THE ASTON MARTIN DB5 AND SEAN CONNERY

The Aston Martin DB5, had you heard about this super car before? Perhaps the name doesn’t ring a bell for you, however if I were to tell you that it was one of the cars used by Agent 007 that’s another thing. Isn’t that right?

We didn’t want to limit our “Vintage Icons” section to only telling the lives of legendary men and women but also to accommodate all vintage icons of other genres. Due to this, from now on we will publish an article about legendary cars and motorbikes once a month; film pieces that have left their mark on the minds of all motor lovers, and even amongst the minds of the non-lovers!

In order to do this we will count on Angel’s collaboration. He is our expert on watches, barometers and all classes of antique scientific appliances. He is a “handyman” who has spent 20 years in the shadows of Lopez-Linares Antiques. He works from his precision workshop in order to ensure that every one of the pieces sold in our Antique shop maintains the same precision in its new destination as when it was made. He is a watchmaker by profession and by hobby, an expert on motorbikes and cars, a lover of classical cinema, photography and a tireless reader on any kind of technical information, ah, and my brother!!

Angel tells me the history of the Aston Martin as if he had driven it at some point in his life… Not in vain does he tell me that it is “the world’s most famous car”, at least in reference to cinematographic fame.

The Aston Martin DB5 was born in 1964 as an evolution from its smaller brother the DB4 but of a sportier character, with a bigger engine, power assisted double circuit disc brakes and a harder suspension. Furthermore it was equipped with luxuries uncommon to the time: electric windows, a 5 speed gearbox, double fuel tank, a magnesium alloy chassis… and even an extinguisher.

All of this converted the DB5 into a Sports coupé of great international category, to the point of being chosen to be the car of the world’s most famous secret agent: Agent 007. The agent with a license to kill was created by Ian Fleming, and has continued to fill cinema’s box offices all over the world until today. As a result of all this the Aston Martin DB5 has become the most iconic sports car of the British automobile history.

 

The actor who was chosen to drive and enjoy the car: Sean Connery, the one who, according to many, was the best James Bond of all time. He was the detective who chased down Her Majesty’s enemies, the invincible secret agent, the one who conquered the most desired women, and the one who had the privilege of driving the car that so many men would have wished to have as their most prized toy parked in the garage of their house.

Connery was the actor who gave James Bond the air of a tough guy and an adventurer, as well as an elegant and forever seducing nature. Even Ian Fleming, who at the beginning did not quite agree with the chosen lead role as he appeared to him to be “lacking in refinement”, had to admit, after seeing the film that Sean Connery had been magnificent in the role as 007, although he may have preferred actors such as Cary Grant.

His car, of course, could not be any inferior to him. The Aston Martin DB5 was equipped with all types of gadgets: camouflaged machine guns underneath the indicators, three number plates that were changed by the press of a button, foldable blades that appeared from the centre of the wheels (similar to Messala’s chariot in Ben Hur), an anti-bullet shield that opened up behind the rear window, an extractable roof and a driver’s seat with ejection system and parachute in the case of emergency.

The public success, although not from the critics, was spectacular. Perhaps, thanks to the success, the Aston Martin DB5 became a collector’s item whose economic and sentimental value doesn’t stop increasing. Not in vain has the original Aston Martin from both films (and the one that carries all the add-ons that it did in the film) been recently auctioned and sold for the price of 3 million Euros. An amount that has gone to an American Organisation dedicated to combating delinquency.

An appropriate end for a car created to fight against delinquency in a fictitious film, and whose auctioned value ended up being used to defend the Law.

 

Technical Characteristics:

Price: £4175 at the time. Currently the car continues to be made and has an average price of around 300000$. Engine: Six cylinders in-line, 3995 cm3, 382 CV at 5500 rpm.

Transmission: 5 speed gearbox or a Borg-Warner automatic with 3 speeds.

Suspension:

Front: Telescopic shock absorbers.

