1.
Philip Marlowe
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Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep, published in 1939, Chandlers early short stories, published in pulp magazines like Black Mask and Dime Detective, featured similar characters with names like Carmady and John Dalmas. Some of those stories were later combined and expanded into novels featuring Marlowe. When the non-cannibalized stories were republished years later in the story collection The Simple Art of Murder, Chandler changed the names of the protagonists to Philip Marlowe. His first two stories, Blackmailers Dont Shoot and Smart-Aleck Kill, were never altered in print but did join the others as Marlowe cases for the television series Philip Marlowe, Private Eye. Underneath the wisecracking, hard-drinking, tough private eye, Marlowe is quietly contemplative and philosophical and enjoys chess, while he is not afraid to risk physical harm, he does not dish out violence merely to settle scores. Morally upright, he is not fooled by the genres usual femmes fatales, Chandlers treatment of the detective novel exhibits an effort to develop the form. His first full-length book, The Big Sleep, was published when Chandler was 51, his last, seven novels were produced in the last two decades of his life, with an eighth being posthumously completed by Robert B. Parker and published years later. Explaining the origin of Marlowes character, Chandler commented that Marlowe just grew out of the pulps, when creating the character, Chandler had originally intended to call him Mallory, his stories for the Black Mask magazine featured characters that are considered precursors to Marlowe. The emergence of Marlowe coincided with Chandlers transition from writing short stories to novels, Chandler was said to have taken the name Marlowe from Marlowe House, to which he belonged during his time at Dulwich College. Marlowe House was named for Christopher Marlowe, a hard-drinking Elizabethan writer who graduated in philosophy and this man with the name of Samuel Marlowe allegedly was the first black private detective licensed by the city of Los Angeles. Philip Marlowe is a character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely. Chandler is not consistent as to Marlowes age, in The Big Sleep where the story occurs in 1936, he makes him 33, while in The Long Goodbye Marlowe is 42. In a letter to D. J. Ibberson of 19 April 1951, Chandler noted among other things that Marlowe is 38 years old and was born in Santa Rosa, California. He had a couple of years at college and some experience as an investigator for an insurance company and he was fired from the D. A. s office for insubordination. The D. A. s chief investigator, Bernie Ohls, is a friend and former colleague, Marlowe is about 6ft1. 5inches tall and weighs about 190 pounds. He first lived at the Hobart Arms, on Franklin Avenue near North Kenmore Avenue, but then moved to the Bristol Hotel, where he stayed for about ten years. By 1950 he has rented a house on Yucca Avenue and continued at the place in early 1952 in Playback
2.
Hallmark
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A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals—platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term hallmark can also be used to refer to any distinguishing characteristic, historically, hallmarks were applied by a trusted party, the guardians of the craft or more recently by an assay office. Hallmarks are a guarantee of certain purity or fineness of the metal, Hallmarks are often confused with trademarks or makers marks. A hallmark is not the mark of a manufacturer to distinguish his products from other manufacturers products, to be a true hallmark, it must be the guarantee of an independent body or authority that the contents are as marked. Thus, a stamp of 925 by itself is not, strictly speaking, a hallmark, many nations require, as a prerequisite to official hallmarking, that the maker or sponsor itself marks upon the item a responsibility mark and a claim of fineness. Responsibility marks are required in the U. S. if metal fineness is claimed. In some nations, such as the UK, the hallmark is made up of elements, including, a mark denoting the type of metal, the maker/sponsors mark. In England, the year of marking commences on May 19, in other nations, such as Poland, the hallmark is a single mark indicating metal and fineness, augmented by a responsibility mark. These can ease import obligations among and between the signatory states, signatory countries each have a single representative hallmark which would be struck next to the Convention mark which represents the metal and fineness. The control or inspection of precious metals was an ancient concept of examination and marking, a series or system of five marks has been found on Byzantine silver dating from this period, though their interpretation is still not completely resolved. From the Late Middle Ages, hallmarking was administered by local governments through authorized assayers and these assayers examined precious metal objects, under the auspices of the state, before the object could be offered for public sale. By the age of the Craft Guilds, the authorized examiners mark was the masters mark, at one time, there was no distinction between silversmiths and goldsmiths, who were all referred to as orfèvres, the French word for goldsmith. The Master Craftsman was responsible for the quality of the work that left his atelier or workshop, hence the responsibility mark is still known today in French as le poinçon de maître literally the makers punch. Hallmarking is Europes earliest form of consumer protection, modern hallmarking in Europe appears first in France, with the Goldsmiths Statute of 1260 promulgated under Etienne Boileau, Provost of Paris, for King Louis IX. A standard for silver was thus established, in 1275, King Philip III prescribed, by royal decree, the mark for use on silver works, along with specific punches for each communitys smiths. In 1313, his successor, Philippe IV the Fair expanded the use of hallmarks to gold works, in 1327 King Edward III of England granted a charter to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, marking the beginning of the Companys formal existence. This entity was headquartered in London at Goldsmiths Hall, from whence the English term hallmark is derived, although gold was certainly used for articles, the regulation was silent on standards and hallmarking for gold. In 1355, individual maker marks were introduced in France and this concept was later mirrored in England in 1363, adding accountability to the two systems
3.
