Have you ever wondered when the first Christmas card was created or who made it? The first printed Christmas card was the idea of British inventor Sir Henry Cole. In 1843 Cole commissioned illustrator John Callcott Horsley to create the design, then sold the printed cards for a shilling each. Three years before that he had helped establish the Universal Penny Post, a postal system that enabled people to send letters throughout England for a penny each. Over 4,000 of his Christmas cards were purchased that first year. So he made some money for himself and encouraged people to use the postal service at the same time!
It’s here! Arts in Letters Grand Slam subscription is now available through digital delivery!
Looking to reduce the amount of paper in your life? Haphazard mail delivery? Living outside the U.S. and want to get your letters faster? The Grand Slam Digital Version addresses all those concerns.
You’ll get the same content, delivered to your email box in PDF form, for you to read on your electronic devices. Another plus is that links to recordings, extra readings, videos, etc., will be clickable, so you can go directly to the extra resource without having to type it all into your browser.
Pricing is also less, since less material and labor is involved. 3 months is $39, 6 months is $69, a year is $99. Choose longer subscription package to get the best value.
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I recently came across a news article about the controversy being stirred up by a group wanting to stage performances of Wagner’s operas in Israel. Knowing that Wagner had openly expressed anti-Semitic views, I wasn’t surprised that there would be people opposed to this, but I didn’t realize that all Wagner’s music had been unoffically banned in the country.
Personally I try to stay neutral and apolitical when I choose and write about my historical subjects. I endeavor to spotlight their positive contributions to the world without being too Pollyanna-ish. There are people, good and bad, whose impact on the world won’t be erased simply by not performing their music, or burning their books, or whatever.
Yes, there are people I haven’t featured because their negative impact outweighs the positive and because I didn’t want to offend people. However, ignoring history, or trying to hide it, doesn’t benefit us, either. Very deep subject, one on which I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts at communications@artsinletters.com. Your suggestion might inspire me to take on a new subject!
In the meantime, if you enjoy Wagner’s music and have missed it during the pandemic, there are many performances being scheduled. Check with the Wagner Society and Wagneropera.org for announcements from around the world.
Does listening to music cause you to see colors? And do those colors change as the notes change? If you experience this, you have something very special in common with Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky, something called ‘synaesthesia.’
Synaesthesia happens when something that normally stimulates one sense, such as hearing music, stimulates another sense, such as sight. Over 60 different types of synaesthesia have been identified. The connection of seeing and hearing is called chromaesthesia.
Having studied music as a child and experiencing chromaesthesia all his his life, Kandinsky often sought to paint music he heard. In particular he was inspired by the music of Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg.
Composition III – Concert, 1911 Kandinsky osught to depict a performance of Schoenberg’s Three Pieces for Piano, Op. 11 in this painting
Supposedly only about 4% of people experience some kind of synaesthesia, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the number is much higher, and that most people have either just don’t notice it happening or their brains have turned it off as their sensory skills developed along more narrow lines. How about trying to some sensory experiments of your own to find out what a sound, color, smell, taste, or touch might make you see, hear, taste, feel, or smell?!
