Jan and Cora Gordon in the Library of Lady Ottoline Morrell


Lady Ottoline Morrell was a celebrated patron of the arts and society hostess who lived from 1873 to 1938.  She was a contemporary of Jan and Cora Gordon, a well known pair of artists, writers and musicians. Her residence at 44 Bedford Square, Bloomsbury, London served as a salon for friends, including many authors, poets, artists and sculptors, some of them members of the "Bloomsbury Group". Members of this group were also invited to weekend retreats at the Morrells' Garsington Manor near Oxford.



Ottoline Morrell had a copy of "Poor Folk in Spain" (1922) by Jan and Cora Gordon in her library. The book bears her signature inside the front cover.


The back of the book contains notes in her hand that are not entirely clear to understand, though I can recognise the words "Studio", a magazine in which both Jan and Cora Gordon published works of art, and "Romanesque". I also see the names "Williams" (after "Undeserved .....") and "Heinlemann" (before "Studio"). Williams may refer to Charles Williams the writer, who had met T.S. Eliot at one of Ottoline Morrell's salons. Does the central portion read "Lunch Heinlemann Studio"? 



In 1927 the Morrells had to sell both the townhouse and the manor and moved to a more modest residence in Gower Street. She later "remained a regular host to the adherents of the Bloomsbury Group, in particular Virginia Woolf, and to many other artists and authors", including WB Yeats, LP Hartley, T.S. Eliot, and Welsh painter Augustus John."

The book is a very interesting connection between an influential patron of the arts, the intellectuals of the "Bloomsbury Group" and the remarkably productive artistic duo of Jan and Cora Gordon.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jan and Cora Gordon and the Balkan Hat: Getting Published in World War I

Image
In " The London Roundabout " (1933),  Jan Gordon describes how they came to publish their first book, " The Luck of Thirteen " (for an overview of this and their subsequent books visit Jan and Cora Gordon Books ). Following the "famous retreat" from Serbia, they wrote, "Having reached London in rags, and lacking visible means of support, we were trying to capitalize our experiences. The sale of some photographs temporarily banished the wolf, at least round the corner, but to continue the good work Jo had written an article called A Woman's Day at the Montenegrin Front ." "JO AT THE MACHINE GUN" A friend sent them to see Dan Rider, who recommended they send it to the Westminster Gazette - "They'll eat it." "Eat it they did, and spewed it out again as print. From this manuscript and a few others grew our first travel-book." On showing sketches of Serbia to Cecil Chesterton, editor of the New
Read more

Jan Gordon's WW1 Dazzle design for H.M.S. Southampton

Image
Dazzle painting of ships has fascinated many since its first deployment during WW1, spawning numerous articles, books and imitations. The artist and writer Jan Gordon was one of the original protagonists; he designed dazzle patterns, wrote about the principles and practice of the art, and remembered those days fondly when later dedicating one of his books to a dazzle painting colleague,  Steven Spurrier. One of the dazzle designs produced by Jan Gordon was that for HMS Southampton and I discuss below the available information on this design. I also recently bought the book " A Naval Lieutenant 1914-1918," which gives an account of the wartime experiences of the Southampton, with several contemporary comments on camouflage and dazzle. Camouflage of ships in WW1 At the beginning of WW1 in 1914 , Stephen King-Hall (as "Etienne"), serving on HMS Southampton ,  recalled,  " After the big sweep we all went to Loch Ewe to coal, and here I remember noticing the ba
Read more

Jan and Cora Gordon in Albania

Image
Jan and Cora Gordon visited Albania in the summer of 1925 and in 1927 published the book " Two Vagabonds in Albania ." Two phrases from this book resonated when I first read it: " Now and again a wolf howled from far away, and somewhere a kid, lost or smelling some wolf-taint in the air, bleated with persistent terror " pg. 138. and " As we came down into the cultivated fields of the valley we found ourselves walking through clouds of red-winged grasshoppers, which sprang up on all sides with a clattering flight ." pg. 139 The book begins with "Don't stay in Durazzo." From Durazzo they made a clockwise loop to the south, passing through Tirana, Elbasan, Berat, Kelcyre, Permeti and Gjinokastro before returning north to Tirana. The second leg of the journey was an excursion to the north, from Scutari up into the mountains. Map of prominent places visited on the southern loop described in "Two Vagabonds in Albania"
Read more