The Racing Knockabout Gosling

The Racing Knockabout Gosling.

Gosling was the winning yacht of 1897 in one of the best racing classes now existing in this country, the Roston knockabout class. The origin of this class dates back about six years, when Carl, a small keel cutter, was built for C. H. W. Foster, of Boston. She differed from the small keel yachts then numerous about Boston and Marblehead mainly in that her lines were thoroughly modern, and her form a great improvement on the older boats; while her rig, being intended merely for “knocking about” off Marblehead in any weather, without regard to racing, was simplified by the absence of a bow sprit, a small jib being set with the tack fast to the stemhead. The little boat soon became noted through her good performance, especially in bad weather, and her evident utility, and others were built to about the same dimensions, the name “knockabout” attaching itself to the class by common consent as it gradually assumed a definite shape. It was soon discovered that the boats could be raced, and that there was far less arduous work and more real pleasure in sailing them than the absurd machines of the then existing 21 ft. open class, with nearly twice the area of sail on the same waterline. Continue reading The Racing Knockabout Gosling

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Texas Tarpon

Early Texas photo of Tarpon catch – Not necessarily the one mentioned below…

July 2, 1898. Forest and Stream Pg.10

Texas Tarpon.

Tarpon, Texas.—Mr. W. B. Leach, of Palestine, Texas, caught at Aransas Pass Islet, on June 14, the largest tarpon on record here taken with rod and reel.  The weight four hours after taken was 125lbs.; girth 35in.; length, 7ft. 7in. The fishing was in the morning with a strong flood tide. The following people were present and can testify as to the size and weight of the fish, viz.: G. A. Chabot. San Antonio: L. B. C. Jegg. San Antonio; A. B. Daniels, Denver; H. E. Chubbuck, Utica; Fred J. Scudder. San Antonio; Simon Veith, San Antonio. The tackle used was a bamboo rod. 4.0 Vom Hofe reel. Hall 27 line and 9.8 hook.

J. E. Cotter, Official Recorder.

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Tuna Record

TROF. C. F. HOLDFER AND HIS 183LBS. TUNA, WITH BOATMAN JIM GARDNER.

July 2, 1898. Forest and Stream Pg. 11

The Tuna Record.

Avalon. Santa Catalina Island. Southern California, June 16.—Editor Forest and Stream: Several years ago the writer in articles on the “Game Fishes of the Pacific Slope,” in Scribner’s Magazine and the Cosmopolitan, mentioned the “leaping tuna” as a possible catch with rod and reel, and for seven or eight years I have made many attempts to take one, but always failed by using too light tackle, and I must confess I would rather fail than take so noble a fish unless all the advantage was on its side. Year after year the leaping tuna gathered in my rod tips and lines and hooks. He unreeled 600ft. of line and took the tip of my rod before 1 realized what the mass of foam astern meant; and Mexican Joe, my boat man, hinted that I was asleep; but I was not. And so time went on and finally I laid out a campaign, which was to use a reel that would hold 1,000ft. of 21-strand line, and before I could find a reel and equipment some one else caught the first fish. This was two years ago; and now the fish is caught by skillful wielders of the rod almost every day, when the attempt is made: and it was reserved for me to make the record catch of the largest game fish ever taken on the Pacific slope—so it is said—with rod and reel; and I am inclined to go further and claim that the catch represents the most active and hardest-fighting thoroughly game fish ever taken on rod and reel and 21-strand line. Continue reading Tuna Record

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Fresh Water Angling – The Two Crappies

 

 July 2, 1898 Forest and Stream,

Fresh-Water Angling.
No. IX.—The Two Crappies.
BY FRED MATHER.

Fishing In Tree Tops.

Here a short rod, say 8ft., is long enough, and the line should not be much longer than the rod. A reel is not needed, because the fish should not be allowed more line, even if it were able to take it and wind it about a limb, where you would be in chancery. The boat should be so placed that a fish can be led away from the limbs, if possible, but often there is a desirable opening, like a well, into which the hook is dropped, and then one must take chances of being fouled, and try to keep the fish in the middle of the hole as it is brought up. The uncertainty of landing a fish in such a place constitutes the sport of tree-top fishing. Continue reading Fresh Water Angling — The Two Crappies

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How Long is Your Yacht?

Dominion, Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club,
Winner of Seawanhaka Cup, 1898.

The Tail Wags the Dog.

The following is a characteristic sample of those broad and liberal views on yachting which are the pride of the Boston Herald. Speaking of the coming races for the Seawanhaka international challenge cup, it says:

Some writers call the boats “20-footers,” thereby giving the impression that the above length is that of their waterline. They actually measure about 17ft. 3in., and carry about 5oo sq.ft. of sail, which ratios, according to the Seawanhaka rule, make them “20ft. racing length” under a rating rule. It is fairer to the public, in order that the length of the boats racing in Canada be known, to call them 17ft. waterline length, with a restricted sail area of 5oosq.ft. The class lengths governing the racing in the M. Y. R. A. are made on waterline lengths, and not on a rating rule, consequently our yachtsmen
will not be benefited by the Canadian racing so far as the development of fixed waterline length boats goes. Continue reading How Long is Your Yacht?

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Indian Modes of Hunting – Setting Fox Traps

 Aug. 13, 1898 Forest and Stream, Pg. 125

Game Bag and Gun.

Indian Modes of Hunting.
III.—Foxes.

The fox as a rule is a most wily animal, and numerous are the stories of his cunning toward the Indian hunter with his steel traps.

Starvation makes them catch in deadfalls, but they must be very starved indeed before they pull a piece of frozen bait and have a weight fall on their back. The skins of foxes killed during starvation are never so valuable, as -the hair then lacks the rich gloss. When small game is plenty, such as rabbits and partridges, and foxes are few, the skins are of a deep richness not seen under other circumstances.

There are several different and distinct colors of foxes of the north country. They are all of the same family, with the single exception of the white or arctic fox. These, apart from their difference of color, differ very much” in their characteristics. They are not cunning; on the contrary, they are positively stupid. They will readily catch in deadfalls, and will walk into an open, uncovered steel trap in daylight! Again the flesh of the arctic fox is eaten as readily as that of the hare or white partridge; all other foxes are carrion; even a starving Indian would give them the go-by. Continue reading Indian Modes of Hunting — Setting Fox Traps

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A Survey of Palestine – 1945-1946

This massive volume gives one a real visual sense of what it was like running a highly efficient colonial operation in the early 20rh Century. It will also go a long way to help anyone wishing to understand modern political intrigue in the Middle-East.

Click here to read A Survey of Palestine – .pdf

Click on the blue link to download a copy of A Survey of Palestine:

A Survey of Palestine - 1945-1946 -159MB

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Fed Policy Success Equals Tax Payers Job Insecurity

The low level of work stoppages of recent years also attests to concern about job security.

Testimony of Chairman Alan Greenspan
The Federal Reserve’s semiannual monetary policy report
Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
February 26, 1997

Iappreciate the opportunity to appear before this Committee to present the Federal Reserve’s semiannual report on monetary policy.

The performance of the U.S. economy over the past year has been quite favorable. Real GDP growth picked up to more than three percent over the four quarters of 1996, as the economy progressed through its sixth year of expansion. Employers added more than two-and-a-half million workers to their payrolls in 1996, and the unemployment rate fell further. Nominal wages and salaries have increased faster than prices, meaning workers have gained ground in real terms, reflecting the benefits of rising productivity. Outside the food and energy sectors, increases in consumer prices actually have continued to edge lower, with core CPI inflation only 2-1/2 percent over the past twelve months. Continue reading Fed Policy Success Equals Tax Payers Job Insecurity

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Describing the The Federal Reserve and the Acts Thereof

 

THE ABC OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

WH Y THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM WAS CALLED INTO BEING, THE MAIN FEATURES OF ITS ORGANIZATION , AND HOW IT WORKS

B Y
EDWIN WALTER KEMMERER, PH.D.

PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE IN PRINCETON
UNIVERSITY AND MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS
OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BANKING

With a Preface by
BENJAMIN STRONG, LL.D.
GOVERNOR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK

FIFTH EDITION
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, N. J.
LONDON! HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1922


 

Federal Reserve Act of 1913

Banking Act of 1935

ABC of the Federal Reserve System

Federal Reserve History

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Guaranteed 6% Dividend for Life. Any takers?

Any prudent investor would jump at the chance to receive a guaranteed 6% dividend for life.  So how does one get in on this action?

The fact of the matter is…YOU can’t…That is unless you are a shareholder of one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks and the banks under their jurisdiction.

Not only do these banks receive a dividend each year excess profits are available for distribution, but back in 1922, they cleverly lobbied for a mechanism that allows them to pay themselves a dividend for years in which profits are not available by pulling “surplus” earnings to make up for the non-profitable years.

Can AT&T do this?  How about JP Morgan Chase?  Indeed they cannot.  Talk about one slick system; gotta love them Fed bankers, what? Continue reading Guaranteed 6% Dividend for Life. Any takers?

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On the Retirement of Federal Reserve Bank Stock – Fed. Bulletin Jul. 1960

Fed Chariman William McChesney Martin – 1952-1970

[Editor note:  This response in my mind is quite hilarious…and to the point…who the heck would want to give up 6% interest year after year after year after year?  ] 

You HAVE ASKED that I appear before you today in connection with your consideration of the bills H.R. 8516 and H.R. 8627, both of which provide for retirement of the stock of the Federal Reserve Banks. I am glad to be here and give to you such assistance as I can in your study of these proposals.

I should like first to discuss H.R. 8516 and then conclude with some observations concerning the similar bill H.R. 8627.

As you know, the stock of Federal Reserve Banks is nontransferable, and each unit of that stock is an incident of the membership of a commercial bank in the Federal Reserve System. The question raised by these bills, therefore, concerns not only the Reserve Banks, which issue and service the stock, but also the commercial banks that own it. Continue reading On the Retirement of Federal Reserve Bank Stock — Fed. Bulletin Jul. 1960

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The Atchafalaya Basin Houseboat

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Gold and Economic Freedom

by Alan Greenspan, 1967

An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense-perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire — that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument of laissez-faire and that each implies and requires the other. Continue reading Gold and Economic Freedom

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Swiss Chronicle of Monetary Events

 

Click here to read the Swiss National Bank’s Chronicle of Monetary Events.

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The Real Time Piece Gentleman and the Digital Watch Vault

Paul Thorpe, Brighton, U.K.

The YouTube watch collecting world is rather tight-knit and small, but growing, as watches became a highly coveted commodity during the recent world-wide pandemic and fueled an explosion of online watch channels.

There is one name many know, The Time Piece Gentleman.  This name for me led to a bit of confusion because after having viewed quite a number of watch channels I realized the name did not fit the channel.  This became apparent recently as the channel has all but shut down after a spectacular race to the bottom of the barrel.

  However, over the past couple of years, one man and one watch channel has emerged as my hands down favourite and I must say truly embodies the phrase the Time Piece Gentleman.  So will the real Time Piece Gentleman please stand up. Continue reading The Real Time Piece Gentleman and the Digital Watch Vault

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Arban’s Complete Conservatory Method for Trumpet(Cornet) – Free Download

 

Click here to view a copy of Arban’s Complete Conservatory Method for  Cornet

Click on the blue button to download a free copy of Arban’s Complete Conservatory Method for Cornet

Arban's - 11.8MB

For trumpet players wishing to practice daily using an iPad, simply click on the Daily Trumpet Practice Link on the menu bar above to view full size sheet music version of the first ten lessons in Arban’s.

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Art Fraud

A la Russie, aux ânes et aux autres – by Chagall – 1911

Marc Chagall is one of the most forged artists on the planet.  Mark Rothko fakes also abound. According to available news reports, the art market is littered with forgeries of their work. Some are even thought to be hanging in museums around the world, thus reinforcing the notion that confidence men  are always on the lookout for a good mark… Continue reading Art Fraud

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The Condon Committee Report on UFOs

Click here to read the Condon Report

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The Flying Saucers are Real by Donald Keyhoe

It was a strange assignment.  I picked up the telegram from desk and read it a third time.

NEW YORK, N.Y., MAY 9, 1949

HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING FLYING SAUCER MYSTERY.  FIRST TIP HINTED GIGANTIC HOAX TO COVER UP OFFICIAL SECRET.  BELIEVE IT MAY HAVE BEEN PLANTED TO HIDE REAL ANSWER.  LOOKS LIKE TERRIFIC STORY.  CAN YOU TAKE OVER WASHINGTON END?

KEN W. PURDY, EDITOR, TRUE MAGAZINE

Twenty-four hours later, I was in Ken Purdy’s office. “I’ve had men on this for two months,” he told me. “I might as well warn you, it’s a tough story to crack.”

“You think it’s a Russian missile?” I asked him. “Or an Air Force secret?”

“‘We’ve had several answers. None of them stacks up. But I’m positive one was deliberately planted when they found we were checking.”

He told me the whole story of the work that had been done by the staff of True and of the reports sent in by competent writers. The deeper he delved into the mystery, the tougher the assignment got. The more I learned about flying saucers, the less I knew. Continue reading The Flying Saucers are Real by Donald Keyhoe

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If a Woman asks you to Change, Politely Excuse Yourself and Walk out the Door; Forever

 

If a Woman asks you to Change, Politely Excuse Yourself and Walk out the Door; Forever

Nobody changes; character is built early in life, and by the time one is involved in adult relationships, it is highly unlikely that one can rebuild one’s character.  Recognizing this early on in ones adult life will save one a lot of mental pain, and money.  Don’t fool yourself, you will not change, neither will she.  If you desire a lifetime relationship with a girlfriend, fiancé, or spouse, one that is ironclad, then the following is the proposition that both must be willing to accept:

You are free to do whatever you wish to do, whenever you wish to do it.  I do not require you to be with me or accompany me to the places that I wish to go, however you are always welcome to accompany me to wherever I go, and whenever you wish. 

This tried and true marital proposition frees one up from boring family gatherings, attending sporting events, hunting or fishing trips, weddings, showers, etc. that one is not inclined to attend.

I have been happily married for the past 32 years, living under this shared mantra.  Notice the word shared.  This is not only a proposition for men, it applies equally to women. 

 

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CIA 1950s Unevaluated UFO Intelligence

 

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

INROMATION FROM FOREIGN DOCUMENT OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY: Non-Orbit
SUBJECT: Military – Air – Scientific – Aeronautics
HOW PUBLISHED: Newspapers
WHERE PUBLISHED: As indicated
DATE PUBLISHED: 12 Dec 1953 – 12 Jan 1954
LANGUAGE: Various
SOURCE: As indicated
REPORT NO. 00-W-30357
DATE OF INFORMATION: 1953-1954
DATE DIST. 27 May 1954
NO. OF PAGES: 2
SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT NO. ?
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION

DISCUSSES “FLYING SAUCERS” — Dakar, Paris-Dakar, 12 Dec 53

In a recent issue of Forces Aeriennes Francaises. a monthly periodical published by the Comite d ‘Etudes Aeronautlques Militaires (Study Committee Military Aeronautics), which 1s headed by General P. Fay, Chief of Staff or the Air Force, an article develops the idea that  supersonic interstellar ships
powered by cosmic energy are poss1ble.  The article was written by Lieutenant Plantier of the the Ecole de l’Air de Salon (Salon Aeronautical School). [Paris Dakar describes the article in some detail and suggests that its acceptance by the peri0dical indicates that the French Air Force admits the existence of “flying saucers.”  The same article received coverage 1n the 26 November 1953 issue of the Beirut daily newspaper L ‘Orient.]

