H05085 OCTOBER, 2005 NOTES AND QUERIES -10/01/05 - HARDY FORUM ARCHIVES ______________________________________________________

H05085 OCTOBER, 2005 NOTES AND QUERIES -10/01/05 - HARDY FORUM ARCHIVES ____________________________________________________________________________

SOURCE OF SONG SOUGHT

SUBSCRIBER GRADUATES (2)

RESULTS FROM ROY DAVIDS COLLECTION AUCTION (3)

CLAVELL TOWER PRESERVATION (2)

UNUSUAL CHECKLIST LISTING

FIRE AND WATER IN THE NOVELS (2)

ENIGMATIC REFERENCE TO HARDY

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From: segr@segr-music.net

Subject: Still Searching

Date: October 1, 2005 4:10:58 AM PDT

While it's quiet I just wondered whether it might be opportune

to remind any dedicated sleuths with the need for an excuse to

bomb the search engines ( possibly their pockets also!) with another

wild goose-chase.

Ploughing-on with settings of the poems about the magic of St Juliot in 1870

I have come up again against (sorry) the problem of the identity of

"That Song". that so entranced our hero left alone "That Night" with

the rector's sister-in-law and crouching in the corner by the canterbury!

What with the poems and the text of "Blue Eyes" it sounds like an exciting

experience was had, as Emma might have put it. If anyone can come up

with the solution to the problem of the words in "The Curtains" they are

"ensured" of a like experience.

Cheers to All.

www.segr-music.net

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From: meryfac@hotmail.com

Subject: THESIS

Date: October 4, 2005 3:34:57 AM PDT

Dear Forum,

I'm going to graduate, the great day will be Friday. I've finally finished

my thesis about Thomas Hardy and I've also created a website!

I would like to thank you all for your kindness...without all your advice I

would never get over my work.

So thank you very much!

Maria

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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu

Subject: Re: THESIS

Date: October 4, 2005 5:39:36 AM PDT

Well done - Congratulations, Maria! This is an achievement indeed given that English (not to mention Hardy's English) isn't your first language.

I look forward to seeing your website.

With every good wish,

Rosemarie

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From: 2727@tampabay.rr.com

Subject: Results of auction of Roy Davids Collection re. Hardy at Bonhams

Date: October 5, 2005 6:03:59 AM PDT

Here are the results of Monday's auction at Bonhams in London.

Sale 13394 - The Roy Davids Collection

New Bond Street 3 Oct 2005 at 11:00

Help

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Lot No: 64

HARDY, THOMAS (1840-1928, poet and novelist, O.M.)

PORTRAIT BY OLIVE EDIS (1876-1955),

photograph, platinum print, three-quarter length, seated holding a volume of poetry, signed and inscribed for Siegfried Sassoon by Hardy on the mount 'To Siegfried Sassoon from Thomas Hardy Nov. 1918', blind stamp in roundel of the photographer Olive Edis on the mount, extremely fine, 73/4 x 6 inches (19.7 x 15.2 cm).

Estimate: £3,000 to 4,000

Sold for £9,500 plus Premium and tax

Footnote:

In Siegfried's Journey, pp. 121-122, Sassoon describes this photograph and its importance for him: 'On the mantlepiece was the framed portrait he had given me, propitiously inscribed with my name as well as his own signature. When sitting to the photographer about five years before, he had contrived to intimate that he wasn't such a great man as his admirers imagined. There was a just discernable expression of amusement in his eyes and about the region of the moustache. Except for the majesty of his brow, Hardy the poet had evaded the camera. That photograph, I have now told myself, was something to be lived up to. It was the hall-mark on such recognition as my poetry had so far achieved. For there was no one, among living writers, whose approval could have the significance of his.'

The plate of the coloured photograph is now in the National Portrait Gallery. Another of the photographs taken on the same occasion is illustrated opposite page 156 in Florence Hardy, The Later Years of Thomas Hardy 1892-1928, 1930, and a further one was signed by Hardy for the Society of Authors. For portraits of Sassoon see lots 134-135. See note on Olive Edis at the end of the catalogue.

