Debutante
A debutante or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, comes out into society at a formal "debut" or debutante ball. The term meant the woman was old enough to be married, part of the purpose of her coming out was to display her to eligible bachelors and their families with a view to marriage within a select circle. In Australia, débutante balls are organised by high schools, church groups or service clubs, such as Lions or Rotary; the girls who take part are in either Year 11 or 12 at high school. The event is used as a fund-raiser for local charities; the Australian debutante wears a pale-coloured gown similar to a wedding dress. However, the dress does not come with a train on the skirt, the debutante does not wear a veil; the boy wears another formal dress suit. It is customary for the female to ask a male to the débutante ball, with males not being able to "do the deb" unless they are asked; the débutantes and their partners must learn how to ballroom dance.
Débutante balls are always held in a reception centre, school hall, the function room of a sporting or other community organisation venue e.g. RSL club, or ballroom, they are held late in the year and consist of dinner and speeches. In the United Kingdom, the last débutantes were presented at Court in 1958, after which Queen Elizabeth II abolished the ceremony. Attempts were made to keep the tradition going by organising a series of parties for young girls who might otherwise have been presented at Court in their first season by Peter Townend. However, the withdrawal of royal patronage made these occasions insignificant, scarcely distinguishable from any other part of the social season; the expression "débutante", or "deb" for short, has continued to be used in the press, to refer to young girls of marriageable age who participate in a semi-public upper class social scene. The expression "deb's delight" is applied to good looking unmarried young men from similar backgrounds; the presentation of débutantes to the Sovereign at Court marked the start of the British social season.
Applications for young women to be presented at court were required to be made by ladies who themselves had been presented to the Sovereign. A mother-in-law who herself had been presented might, for example, present her new daughter-in-law; the presentation of debutantes at court was a way for young girls of marriageable age to be presented to suitable bachelors and their families in the hopes of finding a suitable husband. Bachelors, in turn, used the court presentation as a chance to find a suitable wife; those who wanted to be presented at court were required to apply for permission to do so. According to Debrett's, the proceedings on that day always started at 10 am; as well as débutantes, older women, married women who had not been presented could be presented at Court. On the day of the court presentation, the débutante and her sponsor would be announced, the debutante would curtsy to the Sovereign, she would leave without turning her back; the court dress has traditionally been a white evening dress, but shades of ivory and pink were acceptable.
The white dress featured short sleeves and white gloves, a veil attached to the hair with three white ostrich feathers, a train, which the débutante would hold on her arm until she was ready to be presented. Débutantes would wear pearls but many would wear jewellery that belonged to the family. After the débutantes were presented to the monarch, they would attend the social season; the season consisted of events such as afternoon tea parties, polo matches, races at Royal Ascot, balls. Many débutantes would have their own "coming-out party" or, alternatively, a party shared with a sister or other member of family; the Queen Charlotte's Ball, a contemporary revival of the traditions of presentation at court, continues under the patronage of the Duke of Somerset. A cotillion or débutante ball in the United States is a formal presentation of young ladies, débutantes, to "polite society" hosted by a charity or society; the ladies introduced can vary from the ages of 16 to 18. In some areas 15- and 16-year-olds are called "junior débutantes".
One of the most prestigious, the most exclusive and the most expensive debutante balls in the world is the invitation-only International Debutante Ball held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where girls from prominent world families are presented to high society. The International Debutante Ball has presented princesses, countesses and many European royalty and aristocrats as debutantes to high society, including Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia, Vanessa von Bismarck, Princess Natalya Elisabeth Davidovna Obolensky, Princess Ines de Bourbon Parme, Countess Magdalena Habsburg-Lothringen and Lady Henrietta Seymour Daughters and granddaughters of billionaire businessmen, American politicians, senators
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories that participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative. It is operated by Inc.. The subscribing member libraries collectively maintain WorldCat's database, the world's largest bibliographic database. OCLC makes WorldCat itself available free to libraries, but the catalog is the foundation for other subscription OCLC services. OCLC was founded in 1967 under the leadership of Fred Kilgour; that same year, OCLC began to develop the union catalog technology that would evolve into WorldCat. In 2003, OCLC began the "Open WorldCat" pilot program, making abbreviated records from a subset of WorldCat available to partner web sites and booksellers, to increase the accessibility of its subscribing member libraries' collections. In 2006, it became possible to search WorldCat directly at its website. In 2007, WorldCat Identities began providing pages for 20 million "identities", predominantly authors and persons who are the subjects of published titles.