DESCRIBES SAUCER EXPIREMENTS — Capetown, Die Lanstem, 9 Jan 54

A German newspaper [not further identified] recently published an interview with George Klein, famous German engineer and aircraft expert, describing the experimental construction of “flying saucers” carried out by him from 1941 to 1945.  Klein stated that he was present when, in 1945, the first piloted “flying saucer” took off and reached a speed of 1,300 miles per hour within 3 minutes.  The experiments resulted in three designs: one, designed by Miethe, was a disk-shaped aircraft, 135 feet in diameter, which did not rotate, another, designed by Habermohl and Shreiver, consisted of a large rotating ring, in the center of which was a round stationary cabin for the crew.  When the Soviets occupied Prague, the Germans destroyed every trace of the “flying saucer” project [there] and nothing more was heard of Habermohl and his assistants.  Schreiver recently died in Bremen, where he had been living.   In Breslau, the Soviets managed to capture one of the saucers built by Miethe, who escaped to France.  He is reportedly in the US at present.

00-w-30367

FLYING DISK PATENTED — Naples, Il Giornale, 12 Jan 54

According to a Genoa Newspaper (not further identified), the patent office of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce has issued a patent for a flying disk to Scipione Mattolin, 38, a Venetian naval fitter residing in Genoa.  The invention is patented as No. 165 of Patent Register 125.  The disk would cost in excess of 500 million lire; it could attain a speed of 3,000 kilometers per hour.  Mattolin has offered his invention to Italy, but it has been turned down, he intends to emigrate and offer it elsewhere.

The Fes daily newspaper Le Courrier du Maroc, in its 12 January 1954 issue, stated that the disk will weigh 5 tons and will take off from a tower 18 meters high.  It will consist of a disk-shaped plastic wing, an aluminum central sphere, and a cockpit containing two jet engines.  The Stockholm daily newspaper Stockholms-Tidningen, on 12 January 1954, reported that Mattolin is in contact with US authorities.

Original CIA Document

Click here to read The Flying Suacers are Real by Donald Keyhole

 

 

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The First Christian Man Cremated in America

Laurens’ portrait as painted during his time spent imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was kept for over a year after being captured at sea while serving as the United States minister to the Netherlands during the Revolutionary War.

The first Christian white man to be cremated in America was the prominent planter and plantation owner, Henry Laurens.  Laurens was also a partner in Austin, Laurens & Appleby, one of the largest slave trading enterprises in the colonies.   He was also a primary negotiator for the Treaty of Paris, along with John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and William Temple Franklin.

Laurens’ will asked for the following arrangement as to his burial; that his body be “wrapped in twelve yards of tow cloth and burnt until it be entirely and totally consumed….” A funeral pyre was built for the purpose on December 1792, and his last wishes were executed by his plantation slaves.  The name of the plantation was the Mepkin Plantation.  Today, part of the plantation site is home to Roman Catholic Trapist Monks, as part of original Laurens’ family estate was donated  to them in 1949 after having been owned by several different parties over the years.   Click here to learn more about the Mepkin Abbey.

Benjamin West, American Commissioners of the Preliminary Peace Agreement with Great Britain, 1783-1784, London, England. (oil on canvas, unfinished sketch), Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware, gift of Henry Francis du Pont. From left to right: John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. The British commissioners refused to pose, and the picture was never finished.

Click here to view the rebuilt Henry Laurens estate home now for sale at price of $3.8 million dollars.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has archived a number of Henry Laurens’ papers.

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Message from J. Edgar Hoover Oct. 1, 1933 – John Dillinger Makes the List

Biograph Theater, where John Dillinger was gunned down by the FBI on July 22, 1934

The Great Depression was on—highway based crime was rampant, the gangsters dressed as well as the bankers they robbed, and and Henry Ford’s big beautiful V8 sedan was the getaway car of choice for both wheelman and lawman alike and in the year of 1933, the FBI—(known then as the Division of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice)—under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, began putting monthly bulletins listing their most wanted fugitives.   Continue reading Message from J. Edgar Hoover Oct. 1, 1933 — John Dillinger Makes the List

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Fly Fishing How to Guide

Continue reading Fly Fishing How to Guide

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Painting Plaster Work and the History of Terra Cotta

The 1896 Victorian terracotta Bell Edison Telephone Building – 17 & 19 Newhall Street, Birmingham, England. A grade I listed building designed by Frederick Martin of the firm Martin & Chamberlain. Now offices for firms of architects. Photographed 10 May 2006 by Oosoom

[Reprint from Victoria and Albert Museum included below on Terra Cotta for non-commercial educational purposes.]

Painting on Plaster Work.—Plastering should never be painted until it is thoroughly dry. Portland cement is best left for a year or two before being painted. Plaster work not previously painted will require four or five coats, Portland cement five or six. If plastered work is required to be painted immediately, it should be executed in Keene’s or Parian cement (see Plaster Work). A great deal more paint is of course absorbed by plaster than by wood, just as wood absorbs more than iron. Continue reading Painting Plaster Work and the History of Terra Cotta

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Senate Report on Dividend Tax Abuse Using Offshore Banking

 

U.S. SENATE

PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS

 STAFF REPORT ON

DIVIDEND TAX ABUSE:

HOW OFFSHORE ENTITIES DODGE TAXES ON U.S. STOCK DIVIDENDS

 September 11, 2008

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Each year, the United States loses an estimated $100 billion in tax revenues due to offshore tax abuses.1 The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has examined various aspects of this problem, including how U.S. taxpayers have used offshore tax havens to escape payment of U.S. taxes. This Report focuses on a different subset of abusive practices that benefit only non-U.S. persons, have been developed and facilitated by leading U.S. financial institutions, and have been utilized by offshore hedge funds and others to dodge payment of billions of dollars in U.S. taxes owed on U.S. stock dividends. Continue reading Senate Report on Dividend Tax Abuse Using Offshore Banking

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JP Morgan’s Digital Currency Patent Application

J.P. Morgan Patent #8,452,703

Method and system for processing internet payments using the electronic funds transfer network.

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention include a method and system for conducting financial transactions over a payment network. The method may include associating a payment address of an account with an account holder name, the account residing at a financial institution and the associated payment address of the account configured to allow withdrawals by the account holder only and to allow a plurality of deposits to be made at different times. The method further includes freely publishing the payment address and making it available to users of an internet portal or search engine. The method further includes receiving data over a network identifying a deposit to be made to the account, assigning the deposit to the account using the payment address, and notifying the payer of the assignment on a real time basis. At least one directory is used for associating the account holder with the payment address.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/102,113 filed on May 6, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/576,463, filed on Oct. 9, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,962,409), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/356,171, filed on Jan. 31, 2003, (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,676,431) which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/497,307, filed on Feb. 3, 2000, (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,113) all of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety. U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/497,307 claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/132,305, filed May 3, 1990; 60/150,725, filed Aug. 25, 1999; 60/161,300, filed Oct. 26, 1999; 60/163,828, filed Nov. 5, 1999; and 60/173,044, filed Dec. 23, 1999, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Continue reading JP Morgan’s Digital Currency Patent Application

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The First Definition of a Cocktail

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Henry Miller in Reds

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Country House Essays

Country House Essays has returned after a good long summer holiday.  More essays soon.

