Books behind pictures

…Designed in memory of the wedding of grand Duke Michael of Russia with Princess Cecilia of Baden.
The city of Karlsruhe has recently given commission for a piece of art which we would be sorry not to reproduce here. The work is now kept in St. Petersburg; it is a tribute from the city to Princess Olga Feodorovna, Princess Cecilia of Baden, The Grand Duke’s sister, on the occasion of her wedding to Prince Michael of Russia, brother of Emperor Alexander. This composition, very much in the German taste, is the work of two distinguished artists: Mr. Bayer, who did the plaster model, and Mr. Bauer, who made the sculpture, with great skill in the rendering of the various shapes.
Here is the subject: a rider, dressed as a knight of the Middle Ages, rides his palfrey, taking his fiancee with him, under the protection of two angels who accompany him on each side. These words by the psalmist give this kind of kidnapping its …Read more »

HALBERD s. (germ. helmbarte, axe with handle). variety of pole weapon, topped with a long, broad and pointed blade, which is crossed by a second, crescent-shaped one: a halberd blow.
- Encycl. The halberd was a pole weapon made in such a way that the man who carried it could both cut and thrust. It was handled with both hands and it could cut off the head of a horse or that of a man, in spite of the resistance …Read more »