Rear: Double wishbone with telescopic shock absorbers.

Brakes: Double circuit of assisted brakes with four solid discs.

Maximum speed: 233 km/h (145 mph)

Acceleration from 0 to 100: 7.1 seconds.

Angel found out, through a James Bond fan club, that you can subscribe to a monthly magazine that will send you pieces from the original Aston Martin DB5 model along with it. The funny thing with the model is that all the gadgets that the original car was equipped with actually work.

It looks beautiful. So, if you are one of those that have always dreamt of driving this iconic Sports car, don’t miss out…

http://www.007db5.com/

 

 

The Icon that inspired Marilyn.

Jean Harlow died on the 7th July 1937; the actress was born into the heart of a middle-class American family, daughter of a dentist and of a housewife, she was converted into American cinema’s first “Blonde Bombshell” of the Thirties and an authentic sex symbol, much before Marilyn acquired her world fame.

Jean’s mother was so protective that their mother-daughter relationship was nearly converted into something unhealthy. Following her parent’s divorce, her mother managed to obtain custody over Jean who would not see her father more than once more during her life.

Her mother used to call her “Baby” instead of by her forename. This ended up confusing the young girl so much that she didn’t know her real name until she started school.

Jean was famous for completely ignoring the strict American morals of the period.

 

Some of her most famous sayings:

• “I like to wake up each morning with a different man”

• “I find underwear uncomfortable and besides my female body parts need to breathe”.

• “I am not a born performer; nobody knows that better than I do. I may have hidden talent but I also have to work hard, listen carefully, repeat everything over and over again until I manage to get through a scene”

• “Men like me because I don’t wear bras. Men like me because I don’t seem like a girl who would steal their husband. At least not for long…”

19 curiosities about her short career:

  • At the height of her success, many of her female fans dyed their hair platinum blonde like her, even Howard Hughes organized a competition in which the hairdresser that got the closest to the actress’s tone of blonde would receive a prize of 10,000$.
  • At 21 years of ageHarlowsigned a contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer, after paying Hughes 30,000$. It was at this point thatHarlowbecame a superstar.
  • During the filming of “Red Dust” her second husband, Paul Bern, was found dead in their house, with rumours following that Jean Harlow had murdered him. The MGM executives didn’t take long to resolve the case of his death, assuring thatBern’s death had been a result of suicide, alleging that he had suffered from impotency as the motive. This didn’t harmHarlow’s career in any way, in fact she became even more popular than before.
  • She was idolised by Marilyn Monroe. Curiously, both of them played the lead roles in their respective last films (Saratogaand The Misfits) with Clark Gable.
  • The only colour sequence that exists of Jean Harlow is in her first film “Hell’s Angels”, a drama about the First World War in 1930. A rare and extremely expensive (for its time) eight minute sequence.
  • She was the first actress in cinema to appear on the front cover of “Life” magazine in May 1937, just a month before her sudden death.
  • She always carried two talismans: one chain on her left ankle, which you can see in many of her films, and a dressing table mirror in her dressing room. She would always check her reflection in it before filming.
  • She never wore underwear and always slept naked.
  • She followed a strict diet so as not to put any weight on, on a base of vegetables and salads.
  • She used to put ice on her nipples before filming a scene so that she would appear sexier.
  • She was known as the original “blonde bombshell” much before Marilyn.
  • In 1937 a few days before finishing the filming of “Saratoga” she died of a kidney infection derived from a scarlet fever from which she had suffered when she was a small child and that had nearly taken her life.
  • In order to finish the filming she was substituted by Mary Dees, who was exclusively filmed from behind. Her voice was dubbed by Paula Winslowe. This fact meant that “Saratoga” became the biggest box office success of 1937.
  • The film did not only suffer the calamity of the actress’s death; Lionel Barrymore tripped over a light cable and broke his hip for the second time; this confined him to a wheelchair for 10 years. Following a significant weight loss he was able to walk again, however with many difficulties.
  • Jean’s epitaph simply says “Our Baby”, just as her mother used to call her.
  • She was buried in the gown she wore in the film “Libeled Lady”.
  • The singer Gwen Stefani embodied Jean Harlow in a brief role in “The Aviator” by Martin Scorsese.
  • Following the legend the famous dog “Rin Tin Tin” died in her arms in 1932.
  • The American singer Madonna pays tribute to her, just as she did to other great stars of the time, in the song Vogue 1990.

