M.J. Rose

We think that if you still haven’t danced in an attic in Paris, it’s time…

From MessyNessy,

Dancing in the Attic of the Paris Opera House

“Classical ballet as we know it today was born within the Paris Opera. In 1930, LIFE magazine staff photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt, was given access to the sacred world of the prima ballerina at the Grand Opera de Paris. He sat in on a rehearsal for Swan Lake, photographing the dancers doing their barre exercises, perfecting choreography, as well as capturing the girls at ease, standing around chatting or looking out over Paris from those fabulous round windows.

There’s something eerily beautiful about these photographs of the glamorous ballerinas against the backdrop of that dim and dusty attic space of the Grand Opera, a stark contrast from their gilded stage below. I wonder if that room still exists as it was on that day, with those big round windows, black walls and the ballet barre with a view….”

Click here for many captivating photos of this scene, and if you want to be inspired to do some dancing–perhaps in your own attic? Why not!

If this doesn’t inspire you to want to spend a day back in your childhood playing with this, well, we don’t know what would…and by the way, who is this Colleen Moore of old Hollywood who spent a reported half-million dollars on this fairy castle and then sent it on tour to raise money for children’s charities? We like her.

From CBSnews.com,

A Doll House To Dream Of

“It is the ultimate enchanted castle: lush gardens and sumptuous rooms, decorated with precious furniture and priceless art. There are glowing chandeliers and elegant bathrooms. Not bad, for a doll house!

Between 1928 and 1935, Hollywood star Colleen Moore spent a reported half-million dollars on her Fairy Castle, employing some 100 Hollywood designers and craftsmen to build it, and then sent the doll house on tour to raise money for children’s charities.

Chicago’s Museum of Science & Industry – home to the Fairy Castle since it was donated in 1949 – has recently renovated it, as one does with a house that is getting on in years….”

For a huge gallery of the dollhouse and more on its history, click here.

This is most certainly a woman with an interesting story. We wonder who she was and what her life was like….

From The Vintage News,

The Lady of Elche: a mysterious artifact found in 1897 on a private estate at La Alcudia, Spain

“The Lady of Elche, also known as Lady of Elx, is a limestone bust of a woman’s head found on a private estate at La Alcudia, two kilometers south of Elche, Spain.

The Iberian artifact is believed to have been produced in the 4th century BC, although the craftsmanship suggests strong Hellenistic influences. It is one of the most famous sculptures in the world.

The sculpture was found on 4 August 1897, by a young worker, Manuel Campello Esclapez. However, local keeper of the records Pere Ibarra had a different version of the discovery: he stated that a man named Antonio Maciá, one of the workers clearing the southeast slope of La Alcudia for agricultural purposes, was the one to find the bust.

The bust measures some 56 centimeters high, and it features the head and shoulders of an elite woman. The complex headdress features two large wheel-like coils known as “rodetes” on either side of the head and face.

The statue was originally polychrome, or painted in vivid colors. Two of the colors have been identified by experts: classic natural vermillion and Egyptian blue.

Who she might have been continues to be a mystery”…

For the rest, and many more photos, click here.