The bookseller that started Memorial Day

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Memorial Day was typically a fun holiday for me and mine. It usually meant cookouts and warm weather. These don't always go together in Nebraska where I grew up. Every few years it would mean a sojourn out to the family cemetery to lay flowers on graves of people I never knew. I enjoyed the quiet graveyard by the little abandoned church and read the familiar names- names I had only heard in foggy stories. I liked trying to find the oldest markers, trying to decipher the military markers, and always stopping to admire the stone featuring a detailed drawing and patent number awarded to my kin for some kind of stump grinding devise.

What does Memorial Day have to do with books? Henry Carter Welles was a hyphen bookseller. Not another Barber, but a more common Druggist-Bookseller. Welles, born in 1821, was too old to serve during the Civil War. Sure, there are many, many recorded volunteers who were in their 40s, and beyond, but it was not the norm. However, Henry, like the rest of the nation, was certainly thinking about the war and how many boys from home never returned.

At a social gathering in the summer of 1865, Henry suggested that a day should be set aside to honor the dead of the Civil War. The next year, he repeated his suggestion to General John B. Murray. The two men and a group formed of local citizens gained the support of the village, and on May 5, 1866, the first complete observance of Memorial Day took place in Waterloo, NY.

On that day, civic societies joined the procession led by veterans marching to martial music to the three existing cemeteries . At each cemetery there were impressive and lengthy services including speeches by General Murray and a local clergyman. The ceremonies were repeated on May 5, 1867.

Henry C. Welles died in July 1868, but had lived long enough to see Memorial Day nationally proclaimed by General John Logan, first commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. This was General Order No. 11 establishing “Decoration Day” as it was then known. The date of the order was May 5, 1868, exactly two years after Waterloo’s first observance. That year Waterloo joined other communities in the nation by having their ceremony on May 30.

The Centennial Committee, formed in Waterloo, New York for the 100th observance in 1966, found newspapers of the time gave Henry C. Welles credit for suggesting the first Memorial Day.

So, we have one other to remember this Memorial Day. Henry C. Welles, the bookman who brought recognition to those who have gone on before.


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No one studies ancient history anymore

Discard book label
Originally uploaded by Exile Bibliophile

Received a small stack of old books, including a couple readers from the 1960s. One had this wonderful discard label inside the front cover. I got kick out of it and thought you would too.

Bless me Ultima, Win an Altima!

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One of the local library systems sponsored what I believe to be one of the most gimmicky and hilarious (and effective) reading promotions.

Barbara McCampbell of Norman stands next to the 2005 Altima she won by participating in The Bless Me, Ultima Ultimate Altima Giveaway sponsored by Bob Moore Auto Group and the Pioneer Library System as part of The Big Read. More than 1,200 readers entered the drawing for the car by participating in one or more of the 81 programs and book discussions about the Rudolfo Anaya classic Bless Me, Ultima presented by Pioneer Library System public libraries in Cleveland, McClain, and Pottawatomie counties.

McCampbell became eligible for the car by participating in an event at the Norman Public Library. The winning entry was drawn during a Cinco de Mayo celebration at Bob Moore Nissan in Norman that concluded the three-month reading promotion. The Big Read is sponsored nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Arts Midwest.

Be sure to view all the Big Read Photos on Flickr!

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Selling books in Baltimore

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Undated cover, now in digital captivity at the American Book Trade Index.

Isaac P. Cook
Bookseller and Stationer
76 Baltimore St.

All inside a calligraphic swirly. Addressed to WW Harding, Publisher, Philadelphia.

A Baltimore City Directory places Cook at this address (actually W. Baltimore St.) in 1845.

Maryland Historical Society has further info:
COOK FAMILY PAPERS, MS. 2328
Land transactions of Isaac P. Cook (1808-84), Baltimore bookseller and stationer, and his wife, Laura (d. 1876), and daughter, Isabel (fl. 1877-87); correspondence, 1877-80, about property assessment; deeds for Baltimore City and County land, 1808-87.
47 items, 1808-87


Cover posted to ebay here. Sold for under $3. Very little. At that price, I should have grabbed it, but I thought it would go higher. I can always console myself it is out of my collecting area... but I don't feel any better about it...

WW Harding was bankrupt by 1878, according to this article from the NY Times.


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1881 Detroit, Wilmer Brookes, printing bookstore

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This wonderful photo hollers to us from about 1881. Brought to my attention by a constant contributor to the American Book Trade Index, Mr. WS. Thanks!! This is one of several from 19th Century Detroit.

If you visit the image on the ABTI you can see it at a larger than life level to see it ain't books out on the table on the walk there. What follows is the info posted on the Detroit Public Library's website, where this info was found.

