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The Brief Empire of Vezzi Porcelain

Although involved in controversies such as industrial espionage, the Vezzi porcelain factory offered a touch of the exotic to society crazy about new things and those things that reminded them of distant and exciting countries.

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The Clandestine Nature of Dead Drops

Somewhere in Western Europe, 1977 In a peaceful neighborhood of some Western European city, there was a building. It wasn’t luxurious, but the second floor had a nice little balcony. Above the flower pots, where green leaves that soaked up the summer sun, there were also almost always white towels drying on the clothes line. […]

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News Past, Present & Future Stories The War Diaries

Why True Leaders Are Forged, Not Manufactured

Sometimes brilliant leaders emerge in war; others excel in planning and administration. In the same way, there are some brilliant football players and coaches — and many average ones.

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Velvet and the Language of Color: Crimson, Imperial Purple, and Beyond

From its beginnings, velvet has been more than a luxurious fabric. It has served as a canvas for color, with each hue carrying deep meaning and social significance.

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News Past, Present & Future Stories The War Diaries

Beethoven’s Compositional Wars

Ludwig van Beethoven lived through one of the most tumultuous periods in European history—an age of revolution and conquest. He was very much a man of his time: politically aware, emotionally engaged, and at times, dangerously idealistic.

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