Tea at Trianon: The Jaguar

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, September 29, 2023

The Jaguar

From The History Desk:

The Jaguar automobile is also sleek, fast and fit transportation for a god. But we humans can have one as well. Some of you will prefer the newer models, like the I Pace, which is an EV. Jaguars also have the fuel injectable, a sedan, and a SUV. The sports model is the F type. It comes in both a coupe and convertible. The convertible will set you back $115,000.

Of course, it is the sporty version I dream of. But not for 2023. I’m looking backwards, to 1959.

I am a historian. I am always looking backwards. And, assuredly, there is stuff back there that is way superior to the stuff we have today. Like the Jaguar XK 150 roadster.

Be still my heart!

Being a girl who will only drive red cars, of course, I will want it in red. Like the one in the picture. Continuing on with my most self-centered rant today, I also want suits made my Chanel, Balmain, and Dior.

Okay, ask the question, are suits by Chanel, Balmain and Dior, circa 1959, better looking than the ones made today? Yes! Indeed, any suit made in 1959 is better than most suits made today. Both for women, and men.

I don’t complain about workmanship, mind you. I am speaking strictly of style. The classy stuff. As in elevating one’s game, overall, in life.

So, what is my evidence that things, style wise, are descending into a pit?

I offer up, exhibit A: Fetterman, from Pennsylvania, dressing in gym clothes to take his seat in the senate.

Fetterman’s lack of decorum, is simply the latest signal that our society is being swallowed by the muck and mire that have brought us to this place. Men who sing, not of sophisticated ladies, but of whores, well, consider that exhibit B. Exhibit C? The love affair of clothing that stretches to reveal every curve and profusion of the human body. And Exhibit D, is the morbid obesity we see, every day, on the streets. Where is either self respect or self love, when 30% of the population cram junk food into their mouth, every damn day? (Read more.)