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  1940s handmade crepe dress.

  $140.00 or best offer

  Handmade vintage dress in pink. Embellished shoulders and pockets. Some staining to neckline and back. Clean, except for the stains, and barely musty.

  It was a perfect shade of pink. Not much blue in it, almost salmon, but dusty. Evocative of the depressed outskirts of Toronto between the railroad and the lakeshore. Mimico, Woodbine, the small bungalows on smaller streets. The love seats and wreaths at Christmastime. Ornaments made of yarn, Popsicle sticks, and Life Savers. She saw lunch with his family, at the Belvedere. She’d be a little late, take her camel coat off to reveal the dress, a flute of champagne with orange juice. They’d like her. They’d hope to see more of her.

  1940s silk velvet dress.

  $199.99 or best offer

  Bias-cut black velvet dress with princess sleeves, some staining, damage to back, and some odor. No label. In fair condition for its age.

  She studied the sleeves. Her arms in this should be long, white, even, like stalks of cut tulips. Otherwise it would fit. She’d weave between the tables, past the low benches of the bar, the stained glass, the curtained door. She’d ask for a cigarette, a match. She’d cross her arms over her chest to smoke; she’d shiver.

  1940s silk peplum jacket.

  $99.99 or best offer

  Button-up black-and-white print jacket with peplum, high collar, puff sleeves. Some staining and wear to back and some musty odor. No label. Fair condition for its age. As is.

  A meeting at the V&A Museum, London, then afterward, walking through the halls. She paused in front of a skirt grip in the silver galleries, in front of an Omega Workshops teapot in the ceramics gallery, and a Dior dress in the costume galleries. There were no other visitors in her mind, just her, the collection, the marble floors, the sound of her boot heels on the marble. The sitter would be expecting her, but she’d be fifteen, thirty minutes late, endure the scolding glance and huff, grateful for the prolonged solitude.

  Lorna Alma Rossetti in 1930. Rossetti died giving birth to her second child in 1932 and was buried in the Cimitero San Filippo. Her remains were exhumed and stored in the cemetery ossuary in 1950.

  Sirena de Gali, in Calle Domenica, Venice. The shop website states: Sirena is an amazing repository for all that is vintage, housing an extensive collection of clothing, accessories, textiles, jewelry, and millinery. Our men’s shop is famous for its variety. Clothing dates from the late 1800s through the 1990s and is in various conditions. Sirena is not a consignment shop, and we don’t carry any sweats, T-shirts, or denim. Visit us often, new arrivals weekly.

  c. 1970s Arnold Scaasi blue silk dress.

  $250.00 or best offer

  Floor-length long-sleeved dress, with ruching and bow detail at hip. Some odor, some staining to silk. In fair condition for its age.

  Table 10, Markdale benefit. The former ballet principal is seated next to her. His hair is still dark. He asks her about her work, family, where she grew up. His left leg touches hers, a thigh like a melon. He moves, places a foot upon a rung of her chair. He remains like this as they eat. She knocks her red wine into her lap; he dabs at her leg. As he leans in, she can smell his shampoo. He asks her for her place card. Two decades later, in hospital, she tells her daughter about the dinner, about him.

  1960s chiffon minidress.

  $299.99 or best offer

  White dress with black polka dots, bodice lined in silk, with boning and two petticoats. Some discoloration to back of dress and some odor. No label, probably handmade. In good condition for its age.

  Could she wear it, for the garden party? David will be there. And Shelley, for Christ’s sake. Right size, a little short, but cheerful. He’d notice her.

  Lorna Alma Rossetti’s great-granddaughter Lina Beccaro, a fashion stylist living in Milan.

  The handmade dress Lina Beccaro purchased online from Sirena de Gali. Beccaro’s grandmother Gioconda saw the dress on Lina and asked her where she had found it. She told her daughter she was positive it had belonged to her mother, Lorna Alma Rossetti, and that she had seen photographs of her wearing it in her casket.

  1970s white crepe dress.

  $184.99 or best offer

  Handmade dress with bishop sleeves and brown rickrack trim. Two long tears at neck. This dress is delicate but could be displayed nicely.

  She’d cried when she opened the package at Christmas. Her mother had made a version of the dress she saw in the magazine. But it was all wrong. Her tears betrayed her hatred of their house, her stepfather. Her tears were hot, and they stung. Through them she saw her mother’s face was dark red, with a sad expression. She knew her mother had made it so she could look like the rest of them; she’d sewn it at night. This made her cry harder and feel deep love, and shame.

  1940s navy wool crepe dress.

  $184.99 or best offer

  Handmade dress with pleated bodice. Bias-cut skirt. This dress is in delicate condition with some wear to the back.

  When Frank came home she knew. About the other woman, but not about the children. Twins. He sat on her bed, after his bath. Took both her hands in his. Her stomach lurched. I’m sorry, he said. He had a ring in his hand; he pushed it onto her finger. I love you. She cried then, and he held her. She let him. He told her he would not contact her, or them, again. She believed him. She went to his bed only once more. When he went overseas again she told his sister. She was her friend.

