Books on Ibiza Bibliomaniacs' Corner by Martin Davies
Margaret d'Estes The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
The
Anglo-Saxons have always been a nomadic, acquisitive race. Starting off in the
lower Volga basin, they began their long westward drive by first taking in a large
chunk of the north German plain. (The tribes name deriving from an emblematic
tool/weapon - the sahsa dagger.) Invited by the Romans to garrison Britain,
they were soon parcelling up the territory they were supposed to be defending
with the Angles, some northern kinsmen whose name appears to be related to a more
pacific tool - the fishing-rod. They were first dubbed Anglo Saxons by early Medieval
chroniclers in order to distinguish them their more sedentary continental brethren,
the Antiqui Saxons. After a thousand years or so of apparent dormancy - in fact
spent consolidating their control over the British Isles and making a serious
bid for France - they suddenly returned to form in 1620 in the unlikely guise
of the Pilgrim Fathers, assimilating over the following three centuries a respectable
proportion of the total global land-mass. Whenever a territory was irrevocably
lost (such as the thirteen American colonies (1783) or Eire (1920)), another far
larger one would immediately be acquired by way of compensation (i.e. Australia
(1788) and Tanganyika (1920)). The result was the largest and most far-flung empire
our planet has ever known. But one tiny Mediterranean rock managed to hold out,
has never in fact been held at any stage by an official Anglo-Saxon army. It is
hardly necessary to give the name of this plucky little republic, but I shall
anyway. It is called Ibiza-Eivissa. One of the first recorded
Anglo-Saxons to arrive on Ibiza-Eivissa was a woman, albeit one with a surname
originally from Lombardy. It is unlikely that any of the natives realised the
long-term significance of this encounter, nor the staggering number of Margaret
dEstes compatriots who would follow in her tracks - nowhere outside
the British Isles has ever seen such a concentrated gathering of them. The month
was April, the year 1906, and the timing immaculate, since Alfonso XIII of Spain
was betrothed to Princess Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg, niece of the reigning
British monarch, Edward VII: The
forthcoming marriage [May 21st] was the topic of the day, and all classes were
equally delighted with the match. As compatriots of their future Queen we therefore
met with an unusually favourable reception, and though I am sure none of the peasants
had the remotest idea where England was situated we found a great bond of union
to consist in the fact that both we and they lived on an island. Many were the
questions we had to answer - Did one reach England before getting to America?
Was England far from London? One man left his plough to come and tell us that
he liked the English very much, which was a little surprising when one considered
that till that moment he had probably never set eyes on any one of our nationality.
We heard subsequently, however, that some years ago an Englishman hailing from
Birmingham had stayed in the island, and though, to our hosts surprise,
we could not supply the unknown travellers name, we were shown an unmistakable
proof of his visit in the form of an English book - the only existing specimen
in Iviza.
Margaret
dEste, With a Camera in Majorca, p. 131-2
Although
it had been sixteen years since the visit of Gaston Vuillier, there can be little
doubt that Margaret was familiar with his book, The Forgotten Isles (see
our Ibiza History Culture Archive articles Weekly Editions 061 of Satruday 27th April
2002, 063 of Saturday 11th May 2002 and 065 of Saturday 25th May 2002). The subject
of her Through Corsica with a Camera (1905) was standard Vuillier territory,
while her second travelogue, With a Camera in Majorca (1907) also covered
a key portion of the Frenchmans bailiwick. The original title of his masterpiece
is even alluded to in the opening sentence: In
the spring of 1906 we found ourselves with three months to devote to foreign travel,
and after some deliberation we decided to spend them in exploring those Iles
oubliées of the Mediterranean-Majorca, Minorca and Iviza-and
in ascertaining for ourselves whether they were worth visiting and what were the
possibilities of a stay there.
p.
2
Obviously the English edition of
Vuillier, as we saw in an earlier article, left plenty of room for doubt. The
we is not a regal affectation, but rather a reference to Mrs R.M.