At Vintage by López-Linares want to dedicate our June Icon to Jean Harlow.

She was Marilyn’s favourite actress, the true icon that inspired her, the one that she copied and admired throughout her likewise short cinematographic career.

So deep was her admiration for her that she was her inspiration during her whole life. I think that this fact helped Marilyn become and stand out as the icon from amongst the others icons.

Sequence from her last film “Saratoga”

In this sequence we can see how the actress Mary Dees substitutes Jean without letting her face be seen.

Images @doctormacro

 

 

 

Maria Eugenia of Montijo, a fine example of a Twenty-first Century Woman in the middle of the Nineteenth Century.

On the 5th May 1826: María Eugenia Palafox Portocarrero and Kirkpatrick, Countess of Teba and better known as Eugenia of Montijo was born in Granada, in the area of ‘la Magdalena’,. She is our “Vintage Icon” for May.

She is the daughter of Cipriano Palafox and Portocarrero, ‘Grande de España’, and of Maria Manuela Kirkpatrick and Grevigné, the granddaughter of the fourth Countess of Montijo, Maria Francisca of Sales Portocarrero.

An inheritance distances Eugenia from her natalGranadaand drives her into the world of wealth and privilege that her mother had always dreamed of for her daughters. It is in 1830 when her family inherits the Montijo title for which they are known, and move toMadrid.

Maria Eugenia was a beautiful, cosmopolitan and passionate young girl, being due to this thatSpain’s “best catches” fell at her feet. All apart from the only one she loved, the Duke of Alba, who preferred her sister Paca, who was nearly as beautiful as her but more sensible and mature, and managed to capture him ending in their marriage in 1845.

Maria Eugenia of Montijo and her sister Francisca

Hurt by her own love, Eugenia sets herself up to conquest the proud Napoleon III and capture the Imperial crown ofFrance. In order to do this she moves to France with her mother, a tremendously ambitious woman.

They say that she managed to conquest the Emperor in her bid to conserve her virginity, and his desire to be the first to take it. The Emperor asked Maria Eugenia “the way to her bedroom” she answered decidedly: “By passing through the chapel, sire”. This was how she managed to capture the Empress’ Crown and become one of the most influential women of her time.

 

The chronicles say that the Emperor was already unfaithful to her during the honeymoon; however it seems that it didn’t really matter to her. She wasn’t all that in love with him; she married him in order to gain the power and status that would convert her into the Empress of France.

Maria Eugenia didn’t waste any time during her days inFrance, she contributed greatly in convertingParisinto the City ofLight. Amongst other things she also promoted the city’s drainage works. She was an amazingly advanced woman for her time, she fought for women’s rights, succeeding in the Legion of Honour being rewarded for the first time to a woman and she advocated for women’s suffrage. She financed the opening of theSuez Canalat an international level and supported Luis Pasteur’s investigations, those which would lead to the discovery of the vaccine against rabies…In other words, a fine example of a Twenty-first century woman found in the mid Nineteenth century.

A tremendously coquettish and vain woman, she discovered the Genius fashion designer Worth and dictated the fashion during decades. She designed the crinoline, the perfume, the ‘Chatone’ necklaces and the make-up.

 

In 1870 following the collapse of the Second Empire she moved toEngland, this was where her husband would pass away three years later. After his death, the Empress did not keep up her efforts to create a political party or gain sufficient support for her son to get the French throne back. Her labours were in vain. In 1879 the Prince died fighting forEngland. The Empress was broken hearted but would still outlive her son by 40 years, dying finally inMadridin 1920 at 94 years of age.

