The saxophone shape of the flag post in the image above, which I was lucky to see and photograph trough dense vegetation at full zoom, is an excellent decorative analogy to the fact that Art Deco style has its origins in the Jazz era, the saxophone being a main instrument in Jazz orchestras. It adorns the staircase tower of an once grandiose mid-1930s Art Deco house. Bucharest had a lively cabaret scene in the 1930s during an era of economic well being, derived from the country’s large oil exports, and Jazz was one of the music genres performed in town. The flag post is used today as a TV antenna, a witness of the continuous decline of Bucharest’s artistic and architectural scene in the last seven decades (five decades of communist regime and two decades of chaotic Russian oligarchy type post-communist transition).
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I endeavor through this daily image series to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural heritage.
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If you plan acquiring a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advice you in locating the property, specialist research, planning permissions, restoration project management, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian 
Hi Valentin
Your site has many fans in Australia. I am the President of the Art Deco & Modernism Society. We publish a quarterly journal called the Spirit of Progress (see our web-page for the covers). I write a regular column called the “World of Deco” and would like to include an item about your blog, including an image. Our mag is distributed internationally. Could we have permission to publish the image from 3 Jan of the saxophone shape. Would be happy to send you a recent copy of our journal if you let me have your postal address.
regards Robin
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Hi Robin,
What a great and pleasant surprise for me to hear from the President of such an august organisation as the Art Deco & Modernism Society of Australia! I feel honoured by your intention to write about my blog and of course you have my permission to publish the saxophone shape flag post image from my 3 January ’10 blogpost. Please send me a copy of the relevant magazine issue at the following postal address: Valentin Mandache, CP 15 – 442, Bucharest 053120, Romania.
Best regards,
Valentin
PS I am thinking about lobbying for the possible organisation of a future Art Deco congress (’15 or ’19) in Bucharest; perhaps you can advise me on some of the basics 🙂
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