Messages

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The Imperial Family / Re: Imperial Postcards

« on: August 16, 2014, 05:27:06 PM »

This is an old, old, thread, but I came across this link recently http://www.playle.com/listing.php?i=STER1 and I found it very interesting, and instead of starting a new thread, I thought I would revive this one. The link is for an auction of many old postcards of the Imperial Family. The postcards have writing on them, too. I thought the concept of this type of collection was interesting. The person who posted the auction is asking $50,000. That seems high to me, but it does sound like an unique collection that contains unusual items. I learned a lot about postcards of the Imperial Family from the description of the postcards that went with the auction. What does everyone else think? I'm not sure when this auction was started or if this link has been posted on the forum before, as I haven't been around in awhile.

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Forum Announcements / Re: Forum Members Not Heard From in a Long While

« on: August 16, 2014, 03:18:54 PM »

This is an interesting thread. I used to post here a lot, back in the day( I joined in August, 2005). Then I posted less and less after about 2009. I just got caught up in other websites, many of which barely existed or did not exist in 2005, and in other interests and online friendships. I think that's probably happened to others who no longer post here much or at all. It's sad Alixz left, and that Tania hasn't posted in such a long time. I barely know who posts here anymore. Sometimes I think people just have their say here and then move on to other things. I ran up thousands of posts on here, but nowadays I look back and realize some stuff I posted on here when I was say, 19( I'm 28 now) was not the perspective I would have to day and that some of my posts were immature or repetitive or both. I regret that. But at least I was a 19- 20 year old who enjoyed history, even if I am sure I would have contributed more to the forum if I hadn't posted so much at one time. I think it's interesting to get new faces in online forums. I feel nostalgia for what this forum used to be like, even while I really don't know what it's like today. I just logged in here yesterday because I saw an article about the Romanovs and then I remembered I hadn't glanced at this forum in months. So I came here and saw this thread.

I used to be friends with Tania on here, and off of here. I thought then and I still think she's a very interesting person. I didn't know her father was mentioned in a book about the Romanovs? Which book was that- ''Years?'' I've read so many books on the Romanovs that I don't remember which one that was. I looked her up online and it looks to me like she's doing fine, though I haven't had any contact with her since she stopped posting here. People sometimes just fall out of contact online or stop posting on forums because they move on to other  things, online and off.

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Forum Announcements / Re: +Robert (Bobby) Hall

« on: December 12, 2012, 08:37:40 AM »

I don't post on here much anymore, but when I did a few years ago, I thought Robert Hall's posts in discussions were interesting and he knew a lot. He contributed much to the forum. I'm sorry to hear about this.

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The Windsors / Re: Princess Mary, the Princess Royal

« on: April 12, 2012, 12:13:08 AM »

Has anyone else noticed the resemblence between little Lady Louise, Prince Edward's daughter, and Princess Mary when she was a little girl? I noticed it upon seeing photos of Lady Louise this Easter online.She was dressed in an old fashioned style( a bit like like George V's children when young) and her hair was in a style like Princess Mary when she was little, but still, they do look quite alike.I don't know if it is something most people would notice, but when you see colorized portraits of a young Princess Mary, you see it even more, very like coloring.

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The Imperial Family / Re: Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevitch and his family

« on: April 11, 2012, 09:44:32 PM »

I just realized I typed " Grand Duke Mikhail" when I meant to type " Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovitch" about the one who wanted to marry Amelie of Orleans and the one who wanted to run for election after the Revolution.I got confused for a minute between him and his father..

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BeNeLux Royalty / Re: Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide of Luxembourg

« on: April 11, 2012, 09:38:59 PM »

Years ago I read a bio of G.D. Marie Adelaide. I was interested in her because in reading about the Grand Duchess Olga Nicolaevna it was mentioned that Olga felt an affinity for her and was concerned when Lux was overrun by the Kaiser's army. Marie-Adelaide was about a year older than the GD Olga N and became the hereditary ruler of Lux shortly before the beginning of the Great War(1914). I'm a bit hazy after 20 years. I 'll get the book and refresh myself. The title is:  Marie Adelaide, grand duchess of Luxemburg published in 1932. Author is Edith O'Shaughnessy. I remember the book as being somewhat sentimental but full of facts. It has a 2 page bibliography according the the library info.I think GD Olga felt close to her because of some similiarity in their situation -- oldest in a family of girls, devout, etc.

