Peck & Peck was a New York-based retailer of private label women's wear prominent on Fifth Avenue. Founded by Edgar Wallace Peck and his brother George H. Peck, it began in New York in 1888 as a hosiery store, with early location near Madison Square. At Edgar Peck's death, Time magazine reported that the brothers once had to pay rent every 24 hours to a distrusting landlord, but now had 19 stores. It grew to 78 stores across the United States.
Peck & Peck was purchased in the 1970s by the Minneapolis-based retailing company Salkin & Linoff and, through a combination of poor management and widely decentralized locations, the chain was basically shut down and sold off in pieces. Some specific store locations of the chain were sold by Salkin & Linoff in the mid/late 1980s to H.C. Prange Co. of Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Peck & Peck was known for its classic clothes. Like Bonwit Teller and B. Altman and Company's post-World War II fashions, Peck & Peck personified and flourished in the pre-hippie era in New York when WASP fashion ruled stores and fashion magazines.
To writers like Joan Didion, Peck & Peck was descriptor and shorthand for a certain fashion look. Some say that Hillary Clinton has a Peck & Peck look. A store classic was the simple A-shaped dress.
Other fashion retailers that grew in the wake of the closure of Peck & Peck were Ann Taylor and Talbots. Since 2008 the Peck & Peck trademark is owned by Stein Mart for its line of woman's clothing.
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The lion (Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. With exceptionally large males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with a critically endangered remnant population in northwest India, having disappeared from North Africa, the Middle East, and western Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene (about 10,000 years ago), the lion was the most widespread large land mammal beside humans. They were found in most of Africa, much of Eurasia from western Europe to India, and the Bering land bridge and, in the Americas, from the Yukon to Peru.
Lions live for approximately 10–14 years in the wild, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator, although they will resort to scavenging if the opportunity arises. While lions, in general, do not selectively hunt humans, some have been known to become man-eaters and seek human prey.
The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of 30 to 50% over the past two decades in its African range; populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not well-understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Lions have been kept in menageries since Roman times and have been a key species sought after and exhibited in zoos the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.
Visually, the male is highly distinctive and is easily recognized by its mane. The head of the male lion is one of the most widely recognized animal symbols in human culture. It has been depicted extensively in literature, in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature.
The lioness has been recognized, however, as the pinnacle of hunting prowess from the earliest of human writings and graphic representations. The lionesses are the hunters for their pride and execute their skills with precision and complex teamwork. Each lioness develops specific skills for her role in the hunting techniques used by her pride and, generally, assumes that role during most hunts. Members of human cultures living among lions in natural habitats have understood this characteristic and often have chosen the lioness to represent their most ferocious war deities and warriors, often naming their male rulers as her "son". Examples drawn from the earliest of written records include the Egyptian pantheon deities of Sekhmet, Bast, Menhit, and Tefnut and these deities may have had precursors in Nubia and Lybia. Other Egyptian deities are quite complex and assume aspects that may include one as a lioness headed human or a lioness in specific roles. Depictions of lions hunting in groups have existed from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves.
The Lion has been an icon for humanity for thousands of years, appearing in cultures across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Despite incidents of attacks on humans, lions have enjoyed a positive depiction in culture as strong but noble. A common depiction is their representation as "king of the jungle" or "king of the beasts"; hence, the lion has been a popular symbol of royalty and stateliness, as well as a symbol of bravery; it is featured in several fables of the sixth century BC Greek storyteller Aesop.
Representations of lions date back 32,000 years; the lion-headed carving from Vogelherd cave in the Swabian Alb in southwestern Germany has been determined to be about 32,000 years old from the Aurignacian culture. Two lions were depicted mating in the Chamber of Felines in 15,000 year old Paleolithic cave paintings in the Lascaux caves. Cave lions are also depicted in the Chauvet Cave, discovered in 1994; this has been dated at 32,000 years of age, though it may be of similar or younger age to Lascaux.
Ancient Egypt venerated the lioness (the fierce hunter) as their war deities and among those in the Egyptian pantheon are, Bast, Mafdet, Menhit, Pakhet, Sekhmet, Tefnut, and the Sphinx; Among the Egyptian pantheon also are sons of these goddesses such as, Maahes, and, as attested by Egyptians as a Nubian deity, Dedun.
The Lion Gate of Mycenae (detail) - two lionesses flank the central column that represents a goddess - c. 1300 BC renovation of an existing structure that was demolished to build the newCareful examination of the lion deities noted in many ancient cultures reveal that many are lioness also. Admiration for the co-operative hunting strategies of lionesses was evident in very ancient times. Most of the lion gates depict lionesses. The Nemean Lion was symbolic in Ancient Greece and Rome, represented as the constellation and zodiac sign Leo, and described in mythology, where its skin was borne by the hero Heracles.
The emblem of Jerusalem is a lion standing in front of the Western Wall and flanked by olive branches.The lion is the biblical emblem of the Tribe of Judah and later the Kingdom of Judah. It is contained within Jacob's blessing to his fourth son the penultimate chapter of the Book of Genesis, "Judah is a lion's whelp; On prey, my son have you grown. He crouches, lies down like a lion, like the king of beasts -- who dare rouse him?" (Genesis 49:9). In the Modern State of Israel, the lion remains the symbol of the capital city of Jerusalem, emblazoned on both the flag and coat of arms of the city.
The lion was a prominent symbol in both the Old Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian Empire periods. The classic Babylonian lion motif, found as a statue, carved or painted on walls, is often referred to as the striding lion of Babylon. It is in Babylon that the biblical Daniel is said to have been delivered from the lion's den. Such symbolism was appropriated by Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq for their Lion of Babylon tank, with the technology adapted from a Russian model. Narasimha ("man-lion") is described as an incarnation (avatara) of Vishnu within the Puranic texts of Hinduism;] who takes the form of half-man / half-lion, having a human torso and lower body, but with a lion-like face and claws. It is worshiped as "Lion God" thus Indian or Asiatic lions which were commonly found throughout most of India in ancient times are considered sacred by all Hindus in India.
Singh is an ancient Indian vedic name meaning "Lion" (Asiatic lion), dating back over 2000 years to ancient India. It was originally only used by Rajputs a Hindu Kshatriya or military caste in India. After the birth of the Khalsa brotherhood in 1699, the Sikhs also adopted the name "Singh" due to the wishes of Guru Gobind Singh. Along with millions of Hindu Rajputs today, it is also used by over 20 million Sikhs worldwide.
Found famously on numerous Flags and Coat of Arms all across Asia and Europe, the Asiatic lions also stand firm on the National Emblem of India.
"Bharat Mata" ("Mother India"), National personification of India, depicted with an Asiatic / Indian lion at her sideFarther south on the Indian subcontinent, the Asiatic lion is symbolic for the Sinhalese, Sri Lanka's ethnic majority; the term derived from the Indo-Aryan Sinhala, meaning the "lion people" or "people with lion blood", while a sword wielding lion is the central figure on the national flag of Sri Lanka.
The Asiatic lion is a common motif in Chinese art. They were first used in art during the late Spring and Autumn Period (fifth or sixth century BC), and became much more popular during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), when imperial guardian lions started to be placed in front of imperial palaces for protection. Because lions have never been native to China, early depictions were somewhat unrealistic; after the introduction of Buddhist art to China in the Tang Dynasty (after the sixth century AD), lions were usually depicted without wings, their bodies became thicker and shorter, and their manes became curly. The lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume, often with musical accompaniment from cymbals, drums and gongs. They are performed at Chinese New Year, the August Moon Festival and other celebratory occasions for good luck.
The island nation of Singapore (Singapura) derives its name from the Malay words singa (lion) and pura (city), which in turn is from the Tamil-Sanskrit ????? singa ???? si?ha and ??? ??? pura, which is cognate to the Greek π?λις, polis. According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a fourteenth century Sumatran Malay prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, on alighting the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on shore that his chief minister identified as a lion (Asiatic lion). Recent studies of Singapore indicate that lions have never lived there, and the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was more likely to have been a tiger.
"Aslan" or "Arslan" is the Turkish and Mongolian word for "lion". It was used as a title by a number of Seljuk and Ottoman rulers, including Alp Arslan and Ali Pasha, and is a Turkic/Iranian name.
Lion rampant on the royal coat of arms of Scotland"Lion" was the nickname of medieval warrior rulers with a reputation for bravery, such as Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart, Henry the Lion (German: Heinrich der Lowe), Duke of Saxony and Robert III of Flanders nicknamed "The Lion of Flanders" - a major Flemish national hero up to the present. Lions were frequently depicted on coats of arms, either as a device on shields themselves, or as supporters. The formal language of heraldry, called blazon, employs French terms to describe the images precisely. Such descriptions specified whether lions or other creatures were "rampant" or "passant", that is whether they were rearing or crouching. As a heraldic symbol or epithet, the lion continues to be used for modern sporting teams, from national soccer teams such as England, Scotland and Singapore to famous clubs such as the Detroit Lions of the NFL, Chelsea and Aston Villa of the English Premier League, (and the Premiership itself) to a host of smaller clubs around the world. Villa sport a Scottish Lion Rampant on their crest, as do Rangers and Dundee United of the Scottish Premier League.