Place Bid or Track Lot

Sale 13394 - The Roy Davids Collection

New Bond Street 3 Oct 2005 at 11:00

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Lot No: 65

HARDY, THOMAS (1840-1928, poet and novelist, O.M.)

PORTRAIT BY OLIVE EDIS (1876-1955),

photograph, platinum print, half-length, seated, in profile facing left, at his desk in his study at Max Gate holding his dip pen above a blank piece of paper, signed on the mount below the image by 'Olive Edis Sheringham' [the location of her studio], extremely fine,15 x 111/2 in (38.1 x 29.2 cm).

Estimate: £1,000 to 1,500

Sold for £3,200 plus Premium and tax

Footnote:

See previous lot and note on Olive Edis at the end of the catalogue.

Place Bid or Track Lot

Sale 13394 - The Roy Davids Collection

New Bond Street 3 Oct 2005 at 11:00

Help

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Lot No: 62

HARDY, THOMAS (1840-1928, poet and novelist, O.M.)

PORTRAIT BY HERBERT ROSE BARRAUD (1845-1895),

photograph, Woodburytype, half-length, extremely fine, 101/2 x 71/2 in (26.7 x 19 cm).

Estimate: £800 to 1,200

Sold for £800 plus Premium and tax

Footnote:

In his biography of Hardy, Martin Seymour-Smith describes this portrait of circa 1889 as 'Perhaps the most eloquent of all the photographs taken of Hardy'. From Men and Women of the Day, 1889. See the note on Barraud at the end of the catalogue.

Place Bid or Track Lot

Sale 13394 - The Roy Davids Collection

New Bond Street 3 Oct 2005 at 11:00

Help

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Lot No: 63

HARDY, THOMAS (1840-1928, poet and novelist, O.M.)

PORTRAIT BY REGINALD GRENVILLE EVES R.A., R.P. (1876-1941),

oil on canvas, half-length, hands to lapels, in his library, signed and dated 1923 by Eves, 233/4 x 193/4 in (60.3 x 50.2 cm).

Estimate: £6,000 to 8,000

Sold for £16,000 plus Premium and tax

Footnote:

EXHIBITED: Royal Academy, 1924; British Library Thomas Hardy Exhibition 1990 and reproduced on the front cover of the catalogue Thomas Hardy, 1840-1928, by Elizabeth James, 1990; British Library Millennium Exhibition Chapter & Verse: 1000 years of English Literature, 2000; reproduced (between pages 48-49) in The Genius of Thomas Hardy, 1976, edited Margaret Drabble, but wrongly described there as being the one in the National Portrait Gallery.

This 1923 portrait, painted from life, was shown in the Royal Academy in 1924. It was painted at the same time as the one by Eves in the National Portrait Gallery. Hardy records in his diary that he began his sittings with Eves in August 1923.

'Eves is among the few contemporary artists who have a genius for portrait work.' (Adrian Bury, The Art of Reginald Eves R.A., 1940). He had 'a remarkable gift for catching and fixing a characteristic expression. He developed a trademark style in which loosely worked backgrounds and unfinished edges give the impression of a spontaneous sketch.' (James Laver, revised by Ben Whitworth, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004). Hugh Walpole considered Eves's portraits as 'masterpieces of sympathy and understanding.' See under Patmore in this catalogue.

Place Bid or Track Lot

Michael Stoddard

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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu

Subject: Re: The Hardy Tree Experiment

Date: October 4, 2005 5:12:22 PM PDT

THE HARDY TREE EXPERIMENT

commissioned by Off the Cuff Theatre Company Ltd.

YOUR INVOLVEMENT - YOUR EXPERIENCE

OFF THE CUFF THEATRE COMPANY has commissioned an exciting new interactive

site specific experiment to take place on 24th, 25th and 26th October at

7:30pm in St Pancras Churchyard and Gardens. These scratch performances

will form the foundation for a new work (The Hardy Tree Experience) planned

to take place in 2006!

In 1865 the swelling of the new railways pushed out the dead from their

graves in St. Pancras Churchyard. Thomas Hardy, still bound to his day job

as an architectural clerk, is charged with exhuming the bodies. Different

values collide, the living mingle with the dead, and redemption emerges from

inspiration.

