Getting the right words right

Oscar Wilde once complained that having spent an entire morning putting a comma into one of his poems, he spent the afternoon removing it. Peter Selgin calls this revisionitis: the inability of a writer to part with their work, the compulsion to go on fiddling and picking until there is nothing left to fret about. There can be real danger, Selgin warns, in fussing with things. The question then of how much to revise or how little to rewrite is one without certain answer and writers themselves hold differing views...

World architecture 1900-2000 : A critical mosaic : Southeast Asia and Oceania [Volume 10]

"World Architecture records the major architectural contributions made in all regions of the world to the development of human culture. Grouped into 10 geographical regions and representing five twenty-year-periods, the buildings have been selected by approximately 80 eminent international architectural critics. Each volume contains 100 buildings from one particular region, each object accompanied by an analytical text as well as by drawings and photographs. Introduction essays by the general editor, Kenneth Frampton, and the editor(s) of each volume complete the survey. The series comprises 10 volumes. The books are handsome, linen-bound and stitched, generously formatted (21,5 x 28,5 cm/8,4 x 11 inches) and contain approx. 300 pages and 400 colour prints each. This unique project gives the most precise and authoritative description of 1000 of the century's most notable buildings. Countries: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Oceania."

Imazhinist Mariengof : Dendi. Montazh. Ciniki.

The study is dedicated to the Russian poet and prose writer Anatolii Borisovich Mariengof (1897–1962). Mariengof – “the last dandy of the Republic” – was one of the leaders and main theoreticians in the poetic group of the Russian Imaginists. For his contemporaries, he was an Imaginist par excellence. His Imaginist principles – in theory and practice – are applied to the study of his first fictional novel, Cynics (1928), which served as an epilogue for his Imaginist period (1918–1928). The novel was not published in the Soviet Union until 1988. The method used in the study is a conceptual and literary historical reading, making use of the contemporary semiotic understanding of cultural mechanisms and of intertextual analysis. There are three main concepts used throughout the study: dandy, montage and catachresis. In the first chapter, the history, practice and theory of the Russian Imaginism are analyzed from the point of view of dandyism. The Imaginist theatricalisation of life is juxtaposed with the thematic analysis of their poetry, and Imaginist dandyism appears as a catachrestic category in culture. The second chapter examines the Imaginist poetic theory. It is discussed in the context of the montage principle, defining the post-revolutionary culture in Soviet Russia. The Imaginist montage can be divided into three main theoretical paradigms: S. Yesenin’s “technical montage” (reminiscent of Dadaist collage), V. Shershenevich’s “nominative montage” (catalogues of images) and Anatolii Mariengof’s “catachrestic montage”. The final chapter deals with Mariengof’s first fictional novel, Cynics. The study begins with the complex history of publication of the novel, as well as its relation to the Imaginist poetic principles and to the history of the poetic movement. Cynics is, essentially, an Imaginist montage novel. The fragmentary play of the fictional and the documentary material follows the Imaginist montage principle. The chapter concludes in a thematic analysis of the novel, concentrating on the description of the October Revolution in Cynics.

Literaturnaja skazka A.M. Remizova (1900-1920-e gody)