Maria Eugenia of Montijo is buried in the Imperial crypt together with her husband and son.

 

 

In her will she named her inheritor to be Hernando Stuart Fizt James and Falcó, the brother of the Duke of Alba, Count of Montijo and Duke of Peñaranda.

Currently thecountyofMontijois found in the possession of Jacobo Hernando Fitz-James Stuart and Gómez, the grandson of an uncle to the current Duchess of Alba.

There are two interesting books written about the Empress’ life:

“La pasión Imperial” by Pilar Eyre, and “Eugenia de Montijo” by Genevieve Chauvel.

Finally I will leave you a link to a stunning report about Maria Eugenia’s palaces, who the French call “The Marie Antoinette of the Third Empire”. It is in French but the images are so pretty that it is worth watching.

 

 

Luise Rainer, a Rebel in Hollywood.

There were two years that marked her life, 1936 and 1937. During them she received awards from the Oscars Academy for best supporting actress in “The Great Ziegfeld” and “The Good Earth”. The actress, German by birth, American by adoption and English at heart, has spent more years out of the focus of Hollywood cameras that on set.

She was the first actress in history who managed to win two consecutive Oscars, an achievement that only Katherine Hepburn equalled and the only German actress to accomplish it. However, she is more popularly known for being the actress that managed to steal the Oscar from Greta Garbo for her magnificent Margarita in “Camille”, instead of for her own successes.

They say that Luise Rainer won the Oscar in “The Great Ziegfeld” for this scene:

[iframe width=”450″ height=”274″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/cJEpszcDyqQ”]


Luise was born in Dusseldorf on the 2nd of January 1910, which means that surprisingly she is 102 years old this year, a fact that converts her into the oldest prizewinning actress with an Oscar. Discovered at barely 19 years of age, when she worked in a play in Vienna, by an MGM talent spotter, she signed a 7 year contract with the American producer yet didn’t manage to fulfil it. She worked for MGM during hardly four years, between 1935 and 1939, managing to win two Oscars in that short period of time, a total achievement that no other actress has managed. 

Luise Rainer isn’t the type of actress easy to find. She is from the same line as Hepburn and Garbo, another two great actresses who challenged the complicated world of Hollywood. Rainer hated publicity as much, or even more, than Garbo and her rebellious and non-conventional personality was very similar to Katherine Hepburn’s. To this she united her inability to adapt to the Hollywood rules. She used to go out on the street casually dressed and without any make up; she was also reluctant to attend parties and big events.

It is for these reasons that MGM undid themselves of her within a short period f time; or rather she undid herself of MGM. She swapped Hollywood for Broadway and returned to the theatre. However in 1945 she once again found herself living in Europe and she has now been living in Eaton Square in London for 50 years, in an apartment that once belonged to Vivien Leigh and in which one can breathe an authentic English air. 

Her last public appearance was in Berlin in October 2011, in a tribute that was made for her and in which they awarded her a star in a new “Boulevard of Stars”, similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which they have inaugurated in the cited city. 

Her face was able to transmit a playful beauty, with moving eyes and full lips, a face capable of stopping the beating heart.

Luise Rainer once said: “An Oscar isn’t a curse. The curse is that you win an Oscar and think you can do whatever you want.”

Our March “Vintage Icon” is a true Hollywood rebel, who walked down the red carpet like an authentic star 75 years ago. 

Sarah Jessica Steps up to the Task

Today S Moda has been brought out, the new weekly magazine that accompanies the newspaper ‘EL PAÍS’ every Saturday and conceived as a publication that is focused principally on the female public. It is edited by Condé Nast (editor of high-end magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair or Glamour) and ‘EL PAÍS’ editions, it will be directed by Oscar Becerra and the editorial management will be headed by Empar Prieto.

