Octave Uzanne’s L’Éventail: a literary mythology of the fan

In the last half of the nineteenth century, the folding fan was phenomenally popular in France. The accessory was a ubiquitous component of women’s dress, yet it also attracted the attention of some prominent collectors and Orientalists as well as acquiring an importance in the art and literature of the period. In many plastic works and literary texts devoted to it, the fan retains a link with femininity, and particularly with feminine sexuality, even as its identity as an art object is emphasized. Octave Uzanne’s L’Éventail (1882), a self-professed literary history of the fan, exemplifies this dualistic treatment as it presents the fan both as a titillating intimate companion of women and as a literary and (although to a lesser extent) art historical subject. This article focuses on Uzanne’s treatment of the fan’s early history in the Far and Middle East. By comparing his text with other contemporary histories of the fan, it demonstrates that the “history” of the accessory may be more accurately described as a mythology.

A review of ADP processing software

Data processing is an essential part of Acoustic Doppler Profiler (ADP) surveys, which have become the standard tool in assessing flow characteristics at tidal power development sites. In most cases, further processing beyond the capabilities of the manufacturer provided software tools is required. These additional tasks are often implemented by every user in mathematical toolboxes like MATLAB, Octave or Python. This requires the transfer of the data from one system to another and thus increases the possibility of errors. The application of dedicated tools for visualisation of flow or geographic data is also often beneficial and a wide range of tools are freely available, though again problems arise from the necessity of transferring the data. Furthermore, almost exclusively PCs are supported directly by the ADP manufacturers, whereas small computing solutions like tablet computers, often running Android or Linux operating systems, seem better suited for online monitoring or data acquisition in field conditions. While many manufacturers offer support for developers, any solution is limited to a single device of a single manufacturer. A common data format for all ADP data would allow development of applications and quicker distribution of new post processing methodologies across the industry.