 |
| Lakeland Iowa Evening Telegram, 04-June-1920 |
I like the activity in this Coca-Cola ad.
Monday, June 29, 2020
When Delicious and Refreshing Mean the Most -- June 29, 2020
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Base Ball Returns -- June 27, 1920
 |
| Lakeland Iowa Evening Telegram, 04-June-1920 |
I am excited because baseball may finally return in July. The owners and the union have made a deal, despite the owners negotiating in bad faith. I am not happy that both leagues will use the designated hitter. Spring training may start on June 1.
Poinsettia ice cream sounds interesting.
Friday, June 26, 2020
United Nations 75 -- June 26, 2020
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Carly Simon 75 -- June 25, 2020
 |
| www.listal.com |
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Jack Dempsey 125 -- June 24, 2020
 |
| www.coverbrowser.com |
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/nickname-10-january-24-2012.html
During World War One, he worked in a San Francisco Bay Area shipyard and fought in the four round fights that were then legal in California. He was accused of avoiding military service, but people later found evidence that he had tried to enlist in the army, but had been classified as 4-F.
On 04-July1919, Dempsey defeated Jess Willard, the Pottawatamie Giant, and won the heavyweight championship:
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2019/07/fight-should-have-ended-in-one-round.html
 |
| Moving Picture World, 23-August-1919 |
 |
| Film Daily, 06-October-1926 |
Dempsey ran popular in restaurants in New York City for the rest of his life. During World War Two, he taught physical fitness in the Coast Guard.
I remember well when he was still alive. He died in 1983.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
America's All-Year Resort -- June 23, 2020
 |
| facebook.com/Vintage-Graphic-Design-and-Poster-Art |
Monday, June 22, 2020
Statues and RIPs -- June 22, 2020
 |
| OpenSFHistory / wnp37.03339.jpg |
Art Curtiss, retired Muni Chief Inspector and longtime Coast Guard reservist, died this week after getting told he would live three more months in 2018. He led a life dedicated to service and he was very good about sharing what he knew with transit fans.
David Perlman wrote for the Chronicle from 1940 to 2017. He was the science reporter for many years. He died at 101.
Vera Lynn, who was an icon of World War Two, died this week at 103.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Happy Father's Day, 2020 -- June 21, 2020
Happy Fathers' Day to all my fellow fathers. I miss my dad. And I miss my father-in-law. I haven't had anyone for whom to buy a card for a long time. I am lucky to have a great daughter and son-in-law.
The Crack Junk Lund Sune Close Hauled -- June 21, 2020
 |
| San Francisco Call, 08-June-1895 |
A SPEEDY SAILING JUNK
Among the craft of the bay merchant marine are three strangers, which, though they sail in and out among the vessels of deep and shallow water of this harbor, are strangers still. They are waifs from other seas, and the isolation and seclusiveness of foreign waters is around them. They are the junks Lund Sune, Fung Hi and Mong Lee, and are owned by the Chinese shrimpers that operate near California City. A reporter yesterday, desiring to learn something about these floating visitants from the Yellow Sea, stepped on board the Lund Sune at Second-street wharf, whose name, in Roman characters, painted upon her stern, made her the most modern of the three.
The Lund Sune looks as if her builder got tired of looking at the results of his handiwork and quit the task, leaving her uncompleted. Her ribs come up a few inches above the deck and stop, and rail, cap or anything tending to ornament the hull is religiously omitted. The planking of the deck runs athwartships with the usual contrariness of things Mongolian. The anchor hangs over the stern like the whaleback's, and in this the most modern shipbuilder has not gotten far away from his brother of ages ago. But the beautiful appliances for hoisting the single batwing-like sail and the mudhook strike hardest the enthusiastic and esthetic child of the sea. They are uncouth windlasses with four long pegs stuck at right angles through the central timber or roller, upon which the halliards are slowly wound by the crew, dragging the sail inch by inch up to the masthead. It apparently does not occur to Captain Sam, her skipper, that a few pulls on the halliards, occidental fashion, would send the light canvas flying aloft, but he must make sail as his ancestors did before Magellan steered the first "'foreign devil's" ship into the Pacific.
The rudder-post stands above the deck like a stump-jury mast, and the tiller sets horizontally forward like the arm of a gibbet. The rudder itself is a wonder. Through it are a large number of diamond shaped holes, which, when the helm is put hard over, will permit the water to flow from side* to side — the very thing, it seems to anybody but a Chinaman, that should not happen — if the vessel is to be turned to starboard or port. Captain Sam is a very intelligent man, but his explanation of the phenomenon couched in tine pigeon-English was misleading.
The Lund Sune's side planking runs beyond her stern as if the junk-carpenter intended to saw the ends of the boards off but forgot to do it. She is larger than her sisters, the Mong Lee and Fung Hi, which are built on the same elaborate Chinese lines. Captain Sam, who is a sort of admiral over the junks, says they are fast sailers, and he is ready any time to race the fast scows on the bay. He wants to know if there is to be a regatta on the Fourth of July, and will enter his flagship, the crack craft Lund Sune, for cups or coin.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Amos Tutuola 100 -- June 20, 2020
 |
| www.listal.com |
Friday, June 19, 2020
Juneteenth, 2020 -- June 19, 2020
 |
| www.holidayscalendar.com |
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Mike McCormick, RIP -- June 17, 2020
Giants pitcher Mike McCormick has died. He started pitching for the New York Giants when he was 17. He won the Cy Young award in 1967.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Peaceful Protests, Virus Round 2 -- June 16, 2020
Protests about the killing of Eric Floyd and other people of color by the police have continued and are generally not marred by violence or looting.
Many states are reopening businesses, and COVID-19 infections are skyrocketing.
Our so-called president spoke at the West Point commencement and appeared to have trouble drinking water and walking.
Monday, June 15, 2020
White Stockings, 157; Bluff Citys, 1 -- June 15, 2020
 |
| Chicago Tribune, 15-May-1870 |
SPORTING MATTERS.
The White Stockings versus the
Bluff Citys of Memphis.
Score -- White Stockings,
157; Bluff Citys, 1.
BASE BALL.
Special Despatch to The Chicago Tribune.
THE WHITE STOCKINGS VS. THE BLUFF CITYS, OF
MEMPHIS.
Memphis, Tenn., May 13. -- Still another immense achievement has been added to the record of the White Stockings, of Chicago, their victory over the Bluff City Club, of Memphis, to-day, totally casting in the shade anything the nine has ever done, Individually or collectively. The score at the close of the ninth Inning stood -- White Stockings, 157; Bluff Citys, 1. The Chicago boys arrived in this city at hall-past 8 this morning, after a long, hot, dusty, tedious ride by rail from New Orleans, and proceeded direct to the Overton House where a suite of elegant rooms were allotted to them. Not one of the party was feeling well, the change of water since leaving home having began to show its effect in producing bowel complaint. However, a few hours’ rest, a wholesome dinner, and above all plentiful doses of the brandy and Jamaica ginger, with which Tom Foley goes largely provided for such emergencies, sufficed to bring about a better physical condition all around. Hodes and McAtee were yet quite lame, and Craver got excused from catching behind, by reason of the game-fingers on each hand. Consequently a good game was not anticipated, and sorely there was no lack of excuses for an inferior one. The result seems to suggest that a healthy condition of bowels and limbs is not an indispensable prerequisite to great efficiency on the ball field.
THE BLUFF CITY CLUB
is the champion club of Tennessee, having held and maintained that distinction for three years against all comers, and they are conceded to be a much stronger nine than the Green Stockings, whom the Cincinnati Club defeated the other day by a score of 100 to 2. The batting order and positions of the Bluffs are as follows: Rapp, left field; Burke, first base; Winters, second; Motley, right field; Levy, catcher; Dukes, short; Garvin, centre; Watson, third; and Reynolds, pitcher.
THE GAME.
At five minutes past 3 o’clock game was called and the Bluffs were sent to the bat. Mr. J. M. Hill, of Memphis, acted as umpire.
FIRST INNING.
Bluffs -- Rapp hit a short bounder, and was retired by Myerle to McAtee. Burke fouled out by King, who was catching behind; and Winters struck a foul which King got on the bound. No run.
Chicago -- The White Stockings took the bat in hand with a will, and by tbe end of the inning had accustomed themselves to Reynolds’ pitching, scoring seven runs. Wood fouled out by Levy. Pinkham was retired on a well-stopped grounder by Winters to Burke, and Hodes hit a foul which Levy gathered handsomely on the bound, King being left on third.
SECOND INNING.
Bluffs -- Motley sent a high fly to right field, and it was cared for by Cuthbert. Levy’s grounder was sent by Wood to McAtee. Dukes struck three times and got his first on a passed ball delivered badly by Myerle. Dukes was caught napping at first by Myerle to McAtee, and was cornered between first and second by McAtee and Wood. No runs.
Chicago -- From first to last twenty-seven runs were scored by the White Stockings, who were batting safely and long. McAtec came to grief on a foul bound, finely run for and secured, by Levy, and Myerle met the same fate. Cuthbert’s hot scraper was well stopped by Watson and sent to Burke.
THIRD INNING.
Bluffs -- Garvin gained first on a safe hit between first and second. Watson’s liner was well caught by Wood, who qulckly dropped the ball for the sake of tne double play, Garvin thus being forced from first, but failed to touch him as he ran to second. Walson reaching first. Reynolds hit safely to right field, and got first, bringing Garvin home for a tally, and Watson to third. Cheers for the first run by tbe Bluffs. Watson was forced off second by Rapp’S three strikes, and was got by McAtee to Pinkham, and Rapp by Kings to McAtee, Burke popped up a short fly, which Pinkham captured. Side out, and one run. Reynolds left on third.
Chicago -- This time fourteen runs were scored, and nearly all on good safe hits. Wood was sent back by Winters to Burke, as was also Cuthbert, both on easy grounders, and McAtee preserved the continuation of outs by hitting a foul, which Levy got on the bound.
FOURTH INNING.
Bluffs -- Winters’ high fly was finely taken on the run by Craver in the centre field, and Motley’s perpendicular twister settled securely into McAtee's hands. Levy struck a bounder, which Pinkham reached for and got nicely, and sent to McAtee. No runs.
Chicago -- The style of pitching was suddenly changed by Reynolds from swift to very slow, and before the Chicago strikers had got used to it, the side was out, and a whitewash had been suffered. Treacy was put out by Winters to Burke, and Craver got to second on a high fly muffed by Garvin. Reynolds’ bounder was stopped by Winters, and well put to Burke, and Pinkham’s foul was taken on the bound by Levy. Craver left on third.
FIFTH INNING.
Bluffs -- Dukes’ fly to short centre was well run for and reached by Craver, but dropped, and the striker got to first, going thence to third on a passed ball. He attempted to reach home on Garvin's short bounder, but Pinkham got it nicely, sent to Myerle, at third, and Dukes was cornered, Garvin getting first. He then reached second on an overthrow by Pinkham to McAtee. Watson fouled out by King. Reynolds’ grounder was muffed by Wood, and he got first, Garvin to third. Kapp struck ont to King, leaving Garvin at third and Reynolds at second.
Chicago -- King sends a terrific one to the extreme left field, and made a home run on the hit. Hodes’ high fly was well taken by Garvin. Wood’s easy grounder was muffled by Burke, and he got first. Cuthbert mistook a fair for a foul stroke, neglected to run, and a double play was made to second, nipping Wood, who had thought the hit foul, and then to first for Cuthbert. Side out and one run.
SIXTH INNING.
Bluffs -- Burke’s grounder was cared for by Wood to McAtee. Winters sent a liner too hot for Wood to hold out. He recovered quickly and got his man by a fine throw to McAtee. Motley struck three times and got his first on a bad stop by McAtee from Craver, who was catching behind. Levy sent a high one to short centre field, and King took a beautiful running catch. Side out and no runs. Motley left on third.
