Research Update

I typically do my research on Saturday mornings at a local cafe called Venue.  I'm there almost every weekend and it's become a weekend ritual.  I love it - no dogs, no one to bother me, nothing except the research.  It's surprising how much you can get done in an hour and with two dry cappuccinos.  One thing that I am adamant on during these morning research sessions is the lack of screens, with the exception of my phone.

What's on my playlist in the photo?  Sisters of Mercy's album "Floodland".  It's one of my favorites.

As you can see in the photo, the book I'm going through (for the hundredth time) is:
Overton Fuller, Jean. The Comte de Saint-Germain. Last Scion of the House of Rakoczy. East-West Publications; London, 1988.

What kind of information am I looking for?  

• Tendrils.  Little things that don't have much information listed, but might be an interesting path to follow.  Examples: particular jewels, mentions of communications between people, art, music, etc.  At this point, no one has uncovered any of the Count's artwork, that I know of, but it is frequently mentioned.  That's a tendril.  
• Places of Interest.  If I'm going to plan a trip to Europe to do research, I need to make notations about places of interest.  This could be places where the Count lived, places of historical value towards my research, places that hold artifacts, etc.
• Names & People Known.  I always make note of names the Count used and people the Count knew.  Sometimes the best way to know someone is to see who they associate with.

My bibliography - I feel like I need to say this due to a lot of the emails that I get.  If there is something listed in my bibliography, I have it (either physically or digitally) and have read it - the exception being all the music.  Chances are I have gone through it a number of times.  I am always looking for new reference material, especially primary sources.

I love getting a response from people and would like to give a shout out to Tom Slemen (who mentioned some new info, but hasn't shared yet - twitter) and Scott Vincent (who produced
Comte de St. Germain: Musique Raisonnée).  Check out their stuff!

Simon Wolff Brandes Art

It is said that the Count might have been, or might have used the name, Simon Wolff Brandes.  This is a watercolor piece sent to Frederick I as a congrats for his coronation from 1701.  Currently, no one has recovered any of the Count's artworks.

Congratulatory address of the Berlin Protected Jew Simon Wolff Brandes on the occasion of the coronation of Frederick I.

Police Sketch App

I've been playing around with a police sketch app called PortraitPad.  Using the portraits of the Count as a guide, I've been trying to get a mock-up of what he might look like without the powdered wig.  I tried a bunch of different hairstyles that look fairly conservative.  I don't think I found the right eyebrows.

What do you like?  What do you dislike?

If you want to use PortraitPad to give this a try, you can send me your best results!  Here is my EMAIL.  Be sure to check out the GALLERY for historic portraits of the Count.

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