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Baby Blue – Badfinger

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Electroplating 101

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New Orleans Street Bands

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ZZ Top at Gruene Hall

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On Exquisite Statuary for the Fine Country Home: “It’s Just One of Those Casts…I can get’em at the British Museum”

From the classic British Movie, The Shooting Party, a 1985 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges based on Isabel Colegate’s 9th novel of the same name published in 1980 we find a scene set in the billiards parlor whereupon the host of the weekend shooting party Sir Randolph Nettleby walks in on Lord Gilbert Hartlet, known to be a crack shot in the bird hunting realm, sighting in a new set of Purdy shotguns, guns handmade in England by James Purdy & Sons since the year 1814 : Continue reading On Exquisite Statuary for the Fine Country Home: “It’s Just One of Those Casts…I can get’em at the British Museum”

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Historic authenticity of the Spanish SAN FELIPE of 1690

San Felipe Model

Reprinted from FineModelShips.com with the kind permission of Dr. Michael Czytko

The SAN FELIPE is one of the most favoured ships among the ship model builders. The model is elegant, very beautifully designed, and makes a decorative piece of art to be displayed at home or in the office.

Doubts on San Felipe’s historic authenticity I have heard voiced or seen many times, mainly in forums on ship history and ship modelling. There was the contribution of Toni Alvarez Silva of April 1999 in some forum, who went three times to the Museo Naval in Madrid. He could not get any information there whether the San Felipe existed or not. He also contacted Mantua and Artesania Latina and asked them about their model kits of the San Felipe, without getting convincing responses. Continue reading Historic authenticity of the Spanish SAN FELIPE of 1690

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Chantry Chapels

William Wyggeston’s chantry house, built around 1511, in Leicester: The building housed two priests, who served at a chantry chapel in the nearby St Mary de Castro church. It was sold as a private dwelling after the dissolution of the chantries.

A Privately Built Chapel

Chantry, chapel, generally within a church, endowed for the singing of masses for the founder after his death. The practice of founding chantries, or chantry chapels, in western Europe began during the 13th century. A chantry was added to the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris in 1258. During the 14th century, the chantry movement so established itself as a manifestation of religious life that these chapels became a part of the original plan of cathedrals, as at Tours and Bordeaux. The earliest recorded chantry in England is that of Bishop Hugh of Wells in Lincoln cathedral, c. 1235. When the number of foundations rapidly increased after the plague known as the Black Death in 1349, chantries were established not only in churches but in monasteries, hospitals, and grammar schools in memory of the founders. During the English Reformation the chantries were largely abolished. Continue reading Chantry Chapels

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The Late Rev. H.M. Scarth

H. M. Scarth, Rector of Wrington

By the death of Mr. Scarth on the 5th of April, at Tangier, where he had gone for his health’s sake, the familiar form of an old and much valued Member of the Institute has passed away.  Harry Mengden Scarth was bron at Staindrop in Durham, on 11th May, 1814. In due time he entered at Christ’s College, Cambridge, and took his B.A. degree in 1837.  Continue reading The Late Rev. H.M. Scarth

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Temples, Walls, And Some of the Roman Antiquities of Bath

 

A Lecture Delivered at the Guildhall, March 2, 1853 by Rev. H.M. Scarth, M.A., Rector of Bathwick.

To understand the ancient history of the country in which we live, to know something of the arts and manners of the people who have preceded us, to ascertain what we owe to them, and to know what influence their times and their works have had upon our own, can never be an unprofitable study.

But if traces of great works of past ages are still to be found amongst us, and if these works exhibit a great knowledge of art, if they shew the hand of a people highly civilized, they become deeply interesting, and we may derive much benefit from their consideration. The study of them will cast much light upon the records of ancient history which have been handed down to us; they serve to give life and light to that history, and fill its pages with living realities when we see the very stones and remnants of buildings which the hands of the men of whom we read have put together. Continue reading Temples, Walls, And Some of the Roman Antiquities of Bath

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Gallop of the Common Horse by Eadweard Muybridge 1887


Eadweard Muybridge was a fascinating character.  Click here to learn how Eadweard committed “Justifiable Homicide” after shooting his wife’s lover in 1874.

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Classic Restoration of a Spring Tied Upholstered Chair

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This video by AT Restoration is the best hands on video I have run across on the basics of classic upholstery.  Watch a master at work.  Simply amazing.

Tools:

Materials:

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Making a High-end Turntable

Click here to visit the New Yorkshire YouTube channel.

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A History of the Use of Arsenicals in Man

The arsenicals (compounds which contain the heavy metal element arsenic, As) have a long history of use in man – with both benevolent and  malevolent intent. The name ‘arsenic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘arsenikon’ which means ‘potent'”. As early as 2000 BC, arsenic trioxide, obtained from smelting copper, was used as a drug and as a poison 2.

Hippocrates (460 to 377 BC) used orpiment (As2S3) and realgar (As2S2) as escharotics. Aristotle (384 to 322 BC) and Pliny the Elder (23 to 79 AD) also wrote about the medicinal properties of the arsenicals. Galen (130 to 200 AD) recommended a paste of arsenic sulphide for the treatment of ulcers. Paracelsus (1493 to 1541) used elemental arsenic extensively. He is quoted as saying ‘All substances are poisons … The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy’ – an apt statement for the arsenicals 3. Continue reading A History of the Use of Arsenicals in Man

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The Master of Hounds

Photo Caption: The Marquis of Zetland, KC, PC – otherwise known as Lawrence Dundas
Son of: John Charles Dundas and: Margaret Matilda Talbot
born: Friday 16 August 1844
died: Monday 11 March 1929 at Aske Hall
Occupation: M.P. for Richmond Viceroy of Ireland
Vice Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire
Lord – in – Waiting to Queen Victoria
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

 

THE MASTER OF HOUNDS

The great masters of antiquity, if we may so style them—Meynell, Beckford, Corbet, Lee Anthone, John Warde, Ralph Lambton, Musters—have been described as paragons of politeness as well as models of keenness. George Osbaldeston hardly possessed the former quality in so marked a degree. Coming to present times, I cite as examples the late Lord Penrhyn, Lords Portman, Lonsdale,  and Harrington, and Mr. R. Watson of Carlow, Mr. J. Watson (Meath), Captain Burns- Hartopp, and Captain Forester, eminently successful masters. Last but not least the eighth and present Dukes of Beaufort. Continue reading The Master of Hounds

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A Short Note on Manners for the Young Man Wishing to Make a Goodly Impression Whilst Avoiding Duels

Over the years I have observed a decline in manners amongst young men as a general principle and though there is not one particular thing that may be asserted as the causal reason for this, one might speculate…

Self-awareness and being aware of one’s surroundings in social interactions is something worth contemplating should a young man wish to make a goodly and lasting impression with future mother and father-in-laws, potential business clients, educated members of the clergy and perhaps the occasional fixer should one be inclined to take up politics—Caveat; not all fixers are especially socially adept, what? Continue reading A Short Note on Manners for the Young Man Wishing to Make a Goodly Impression Whilst Avoiding Duels

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The Basics of Painting in the Building Trade

PAINTER-WORK, in the building trade. When work is painted one or both of two distinct ends is achieved, namely the preservation and the coloration of the material painted. The compounds used for painting—taking the word as meaning a thin protective or decorative coat—are very numerous, including oil-paint of many kinds, distemper, whitewash, tar; but the word ” paint ” is usually confined to a mixture of oil and pigment, together with other materials which possess properties necessary to enable the paint to dry hard and opaque. Oil paints are made up of four parts—the base, the vehicle, the solvent and the driers. Pigment may be added to these to obtain a paint of any desired colour. Continue reading The Basics of Painting in the Building Trade

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Carpenters’ Furniture

IT requires a far search to gather up examples of furniture really representative in this kind, and thus to gain a point of view for a prospect into the more ideal where furniture no longer is bought to look expensively useless in a boudoir, but serves everyday and commonplace need, such as must always be the wont, where most men work, and exchange in some sort life for life. Continue reading Carpenters’ Furniture