Chicago -- The White Stockings had now got the best of Reynolds’ slow pitching and batted at a tremendous rate, scoring the remarkable number of thirty-five runs In the inning. The hitting was long and safe, and before the side was out the fielders were actually too tired to return balls in season to prevent any number first, second and third base hits. Myerle made a home run. Pinkham was unlucky, hitting two fouls for Burke to capture, and Craver fouled out by the catcher.
SEVENTH INNING.
Bluffs -- Dukes got his first on a safe liner out of Hodes' reach. Garvin struck out to King, now behind the bat again. Watson’s foul tip lodged firmly between King’s stubby fingers. Reynolds sent a hot one between short and. third, and got second on the hit, Dukes going to third, where he was left, and Reynolds at second, when Rapp struck out to King. No runs.
Chicago -- The batting continued as furious as ever, and the luckless fielders of the outs were more tired than before. Treacy scored a home run. King’s hlgh-fly was finely taken on the run by Winters. Plnkham’s foul was got on the bound by Levy, and Pinkham was again retired on a short grounder to the first base line, which Burke ran for and sent to Winters, who had occupied the base, Myerle was left on third. Thirty-four runs tallied.
EIGHTH INNING.
Bluffs -- Here it was short, sharp and decisive. Burke’s high fly was neatly taken by Hodes. Winters popped up a twister, which Pinkham secured, and Motley was retired after three strikes by King to McAtee. No runs.
Chicago -- Once more the White Stockings terribly punished the outfielders, and batted sixteen runs before they would let up. Treacy got in another home run by his splendid running, being aided this time by a failure to find the ball, which had been knocked so far that the out fielder lost track of it. Hodes was forced by Wood from first, and was secured at second by Levy to Winters. Pinkham’s short fly was taken by Burke, and Hodes’ foul fly was held by Watson, who had gone behind to catch.
NINTH INNING.
Bluffs -- Levy’s hot grounder was splendidly stopped by Wood and sent to McAtee. Dukes fouled out by Craver behind the bat. Garvin got his first on a safe liner to centre field, and was left at second, when Watson was retired on three strikes by Craver to McAtee. No runs.
CHICAGO.
It was getting late, and the cars were whistling, and the White Stockings batted at everything within reach. They were successful to the extent of twenty-three tallies, in the course of which Tracy secured ten and Wood one home run. Pendham’s fly was beaten by Burke. King’s easy grounder was stopped by Winters, and sent to Burke, and Wood tripped a foul fly to Sevy’s hands, thus ending the game with one hundred and fifty-seven runs tallied.
REMARKS.
The fact that one hundred and nineteen first base bits were made, and one hundred and eighty-one total bases on hits, will demonstrate the quality of the batting, which was far superior to anything the nine has ever done. It also proves that while the pitching was comparatively easy to hit, the immense number of runs scored was not to any considerable extent due to the inferior fielding of the Bluff City Club, whose catching in the field was fair, bat who were completely tired out by chasing balls out of reach and fielding them in. The ground was favorable to heavy batting, from the fact that it declined abruptly beyond the second and third base lines, but this advantage was to some extent counteracted by the up-hill running from second to third, and thence home. The Bluff City boys were completely thunderstruck at the tremendous hitting of the White Stockings, having never seen anything like it before. Knowing themselves to be much superior to the Green Stockings, and believing that the Chicago nine could not be better than the Red Stockings, the Bluffs confidently counted upon a better relative score than the Greens had against the Reds, and their friends had bet heavily on making from five to ten runs. On this account a heavy pressure was brought to bear, at the close of the seventh inning, to induce the White Stockings to allow them to score just two runs more and then call the game, as it was growing late, but Tom Foley and Jimmy Wood, valuing the victory of the club far beyond the pecuniary interest of outsiders, stubbornly refused to let up an atom, and ordered the boys to go on with their "rat killing," which they did most effectually.
OFF FOR HOME.
We start for home to-morrow, intending to play in Kankakee on Monday next, and to reach Chicago the same night.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Flag Day 2020 -- June 14, 2020
 |
| www.listal.com |
The Justice Society of America was an early grouping of superheroes which appeared in All Star Comics. Here we see them saluting the flag, which is borne by Hawkman. When I started reading DC comics, they would sometimes bring back the JSA in Earth Two stories or reprint old stories.
Base Ball -- Match Game Between the Red Stockings and Atlantics -- June 14, 2020
 |
| Evansville Journal, 15-June-1870 |
Base Ball Match Game Between the
Red Stockings and Atlantics.
New York, June 14. -- Fully ten thousand persons were present at the game of base ball between the Red Stockings and Atlantics. The game was close and exciting. At the end of the sixth inning the score stood four to three in favor of the Atlantics. At the end of the eighth inning there was a tie. The score, being five to five. On the ninth and tenth innings neither club scored, but on the eleventh the Atlantics scored three and the Red Stockings two. The excitement as the game drew near an end was intense. The following is the score by innings:
Atlantics 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0,1, 0, 0, 3. Total, 8.
Red Stockings 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 2. Total, 7.
Saturday, June 13, 2020
I Wunda Where Can Be a Thunda Bug -- June 13, 2020
 |
| Washington Times, 26-June-1919 |
Thursday, June 11, 2020
A Novel Race for $10,000 -- June 11, 2020
 |
| Washington Times, 12-June-1895 |
Hazel Scott and Shelly Manne 100 -- June 11, 2020
 |
| www.listal.com |
Drummer and band leader Shelly Manne was also born 100 years ago today. I used to hear him on KJAZ. I always like the use he made of his name, like Shelly Manne and His Men. His Los Angeles nightclub was Shelly's Manne-Hole. He played with the early bebop musicians. He played for Woody Herman and Stan Kenton. He played on many movie and television show soundtracks.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Bonnie Pointer, RIP -- June 10, 2020
 |
| www.listal.com |
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Charles Dickens 150 Years -- June 9, 2020
 |
| Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, 10-June-1870 |
Boz (pronounced like "nose") died 150 years ago today, on 09-June-1870. Some years ago I decided to read or reread all of Charles Dickens' novels, even Barnaby Rudge and Martin Chuzzlewit, during my commute. I don't remember how long it took, but it was worthwhile. I still have to read some short stories and Christmas stories A college professor once said that Dickens' works make good movies because "they can cut out all the dull stuff." Several of the members of the class were offended, but she was probably right. .
