Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 70

Thread: The Liverbirds

  1. #1
    Creator & Administrator Kev's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Under The Stairs >> Under The Mud.
    Posts
    7,488
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default The Liverbirds

    David Charters - Daily Post



    WITH his skilled hands and soaring imagination, the man with the modest smile could give life to a block of wood.

    But nobody ever spoke of the gentle carver's greatest creations, even when they became one of the most potent symbols in the world - silent sentinels over a throbbing port, ever-watching the sullen-grey roll of the water below them.

    Now, 50 years after his death, a forgotten and shunned German is to be remembered for designing the two birds which perch high on the Royal Liver Building, at the Pier Head.

    A plaque in his memory is to be placed in the entrance hall to the building. It should be up in plenty of time for the celebrations of 2007, marking the 800th anniversary of King John granting Liverpool its Royal Charter, which provides the ideal lead into the following year's European Capital of Culture.



    After all, we are talking of a European who made a huge contribution to Liverpool's recent history, though his name will not be familiar to many of you.

    For most of the history books do not mention Carl Bernard Bartels, designer of the Liver Birds, known to people all over the world as the emblem of Liverpool.

    Yes, New York has its Statue of Liberty, or Liberty Enlightening the World, the 150ft colossus of the sculptor August Bartholdi, placed on an iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel, who also gave Paris its 984ft tower.

    But the association between Liverpool and its birds is unique. They are on the crest of numerous companies and organisations, most notably Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Football Club.

    It is impossible to calculate how much they would have been worth if they were a commercial brand - but think of a big number and then add noughts until you fall asleep.

    More than all that, though, they were a vision of comfort to homeward-bound sailors. If the Liver Birds were on their perch, God must be in his Heaven. Their disappearance into the distance has swelled lumps in the throats of the thousands leaving the river, some never to return.

    Of course, they weren't the port's first Liver Birds. But the design of the pair atop the Liver Building became the standard, copied by everyone else.



    Their "father", Carl Bernard Bartels, was the son of Carl Julius Bartels, a wood carver from the Black Forest. The boy was brought up in Stuttgart and trained under his father, before coming to Britain in 1887 with his young bride, Mathilde Zappe. He was 21.

    The couple immediately liked the country and decided to make it their home. They took up British nationality and settled in the London borough of Haringey, where they had a son, Bernard Charles Bartels, and a daughter, Maggie.

    Gradually, their father was gaining a reputation as an exquisite worker in wood. Meanwhile, in Liverpool, in 1908, work began on the construction of the Royal Liver Building, designed by the architect Walter Aubrey Thomas. An international competition was held to find a design for the two birds which were to sit on its twin clock towers.

    Carl won. His birds were made by the Bromsgrove Guild, a group talented in the Arts and Crafts movement which ceased to be many years ago. The famous building, in many ways similar to those in New York, was completed in 1911.

    Three years later, the Great War broke out. Anti-German feeling swept through the UK. Yet, since the middle of the 19th century, Germans had been settling in Liverpool. Pork butchers from the Hohenlohe area, near Stuttgart, knotted their sausages. The fruity smells of baking pastries and the steam from sauerkraut joined the air of a city already rich in aromas.

    Other Germans worked in the sugar refineries and public houses. But that did little to assuage the hostility of local people. In this mood, Bartels's blueprints and sketches of the Liver Birds were lost or destroyed.

    Even more seriously, Bartels was interned with others of German origin in a camp at Knockaloe, on the Isle of Man, even though he had been a naturalised Briton for more than 20 years.

    Conditions were harsh at the camp, but a spirit of camaraderie developed, particularly among the artists. In Liverpool, anger against the Germans reached its zenith with the sinking of the Lusitania, inbound to the port, in May, 1915. There were riots and German properties were stoned and looted.

    After the war, Bartels had to return to Germany, though we are not sure why, leaving his family in London. To come back to his family in England, he had to find an employer, who would vouch for him. This was done.

    More
    Last edited by Kev; 11-25-2006 at 10:18 PM.
    Become A Supporter 👇


    Donate Via PayPal


    Donate


  2. #2
    Creator & Administrator Kev's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Under The Stairs >> Under The Mud.
    Posts
    7,488
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default A Third Liverbird - should it be built?

    The Liverbirds themselves are a cross between the cormorant and the eagle of St John the Evangelist adopted by King John, who had granted Liverpool its Royal Charter as a port in 1207.



    Plans that are being discussed have suggested that a 3rd Liverbird should built and errected on the ground to give people a sense of the size of the original Liverbirds that have stood proud for so long. The new bird would be constructed in time for 2007.


    Read the details of this here….

    What do u think?
    Become A Supporter 👇


    Donate Via PayPal


    Donate


  3. #3
    Senior Member lindylou's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    3,677

    Default

    That would be brilliant.

    I like that !

  4. #4
    Otterspool Onomatopoeia Max's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Nowhere
    Age
    38
    Posts
    1,908

    Default

    Looks nice but Scallies will climb on it.
    Gididi Gididi Goo.

  5. #5

    Default

    I can't remember where I read it - The Liverpool architecture walks book I think - but he was saying the actual construction of the birds is really shoddy - and only works because you don't see them.

    I wonder if they'd tidy it up if they make a third- I also think it would destroy some of the magesty of them if you saw them up close!

