WORDS & ROADS: February 2010

Patrick Leigh Fermor, February 11, 1915–June 10, 2011, was an intrepid traveller, a heroic soldier, and a writer with a unique prose style. After his stormy school days, followed by the walk across Europe to Constantinople that begins in A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople—From the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube (1977), continues with Between the Woods and the Water: On Foot to Constantinople from the Hook of Holland—The Middle Danube to the Iron Gates (1986), and finishes in his yet-to-be-published final book of the trilogy, he lived and travelled in the Balkans and the Greek Archipelago. His books Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese (1958) and Roumeli: Travels in Northern Greece (1966) attest to his deep interest in languages and remote places. In the Second World War he joined the Irish Guards, became a liaison officer in Albania, and fought in Greece and Crete. He was awarded the DSO and OBE. He lived partly in Greece—in the house he designed with his wife, Joan Elizabeth Rayner, nee Eyres Monsell, in an olive grove in the Mani—and partly in Worcestershire. He was knighted in 2004 for his services to literature and to British–Greek relations. He is considered by some to be the best writer of travel literature.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Albrecht Dürer

Junger Hase (Young Hare) by Albrecht Dürer, 1502, gouache, watercolour on paper, 25.1 x 22.6 cm, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna, Austria

This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

The above is one of the first paintings I was aware of in early childhood. It was featured in an art book I received for my fourth or fifth birthday. Yes, I tended to receive presents and gifts well beyond my years. Although I did play with Hotwheels and Lego a little later, the late 1960s and the early 1970s, I usually wanted things such as books, calendars, and art cards.

Self-Portrait at 28 by Albrecht Dürer, 1500
This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

Briefmarkenbeschreibung/Stamp description: Berliner Serie Bedeutende Deutsche/Series of Berlin stamps of distinguished Germans. Graphics by Michel und Kieser. Ausgabepreis: 10 Pfennig. Erstausgabetag/First Day of Issue: 15. Juni 1961. Michel-Katalog-Nr: 202 (Berlin)

This stamp is in the public domain in Germany because it was released by Deutsche Bundespost on behalf of the Federal Minister of Post and Telecommunication and thus is an official work according to German copyright law (§ 5 Abs. 1 UrhG).

I had this stamp, and its siblings in the same series, in my extensive collection of predominantly German stamps from WW I, the Weimar Republic and the Depression, Nazi Germany, and the Post-War era of East and West Germany. I sold my collection to my brother at the end of high school in 1981, adding the proceeds to my fun money for my trip to West Germany in summer 1981.

Adam and Eve by Albrecht Dürer, 1507, given by Christina of Sweden to King Philip IV in 1654, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

Lamentation for Christ by Albrecht Dürer, 1500–1503, oil on panel, 151 x 121 cm), Alte Pinakothek, München, Bayern, Deutschland
This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

Betende Hände (Praying Hands) by Albrecht Dürer
This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

Melancholia I by Albrecht Dürer, 1514, engraving
This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.