OBITUARY.
CHARLES DICKENS.
Death of the Great Novelist, Yesterday Afternoon, Near London, at the Age of 58.
A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.
His Career as a Journalist, Novelist,
and Playwright -- The Immortal
Mr. Pickwick, and
His Other Household Characters.
London, June 10. -- Charles Dickens, the eminent author, died yesterday afternoon, at the age of fifty-eight.
Later Particulars.
London, June 10. -- Charles Dickens died at twenty minutes past six o'clock last evening, of paralysis.
THE CAREER OF CHARLES DICKENS.
The announcement which the above cable despatch makes will create a sensation no less profound in this country than in England. The voluminous writings of Mr. Dickens were so well known throughout the length and breadth of the land, his books have been for years in the hands of so many, such eager multitudes have thronged the halls in which his readings have been delivered, that his death will come home to hundreds of thousands, and will be mourned as would be the death of a near and valued personal friend.
His Early Life.
Charles Dickens was born at Landport, Portsmouth, England, on the 7th of February, 1812, and had, therefore fully completed his fifty-eighth year at the time of his death. His father, John Dickens, had for many years held a position in the pay department of the navy, from which he retired in 1815, on a pension. He was a man of considerable literary acquirements, and, removing to London after his resignation, he became connected with one of the daily papers of the English metropolis as a reporter of Parliamentary debates. His son Charles he intended for the profession of the law, and accordingly placed him at an early age in an attorney's office as a clerk. In this position he was by no means idle, but acquired a thorough knowledge of the complicated machinery and technical phraseology of tho law, which he was enabled in after years to turn to such excellent use. The drudgery of the work, however, weighed heavily upon his spirit, as a taste for literary pursuits was developed, and manifested chiefly at first by an indiscriminate reading of novels and plays.
He Becomes a Journalist.
Happily, his father's journalistic associations enabled him to exchange his distasteful pursuits for a more congenial occupation. He became attached to the True Sun, a daily London journal, as a reporter, and soon after transferred himself to the Morning Chronicle, a paper which at that time possessed a large circulation and was at the very height of its popularity, under the management of Mr. John Black. It was in 1834 that he had begun to contribute to the Old Monthly Magazine, his first paper in that periodical being "Mrs. Joseph Porter over the way." This was followed by "Horatio Sparkins," and "The Boarding House," but it was not until the publication of the second paper under the last title that he assumed the pseudonym of "Boz,"as may be found by reference to the Old Monthly for August, 1834. Mr. Black soon recognized the ability of the young man, and gave him an opportunity to exercise it to the best advantage by publishing a series of "Sketches of English Life and Character," in which were displayed his versatility and piquancy of style. These sketches were published in the evening edition of the Chronicle, over the signature of
"Boz,"
and at once attracted great attention by reason of the remarkable and original vein of observation which characterized them, although by many they were denounced because the powers of the unknown writer were exercised to so great an extent in the delineation of scenes of misery and vice, and the exposure of the infirmities of humanity. The popularity of the sketches, however, was so great, that in 1830-37 they were collected and published in three volumes, under the title of "Sketches by Boz," and enjoyed a large sale.
Early Dramatic Triumphs.
While writing the "Sketches," a strong inclination towards the stage induced Mr. Dickens to test his powers as a dramatist, and his first piece, a farce called The Strange Gentleman, was produced at the St. James' Theatre on the opening night of the season, September 29, 1830. The late Mr. Harley was the hero of the farce, which was received with great favor, This was followed by an opera, called The Village Coquettes, for which Mr. Hullah composed the music, and which was brought out at the same establishment, Tuesday, December 6, 1836. The quaint humor, unaffected pathos and graceful lyrics of this production found prompt recognition, and the piece enjoyed a prosperous run. The Village Coquettes took its title from two village girls, Lucy and Rose, led away by Vanity, coquetting with men above them in tation, and discarding their humble though worthy lovers. Before, however, It is too late, they see their error, aud the piece terminates happily. "Miss Rainforth" and "Miss Julia Smith" were the heroines, and "Mr. Bennet" and "Mr. Gardner" were their betrothed lovers. "Braham" was the Lord ot the Manor, who culd have led astray the fair "Lucy." There was a capital scene where he was detected by "Lucy's" father, played by Strickland, urging elopement, Harley had a trifling part in the piece, rendered highly amusing by his admirable acting. On March 6, 1837, was brought out, at the St. James' Theatre, a farce called Is She His Wife; or, Something Singular, in which Harley played the principal character, "Felix Tapkins," a flirting bachelor, and sang a song in the character of Pickwick, "written expressly for him by Boz." The name of the author was not given in the playbill. But the celebrity so rapidly acquired by Mr. Charles Dickens in other departments of literature kept his pen from this time too constantly in request to enable him to follow up these early dramatic ventures.
"The Pickwick Papers."
The freshness, humor, and vivacity of the sketches of London life, and the dramatic power indicated by The Village Coquette, attracted the attention of Mr. Hall, a member of the well-known publishing firm of Chapman and Hall, who applied to "Boz" to prepare for them a serial story to be issued in monthly parts. The work was begun without any definite plan, as is almost patent to the casual reader in the early chapters. It was suggested to Mr. Dickens that the adventures and mishaps of a club made up of original and eccentric characters would afford a happy medium for displaying not only the powers of the author, but also those of the artist who was engaged to illustrate them, Mr. Seymour, a popular comic draughtsman. With this hint the first number of the "Posthumous Memoirs of the Pickwick Club" was prepared and given to the world, but before the second appeared the artist died by his own hand, and Mr. Hablot K. Browne, who was known under the name of "Phiz," was engaged to illustrate the succeeding numbers, which he did with all the spirit and vivacity inaugurated by his predecessor.
