Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1957-03-21, Page 2London Auctions Thrill Visitors To climb the staircase to one Of London's famous auction rooms is to step back in time to the Victorian, or even the Georgian era. There is a sense of quiet dig- nity in the proceedings which lifts the auctions out of mere commercialism. The catalogue descriptions are in vivid detail and one can almost feel the sheen of rose or satinwood. American collectors in par- ticular are finding a good mar- ket for their objects d'art at Sotheby's and Christie's since the ban on importing these form sale was lifted. At Christie's a small collection of late Chinese porcelain .sent over from the United States recently provided the occasion for spirited bidding, much of it from Holland. The lots included some of the rarest examples of the products of the Chinese kilns of the 17th and 18th cen- turies, splendid, colorful pieces which astonished our ancestors when they first reached the Western world. Both Christie's and Sotheby's were founded in the 18th cen- tury; since then they have of- fered for sale some of the world's most famous art treas- • ures. Visitorsare welcome to attend the sales and to inspect the works of art displayed in the rooms usually on the day before the sale. At Sotheby's one walks up the short wide staircase to the four rooms on the first floor where the walls are covered with priceless tapestries and, pictures and the cases filled with the finest china from many parts of the world. On the floor one may walk over an Aubusson rug or a beautiful Bokhara. The auctioneer stands in the "pulpit" with a clerk seated at a desk below him. In front of him dealers sit at green baize tables, talking in whispers and taking notes. The rooms at current sales are filled with dealers acting as agents, dealers in their own right, with private buyers and those who are merely there to watch proceedings. From the poker-faced crowd it is difficult to see who is bid- ding against wham, but there is no secret about the buyer, un- less he deals through an agent. : Ife" elafioneer announces the ,purchaser when the bidding atops. • On a recent visit the crowd surged into the roams for the sale of a Stradivarius violin. Many violins come to the show- rooms with the great master's label inside. Few turn out to be genuine. When one does, the bidding is a lively duel, flitting from $1,500 on this day to $9,900 in. a few seconds. For this sum the bidder had acquired "a very fine . Stradivarius violin" with varnish of a beautiful am- ber to brown, in excellent pre- servation, of the year 1703;erwith two bows, one silver, one gold - mounted. The crowd of sight -seers N SALLY'S SALLIES "Please, please, sir; you're blocking my view of the jury." flowed out as the hammer fell on the Strad. Genuine dealers in musical instruments re- mained to bid for the 19th cen- tury mechanical organ or the rare dulcimer, the Georgian spinet, or the Italian clavichord of perhaps 1700. Echoes of the musical heyday of Haydn, Mozart, and J. S Bach were recalled by an English piano of that period, the earliest surviving grand pianoforte by Johannes Broadwood, 1788. The original instructions for tuning and caring for the instrument were still behind the name board. Perhaps it was a reflec- tion on the size of modern drawing rooms that this early piano went for $165. In the furniture section, the catalogue conjures up all the curls and twists of the Victorian era, with its white -capped par- lor maid and green baize- aproned manservant flipping round with feather brush and duster. Side tables had giltwood stands centered by lions' masks and with drapery held in the beaks of griffins. A bureau had a rimmed serpentine top, a Wil- liam and Mary giltwood stand. was fitted with a marble top to form a side table, "the double scroll legs carved with leaves and joined by a deep apron piece, the central panel carved with a winged boy standing among foliage." Oriental rugs and carpets were sold quickly. Large Au- busson tapestries, covering near- ly the whole of one wall and worth hundreds of pounds, fell in minutes. Nowadays collections usually come from many small collec- tions rather than from .one big one — which all adds drama and interest for the overseas visitor to the salesroom.—From The Christian Science Monitor. C=w p Isory F'ikoradation The long arm of federal gov- ernment control over the indi- vidual lives of some of its citizens has now been stretched even farther than in the past. The department of defense has di- rected its officials on state -side military bases on which depend- ent children live to fluoridate the domestic water supply used by resident families. The fluoridation of water to protect children's teeth from de- cay has become a controversial matter in many local communi- ties where it has. been proposed. Its advocates include various professional dental societies and individuals sincerely concerned with' public health. Opponents include other persons who, for one reason or another, do not want their water "doctored" be- fore it reaches their homes. The question has been settled by vote in some localities... . Military personnel and their families are always subjected to all sorts of rules and regulations, and many will take the fluorida- tion order in stride. The na- tional defense department direc- tive, however, does appear to take a rather basic freedom of choice away from the individual citizen who happens to be quar- tered on a military base. Regardless of the merits or de- merits of fluoridation, there seems to be little reason why it should be unposed upon the children of an airman in the name of national defense, with- out the consent of the majority of families scheduled to be treat- ed.