Ruth Matilda Anderson

Ruth Matilda Anderson was a pioneering American photographer and researcher who spent decades documenting the disappearing traditions of rural Spain for the Hispanic Society Museum & Library. Hired in 1921 by the museum's founder, Archer Milton Huntington, she became the institution's first staff photographer and was promoted to Curator of Photography in 1922.  

Between 1923 and 1930, Anderson went on multiple long, rugged photo expeditions to Spain. Carrying heavy, glass-plate camera equipment—one of which she nicknamed "Leviathan"—she captured a world in transition.

Instead of just photographing old buildings and monuments, Anderson focused on ordinary people. She captured artisans, farmers, markets, and regional festivals.  

Her field trips yielded more than 14,000 photographs. This collection combines scientific care with deep, human sympathy for her subjects.

The Hispanic Society continues to preserve her monumental archive. They are currently working on projects to digitize thousands of her original negatives. This ensures her unique "female gaze" and historic records stay alive for future generations. 

Hikers

 

The Wild Boar of the Chasseurs Ardennais

The deep, dense forests of the Belgian Ardennes are home to one of Europe's most resilient and formidable creatures: the wild boar (Sus scrofa).

Long celebrated as a symbol of untamed strength and endurance, this native beast has staged a spectacular comeback, expanding its footprint across the nation and reinforcing its place in Belgian culture.

Historically confined to the rugged southern Ardennes region, wild boars have successfully reclaimed their old territories. Their population has flourished, even seeing them return to northern Flanders after a half-century absence.

Today, these highly adaptable animals thrive across the country, occasionally wandering out of the deep woods into suburban parks and the outskirts of Brussels, proving just how capable they are of navigating the modern world. While their rapid growth requires careful wildlife management to balance nature and agriculture, the wild boar’s legendary reputation remains entirely untarnished. 

It stands as a revered icon of bravery and relentless spirit. Nowhere is this cultural pride more prominent than in the Belgian Army. The wild boar is the official mascot and beret insignia for the Chasseurs Ardennais, the elite mechanized infantry battalion.

 Renowned for their fierce resistance during World War II, these soldiers adopted the boar to embody the animal's fiercest traits: absolute courage, unyielding resilience, and a refusal to back down when cornered. Just like their mascot, the Chasseurs Ardennais are known for standing their ground against all odds.

Whether roaming the mystical valleys of the Ardennes or inspiring Belgium's finest soldiers on the battlefield, the wild boar remains a proud, powerful symbol of the nation's wild heart.

El Ramuntcho

One of the classic French historical beret manufacturers is El Ramuntcho.  El Ramuntcho occupies an intriguing place. By September 1929, a new industrial beret factory was operating in Bordeaux, near the Caserne Xaintrailles. A contemporary article in La Gironde, entitled “Comment on fabrique un béret Basque”, provides an unusually detailed account of its production.

The factory produced what was described as a medium-sized French beret, marketed under the name El Ramuntcho. The manufacturing process involved knitting, remaillage, fulling, dyeing, steaming, stretching and drying, followed by carding and clipping the felt. Finally, a leather sweatband and silk lining were added.

The name was clearly intended to evoke the Basque Country. By 1930, advertising described it as the “Béret chic El Ramuntcho – Roi des Pays Basques.”

The brand was not merely a local curiosity. El Ramuntcho berets subsequently found their way into military use, including surviving examples associated with French Chasseurs Alpins.

Later labels provide another intriguing clue: some identify El Ramuntcho alongside Hilados Ibéricos, Jamilva/Janyvo and Tolosa, suggesting a later Spanish connection. Exactly how this related to the Bordeaux manufacturer, however, remains uncertain.

For now, El Ramuntcho stands as a fascinating example of the industrialisation -and commercialisation- of the Basque beret in interwar France.

Jacot

An interior crown stamp or label bearing the name JACOT designates a product distributed by one of the most prominent hatters (chapellerie) in the French Basque Country. Jacot was not a manufacturer, but a specialized retailer operating out of Bayonne and Biarritz.

To supply its inventory, Maison Jacot contracted primary Béarnais beret manufacturers, including Laulhère (Oloron-Sainte-Marie) and Blancq-Olibet (Nay). These factories produced high-grade wool berets custom-fitted with Jacot's proprietary interior branding and crests.

Mid-to-late 20th-century berets bearing this label are distinguished by gold-leaf or silk-screened crown markings. The inscriptions typically feature the JACOT trade name alongside location markers (BAYONNE or BIARRITZ) and standard industry certifications such as Pure Laine (Pure Wool) and Garanti Imperméable (Guaranteed Waterproof).

Specific offerings, such as the 1960s Haritza model, featured acetate linings and stitched leather sweatbands. Today, Jacot-labeled berets serve as documented artifacts of Pyrenean commercial headwear distribution. 

The Secret Behind the "Boina Superior" Label

If you have ever come across a vintage Spanish beret featuring a brilliant satin lining and a bold gold star surrounding the words "Boina SUPERIOR," you might wonder who actually made it. While "Superior" sounds like a generic descriptor for high-grade wool, a closer look at the interior detailing reveals a fascinating story of Basque craftsmanship and mid-century retail history.

Despite the prominent Boina Superior branding, this was not an independent mill. The beret itself was manufactured in Tolosa, Spain, by none other than Boinas Elósegui—Spain’s oldest legendary beret maker since 1858. Look closely at the gold geometric star framing the central text: woven repeatedly around the perimeter is the name ELOSEGUI.