In December 2017, WorldCat contained over 400 million bibliographic records in 491 languages, representing over 2.6 billion physical and digital library assets, the WorldCat persons dataset included over 100 million people. WorldCat operates on a batch processing model rather than a real-time model; that is, WorldCat records are synchronized at intermittent intervals with the underlying library catalogs instead of real-time or every day. Consequently: WorldCat shows that a particular item is owned by a particular library but does not provide that library's call number. WorldCat does not indicate whether or not an item is borrowed, undergoing restoration or repair, or moved to storage not directly accessible to patrons. Furthermore, WorldCat does not show whether or not a library owns multiple copies of a particular title; as an alternative, WorldCat allows participating institutions to add direct links from WorldCat to their own catalog entries for a particular item, which enables the user to determine its real-time status.
However, this still requires users to open multiple Web pages, each pointing to a different online public access catalog with its own distinctive user interface design, until they can locate a catalog entry that shows the item is available at a particular library. Copac Faceted Application of Subject Terminology Library and Archives Canada Open Library Research Libraries UK Blackman, Cathy. "WorldCat and SkyRiver: a comparison of record quantity and fullness". Library Resources & Technical Services. 58: 178–186. Doi:10.5860/lrts.58n3.178. Breeding, Marshall. "Library services platforms: a maturing genre of products". Library Technology Reports. 51: 1–38. Doi:10.5860/ltr.51n4. Matthews, Joseph R.. "An environmental scan of OCLC alternatives: a management perspective". Public Library Quarterly. 35: 175–187. Doi:10.1080/01616846.2016.1210440. McKenzie, Elizabeth. OCLC changes its rules for use of records in WorldCat: library community pushback through blogs and cultures of resistance. Boston: Suffolk University Law School.
Research paper 12-06. What the OCLC online union catalog means to me: a collection of essays. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC. 1997. ISBN 1556532237. OCLC 37492023. Wilson, Kristen. "The knowledge base at the center of the universe". Library Technology Reports. 52: 1–35. Doi:10.5860/ltr.52n6. "WorldCat data licensing". Oclc.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31. See also: "Data licenses & attribution". Oclc.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31. Information about licensing of WorldCat records and some other OCLC data. Official website "WorldCat". Oclc.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31. Information on the OCLC website about WorldCat. "Bibliographic Formats and Standards". Oclc.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31. "WorldCat Identities". Worldcat.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus; the earliest known form of printing as applied to paper was woodblock printing, which appeared in China before 220 AD. Developments in printing technology include the movable type invented by Bi Sheng around 1040 AD and the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century; the technology of printing played a key role in the development of the Renaissance and the scientific revolution, laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses. Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns, used throughout East Asia, it originated in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and on paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220 A.
D. The earliest surviving woodblock printed fragments are from China, they are of silk printed with flowers in three colours from the Han Dynasty. They are the earliest example of woodblock printing on paper and appeared in the mid-seventh century in China. By the ninth century, printing on paper had taken off, the first extant complete printed book containing its date is the Diamond Sutra of 868. By the tenth century, 400,000 copies of some sutras and pictures were printed, the Confucian classics were in print. A skilled printer could print up to 2,000 double-page sheets per day. Printing spread early to Korea and Japan, which used Chinese logograms, but the technique was used in Turpan and Vietnam using a number of other scripts; this technique spread to Persia and Russia. This technique was transmitted to Europe via the Islamic world, by around 1400 was being used on paper for old master prints and playing cards. However, Arabs never used this to print the Quran because of the limits imposed by Islamic doctrine.
Block printing, called tarsh in Arabic, developed in Arabic Egypt during the ninth and tenth centuries for prayers and amulets. There is some evidence to suggest that these print blocks made from non-wood materials tin, lead, or clay; the techniques employed are uncertain and they appear to have had little influence outside of the Muslim world. Though Europe adopted woodblock printing from the Muslim world for fabric, the technique of metal block printing remained unknown in Europe. Block printing went out of use in Islamic Central Asia after movable type printing was introduced from China. Block printing first came to Europe as a method for printing on cloth, where it was common by 1300. Images printed on cloth for religious purposes could elaborate; when paper became easily available, around 1400, the technique transferred quickly to small woodcut religious images and playing cards printed on paper. These prints produced in large numbers from about 1425 onward. Around the mid-fifteenth-century, block-books, woodcut books with both text and images carved in the same block, emerged as a cheaper alternative to manuscripts and books printed with movable type.