Raymond Chandler
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Raymond Thornton Chandler was a British-American novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, Blackmailers Dont Shoot, was published in 1933 in Black Mask and his first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime. All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some more than once, in the year before his death, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. He died on March 26,1959, in La Jolla, Chandler had an immense stylistic influence on American popular literature. He is considered to be a founder of the school of detective fiction, along with Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain. The protagonist of his novels, Philip Marlowe, like Hammetts Sam Spade, is considered by some to be synonymous with private detective, both were played in films by Humphrey Bogart, whom many consider to be the quintessential Marlowe. Some of Chandlers novels are considered important literary works, and three have been considered masterpieces, Farewell, My Lovely, The Little Sister, and The Long Goodbye, Chandler was born in 1888 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Florence Dart and Maurice Benjamin Chandler. He spent his years in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, living with his mother and father near his cousins and his aunt. Chandlers father, a civil engineer who worked for the railway. To obtain the best possible education for Ray, his mother, originally from Ireland, moved them to the area of Upper Norwood in the London Borough of Croydon, another uncle, a successful lawyer in Waterford, Ireland, supported them while they lived with Chandlers maternal grandmother. Raymond was a first cousin to the actor Max Adrian, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Chandler was classically educated at Dulwich College, London and he spent some of his childhood summers in Waterford with his mothers family. He did not go to university, instead spending time in Paris, in 1907, he was naturalized as a British subject in order to take the civil service examination, which he passed. He then took an Admiralty job, lasting just over a year and his first poem was published during that time. Chandler disliked the servility of the service and resigned, to the consternation of his family, and became a reporter for the Daily Express. He was unsuccessful as a journalist, but he published reviews, an encounter with the slightly older Richard Barham Middleton is said to have influenced him into postponing his career as writer
4.
The High Window
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The High Window is a 1942 novel written by Raymond Chandler. It is his third novel featuring the Los Angeles private detective Philip Marlowe, private investigator Philip Marlowe is called to the house of wealthy widow Elizabeth Bright Murdock to recover a missing Brasher Doubloon, a rare and valuable coin. Mrs. Murdock suspects that it was stolen by her son’s estranged wife, Linda Conquest, on his way back to his office, Marlowe is followed by a blond man in a coupe. Mrs. Murdock’s son Leslie Murdock visits Marlowe and tries to learn why his mother hired him, Murdock lets slip that he owes nightclub owner Alex Morny a large sum of money. Marlowe learns that Linda Conquest had two friends, Lois Magic and a Mr. Vannier, Magic is now Mrs. Alex Morny, Marlowe visits Mrs. Morny at home and finds her with Vannier, who acts suspiciously. Marlowe is still tailed by the blond in the coupe and confronts him and he is George Anson Phillips, an amateurish private detective, who is thinking of enlisting Marlowe’s help on a case that is out of his league. Marlowe agrees to him at his apartment later. Marlowe keeps his appointment with Phillips but finds him dead, the police arrest the next door for the murder. The police give Marlowe an ultimatum to all he knows. At his office, Marlowe receives a package with no address that contains the coin and he calls Mrs. Murdock and is floored when she says the coin has already been returned. Marlowe returns to the dealer and finds him dead also. Then Alex Morny’s henchman calls and invites Marlowe to visit Morny at his nightclub and it turns out that Linda Conquest is singing there. Morny demands to know why Marlowe visited his wife, but Marlowe is unfazed, Morny offers to hire Marlowe to find dirt on Vannier, giving him a suspicious receipt for dentistry chemicals that Vannier lost. Marlowe also talks to Linda and decides she is not involved in the theft. Returning to the Murdocks, Marlowe is told a story he doesn’t believe, Leslie Murdock hocked the coin to Morny for his debts, then changed his mind, the landlord is paying the drunk’s legal bills in exchange for his taking the rap. Marlowe gets a call that Merle is at his apartment having a breakdown, he rushes home and she claims to have shot Vannier. Marlowe visits Vannier’s home, finds him dead, and discovers a photo of a man falling from a window, Morny and Magic arrive, and Marlowe hides while Morny tricks his wife into leaving her fingerprints on the gun near the body. He tells her he is sick of her and will force her to take the rap, the stress of it made her become detached from reality
5.
Steven Contursi
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Steven L. Contursi is an American businessman and numismatist. He is the founder and president of Rare Coin Wholesalers, in the past 38 years, Steve Contursi has bought and sold over $1 billion worth of rare United States coins. In 2004, Steven sought evidence for his coin to be the first silver dollar made for the United States, the coin was sold in May 2010, for a world record $7.85 million, making it the most expensive coin ever sold. In addition to owning the first silver dollar, Steven owned the first gold coin made for the U. S. the ‘Unique’ Brasher Doubloon, the unique Brasher Doubloon was struck in 1787 by silversmith Ephraim Brasher, a neighbor of George Washington. Steven’s Brasher Doubloon with the “EB” stamped on the chest, was sold in December 2011 to a Wall Street investment firm for just under $7.4 million, in 2005, Steven purchased the King of Siam proof set for $8.5 million in a private sale. In June 2012, Steven purchased the highest grade “Ultra High Relief”1907 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle nicknamed “America’s Most Beautiful Coin Design” by experts, in late December 2011, Steven donated a 1792 half disme to the ANA Money Museum. The coin, purchased for $220,000, was donated with “no strings attached. ”He said, “This donation is my way of giving back to the ANA for the wonderful things that they do for collectors. ”Official Rare Coin Wholesalers company website Other Money Show Biography