Antonio Dondero's wicker furniture factory

Three-story brick building, with "A. Dondero" on pediment. Men and boys stand by wicker furniture and baskets on sidewalk. Signs on building read: Detroit Willow Ware Manuf'ry, A. Dondero; photograph gallery; Willmen & Brookes, book & job printers. Brick buildings on both sides. Embossed on photograph front: "B.F.R.B. (?)." Handwritten on mat back: "North side Monroe Ave. bet. Farrer & Randolph, about 1881."

1 photographic print mounted on mat board ; image 8.25 x 6 in.

Reproduction of photograph from the Burton Historical Collection

Courtesy: Detroit Public Library

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UCO Book Sale Report

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Last night I attended the 8th annual FOL sale benefiting the University of Central Oklahoma Library. I've visited the UCO campus a couple times before, and never the library. So I started in the visitor lot (mistake) and wondered around. There are no maps posted, so I relied on the kindness of students hanging around to point the library out. The Max Chambers library is in the Northwestern quarter of campus.

It was friends day, so I joined at the door. Membership levels start at $5, which is quite a bargain! Books were shelved along general topical lines. You know, environmental law in gardening, etc. I arrived at the end of the evening, long after the afternoon rush, so it was a little rummaged, but I still found some great books. There was a good mix of newer and older, hardback and paperback, ex-library and donated. Prices are very reasonable, and of course, go to a good cause. Follow the link at the top of the post for all the nitty-gritty.

Also, I found a flyaway for the record books. Flyaways are the stuff found in books. Usually postcards, receipts, etc. Well, this was nothing like that. The book published 1889, in cloth with a shaken spine and hinges starting. There seemed to be a good sized pebble or something in the spine. I tried to peek down the back strip-- something was down there alright, but I couldn't see what. I delicately prodded it with my Parker Jotter popping the invader loose. It clunked out on the shelf-- a chocolate chip. Whole and unsullied. Weird.

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1873, Webster's Dictionary ad

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On this day April 14th, 1828 Noah Webster published the first edition of his dictionary. Webster at the age of 70, Webster published his American Dictionary of the English Language in two quarto volumes (with pages 19 cm (7 in.) wide[1] and roughly 25cm (10in.) tall) containing 70,000 entries. According to Wikipedia he did. I honestly don't know a lot about Webster's dictionary. I have enjoyed accounts of Samuel Johnson's dictionary, and Simon Winchester's The Meaning of Everything, the story of the OED. I've included another image from the American Book Trade Index, this time an ad for Webster's dictionary from an 1873 New Hampshire Farmer's Almanac. The dictionary was offered for $12!

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Book Shop Cats

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Why do all used book stores have cats? Don't tell me any reasons that explain how wonderful cats are. No. Cats are... well, they're a lot of things, but one thing for certain: they are not for me. People don't own cats, cats retain you for their staff.

I think at least half of all used book stores have cats. Stores without feline tenants are over compensated for as it is rare to find a catty bookstore without several creatures within. So, my conservative estimate is that there are at least 3 bookselling cats for every used and antiquarian book shop in North America. If you think you can escape cats in books about bookshops, well the ratio in fiction is at least 12:1! Now, this is all based on years of extensive research and a dislike of cats.

Before the bibliocommunity starts heating up the tar and plucking chickens, I offer these: 19th century trade cards featuring cats. These cats aren't too bad. They're mostly cute, they don't shed, don't make a racket or *ahem* mark territory.

Since nearly all of my readers (well, both of you) are "cat people" I post the following for your viewing pleasure. Of course, these are only a few contributions to the American Book Trade Index, which churns on. We are currently closing in on the 1800 image mark! Hooray!

Resist Temptation and Little Nips

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Brilliant. Another example of a bookplate carrying use and care instructions (and guilt trips). I love this. From JB, charter member of the Bibliophiles of Oklahoma. I forgot to ask is Cecil followed these rules...

When You Use A Book
* Are you careful with it?
* Do you try to keep it clean?
* Do you refrain from writing or marking in it?
* Do you resist the temptation to roll up the corners of the pages and tear out little nips?
* If so, good.
*If not, try to think of books as human begins with feelings just like yours. And resolve today to treat books as friends.

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Bibliophiles of Oklahoma Report

No. 6 with carved angel face
Originally uploaded by ◄Kentigern►

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Meeting 2: We're growing! We had 6 in attendance! For those who missed the last after-action report, that is double what we had last time. At this rate, every human in Oklahoma will belong in about a year and a half! That is certainly exciting. If dues were only $1, we'd have a budget of over $3M! Three million dollars would buy a lot of book fun. Well, not for 3 million people though.