  6. #6
    Otterspool Onomatopoeia Max's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Nowhere
    Age
    38
    Posts
    1,908

    Default

    Whoever wrote that article can sure write articles!
    Gididi Gididi Goo.

  7. #7
    Creator & Administrator Kev's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Under The Stairs >> Under The Mud.
    Posts
    7,488
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default Meccano Liver Bird

    As seen in my Avatar folks:

    THE mythical Liver bird has been recreated in one of Liverpool's most famous exports - Meccano.

    The image by Chris Vine is one of several works of art in the new Artworks Capital of Culture series.

    It was unveiled last night in the atrium of the Royal Liver Building, home to Liverpool's two iconic 18ft Liver birds.

    Guests who were invited to cast a beady eye over the mechanical bird included photographer and cultural ambassador for Wirral, Mike McCartney, and ECHO arts editor Joe Riley.

    A spokeswoman for Artworks said: "We recently commissioned a number of talented local artists to produce aseries of stunning images for a new Capital of Culture series.

    "The collection is inspired by Liverpool '08 and aims to support artists and the community in celebrating Liverpool's spectacular cultural renaissance."

    The collection also includes art by Alex Corina, who created the Mona Lennon image.

    Liverpool's Frank Hornby took out apatent for Meccano in 1901, first calling it Mechanics Made Easy.

    Over the 20th century it became the world's most famous toy based on engineering principles.
    Become A Supporter 👇


    Donate Via PayPal


    Donate


  8. #8
    GhostSearch GhostSearch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Liverpool
    Age
    58
    Posts
    33

    Thumbs up Scouse History

    You learn summit everyday

  9. #9

    Default

    Bought 'The Little Book of Liver Birds' by David Cottell yesterday. It's a decent book and highly recommended at £9.99.

  10. #10
    Creator & Administrator Kev's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Under The Stairs >> Under The Mud.
    Posts
    7,488
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Cissie Braithwaite View Post
    Bought 'The Little Book of Liver Birds' by David Cottell yesterday. It's a decent book and highly recommended at £9.99.
    Brilliant
    Become A Supporter 👇


    Donate Via PayPal


    Donate


  11. #11
    Senior Member ChrisGeorge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Baltimore, Maryland, USA
    Posts
    3,590

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by PhilipG View Post
    Beautiful pictures.
    Isn't the Liver Bird based on the Cormorant?
    Hi Philip and Kev

    Yes, great pics, Kev. Many thanks!!!

    Yes the image of the Liver Bird is based on the physical appearance of the cormorant, although the story is that the idea for the mythical bird came from the eagle of St. John on the early city charters. Here is the explanation from Gerry Jones's site, quoting an article by Reg Jones, "WHAT'S A LIVER BIRD?" OR, "AN ORNITHOLOGICAL ENIGMA.":

    "The origin of the Liver Bird is as follows; King John, in 1207, requiring a port for the conquest of Ireland, granted letters patent to Liverpool, and the town adopted a corporate Seal, - the eagle of St. John, the emblem of the House of King John. During the siege of 1644, when cavalier forces sacked Liverpool , the seal was lost.

    "In 1655 it was replaced by a second seal, but this did not resemble an eagle, possibly due to the ignorance or artistic shortcomings of the designer.. As time went by, the bird, which looked like a seagull, came to be regarded as a cormorant, as such birds are prevalent in the Mersey. In the birds beak is a sprig of foliage, probably of broom, the 'planta genista' of the Plantagenet royal family."

    Chris
    Christopher T. George
    Editor, Ripperologist
    Editor, Loch Raven Review
    http://christophertgeorge.blogspot.com/
    Chris on Flickr and on MySpace

  12. #12
    Senior Member Howie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Kensington, Liverpool
    Age
    69
    Posts
    1,195

    Default

    See also the pics at www.liverbirdology.com.

    Here's one for Max:


  13. #13
    Senior Member lindylou's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    3,677

    Default

    Thanks Howie, that's a good little site.

  14. #14

    Default watch the birdies

    Hi everyone. I edit a magazine called Space in Liverpool (general lifestyle stuff, city’s renaissance, culture and heritage etc) and I’ve just written a book about the Liver Bird – mythical symbol of the city of Liverpool and everywhere to be seen if you really look. Three years in the making and a labour of love. Here's the link to the publisher's website if you'd like to find out more…
    http://www.breedonbooks.co.uk/public...859835473.html
    Best wishes
    WavyDavy

  15. #15
    Creator & Administrator Kev's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Under The Stairs >> Under The Mud.
    Posts
    7,488
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by wavydavy View Post
    Hi everyone. I edit a magazine called Space in Liverpool (general lifestyle stuff, city’s renaissance, culture and heritage etc) and I’ve just written a book about the Liver Bird – mythical symbol of the city of Liverpool and everywhere to be seen if you really look. Three years in the making and a labour of love. Here's the link to the publisher's website if you'd like to find out more…
    http://www.breedonbooks.co.uk/public...859835473.html
    Best wishes
    WavyDavy
    Hi wavy a warm welcome to the site. I've seen and read Space many times and love it. I'm sure the Liver Bird book is great!

    Kev
    Become A Supporter 👇


    Donate Via PayPal


    Donate


Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Any new liverbirds on the new buildings?
    By The Teardrop Explodes in forum Buildings and Structures
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 09-04-2010, 03:03 AM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •