A number of silver squares were found by the bed, wrappers from the aforementioned chocolate balls. A book with an English title: ‘This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen’. The author is a certain Tadeusz Borowsky.
A number of adult nappies were found in the bathroom. The bath was unwashed and damp. On the edge of the bathtub, a small box containing 6 pairs of ear plugs, of varying shape and material.
The kitchen area in disorder. Fridge: 4 boxes of ‘Kraš’ chocolates, a dried head of garlic, 2 eggs and some withered vegetables. The other shelf space is taken up with unwashed dishes.
At the entrance, ten pairs of women’s shoes. All in excellent condition. Of obvious quality.
Search ended at 5:02 a.m. due to notification that tenant was on her way home.
***
Artur wants to go home too.
***
FROM POLICE DOSSIERS
SEARCH OF FLAT BY ORDER OF CHIEF OF CITY POLICE ON JANUARY 1ST 2000 FROM 3:45 TO 5:10 A.M.
REPORT. SUBJECT: ARTUR BIONDI(Ć), RETIRED CAPTAIN OF YUGOSLAV NAVY.
No: 37 S-MO I/ 01-01-00 /(Excerpt).
The flat is tidy. The shelves are mostly taken up with books on epilepsy, hats and Italy.
In the bathroom – a large quantity of disposable nappies for adults. Bathroom – clean
Kitchen – modern and stylish. Fridge stuffed with food. There are expensive delicacies, some in jars (caviar and marinated herrings)
A larger room has been adapted into a walk-in wardrobe:
Suits: 17 (old-fashioned)
Shoes: 10 pairs (worn-out)
Shirts: 36 pieces, various styles. All made of natural materials: cotton, batiste, satin and silk. Threadbare.
Hats and caps: the left sidewall – 3.75 m in height and 5.5 m in width – from top to bottom covered with shelves. On the shelves, hats and caps arranged by manufacturer’s brand and by name of article. All items in perfect condition.
Noticeable high quality of all apparel, especially the hats. On some of the headwear a price is still visible. The room is reminiscent of a miniature museum. On some articles there is a short informative text. For example (a text taken from the photograph):
BERET: Appeared first in France at the beginning of the 19th century. Mostly worn by French peasants and herdsmen in the Basque country. Later the beret was taken up by artists and bohemians, as a symbol of protest against the prevailing social system. Also worn by members of the French Resistance during the Second World War. The modern army wears them for everyday usage. Che Guevara also contributed to their popularity. In the 1990s the beret is still a favourite with men and women alike.
Shelf contents:
Woollen berets, diameter 28 cm, ordinary. Make no longer visible: blue, black, brown, dark red, green. Price: 18.000 LIT per item. (11 items).
A special place is reserved for Borsalino berets. Description: Borsalino berets are made by one of the most renowned manufacturers of headwear. They are made of pure lambs wool, lined with satin. Sizes range from: 55, 57, 61 and for particularly large heads – 63cm. Price: 70.000 LIT a piece. Sizes present: 59 and 61 cm. Colours: black, grey, dark blue.(7 pieces).
1 Hoquy beret Description: manufactured in the family-run workshop of ‘Hoquy’, a competitor of Borsalino. Has produced headwear for over two hundred years. The workshop is located near the Pyrenees. Price: 90.000 LIT a piece. Shelf contents: 5 pieces – 2 black, 1 grey and two blue.
Anglo-Basque beret made by Kangol. 100% wool. 3 pieces. Price: 58.000 LIT
Parkhurst beret: cotton. Worn by men and women. Manufactured in one standard size. Price: 24.000 LIT. 5: 2 wine-red, 1 red, 1 beige, 1 olive green.
Bankroft army beret, so-called Green Beret. Manufacturer: the same name as the American firm that supplies the US Army. Made famous by General Montgomery in the battle for El Alamein.
Six identical pieces.
Drover hats. Description: can withstand rain, wind and sun. Price: 71.000 LIT. 2 pieces (1 beige and 1 brown).
Hats of different makes: Henschel Aussie, Kangol, Biltmore (150.000 LIT), Akubra (230.000 LIT) soft felt fedora hats made by Christy’s, Stacy Adams, Stetson Saxon, Rosselini and Borsalino – these take up 6 shelves. Their prices range from 196.000 to 368.000 LIT.
Below are a dozen Homburg models, mostly black. Prices from 220.000 to 360.000 LIT.
Artur Biondi(ć) owns fifteen Panama hats, all famous brands. The most expensive piece is ‘Monticristi Super Fino’ from the Equatorial province of Manabi. Biondi(ć) states that the hat is handmade out of palm fiber cloth: paja toquilla – Carloduvica palmata. Price – 570.000 LIT (2 pieces). Biondi(ć) also has one of the cheaper models of the Panama hat – ‘Monticristi Fino’ (290,000 LIT). All three hats are in natural colours (from label).
On the shelf, next to the Monticristi hat, a small plastic box with a stand, is a framed computer printout of ‘Legends of the Panama hat’. No computer or printer was found in the flat.The legend reads: Upon arrival in the New Country, the first settlers, Spaniards, saw that some natives were wearing strange head coverings. Their ‘caps’ were made of light, transparent material. The immigrants believed that it was the skin of skinned vampires. But in archaeological excavations on the Equator Coast, ceramic figures with the unusual ‘caps’ on their heads were found, supposedly dating from the year 4,000 BC. These are the first variants of today’s Panama hat.
Stetsons – 3 pieces, black. One with a 9.5 cm brim and a crown height of 10 cm, and two larger (brim – 10 cm, crown – 12 cm) All three hats are set in silver satin (from label). Price 300.000 LIT a piece.
Straw hats – 8, various models. Short history attached.
Bowler hats – 4. White ‘Nürnberg’ (155,000 LIT), ‘Hamburg’ olive green (139,000 LIT), black ‘Borsalino’ (430,000 LIT) and a ‘Piccadilly’ from 1936 produced at Jakša Žuljević’s workshop in Split – no price.
Top hats – 2. One black (460.000 LIT) and one grey (370.000 LIT), both of satin. According to the labels, the black one is ‘foldable’, the grey one is ‘indivisible’. Below is a short text on the fate of the top hat through history, taken from the Encyclopaedia of the Yugoslav Lexicographic Institute, year of issue 1967.
On one shelf there is a collection of decorative pins. As a distinctive female hat decoration, it does not fit into Arturo Biondi(ć)’s men’s collection. There are 23 pieces. They are housed in glass boxes on black plush. Some are very old and obviously have antique value. Each pin has a description and place of origin. There are no prices. Attached is a short history of decorative pins (for hats) from the late nineteenth to late twentieth century.
In addition to decorative needles, there is another item that does not fit in the hat and headwear collection described above: a miniature women’s hat labelled ‘Doll’s Hat’. Under the description is the text: ‘First issued in 1938. A miniature doll’s hat, slightly crooked, worn by adult women on the front right-hand side of the head. As soon as it appeared, it caused numerous controversies. Two years later it disappeared from the market and from use. The doll’s hat was mostly green or purple and adorned by a large Emu feather. Undocumented observers would now conclude that women of that age had miniature heads, of course, which could only accommodate a miniature brain.’ (Text ‘downloaded’ with enlarged photos)
Found: a total of 274 hats and caps.
Photos enclosed.
Search ended at 5:30