Torre di San Biele (Tower of Saint Biele)

Recently there was a postcard for sale on Ebay with the description "Viterbo -Torre di San Biele-1916". The seller was from Italy, but there was not any other information about the origin of the postcard or what it showed.

Picture of the Postcard from Ebay

There were Biele families from Italy though it is not clear that the tower was really named after a Biele 

A quick web search yielded the following description:

Built by Raniero Gatti in 1270, is one of the most beautiful towers in the territory of the city of Viterbo.

http://viterbo.artecitta.it/scheda.php?idOpera=82&Audio=


A more detailed description of the tower is as follows:

TOWER OF SAN BIELE

Traduzione di Marissa Navarro, studentessa dell’Università di Boise State, Idaho.Studentessa del Programma USAC presso l’Università degli Studi della Tuscia.

HISTORY and DESCRIPTION

The tower of San Biele, built in 1270 by Raniero Gatti, is one of the most beautiful towers in Viterbo. Over the outer arch, surrounded by two coat of arms of the Gatti family, there is an inscription explaining that it was built without imposing new taxes on the city.  “In nomine D(omi)ni n(ost)ri Iesu Christi anno/ eiusd(em) MCCLXX ap(osto)lica sed(e) va/ cante XIII ind(ictione): ad honorem et reve/ re(n)tiam S(ancte) Rom(ane) Ecc(lesi)a ma(t)ris n(ost)re d(omi)n (u)s /Rain(erius) Gatt(us) novell(us) capit(aneus)P(o)p(u)li et Co(mun)is /Vit(er)bii pacis amator et ius(ti) tie cultor/ ann(o) s(ecund)o sui regim(in)is ha(n)c turrim he/ dificari et co(m)mpleri fecit absq(ue) gra/ vamine et collecta civitatis p(re)dicte”.

It was originally called Tower of San Miele.  However, the church to the left of the tower was named for the holy warrior San Michele or “Saint Michael”, like many churches in Tuscia.  To avoid confusion, the tower’s name was eventually changed to San Biele. The tower, also sometimes referred to as Pietraia, is considered a masterpiece of the art of war.  It is topped by Guelph battlements, with a coat of arms on the front design.  On the bottom left corner, you can still see the coat of arms as you look at the tower from the city.  The tower is divided into two parts, intricately designed to protect the city from the inside out.  Two sunken, round-headed, arches and a façade with a pointed arch surround the tower.  The tower sits in the lower section of the arches.  The door inside the arches leads for a length, and then ends at the pointed arch. The other opening aimed to leave the tower defenseless if under siege.  It allowed citizens to attack from within the city, and also allowed for immediate armament by the City by means of pulleys, without having to use the interior stairs. In a peace agreement made in 1291, the Romans wished to demolish the tower and its fortress. Although the fortress was eventually destroyed, the tower still stands. Today, in place of the fortress, stands the little house of Ferruzi.   In 1493, Brother Giovanni of the Towers also founded an oratory near the tower.  Perhaps this tower was part of a new section of the city walls to be erected on that side, where it was most often attacked.  Under the arch you can see a slot for the gate and there until 1973, it was possible to see the remains of a fresco of the Madonna Enthroned with Saints.  On the right is a portrayal of a woman praying, possibly Alessandra Alessandri, wife of Raniero.  She offers the protection for the Virgin and her child.  On the other side of the Madonna is Saint Antonio and the Baptist with the date 1611.  What remains of the fresco is in the Civic Museum.

http://viterbo.artecitta.it/descrizione.php?PPHSESSID=gct5h74rr3clcv2mv37i89nlm5&idOpera=82#inglese

Viterbo is located in central Italy, 50 miles north of Rome

Additional photos

Philip Seymour Hoffman Dies at Pickwick House - Former Charles F. Biele Operations Building

Philip Seymour Hoffman died on February 2, 2013 at his apartment at Pickwick House.  Located at 35 Bethune Street in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan in New York City, the building now known as Pickwick House served as the base of operations of Charles F. Biele and Sons from 1926 through the early 1940s

More information on Pickwick House can be found in the September 2012 blog post and at the Biele Family website  

http://bielefamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/33-37-and-39-bethune-street.html

http://www.bielefamily.com/CFB_business.htm

Biele Showcase in Chile

While the Biele showcase in South Africa still holds the record for the farthest, there is now a close second with a showcase from Chile.

