Websitings - Chinese Export Porcelain, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Tarzan,® and Sheet Music from the 1800s and 1920s.

This month Mike McLeod takes a look at Chinese Export Porcelain, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Tarzan,® and Sheet Music from the 1800s and 1920s.

Readers who would like to share interesting websites with Mike may contact him via email at: mikemcl@mindspring.com.

Chinese Export Porcelain
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ewpor/hd_ewpor.htm
www.Cohenandcohen.co.uk
www.adventurecorps.com/sadana/porcelain.html

A perfect example of the beauty of Chinese Export Porcelain. This Famille Rose Charger was made for the European market and is enamelled with an equestrian hunting scene; 21 inches, Yongzheng, circa 1730.

In the mid-18th century, a ship went down in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. Among the cargo were thousands of pieces of Chinese export pottery. In recent years, the Sadana Island shipwreck was found in about 100 feet of water near a coral reef by sport divers who may have taken as much as two-thirds of the cargo before the Institute of Nautical Archaeology began conservation of the site. The Institute reported that, “…coral-covered stacks of up to 20 dishes could weigh more than 100 pounds.” Visit the website to see porcelain recovered and underwater photos of the recovery (www.adventurecorps.com/sadana/porcelain.html.)

The discovery of that shipment validates the belief that Chinese export porcelain was much in demand in that day, too. This new type of pottery first appeared in Europe in the 14th century. As trade with the Orient grew, demand increased – particularly after Europeans became hooked on coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, which opened up whole new lines of serving vessels for the porcelain makers.

It is the beauty of Chinese export porcelain that attracts collectors today. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has an excellent and informative page on this porcelain, at the above address. (If that doesn’t work, go to www.metmuseum.org, click enter, and then search “Chinese export porcelain” in the search field at the bottom right. Click on the page for export; probably the first one listed.) Among other things, you can learn that, “European forms such as mugs, ewers, tazze, and candlesticks were unknown in China, so models were sent to the Chinese potteries to be copied.” One interesting story about a Ming dynasty (1368–1644) ewer, circa 1520, on the website: the official Portuguese emblem was reproduced on the ewer upside down, due to the Chinese being unfamiliar with Portuguese characters.

Best of all are the photos. Pictured there are an 1800-1815 jug made for the American market with George Washington’s image on the side; a dinner, tea and coffee service, 1785-90; an early 17th century blue and white dish; a ruby-colored covered cup, ca. 1565-70, with silver gilt; a tureen; and other excellent pieces.

Hopefully, the link to a special exhibit held at the Met in 2003 “(Chinese Export Porcelain at the Metropolitan)” will still be posted on the right side of the page. Click on it to see more examples of beautiful porcelain.

The valuable Imperial Leopard, Kangxi, circa 1720, 39 inches, enamelled in yellow and black over biscuit porcelain. The tail is detachable. (Photos, courtesy www.cohenandcohen.co.uk.)

Another website with outstanding Chinese Export Porcelain is www.cohenandcohen.co.uk. Although this is a retail website, you will be hard pressed to actually find prices. What you will find is a regal collection of porcelain and the history behind them. Some of the pieces have sold for millions of dollars. The pair of Kangxi Imperial leopards that greet you on the home page were reportedly purchased by the Cohens for $4.1 million at Christie’s and later sold again.

The background info on the leopards and the other pieces from the Cohens’ current catalog is posted under the “Current Exhibit” button. Click on “The Collection” and “Important Sales” buttons to see spectacular pieces under these categories: Armorials, Blue and White, European Subjects, Famille Rose, Famille Verte Figures, Grisaille and Imari. They are heavenly.

At a Christie’s auction of Chinese Export porcelain this year, a pair of famille rose pheasants that were estimated at $20,000/$30,000 sold for $146,341, and a carp tureen and cover sold for $136,385 (est. $20,000-$30,00). All were from the Quianlong period.

If you are a porcelain lover or one who appreciates true art in pottery, these two websites are not to be missed.

Edgar Rice Burroughs and Tarzan®
www.tarzan.com

Edgar Rice Burroughs recording a reading from one of his writings. (Photo, courtesy ERB, Inc., which holds the copyrights on the images; "Tarzan" is a registered trademark.) www.bluebirdchina.homestead.com

Danton Rice Burroughs has a great job. He is the grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and he is responsible for sorting and documenting the treasure trove of “…generations of family collectibles, mementos, documents, journals, books, photos, art, manuscripts, letters, and heirlooms…” stored on ERB’s Tarzana estate. As you know, ERB wrote more than just novels about Tarzan. John Carter of Mars sprang from his fertile mind, as well as the Pellucidar series about the people, dinosaurs and other creatures inhabiting the hollow center of the Earth. But those are just the beginning. ERB also wrote fantasy tales about the planet Venus, “The Land That Time Forgot,” westerns, Hollywood, pirates, outlaws, lions, cave girls, jungle girls, and almost ad infinitum. Danton gets to handle and preserve all of the memorabilia associated with the legacy of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

And you can see much of it on this website. Under the “Bios” button, you find not only ERB’s, but also Tarzan’s. Here, there is also a wonderful gallery of photos of ERB in his many occupations before Tarzan. He tried more than a dozen jobs before bringing forth the Ape Man, and I for one, am sincerely grateful that he failed at all of his occupations but the last one. I truly loved reading Tarzan as a boy and reading it to my sons as a dad.

Books, magazines, movies, radio scripts, TV episodes, comic books, and more. They are all here.

This website pays the homage due to Edgar Rice Burroughs, and it is well worth a visit.

Sheet Music from the 1800s to the 1920s
www.parlorsongs.com

Are You Sincere 1908; music by Albert Gumble; words by Alfred Bryan; cover artist, De Takacs. One of thousands of songs featured by theme.

Songs about WWI, sea shanties, sheiks and the Middle East, children, state names, monkeys and the jungle, women’s names, the Sun and sunshine, summertime, women’s hats on sheet music covers, old Broadway, and much more – these are just a few of the diverse themes and colorful covers featured on this website. Parlorsongs.com is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to acquiring and preserving “…historic musical manuscripts that are a part of the popular music scene in America. We believe that our collection of 19th and 20th century music represents a unique grouping of manuscripts that will be lost to our culture and future if not saved through physical and digital preservation.”

In addition to all of the historical and collector information available there, the really neat aspect of this website is, you can click on the name of a highlighted song or a photo of the sheet music and hear the songs played by an electric piano. Not only are the songs’ graphics preserved and shared with the world, but so also is the sound of the song. What a magnificent service this website is providing in preserving a segment of our musical history!

Co-owners Robert Maine and Richard A. Reublin report their personal collections of sheet music on the website total more than 5,000 sheets, larger than many university collections. Each month, they publish an issue online featuring 10 or more examples of sheet music from the 1800s to the 1920s with historical information about them. They have done this since late 1997, so there are now more than 50 months of music to view…and hear.

Because there is so much information on this website about composers, authors, music, history, articles and so on, it is probably best to click on the “Site Map” button first to get an overview of what is available. It shows the categories of information: Monthly Features, Special Articles, Resources and Information. Near the bottom of the Information column is “How to contact us & FAQs.” The Frequently Asked Questions section has very valuable information for new collectors.

Music lovers and sheet music collectors, this website is a great asset for you.

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