Newspapers / Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, … / Dec. 16, 1918, edition 1 / Page 3
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ElizabethVan Benthuysen YOU see strange decorative spectacles in stu dios, but only the studio of a confirmed ."coK lector" a collector on a large scale: could give the combination possessed by a studio rhose medley of curiosities has been called the strangest In the world. That distinguished Russian, Sacha Votlchenkb jjthe wizard who has evoked the grotesquely glit terina; mass of souvenirs that makes "Petit Tria non" in New York a wonder place. The Petit Trianon is in the Hotel des Artistes, which, as its name implies, is the haunt of the artistic fra lernity. Votichenko's greatest enthusiasm Is music. But his passion for collecting Is scarcely less ardent. Everything he gathers seems to have a bit of his tory behind it. In Votichenko's studio you feel that you are bearing the whispers of kings and queens that you have stepped into the sacristy of geniuses and nobles and famous freaks. In histories such characters come as figures at a fancy dress ball, wearing their dominos and the' costumes that pre sent them in such aspects as they would have the world see them. In their own circles they gave vent to the human weakness of writing intimate things, and of having pictures made, both of which operated to flash a burglar's lantern upon the truth 3nd permit fleeting glimpses of the uncamou flaged individual. " Treasures of Handwriting. Some one, watching the sliding knife of the piillotine in the sombre days of the Revolution, commented that there really wasn't much differ ence between a king and a sans culotte under the knife. Nor is there such a difference before the writing table when the twain take pen and ink into their confidence. Votichenko has made a fad of finding in queer places the intimate things of royal persons and noted artists, and he regards his reflections upon the past as being Illuminated by a lighting system that is all the more accurate and convincing. , In a large album in his museum and studio, which takes its name and. its scheme from the love cote that the French Louis built upon the Mme. Votichenko Wearing One of Studio Gowns. Her' Ml 2 , WMm: ft '1jy-p 'u" is m ' "S '4 J ' Collection of Jewels, Trinkets, Paintings, Auto graphs and Weapons Gathered by a Russian Enthusiast, and How the Treasures Look in an American Retreat Sacha Votichenko, Who Has SsaP Amassed the Great Collection. r brink of the Revolution for the taWls ment of his pleasures, there are many things to hold the interest. Commonly, one regards as the cham pion pest the individual who pulls an album on an unsuspecting visitor. But it Is a lucky person who has a chance to peep at the Votichenko album. It holds no prosaic picture's of bald-headed uncles and high-collared ancestorsof a( commercial age. Kings and queens meet there In tne ' intimacy of the royal circle. Churchmen who held, great sway in their history making periods look wisely out upon a world torn with new sensations, which -were, not new to them. Authors who made fame fretfully stand unmasked be fore the visitor; and; musicians' whose names are reverenced in opera and mis pronounced by the owners of mechanical musieal machines give token that writing music did not engross all of their moments. So it is worth while to Journey to the studio and profit by the work that, the strange whim of an accomplished artist has- made possible. It is indeed a museum that he has created. Brocades, laces, cloth of gqld, medallions and quaint portraits find place in the strange city den. It ' WOuld shock the artistic soul of the artist to hear his studio called a den, but : then'-modern folk in large cities take lib- . erties.; ' . . ' : ' This unusual collection owes its pres- - ence in New York very largely to the fact that several millions' of our fellow-citizens bf the world have seen fit to engage in a ' controversy over the water , that., does not make for the safety 'of treasured articles - in vmany of . the hitherto, quiet Bpots of Amazing I ' 1 w ft ri'-iMi"''-'M" A Corner of Sacha Votichenko's Studio, the "Petit Trianon," in New York, Where Priceless Treasures Out of Old Russia, and Royal Gifts from Many tands Are; Heaped in an Historic-Mass. geography. .And among the least quiet on the map r is that part of Russia from which; comes the mu sician. Nothing stands sacred before the mob,' in any land, and the mobrules Russia. Thus it hap pens that "the intimate , mementoes of kings 4 ahd queens are refugees in the city of sNew York, flying before the horrors of war as .the old people and children, with their , Home possessions vanish be fore the smoking destruction of an Invading army. From Kings Dead and Gone. ; Alexander of-Russia, whose descendant in au- . thorlty not so long ago faced a, firing squad,, finds sanctuary in the Central Park West home. Near him1, in their dignity ' and state, the French kings repose safe from the .onslaught of .marching men and roaring cannon. Edward VII., father of the : triple entente, which blocked the German-idea of world domination more than any : one "movement, j is enshrined near George V., who, now rules the. land of the Briton. And King Albert of Belgium, ruler of a kingdom that was and will' be'agaln; Is in the' royal set along' with his queenly Elizabeth. George Sand is 'represented by a letter. that has unusual interest, and there are items from. Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Gounod, Verdi, Puccini, Massenet and Debussy all housed in the priceless album that forms for the seeker after interesting enlightenment the most, entrancing treasure in the whole place. ' In one part of the studio there Is a peculiar stained glass ' door that excites curiosity. This curiosity need not go ungratifled, for the pleasing artist who owns the collection will not hide this, or any other feature qf his place. It leads to the Russian chapel, where before the 'altar there -hangs the picture of Catherine ' the Second. Rarely has such a shrine been seen outside of Russia, and the' most Interesting part', of the shrine is that it r was How tjie lercte TO strengthen the -wounded lungs' of soldiers who have been injured- a simple device for . blowing bubbles has been found beneficial. Those suffering, from ; wounds in the, throat and chest can improve their condition by blowingbub- , bles in a bottle of water, according to Dr. Peschor, a -French surgeon. . . ' The bubble blowing, device is described in , Popular Science Monthly as simply a long rubber , tube attached to a . bottle that rests in' a basin. -In order that the . patient , may. receive the. full benefit of the treatment his bodyshould be. erect; n and his chest thrown out so that the lungs, may,. .-?2S'i I i 3J once a clothes closet in a hotel in Central Park West, and the artistic hand of,the musician trans formed it into a chapel, with all of the subdued : lighting and -mysticism-provoking trimmings that bring their own hypnotic spell. ' . . A Strange Shrine. Votichenko made this studio hlmself. It was his own creative "genius that conceived its -vagaries, and his Vwn hands; chiefly devoted -to drawing beautl- ' fur strains ffrom . musical instruments that worked' out most of the detail. For a number of years he played to royal audiences. The court circles of the old world sought him and commanded his efforts. , 'His Jast work' abroad was in obedience to the com mand, of .Queen Alexandra to play at Marlborough House before the royal family of England. Ally and Teuton alike, when they had an ear for music " and not f'r the : cannon, knew his deft touch. In his lourneys through royal courts he received from the men and women of the purple many personal gifts and testimonials, and these treasures he has brought to this city as the one remaining centre . where Art. does not have to dodge the cannon and the crowd It was jin July of 1917 that he came to New York and joined the already large colony of artists who have made the country's metropolis their haven' during the big world storm.' Among those who have heard him play in his home are ' , men and women . whose names are written promi nently upon the social and financial chronicles of the time. i A Relic of Louis XIV. . Amid the quaint things found In the most plct-, uresqne corner of this studio by these interested . folk of society is the royal tympanon, an instru ment that was given to an ancestor of . the Rus sian musician by King Louis XIV. of France. Among .. the maids In waiting at his court was one partlcu-. be well expanded- The best effects are obtained by Inhaling through the nose, slowly and regular ly, and blowing through the tube, compelling all. the water in the bottle to run off Into the" basin ' below. This exercise should be practised 30 times during each treatment. When the lungs improve a larger bottle is used. In making this apparatus ready, lor use . It is necessary to pour a small, quantity, of water , into the basin and then place the water-filled bottle, mouth down, in the bottom of the receptacle, tak ing care that r the water does, not run from the bottle. One end of the tube is placed in the neck ftttir-i-ti. :tk - 'V ' ,J' .VI' ' - iA - - 1 " I 1 - sis i 2 Iarly attractive, one who married Pantaleon Heben streit, who was famous in his day as a musician Louis presented him, as a wedding gift, with th rare old instrument. It is fashioned after th gaudy ideas of the period. This instrument is th great-great-great-grandfather of the modern piano and came before the day of the harpsichord ano the spinet. It is so made that its strings can be played by the fingers, after the fashion of the harp, or it can be manipulated with a hammer1. The peculiar characteristics of the tympanon fit it chiefly for music bf the 17th century. The instrument was taken to Russia, where it passed through several generations of Votichenko's forebears and -finally to him. He mastered its vagaries early and now plays upon it many of the weird melodies that had their genesis in the years preceding the downfall of the old line of pre revolutionary monarchs. It stands in the studio among his other treas ures, surrounded by queer things from all parts of the earth, and among them the master musician ' moves as one In a strange world. But his chief' delight is to study the habits and the characters of famous people by the one measure that he ' esteems adequate-r-the intimate articles that they themselves used and wrote in their most intimate surroundings. - He Insists that no man or woman can use Lny article without leaving the impress of character .upon it, and he feels that In his storehouse he has real parts of the famous figures that they represent. of :the bottle and the other In, the mouth of the patient. Treatment given In this manner will aid the patient to regain, his breathing facilities. Dr. William T. Porter uses a tomato can cut in two, each half being shoved over a collar of tin ib that' it can be drawn ut. A rubber tube en ables the patient to breathe in and out of the4can; .filling it ;with the carbon dioxid he exhales. As the gas increases so does the patient's pespira tlon. : This : machine is designed; to Increase the blood pressure. The can . is washed with fresb air by the simple method of pulling the halves oi the can apart. " . Hi r jlj i 4 - " 1 - j "J i ;.V .-,;,! pi-it 1 i i !:, I1 Si i-.i ..' ft. him 1. U mm i-m '.it. n I- - .: j . , ' - ' - . ' ' " i "t : v It s i I - - ",:-v!Y.','.vj '$ ''X1' I ' t i i.i , -x i r TS x : .Jf yHC lKrsw t.( - L 1 ; ; , .. ,. : Y .VI v I
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Dec. 16, 1918, edition 1
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