The history of the stone which was
eventually named the Hope diamond began when the French merchant traveller,
Jean Baptiste Tavernier, purchased a 112 3/16-carat diamond. This diamond, which was most likely from the
Kollur mine in Golconda, India, was somewhat triangular in shape and crudely
cut. Its color was described by
Tavernier as a "beautiful violet."
Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France in 1668 with 14
other large diamonds and several smaller ones.
In 1673 the stone was recut by Sieur Pitau, the court jeweler, resulting
in a 67 1/8-carat stone. In the royal
inventories, its color was described as an intense steely-blue and the stone
became known as the "Blue Diamond of the Crown," or the "French
Blue." It was set in gold and
suspended on a neck ribbon which the king wore on ceremonial occasions. King Louis XV, in 1749, had the stone reset
by court jeweler Andre Jacquemin, in a piece of ceremonial jewelry for the
Order of the Golden Fleece (Toison D'Or).
In 1791, after an attempt by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to flee
France, the jewels of the French Royal Treasury were turned over to the
government. During a week-long looting
of the crown jewels in September of 1792, the French Blue diamond was stolen. In 1812 a deep blue diamond described by John
Francillion as weighing 177 grains (4 grains = 1 carat) was documented as being
in the possession of London diamond merchant, Daniel Eliason. Strong evidence indicates that the stone was
the recut French Blue and the same stone known today as the Hope Diamond. Several references suggest that it was
acquired by King George IV of the United Kingdom. At his death, in 1830, the king's debts were
so enormous that the blue diamond was likely sold through private
channels. The first reference to the
diamond's next owner is found in the 1839 entry of the gem collection catalog
of the well-known Henry Philip Hope, the man from whom the diamond takes its
name. Unfortunately, the catalog does
not reveal where or from whom Hope acquired the diamond or how much he paid for
it. Following the death of Henry Philip
Hope in 1839, and after much litigation, the diamond passed to his nephew Henry
Thomas Hope and ultimately to the nephew's grandson Lord Francis Hope. In 1901 Lord Francis Hope obtained permission
from the Court of Chancery and his sisters to sell the stone to help pay off
his debts. It was sold to a London
dealer who quickly sold it to Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York City, who
retained the stone in New York until they, in turn, needed cash. The diamond was next sold to Selim Habib who
put it up for auction in Paris in 1909.
It did not sell at the auction but was sold soon after to C.H. Rosenau
and then resold to Pierre Cartier that same year. Read more of
the history at https://www.si.edu/spotlight/hope-diamond/history
Henry
Hope (1735–1811)
was an Amsterdam merchant banker born in Boston, in Britain's Massachusetts
Bay Colony in North America.
His father, Henry, was a Rotterdam merchant of
Scottish lineage who left for the "new world" after experiencing
financial difficulties in the economic bubble of 1720. Though born in
Rotterdam, he was considered Scottish because his father and brothers were
members of the Scottish
Church in Rotterdam. For these reasons, Henry Hope the younger is
usually referred to as Scottish, though he was born in America and emigrated to
the Netherlands to join the family business at a young age. In the
aftermath of the Seven Years' War, Hope & Co. entered the arena
of international banking, arranging for loans to the governments of Sweden,
Russia, Portugal and Bavaria. Sometimes
the loans were Henry Hope's own funds, but usually Henry Hope headed a consortium
of English and Dutch investors that fronted the money, with Hope & Co.
collecting a commission that ranged between 5-9%. The firm also specialized in loans to planters
in the West Indies, taking payment in kind: sugar, coffee or tobacco, which the
Hope's would then sell on the Amsterdam market.
In exchange for loans to the King of Portugal, Hope & Co received an
exclusive concession to sell diamonds originating in the Portuguese colony of
Brazil. The Hopes would accept the
diamonds and sell them on the Amsterdam market; then they used the proceeds to
defray the interest and principal of the loans they had made to Portugal. These sales helped to make Amsterdam the
leading diamond center of Europe. The
most important client of Hope & Co. was Catherine the Great of Russia. In addition to the large loans it made to
Russia, Hope & Co. obtained the right to export sugar to Russia, and the
firm acted as agents for sales of Russian wheat and timber to countries
throughout Europe. During the 1780s,
Catherine the Great offered Henry Hope a title, which he declined, feeling
advancement to the nobility was incompatible to his position as a working
merchant banker. Both Henry and
Catherine were leading art collectors, and Henry Hope sometimes acted as an art
dealer. Henry Hope fled to London in
1794 before the French revolutionary forces. In the Amsterdam archives of Hope
& Co. it states that he took 372 paintings with him. Among these were important works by Frans Hals, Peter
Paul Rubens, Rembrandt and Sir Anthony van Dyck.