These were all short illustrated works, the bestsellers of the day, repeated in many different block-book versions: the Ars moriendi and the Biblia pauperum were the most common. There is still some controversy among scholars as to whether their introduction preceded or, the majority view, followed the introduction of movable type, with the range of estimated dates being between about 1440 and 1460. Movable type is the system of printing and typography using movable pieces of metal type, made by casting from matrices struck by letterpunches. Movable type allowed for much more flexible processes than block printing. Around 1040, the first known movable type system was created in China by Bi Sheng out of porcelain. Bi Sheng used clay type, which broke but Wang Zhen by 1298 had carved a more durable type from wood, he developed a complex system of revolving tables and number-association with written Chinese characters that made typesetting and printing more efficient. Still, the main method in use there remained woodblock printing, which "proved to be cheaper and more efficient for printing Chinese, with its thousands of characters".
Copper movable type printing originated in China at the beginning of the 12th century. It was used in large-scale printing of paper money issued by the Northern Song dynasty. Movable type spread to Korea during the Goryeo dynasty. Around 1230, Koreans invented a metal type movable printing using bronze; the Jikji, published in 1377, is the earliest known metal printed book. Type-casting was adapted from the method of casting coins; the character was cut in beech wood, pressed into a soft clay to form a mould, bronze poured into the mould, the type was polished. The Korean form of metal movable type was described by the French scholar Henri-Jean Martin as "extremely similar to Gutenberg's". Eastern metal movable type was spread to Europe between the late 14th century and the early 15th century. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg introduced the first movable type printing system in Europe, he advanced innovations in casting type based on a matrix and hand mould, adaptations to the screw-press, the use of an oil-based ink, the creation of a softer and more absorbent paper.
Gutenberg was the first to create his type pieces from an alloy of lead, antimony and bismuth – the same components still used today. Johannes Gutenberg started work on his printing press around 1436, in partnership with Andreas Dritzeh
Given name
A given name is a part of a person's personal name. It identifies a person, differentiates that person from the other members of a group who have a common surname; the term given name refers to the fact that the name is bestowed upon a person to a child by their parents at or close to the time of birth. A Christian name, a first name, given at baptism, is now typically given by the parents at birth. In informal situations, given names are used in a familiar and friendly manner. In more formal situations, a person's surname is more used—unless a distinction needs to be made between people with the same surname; the idioms "on a first-name basis" and "being on first-name terms" refer to the familiarity inherent in addressing someone by their given name. By contrast, a surname, inherited, is shared with other members of one's immediate family. Regnal names and religious or monastic names are special given names bestowed upon someone receiving a crown or entering a religious order; such a person typically becomes known chiefly by that name.
The order given name – family name known as the Western order, is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by European culture, including North and South America. The order family name – given name known as the Eastern order, is used in East Asia, as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India, in Hungary; this order is common in Austria and Bavaria, in France, Belgium and Italy because of the influence of bureaucracy, which puts the family name before the given name. In China and Korea, part of the given name may be shared among all members of a given generation within a family and extended family or families, in order to differentiate those generations from other generations; the order given name – father's family name – mother's family name is used in Spanish-speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. Today the order can be changed in Spain and Uruguay using given name – mother's family name – father's family name.
The order given name – mother's family name – father's family name is used in Portuguese-speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. In many Western cultures, people have more than one given name. One of those, not the first in succession might be used as the name which that person goes by, such as in the cases of John Edgar Hoover and Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland. A child's given name or names are chosen by the parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a naming ceremony, with family and friends in attendance. In most jurisdictions, a child's name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate, or its equivalent. In western cultures, people retain the same given name throughout their lives. However, in some cases these names may be changed by repute. People may change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions. In certain jurisdictions, a government-appointed registrar of births may refuse to register a name that may cause a child harm, considered offensive or which are deemed impractical.
In France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, such as Sweden, restrict the spelling of names. Parents may choose a name because of its meaning; this may be a personal or familial meaning, such as giving a child the name of an admired person, or it may be an example of nominative determinism, in which the parents give the child a name that they believe will be lucky or favourable for the child. Given names most derive from the following categories: Aspirational personal traits. For example, the name Clement means "merciful". English examples include Faith and August. Occupations, for example George means "earth-worker", i.e. "farmer". Circumstances of birth, for example Thomas meaning "twin" or the Latin name Quintus, traditionally given to the fifth male child. Objects, for example Peter means "rock" and Edgar means "rich spear". Physical characteristics, for example Calvin means "bald". Variations on another name to change the sex of the name or to translate from another language.
