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***Signpost***
Issue No. Eight -- October 5, 2000
Contents:
- News
- The Fan-back Windsor Chair
- From the Journal of Columbus, Voyage of 1492
- Friday 13th - Unlucky? by Sharon Jacobsen
NEWS:
Greetings Signposters:
You will have noticed (I hope) that I did not send out a September issue. August proved just too busy to get one together, especially when you throw in a week's vacation -- and other sorts of goofing off that summer seems to inspire. I think I might as well announce ahead of time that there won't be a January issue, either. You know how December can be.
I started discussing the various styles of Windsor chair a few issues ago, and continue here with the fan-back, a personal favorite of mine. I just don't think you can beat them for comfort -- unless it's the comb-back, something I've really got to add to my line. But more on that another time.
The second article is from the journal of Christopher Columbus. I have edited it heavily, but I think it still highlights both the caution and the optimism of "the Admiral," as well as the fears of his crews. The full text is available online -- just follow the link.
I recently stumbled upon article number three, by Sharon Jacobsen, and rather liked it. Well, it must have been my lucky day. A glance at the calendar shows October 13 to be a Friday, and with a full moon, no less. Maybe I'll just stay in bed that day.
I hope you enjoy Signpost number eight.
Until next time,
Bob
The distinquishing feature of the fan-back Windsor is its decoratively-turned "stiles," the two main uprights which form the back. The stiles angle outward on most examples, as do the spindles, forming a fan-like appearance.
The top of the back is formed with a bent crest, the ends of which are often carved in a spiral pattern known as a volute. Other carvings, such as the rosette, were occasionally used, while many were not carved at all.
Bracing spindles were often used on both the arm-chairs and side-chairs.
The fan-back arm-chair bears a striking resemblance to the comb-back, and some confuse the two. Again, the fan-back has its characteristic stiles, while the comb-back does not. The comb-back also has arms which continue through the back either as a single, bent unit or connected by an "arm-crest." The fan-back's arms are attached to the stiles, secured there by a peg or a decorative nail. (I use a long screw, countersunk, and then plugged to resemble a peg.)
Fan-back side-chair seats were most often of the shield type, though the oval was sometimes used. Conversely, arm-chair seats were mostly oval, sometimes nearly round, with the shield seat used less commonly. I have adopted the shield-type seat for both of my fan-backs so that they are better matched when purchased as a dining set.
Fan-back side-chairs were produced in great numbers in Philadelphia and New England, beginning as early as 1760. Arm-chairs were particularly common in coastal Massachusetts, including Nantucket. New England arm-chairs show strong influence from Philadelphia models, though relatively few arm-chairs were made there. The style was largely ignored in New York.
From the Journal of Columbus, Voyage of 1492
The following is excerpted from a larger text, translated and paraphrased by an unknown writer. The original can be found at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html
Friday, 3 August 1492. Set sail from the bar of Saltes at 8 o'clock... [in] the direction of the Canaries.
Monday, 6 August. The rudder of the caravel Pinta became loose.... It was believed that this happened by the contrivance of Gomez Rascon and Christopher Quintero... because they disliked the voyage.
Thursday, 6 September. Having taken in food, water, meat and other provisions... the Admiral took his final departure from Gomera [in the Canaries].
Sunday, 9 September. Sailed this day nineteen leagues, and determined to count less than the true number, that the crew might not be dismayed if the voyage should prove long.
Monday, 10 September. This day and night sailed sixty leagues.... Reckoned only forty-eight leagues, that the men might not be terrified if they should be long upon the voyage.
Monday, 17 September. Steered west and sailed, day and night, above fifty leagues; wrote down only forty-seven.... They saw a great deal of weed which proved to be rockweed, it came from the west.... They were of opinion that land was near.... At dawn they saw many more weeds, apparently river weeds, and among them a live crab, which the Admiral kept, and says that these are sure signs of land.... They were all very cheerful, and strove which vessel should outsail the others, and be the first to discover land.
19 September. Continued on, and sailed, day and night, twenty-five leagues, experiencing a calm. Wrote down twenty-two. This day at ten o'clock a pelican came on board, and in the evening another....
Thursday, 20 September. Steered west by north, varying with alternate changes of the wind and calms; made seven or eight leagues' progress. Two pelicans came on board, and afterwards another -- a sign of the neighborhood of land. Saw large quantities of weeds today, though none was observed yesterday.
Saturday, 22 September... The Admiral here says "this headwind was very necessary to me, for my crew had grown much alarmed, dreading that they never should meet in these seas with a fair wind to return to Spain."
Sunday, 23 September. Sailed... nearly twenty-two leagues. Saw a turtle dove, a pelican, a river bird, and other white fowl -- weeds in abundance with crabs among them. The sea being smooth and tranquil, the sailors murmured, saying that they had got into smooth water, where it would never blow to carry them back to Spain; but afterwards the sea rose without wind, which astonished them. The Admiral says on this occasion "the rising of the sea was very favorable to me, as it happened formerly to Moses when he led the Jews from Egypt."
