Oh my God, Christopher De Hamel.
Just as delighted by life as he appears to be in that photograph. From his account of his trip to St. Petersburg to inspect The Visconti Semideus, an art of war manuscript:
The first hurdle is the immensely complex application for a Russian visa, for which one has to list, among many other things, every school and university attended and every job one has ever had, with dates and contact names and telephone numbers, and every country one has visited in the previous ten years, with dates. Any involvement with politics or armed conflict, at any period of one's life, has to be declared...For the stated purpose of my proposed visit to Russia, I toyed for a moment with writing 'gaining access to government department to inspect manual on armaments and military strategy' but instead I put 'tourism."
...
At the National Library:
Behind a counter was a woman resembling the late Mrs Khrushchev.
I ventured, slowly and distinctly, "I have come to see a manuscript." She barked in Russian and disappeared.
J.Paul Getty Museum
They leant in and demanded my 'parking reservation number', which of course, to their incredulity and extreme suspicion, I had not known to arrange in advance, having no car. This is a supposedly classless society and it is a free museum...but anyone who cannot afford to arrive by car is deemed to be hardly the type of person the museum would want to admit.
Just as delighted by life as he appears to be in that photograph. From his account of his trip to St. Petersburg to inspect The Visconti Semideus, an art of war manuscript:
The first hurdle is the immensely complex application for a Russian visa, for which one has to list, among many other things, every school and university attended and every job one has ever had, with dates and contact names and telephone numbers, and every country one has visited in the previous ten years, with dates. Any involvement with politics or armed conflict, at any period of one's life, has to be declared...For the stated purpose of my proposed visit to Russia, I toyed for a moment with writing 'gaining access to government department to inspect manual on armaments and military strategy' but instead I put 'tourism."
...
At the National Library:
Behind a counter was a woman resembling the late Mrs Khrushchev.
(on right)
Mrs Khrushchev came back with a younger woman who spoke English:
"Sit please a moment." "Passport please." By the time I had sat I could hardly see her over the counter, where she was copying my details. Lots of rubber stamps were in evidence...She directed me to a computer screen...and I realized she was about to take my photograph. "You may smile, if you like," she said. "Not very Russian," I suggested; no response.
She asked to inspect the books I had with me...No, she informed me firmly: no printed books were allowed...I begged
and pleaded to no avail. "I do not make the rules," she said; I refrained from muttering "very Russian" again...
Chapter Twelve. The Spinola Hours c. 1515-20. Los Angeles,
J.Paul Getty Museum
It was a fine day, of course, as it always is in southern California.
...
In America anyone in uniform assumes you are a felon until proven otherwise.
They leant in and demanded my 'parking reservation number', which of course, to their incredulity and extreme suspicion, I had not known to arrange in advance, having no car. This is a supposedly classless society and it is a free museum...but anyone who cannot afford to arrive by car is deemed to be hardly the type of person the museum would want to admit.
...
If American security personnel treat you as a probable criminal, all others in Los Angeles regard you as their best friend and address you by your first name.
As if it were their greatest joy to assist me, they led me back out again down towards the little station, where I should have turned left down the ramp towards 'Central Security' (and by which time had heard half their life stories and Hollywood ambitions.) At the desk there I was asked for that constant American prerequisite, "Photo ID", as they call it
The warmth of the welcome one always receives here shames us all in our restrained European libraries. Staff appear from everywhere. Introductions are made all around.
...
At this point, let us take a break for lunch in the Getty Museum.
It is all wonderfully Californian, with stridently healthy food, pencil-thin diners, iced mineral water,
...take an elevator up one floor (no one ever climbs stairs in Los Angeles)...
If American security personnel treat you as a probable criminal, all others in Los Angeles regard you as their best friend and address you by your first name.
As if it were their greatest joy to assist me, they led me back out again down towards the little station, where I should have turned left down the ramp towards 'Central Security' (and by which time had heard half their life stories and Hollywood ambitions.) At the desk there I was asked for that constant American prerequisite, "Photo ID", as they call it
...for I was still being subtly assessed...I was escorted...into the Manuscripts and Drawings Department. They almost cheered as I was ushered in.
...
At this point, let us take a break for lunch in the Getty Museum.
and waiters assuming that we are all on a first-name basis.