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Of Decorated Furniture

DECORATED or “sumptuous” furniture is not merely furniture that is expensive to buy, but that which has been elaborated with much thought, knowledge, and skill. Such furniture cannot be cheap, certainly, but the real cost of it is sometimes borne by the artist who produces rather than by the man who may happen to buy it. Furniture on which valuable labour is bestowed may consist of—1. Large standing objects which, though actually movable, are practically fixtures, such as cabinets, presses, sideboards of various kinds; monumental objects. 2. Chairs, tables of convenient shapes, stands for lights and other purposes, coffers, caskets, mirror and picture frames. 3. Numberless small convenient utensils. Here we can but notice class 1, the large standing objects which most absorb the energies of artists of every degree and order in their construction or decoration. Continue reading Of Decorated Furniture

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The English Tradition of Woodworking

THE sense of a consecutive tradition has so completely faded out of English art that it has become difficult to realise the meaning of tradition, or the possibility of its ever again reviving; and this state of things is not improved by the fact that it is due to uncertainty of purpose, and not to any burning fever of individualism. Tradition in art is a matter of environment, of intellectual atmosphere. As the result of many generations of work along one continuous line, there has accumulated a certain amount of ability in design and manual dexterity, certain ideas are in the air, certain ways of doing things come to be recognised as the right ways. To all this endowment an artist born in any of the living ages of art succeeded as a matter of course, and it is the absence of this inherited knowledge that places the modern craftsman under exceptional disabilities. Continue reading The English Tradition of Woodworking

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The Birdman of St. James Park

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Copper Kills Covid-19 and the Sun is Your Friend

The element copper effectively kills viruses and bacteria.

Therefore it would reason and I will assert and not only assert but lay claim to the patents for copper mesh stints to be inserted in the arteries of patients presenting with severe cases of Covid-19 with a slow release dosage of [...] Read more →

44 Berkeley Square

The Clermont Club

Reprint from London Bisnow/UK

At £23M, its sale is not the biggest property deal in the world. But the Clermont Club casino in Berkeley Square in London could lay claim to being the most significant address in modern finance — it is where the concept of what is today [...] Read more →

Pickled Eels

Vintage woodcut illustration of a Eel

 

This dish is a favorite in Northern Europe, from the British Isles to Sweden.

Clean and skin the eels and cut them into pieces about 3/4-inch thick. Wash and drain the pieces, then dredge in fine salt and allow to stand from 30 [...] Read more →

The Master of Hounds

Photo Caption: The Marquis of Zetland, KC, PC – otherwise known as Lawrence Dundas Son of: John Charles Dundas and: Margaret Matilda Talbot born: Friday 16 August 1844 died: Monday 11 March 1929 at Aske Hall Occupation: M.P. for Richmond Viceroy of Ireland Vice Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Lord – in – Waiting [...] Read more →

Banana Propagation

Banana Propagation

Reprinted from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA.org)

The traditional means of obtaining banana planting material (“seed”) is to acquire suckers from one’s own banana garden, from a neighbor, or from a more distant source. This method served to spread common varieties around the world and to multiply them [...] Read more →

Carpet Cleaner Formulae

The Ardabil Carpet – Made in the town of Ardabil in north-west Iran, the burial place of Shaykh Safi al-Din Ardabili, who died in 1334. The Shaykh was a Sufi leader, ancestor of Shah Ismail, founder of the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722). While the exact origins of the carpet are unclear, it’s believed to have [...] Read more →

Chinese Duck Cooking – A Few Recipes

Chen Lin, Water fowl, in Cahill, James. Ge jiang shan se (Hills Beyond a River: Chinese Painting of the Yuan Dynasty, 1279-1368, Taiwan edition). Taipei: Shitou chubanshe fen youxian gongsi, 1994. pl. 4:13, p. 180. Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei. scroll, light colors on paper, 35.7 x 47.5 cm

 

Here’s Many a Year to You

” Here’s many a year to you ! Sportsmen who’ve ridden life straight. Here’s all good cheer to you ! Luck to you early and late.

Here’s to the best of you ! You with the blood and the nerve. Here’s to the rest of you ! What of a weak moment’s swerve ? [...] Read more →

Palermo Wine

Take to every quart of water one pound of Malaga raisins, rub and cut the raisins small, and put them to the water, and let them stand ten days, stirring once or twice a day. You may boil the water an hour before you put it to the raisins, and let it [...] Read more →

Sea and River Fishing

An angler with a costly pole Surmounted with a silver reel, Carven in quaint poetic scroll- Jointed and tipped with finest steel— With yellow flies, Whose scarlet eyes And jasper wings are fair to see, Hies to the stream Whose bubbles beam Down murmuring eddies wild and free. And casts the line with sportsman’s [...] Read more →

Historic authenticity of the Spanish SAN FELIPE of 1690

San Felipe Model

Reprinted from FineModelShips.com with the kind permission of Dr. Michael Czytko

The SAN FELIPE is one of the most favoured ships among the ship model builders. The model is elegant, very beautifully designed, and makes a decorative piece of art to be displayed at home or in the [...] Read more →

The Age of Chivalry

KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS

On the decline of the Roman power, about five centuries after Christ, the countries of Northern Europe were left almost destitute of a national government. Numerous chiefs, more or less powerful, held local sway, as far as each could enforce his dominion, and occasionally those [...] Read more →

Curing Diabetes With an Old Malaria Formula

For years in the West African nation of Ghana medicine men have used a root and leaves from a plant called nibima(Cryptolepis sanguinolenta) to kill the Plasmodium parasite transmitted through a female mosquito’s bite that is the root cause of malaria. A thousand miles away in India, a similar(same) plant [...] Read more →

Vitruvius Ten Books on Architecture

VITRUVIUS

The Ten Books on Architecture

TRANSLATED By MORRIS HICKY MORGAN, PH.D., LL.D. LATE PROFESSOR OF CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY

IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND ORIGINAL DESINGS PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF HERBERT LANGFORD WARREN, A.M.

NELSON ROBINSON JR. PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE IN HARVARD [...] Read more →

Mocking Bird Food

Mocking Bird Food.

Hemp seed……….2 pounds Rape seed………. .1 pound Crackers………….1 pound Rice…………….1/4 pound Corn meal………1/4 pound Lard oil…………1/4 pound

 

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Beef Jerky

BEEF JERKY

Preparation.

Slice 5 pounds lean beef (flank steak or similar cut) into strips 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, 1 to 2 inches wide, and 4 to 12 inches long. Cut with grain of meat; remove the fat. Lay out in a single layer on a smooth clean surface (use [...] Read more →

Tuna and Tarpon

July, 16, l898 Forest and Stream Pg. 48

Tuna and Tarpon.

New York, July 1.—Editor Forest and Stream: If any angler still denies the justice of my claim, as made in my article in your issue of July 2, that “the tuna is the grandest game [...] Read more →

Stoke Park – Granted by King Charles I

Stoke Park Pavillions

 

Stoke Park Pavilions, UK, view from A405 Road. photo by Wikipedia user Cj1340

 

From Wikipedia:

Stoke Park – the original house

Stoke park was the first English country house to display a Palladian plan: a central house with balancing pavilions linked by colonnades or [...] Read more →

Salmon Caviar

Salmon and Sturgeon Caviar – Photo by Thor

Salmon caviar was originated about 1910 by a fisherman in the Maritime Provinces of Siberia, and the preparation is a modification of the sturgeon caviar method (Cobb 1919). Salomon caviar has found a good market in the U.S.S.R. and other European countries where it [...] Read more →

Money Saving Recipe for Gold Leaf Sizing

Artisans world-wide spend a fortune on commercial brand oil-based gold leaf sizing. The most popular brands include Luco, Dux, and L.A. Gold Leaf. Pricing for quart size containers range from $35 to $55 depending upon retailer pricing.

Fast drying sizing sets up in 2-4 hours depending upon environmental conditions, humidity [...] Read more →

Public Attitudes Towards Speculation

Reprint from The Pitfalls of Speculation by Thomas Gibson 1906 Ed.