  Shop owners Stefano and Rebecca Iaffaldano, who began the business out of their home in 2001. In addition to the shop and the online market, Sirena’s revenue comes from supplying schools, fashion houses, and theatrical costume departments with archival pieces for study and reconstruction. In 2013, it was voted “Best Vintage Clothing Store” in an italia_vintage.com internet poll.

  Italian stage and film actress Giulia Signorelli in dresses purchased from the shop.

  1950s silk chiffon dress.

  $199.99 or best offer

  Black-and-pink chintz-patterned silk chiffon dress from 1954. Some odor and staining to back and shoulders. Sold as is. It is wearable with these flaws or can be used for inspiration or craft.

  She reread the letter. And read it again before putting it on the fire.

  1960s hand-sewn wool pinstripe suit.

  $210.00 or best offer

  Woman’s suit. Small size, navy pinstripe, from 1969. Lined with navy cotton, with some staining to back. In fair condition for its age.

  In court she will project professionalism, sobriety, conventionality. Her posture will be straight; her lipstick will be perfect. She is the mother. She was the mother. She is the mother.

  1970s handmade navy crepe dress.

  $160.00 or best offer

  Navy blue handmade dress. Layered yoke collar. Belt missing. Some staining to neck and back. Best for restoration or display, though could be worn with care.

  Thanks for coming, thank you. It’s good to see you, I wish it were not under these circumstances. Thank you. Thank you for your words. I miss him. You must miss him. Thank you. Please have some food.

  1950s handmade bib-front dickie.

  $100.00 or best offer

  Pink silk with black polka dots. Ruffle collar. In good condition for its age.

  Her favorite color was pink. All her life.

  Elisabetta Mondinori and her sister Vittoria Passera in a photo taken in 1880. Mondinori was buried in the Cimitero San Filippo in 1885. Her remains were exhumed and stored in the ossuary in 2010.

  A photo taken in 1961 of Susanna Vecchio. Vecchio was buried in the Cimitero San Filippo in 1975. Her remains were exhumed and stored in the ossuary in 1999.

  Carla Bottola in a photo taken in 1952. Bottola was buried in the Cimitero San Filippo in 1999. Her remains were exhumed and stored in the ossuary in 2011.
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  Sofia Benedetti in a photo taken in 1930. Benedetti was buried in the Cimitero San Filippo in 1991. Her remains were exhumed and stored in the ossuary in 2017.

  FREE SHIPPING 1920s bias-cut lacework . . .

  FREE SHIPPING Vintage Edwardian velvet . . .

  FREE SHIPPING 1970s handmade vintage . . .

  FREE SHIPPING Antique gold lamé collar on . . .

  FREE SHIPPING Vintage Spanish lace flutter . . .

  FREE SHIPPING 1930s cold-rayon dress good . . .

  FREE SHIPPING 1930s silk day dress high- . . .

  FREE SHIPPING Vintage 1960s boxy linen . . .

  FREE SHIPPING Heavy vintage quilted skirt . . .

  FREE SHIPPING Cotton embroidered jacket . . .

  EQALUSSUAQ

  THE GREENLAND SHARK is an inhabitant of the deep North Pole seas. However, every once in a while, it is seen in Dutch waters. Greenland shark meat is toxic and can be consumed only when prepared in a special way. The skin of this shark is used to bind books. Greenland sharks are omnivores. Scientists have found in their stomachs the remains of reindeer, dogs, cats, and even a polar bear. These animals were probably already dead when the sharks consumed them.

  Food and wine suggestions for boat, Dec. 28 to Jan. 4. Breakfast—Basic service should include: fresh fruit plate, emphasizing locally grown fruit / yogurt (local Caribbean) / selection of breakfast cereals, including granola / multigrain bread and/or baguette / freshly squeezed fruit juice (orange/grapefruit) / various jams and honey / tea (caffeinated and non) / coffee, both filtered and espresso / latte / milk, including low-fat milk. Guests should also be offered a cooked breakfast (eggs and bacon) each morning.

  Lunches should consist of three or four dishes brought to the table for guests to help themselves. There might be one hot dish; the remainder should be salad-based. Lunch dishes might include: Grilled fish or chicken, as fillet or en brochette. Pissaladière or similar (not quiche) / Hot pasta with homemade sauce (e.g., tomato and basil; garlic and olive oil; other vegetable sauces). This option probably only served once during the week. Also, please note: we do not care for cold pasta salads. / Salade Niçoise / Asian chicken salad / Vietnamese beef salad / Grilled vegetables / Various green salads, including chopped salads / Tomato and mozzarella / Bean salad (haricots or legume) / Spanish tortilla / Beet salad, avocado salad, etc. / Ideas/flavors from Turkey, Greece, or Spain, as well as the Caribbean, would all be appreciated. / For dessert at lunch, fresh fruit is preferred. Melon and watermelon, and whatever is in season.