— Spokesman -Review (Spo- kane, Wash.) Overall cost of moving traffic now being carried by bus in Canada is five or six cents a ton mile as compared with the current railway revenue of 11/2 cents per ton anile. CALL ME FOR DINNER, JAMES—Teo, too bored by the whole Oiling Is 'Pilgrim's T.V. Victor, a blase bulldog, shown napping it ring the Westminster Kennel Club Show. With his Ivy League rap at a rakish angle, Victor awaits his owner, Albert Poholek. • GETTING READY --•- Princess Grace of Monaco is holding her - five -week-old daughter Princess Caroline before the royal infant was formally introduced to a crowd of Monagasques gathered in the courtyard outside the royal palace. The presentation was the start of two days of ceremonies for the baby's baptism. BIET ey eamAndrews. The Pennsylvania Dutch peo- ple did not come from the Netherlands, as many people think. They came from the Rhine area of Germany, where the word "Deutsch" meant "the folk" of that region.. The term "Dutch" was applied to them by English-speaking people of colo- nial times who misunderstood the immigrants when they said, "Ich bin Deutsch." But the Amish and otheii, members of the Plain sects who settled on the Pennsylvania frontier soon demonstrated what are so often considered German traits of thrift and frugality.. They raised bumpercrops of white potatoes in the fine rich soil of the new world, and the womenfolk made delectable dishes from them that astonish- ed and delighted the English settlers, writes Mabel Slack Shelton. in The Christian Sci- ence Monitor. They grated "Deutsch Spuds" and made them into pancakes; they used them in soup; they grated them again in Potato Custard; they fried them, baked them, and put them in stews. And their descendants, equally as versatile in the kitchen, found that potatoes help to make a never -fail fudge that is famous. Their recipes are exact and contain. many helpful hints -- just what you might perhaps expect in the way of thorough- ness and caution, when you re- call their German background. together until a medium -soft ball can be formed. • Add 1 tablespoon of butter or margar- ine. Let cool, then beat until - half done. Add two cupsof hot potatoes that have been baked and forced through a fine sieve; then continue beating until creamy. If desired, add 2 cups of nuts and 1 teaspoon of va- nilla just before pouring. Pour into- lightly buttered pan and nark into squares. * * * Potato Pancakes To make Potato Pancakes, they advise: "Pare 6 to 8 me- dium -large potatoes (prefer- ably old ones); peel 1 large onion. Grate potatoes and onion. into large bowl. Salt to taste (1/2 teaspoon or more). Add 1 egg or 2 eggs, depending upon size (use 2 if you are preparing 8 potatoes) and 2 rounded table- spoons of flour. Blend thorough- ly and drop by tablespoons onto a hot skillet that has been greased with 'bacon drippings. (These pancakes need enough grease to keep them from stick- ing.) Fry until they are crispy golden brown on both sides. Serve as quickly as possible" * * * Potato Soup One large, or two medium- sized potatoes for each .serving of soup. One medium-sized onion for each three servings of scup. Water to barely cover the peeled and thinly sliced potatoes and onions. lie teaspoon salt for each serving. Cook until the po- tatoes are very well dobe, and the liquid la reduced to the point where the consistency of the potatoes arid onions resem- bles moist mashed potatoes. Then 'add a small lump of but- ter. Add 1 cup of milk for each serving, and heat to the boiling point, but do not boil. Add pep- per to taste and serve. * * * Potato Fudge Broil 3 cups of white sugar, 1. cup of brown sugar, 1 cup evap- orated milk, Ve cup corn syrup and four squares of chocolate * * Bachelor's Pie If a housewife has to be away over the meal hours, she usually leaves what is known as a "Bachelor's Pie" in the oven for her husband and sons. To make this, she lightly butters an extra -large pie plate„ then thin- ly slices raw potatoes into the pan to make a layer about an inch deep. She• tops this with a layer of thinly sliced onions, and adds salt and pepper. Over this she arranges inch -wide strips of round steak, then dots the whole with small pieces of suet, and salts and peppers again. She covers the plate with pie - crust, slashed to permit steam to escape, and leaves the pie in a medium -hot oven to bake un- til done. Her stove is wood - fired, and she can gauge her heat and length of baking to a nicety through long experience. In a gas or electric oven, 1 hour at 375° is right for, this meal -in - a -dish. Cooking Tips For Small Families. Senior homemakers who enjoy cooking for one ort are alln clover these days, for the canned, packaged, and frozen foods on the market, even short- cut meals can be nourishing, ap- petizing, and varied. The secret of variety, says a home economist ,with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is in using the popular "convenience" foods along with others in dif- ferent combination. Canned corned beef, for example, may be formed into small cakes and grilled with a slice of pineapple on top. Canned tomato soup, un- diluted, makes a piquant sauce for meat balls, or it may be com- bined with