The work was completed and published in a collected form in 1837. But long before It was finished, it had attained a degree of popularity to which nothing in English literature since the appearance ot the Waverley Novels afforded a parallel. Between the appearance of tho first and last numbers of the work the author rose at one giant stride to the recognized position of the most popular living writer in the language, a position which ho successfully maintained to the day of his death. The wit, pathos, originality, and accuracy of his pictures of English life and manners, both high and low, touched the hearts and captivated the fancy of all classes. All England and America were thrown into an ecstatic laughter over the mishaps of Mr. Pickwick and his companions, the rare attractions of the great trial scene of Bardell vs. Pickwick, and the quaint sayings, grotesque comparisons, and inimitable conversations of the two Wellers, father and son. The sayings of the incomparable Samivel were quoted by speakers in the houses of Parliament and by the ragged gamins in the slums of London. In less than six months from the appearance of the first number, the names of Winkle, Wardle, Weller, Snodgrass, Dodson, and Fogg had become familiar as household terms. "Pickwick chintzes" figured in shop windows, and "Weller corduroys" in tailors' advertisements; "Boz cabs" were rattling through the streets of London, and the portraits of the author of "Pelham" or "Crichton" in the omnibuses were scraped down or pasted over, to make room for those of the new popular favorite. A fresh vein of humor had been opened, an original genius had sprung up, and even the heavy Quarterly Review acknowledged that "the most cursory reference to preceding English writers of the comic order would show that, in his own peculiar walk, Mr. Dickens is not simply the most distinguished, but the first." And the man who had thus thrown not only London, but every English-speaking community in the world, into an almost unparalleled furore, was but twenty-five years old, and this was his first serious effort in the walks of literature. Taking Into consideration his youth and his surroundings, his sudden fame was fairly without a parallel in the whole history of letters.
The Appearance of "Oliver Twist."
The name of the author of the "Pickwick Papers" was not announced until 1838, but as soon as they were fairly underway proposals from the leading London publishers flowed in upon him with unexampled rapidity. He accepted from among all these the offer of Mr. Bentley, and became editor of Bentley's Miscellany, in the second number of which, for February, 1837. appeared the first Instalment of "Oliver Twist." The story, admirably illustrated by George Cruikshank, at once became a favorite, and is still regarded as one of the author s most striking novels. This novel fully sustained the high reputation acquired by the "Pickwick Papers." Although its humor was not so rich, nor so abundant, nor so genial, as that displayed in the preceding work, it possessed a deeper tragic power, especially in the painting of the deeper passions of the soul and tho terrible retributions of crime. In "Oliver Twist," as in "Nicholas Nickleby," which was issued in shilling numbers, uniform with "Pickwick," shortly after the completion of that work, Mr. Dickens dealt with abuses and cruelties which prevailed In certain public institutions, and was happily instrumental in repealing laws that sanctioned gross injustice.
Indeed, it is noticeable that in most of his novels he has battled with some covert wrong against society, and, while adding to literature a crowd of imperishable creations, has taught the world the most thorough lessons In human charity and love.
"Nicholas Nickleby" and Its Successor.
"Oliver Twist" appeared collectively in 1838, and 1839 the "Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" was completed and given to the world entire. In 1840 Mr. Dickens undertook, and completed in the succeeding year, the production of a series of tales in weekly numbers, undtr the general title of "Master Humphrey's Clock." It was in this series that "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge" were first given to the world. While "Master Humphrey's Clock" was still running, he edited the "Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi," the celebrated clown.
Mr. Dickens' First Visit to the United States.
On finishing "Master Humphrey's Clock" Mr. Dickens sailed from England for the United States, to gather material for a volume upon the men and manners of the New World. He arrived in Boston on January 22, 1842, and sailed for England again on June 3 of the same year. During this brief sojourn he travelled extensively through the Northern and Eastern states, and was everywhere received with great enthusiasm. After his return to England, he published, in 1842, the result of his observations in a work entitled "American Notes for General Circulation." This work, however, added but little to his reputation, and many of his observations and criticisms drew from those who had been his warm admirers heretofore earnest and decided protests. After his second visit to this country, however, he made a rather unsatisfactory apology for his unkind allusions, by stating that he had found so many improvements since his first visit as to render his adverse criticisms uncalled for at present, and that all future editions of the "American Notes" would contain a statement to that effect.
The Establishment of the London "Daily news."
"Martin Chuzzlewit" appeared in numbers in 1844, and in the summer of that year the author visited Italy. He returned home after an absence of several months to assist in founding a cheap daily newspaper of liberal politics. Having organized a large literary staff, and enlisted the services of many of the ablest writers of the day, he issued in January, 1840, the first number of the Daily News, acting as editor-in-chief, and contributing to its columns the results of his Italian journey, subsequently reprinted in book form as "Pictures from Italy." The Daily News well under way, Mr. Dickens retired from the editorial management in order to devote himself to pursuits more congenial and to the world at large, not less than to himself, more important.
His "Christmas Stories."
It was in 1843 that he gave us the first of his inimitable Christmas books -- "A Christmas Carol;" the second, "The Chimes," in 1845; and the third, "The Cricket on the Hearth," in 1846. To this catalogue can be added the title of many a charming holiday volume, wholly or in part from Mr. Dickens' pen. It has been pleasantly said that Christmas in England owes most of its cheer and kindly usage to Charles Dickens that it is his good heart which beats in England's bosom at Christmas time.
"Household Words" and "All the Year Round."
In 1847-8 Mr. Dickens published "Dombey and Son;" in 1849-50, "David Copperfield;" "Bleak House" in 1853; "Hard Times" in 1854; nnd "Little Dorrit" in 1856.
In 1850 Mr. Dickens started Household Words, a weekly miscellany of popular literature, which he conducted until 1859, when, in consequence of a misunderstanding that had arisen between him and his publishers, he discontinued the journal, and in its place established All the Year Round, which he continued to edit to the time of his death. In Household Words first appeared his "Child's History of England," republished separately in 1852, and his story of "Hard Times." In All the Year Round first appeared "A Tale of Two Cities," "The Uncommercial Papers," and "Great Expectations."
His Latest Works.
In 1864 Mr. Dickens published "Our Mutual Friend" in serial form, but after that wrote nothing except brief sketches or occasional essays for his journal, until the appearance, about two months ago, of the first instalment of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."