As long as I'm dishing out some reality, I'm also not being wholly honest. The 6 attendees includes my wife who just got off work and needed a bite. But it's not like she's a book *hater*, so she counts too.

The original 3 were joined by two more members. M collects modern firsts. From our chat I would classify him as a late-stage protocollector. Our other new member, JB, is a life long collector who collects books related to his record collection and antique audio equipment. He is perhaps an early-stage protocollector.

One thing I have learned trying to start a collector's society is that many people are reluctant to refer to themselves as collectors. Why is that? It seems some believe book collectors have to spend thousands of dollars on every leather-bound purchase. Some collectors do, but for most of us, that just isn't the case. I've started referring to people who accumulate books along with a general idea or nucleus as protocollectors. Can you tell I once pursued archaeology as a career? Perhaps I need to work up a scale, or evolutionary chart of progression... hmmmm. Stay tuned.

The meeting was fun and even a little productive. We hashed out some ideas to promote BoOK and also set dates for future meetings. So, if you'd care to join us, check out the website for details. The next two meetings will be 4/24 and 5/22, 7-9 pm. Those times are -ish.

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1896 Newspaper Print Shop paper dolls

1896, Boston Globe, paper dolls
Originally uploaded by Exile Bibliophile

Someone save me. I don't need this, but it's almost too cool to let pass. Paper dolls? Sheesh...

How to Open a Book

1899, Notice, How to Open a Book

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This little number is getting a bit of traffic on my flickr posts. I found this little fly-away in a book from 1899 at an FOL sale recently. I think it had been tucked in the back since it was new. A friend of mine saw it and has decided to reproduce it for his wife who seems to get a kick out of that cracking sound...

If you're experiencing some deja vu, don't be frightened. Book Patrol also posted on this exact thing not a couple weeks ago. This little paper sure wants some publicity!

Inauguration Day for BoOK

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First, thank you to everyone who sent well-wishes and positive vibes for the inaugural meeting of the Bibliophiles of Oklahoma. We had a wonderful first meeting. We could have used some better luck though. By Thursday morning, we had 7 or 8 coming "for sure" and 3 or 4 "I'll try or maybe". So, potentially up to 12. I expected six and thought that was realistic. We actually only had... three. Including me. At the end of last week, an official flu epidemic was in its last throes in Oklahoma. That knocked out 2. After that, our luck ran downhill.

If three of anything is a collection, then three bibliophiles can make a society. You, dear reader, know my interests. I won't bore you with more on that. The two other first members of BoOK are fascinating gents. Dr. RB collects books on archaeology related to his specialty. A born collector and one of the good guys. Dr. KH insists he is not a collector (RB argued "If you have a room just for books in your house, you're a collector") but has written 22 books with the latest due soon from Oxford Univ. Press. It is a literary biography of Thomas Jefferson. I wonder if I can score a review copy (hint, hint)? He has also published bibliographies of the libraries of two major American figures. We passed a wonderful evening with loads of bookly talk. No, bookly is not a word, but I'm not too uppity to use it. At one point I relished hearing "Now, did the 1787 Paris edition have the map...?" Amongst us, we had the answer. Well, the bibliographer did. Beautiful. I supplied the evening's show-and-tell, but I may hold it in reserve and re-run it when we have more people. It is an object that has stumped me and the rest of the Bibliophiles of Oklahoma. Both of them.

So, come see this thing, and meet some delightful people, and me. Our next meeting will be 7 pm, Thursday March 27th. I appreciate it if you let me know if you can come, so we can plan ahead (chairs, tables, etc.), but it's OK to just show up!

Photo found on flickr: Uploaded on July 9, 2006 by zen.

Bibliophiles of Oklahoma

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TOMORROW NIGHT!!

The Inaugural Meeting of the Bibliophiles of Oklahoma. Huzzah! I'm an excited dork and huzzah is what we say. If you think you waited too long to get the secret location and secret password to join us, you have not. You can still email me (it's in my profile) and get the info. If meeting me is not enough, I've heard from several interesting people I can't wait to meet who will be attending. For those only able to join us in spirit and well-wishes, I'll provide an after action report later this week. Got a lot on the docket.

Guest Posting

I was invited to submit a post to a Music and Arts and People and Ideas blog by a Manuel Marino, whose signature line reads like a con-artist I once met (what is a "producer/ visionary sound guru?"). I was not 100% sure why my writing and subject matter would appeal to the readership over there, but figured what the hay. It seems the entire content of that blog is written by other people. Oh well. It may draw some traffic here. Anyways, I sent over a reworked posting from here a few weeks ago and forgot about it. Today (maybe yesterday) an email appears: "Your article is online :) thank you!". They actually posted it! If inclined to find out more for yourself, you can follow the link above. I'll let you know about the traffic draw.




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