The email shared the following information along with the three photos:

"hola compré hace unos años en Mejillones, Chile un mueble de la fabrica de Charles F. Biele & Sons CO con asiento en New York.

Adjunto fotos, es de madera con su cubierta de acrilico, lo tenia en un museo pero lo traje de vuelta a mi hogar."

The Google translation is:

"Hi I bought a few years ago in Mejillones, Chile furniture factory of Charles F. Biele & Sons CO based in New York.

Attached photo is of wood with his acrylic cover, had it in a museum but I brought it back to my home."

This model is fairly common to others made by Charles F. Biele and Sons.  The second picture gives the address as 379-381 West 12th Street, New York, USA.  The business moved there in 1898 and remained there for the next 28 years.

More Charles F. Biele and Sons information can be found at:

http://www.bielefamily.com/CFB_business.htm

Thank you Claudio!

Haus Biele

Haus Biele was built in the town of Hovestadt by Friedrich Karl Biele (the grand father of Caspar Biele) in 1770 originally for an agricultural business. In 1804, a distillery was established and later a Gasthaus or "guest house". The property passed through the family and remained private property through the 1990's.

After the restaurant was closed in 1995, the house was bought by the community of Lippetal. (Hovestadt is now part of Lippetal) The community used the house to lodge emigrants and asylum applicants.

A renovation of the House Biele into a community center was completed in the autumn of 2003. The citizen office of the Lippetal is now there. Bus tickets and train tickets can be bought and there and accommodations for the local societies and for the music and art. The Lippetal link is:

http://www.lippetal.de/tourismus_freizeit/tourismus/sehenswuerdigkeiten/Rathaus.php

Present day address is : Bahnhofstrasse 15, 59510 Lippetal, Germany

For the details in German, see the Story of Haus Biele.

A book on Haus Biele including its history, its renovation, and the Biele family member that lived there was writen and published by Elisabeth Frische on 2010. Information (in German) can be found at:

http://www.felixbierhaus.de/hovestadt/html/schrift.html

and

http://www.bruecke-lippetal.de/

Still more details on Haus Biele and other historical information about Hovestadt can be found on a website created by Felix Bierhaus (in German)

http://www.felixbierhaus.de/hovestadt/html/haus_biele.html

Haus Biele from a 1893 Post Card

Haus Biele from 1913 Post Card

Haus Biele Today

Barbara Piasecka Johnson Vitrines

On October 15, 2003, Sotheby’s in Paris held an auction of items from the collection of Barbara Piasecka Johnson.  Mrs. Johnson is the widow of a founder of Johnson & Johnson and one of the wealthiest women in the world.  The items in this sale were from her Monaco home and included a pair of vitrines.  While not identified at the time as vitrines by Charles F. Biele, a subsequent auction in 2006 at Sotheby’s in New York of a similar pair of vitrines did have a tag “Charles F. Biele & Sons” and was sold with the description “An exact pair sold, Sotheby's, Paris, Collection de Madame Barbara Piasecka Johnson, October 15, 2003, lot 24”

It is not known how the vitrines came into Mrs. Johnson’s collection or the buyer at the auction.  If Mrs. Johnson, Sotheby's, or anyone else knows, I would love them to share the information. 

The description from the Sotheby’s website after the sale provides the following information:

Paire de vitrines en acier poli et bronze doré de style Directoire,

A PAIR OF STEEL VITRINES IN DIRECTOIRE STYLE

Estimate: 30,000 - 45,000 EUR

LOT SOLD. 59,125 EUR (Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium)

The equivalent vale at that time was $68,895.