quick -cooking rice for a savory "Spanish Rice." Canned macaroni or spaghetti in cheese sauce go well with ground meat, tuna fish, cut-up cooked chicken or ham, dried beef, or frankfurters, baked to blend the flavors. Canned tuna fish or chicken, with chopped onion and green pepper for extra flavor and color, are de- licious when combined with con- densed chicken soup. If baked, top with baking powder biscuit, or with bread crumbs, crushed crackers, or crumbled corn flakes. Many a cook whose stave is a single gas or electric burner specializes in one -dish meals. Not skimpy, stand -up -at -a - counter -and -eat affair s, but meals featuring such old-time favorites as braised liver or pot roast with vegetables, fish chow- der, Irish stew, or New England boiled dinner. To complete the menu, a crisp salad, bread, and perhaps a simple dessert of fruit, fruit pudding, ice cream Or sherbet. A skillet of cast iron or cast aluminum with a tight -fitting lid makes it possible to prepare one -burner meals in series. First, plan a dessert which can be served cold; say fruit, fruit gela- tin, or tapioca pudding. Teen, for example, combine ground meat with cooked spaghetti and tomato sauce and cook it in the skillet. When this is done set it aside — it will keep hot in the skillet - while you cook broc- coli or some other green veg- etable. A double boiler is another handy utensil in the one -burner kitchen. For "double decker" cooking, boil potatoes, corn on the cob, or some other vegetable in the lower part of the boiler while rolls are heating in the upper part. .And of course there's nothing more useful than a double boiler for reheating• such foods as cooked meat and gravy, and other leftovers. TOO MUCH SAVING A salesman, trying to sell a housewife a home freezer, point- ed. out, "You can save enough on your food bills to pay for it." "That's' fine," answered the woman!', "bt you see we're pay- ing for our car on the carfare we save. Then, we're paying for our washing machine on the laundry bills we save, and we are paying for the house on the rent we are saving It :looks to me like we just can't afford to save any more at the present time." A s 'experienced homemakers' know, leftovers can 'save both time and money. "Just be sure," cautions my home economist friend, "that they arc planned leftovers. Add just enough new food so that you won't find your- self eating leftover leftovers." Among her suggestions for planned leftovers are these: Use leftover bread in cheese fondue, sc toast ped dishes, bread pudding. the bread, top with a sliced frankfurter and a thin slice of Cheddar .cheese, and broil till the cheese melts. Omelets and scrambled eggs can be enhanced with small bits of cheese or to- mato, green onion, peas, or ham, chicken, or bacon. Salads are a "natural" for leftovers. To a tossed green salad add cut strips of ham, chicken, pork, or veal. Mix leftover cook- ed vegetables — chopped celery, cucumber slices, tomatoes, green pepper, shredded cabbage. Com- bine leftover fruits with small cream cheese balls, or grated cheese, or serve with cottage cheese. Or- for dessert, combine the fruits with sliced bananas, and sprinkle plain or toasted coconut over the top. 'EXAMPLE FOR CANADA Over 40 million acres of pri- vately owned forest lands are enrolled in the Tree Farm Pro- gram sponsored by American. Forest Industries, and the total is being extended rapidly throughout the country. This land is owned by over 10,000 in- dividuals and wood -consuming companies. Plots range front three acres in the case of .same backyard foresters, to 200,000 for the larger timber and pulp corporations. These tree farms are not just ordinary bush land but, as the name implies, are places where commercial trees are grown, protected and handled as a crop, just like wheat, or apples or potatoes. Unlike some of those others mentioned, however, there are no market worries about tree farm crops. This business is something we could ' push very much to the general advantage in Canada. True there has been some pro- gress already both by compa- nies and individuals. But com- pared to the scope of the U.S. plan we have hardly started. Few if any countries have the immense area of potential forest . land which lies along the fringes of agriculture settlement that we have in Canada. With a little care chiefly in new planting and protection this could be turned into a huge, new and continuous supply of timber and pulp wood. Seeieeeeie CLERGY IN THE. FOOTLIGHTS — Two clerics who are equally at home in a church or a theatre are the Rev. Aime Duval, left, a French Jesuit, and Larry Kettleshake, a Springfield divinity student. The. guitar -playing priest is shown at Paris' Gaumont Theatre where he sang to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 5,000 teen-agers. A top popular singer in France, Fr.«Duval says musical recitals of spirituals, swirig, blues, ballads and re- ligious songs of his own composition lead his audience closer to God. Kettleshake, earns a Targe part of his college expenses with magic demonstrations. He has .cippeared before Targe audiences regularly for the past several years. 4i. w..w.L •:;«:wkamhctssn*.w .,,..�.._ GET SCISSORS AND FOLD SOME PAPER ...You'd have to be pretty good to come up with string of .paper dolls as fetching as these pictured in the surf at Daytona Beach. They may look like Aqua- moldsfigures cut from paper, but closer inspection:reveals that the pretty Cypress q maids are real, living doll.