THE PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARD SPECULATION

THE public attitude toward speculation is generally hostile. Even those who venture frequently are prone to speak discouragingly of speculative possibilities, and to point warningly to the fact that an overwhelming majority [...] Read more →

Books Condemned to be Burnt

BOOKS CONDEMNED TO BE BURNT.

By

JAMES ANSON FARRER,

LONDON

ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW

1892

———-

WHEN did books first come to be burnt in England by the common hangman, and what was [...] Read more →

Artist Methods

Como dome facade – Pliny the Elder – Photo by Wolfgang Sauber

Work in Progress…

THE VARNISHES.

Every substance may be considered as a varnish, which, when applied to the surface of a solid body, gives it a permanent lustre. Drying oil, thickened by exposure to the sun’s heat or [...] Read more →

A History of the Use of Arsenicals in Man

The arsenicals (compounds which contain the heavy metal element arsenic, As) have a long history of use in man – with both benevolent and malevolent intent. The name ‘arsenic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘arsenikon’ which means ‘potent'”. As early as 2000 BC, arsenic trioxide, obtained from smelting copper, was used [...] Read more →

A Conversation between H.F. Leonard and K. Higashi

H.F. Leonard was an instructor in wrestling at the New York Athletic Club. Katsukum Higashi was an instructor in Jujitsu.

“I say with emphasis and without qualification that I have been unable to find anything in jujitsu which is not known to Western wrestling. So far as I can see, [...] Read more →

Modern Slow Cookers, A Critical Design Flaw

Modern slow cookers come in all sizes and colors with various bells and whistles, including timers and shut off mechanisms. They also come with a serious design flaw, that being the lack of a proper domed lid.

The first photo below depict a popular model Crock-Pot® sold far and wide [...] Read more →

Naval Stores – Distilling Turpentine

Chipping a Turpentine Tree

DISTILLING TURPENTINE One of the Most Important Industries of the State of Georgia Injuring the Magnificent Trees Spirits, Resin, Tar, Pitch, and Crude Turpentine all from the Long Leaved Pine – “Naval Stores” So Called.

Dublin, Ga., May 8. – One of the most important industries [...] Read more →

A Couple of Classic Tennessee Squirrel Recipes

FRIED SQUIRREL & BISCUIT GRAVY

3-4 Young Squirrels, dressed and cleaned 1 tsp. Morton Salt or to taste 1 tsp. McCormick Black Pepper or to taste 1 Cup Martha White All Purpose Flour 1 Cup Hog Lard – Preferably fresh from hog killing, or barbecue table

Cut up three to [...] Read more →

Gold and Economic Freedom

by Alan Greenspan, 1967

An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense-perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire — that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument [...] Read more →

Mortlake Tapestries of Chatsworth

Mortlake Tapestries at Chatsworth House

Click here to learn more about the Mortlake Tapestries of Chatsworth

The Mortlake Tapestries were founded by Sir Francis Crane.

From the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 13

Crane, Francis by William Prideaux Courtney

CRANE, Sir FRANCIS (d. [...] Read more →

Arsenic and Old Lace

What is follows is an historical article that appeared in The Hartford Courant in 1916 about the arsenic murders carried out by Mrs. Archer-Gilligan. This story is the basis for the 1944 Hollywood film “Arsenic and Old Lace” starring Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane and directed by Frank Capra. The [...] Read more →

Books of Use to the International Art Collector

Hebborn Piranesi

Before meeting with an untimely death at the hand of an unknown assassin in Rome on January 11th, 1996, master forger Eric Hebborn put down on paper a wealth of knowledge about the art of forgery. In a book published posthumously in 1997, titled The Art Forger’s Handbook, Hebborn suggests [...] Read more →

Cocillana Syrup Compound

Guarea guidonia

Recipe

5 Per Cent Alcohol 8-24 Grain – Heroin Hydrochloride 120 Minims – Tincture Euphorbia Pilulifera 120 Minims – Syrup Wild Lettuce 40 Minims – Tincture Cocillana 24 Minims – Syrup Squill Compound 8 Gram – Ca(s)ecarin (P, D, & Co.) 8-100 Grain Menthol

Dose – One-half to one fluidrams (2 to [...] Read more →

U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act – Full Text

WIPO HQ Geneva

UNITED STATES PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION ACT

TITLE I – PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION OFFICE Chapter Section 1. Organization and Publications . 1 2. Legal Provisions as to the Plant Variety Protection Office . 21 3. Plant Variety Protection Fees . 31

CHAPTER 1.-ORGANIZATION AND PUBLICATIONS Section [...] Read more →

Valentine Poetry from the Cotswold Explorer

 

There is nothing more delightful than a great poetry reading to warm ones heart on a cold winter night fireside. Today is one of the coldest Valentine’s days on record, thus, nothing could be better than listening to the resonant voice of Robin Shuckbrugh, The Cotswold [...] Read more →

Indian Modes of Hunting – Setting Fox Traps

Aug. 13, 1898 Forest and Stream, Pg. 125

Game Bag and Gun.

Indian Modes of Hunting. III.—Foxes.

The fox as a rule is a most wily animal, and numerous are the stories of his cunning toward the Indian hunter with his steel traps.

Clover Wine

Add 3 quarts clover blossoms* to 4 quarts of boiling water removed from heat at point of boil. Let stand for three days. At the end of the third day, drain the juice into another container leaving the blossoms. Add three quarts of fresh water and the peel of one lemon to the blossoms [...] Read more →

The Racing Knockabout Gosling

The Racing Knockabout Gosling.

Gosling was the winning yacht of 1897 in one of the best racing classes now existing in this country, the Roston knockabout class. The origin of this class dates back about six years, when Carl, a small keel cutter, was built for C. H. [...] Read more →

Clairvoyance and Occult Powers

Vishnu as the Cosmic Man (Vishvarupa) Opaque watercolour on paper – Jaipur, Rajasthan c. 1800-50

 

CLAIRVOYANCE AND OCCULT POWERS

By Swami Panchadasi

Copyright, 1916

By Advanced Thought Pub. Co. Chicago, Il

INTRODUCTION.

In preparing this series of lessons for students of [...] Read more →

Gout Remedies

Jan Verkolje Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to describe gout or uric acid crystals 1679.

For one suffering gout, the following vitamins, herbs, and extracts may be worth looking into:

Vitamin C Folic Acid – Folic Acid is a B vitamin and is also known as B9 – [Known food [...] Read more →

Platform of the American Institute of Banking in 1919

Resolution adapted at the New Orleans Convention of the American Institute of Banking, October 9, 1919:

“Ours is an educational association organized for the benefit of the banking fraternity of the country and within our membership may be found on an equal basis both employees and employers; [...] Read more →

Zulu Yawl

Dec. 10, 1898 Forest and Stream Pg. 477-479

Zulu.