A 140 years on and a gnarled ash tree now grows from the stack of headstones

Thomas moved in the ancient graveyard, the oldest site of ritual in England.

For many centuries lovers, poets and parishioners, mourners, artists, dog

walkers and the like were using this space for relaxation, reflection,

inspiration and renewal.

With the regeneration of the St Pancras area in advance of the Eurostar

Tunnel completion, OtC wishes to capture and bring to life some local

history as well as make people aware of a rare space in the heart of London.

With inter-woven stories told by residents of the diverse local communities,

OtC will celebrate the many unique experiences that people have had

throughout the ages in Kings Cross.

This Experiment will explore the myth of THE HARDY TREE and Thomas Hardy_s

unsettling journey - how this might have impacted on him as a young man

fresh from Dorset and how this experience influenced his art? Snippets,

montage, tableaux, song, verse and other forms of performance will be

sprinkled throughout the piece.

Off The Cuff is also asking for people to contact them with their stories.

Not just about St. Pancras Gardens but also about their times or memories in

and around Camden, St. Pancras, King_s Cross and West Euston areas. OtC may

perform some of the stories, ask the individuals to recount their stories to

an audience, or just record these unique tales for history; this will then

become the focus of THE HARDY TREE EXPERIENCE in October 2006.

See also

http://www.yale.edu/hardysoc/hardy_tree.htm

Please contact Paul Dubois (Artistic Director) with your stories at:

Off the Cuff Theatre Company

2nd floor, 91a Rivington Street, London EC2A 3AY

tel 020 7739 2857

email thehardytree@aol.com web www.otctheatre.co.uk

For press information contact GCA on 020 7395 2603 or email

jenny@g-c-a.co.uk

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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu

Subject: Re: Results of auction of Roy Davids Collection re. Hardy at Bonhams

Date: October 5, 2005 7:21:36 AM PDT

Now there's a new thread for you, Roy!

Michael you are a gem. What a treasure house!

Thank you, thank you!

Besties,

Rosemarie

PS Interesting that most reached far higher prices than anticipated. Also interesting that both Eves' portraits feature slightly downcast eyes (Bonhams' and the National Gallery portrait), and that Hardy's moustachios are bushier in Bonhams.

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From: tomlessup@hotmail.com

Subject: Re: Results of auction of Roy Davids Collection re. Hardy at Bonhams

Date: October 5, 2005 4:13:24 PM PDT

The photographs/painting of TH in old age tho' striking are very familiar by now; but Barraud's 1889 photograph, which I've never seen before, is an absolute knock-out. Searching for other Barraud photographs, I came across

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4293838.stm

which carries a sequence of "portraits of poets" from the Roy Davids sale. Two of the "poets" are a Julia Margaret Cameron portrait of Charles Darwin (surely Erasmus was the poetical Darwin?) and another fine Barraud picture, this time of Sir Richard Owen of dinosaur fame (looking unsettlingly like the late Marty Feldman). But the most striking photograph of all is an Eveleen Myers portrait of Robert Browning, dating, like the Hardy one, from 1889. An annus mirabilis for strong faces!

Thos Lessup

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From: robert_goddard@hotmail.com

Subject: Clavell Tower

Date: October 7, 2005 2:45:07 PM PDT

Dear All,

I thought that you would be interested to learn that the UK Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded the Landmark Trust a grant of over £ 400,000 to save the Clavell Tower by moving it further inland. See:

http://www.hlf.org.uk/English/Articles/Projectinfocus.htm

http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/future_landmarks/clavell.htm

Best wishes,

Robert Goddard, UK.

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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu

Subject: Re: Clavell Tower

Date: October 7, 2005 3:41:21 PM PDT

Bravo!

How many halcyon days have I spent on Kimmeridge cliffs -- the tower always a beacon, beckoning.

Will Hardy's sketch in Wessex Poems signify a little differently now - now that the pathway leading up the grassy mound will no longer wend its way to the tower?

My Last Picnic there, watching butterflies, was with Roy Morrell, the year before he died.

Rosemarie

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From: schweikr@localnet.com

Subject: Unusual TTHA Checklist Listing

Date: October 10, 2005 1:27:00 PM PDT

In updating TTHA's "Checklist of Recent Hardy Publications" I occasionally come across

items that seem to me to be unusual--and, often, testify to a worldwide interest in Hardy.