I had never read that before about GD Olga! That's very interesting.GD Olga and GD Marie Adelaide both seemed to be independent minded(about who to marry for instance, GD Olga said no to Carol of Romania, and said she would only marry a Russian, GD Marie Adelaide turned down German princes).Both ended up dying at young ages (22 and 29) when they weren't as wanted by their countries anymore.One big difference was GD Marie Adelaide was the heir, and GD Olga was not..

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BeNeLux Royalty / Re: Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide of Luxembourg

« on: April 08, 2012, 04:59:01 PM »

from "the Royal Marriage Market of Europe" concerning GD Marie-Adelaide

http://books.google.com/books?id=LR8IAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA88&dq=Marie+Adelaide:+Grand+Duchess+of+Luxembourg,&ei=OGR0Sb2vGoagyATtwfy7BQ#PPA88,M1

It's interesting that this(don't how accurate this is) says that she was not a German sympathizer in World War I, yet she was felt to be sympathetic to the Germans at the time? Perhaps her percieved sympathy to Germany was kind of like Alexandra of Russia's percieved sympathy to Germany( more rumor than actual fact). It didn't take much back then to be called a German sympathizer.Marie Adelaide seems to have been very independent young woman, not surprising given that she was raised to be the heir to the throne.She may not have married even had she lived.

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Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: White Crow (GD Nicholas Mikhailovich)

« on: April 07, 2012, 05:46:23 PM »

Yes, he was very outspoken.I don't think he could have had a career in diplomacy as the author suggested in a way.I think he was an interesting person with a less conservative outlook than pretty much all of the GDs.He isn't covered enough in my opinion, and doesn't even have his own thread on here.I did think the author saying he was more intellectual than KR, more interesting, etc was a mistake.KR was a original in the Romanov family, although a vastly different person than Grand Duke Nicholas.

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The Imperial Family / Re: Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevitch and his family

« on: April 05, 2012, 01:48:29 PM »

They were certainly an interesting branch of the family.The book White Crow, while being a biography of Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovitch, has a lot of good general info on the family.Before I read that, I had not realized any member of the Romanov family considered trying to run for election after the Revolution, which Grand Duke Mikhail did consider until Kerensky told him no.If Nicholas II had had the abilities and outlook that Grand Duke Mikhail had, then the revolution might never have happened.He wasn't perfect, but he was a very able man, and a historian.Perhaps the fact that he was a historian, is what gave him the ability to see the possible future (of the dynasty among other things) clearly, as mentioned in his biography, White Crow.As the saying goes " Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it", which might also be " Those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it". Knowing is one thing, understanding is another.He knew history, and understood, and therefore perhaps saw the future more clearly.It's interesting later in his 20s (after moving on from Victoria of Baden, his cousin) he considered marrying Amelie of France( Orleans, I think)( he loved anything and everybody French), but his parents disaproved, and her family did not want her to convert to Orthodoxy so he abandoned the idea.He did have a supporter though, in MF, who supported him marrying Amelie.Not surprising as she later wanted her own son Nicholas II to marry Helene of Orleans(not sure how they are related), which he howeer did not want.

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Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: White Crow (GD Nicholas Mikhailovich)

« on: April 04, 2012, 09:47:29 PM »

I finally read this book through interlibrary loan, and actually feel it is one of the better books on the Romanovs, especially the lesser known members. I had never read it before because I wasn't sure if I could get it via interlibrary loan and and I also wasn't sure how interesting it might be.It does cover a lot of politics, but it isn't written in a boring way in the least.It also covers a lot of the private life of the Grand Duke and his family and gives a good portrait of the Mikhailovitchi branch of the Romanovs.I got the impression from the book the scholar who wrote was very interested in the life of the Grand Duke, an impression you do not always recieve from scholarly books, which can be very academic at times.Actually, although published more as a scholarly work than a work of popular history, this book is very readable, compelling, and interesting.I highly recomend it! It's too bad it doesn't get more attenion!

