow for cooling of the cardio system...while the upper portion of the beast & legs are un-clipped for protection against the elements (in the former) brambles & briars (in the latter)... What does have to do with duck dogs? Absolutely everything. In the case of the Spaniel-derived dogs which include Pudels (Poodles), we have the ideal retriever & hunting dog... upon which the hip joints & wrist joints are covered by hair for warmth, not frou-frou. Then, we have "the pack" (the poofy life-preserver which encases the skull, chest & neck in an orb of hair)...this hair, which amply covers the dog's chest/lungs is a supreme insulator...the head & ears (highly vascular) are covered for insulation...& finally...the topknot held together by that wholly egregious pink bow? The one ye eschew? The brightly coloured ribbons not only ID the dog...but ID the kennel to which the dog belongs, via the colour of the bow...much like racing satins adorning the tiny jockeys we adore so. Of course, all dogs wear the continental clip now... they needn't be hunters...& that's just dreamy.
I'm often asked about my fascination with antique dog fotos. Really, it goes so much deeper. The fotos, to me, are an historic coalescence of society's relationship with dogs in the timeframe involved, in this case, the mid-19th century. Our relationship with dogs, fixed in time. So, sit back, enjoy your favourite beverage & enjoy the moment we're sharing... Thank you!
|
AuthorHowl-O! I'm Julia Jensen- devoted student of dogs & religious sampler of cheesecake, wheat beer, huehuetenango coffee & almost any chocolate out there. I indulge these fancies & more, in the remote silence of the pacific NW. *PLEASE NOTE* The videos selected for bloghism could be construed as "disturbing" to those of certain bents, sensitivities, natures, mind-sets, etc.. I have a distinct interest in relaying footage of dogs doing what they have been doing for centuries....& in some cases, I also include dog show footage just as a matter of interest. If you do not like my selections, by all means, do not view them. Archives
June 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed
|
|
For vaccines & wormer , we love Lambert Veterinary Supply & Revival
We offer NO Refunds of any nature whatsoever including: bank wire transfer, western union, cash deposits, shekels, shackles, rubies, monopoly money, payments, currency, coins, precious metals, ocean-front property in Oklahoma etc..
The opinions expressed within the contents of this site, are merely that. Opines. They should be taken with a grain of salt (or less). Julia's opines should never be used in lieu of veterinary or other professional care.
Pilfer of site-content without permission of the site owner/developer is a purely naughty (though flattering) offense.
Copyright © 2023/2024 Green Stains Anatolians LLC
We reserve the right to refuse service to any one at any time.
We reserve the right to refuse service to any one at any time.