  The Greenland shark is hunted primarily for its liver. It is caught on a hook baited with seal fat or half-decaying horseflesh. The flesh of the shark when fresh is indigestible and unwholesome: when dried it has a flavor like that of old cheese. It is usually prepared as food by a process of fermentation, the flesh being buried in the ground. When fermented the meat is slimy and jelly-like.

  —The News, Newport, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1896

  CRUSTACEANS CALLED COPEPODS cling to and scrape the eye of the Greenland shark. The resulting scarring on the cornea diminishes the shark’s eyesight and eventually blinds it. Any use the parasite might provide to the shark is unknown.

  Before dinner: At cocktail hour, a varying plate of charcuterie would be ideal. Prosciutto, salami, a selection of hard and soft cheeses, olives, peanuts, pistachios, potato chips, and vegetable crudités would all be fine. An occasional hot hors d’oeuvre, such as grilled sausages, would also be well received. Complicated cocktail party canapés are not our style, so please don’t devote time to them!

  Dinner: If the chef would like to surprise us, the dinner appetizer would be the time. Small plates of interesting, concentrated flavor, making use of local ingredients, would be welcomed. For the main course, we would favor fish/shellfish and chicken over beef and lamb (perhaps a total of two red meat dinners only). In terms of style of cuisine, we would prefer French-Caribbean preparations or contemporary Italian (the River Café restaurant and cookbooks could be a good source). In general, we would not want heavy, cream-based sauces or Iron Chef–style meals marrying too many flavors. This also holds true with presentation: please keep it simple! Fresh cooked vegetables with every meal, please. Local, specifically Caribbean, vegetables very welcome. Potatoes are welcome, but seasoned rice dishes may be better for many nights. Desserts should be modestly sized and simple most nights, and Caribbean recipes would be ideal (though not the very sugar-intensive ones, please!).

  “Dad used to say to me that sharks’ flesh has a hard time dying. The shark can be rotten, even sticky rotten, and when you touch the skin or the meat it still moves. You know, it is still alive but it is rotten.”

  —Inuit quoted in Carlos Julián Idrobo and Fikret Berkes, “Pangnirtung Inuit and the Greenland Shark: Co-producing Knowledge of a Little Discussed Species,” Human Ecology, June 2012

  BENTHIC COPEPODS POSSESS mouths perfectly adapted for scraping and eating the bacteria that grow on organic detritus. Other copepods, found in plankton-rich cold water, feed in the spring and summer months, consuming more than half the volumes of their bodies. Most copepods, though, like fish lice, feed on their hosts.

  Drinks: The usual assortment of soft drinks—tonic, Coke, Diet Coke, ginger ale—plus flat and carbonated water (Badoit, if available). If the Caribbean grapefruit soda called Ting is available, please also include. Plus: Fresh coconut water, fresh limeade/lemonade.

  Dead but still eating: Some of our selachian members may be members of the order of Greenland sharks, which are big but cowardly. They feed on dead whales, tearing great mouthfuls out of their carcasses, but they never attack the whalers, though the latter are not slow to prod them with their lances; it is said that they will go on gorging themselves with blubber long after they have received a mortal wound, and when, if they had any sense, they would know that they were dead.

  —New-York Tribune, December 12, 1897

  Alcohol: Premium vodka, light and dark rums, gin (Hendrick’s, if possible), whiskey/dry vermouth and olives for martinis. Caribbean cocktails: ingredients for Rum Punch/Planter’s Punch; sweetened fresh lime juice for Rum Collins/Tom Collins and Vodka Gimlets; pineapple and orange juices; grenadine; Angostura bitters. Wine: Three white wines should be available. One case of each of the following: Spanish Albariño; Italian Pinot Grigio; South African or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Two cases of a good-quality French Provençal Rosé (Domaines Ott would be preferred). One case of red Pinot Noir, Napa or Oregon origin. N.B. If you have a supplier’s wine list, please forward to us to choose from.

  A Norwegian Antarctic explorer, H. J. Bull, gave a startling report of a shark’s tenacity of life. This man-eater was caught at the Iceland cod fishery: his liver, heart, and internal arrangements were removed, so as to put a period to his career, and the thus mutilated body was then cast into the sea. He simply gave a leisurely wag of his tail and swam rapidly out of sight.

  —The Tampa Tribune, October 8, 1911

  NATURA MORTA

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  THE ICEBERG AS VIEWED BY EYEWITNESSES

  ILLUSTRATIONS

  Plates

  I. Joseph Scarrott, an able-bodied seaman aboard the Titanic, sees the berg not more than one hundred yards off the starboard beam after the collision.

  II. A photograph of what was believed to be the iceberg that sank the Titanic, captured
by Czech sailor Stephan Rehorek from aboard the German cruise ship SS Bremen, on 20 April 1912.

  III. Titanic iceberg.

  IV. The iceberg that sank the Titanic.

  V. A view of the iceberg believed to be the one the Titanic hit, from aboard the Carpathia.

  VI. George Rheims, a Titanic passenger, steps out of A deck bathroom forward and looks aft as the berg slides by.