The little ship shown in the accompanying plans needs no description, as she speaks for herself, a handsome and shipshape craft that a man may own for years without any fear that she will go to pieces [...] Read more →

British Craftsmanship is Alive and Well

The Queen Elizabeth Trust, or QEST, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of British craftsmanship through the funding of scholarships and educational endeavours to include apprenticeships, trade schools, and traditional university classwork. The work of QEST is instrumental in keeping alive age old arts and crafts such as masonry, glassblowing, shoemaking, [...] Read more →

The American Museum in Britain – From Florida to Bath

Hernando de Soto (c1496-1542) Spanish explorer and his men torturing natives of Florida in his determination to find gold. Hand-coloured engraving. John Judkyn Memorial Collection, Freshford Manor, Bath

The print above depicts Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his band of conquistadors torturing Florida natives in order to extract information on where [...] Read more →

Painting Plaster Work and the History of Terra Cotta

The 1896 Victorian terracotta Bell Edison Telephone Building – 17 & 19 Newhall Street, Birmingham, England. A grade I listed building designed by Frederick Martin of the firm Martin & Chamberlain. Now offices for firms of architects. Photographed 10 May 2006 by Oosoom

[Reprint from Victoria and Albert Museum included below on [...] Read more →

The Preparation of Marketable Vinegar

It is unnecessary to point out that low-grade fruit may often be used to advantage in the preparation of vinegar. This has always been true in the case of apples and may be true with other fruit, especially grapes. The use of grapes for wine making is an outlet which [...] Read more →

CIA 1950s Unevaluated UFO Intelligence

 

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

INROMATION FROM FOREIGN DOCUMENT OR RADIO BROADCASTS COUNTRY: Non-Orbit SUBJECT: Military – Air – Scientific – Aeronautics HOW PUBLISHED: Newspapers WHERE PUBLISHED: As indicated DATE PUBLISHED: 12 Dec 1953 – 12 Jan 1954 LANGUAGE: Various SOURCE: As indicated REPORT NO. 00-W-30357 DATE OF INFORMATION: 1953-1954 DATE DIST. 27 [...] Read more →

Looking for a Gift for the Book Collector in the Family?

Buying a book for a serious collector with refined tastes can be a daunting task.

However, there is one company that publishes some of the finest reproduction books in the world, books that most collectors wouldn’t mind having in their collection no matter their general preference or specialty.

The Perfect Salad Dressing

The following recipes are from a small booklet entitled 500 Delicious Salads that was published for the Culinary Arts Institute in 1940 by Consolidated Book Publishers, Inc. 153 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill.

If you have been looking for a way to lighten up your salads and be free of [...] Read more →

King William III on Horseback by Sir Godfrey Kneller

Reprint from The Royal Collection Trust website:

Kneller was born in Lubeck, studied with Rembrandt in Amsterdam and by 1676 was working in England as a fashionable portrait painter. He painted seven British monarchs (Charles II, James II, William III, Mary II, Anne, George I and George II), though his [...] Read more →

Of Decorated Furniture

DECORATED or “sumptuous” furniture is not merely furniture that is expensive to buy, but that which has been elaborated with much thought, knowledge, and skill. Such furniture cannot be cheap, certainly, but the real cost of it is sometimes borne by the artist who produces rather than by the man who may [...] Read more →

How to Make Money – Insurance

Life insurance certificate issued by the Yorkshire Fire & Life Insurance Company to Samuel Holt, Liverpool, England, 1851. On display at the British Museum in London. Donated by the ifs School of Finance. Photo by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

From How to Make Money; and How to Keep it, Or, Capital and Labor [...] Read more →

Watch Fraud on eBay

EBAY’S FRAUD PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE

EBay has had a problem with fraudulent sellers since its inception back in 1995. Some aspects of the platform have improved with algorithms and automation, but others such as customer service and fraud have gotten worse. Small sellers have definitely been hurt by eBay’s [...] Read more →

Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois and the Dulwich Picture Gallery

Noel Desenfans and Sir Francis Bourgeois, circa 1805 by Paul Sandby, watercolour on paper

The Dulwich Picture Gallery was England’s first purpose-built art gallery and considered by some to be England’s first national gallery. Founded by the bequest of Sir Peter Francis Bourgois, dandy, the gallery was built to display his vast [...] Read more →

The Effect of Magnetic Fields on Wound Healing

The Effect of Magnetic Fields on Wound Healing Experimental Study and Review of the Literature

Steven L. Henry, MD, Matthew J. Concannon, MD, and Gloria J. Yee, MD Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Missouri Hospital & Clinics, Columbia, MO Published July 25, 2008

Objective: Magnets [...] Read more →

The First Greek Book by John Williams White

Click here to read The First Greek Book by John Williams White

The First Greek Book - 15.7MB

IN MEMORIAM

JOHN WILLIAMS WHITE

The death, on May 9, of John Williams White, professor of Greek in Harvard University, touches a large number of classical [...] Read more →

Wine Making

Wine Making

Grapes are the world’s leading fruit crop and the eighth most important food crop in the world, exceeded only by the principal cereals and starchytubers. Though substantial quantities are used for fresh fruit, raisins, juice and preserves, most of the world’s annual production of about 60 million [...] Read more →

Origin of the Apothecary

ORIGIN OF THE APOTHECARY.

The origin of the apothecary in England dates much further back than one would suppose from what your correspondent, “A Barrister-at-Law,” says about it. It is true he speaks only of apothecaries as a distinct branch of the medical profession, but long before Henry VIII’s time [...] Read more →

The Flying Saucers are Real by Donald Keyhoe

It was a strange assignment. I picked up the telegram from desk and read it a third time.

NEW YORK, N.Y., MAY 9, 1949

HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING FLYING SAUCER MYSTERY. FIRST TIP HINTED GIGANTIC HOAX TO COVER UP OFFICIAL SECRET. BELIEVE IT MAY HAVE BEEN PLANTED TO HIDE [...] Read more →

A Survey of Palestine – 1945-1946

This massive volume gives one a real visual sense of what it was like running a highly efficient colonial operation in the early 20rh Century. It will also go a long way to help anyone wishing to understand modern political intrigue in the Middle-East.

Click here to read A Survey of Palestine [...] Read more →

David Starkey: Britain’s Last Great Historian

Dr. David Starkey, the UK’s premiere historian, speaks to the modern and fleeting notion of “cancel culture”. Starkey’s brilliance is unparalleled and it has become quite obvious to the world’s remaining Western scholars willing to stand on intellectual integrity that a few so-called “Woke Intellectuals” most certainly cannot undermine [...] Read more →

The Kalmar War

Wojna Kalmarska – 1611

The Kalmar War

From The Historian’s History of the World (In 25 Volumes) by Henry Smith William L.L.D. – Vol. XVI.(Scandinavia) Pg. 308-310

The northern part of the Scandinavian peninsula, as already noticed, had been peopled from the remotest times by nomadic tribes called Finns or Cwenas by [...] Read more →

Rendering Amber Clear for Use in Lens-Making for Magnifying Glass

by John Partridge,drawing,1825

From the work of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake entitled Materials for a history of oil painting, (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1846), we learn the following:

The effect of oil at certain temperatures, in penetrating “the minute pores of the amber” (as Hoffman elsewhere writes), is still more [...] Read more →

A Cure for Distemper in Dogs

 

The following cure was found written on a front flyleaf in an 1811 3rd Ed. copy of The Sportsman’s Guide or Sportsman’s Companion: Containing Every Possible Instruction for the Juvenille Shooter, Together with Information Necessary for the Experienced Sportsman by B. Thomas.

 

Transcript:

Vaccinate your dogs when young [...] Read more →

Country House Christmas Pudding

Country House Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

1 cup Christian Bros Brandy ½ cup Myer’s Dark Rum ½ cup Jim Beam Whiskey 1 cup currants 1 cup sultana raisins 1 cup pitted prunes finely chopped 1 med. apple peeled and grated ½ cup chopped dried apricots ½ cup candied orange peel finely chopped 1 ¼ cup [...] Read more →

The Crime of the Congo by Arthur Conan Doyle

 

Man looks at severed hand and foot….for refusing to climb a tree to cut rubber for King Leopold

Click here to read The Crime of the Congo by Arthur Conan Doyle

Victim of King Leopold of Belgium

Click on the link below for faster download.

The [...] Read more →

Making Apple Cider Vinegar

The greatest cause of failure in vinegar making is carelessness on the part of the operator. Intelligent separation should be made of the process into its various steps from the beginning to end.

PRESSING THE JUICE

The apples should be clean and ripe. If not clean, undesirable fermentations [...] Read more →

Horn Measurement

Jul. 23, 1898 Forest and Stream, Pg. 65

Horn Measurements.

