The Philadelphia Junto: Getting High

Richard Carreño, Editor | ©2009 Writers Clearinghouse

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Getting High

Junto Photos: Richard Carreno

Size Matters

Rise Above It: Getting a High-Rise Out of Philly.... Various Views

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Why Sidney Greenstreet was Cool in his Panama Hat

By Andrew Hamilton
Junto Staff Writer

Mount Shasta, California
They make Panama hats in Ecuador, in the towns of Montecristi and Cuenca, because the straw grows there. They're called Panama hats because they were sold to Gringos at the Canal. The initial standard was the optimo style, the one with the Sidney Greenstreet fore-and-aft ridge down the centre and no sweat-band, so you could roll it up and stuff it into a tube.

That style still exists. So do the tubes. (See Lock's in St. James's, London).The weave pretty much defines the quality, and there is a wide range. Check the feel of a $49 Cuenca against a medium-grade Montecristi, costing, say $250 in the bargain bin. The finer the weave the better it looks and feels and the least likely it is to break or fray.

The finer weaves get pretty supple, which is probably why they go for the trilby or fedora style, since the material is too soft to support much snap in your wider brims. I got mine about half an inch too wide, and it's a little floppy in a breeze.

Just wore my superfino to the 45th high-school reunion, where a the sun beating down on pre-cancerous balding domes inspired a number of guys to wear white fedoras. I was sort of embarassed because, next to the real thing, they all looked like they were wearing party favors or those hard-hats disguised as Stetsons.

Didn't want to seem to dis my cohort via ostentatious head-gear.

Christy's in London sells a lot of Cuencas. A market Cuenca is not as well-made as a Montecristi and is usually a starker white from bleaching the straw.

You can tell a Cuenca by the edges, which are usually cut, folded, and sewn back, sometimes covered with tape, and even wired, while Montecristi straws are woven tightly back into the brim leaving a smooth, slightly irregular edge. Also, a Cuenca sombrero is not as somber, and you can see lots of light coming through if you hold it up to the sun. Look closely at the brim and you'll see changes in the weave, with looser weave toward the inside letting. A Cuenca also often ends up with a cloth sweat-band, which wouldn't answer in a good Montecristi. Would be like tying your burgundy Lobbs with plaid laces.

To the undiscerning lubber's eye, however, a good Cuenca hat looks about the same as a Montecristi. It's when you get down into the Macy's or Samaritaine collection of clown hats where the difference is apparent.

Letters to Junto

Barnes & Noble Was There Too

From Liliane Clever, Philadelphia:
Was just looking at the 'day in the city' photo gallery.

Do you remember when the CVS used to be a Barnes & Noble? It used to be one of my favourite places to go.

They also had a mezzanine. It was always nice and quiet, and they played classical music. I was crushed when they closed. (It took them a few years before they reopened on Rittenhouse Square).

I was scared when I heard that CVS was to open a store in the vacant space. I give them credit; they did not completely destroy it, but it simply is not the same any more.

'Me and Orson'
From Daniele Thomas Easton, Philadelphia:
What did your parents do with the apartment? Great location.
Daniele Thomas Easton is a former French honorary consul in Philadelphia.

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SPECIAL HORSE BOOK TITLES

Margaret Cabell Self Collection @philabooksbooksellers

At the Horse Show, Paper, VG/NW Bookplate North Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Book Company 1974 edition $9.99
_____, LN/VG Bookplate New York: Arco Publishing Company Inc. 1977 4th edition $14.99

Fun on Horseback, VG/G, Chipped Wrappers Bookplate London: Thomas Yoseloff Ltd. 1964 edition $9.99

Happy Year, The VG/VG, Bookplate Manhasset, NY: Channel Press Inc 1963 First $9.99

Horseman's Companion, VG/VG, Bookplate New York: A.S. Barnes and Company Inc. 1964 edition $9.99

Horseman's Encyclopedia, VG/G, 1963 edition $14.99

Horsemanship: Methods of Training the Horse and Rider, VG/VG, Chipped Wrappers, Bokplate New York: Arco Publishing Company Inc. 1973 14th edition $14.99
______, VG/VG Ex Libris 1952 9th edition Plastic wrapped $9.99

Horses of Today, VG/G, Bookplate Plastic wrapped New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce 1964 First $19.99

Horses: Their Selection, Care & Handling, Ex Libris G/NW Bookplate New York: A.S. Barnes and Company Inc. 1945 4th edition $2.99

How and Why Wonder Book of Horses, LN/NW Bookplate New York: Grosset & Dunlap 1977 edition $1.99

How to By the Right Horse, Paper, VG/NW Bookplate Omaha, NE: The Farnum Horse Library, 1974 3rd edition $3.99

Treasury of Horse Stories, A, VG/G, Bookplate Chipped Wrappers New York: A.S. Barnes & Company 1945 4th edition $9.99
_____, VG/NW Bookplate Sig of prev owner $8.99

Young Rider and His First Pony, Paper, VG/NW Bookplate New York: Arco Publishing Company Inc. 1974 First $4.99

Who We Are

Peter Frisauf, a publishing consultant in the medical field, is Philadelphia Junto's New York-based photographer.

Andrew Hamilton is a ichthyologist, retired from service to the state of California. He is a Philadelphia Junto travel writer, who lives in northern California.

Daniele Thomas Easton, a former French honorary consul in Philadelphia, is the director of France-Philadelphie. She writes about French cultural activities.

David Houston used to live in Washington and Wilbraham, Massachusetts. He is a writer, photographer, and active Facebook blogger, and lives in Oakland, California.

David S. Traub is a practicing architect and free-lance writer. He often contributes to the Philadelphia Weekly Press, and lives in Centre City, Philadelphia.

Ronald T. Alonzo, Philadelphia Junto's wine and food critic, has dined in every European and South American country. He now lives in Florida, after stays in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Louisiana.

Liliane Clever was born in France, but has lived in America most of her life. She is a Philadelphia Junto restaurant and cultural critic.

Justin T. Carreño is a rock climber and geographer who lives in Washington. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Richard Carreño is Editor of Philadelphia Junto.

JUNTO AGENDA

* Immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
* Universal Health Insurance.
* Ban capital punishment.
* Nationalization and full federal funding of Amtrak.
* Free, subsidized access to all museums. (Hello, that's why they're non-profits).
* Nationalization of the Banking Industry.
* Increase parking fees, public garage taxes, and parking ticket fines to squeeze the middle-income to use Septa -- and their no-fee feet.
* Full support of the Obama budget.
* Privatization of the PA Liquor Shops.
* Empty jails of the falsely and needlessly imprisioned.
* Collective Bargaining.
* Removal of all travel and trade restrictions with Cuba.
* Legalization of marijuana and the review of other drugs for decriminalization.

The Philadelphia Junto

Richard Carreño, Editor | ©2009 Writers Clearinghouse

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Getting High

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