Cartier

In broad daylight in downtown Manhattan,, a man starts running. An undercover agent picks up the chase. The first weaves through the crowd and darts down an alley. The second is hot on his heels.A cocaine bust? No, an attempt to seize bogus Fendi bags.Though it may not seem a serious offense, witness what's at stake. The current explosion of counterfeit goods costs the United States $61 billion and more than 210,000 American jobs a year, according to Johannes von Schilcher, executive director of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition.

William A. Spurlock, 67, a retired Sparrows Point steel worker from Dundalk, died Dec. 10 at Franklin Square Hospital of heart and kidney failure.Born in Lincoln County, W.Va., Mr. Spurlock moved to the Baltimore area as a young man and was based here while serving in the merchant marine during World War II. After the war, he enlisted in the Army and served as a military policeman in Germany.Returning to Baltimore about 1950, he worked for 30 years at Bethlehem Steel in a variety of jobs, including one as a member of the blast furnace crew.

Q: Where can I find background information on paintings by Louis Ritman? I'm especially interested in his early paintings of fashionable ladies dating from the first quarter of the 20th century.A: "Louis Ritman -- From Chicago to Giverny: How Louis Ritman Was Influenced by Lawton Parker and Other Midwestern Impressionists," by Richard H. Love, is available for $65 plus $4 shipping. Order from Haas-Mumm Publishing Co. Inc., 100 E. Ohio St., Chicago, Ill. 60611; (312) 664-9620.Q: I collect antique jewelry shaped like reptiles, including iguanas, alligators, dragons and serpents.

Music publisher sues DisneyA British music publishing house has sued the Walt Disney Co. for $200 million, claiming the release of the movie "Fantasia" on video broke a 1939 deal over use of Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" in the film.The lawsuit, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd., accused Disney of illegally extending the right it had purchased for $6,000 to use the music. It asked the court to declare that the 54-year-old right did not extend to videocassettes.

Years ago, before we were married and moved to Maryland, my husband opened a checking account in Indiana and had the statements mailed to his office there. The account wasn't forgotten, just ignored. That wasn't a problem until his employer moved and the statements started bouncing back to the bank. Eventually, the account was turned over to the Indiana attorney general, who added it to a list of unclaimed property — where it was recently spotted by a family acquaintance. We put in a claim.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the most prolific, talented and influential photographers of the 20th century, has died in his native France at age 95. Cartier-Bresson was a giant of the medium not only because he captured some of the most memorable images ever fixed to paper, but because his influence on other photographers, especially photojournalists, has been widespread and profound, and continues to this day. From Mahatma Gandhi's funeral to portraits...

Robert L. White, whose assemblage of John F. Kennedy memorabilia grew to become one of the largest and most significant private collections of the late president's effects in the world, died of a heart attack Saturday at Howard County General Hospital. The Woodbine resident was 54. Mr. White was a teen-ager when he began collecting items related to the 35th president during the 1960s - writing to him to request an autograph. He continued collecting after the 1963 assassination, and eventually was helped by some Kennedy relatives and former Cabinet members.

Photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, considered one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, died Tuesday at age 95. Cartier-Bresson described his work as reflecting "the decisive moment": "the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression." The Sun asked Will Larson, director of the graduate program in photography and digital imaging at the Maryland Institute College of Art, to discuss a Cartier-Bresson photo that defined this style.

He is a legend among photographers, and even people who don't recognize his name have seen his pictures.Henri Cartier-Bresson is hands down one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century -- possibly the greatest of all time.Who else has photographed such an array of people, places and events as the 91-year-old Cartier-Bresson, who has been taking pictures since he first picked up a camera in the 1930s?Cartier-Bresson's astounding output, spanning nearly 70 years of the present century, is an encyclopedic visual record of our age. He has photographed people of every race, religion, creed and political persuasion on Earth as well as legions of the important artists, writers, thinkers and statesmen of the last 60 years.

Charles Curlett paid $2,000 Saturday night for a Cartier watch worth $5,600. "And for a good cause," said the attorney from Oakenshawe. But Curlett won't have the unisex watch all to himself. "We're going to share it," said his wife, Christina. Curlett was among more than 200 people who packed Gutierrez Studios in Woodberry for the third annual "Hats Off to Hampden Family Center," a gala fundraiser featuring silent and live auctions and live music. The Hampden Family Center provides everything from after-school enrichment and tutoring for area schoolchildren to lunches for senior citizens and assistance to families in applying for food stamps and other social services.