Victorian Era Hotel in Galveston, Texas

Came across this recently.  There's something I love about these grand old Vic hotels. Something about their style that was both grand and magnificent, but also a bit quickly (this hotel had an on premise animal menagerie, where a child was mauled by a panther in 1884, and daring high wire walks were performed over craggy rocks at San Francisco's Cliff House).  They heavy wood content used for both hotels led to their destructions by fire. For more on the Cliff House see pictures below and my earlier post here.



The Beach Hotel: 

The Beach Hotel was a seasonal resort in Galveston, Texas. It was built in 1882 by architect Nicholas J. Clayton, at a price of US$260,000 (US$6.19 million in today's terms) to cater to vacationers. Owned by William H. Sinclair, the hotel opened on July 4, 1883 and was destroyed by a mysterious fire in 1898.

The front lawn of the beach hotel "provided a site for summer entertainment-fireworks, high-wire walkers, and bands.  The 4 ¹⁄₂-story hotel was built atop 300 cedar piles driven into the sand.^[ The roof had an octagonal dome, which housed the water tanks, and was painted in large red and white stripes, and the eaves were trimmed in a golden green.

The amenities advertised were:

• Dining room
• Gentlemen's parlor
• Reading room
• Saloon
• Grand staircase
• Electric and gas lighting

One of the features, according to Rosen Library, was an animal menagerie.  You can see the cages in the close up picture below.   From the Library's page:

   

The Cliff House:

The 1986 Cliff House, which burned down in in 1907.   The Cliffhouseproject is a great site for info about this San Fran landmark.

The Beast

President Obama was on my block last week for a fundraiser at Harvey Weinstein's home.  Here are two shots I took from inside the lobby of my building (a few minutes before he came the police made us go inside).  There were two Presidential limos (the Beasts) as is apparently standard procedure - one more level of safety... so we didn't know in which one he was.

Here's a 1/43 scale model, marked down to $10 at the moment at Modeltrainstuff:

Can you guess what's inside this box? (Before scrolling down)

If you guessed  (and I imagine some of you did as it is rather obvious ) that it is a rare French musical sewing necessaire automaton from 1890 that has a key- wind, two-air cylinder movement,  and was at one time possessed by the British royal family, you would be correct.   See the more detailed notes  and photos below, which are from liveacutioneers.  There was a video on that site, but it looks like it was removed. Too bad.... I would like to see how the pieces move.

Needleprint blog  

Found photographs at National Geographic

I came across these two very interesting pictures on the Nat Geo site.  They have a section called "Found".  The above photo of a male lion, lit with a flashlight,  was taken in 1910, in Africa.  

The second is a shot of Fairbanks, Alaska at Christmas.. It has a nostalgic feel and reminds me of Michael Paul Smith's work.  Here's my original posting on his fictional village,  Elgin Park.

Here's a shot of Michael's fictional town Elgin Park.  (His photos are available for purchase on his Smugmug site):

Sherlock Holmes: models and mustache

I've posted a few times in the past on Sherlock related miniatures and models.  Here are a few I came across recently.  The above model is by a Ms. Caroline Stafford of the U.K.  It is for sale for 345 British Pounds here. 

 For previous posts visit:

• Sherlock in Miniature and Model
• More Sherlock Holmes - This one's off the cliffs!
• Sherlock in 1/6
• Leslie S. Klinger's Baker Street diorama

Meanwhile, the following are from a Mr. Arthur Walker (aka Charles Baskerville) of Florida.  Read more about his model here.   Nice model and mustache Mr. Baskerville!

Thought I'd close with this very nice graphic I found while searching for the post.

Open House Miniatures

These are beautifully constructed miniatures made by Elizabeth Plain (who thinks her name is too awkward for a website name so calls her site Open House Miniatures).  She has a blog well worth visiting.  If you are so inclined, you can take a crack at printing out and building some of her models, from a page she supplies for that purpose.   She is also very generous in showing readers how she makes her miniatures.   If you want to buy a piece, visit her  Etsy site.  Great work EP! 

Anne S.K. Brown Lead Soldiers

 Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection is one of the largest research collections devoted to the history and iconography of soldiers and soldiering, from circa 1500 to 1945. Formerly a private collection, it was donated to the Brown University Library in 1981.

Ms. Brown's diorama of Count Rocmbeau landing at Newport in 178

From the Brown University Library:

During her honeymoon to Europe in 1930, Mrs. Brown purchased a number of lead soldiers from toy shops in Germany, France and Britain with the intention of setting-up a display in one of the rooms of her new house on Benefit Street. The majority of these figures were made by the Britains, Heyde and Mignot companies. Further figures were acquired in the following years including a number specially commissioned by Mrs. Brown. When the collection came to Brown University in 1981-82, special cases were made to house the collection of over 5,000 figures. This now forms a permanent display on the third floor of the John Hay Library. The figures are in 96 cases marching from left to right with ancient Egyptians at the front up to Queen Elizabeth II. In additional are porcelain figurines and a collection of miniature soldiers made by Howard Willetts.

Among the items commissioned are a large group depicting units of United States Militia in the 1830's and 1840's modelled after Huddy and Duval plates in the United States Military Magazine published in Philadelphia between 1839 and 1842. A friendof Mrs. Brown's, Madame Metayer of Paris fabricated a fine collection of figures depicting units of Napoleon's army in addition to making a fine diorama of the landing of Count Rochambeau at Newport in 1781 which is on loan to the Newport Historical Society. Another item made for Mrs. Brown depicts a scene from Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812, while a group of figures arming a cannon represent the Rhode Island Train of Artillery in 1775.

There are coronation coaches and state landaus, a Papal procession, various kings and queens ranging from Henry VIII and his six wives to Queen Elizabeth II in a police uniform. Generals Grant and Lee lead their respective armies, while Roman charioteers whip their horses. A ceramic Chinese funeral party carries a large sacophagus, while Medieval knights made by Courteney of England charge forward. Hospital waggons rumble along, while a British searchlight team scans the skies for enemy plains. Victor Emmanuel II and Mussolini lead their troops and Nazi brownshirts carry banners. There are camel units, elephant batteries, World War One French 

bicycle troops, tanks and armored cars, and numerous cavalry troops.