Once you have it in your hands, you will become aware of the journalistic quality and the new publication’s careful photographic editing, which is born with declarations of intentions such as: “To understand fashion as a way of seeing things, with all the social and cultural richness that it is capable of transmitting, and as a live thermometer of our time”. It will be easy to be able to connect directly with its readers, and we are sure that it will successfully become a benchmark in all the beauty, fashion, travel, decoration and cinema trends…

We have experienced this birth in real life thanks to the inestimable collaboration with Isabel Moralejo, stylist and fashion director of S Moda.

Isabel’s work is impressive! I leave you here a link to her website; it is truly worth having a look at:

Isabel Moralejo

Isabel came to see us in August, whilst looking for some typical Spanish pieces for a style they were preparing in New York. Our surprise was enormous when we found out that the styling was for S Moda’s launch, and with Sarah Jessica Parker her very self as the front cover’s protagonist of the inaugural number.

Since that day, we have been dreaming about this moment, to see the published images and Sarah sporting the Spanish attire.

From our space we want to give our thanks to Isabel Moralejo, for the opportunity that she presented us with to participate in the staging of this new and promising fashion and beauty publication.

It has been an honour for Vintage By López-Linares’ whole team to have collaborated with S Moda.

 

 

Mary Carlisle

Mary Carlisle… February 2012’s “Vintage Icon”. The beautiful American actress was born on the 3rd of February 1912, meaning that today is her 100th birthday. We wanted to pay her a small tribute from here, on the day of her centenary.

Mary arrived in Hollywood at the early age of 4years, accompanied by her mother who was recently widowed. She was discovered by Carl Laemmle Jr. in the Universal Studios dining room and underwent her first test shoot.

She was given her first role at only eight years old when she interpreted Jackie Coogan in “If I were King”.

In 1933 her first great opportunity arose upon being selected as one of the young “Wampa” girls.  

 “Wampa” was a promotional campaign for the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers. It consisted of selecting 13 young actresses on their ways to stardom. The competition continued to take place between 1922 till 1934. The annual awards were celebrated in a big party called the “Wampas Frolic”, and the winners received a mass promotion to help their careers take off.

Some of the most famous winning Wampa actresses were: Joan Crawford, Janet Gaynor, Dolores del Río, Dorothy MacKaill, Joan Blondell, Loretta Young and Ginger Rogers.

 

In the image of the “Wampas Girls” in 1932 we can see Mary Carlisle (sat in the first row) and next to her Gloria Stuart (who recently passed away and who starred in Titanic as the elderly Rose) and Ginger Rogers.

Mary had started her career as a support actress in the Thirties. She was selected as Bing Crosby’s co-star in the three of her first musicals: “College humour” in 1933, “Double or Nothing” in 1937 and “Dr. Rhythm” in 1938.

Link to the film: Dr. Rhythm

 

[iframe width=”450″ height=”274″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/ljZii9RiK6U”]

 

 

For me, she plays one of her best parts in this last film. The very famous actor Bing Crosby dedicates a beautiful song to her.

In 1931 she placed a small role in the successful film “Grand Hotel”, in which she gives life to a youth on her honeymoon and although the role was small, the film was a success and managed to win an Oscar for best film in 1932. In the film she shares star-studded moments with Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery and Lionel Barrymore.

 

Mary appeared in nearly 70 films during 1930 and 1943; she retired when she noticed that her career was no longer heading in the correct direction, and she concentrated on her marriage to James Blakeley, another young actor. The two actors met each other whilst filming a Bing Crosby musical together. Mr. Blakeley managed to get a greater success later in the 20th Century Fox studios. The happy couple remained married until James Blakeley’s death in 2007 and had one son together.  

After retiring she dedicated a few years to managing an Elizabeth Arden salon in Beverly Hills, California.

I have tried and failed to find some kind of current information about Mary: where she lives or what she does now… I haven’t been able to. I would love to hear the stories that Mary tells about her Hollywood days in the Thirties. What I know for sure is that she is the only 1932 Wampa girl that is still alive and that in 1960 they dedicated a star to her in Hollywood’s famous “Walk of Fame”.