Elósegui frequently produced these custom-embroidered, brightly lined berets—often fitted with leather sweatbands (badana)—for major distributors. In this case, attached paper tags reveal these were customized for Germán Gómez, a prominent Spanish wholesale apparel maker (Confeccionista Mayorista). Marked with vintage prices in pesetas (such as 578 Pt) and sized in classic European metrics, these red and green satin-lined models offer a captivating glimpse into Spain’s mid-to-late 20th-century beret trade. 

Boinas Tello 1959 Production

 A 1959 Boletín Oficial del Estado industrial census provides very useful hard numbers.

It lists:

INDUSTRIAS TELLO, S.L.

Fábrica de boinas, gorros y sombreros

Offices and factory: Plaza de Lanuza 3, Zaragoza

The registered production figures were:

Product	Normal production	Capacity
Men's, women's and children's berets	192,000/year	225,000/year
Cloth military and uniform caps	200,000/year	600,000/year
Cloth hats	100,000/year	200,000/year
Felt hats	25,000/year	50,000/year
Caps	50,000/year	75,000/year
Various models	3,000/year	5,000/year

Neptuno

NEPTUNO was the name given to a distinctive waterproofed beret produced by Industrias Tello of Zaragoza, one of the Spain's substantial beret manufacturers during the 20th century.

The Tello business can be traced back to Ramón Tello Vicente, whose beret-making activities are documented as early as 1914. By the 1930s the company had its own factory in Zaragoza, and by the 1950s it had developed into a sizeable industrial manufacturer of berets.

The earliest firm evidence for the NEPTUNO name dates from 1951. A contemporary Spanish publication described Ramón Tello as the manufacturer of the “famous waterproofed beret, brand NEPTUNO”. Advertising promoted it as “Impermeabilizada – Patentada” — waterproofed and patented. Tello later described itself as the “creator of the NEPTUNO waterproofed beret.”

The precise waterproofing process remains unclear, although a contemporary account describes its manufacture as involving no fewer than 32 operations.

NEPTUNO was clearly more than a generic description: it was a proprietary Tello product, identifiable by labels bearing INDUSTRIAS TELLO – ZARAGOZA / NEPTUNO / IMPERMEABILIZADA.

Military examples survive, but NEPTUNO's significance lies in its place within Spain's largely forgotten history of industrial beret manufacture. 

Ruben Adalyan

Ruben Adalyan (1929 – 2019) was a pioneering Armenian modernist artist, widely celebrated for breaking away from Soviet socialist realism to push the boundaries of experimental art. 

Over a prolific career spanning painting, sculpture, and graphic art, he introduced a bold blend of surrealism, cubism, and expressionism to post-war Armenian culture. He was recognized with top national honours, including the titles of Honored Artist (1972) and People's Artist of Armenia (1990).

Django Reinhardt

The dog’s name is Django Reinhardt, just in case you were wondering. .
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Stepan Ganzha (1942-2024) was a Ukrainian artist, master of artistic weaving, poet. Studied at the choreographic studio of P. Virsky (1963-64). Soloist of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Kyiv Military District (1964–66), the State Honored Ukrainian Folk Choir named after G. Veryovka (1966–84). Participant of regional and all-Ukrainian art exhibitions (since 1988). Member of the National Museum of Ukrainian National Music and Dramatic Arts (1991). Winner of the S. Kolos Art Prize. Laureate of the D. Shcherbakivsky Prize (2002). Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine (2004). Laureate of the K. Bilokur Prize (2005). Laureate of the National Prize named after T. Shevchenko (2010). The works are kept in the M. Hrushevsky Historical and Memorial Museum, the Hetmanate Museum, the Vinnytsia Regional Museum of Local Lore, the Directorate of Exhibitions of the National Union of Ukrainian Artists, and other museum and private collections in Ukraine and abroad.

Anton Agius

Anton Agius (1933 –2008) was a prominent Maltese sculptor, widely celebrated as Malta's "national sculptor".

Born in Rabat, he became famous for creating an extensive array of public monuments that commemorate the social, cultural, and political history of Malta.

His artistic style fluidly bridged the gap between raw avant-garde abstraction and highly communicative figurative representation.

Agius was known for his highly expressive, semi-abstract works carved from discarded trees to "rekindle their dignity," often merging human forms with natural elements.

He also created extensive collections of church interior art, postage stamps, ceramics, and mixed-media drawings.

At Washington Square Park

At Washington Square Park, New York:

Antoine Bruy - Scrublands

While city dwellers often dream of a life unplugged from the density, noise, and pressures of modern living, few are able or willing to cut ties with the convenience it affords. In his series, Scrublands, French artist Antoine Bruy draws focus on the lives of people who have chosen to leave behind the commotion of urban living in search of a more simple and self-sufficient life.

Between 2010 and 2015, Bruy travelled throughout Europe and the United States in search of those who have embraced an off-grid lifestyle, far from the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot or grocery store. Using the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) network to locate individuals and communities practicing subsistence farming and using renewable energy sources, Bruy visited people living in remote areas ranging from the Carpathian Mountains in Romania to the Rockies in Colorado. Often staying with his subjects for weeks or months at a time, he takes part in their way of life—helping with the work and responsibilities necessary to live off-grid. Using a medium format film camera, Bruy documents his encounters, offering a glimpse into a world of ingenuity, isolation, and wilderness. 

Brought together, the images in Scrublands meditate on the experiences of those who have chosen to trade a life of industrialized comfort for one of solitude and autonomy.