Where in the world was Josef Kostan? Speculation on history

[Tam]

I somehow got it stuck in my head that Josef was born somewhere in what is currently Germany (though Austria would fit fine, too). Not because I currently live here, but because I think he has a middle/north European look without looking typically Scandinavian.

I've tried my hand at some fanfiction that has him buying, collecting and selling art- mostly paintings- around the turn of the 20th century, which would be easy if you have the money for storage and live forever...you could just wait for that style of painting to come back in vogue. I got the idea after hearing about some Waterhouse paintings that were sold for 50 £ after WW2 because no one wanted them- they got re-sold twenty years later (the blink of an eye for vamps) for several thousand...seems like a lucrative business to be in. That, and the artsy decorating in Josef's office got me thinking along those lines.

[sorry if this is completely obvious to everyone already ]

[librarian_7]

I've seen so many places posited as Josef's home ground, including Eastern Europe, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and I think maybe Russia.

I think a lot of the Eastern European speculation is driven by his name (not that we know if that's his birth name!) and the traditional "vampires come from Transylvania" idea.

Lucky

[francis]

I really like that take on Josef, Tam.

I would really like for Josef to be German. However, what now is Germany was a jigsaw puzzle of small countries when Josef was born. So there's still room for him to be whatever you like, from Silesia to Friesland.
Collecting art would have been one thing he could accumulate wealth with. However, he must have had times when he had to flee the country and couldn't take anything with him. How would he stake a claim on his possessions a generation later? Today it's easier to fake a paper trail or documents.

[jen]

This is absolutely intriguing.

The idea about storing and reselling art pieces feels very right. All it requires is a minimal investment and time, and we know he has a lot of time. The expertise to recognize spot a potential good investment could be acquired relatively easily and after observing a couple of cycles, something he could build on. However, I think that Josef would have gotten involved in multiple things and not all of them money makers. The boredom factor would have necessitated it.

I particularly love a story that is out there, I forget by who, on John Randolph Hearst and Josef's ability to spot an extraordinary individual quite young. I suspect he has been a mover and shaker behind the scenes, by lending his influence to a certain person here and there.

Jenna

[francis]

This is absolutely intriguing.

The idea about storing and reselling art pieces feels very right. All it requires is a minimal investment and time, and we know he has a lot of time. The expertise to recognize spot a potential good investment could be acquired relatively easily and after observing a couple of cycles, something he could build on. However, I think that Josef would have gotten involved in multiple things and not all of them money makers. The boredom factor would have necessitated it.

I particularly love a story that is out there, I forget by who, on John Randolph Hearst and Josef's ability to spot an extraordinary individual quite young. I suspect he has been a mover and shaker behind the scenes, by lending his influence to a certain person here and there.

Jenna

Jenna, that's Librarian_7 (with Kylara) and the story is The Bet. Two chapters are finished, and there's the promise of more.