From Vintage By López-Linares, wherever you find yourself, we wish you a very Happy Birthday Mary…

Camille, January’s “Vintage Icon”

“Camille”, the film directed by George Cukor and whose lead actors are the Swedish Greta Garbo and the North American Robert Taylor, will be our January 2012 “Vintage Icon”.

We have chosen this film as seen as on the 22nd of January it will be the 75th anniversary of its premiere in New York City; it is based on the French writer Alejandro Dumas’ (son) novel.

What I’m not sure if many people know is that the Alejandro Dumas’ novel is inspired by his own life, and that Margarita in reality is Marie, the well known writer’s lover of nearly one year. The novel was a posthumous present that he redacted for his loved-one. 

Marie was the daughter of a peddler and a lady of aristocracy who lost nearly everything during the French Revolution. The courtesan was abandoned by her mother when she was a small girl of barely 4 years of age, remaining in her father’s care who, when she was barely 12, offered her to the neighbours in the area as a prostitute.

She arrived in Paris with barely 16 years of age by hand of a gypsy family, managing to get work in a vegetable shop, an umbrella factory and later in a lingerie shop. However, immediately, and thanks to her incredible beauty, she managed to bewitch a great number of men.

Her first great conquest was the Duke of Gramont, who would end up as the Minister of Foreign Affairs with Napoleon III. He installed her in one Paris’ most luxurious flats and put himself in charge of paying for a tutor to form and convert her into a great lady.

She would refine herself with her tutor, learn to write, have a correct French pronunciation, and play the piano and dance, at the same time as acquiring literary notions, history and protocol. When the Duke’s family found out, they forced him to break off his relationship; however Marie was already famous in the Parisian circles and men fought to share a soirée with her. 

Afterwards there came a number of famous names of the period; men with money, a high social and economical position, all noble and ready to attend to her innumerable and costly whims.

As a member of the elitist Paris Jockey Club she would meet the Count of Perregaux in 1841, the Count would end up in ruin and abandoning her, unable to maintain the lifestyle that Marie desired.

In 1844 she met Alejandro Dumas. In this period Marie was already suffering from tuberculosis, and although the romance lasted for nearly a year, the writer abandoned her in fear of catching the feared disease. Nevertheless, the writer would write her this farewell letter, by which he could give the sense that his decision to leave her were due to other motives.  

My dear Marie,

My dear Marie, I am neither rich enough to love you as I should like, nor poor enough to be loved by you as you would like. There is nothing for us to do but forget — you a name which must mean very little to you; I a happiness which is no longer possible for me. Needless to tell you how miserable I am, since you know how I love you. So, this is goodbye. You are too tender hearted not to understand the reason for this letter, too intelligent not to forgive me.

 A thousand regards,

 30th August, at midnight.

A.D.

After another one or two romances, Marie, ill and abandoned by all would end up marrying the Count of Perragaux, converting her into a Countess and caring for her until the day of her death, which took place only a year after her marriage.

In 1848, little after a year of death, Alejandro Dumas (son) decided to immortalize Marie by writing the famous novel in her honour.

In 1853 Giuseppe Verdi launched his famous Opera the “Traviata”, base d on the cited novel. The opening was in Venice and turned out to be an authentic failure. A year later it was re-launched with a few modifications and made a resounding success.

The first time the novel was taken to the cinema was in 1907. In 1921 a version with Rodolfo Valentino and Alla Nazimova as the protagonists was made. After which, there were many more versions, ballets, theatre productions and some television series. 

However I definitely choose Greta Garbo’s marvellous interpretation and beauty. Her role of Margarita Gautier won her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress in 1938.

During the whole month of January our “Vintage Space” will be dressed as Greta Garbo and her Camille.

We’re waiting for you!! 

Images @doctormacro