 |
|
 |
There definitely is a Charles Dickens theme going in our family’s holiday celebrations! Today, I walked about a half a mile to the Troy Public Library to meet my daughter and her family to see this adaption of the Dickens’ classic which even after 200 years is as relevant and inspiring as it was in England when it was first published.
The puppeteers are the Puppet People located in Schenectady, New York. It is a two person troupe. The children were intrigued and sat quietly for the hour production. Several interesting aspects were the combination of the marionettes, and the puppeteers in costume participating in the performance. The people costumes were quite lovely and sophisticated. Another learning experience for the children was that the puppeteers were visible speaking, and pulling the string on the marionettes instead of hidden behind the stage.
A lovely, entertaining hour and time for me to warm-up, go back out in the 10 degree Fahrenheit temperature and walk the 1/2 mile home!
Well, what about the books and Tiffany glass ? Well, this performance was in the upstairs of the Troy Library and so, of course, it has books, though from my experience, the building is much more impressive than the collection. Yes, the building is complete with a Victorian fireplace, iron railing, and gorgeous Tiffany stain glass windows. Actually Troy was a rather affluent city during the late Victorian period and its proximity to New York and the beautiful glass work done by the Tiffany artisans, have blessed many Troy window gazers!
This style of architecture is known as the American Renaissance and became popular after the building of the White City in Chicago in the 1890’s. The architects who designed and built the Troy Library in 1893 were Barney and Chapman from New York City.
Some of the beautiful Victorian details.. . . . .
The architects wanted to integrate art into the architecture in this American replica of an Italian Renaissance palace. There are elaborate stone carvings for decorations as well beautiful molding.
This is a shot of the glass block walkways with iron railings in the stacks. The kids thought it was a blast to walk on glass and not crashing through.
This is the largest of the Tiffany’s windows. The subject is the master printer Aldus presenting the proof sheets of Dante’s( Italy’s favorite poet) Divine Comedy.
Aldus’ life quote was : “Study as if you were to live forever, and live as if you were to die tomorrow. ” It seems appropriate for this beautiful building filled with inspirational art and knowledge.
This is Troy, New York!
History from : http://www.thetroylibrary.org/?p=16
TalesAlongTheWay 
My dear father was a professional puppeteer, his family did it in Budapest until the Russians occupied Hungary. Dad worked with Jim Henson for many years until his death in 1981. Jim used to come to Canada to film the Christmas specials and always asked my Dad to work with him. In 1985 my brother was an extra on Follow that Bird and Jim kindly gave him credit in respect of my dad. You can see his name in the rolling credits Gustav Harsfai in the movie.
LikeLike
Great post! I love the Tiffany Art on display at the Troy library. We are blessed to have the Morse Museum here in Orlando Winter Park. I have always loved the glass lamps which his artisans are so very famous for, but did not know the fascinating history of the artist until I visited the museum. This video showcases the museum for all who might be interested and I wanted to share it with you and your readers.
LikeLike
So neat. I love reading the book, but am so sick of all those knockoff movies I was almost ready to give up on one of my favorite authors after seeing so many silly variations over the years.
LikeLike
Which book are you reading? How is your shoulder feeling tonight?
LikeLike
My yearly dose of “The Christmas Carol”. Spelled wrong, buy hard to hit the right keys with one hand. Shoulder hurts less. so hope that is a good sign. More X-rays Wed will tell the story.
LikeLike
Praying for a good report!
LikeLike
Thanks Annet for the like.
I am back to myself again and writing a new post.
I will post it tomorrow.
Regards
LikeLike
Good my friend, I look forward to reading it !
LikeLike
You are welcome.
LikeLike
Ho Ho Ho and season’s greetings Anne,Love puppets and this post.If you ever happen to come to Jaipur,please do give me a shout,I will take you to see lovely puppet shows on East India Company and Mughal stories.Do be my guest.
LikeLike
I am a current employee at Troy Public Library. We are extremely proud of our beautiful building and amazing Tiffany glass! There’s a lot of fascinating history that Troy has that not a lot of people are aware of. I love mentioning to patrons that Troy was once the second largest producer of iron in the late 1800’s, among other tidbits, if they have the time to listen. I consider myself very lucky to be able to work in such a historic place! I wish everyone appreciated Troy and the library as much as we do!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Kathi, I love the Russell Sage stories and his long suffering wife. She indeed had the last best laugh!
LikeLike