King, the shadowy companion who had by then assumed total control of the expeditionary
camera. She had accompanied Mrs dEste three years earlier in Corsica (sharing
with the author title-page credit for the snaps), and was to do so again in the
Canaries a couple of years later. The third and last trip, incidentally, gave
birth to In the Canaries with a Camera, (1909). It seems that, having once
established their respective spheres of artistic prerogative, the two remained
lasting friends. Before examining the Balearic volume, what was the reception
of the first (Corsican) travelogue like? The
reviewer is tempted at almost every page to quote, so full of description is this
charming book, but space forbids . . . . (Daily Chronicle)
An unusually
well-written and well-illustrated book. (Northern Whig) The
authoress has given us some delightful pen sketches of the scenery, delicate little
vignettes of local colour, and strongly sketched-in characters of the natives,
and the illustrations are decidedly enticing. (Photographic News) The
book is one of the brightest of recent travel volumes. Mrs Kings photography
is a worthy contribution to the work, and is worth studying by would-be picture
makers, for its good placing of masses within the space, and for the strong yet
not harsh way in which bold patches of deep shadow are placed against broad expanses
of light. (Photogram)
Leaving
aside Photograms technical advice as timely today as ever
one gets the distinct impression that our subject had a winning way with
words. I have quoted so fully from these reviews because they apply equally to
her book on the Balearics. Part III, On Iviza consists of twenty-one
pages of beautifully-wrought prose, ten carefully-composed sepia plates and ten
captions of aching gentility. It is fête-day, and the Ivizan peasants
are all en grande tenue . . . ; Very Corot-like is the landscape,
with Santa Eulália crowning a small eminence by the seashore.
Not just from another age, but from another planet. But Margarets first
impressions, it has to be said, were far from promising: It
was pitch dark and raining hard. Some fishermen in glistening oilskins were unloading
tunny from a bobbing, lateen-sailed felucca alongside, and we could hear the thuds
of the stiff, heavy fish being thrown on board. The dim light of a lantern fell
upon a party of broad-hatted peasants collected on the wet deck, who one by one
were vanishing over the ships side and dropping into a cockleshell of a
boat that pranced about below.
p.
122
When the clouds clear the following
morning the pair gamely set off to explore the mysterious island beyond the fondas
front door. After the standard tour of Dalt Vila, they set off in a small
and fragile conveyance for San Antonio. It is Easter Sunday, and the flower-spangled
countryside is given a final touch by the colourful parties of country folk encountered
upon the road: Whole
families are coming to the town or walking back to their villages - bouquets of
bright colour, purple, blue, yellow, pink, green, and red - quaint figures, such
as one dimly remembers having met with in bygone days on nursery plates, and having
accepted as truthful representations of that romantic race - the foreign
peasant. Here they all were as large as life.
p.
10
An Edwardian lady to her fingertips,
Mrs dEste is able to do full justice to local dress and coiffure. We are
shown details which differ significantly from the present-day costume on display
at local celebrations: the shoes resemble Moorish slippers, being turned
up in a point at the toe; the men wear velveteen trousers of peacock-blue,
brown, or purpose cut tight at the knee and spreading at the foot, like those
of our costers or sailors and a broad-brimmed felt hat with ribbons
hanging down behind. Should anyone remain in doubt, Mrs Kings photographs
are on hand to provide a clinching testimony. Bearing
in mind that this visit only lasted thirty-six hours, it is astonishing how much
the doughty pioneers crammed in at a time when getting round the island was a
slow and arduous business. The following morning the two raced over to Santa Eulalia
(the little horse trotting fifteen miles an hour on the flat, and straining
every nerve to raise his average) and in the afternoon took in the Salinas.
En passant they are shown the newly-discovered Phoenician necropolis at Puig des
Molins, which is given nearly three whole pages. Two recent finds are mentioned
which do not appear to have made their way into the official collections
That very day the
workmen had unearthed a pretty rams head with curling horns, of fragile
white earthenware, which our friend showed us. He also had in his possession what
I should suppose to be the most valuable find yet made - an engraved scarab of
dark green hæmatite, comprising on its tiny surface the figure of a man
on horseback with a spear in his hand and a dog by his side, the whole cut with
the delicacy of the finest intaglio. No inscriptions have as yet come to light,
but as each tomb is opened the hope revives that it may prove to be in an unrifled
condition and contain something that may throw a fresh light upon the burial customs
of a long-vanished people.
p.
138
Present-day custodians of the local
patrimony might like to track down Margaret dEstes heirs as the local
guide, not content with having done the honours of his native island, insisted
upon our accepting some charming Phnician relics as souvenirs of our stay.
Those were indeed the days. They returned to Palma with fond memories of the undiscovered
paradise and blissfully unaware of what destiny had in store for it: The
little island that had before been only a name to us was now a very definite memory
of pleasant days spent in the open air, of friendly and picturesque natives, of
sunshine and charming scenery - while even our unpropitious landing had turned
out to be a blessing in disguise, in acquainting us with the resident whose kindness
contributed so largely to the pleasant recollections which we shall always retain
of our stay in Iviza.
p. 141
In
a fortnights time we shall be back with a look at another highly-cultivated
Edwardian couple, this time from the misty Scottish glens. As is common knowledge,
the Celts have always been the Anglo-Saxons leading partners in conquest
Martin Davies martindavies@ibizahistoryculture.com
|