Tuesday, 25 September. At sunset Martin Alonzo,captain of the Pinta, called out with great joy from his vessel that he saw land.... Those on board the Nina ascended the rigging, and all declared they saw land. The Admiral also thought it was land, and about twenty-five leagues distant....
Wednesday, 26 September. Continued their course west till the afternoon, then southwest and discovered that what they had taken for land was nothing but clouds. Sailed, day and night, thirty-one leagues; reckoned to the crew twenty-four....
Monday, 1 October. Continued their course west and sailed twenty-five leagues; reckoned to the crew twenty. Experienced a heavy shower. The pilot of the Admiral began to fear this morning that they were five hundred and seventy-eight leagues west of the island of Ferro. The short reckoning which the Admiral showed his crew gave five hundred and eighty-four, but the true one which he kept to himself was seven hundred and seven leagues.
Sunday, 7 October. Continued their course west.... Sailed till an hour after sunrise, twenty-three leagues; reckoned to the crew eighteen. At sunrise the caravel Nina, who kept ahead on account of her swiftness in sailing... hoisted a flag at her mast head, and fired a lombarda, as a signal that she had discovered land.... Towards evening seeing nothing of the land which the Nina had made signals for, and observing large flocks of birds coming from the North and making for the southwest.... The Admiral accordingly shifted his course from west to west-southwest, with a resolution to continue two days... that direction.
Monday, 8 October. Steered west-southwest and sailed day and night eleven or twelve leagues....
Tuesday, 9 October. Sailed southwest five leagues, when the wind changed, and they stood west by north four leagues. Sailed in the whole day and night, twenty leagues and a half.
Wednesday, 10 October. Steered west-southwest and... made fifty-nine leagues' progress; reckoned to the crew but forty-four. Here the men lost all patience, and complained of the length of the voyage, but the Admiral encouraged them in the best manner he could, representing the profits they were about to acquire....
Thursday, 11 October. Steered west-southwest; and encountered a heavier sea than they had met with before in the whole voyage. Saw pardelas and a green rush near the vessel. The crew of the Pinta saw a cane and a log; they also picked up a stick which appeared to have been carved with an iron tool, a piece of cane, a plant which grows on land, and a board.... Sailed this day till sunset, twenty-seven leagues. After sunset steered their original course west... and as the Pinta was the swiftest sailer, and kept ahead of the Admiral, she discovered land and made the signals which had been ordered.... At two o'clock in the morning the land was discovered, at two leagues' distance; they took in sail and remained under the square-sail lying to till day, which was Friday, when they found themselves near a small island.... Presently they descried people, naked, and the Admiral landed in the boat, which was armed, along with Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vincent Yanez his brother, captain of the Nina.
The following is reprinted with permission from WeWomen.co.uk.
Friday 13th - Unlucky?
by Sharon Jacobsen
It's amazing really how many superstitions are still thriving
in our educated society, and one of the most common is the idea
that Friday the 13th is a day when bad luck looms.
Businessmen avoid making deals on this day, people avoid
travelling, women fear giving birth, and so the list goes on. A
lot of people still avoid doing anything major because of a
simple date. Silly? Maybe. But realistic enough for some of us.
I've had a look around, to see if I could discover why. This is
what I've come up with.
Superstitions that surround Friday have been buzzing about
since the Ancient Romans dedicated the sixth day to their
goddess Venus. The Norsemen, when naming their days, followed
the Roman tradition, and named the day after their own goddess,
Freya. This eventually evolved into Friday and was considered
to be the luckiest day of the week.
If we look at religion, we also find reason for believing that
Friday is a lucky day. Christians consider Friday to be the day
on which Christ was crucified, and Muslims believe that Adam
was created on a Friday, and later died on a Friday as a result
of eating the forbidden fruit, also on a Friday.
The Scandinavians believed that the number 13 would bring bad
luck due to the mythological 12 demigods being joined by a
13th, an evil one, who brought misfortune upon humans.
In the Christian faith, the number of guests at the party of
the Last Supper was 13, with the 13th guest being Judas, the
traitor.
When taking both the crucifixion of Jesus and the place of
Judas at the Last Supper into consideration, it is little
wonder that the Christians believed Friday 13th to be a day of
especially bad significance.
Superstitions stem from beliefs or practices that man has used,
or continues to use, to explain events that are beyond his
control, in a world where events are often difficult to
understand. It is only when factual evidence is found and a
belief disproved, that it becomes a superstition if people
continue to cling to the idea. Therefore, the beliefs of today
may very well become the superstitions of tomorrow.
Sharon Jacobsen is editor/owner of WeWomen.co.uk,
a portal and community for women in
the UK, offering a web directory, articles, ecards, discussion,
jokes, poetry, and lots more. Contact Sharon on
sharon@wewomen.co.uk.
Sources
- The Windsor Style in America, Charles Santore, Courage Books, 1997
- http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html
- WeWomen.co.uk
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