Canon and Beyond : Edvard Fazer and the Imperial Russian Ballet 1908 - 1910

The study explores the first appearances of Russian ballet dancers on the stages of northern Europe in 1908 1910, particularly the performances organized by a Finnish impresario, Edvard Fazer, in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Berlin. The company, which consisted of dancers from the Imperial Theatres of St. Petersburg, travelled under the name The Imperial Russian Ballet of St. Petersburg. The Imperial Russian Ballet gave more than seventy performances altogether during its tours of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and central Europe. The synchronic approach of the study covers the various cities as well as genres and thus stretches the rather rigid geographical and genre boundaries of dance historiography. The study also explores the role of the canon in dance history, revealing some of the diversity which underlies the standard canonical interpretation of early twentieth-century Russian ballet by bringing in source material from the archives of northern Europe. Issues like the central position of written documentation, the importance of geographical centres, the emphasis on novelty and reformers and the short and narrow scholarly tradition have affected the formation of the dance history canon in the west, often imposing limits on the historians and narrowing the scope of research. The analysis of the tours concentrates on four themes: virtuosity, character dancing, the idea of the expressive body, and the controversy over ballet and new dance. The debate concerning the old and new within ballet is also touched upon. These issues are discussed in connection with each city, but are stressed differently depending on the local art scene. In Copenhagen, the strong local canon based on August Bournonville s works influenced the Danish criticism of Russian ballet. In Helsinki, Stockholm and Berlin, the lack of a solid local canon made critics and audiences more open to new influences, and ballet was discussed in a much broader cultural context than that provided by the local ballet tradition. The contemporary interest in the more natural, expressive human body, emerging both in theatre and dance, was an international trend that also influenced the way ballet was discussed. Character dancing, now at low ebb, played a central role in the success of the Imperial Russian Ballet, not only because of its exoticism but also because it was considered to echo the kind of performing body represented by new dance forms. By exploring this genre and its dancers, the thesis brings to light artists who are less known in the current dance history canon, but who made considerable careers in their own time.

Kognitiva system i namngivningen av finländska handelsfartyg 1838-1938

This dissertation is an onomastic study of Finland s stock of ship names (nautonomasticon) recorded over the period 1838 1938. The primary material investigated consists of 2 066 examples of ship names from the fleets of coastal towns, distributed over five sample years. The material is supplemented with two bodies of comparative data; one that consists of 2 535 examples of boat names from the archipelago area at the corresponding time, and another that comprises 482 examples of eighteenth century Finnish ship names. This study clarifies the categories of names that appear the frequency of the names, formation, morphology, linguistic origin, functions, and semantic qualities. By comparing the material with boat names from previous centuries, and from other countries, the characteristics of Finnish vessel names are further highlighted. Additional clarification is brought to the chronological, regional, and social variations, and to the emergence of various forms of systematic naming. This dissertation builds on older research from other countries, and uses traditional onomastic methods alongside a more modern methodology. The approach is interdisciplinary, meaning that the names are explored using facts not only from nautical history, but also from a range of other historical disciplines such as economics, culture, art, and literature. In addition, the approach is socio-onomastic, i.e. that the variations in names are studied in a societal context. Using a synchronised perspective, cognitive linguistic theories have provided the tools for this exploration into the metaphorical and the prototypical meaning of the names, and the semantic domains that the names create. The quantitative analysis has revealed the overall picture of Finnish boat names. Personal names, names from mythology, and place names, emerge as significant categories, alongside nonproprial names in Swedish and Finnish. The interdisciplinary perspective has made it possible to explain certain trends in the stock of boat names, for example, the predisposition towards names from classical mythology, the breakthrough of names taken from the national epos Kalevala, names in the Finnish language from around the middle of the nineteenth century, and the continuing rise of place names during the latter part of the period 1838 1938. The socio-onomastic perspective has also identified clear differences between those ship names used in towns, and those ship names used in the archipelago, and it has clarified how naming conventions tend to spread from town centres to peripheral areas. The cognitive linguistic methods have revealed that the greater part of the vessel names can be interpreted as metaphors, in particular personifications, and that many names are related in their content and also form semantic networks and cognitive systems. The results indicate that there is a mental nautonomasticon that consists of a standard set of traditional ship names, but they also reveal the existence of conscious or unconscious cognitive systems (rules and conventions) that guide the naming of boats.

Graduation portrait including Otto Gersuny, class of 1908, K. & K. Gymnasium; Teplitz, Germany (Teplice, Czech Republic).

Otto Gersuny (1890-1964), third row from the front wearing cap (see arrow)

Henry H. Goldschmidt Gould (seated on right) with unidentified young men and women; Neue Welt Bockbierfest Portraits Groups

Born July 15, 1914, died August 6, 1978

Henry H. Goldschmidt Gould; Berlin Portraits Groups

Born July 15, 1914, died August 6, 1978

Henry H. Goldschmidt Gould standing outdoors Portraits Children

Born July 15, 1914, died August 6, 1978

Henry H. Goldschmidt Gould (top row fourth from right) with unidentified school classmates Portraits Children

Born July 15, 1914, died August 6, 1978

Henry Marx shining shoes to earn money for his family; Washington Heights, New York Portraits Children

Henry Marx was born in Michelstadt/Hessen and emigrated to New York with his family in early 1937 when he was nine years old. He went to school but also delivered newspapers and shined shoes to help his family financially as his father only worked whatever odd jobs he could during the war years. Going from store to store shining shoes on weekends was Henry's main source of income. He had to wake up early in order to reserve the spot shown in this photograph, competing with a father and two sons who traveled from Brooklyn to Washington Heights to shine shoes.

Henry Rosenbaum seated at a desk smoking a cigar and sketching; New York Portraits Men

Digital Image

Graduation portrait including Otto Gersuny, class of 1908, K. & K. Gymnasium; Teplitz, Germany (Teplice, Czech Republic).

Otto Gersuny (1890-1964), third row from the front wearing cap (see arrow)

Philipp-Coppel Family 1781-1908

Photocopy of family history (Chronik) of Philipp and Coppel family.

Henry H. Goldschmidt Gould and Dorothea (Dola) Guttmann Gould; Nice Portraits Couples

Henry, July 15, 1914-August 6, 1978; Dola, April 27, 1922 in Tilsit to June 8, 2003 Zurich

Studio portraits of Henry H. Goldschmidt Gould and his sister Ruth Augusta Beatrice Goldschmidt Portraits Children

Some signed by photographer Jacobi

Henry H. Goldschmidt Gould and Dorothea (Dola) Guttmann on their wedding day Portraits Couples

Henry, July 15, 1914-August 6, 1978

Portrait of Ruth Augusta Beatrice Goldschmidt with her brother Henry H. Goldschmidt Gould Portraits Family

Henry, born July 15, 1914, died August 6, 1978; Ruth, born 1923?