Surnames, for example Winston and Ross. Such names can honour other branches of a family, where the surname would not otherwise be passed down. Places, for example Brittany and Lorraine. Time of birth, for example day of the week, as in Kofi Annan, whose given name means "born on Friday", or the holiday on which one was born, for example, the name Natalie meaning "born on Christmas day" in Latin. Tuesday, May, or June. Combination of the above, for example the Armenian name Sirvart means "love rose". In many cultures, given names are reused to commemorate ancestors or those who are admired, resulting in a limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography; the most familiar example of this, to Western readers, is the use of Biblical and saints' names in most of the Christian countries (with Ethiopia, in which names were ideals or abstractions
Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir to the British throne, the bride was a member of the Spencer family; the ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding service. The Dean of St Paul's Cathedral Alan Webster presided at the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie conducted the marriage. Notable figures in attendance included many members of other royal families, republican heads of state, members of the bride's and groom's families. After the ceremony, the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace; the United Kingdom had a national holiday on that day to mark the wedding. The ceremony featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry, their marriage was billed as a "fairytale wedding" and the "wedding of the century". It was watched by an estimated global TV audience of 750 million people.
Events were held around the Commonwealth to mark the wedding. Many street parties were held throughout the United Kingdom to celebrate the occasion; the couple divorced in 1996 after fifteen years of marriage. The Prince of Wales had known Lady Diana Spencer for several years, they first met in 1977. He took serious interest in her as a potential bride in 1980 when they were guests at a country weekend, where she watched him play polo, he invited her for a sailing weekend to Cowes aboard the royal yacht Britannia as their relationship began to develop. This was followed by an invitation to Balmoral Castle, the Windsor family's Scottish home, to meet his family. Diana was well received at Balmoral by the Queen, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; the couple had several dates in London. Diana and Charles had been seeing each other for about six months when he proposed on 3 February 1981 in the nursery at Windsor Castle. Diana had planned a holiday for the next week, Charles hoped she would use the time to consider her answer.
Diana accepted. Diana claimed that the couple had met only 13 times in total before the announcement of their engagement, their engagement became official on 24 February 1981, the couple gave an exclusive interview. During the public announcement of the engagement, Diana wore a "cobalt blue skirt suit" by the British label Cojana. Diana selected an elegant, large £30,000 engagement ring that consisted of 14 solitaire diamonds surrounding a 12-carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire set in 18-carat white gold. A series of photographs taken by the Earl of Snowdon were published in Vogue in February 1981 to mark the engagement. Clayton Howard did Diana's make-up and John Frieda did her hair for the official portrait. Two nights before the wedding, a gala ball was held at Buckingham Palace, the Queen subsequently hosted a dinner for a crowd of 90 individuals. A reception with dancing for 1,500 people was held. Among the invitees were the royal household's members and staff; the night before the wedding 150 people, including heads of states and governments, were invited for a dinner with the Queen.
3,500 guests made up the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral. Charles and Diana selected St Paul's over Westminster Abbey, the traditional site of royal weddings, because St. Paul's offered more seating and permitted a longer procession through London; the ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding service, presided over by the Most Reverend Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, the Very Reverend Alan Webster, Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral. 2 million spectators lined the route of Diana's procession from Clarence House, with 4,000 police and 2,200 military officers to manage the crowds. The security increased and sharpshooters were stationed due to the potential threat of an attack by the Irish Republican guerrillas; the security screenings in the airports increased. The cost of the wedding was estimated to be $48 million in total with $600,000 being spent on security. Regiments from the Commonwealth realms participated in the procession, including the Royal Regiment of Canada. At 10:22 BST the Queen and the royal family were taken to the cathedral in eight carriages.
The Prince of Wales in the gold-encrusted coach, used following the ceremony to take the couple back to Buckingham Palace. Lady Diana arrived at the cathedral in the Glass Coach with her father, John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, she arrived on time for the 11:20 BST ceremony. The carriage was too small to hold the two of them comfortably due to her voluminous dress and train; as the choir sang "Trumpet Voluntary", an anthem by Jeremiah Clarke, the bride made the three-and-a-half minute walk up the aisle. Diana accidentally changed the order of Charles's names during her vows, saying "Philip Charles Arthur George" instead of the correct "Charles Philip Arthur George", she did not promise to "obey" him as part of the traditional vows. That word was eliminated at the couple's request. Charles made an error, he said he would offer her "thy goods" instead of "my worldly goods". In keeping with tradition, the couple's wedding rings were crafted from Welsh gold from the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu.
The tradition of using Welsh gold within the wedding rings of the Royal Family dates back to 1923. Upon marriage Diana automatically acquired the title of Princess of Wales. Other church representatives present who gave prayers after the service were a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald
