Welcome to Torture Garden

Looking for something different from your middle of the road woolen beret? Torture Garden (or TG) is a fetish club in London, UK. The club started in 1990 and is now Europe's largest fetish club, featuring monthly at the Mass Club in the converted St. Matthews Church, Brixton. It features dance floors, musical acts, performance art, fashion shows, and an S&M 'dungeon'.

Initially threatened with closure by the police, it is now described as "legendary" and "a capital institution" by Time Out magazine. It has also been described as "a combination of a fetish, S/M, body art, Modern Primitives, straight, gay, performance art, body ritual, fashion, techno/industrial/atmospheric music, multimedia, and cyberspace club"

And the House of Harlot Shop offers some fantastic latex berets!

Berets from Utica, NY

An ad in The American Hatter of 1917. Looking for more information on Mcloughlin of Utica, NY, all I could find was this web site and yes, they do still make berets in Utica!

Ship Christening - USA, 1920

Another picture sent to me by Peter from Germany. The only information provided: 'USA 1920'.

The ceremony of christening new ships began in the distant past, and we know that Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians all held ceremonies to ask the gods to protect sailors. 
By the 1800s the christenings of ships began to follow a familiar pattern. A “christening fluid” would be poured against the bow of the ship, though it was not necessarily wine or champagne. There are accounts in the US Navy records of 19th century warships being christened with water from significant American rivers. 
The christening of ships became great public events, with large crowds assembled to witness the ceremony. And it became standard for champagne, as the most elite of wines, to be used for the christening. 
The tradition developed that a female would do the honours and be named the sponsor of the ship. And maritime superstition held that a ship that wasn't properly christened would be considered unlucky. A champagne bottle that didn't break was a particularly bad omen.

A Beret in Nikolski Bay

The village of Nikolski is a small, traditional Unangan community located on Nikolski Bay on the southwest end of Umnak Island. Nikolski is approximately 116 miles west of Unalaska and 900 miles southwest of Anchorage. Umnak Island consists of two volcanic peaks and old lava flows and ash falls. The topography where the community is located is a gently rolling plain with elevations reaching 500 feet north of the village. Vegetation in the vicinity of the village is primarily Arctic/alpine tundra and grasses that are typical of the Aleutian Islands Chain.

Nikolski, at Nikolski Bay

Why all this information? I had this picture (below) sent to me by a German reader (thanks, Peter) and apart from the accompanying text, I had no clue what it is about, but I certainly like the photograph.

Laurel and Hardy

Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular comedy teams of the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. Composed of thin, English-born Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and heavy, American-born Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) they became well known during the late 1920s to the mid-1940s for their work in motion pictures; the team also appeared on stage throughout America and Europe.

One of the most memorable (and frequently expressed) phrases by Stan and Ollie is: "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!"

Not well known for their beret wearing, but they certainly did.

Street Photography #2

This great picture -above- I found in the book The Sartorialist, by blogger and fashion and street photographer Scott Schuman. It's a new phenomenon for me, street photography, and I love it. No text needed - photographs of people of whom you can make up your own story.
Schuman's blog was selected as one of Time Magazine's Top 100 design influencers. 

I found two more good beret pic's on The Sartorialist. Highly recommended!

NSFK Balloon Pilot's Beret

All German aviation organizations came under the control of the NSFK in April 1937. The NSFK was a Nazi Party controlled paramilitary aviation organization that offered aviation training to future airmen of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and provided the general German public with air education during the Third Reich (1933-1945). 

 This black and gray wool beret is a non-regulation type of headgear worn by a NSFK balloon pilot.  The front badge, constructed from embroidered silver wire on a blue wool backing, consists of a hot-air balloon with a winged swastika superimposed over the envelope portion of the balloon, all enclosed in an oak leaf wreath.  The badge signified a balloon pilot's qualification. 

The size of the beret suggests it was worn by a youth, likely a teenager, that received his balloon pilot's certification and saw fit to adorn this beret with the qualification badge.  In fact, the NSFK intended the badge to be placed on the left breast pocket of the uniform.  With the beret is another balloonist insignia.  This distinct copper pin, stamped by the Swiss company Huguenin Freres, represents the Aero-Club der Schweiz (Aero Club of Switzerland) and includes the initials AeCS on a balloon with a single wing extending to the left.  

The AeCS is a national aviation association still in existence today that has sponsored air sporting events and provided aviation education and training in Switzerland since 1910, including hot-air balloon training.

Photographs ©WHRC

South Pacific Berets Expansion

From today, South Pacific's own berets are also available in 29cm/11.5" with all the characteristics of it's larger brother, for the introductory price of $25.00.

Sylvester Stalone

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (1946), nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, and film director. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed include boxer Rocky Balboa and soldier John Rambo. The Rocky and Rambo franchises, along with several other films, strengthened his reputation as an actor and his box office earnings.

Sylvester Stallone was born in New York City, the son of Frank Stallone, Sr., an Italian immigrant hairdresser, and Jackie Stallone (born Jacqueline Labofish), an astrologer, former dancer, and promoter of women's wrestling. He is the brother of actor and musician Frank Stallone. Stallone's father was born in Gioia del Colle, Puglia and emigrated to the United States as a child, while Stallone's mother was of Russian Jewish and French descent.

Complications his mother suffered during labor forced her obstetricians to use two pairs of forceps during his birth; misuse of these accidentally severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of Stallone's face. As a result, the lower left side of his face is paralyzed, including parts of his lip, tongue, and chin, an accident which has given Stallone his trademark snarling look and slightly slurred speech. Stallone was baptized and raised Catholic. He spent his first five years in Hell's Kitchen, bouncing between foster homes while his parents endured a loud, troubled marriage. Eventually reunited with them, Stallone's odd face made him an outcast in school, where he was often suspended for fighting, other behavior problems, and poor grades. His father, a beautician, moved the family to Washington DC, where he opened a beauty school. 

Stallone is a longtime Republican supporter who publicly endorsed Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, as well as a promoter of tobacco products (Stalone was paid a total of $500,000for using and smoking B&W products in his films).

Alexander Rich

Alexander Rich, MD (1924) is a biologist and biophysicist. He is the William Thompson Sedgwick Professor of Biophysics at MIT (since 1958) and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rich earned both an A.B. (magna cum laude) and an M.D. (cum laude) from Harvard University. He was a post-doc of Linus Pauling along with James Watson. He has over 600 publications to his name.

Rich is the founder of Alkermes and has been its director since 1987. Dr. Rich is Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Repligen Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Profectus BioSciences, Inc. He also serves on the editorial board of Genomics and the Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics.

In 1963, Rich discovered polysomes: clusters of ribosomes which read one strand of mRNA simultaneously.

In 1979, Rich and co-workers at MIT grew a crystal of Z-DNA. This was the first crystal structure of any form of DNA. After 26 years of attempts, Rich et al. finally crystallised the junction box of B- and Z-DNA. Their results were published in an October 2005 Nature journal. Whenever Z-DNA forms, there must be two junction boxes that allow the flip back to the canonical B-form of DNA.

Super Lujo's - Back in Stock!

Yes, the new stock from Spain arrived and Boinas Elósegui's Super Lujo's are back in stock.

Now, also in the smaller 25cm/9.8" diameter.

The standard 29cm/11.5 and 32.5cm/13" are available in both navy and black. 

The Italian Black Brigades

More skulls and crossbones: the Italian Black Brigades:

This is a Repubblica Sociale Italiana (Italian Social Republic), or RSI, beret worn by a member of the Black Brigades (1943-1945). 

The beret is made from black wool and features a large metal “smiling” skull with crossbones. On the top of the beret is a small black knot.

This is an Italian beret of the RSI Black Brigades during the latter years of World War II (picture below). 

The RSI encompassed the remnant of Northern Italy still under fascist control and occupied by the German army in 1943.  The Black Brigades were formed as a paramilitary force to support the RSI and the fascists. On the front of this black beret is the skull and crossbones metal insignia of the Black Brigades surrounded by a gold embroidered bullion wreath. A bullion star is also sewn on the beret.  

Photographs ©WHRC

The Condor Legion

Sure, I have posted about berets used by the Nazi's before, but up till now, I had no idea that the infamous Condor Legion used "Spanish style" boinas for their uniform.

 From Jill Halcomb Smith and Wilhelm P.B.R. Saris, Headgear of Hitler’s Germany, vol. 2, Waffen-SS, Legion Condor, Air, Veterans’ & Patriotic Struggle Organizations, Free Corps (San Jose, CA: R. James Bender Publishing, 1992):

"From 1936 to 1939 the German Wehrmacht (Armed Forces) committed air and ground forces to assist the Spanish Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. This beret was worn by soldiers attached to the German Panzergruppe "Drohne," which was primarily a training group that mentored their Spanish allies in tank warfare. The beret is made from black wool in the Spanish style. It features a metal totenkopf (death's head) and swastika badges on the front."

I don't think the skull and crossbones, or the swastika for that matter, were needed to identify what the wearer was and intended...
And for the record: wasn't it Condor Legion Luftwaffe pilot Horst who killed Antoine de Saint-Exupéry...?

Photographs ©WHRC

The India Series #4 - Marine Commandos

No, generally I don't write about all these different regiments, units, squadrons and whatever that have their own distinctive beret and paraphernalia, but these photographs of the Indian MARCOS, or Marine Commando's, very much reminded me of the Chasseurs Alpins (and you all know how important they were in the coming of age of the beret!). 
I couldn't find any information on why this unit has this very wide beret and any information would be very welcome.

The force started off as the Indian Marine Special Force, the first batch qualifying in February 1987. It was later renamed as the Marine Commando Force (MCF) in 1991. The force has acquired a reputation for its tough professionalism over the two decades it has been in existence. Now it is considered amongst the finest maritime special forces in the world and one of the few units qualified to jump in the water with a full combat load.

The force was initially trained by the other special forces of the country, including those under the Home Ministry, the Army, Air Force, Police and paramilitary units. This was later supplemented by foreign training facilities, notably the SEALS of the U.S. Navy and further training was conducted with the British Special Forces. Over the years, the force set up its own training facility, first as an adjunct of the operational company at Mumbai, later as the Naval Special Warfare Tactical Training Centre. Wide exposure to different forms of warfare have been obtained through field operations in counter insurgency and anti terrorist operations within the country, and joint exercises with more than a dozen countries across the world.
(Note the beard: standard wear as to facilitate infiltration in Pakistan and/or Kashmir.)

The Completely New On-Line Store of South Pacific Berets!

Together with the introduction of South Pacific Berets' very own berets, I am happy to announce the completely new web site of South Pacific Berets. Better overview, easier ordering (all prices include international air mail postage and handling) and more specific information on the various berets, sizes, flight, material, the making of Basque berets, etc., etc. 

And then, of course, our own berets. The start of a range of affordable, quality berets in pure wool, with lining and carrying the embroidered South Pacific Berets - label. 
Listening to customers who found that some berets are too tight for large sized heads, we start with a range of large sized (32cm/12.6") berets with a larger head-opening, best for sizes 69/7 1/4 and up, in Navy, Brown, Maroon and Green, soft and easy to shape - soon to be followed by a similar diameter beret in Black and a range of cotton berets in a large diameter with lining. 

For now, all S.P.B. berets come at a low price of $29.95!

Stereoscopic Photography - 1918

Stereoscopic autochrome (half shown) photograph 

by an unidentified photographer, approx 1.75" x 4.2", circa 1918.

Special cameras with two lenses side-by-side are required to produce the twin images of a stereo photograph. When placed in a special viewer, stereoscopic photographs like this one appear in lifelike 3D. Natural colour adds to the illusion. Autochromes were made in several stereoscopic formats; this size (above) was introduced by the French camera maker Jules Richard in 1905 and was utilized by both amateurs and professionals into the 1930's. 

Coming Up Soon!

G.P. ('Gip') Wells

G.P. Wells (R), Iagor Kazalikashvili (M) and a well-known botanist and 

geneticist Nikolai Vavilov (L) in the mountains of the S.S.R. of Georgia, date unknown

George Philip Wells (1901 – 1985), son of the British science fiction author H. G. Wells, was a zoologist and author. He co-authored, with his father and Julian Huxley, The Science of Life. A pupil at Oundle School, he was in the first class to learn Russian as a modern language in a British school. He accompanied his father to Soviet Russia in 1920, acting as his Russian translator and exchanging ideas with Russian zoology students. He won an entrance Exhibition to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he became Senior Scholar in his first year of residence.

Wells, a comparative physiologist, worked on invertebrates of several phyla. He determined their tolerance for changes in the salinity and the ionic balance of the surrounding water, and analysed the water relations of land gastropods.

For the latter part of his career he was a member of staff in the Zoology Department of University College London, eventually as professor. His range of zoological knowledge was notably wide, and his main research was on the behaviour of the lugworm Arenicola. He determined its habits by elegant experiments, and showed that the rhythm which controls many of its activities arises in the oesophagus. Such spontaneous rhythmic activity was shown to occur in many polychaetes.

He was known to all by his nickname, Gip, and appears by this name in his father's fictional story The Magic Shop. He was elected FRS in 1955.

This photograph is a composite of four, a self-panorama of photographer, beret-aficionado and friend Cliff DeCamp. 

The camera was a Nikon D90 w/24 mm Nikkor lens, shutter speed =1/10 second, f/stop 8.0,  ISO = 400,  Exposure bias value = -1.00,  White balance = Cloudy weather and taken at Thomas Polk Park in Charlotte, NC on January 1st of this year, at a time that most people were still hung-over and asleep.


I find this an amazing picture; some surrealness about that that is hard to capture in words. Thanks, Cliff.

Kenneth Koch

Kenneth Koch (27 February 1925 – 6 July 2002) was an American poet, playwright, and professor, active from the 1950s until his death at age 77. He was a prominent poet of the New York School of poetry, a loose group of poets including Frank O'Hara and John Ashbery that eschewed contemporary introspective poetry in favor of an exuberant, cosmopolitan style that drew major inspiration from travel, painting, and music.

Koch asked in his poem Fresh Air (1956) why poets were writing about dull subjects with dull forms. Modern poetry was solemn, boring, and uneventful. Koch described poems “Written by the men with their eyes on the myth/ And the missus and the midterms…” 
He attacked the idea that poetry should be in any way stale.