Literary tale of A.M. Remizov (1900’s – 1920’s) The thesis is devoted to a detailed historical-literary description of a tale as a genre tradition in the creative work of Alexei Mikhailovich Remizov (1877-1957), one of the major Russian prose writers of the 20’s century. This very approach allows to specify the place and functional meaning of this genre in literary practice of the writer and to appeal to one of the key problems of the 20-21 century literature history – a specific of modernistic literature composition principle and a role of montage techniques in its formation. Remizov was working on tales during his whole life, though the most productive years of folklore studies fell to 1900’s – 1910’s. During this period he intensively studied folklore materials, narrated several hundreds of folk tales and in 1900’s – 1920’s published eight tale collections which played a significant role in the formation of stylistic and compositional principles of his prose of the 1910’s – 1920’s, especially montage techniques, which in its turn influenced the development of the narrative forms in the Russian post-revolutionary literature. At the same time a tale has specified not only poetics but also problematics of Remizov’s creative work, as when choosing folklore sources the writer always alluded to modern themes and relevant intellectual trends. The current research work, based on various archive materials and a wide spectrum of modern historical-literary data, complies four chapters with a consistent description of creation history, publication and critics’ reviews of Remizov’s tale collections and single tales contributing to his creative evolution characteristic. Furthermore, the work refers to composition and subject of the particular collections. On the whole it enables to follow up genre dynamics. The first chapter of the work is devoted to Posolon’ (Sunwise), the earliest tale collection of Remizov. The main feature of the collection is that its composition is oriented on the agrarian calendar and the subject – on the system of mythological views reflected in the Russian folklore. This very collection to a large extent corresponds to the writer’s views on the myth represented in Pis’mo v redaktsiyu (Letter to the Editor). The history of this manifesto appearing is analyzed in the second chapter. The incident which caused its forthcoming contributed to ‘legitimization’ of Remizov’s narrations as a relevant genre of modern literature and to upgrading the writer in professional hierarchy. The third chapter analyzes Remizov’s collections of 1900’s – early 1920’s, a result of Remizov’s scrupulous work with a specific tale material. He is acting here as a tale repertory researcher and in some cases as a collector as well. The means of such collections’ topical organization is not the myth but the hero of the tale. According to this principle single pieces are grouped into cycles, which then form complicated montage constructs. Texts themselves can be viewed as a sort of hyper-quotations, as they in fact entirely coincide with their original sources. Besides, collections usually have their own ideal patterns. In the fourth chapter a connection of Remizov’s creative work with folk fun culture and a tradition of the folklore noel story is being demonstrated on Zavetnyie skazy (Secret Tales) material. A consistent collections’ history creation analysis convinces us that the tale was a sort of laboratory in which main writer’s prose methods were being worked out.

Idyll eller verklighet? : Albert Edelfelt och Gunnar Berndtson i det moderna genombrottets ambivalens

Idyll or Reality? Albert Edelfelt, Gunnar Berndtson and the ambivalent breakthrough of modernity Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) and Gunnar Berndtson (1854-1895) have much in common. In this dissertation, I study their paintings of local peasants and fishermen and of the gentry’s summer in the county of Uusimaa in southern Finland, in the context of Nordic history of ideas. The breakthrough of modernity, with its attention on debating social problems, provides a novel angle into the oeuvres of the two artists. My focus is on the paintings which emerge in the collision of the public discussion of social matters and the values of the artists’ manorial milieu. The artists’ relation to the public discussion is scrutinized through two of the main topics: the question of the common people and democracy, and the question of equality between men and women. My dissertation is a contextual study which is based on the analysis of the artworks of Edelfelt and Berndtson, on their letters, and on the study of drama and fiction of their time. The notion “liberté, egalité, fraternité” is linked to the breakthrough of modernity. Both artists were aware of the ideal of equality. They used the means and the themes of contemporary art in their presentations, but their pictures contain the ideal of an earlier epoch: the hardworking, but still complacent common people. This conception of the common people is also reflected in the poems of J. L. Runeberg. Women of the late 19th century challenged woman’s primary role as wife and mother. In Edelfelt’s and Berndtson’s depictions of the gentry enjoying summer, women and children have the main role. Notwithstanding the debate of the breakthrough of modernity they depicted women almost without exception as good mothers. Their paintings often depict lazy days in the sunshine, which were, in reality, rare moments for the mistress of the house. Edelfelt’s and Berndtson’s subjects from the Uusimaa countryside coincide with the topics of the breakthrough of modernity, but both the pictures of the common people and the depictions of the gentry enjoying summer, are a retouched picture of reality, often an idyll, in which the public discussion of social matters is evident only materially or not at all.

"Kokonainen elämä on ihmisen pyhin oikeus" : Rolf Lagerborgin seksuaaliradikalismi ja ylempien yhteiskuntaryhmien keskinäiset esiaviolliset suhteet 1900-luvun alun Suomessa.