The following citation--just added to the Checklist today--is one of those. It is listed in the

Checklist under the heading, "Readings, Retellings, Dramatizations, Sequels, and Musical

Settings" for the year 2005.

Kondor, Ádám. Old Bockhampton Tunes: For Female Voice and Violin. Budapest: Editio

Musica Budapest, 2005.

________________[Listed in OCLC WorldCat on 10 October, 2005. One score of 20 pages for high voice with violin.

Apparently not settings of poems by Hardy but 'on' poems by Hardy, with such titles as 'With Ceremony,'

'The Walk,' and the like.]

If there are any members of the Forum who might have access to any additional (and perhaps more accurate) information about that publication, I'd appreciate hearing from them. The bracketed comments are, of course,

my own.

Bob Schweik

Robert Schweik

University Distinguished Teaching Professor

Department of English

State University of New York

Fredonia, NY 14063

USA

Telephone: (716) 673-1905

FAX: (716) 673-3446

schweik@fredonia.edu

schweikr@localnet.com

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From: jacky@wilkibob.me.uk

Subject: Fire and water

Date: October 22, 2005 4:49:06 AM PDT

In these few weeks I have free before commencing my PhD I have devoted my

time to reading some of Hardy's works which I had not read before. A point

which has become increasingly clear to me is the importance of both fire and

water in Hardy's novels. There almost always appears to be a sinister

aspect in his descriptions of water, conveying a sense of instability or

inversion, particularly in The Return of the Native and The Mayor, and I

notice it, too, in my recent reading of Desperate Remedies. He appears to

use fire, too, as a means of causing a sense of confusion and at the same

time as a means of propelling the plot forward, as in Far From the Madding

Crowd, and Desperate Remedies, for example. I wonder if the forum know of

any scholarly works which deal with with these manifestations, and, indeed,

the forum's views on my comments.

Jacky

Post Grad UCLAN

jacky@wilkibob.me.uk

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From: shjoan1002@qwest.net

Subject: Re: Fire and water

Date: October 22, 2005 9:39:58 AM PDT

Good point, Jacky - in the beginning of FFMC, he refers to a pond that is "like a dead man's eye". This phrase always comes to mind now when I see any pond - it is such an opposite to the Narcissus myth of a reflection of the self, or even the world or heavens. But in context Gabriel has come to an ending of his circumstances that propels him to wander, open up to new possibilities.

But his use of fire and water as symbols and/ or metaphors to convey the passions of his characters is most interesting. In fact, I am intrigued by the way Hardy links characters to the natural world with the use of fire and water. The fires that smolder on the heath in RN are those that burn in Eustacia's eyes and soul. It seems that her discontent is also the heath's. Water... Gabriel's passage toward Bathsheba (after the dead sheep + pond) is accompanied by a rushing brook. When characters are cut off from each other and nature, is fire contained or absent? - fire in Jude is in fireplaces... the rain in Woodlanders ...

just a few ideas you've brought to mind - could one follow the trail of either fire or water through the novels to see what Hardy thinks about nature's fate, or to find how it matches, helps, or hinders a given character?

Joan Sheski

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Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2005 20:20:51 -0400

From: Robert Schweik <schweikr@localnet.com>

Subject: Just a Note

Occasional references to Hardy--and there are thousands--tend to get

lost in the manifold mentions about him that are made these days--as anyone

can discover by looking at only those recorded in the Project Muse database.

But one recently made by Edward Hughes in a review of books on Proust caught

my attention. It appears in TLS (October 21, 2005, p. 30). Hughes wrote,

"No wonder

Proust picked up on the geometrical construction of Hardy's novels." The

way Hughes

made that comment suggests that "the geometrical construction of Hardy's

novels" was a given--something everyone knows. I confess that I don't

find any

"geometrical construction" in Hardy's novels. Is there something that

I've missed?

Bob Schweik

Robert Schweik University Distinguished Teaching Professor Department of

English State University of New York Fredonia, NY 14063 USA Telephone:

(716) 673-1905 FAX: (716) 673-3446 schweik@fredonia.edu

schweikr@localnet.com

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