Weekend Open Thread:
Decorola
last Week at Portico: Even though five Daily Office entries appeared this week — more about why in a moment — I managed to write le minimum: pages on last Friday’s movie, Public Enemies, on this week’s novel, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (more of a novella, really), and of course the Book Review review.
Over the holiday weekend, I decided, rather quickly, to replace the Monday edition of the Daily Office with a Friday edition. This will allow me to enjoy the weekend more freely, or at least to have more time for reading. Some sort of brief news post will appear on Monday, but the nature of its contents may take the rest of the summer to settle.
So that whole open thread question about decorola and volume-new york was just bait-n-switch?
Fine. Back to the beach.
One man’s “decorola” may be another man’s art, especially if the “decorola” is a century old and has survived to be thought more of now than when it was first created. I personally try to seek the best in whatever media I can afford, this gives a more lasting pleasure; quality will always tell and is not always the most expensive or rarest of the available items of like effect.
I will admit to being drawn to ‘flash” on occasion. I solve this problem by buying in ornaments for the Christmas tree; a sentimental indulgence which appears for only a short time and then is boxed away again, accumulating family memories in their annual hibernations and re-displays.
This is not to deprecate ” decorola” as depicted in your image of the Chelsea building. Most great cities are comprised, in the main, of median quality structures of no particular pedigree; they form the solid backdrop against which the masterworks shine as stones in a well-wrought setting. So too, interiors often depend upon serviceable items of decor, against which the few truly handsome pieces a person possesses may stand out. I am sure Edith Wharton would disagree; her standards, while laudable, were inhumanly high. Lady Mendl, on the other hand, would, I think, agree.