Tutkielman aiheena on Rolf Lagerborgin seksuaaliradikalismi ja ylempien yhteiskuntaryhmien keskinäiset esiaviolliset suhteet 1900-luvun alun Suomessa. Filosofian tohtori, sittemmin professori Rolf Lagerborg (1874-1959) oli aikakauden näkyvin seksuaaliradikaalien aatteiden yläluokkainen kannattaja. Hänen 'vapaata rakkautta' ja naisen vapautta puolustaneista kirjoituksistaan sekä tuomioistuinavioliitostaan sukeutui kiivassanainen väittely, joka laajuudessaan oli Suomessa ennennäkemätön. Keskustelu levisi kaikkiin sivistyneistön tärkeimpiin äänitorviin ja siihen osallistui suuri joukko aikansa huomattavimpia mielipidevaikuttajia. Tutkielmassa selvitetään, mitä Rolf Lagerborg vuosisadan alussa esitti sukupuolikysymyksestä, mihin muihin toimiin hän sanaradikalismin lisäksi ryhtyi sekä miksi hän tämän kaiken teki. Siinä perehdytään myös Lagerborgin muuhun kirjalliseen tuotantoon ja jäljitetään sitä laajempaa kontekstia, josta seksuaaliradikaalit käsitykset muodostivat yhden osan. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan lisäksi Lagerborgin provosoimaa julkista keskustelua. Huomio kiinnitetään erityisesti niihin perustaviin näkemyseroihin, joita kiistaan osallistuneiden sivistyneistön edustajien keskuudessa ilmeni. Lähtökohtana on oletus, että sukupuolikysymyksen aktualisoituminen vuosisadan vaihteessa oli osa länsimaisessa maailmankuvassa tapahtunutta fundamentaalista muutosta. Lopuksi hahmotetaan kirkonkirjoista kerätyn empiirisen tilastoaineiston kautta sitä sukupuolielämän ruohonjuuritasoa, jonka päällä erilaiset hyvinkin korkealentoiset diskurssit risteilivät. Pyrkimyksenä on tutkia yksilön, yhteisön sekä tilastollisen aineiston vuorovaikutusta. Lagerborgin seksuaaliradikalismin keskeisimmäksi piirteeksi nousi yksilön itsemääräämisoikeutta ja valinnanvapautta korostanut individualismi. Taustalla vaikuttivat myös reformistinen sosialismi sekä nietzscheläis-westermarckilainen relativismi. Tärkein motiivi oli taistelu uskonnonvapauden puolesta, mikä Lagerborgille merkitsi samalla henkilökohtaista vapaustaistelua uskonnosta. 'Vapaan rakkauden' kannattajat ja vastustajat on maailmankatsomuksensa perusteella tutkielmassa jaettu viiteen ryhmään. Lagerborgin edustaman eettisen pluralismin lisäksi erotetaan vanhaluterilainen arvomaailma, moderni kristillisyys, suomalais-kansallinen idealismi sekä luonnon korottaminen absoluutiksi. Osaltaan sukupuolinen pidättyvyys osoitetaan valtastrategiaksi, johon eräät yläluokkaiset naiset ja nouseva sivistyneistö tukeutuivat. Lagerborgin toiminnan välittömin tulos oli siviiliavioliittohankkeen nopeutuminen Suomessa. Näkyvin seuraus taas oli ankara absoluuttisen sukupuolimoraalin puolustus. Julkinen keskustelu ei kuitenkaan ollut suorassa suhteessa sukupuolielämän käytäntöihin. Tutkimusajanjakso 1904-1914 ei ollut tutkielman tilastollisen aineiston valossa murroskausi sen paremmin absoluuttisen kuin relativistisenkaan sukupuolimoraalin suuntaan. Tutkimuksessa Lagerborg osoittautuu marginaaliseksi hahmoksi. Syynä tähän marginalisoitumiseen oli konservatiivinen ympäristö, johon nähden monet Lagerborgin ajatukset olivat ns. aikaansa edellä. Lisäksi ongelmia aiheutti Lagerborgin konfliktinhaluinen ja epädiplomaattinen esiintyminen. Marginaalisuus ei kuitenkaan ole merkityksetöntä. Lagerborg-kiista paljastaa kiinnostavalla tavalla yhteyden, joka vallitsee individualisoitumisen ja modernin seksuaalisuuden muotoutumisen välillä.