He started a London branch of
Hope & Co. and became friendly with Francis Baring with whom he
entered upon many large land deals with various royal names. He clearly shared the genius of his uncle
Thomas Hope (the elder), who had died in 1779, leaving him the business in
Amsterdam to share with his cousin Jan Hope,
who died 5 years later in 1784 unexpectedly in the Hague. The largest land deal that he and Barings entered
upon was the issue of shares to finance the Louisiana Purchase in 1804, more than a
year after the treaty was signed. He and
Barings had been working on the deal for almost a decade, and sent young Alexander Baring as
their agent to act in America, where he first negotiated a large land deal
in Maine,
then still a part of Massachusetts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hope
Early Spring Stew with Baked Ricotta by Anna Jones
This is what I make when I feel like eating something green and vibrant,
but the green tide of spring hasn’t yet arrived. I use frozen peas and fava beans. Use whatever soft green herbs you can get
your hands on: I like a combination of
something heady, like mint or basil, something fragrant like tarragon, and
something more neutral like parsley. But
you could really use any soft herb you have and this is a great way of using up
the end of a few bunches. I use a
generous amount of oil here, as it adds a butteriness and a peppery kick to the
final dish; you can add it bit by bit and stop when it tastes good to you. serves 4-6
Find recipe at
Folger Shakespeare Library 201 East
Capitol Street, SE Washington, DC
20003 Main (202) 544-4600 Box Office (202) 544-7077 info@folger.edu The
Folger Shakespeare Library has the world's largest collection of materials
relating to Shakespeare and his works, from the 16th century to the present
day, as well as a world-renowned collection of books, manuscripts, and prints
from Renaissance Europe. The Folger has
the world's largest collection of early modern English 17th-century recipe book
manuscripts. The following
recipes are featured in the First Chefs:
Fame and Foodways from Britain to the Americas exhibition: Thomas
Tusser's Seed Cake Hannah
Wooley's Orange and Lemon Marmalade
William
Hughes's Hot Chocolate Robert
May's Braised Brisket Akara,
inspired by Hercules The Muser plans
to make three of the recipes: Braised
Brisket, Akara and Seed Cake.
The Brinton
1704 House was built in 1704 by William Brinton, Jr. (also known as
"William the Younger" or "William the Builder"). In 1881, a serpentine wing was added to the
home. In the 1950s, architect G. Edwin Brumbaugh restored
the building to its original form by removing the 1881 wing. The twenty-two inch (56 cm) walls of this home are formed of
stone from a nearby quarry. There is a
steep roof and pent eaves are in place over the first floor windows on the
north and south sides of the house. The
home also boasts 27 windows of leaded sash.
Most of the original flooring is still in use. The
Brinton 1704 House is a restored home located in Delaware County near West
Chester, Pennsylvania. The 1704 House is
operated as an historic museum and is open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays
from May 1 to October 31. The Brinton
1704 House is one of the oldest and best restored houses in the United
States. The House was designated a National
Historic Landmark in 1968. The interior of the House is furnished authentically
and boasts many special items, including period furniture, leaded-casement
windows, and an indoor bake oven. The
Brintons were Quakers, and William Brinton, Sr. (1635–1700) moved to the colony of Pennsylvania
with his wife and son to escape religious persecution in England. The Brintons came ashore at Marcus Hook,
Pennsylvania and lived in caves before
building the 1704 House. The film,
The Hessian was made as a pilot for a TV series that never happened. It was based on a book by a Chester County
author. There are copies of the pilot on
VHS at the 1704 House. The name Brinton is Celtic in origin. Brin=hill
Ton/toun/tun/dun=fortified place or town
21
Oakland Road | West Chester, PA 19382 | Office: 610-399-0913 | Fax:
610-399-9818 www.brintonfamily.org
| 1704House@brintonfamily.org
The word
“when” has multiple functions. It can be used as an adverb, conjunction, pronoun, and noun. http://partofspeech.org/what-part-of-speech-is-when/
See a table of into 9 basic types called
"parts of speech" or "word classes" at https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech.htm
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY
All religions united with
government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible
with liberty. - Henry Clay, statesman and orator (12 Apr 1777-1852)
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 2079
April 12, 2019
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