His Second Visit to the United States
was of such comparatively recent occurrence that but little need be said concerning it. He landed at Boston on November 19, 1867, having been preceded by some months by Mr. George Dolby, his advance agent, who made all the necessary arrangements for the reading tour upon which he was to enter. He had attained a high reputation as a reader of his own works in England, and this circumstance, taken in connection with his great popularity, created an unparalleled furore in all the American cities which he was destined to visit. So great, indeed, was the demand for tickets, that the adventurous speculators rushed in between him and the public, and the manner in which the tickets were disposed of, aud the extortionate premiums frequently paid, created not a little scandal and sadly marred the success of his visit.
His first reading in the United States was given in Boston, at the Tremont Temple, on the evening of December 2; on December 9, he made his first appearance in New York, at Steinway Hall, and on January 13, 1868, he appeared for the first time before a Philadelphia audience, at Concert Hall. His tour was extended only to Baltimore and Washington, in addition to the cities above named, all proffers for a visit to Chicago and other Western cities being steadily refused, and in the summer of 1808 he returned to England.
His Farewell of the Public.
After his return home he continued to give readings in different parts of England, but on the evening of March 10th last he brought to a close at St. James Hall, In London, the memorable series of readings which had for fifteen years proved to audiences unexampled in numbers, a source of the highest Intellectual enjoyment. In the remarks which he made on this occasion he said in conclusion: --
"I have thought it well, at the fall flood-tide of your favor, to retire upon those older associations between us, which date from much further back than these, and henceforth to devote myself exclusively to the art that first brought us together, (Great applause.) Ladies and gentlemen, in but two short weeks from this time, I hope that you may enter, in your own houses, on a new 'Series of Readings,' at which my assistance will be indispensable; but from from these garish lights I vanish now for evermore. with a heartfelt, grateful, respectful, and affectionate farewell."
His Domestic Relations.
In 1858 Mr. Dickens separated from his wife amicably, after having lived with her for twenty years, several children being the fruits of the marriage. Great scandal, of course, was attached to this event, but Mr. Dickens has himself explained that the cause which led to it was an uncongeniality of temper, which implied no dishonor to either party.
For some years before his death he resided at Gad's Hill, Kent, about an hour's ride by rail way from London, on the road to the beautiful old cathedral town of Canterbury, celebrated for its historical associations, and for being the metropolitan see of all England. The house is described as being one of those comfortable old fashioned mansions which seem to have taken root nowhere but in the most picturesque parts of rural England, and are the brick and mortar embodiment of the idea of home.
A Review of Mr. Dickens' Literary Career.
It is scarcely possible now to make a perfectly just and critical estimate of the genius of Mr. Dickens, or to prejudge the verdict of posterity. The crucial test of time, and tho calm judgment of another generation that will know the man merely as one among the illustrious concourse that have made the fame of English literature, will determine the artistic value of his labors and his proper place in the role of honor that is headed by the names of Shakespeare and Milton. Whatever posterity may think of Mr. Dickens, however, it is undeniable that he was a power in his own day, and no fiction-writer that has ever lived has ever exerted the same influence or produced the same decisive results in promoting the reform of abuses, or in exciting a sympathy for the poor and oppressed. It is a question whether the principal end and aim of true art should be the reform of social and political abuses, and upon this to a great extent depends the probability of the works of Mr. Dickens maintaining the same hold upon the public of a hundred years hence that they do upon that of the present day. It is certain that many abuses can be attacked successfully in a work of fiction that it would be impossible to reach in any other way, and the endeavors of Mr. Dickens to carry out important measures of reform by means of his novels are entitled to receive, as they have received, a most cordial recognition. It is the fate of such works, however, to be more or less ephemeral; and looking at the matter from an artistic standpoint and it is only from such a standpoint that the real value of a work of art can bo determined we cannot but think that Mr. Dickens' writings are too much of the time and for the time to secure for them that lasting favor that is accorded to the works of men who were distinctively artists. Thackeray has been frequently alluded to as a disciple of Fielding, but in reality Dickens, much more than his distinguished contemporary, was the legitimate successor of Fielding and Smollett, and his writings, like theirs, will probably in future years rather engage the attention of the students of literature than that of general readers. The life described by Fielding and Smollett was something remote from that of our days, and it had but little in it that we, especially we of the New World, can heartily sympathize with. As clearly drawn pictures of a certain development of civilization and certain conditions of society, the works of the novelists named will always have a certain value that will give them a place in literature; and so will those of Mr. Dickens, for the same reason.
Mr. Dickens has just died, having scarcely passed middle age, and yet the people and the society that he sketched with such humor and power in his earlier efforts is almost as remote and strange as that which engaged the attention of Fielding and Smollett. It is this impression of remoteness that the early writings of Dickens leave upon the readers of this day that gives force to the thought that succeeding years will scarcely add to his fame, and that another generation will be unable to understand the enormous popularity he enjoyed with the people of to-day.
In referring to Mr. Dickens as a novelist of the school of Fielding and Smollett, we of course do not mean to intimate that he was in any respect a copyist of those writers. Indeed, it was the marked originality of his genius that made his first literary efforts so enormously popular, and that gave him the leading position among the English fiction-writers of the age that he held without dispute to the day of his death. His first sketches of life and character published under the nom de plume of "Boz," and afterwards his "Pickwick," made their mark instantly, because they were fresh and original, and because they revealed a new vein of rich and racy humor. The public were beginning to tire of the fashionable novels of high life, and the humorously exaggerated descriptions of low life and the respectable middle class society hit their fancy exactly. It has repeatedly been remarked that no writer since Shakespeare has created so many characters that appear like living men and women, as Dickens. There is this important difference, however, between the two writers: Shakespeare was above all things an artist. He had no other end in view than to produce perfect works of art; and while his characters are all intellectual analyses, those of Mr. Dickens are merely described by the grotesque exaggeration of their outward appearance, their physical defects, their clothing, and their bodily habits. It is scarcely necessary to point out that this distinction makes all the difference in the world with regard to the art value of the work performed by the two writers, and no one capable of expressing an opinion on the subject would ever think of placing Dickens by the side of Shakespeare as a creative artist.
