For many years I’ve wondered where the original structure was that inspired the development of Altair designs.
Daud Sutton, a specialist in Islamic Design, sent me an email from Cairo just a few days ago. He has found found the original structure – a latticed window – that has inspired so many of us – all that have explored Altair Designs, see below.
We can now complete the story of Altair:
A window’s lattice was constructed in about 1356 CE in the Mosque- Madrasa of Amir Salf al-din, Sargatmish in what is now, ‘Old-Cairo.’
Jules Bourgoin, in the early 1870’s, made a sketch of the window, created a schematic of it, and printed the schematic in his, “Les Elements de l’Arabe,” published in 1879 and numbered 151- but gave no indication of the window’s location.
The design was then copied by Albert Calvert, without any mention of Bourgoin, in his, “Moorish Remains in Spain,” published in 1906.
Calvert’s book and design 151 found its way to Dr.
Ensor Holiday’s hospital room in about 1968.
Ensor recognized the unique geometry of the design and started to create design variations. Close-packing circles were integral to the design and dovetailed my interest with Ensor’s – so we started working together – the rest is the story of Altair Designs.
So without that day in the early 1870’s, when a French architect sat down to make a drawing of a latticed window, a design that has inspired so many may have remained unknown and forgotten in the backstreets of an ancient town.
I wish Ensor Holiday and Aubrey Wolton (who helped place the designs with our first publisher, Longmans in the UK) were with us today – they would both be delighted to hear of the discovery.
This is so facinating and hello!
I am Ensor Holiday’s grandaughter and I am packing up the family home ( My mum, his daughter died recently)
I am trying to find out who owns Altair Designs now, as I have come across some slides, old books etc and don’t want to throw them away…
Would you be able to point me in the direction as to who I can talk to about this?
many thanks
Delphi
Hi Delphi, Have just sent you an email. All the best, Roger
Hello,
I bought what I think were the second or third publications runs as a child. This was very late 70’s. I spent hours colouring them in.
My sister Mary was friends with Ensor Holiday. She was 18 years older than me. When I was about 8 to 11 years old (1962 to 1965), I would visit her at her flat where I would colour in parts of sheets of Altair patterns. There were smaller separate ‘pages’ of patterns and also large sheets were on heavy paper and were rolled up, rather like a large map would be. (It was later that the comparatively small pads of Altair designs were available.)
This does not accord with your statement of, “Calvert’s book and design 151 found its way to Dr.Ensor Holiday’s hospital room in about 1968”. (Another memory of Ensor was of him taking my sister and me to what later I knew was Gunnersbury Park to see the construction of the Chiswick flyover that opened in 1964.)
Hi Minkie,
I knew and worked with Ensor on the development of Altair Designs from about 1967 or 1968, it could have been a bit earlier. He had had his operation but was still limping. We worked together in 31 Addison Avenue and then in the back garden studio of 29 Addison Avenue. At the time I first met Ensor he had already drawn out some of the designs derived from the one in Calvert’s book, but the name “Altair” was still in the future. It could be that Ensor first saw Calvert’s book in 1965 or earlier, I don’t know the exact date of his operation. What was your sister Mary’s maiden name, was it Best? Not sure if I remember her. Ensor and Betty had many friends including the Kettlewell’s, the Fry’s, Waldon’s, Huxley’s, Bohm, …and that’s just a small sampling. Either way, Ensor was an amazing person, my friend, and mentor. If Ensor was taking you off on adventures was that with Roz and Francis? Did you know Margaret Mound? Maybe we can reconstruct the past together, a bit more accurately. Did you know Ensor when he was involved with Scientology? That was just before I met him. He was still involved with the work of Carl Young and had moved on from Scientology to the circle of Idries Shah….