Below are scans of relevant pages from the auction catalog:



CATALOGUE COVER



Left vitrine in dining room

Right vitrine in dining room



Vitrine as shown in catalogue

Vitrine as shown in catalogue

 

 

 

Edward Biele Obituary

This is the text from the obituary of Edward Biele:

Biele, Edward Caspar, age 95 died peacefully on November 3, 2012 following a very brief illness. Edward, a long time Seattle resident, was born on June 29, 1917 in Hackensack, NJ and grew up in Yonkers, NY. He attended Columbia College on a scholarship and later Columbia Law School. He enlisted in the naval officer program shortly after Pearl Harbor during his second year of law school. Edward often talked about his experiences in World War II as the most formative of his life – particularly his service as Lieutenant Commander of the submarine USS Sea Devil on its four patrols in the Pacific during 1944 and 1945.

 

Edward returned to New York after the war to finish school and begin practicing law. During this time, he met Mary Elizabeth Haskell of Wenatchee, WA who in 1946 became his soul mate for 61 years. In 1950, Edward and Mary relocated to Seattle for a better quality of life and as an ideal location to practice in Edward’s chosen specialty, maritime law. Edward joined law firm Bogle & Gates where he practiced and was senior partner in its Admiralty Law Practice Group until retirement in 1982. Edward was an active member in the Maritime Law Association and served for many years on its Executive Committee. Edward had a second career as an apple

farmer, which began in the mid 1970’s when his son John and he partnered to acquire and operate orchards near Oroville, WA.

 

Edward was voted “Most Resourceful” by his high school graduating class. That tribute portended the trajectory of his life. He loved to travel and to explore new cultures. He embraced new ideas and experiences. Similarly, he challenged everyone around him including his children and grandchildren to think independently and find their own paths. Edward was an avid historian and voracious reader. He had a keen intellect and encyclopedic knowledge of almost any topic.

 

Edward was a benevolent patriarch whose love of his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren was of paramount importance. He is survived by his three children, John Edward Biele of Oroville, Alexander Thomson Biele of Dallas and Mary Elizabeth (Polly) Lenssen of Seattle, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.  The family plans a private memorial service. The family requests remembrances be made to: Children’s Hospital Foundation, PO Box 50020, Seattle, WA, 98145 for use by Clinical Nutrition in research or a charity of choice.

Edward C. Biele Jr. 1917-2012

On November 3, 2012, Edward Casper Biele Jr. passed away.  He was 95 years old and the last Biele of his generation in my family branch.  Edward was born on June 29, 1917 in Hackensack, NJ to Edward (Eduard) Casper Biele and Edith Lankenau.

I first met Edward via email just over 14 years ago.  I had sent out a note to a number of “Biele” email addresses I had found in internet directories looking for “lost” family members and he was the first to respond.  The text of his email response from November 1, 1998 is as follows:

I am indeed one of Bieles you seek.  My grandfather was Charles F. Biele who was in the business of making showcases in New York City.  The family business was Charles F. Biele & Sons, Inc. My father Edward and his brother Carl (your great grandfather) took over the business but it got away from them in the 1930s. During the Vietnam War I spent much time in Washington negotiating with the Navy on behalf of a client. Several times during my time in Washington I visited your grandfather (my cousin) who was retired from the Navy and living Silver Springs, MD

I graduated from Columbia College in 1939 and Columbia Law School after World War II although my original class was 1942. From 1950 to 1983 I practiced admiralty law in Seattle after a couple of years at it in New York. I did teach admiralty law at the University of Washington Law School after my retirement from active practice.  My two sons went to Columbia College and my daughter went to Vassar. My wife  graduated from the University Of Michigan.

Purely by coincidence, last month I was in New York and visited my cousin Alma Stucker, the daughter Frieda (Fredricke) Biele Helbing, my father's sister.  She showed me a family history started by my aunt Alma Biele Leber, my father's other sister.

 

Edward and I only met once, but for 14 years we kept in regular contact via email sharing information about the Biele family.  Every time I would find some new information about the family or the former showcase business, I would send it his way and he would usually follow up with a story from his memory that never seemed to fade.

More to come….