When "Pickwick" made a hit Mr. Dickens found the way to fame and fortune open to him, and he marked out a line of work that he adhered to resolutely during the rest of his career. "Pickwick" was quickly followed by "Oliver Twist," "Nicholas Nickelby," "The Old Curiosity Shop." and "Barnaby Rudge," all of which brought him both wealth and honor, and extended his fame on both sides of the Atlantic. The immense circulation that his writings enjoyed in the United Slates made the lack of an international copyright law appear very much in the light of a personal and special grievance. He therefore determined to visit this country for the double purpose of seeing the people and of proving the justice of the claims of British authors. It is not to be denied that a great many people in the United States made consummate fools of themselves in their efforts to be hospitable on this occasion, and there were grotesque features in the various receptions given lo Mr. Dickens that at this day appear excessively comical. However absurd were the attentions paid, there was a sincerity and genuine heartiness about the welcome extended to Mr. Dickens that a man of really fine feelings could scarcely have failed to appreciate at its real value in spite of the absurdities that surrounded it.
As the adulations bestowed upon him had been fulsome, the indignation was over powering when it was found that this overwelcomed guest turned the whole thing into ridicule as soon as he had reached home, and that both in his "American Notes" and in his novel of "Martin Chuzzlewit" he had little else but abuse and sarcasm to bestow upon either the country or the people. Of late there has been an attempt to condone Mr. Dickens' offense on this occasion, and to take all the blame for the unfortunate misunderstanding upon ourselves. We cannot look upon the matter in this light, and no candid reader of "The American Notes" or "Martin Chuzzlewit can say that they are not malicious and intentionally insulting. The real offense of Mr. Dickens was not that he freely criticized what he thought wrong in the manners of the people of the United States or their institutions, but that from the first time of his landing upon these shores he was in a bad humor with himself and with everybody about him, and he was unable consequently to see any good thing. He must have seen plenty of opportunities for good-natured caricature and humorous description; but throughout the whole of the "American Notes" there is only one example, so far as we can recollect, of a humorous character that he seemed to appreciate, and that is the "Brown Forester" that he met on a canal-boat in this State, and even the "Brown Forester" he seems to have considered as more of a personal grievance than as a subject for artistic treatment, The rough-and-ready style of travelling that was characteristic of the old canal packets did not suit him at all, and he seemed to think that it had been invented especially for his personal annoyance; and yet any person who has ever travelled in one of these boats would imagine that a humorous writer of all others would have endured all the inconveniences for the sake of racy and original specimens of American men and women with whom he would be thrown in contact. Mr. Dickens did not like the railroads any better than the canals, and when a writer represents himself as looking out of a car window, and mistaking the spittle ejected by independent American citizens for thick flying bits of cotton, it is evident that his statements of fact and opinion are scarcely entitled to respectful consideration. In writing as he did about this country, Mr. Dickens proved that he was lacking in the finer gentlemanly instincts, and that, so far from taking a manly and independent view of things, he was content to follow in the wake of other British snobs who find a cheap sort of popularity at home by abusing a people, institutions, and manners that they cannot and do not care to understand. After "Martin Chuzzlewit" came his "Christmas Stories," "Dombey and Son," and "David Copperfield," in which his genius reached its climax. Mr. Dickens himself acknowledges this work to be his masterpiece, and his own opinion is supported by that of a majority of his readers. In the works that succeeded "David Copperfield" there is a gradual but visible decline, until in his latest efforts a noticeable falling off of the old power is observable. It is true that these later works are all distinctly marked by the characteristics of his genius, but the humor is often forced, the sentiment more mawkish than ever, and there is a tendency to prosiness that distinctly indicates the failing artist. Let any one read "Oliver Twist," "Dombey and Son," and "David Copperfield," and then attempt "Great Expectations" and "Our Mutual Friend," and the immense difference will be apparent at once. His last novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," has not sufficiently advanced to form, a just opinion of it, but the opening chapter shows more of the old fire than any of his other recent efforts. It is sincerely to be hoped that the death of the author has not left this story a mere fragment like the "Denis Duval" of Thackeray, but that ere he was called away he finished it, and rounded off his life's labors with a last work that will be worthy to be placed beside those that have for so long delighted millions of readers.
If Mr. Dickens had not taken up authorship as a profession, he would probably have made one of the first histrionic artists of the day. His talents as an actor were undoubtedly of the first order, and those who had heard of his performances in private hailed with delight the announcement of his intention to give public readings from his own works. These readings were immensely successful in England, and the recent professional tour of Mr. Dickens in this country is still fresh In the minds of the public. Merely as an elocutionist he had many palpable faults, but for humorous and pathetic expressions in his reading, and for a power of representing the various characters introduced in the stories selected for his entertainments, he surpassed any reader of the present day. These readings were a source of genuine delight to thousands, as they not only gave the public an opportunity to see the great writer who had afforded them so many pleasant hours, but conferred the unique pleasure of hearing the most original and racy humorist of the day embody his own creations. In making a summary estimate of the genius and labors of Mr. Dickens it seems to us that his highest and lowest moral influences arise from the same cause, his wonderful genius for caricature. All vices arising from simple motives he makes contemptible and hideous avarice, cruelty, selfishness, hypocrisy, especially religious hypocrisy. But then he has a great tendency to make the corresponding virtues ludicrous too by his over-colored sentiment. The brothers Cheeryble always seem to be rubbing their hands from intense brotherly love; the self-abandonment of Tom Pinch is grotesque; the elaborate self-disguise of Mr. Boffin as a miser, in order to warn Bella Wilfer of her danger, is an insult to both the reason and conscience of the reader; and Mr. Dickens' saints, like that Agnes in "David Copperfield" who insists on pointing upwards, are invariably detestable. His morality concentrates itself on the two strong points we have named, a profound horror of cruelty and a profound contempt for humbug; but Mr. Dickens has no fine perception for the inward shades of humbug relaxed and cosseted emotions.
His greatest service to English literature will, after all, be not his high morality, which is altogether wanting in delicacy of insight, but in the complete harmlessness and purity of the immeasurable humor into which he moulds his enormous stores of acute observation. Almost all creative humorists tend to the impure like Swift and Smollett, even Fielding. On the other hand, there are plenty of humorists who are not creative, who take the humor out of themselves and only apply it to what passes, like Charles Lamb and Sydney Smith. But Dickens uses his unlimited powers of observation to create for himself original fields of humor, and crowds grotesque and elaborate detail around the most happy conceptions, without ever being attracted for a moment towards any prurient or unhealthy field of laughter. Thus, as by far the most popular and amusing of all English writers, he provides unlimited food for a great people without infusing any really dangerous poison into it. In this way, doubtless, he has done a service which can scarcely be overestimated.
Cable Despatches.
Late and Fuller Particulars.
Mr. Dickens is Seized with His
Fatal Illness at Dinner on Wednesday,
and Dies on Thursday Evening -- Profound
Expressions of Grief
in the English
Journals.
London, June 9 -- 10 P. M. The London Globe, in its last edition this evening, startled the community with the announcement that Charles Dickens had been seized with paralysis, and was lying insensible at his residence, at Gadshill, near Rochester, in Kent.
The news spread rapidly and created the most profound regret; but the worst was still to come. Telegrams have since been received announcing the death of the great novelist at quarter past 6 this evening.
Dickens was at a dinner on Wednesday, when he was seized with the fit. Dr. Steel, of the village of Stroud, who was for many years the family physician of Mr. Dickens, was immediately called in, and remained till nearly midnight.
The condition of the patient becoming worse and worse it was deemed advisable to summon physicians from London. Telegrams were promptly despatched, and this morning several London physicians arrived at Gadshill. A consultation was held, and the case at once pronounced hopeless. The patient sank gradually, and died at fifteen minutes past 6 o'clock this evening.
Mr. Dickens has been ill for several days, but not seriously. He had even visited Rochester and other points during the present week.
Remarks of the London Journals.
London, June 10. -- The death of Dickens has plunged the nation into mourning. All the London papers have obituary articles this morning.
The Times says: "Ordinary expressions of regret are now cold and conventional. Millions of people feel a personal bereavement. Statesmen, savants, and benefactors of a race, when they die, can leave no such void. They cannot, like this great novelist, be an inmate of every house."
The Daily News says: "Without intellectual pedigree, his writings form an era in English literature. He was generous, loving, and universally beloved. He leaves, like Thackeray, an unfinished story."
The Morning Post says: "Charles Dickens did more than any contemporary to make English literature loved and admired."
The Telegraph regards the distinguished dead as a public servant whose task was nobly fulfilled.
Monday, June 8, 2020
Stop Making Excuses -- June 8, 2020
 |
| @elwingbling |
Businesses in California are beginning to open up in Phase Two. The Bay Area counties are being more cautious.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Green Lantern -- June 7, 2020
 |
| www.coverbrowser.com |
Friday, June 5, 2020
Pulp -- War Aces -- June 5, 2020
 |
| www.philsp.com |
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
The Trolley-Pole Spring Broke Last Week -- June 3, 2020
 |
| Washington Times, 15-June-1920 |
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Cry Havoc -- June 2, 2020
 |
| www.kalw.org |
 |
| New York Times, 24-May-2020 |
The Market Street Railway's San Francisco Railway Museum has been closed because of the TrumpVirus. Early on the morning of 31-May-2020, during the after-dark looting, people broke into Market Street Railway's San Francisco Railway Museum. They stole tee shirts but left historic items untouched.
 |
| SpaceX |
Monday, June 1, 2020
June, 2020 Version of the Cable Car Home Page -- June 1, 2020
I just put the June, 2020 version of my Cable Car Home Page on the server:
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/
It includes some new items:
1. Picture of the Month: In Edinburgh's Waterloo Place, a short segment of cable tram track and slot is visible but nearly obscured. Google Maps Streetview Image updated Jul 2019. Copyright 2020 Google.
2. A ten year update about the Edinburgh Northern Cable Tramways/Edinburgh and District Tramways Company, Ltd. Includes present-day images of a surviving stretch of track and remnants of depots (car barns and powerhouses)
3. Added News update about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rescheduled Muni History Weekend
Ten years ago this month (June, 2010):
1. Picture of the Month: Edinburgh Cable Tram 209 2. On the UK page: The Edinburgh Northern Cable Tramways/Edinburgh and District Tramways Company, Ltd, which operated until 1923 and an 1890 article by William Newby Colam on the Edinburgh Northern Cable Tramways
3. On the Who page: A new article about engineer William Newby Colam, who was involved with several UK cable tramways
4. On the Motion Pictures Which Feature Cable Cars page: Thanks to Dexter Wong, I added The Sniper
5. Add link to new cable car page, Coming to Grips
Twenty years ago this month (June, 2000):
1. Picture of the Month: DB Fisk Advertisement
2. Mystery Picture Contest results.
3. Roll out Seattle Miscellany section with article about ferry Kalakala (later moved to my San Francisco Bay Ferryboats site.
4. Add mention of 1897 movie clip to Chicago page
5. Add info about new Car 9 to roster. Add story to bibliography.
6. Add thanks to First & Fastest, a magazine about the electric railways in the Chicago area for recommending this site in its Summer, 2000 issue. Add thanks to Val Golding for supplying newspaper clippings about Kalakala. Add thanks to Yahoo for listing this site in its directory. Add link to Clive Mottram's Tramway and Trolleybus Images.
Coming in July: On the Cable Car Lines in Chicago page: On the UK page: A ten year update on the Birmingham Central Tramways Company, which operated cable trams until 1911
The Cable Car Home Page now has a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/CableCarHomePage/
Joe Thompson
The Cable Car Home Page (updated 01-June-2020)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/
San Francisco Bay Ferryboats (updated 31-January-2020)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ferry/
Park Trains and Tourist Trains (updated 31-July-2019)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ptrain/
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion (updated spasmodically)
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com
The Big V Riot Squad (new blog)
http://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/