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Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Julia P. Gelardi: From Splendor to Revolution: The Romanov Women, 1847-1928

« on: March 11, 2012, 10:39:25 AM »

There is a lot of detail in this book, but I found it a bit dull.I thought the Grand Duchesses book put out by Eurohistory a few years ago was more interesting.Then again, that was separate biographies of the Gds and this was a book where the stories of the Russian Imperial women were woven together.

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Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Alix and Nicky: The Passion of the Last Tsar and Tsarina by Virgina Rounding

« on: March 11, 2012, 10:19:11 AM »

I enjoyed the more personal(and less political) info about N and A.The Anna Vyrubova part was interesting, but I don't believe it included a part from the Count Alexander Grabbe book, The Private World of the Last Tsar(mentioned in the bibliography) on p.163 that might have been interesting about Anna V not only making Alexandra unhappy about her and the Tsar, but also trying to make her jealous about the Tsar and someone he had never even met! The chronology of the book would be confusing a bit to Romanov newbies, but they could always read Massie's book on N and A first.I suppose the chronology of the book was like it is in an attempt to be different from other Romanov books as so much has been said.It's not confusing if you have read a couple books about the Romanovs though.

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Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: "Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson" by King And Wilson

« on: October 27, 2011, 10:28:24 AM »

I recently read this book (I know, a little late) and thought it was a great book that cleared up a lot of things I found confusing in other books about AA( a lot about her claim with the little details, languages, memories, who she "recognized" from her past and when, was confusing precisely because it didn't add up to a coherent whole), and that clearly shows she never could have been Anastasia, and why.It seems to be the last word on the subject to me.Then again, the meaning of Anastasia's name was Resurrection, a name that fitted AA as well (even though her real name was the more prosaic Franziska).

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Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Upcoming Books in 2012

« on: October 10, 2011, 11:26:58 PM »

Virginia Rounding's book on Catherine the Great a few years ago was really good and interesting(and it was on a subject that had tons in print already), so I'm sure this one will be as well.

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Having Fun! / Re: What do you think/feel about your obsession?

« on: August 28, 2011, 05:12:34 PM »

Everyone has to have a passion! If not, life would be very boring.

Instead of showing people from the past technology, I've always wanted to see how historical figures would react to society nowadays. So much is different. Women and people of all races can do whatever they want, if they put in the effort. You don't normally have to worry about covering your legs or arms down to your elbows when you go out in public. A woman doesn't even have to wear a bra if she doesn't feel like it. I imagine interracial marriage would shock them, not to mention gay marriage!

I always wonder what people of the future would want to show us that we'd find shocking. 

Good post! I think we tend to view the past in an idealized way, those people in long outdated clothes in old photos, beautiful young women who died young, in white dresses who were royalty..it's easy to romanticize the past, because in a lot of the pictures, things look so perfect.People and their feelings often don't change though times do, and society defintely does.Everyone thinks their era is the latest and best, it's hard for us to imagine a century from now, just as it was hard for them.Royalty of the early 20th century though did live a rapidly changing world.I guess I would want historical figures to see that although times change,  and technology and society does, that human emotions and feelings are often the same.It's the connection between us and them.I have a lot of different interests, the Romanovs are one of them.A lot of people think history is boring..but when history becomes about people, rather than just events, that's when it gets interesting.That's why I find the Romanovs and other long dead royalty interesting.Nobody is really dead if they continue to have an impact/ influence.The Romanovs are long dead..but they do continue to matter, as long as they are remembered.Many people no doubt have met on this forum and become friends connected by an interest in long gone royalty, and long past times.In my experience, these friendships can change lives.The living connected by the dead, as it were..that's why it's so important to remember history, because historical figures can have an impact in the here and now.