Linnunkiikut ja kallen kaulukset : Kotitekoiset kuukautissiteet 1900-luvun alkupuolen Suomessa

The aim of this thesis was to study what kind of home-made menstrual pads were used in the early 20th century in Finland, how the home-made pads were made and which techniques and materials were used. The use and taking care of menstrual pads were also explored. The history of menstrual pads has been studied in Sweden, Germany and United States but none of those studies has concentrated on home-made pads. Instead, there are many studies about womanhood and menstruation. In many studies home-made menstrual pads are only briefly mentioned. Menstrual pads were not commonly used in Finland at the beginning of the 20th century, but already in the 1940s the use of menstrual pads had become common in every stratum of society. Home-made menstrual pads were used even until the 1960s. In Finland, factory-made disposable menstrual pads became common only in the 1930s and they were only slowly accepted. The study material consisted of nine interviews, three archival inquiries, health care guidebooks from 1893 to 1943 and authentic menstrual pads, menstrual belts and other objects related to them. The interviewed women were born between 1915 and 1939. The narrative approach was used in the study and it also guided the analysis. The interview and archival data were studied according to the basic rules of oral history studies. Literature consisted of publications from several disciplines. The extensive primary material played the most important role in this study. The reconstructions of the menstrual pads were made according to the interviewed women s advice. In Finland there were innumerable variations of home-made menstrual pads. The pads were most commonly crocheted and knitted either by hand or by knitting machine. Pads were also sewn of cloth, old bed linen or old underwear. The menstrual pads were self-made or made by a female relative. Word of mouth was important in spreading information on how to make pads, because there were hardly any instructions available. The biggest pads were 54 cm long and 13 cm wide. The most widely used pad model was a rectangle, which had triangle-shaped ends with a buttonhole or a loop. The pad was attached to the menstrual belt or to the buttons of the suspender belt. Knitted and crocheted pads had one, two or three layers. In sewn pads, there could be even more layers. Cellulose wadding or pieces of cloth could be placed inside the pad to increase the absorption ability. The experiences of the comfort of self-made pads varied. The crocheted and sewn pads were found chafing, knitted ones were found soft and comfortable. The menstrual pads were laborious to wash and boil in lye water. Therefore disposable pads made everyday life easier. The home-made menstrual pads were part of a unique tradition of handicrafts and folk culture. Hand-made pads were one of the most common handicraft products and were a part of every woman s life. Even so, the menstrual pads were unnoticeable. The large number of variations was probably caused by the silence around menstrual topics and by the lack of instructions for making pads. Variations are also explained by the uniqueness of every handicraft product. In Finland the home-made pads were used until relatively recent times. This was caused by the conditions of wartime and the following years and the rarity of commercial pads. Furthermore, until the late 20th century Finland was an agricultural society where all innovations spread slowly. Home-made menstrual pad was a secret handicraft of women and every woman needed to know how to make it by herself.

Oscar Fischl (standing eighth from left)

Oscar Fischl (standing eighth from left) in group portrait of the Paybill Section of the Chief Accountant's Office of the Great Western Railway (GWR); Great Britain

Julius Spanier Collection 1900-1959

Obituaries; photos with family; newspaper clippings.

Leo Taub Collection 1900-

Two telegrams from Hungary (early 1900s) and five picture postcards (Austria Hungary)

Jacobs family collection 1877-1900

Vital documents of the Jacobs family: marriage certificate (1907); military certificate (1899); birthday poem for Selig Loewenstein (1926); school certificates; birth certificate.

Leo Baeck with New York Mayor William O'Dwyer and Union of American Hebrew Congregations President Maurice N. Eisendrath, Oscar M. Lazrus and Rabbi Daniel L. Davis Portraits; Groups; Men

Page 12 of the "American Jewish Cavalcade" scrapbook of Leo Baeck in New York found in ROS 10 Folder 3

"From Ghetto to Ghetto" : [1900-1933].

Childhood and education in Grodno and Lemberg; poor family background; active as soccer player; acting school of Max Reinhardt in Berlin; engagements in Munich, Zurich and Frankfurt; visit to Poland and short engagement with Yiddish theater troupe; description of theater in Weimar Germany; activities in "Juedischer Kulturbund" after 1933; main role in Kulturbund performance of "Nathan the Wise".

A Berlin Childhood ca. 1900 1900

English translation of "Berliner Kindheit um 1900" by Shierry Weber Nicholsen.