Editor Forest and Stream: “Record head.” How shamefully this term is being abused, especially in the past three years; or since the giant moose from Alaska made his appearance in public and placed all former records (so far as [...] Read more →

Art Fraud

A la Russie, aux ânes et aux autres – by Chagall – 1911

Marc Chagall is one of the most forged artists on the planet. Mark Rothko fakes also abound. According to available news reports, the art market is littered with forgeries of their work. Some are even thought to be [...] Read more →

Birth of United Fruit Company

From Conquest of the Tropics by Frederick Upham Adams

Chapter VI – Birth of the United Fruit Company

Only those who have lived in the tropic and are familiar with the hazards which confront the cultivation and marketing of its fruits can readily understand [...] Read more →

Popular Mechanics Archive

Click here to access the Internet Archive of old Popular Mechanics Magazines – 1902-2016

Click here to view old Popular Mechanics Magazine Covers

Home Top of Pg. Read more →

The Public Attitude Towards Speculation

Reprint from The Pitfalls of Speculation by Thomas Gibson 1906 Ed.

THE PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARD SPECULATION

THE public attitude toward speculation is generally hostile. Even those who venture frequently are prone to speak discouragingly of speculative possibilities, and to point warningly to the fact that an [...] Read more →

Shooting in Wet Weather

 

Reprint from The Sportsman’s Cabinet and Town and Country Magazine, Vol I. Dec. 1832, Pg. 94-95

To the Editor of the Cabinet.

SIR,

Possessing that anxious feeling so common among shooters on the near approach of the 12th of August, I honestly confess I was not able [...] Read more →

How Long is Your Yacht?

Dominion, Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club,Winner of Seawanhaka Cup, 1898.

The Tail Wags the Dog.

The following is a characteristic sample of those broad and liberal views on yachting which are the pride of the Boston Herald. Speaking of the coming races for the Seawanhaka international challenge cup, it says:

[...] Read more →

Indian Modes of Hunting – Musquash

Hudson Bay: Trappers, 1892. N’Talking Musquash.’ Fur Trappers Of The Hudson’S Bay Company Talking By A Fire. Engraving After A Drawing By Frederic Remington, 1892.

Indian Modes of Hunting.

IV.—Musquash.

In Canada and the United States, the killing of the little animal known under the several names of [...] Read more →

U.S. Coast Guard Radio Information for Boaters

VHF Marifoon Sailor RT144, by S.J. de Waard

RADIO INFORMATION FOR BOATERS

Effective 01 August, 2013, the U. S. Coast Guard terminated its radio guard of the international voice distress, safety and calling frequency 2182 kHz and the international digital selective calling (DSC) distress and safety frequency 2187.5 kHz. Additionally, [...] Read more →

Something about Caius College, Cambridge

Gate of Honour, Caius Court, Gonville & Caius

Gonville & Caius College, known as Caius and pronounced keys was founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, the Rector of Terrington St Clement in Norfolk. The first name was thus Goville Hall and it was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. [...] Read more →

Texas Tarpon

Early Texas photo of Tarpon catch – Not necessarily the one mentioned below…

July 2, 1898. Forest and Stream Pg.10

Texas Tarpon.

Tarpon, Texas.—Mr. W. B. Leach, of Palestine, Texas, caught at Aransas Pass Islet, on June 14, the largest tarpon on record here taken with rod and reel. The [...] Read more →

The Cremation of Sam McGee

Robert W. Service (b.1874, d.1958)

 

There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold; The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, But the queerest they ever did see Was that night [...] Read more →

Clairvoyance – Methods of Development

CLAIRVOYANCE

by C. W. Leadbeater

Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Pub. House

[1899]

CHAPTER IX – METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT

When a men becomes convinced of the reality of the valuable power of clairvoyance, his first question usually is, “How can [...] Read more →

Of the Room and Furniture

Crewe Hall Dining Room

 

THE transient tenure that most of us have in our dwellings, and the absorbing nature of the struggle that most of us have to make to win the necessary provisions of life, prevent our encouraging the manufacture of well-wrought furniture.

We mean to outgrow [...] Read more →

Sir Joshua Reynolds – Notes from Rome

“The Leda, in the Colonna palace, by Correggio, is dead-coloured white and black, with ultramarine in the shadow ; and over that is scumbled, thinly and smooth, a warmer tint,—I believe caput mortuum. The lights are mellow ; the shadows blueish, but mellow. The picture is painted on panel, in [...] Read more →

Cleaner for Gilt Picture Frames

Cleaner for Gilt Frames.

Calcium hypochlorite…………..7 oz. Sodium bicarbonate……………7 oz. Sodium chloride………………. 2 oz. Distilled water…………………12 oz.

 

Home Top of Pg. Read more →

A Creative Approach to Saving Ye Olde Cassette Tapes

Quite possibly, the most agonizing decision being made by Baby Boomers across the nation these days is what to do with all that vintage Hi-fi equipment and boxes full of classic rock and roll cassettes and 8-Tracks.

I faced this dilemma head-on this past summer as I definitely wanted in [...] Read more →

List of the 60 Franklin Library Signed Limited Editions

The following highly collectible Franklin Library Signed Editions were published between 1977 and 1982. They are all fully leather bound with beautiful covers and contain gorgeous and rich silk moire endpapers. Signatures are protected by unattached tissue inserts.

The values listed are average prices that were sought by [...] Read more →

Target Practice

Nov. 12, 1898 Forest and Stream Pg. 396

The Veterans to the Front.

Ironton. O., Oct. 28.—Editor Forest and Stream: I mail you a target made here today by Messrs. E. Lawton, G. Rogers and R. S. Dupuy. Mr. Dupuy is seventy-four years old, Mr. Lawton seventy-two. Mr. Rogers [...] Read more →

Bess of Hardwick: Four Times a Lady

Bess of Harwick

Four times the nuptial bed she warm’d, And every time so well perform’d, That when death spoil’d each husband’s billing, He left the widow every shilling. Fond was the dame, but not dejected; Five stately mansions she erected With more than royal pomp, to vary The prison of her captive When [...] Read more →

Christmas Pudding with Dickens

Traditional British Christmas Pudding Recipe by Pen Vogler from the Charles Dickens Museum

Ingredients

85 grams all purpose flour pinch of salt 170 grams Beef Suet 140 grams brown sugar tsp. mixed spice, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, &c 170 grams bread crumbs 170 grams raisins 170 grams currants 55 grams cut mixed peel Gram to [...] Read more →

The English Tradition of Woodworking

THE sense of a consecutive tradition has so completely faded out of English art that it has become difficult to realise the meaning of tradition, or the possibility of its ever again reviving; and this state of things is not improved by the fact that it is due to uncertainty of purpose, [...] Read more →

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Officers and men of the 13th Light Dragoons, British Army, Crimea. Rostrum photograph of photographer’s original print, uncropped and without color correction. Survivors of the Charge.

Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the [...] Read more →

The Basics of Painting in the Building Trade

PAINTER-WORK, in the building trade. When work is painted one or both of two distinct ends is achieved, namely the preservation and the coloration of the material painted. The compounds used for painting—taking the word as meaning a thin protective or decorative coat—are very numerous, including oil-paint of many kinds, distemper, whitewash, [...] Read more →

Fortune, Independence, and Competence

THE answer to the question, What is fortune has never been, and probably never will be, satisfactorily made. What may be a fortune for one bears but small proportion to the colossal possessions of another. The scores or hundreds of thousands admired and envied as a fortune in most of our communities [...] Read more →

Catholic Religious Orders

Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the mendicant Order of Friars Minor, as painted by El Greco.

Catholic religious order

Catholic religious orders are one of two types of religious institutes (‘Religious Institutes’, cf. canons 573–746), the major form of consecrated life in the Roman Catholic Church. They are organizations of laity [...] Read more →