On the Tarbell Trail

[LincolnMan]

Write on!

[Rob Wick]

Need some help.

I'm now printing out Tarbell's Lincoln-related correspondence, which means I have to actually read it now.

On September 28, 1895, Tarbell wrote to Osborn Oldroyd the following:

My Dear Mr. Oldroyd,
Is this the same as your Magic picture? Mr. Phillips [John S. Phillips, publisher of McClures Magazine] says you have it in your collection. This is the picture that Mr. Power [?] sold at the monument as a Magic. I shall be greatly obliged if you can let me know at once returning picture as we wish to have it copied. Address me here in N.Y. care of Mr. McClure.

Very Truly Yours
Ida M. Tarbell

At the bottom of the letter, Oldroyd wrote back:

Yes, this is the magic picture.
In haste
O.H. Oldroyd

I looked through my copy of Oldroyd's book at the list of illustrations and I didn't see anything mentioned as a "magic" picture. Can someone help me understand what is meant by this?

Best
Rob

[Gene C]

could it be the ghostly image of Abraham Lincoln looking over the widowed Mary?

[Rob Wick]

That makes sense, Gene, but was it sold in Springfield? I'm assuming that when Tarbell speaks of it being sold at the "monument" she means the Lincoln tomb, which I would have thought given the reputation of William Mumler, that wouldn't have been allowed. I'm not sure, but like I said, your answer does make sense. Thanks.

Best
Rob

[Rob Wick]

As I'm letting the prologue sit (and going over all the VERY HELPFUL comments from good friends), I've been printing out much of what I've downloaded. These folders are Tarbell's series on Lincoln which appeared in McClure's Magazine. The bottom folder is the series which appeared from November of 1895 through November 1896 while the top folder is the later series which appeared from December 1898 to August 1899.

The correspondence from 1895 and 1896 is about three inches thick. Much of the correspondence surrounding the McClure's series was tossed when the magazine moved its offices. I can't begin to imagine what gems were tossed aside (and it hurt Tarbell very much).

I've already gone through three reams of paper and will likely go through at least a case of paper before it's all said and done.

Best
Rob



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[Rob Wick]

It's been a while since I've updated everyone on the progress of my book, and now the progress seems to have slowed considerably, but I'm waiting for some information from the New York Public Library on Tarbell and her relationship with Macmillan (the NYPL has a large portion of Macmillan's papers). As far as I know, I have the vast majority of Tarbell's Lincoln-related papers and now just need to get myself in the mood to work.

Here's hoping 2013 starts going better than it started (in a large number of ways).

Best
Rob

[Anita]

(10-23-2012 12:56 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  Need some help.

I'm now printing out Tarbell's Lincoln-related correspondence, which means I have to actually read it now.

On September 28, 1895, Tarbell wrote to Osborn Oldroyd the following:

My Dear Mr. Oldroyd,
Is this the same as your Magic picture? Mr. Phillips [John S. Phillips, publisher of McClures Magazine] says you have it in your collection. This is the picture that Mr. Power [?] sold at the monument as a Magic. I shall be greatly obliged if you can let me know at once returning picture as we wish to have it copied. Address me here in N.Y. care of Mr. McClure.

Very Truly Yours
Ida M. Tarbell

At the bottom of the letter, Oldroyd wrote back:

Yes, this is the magic picture.
In haste
O.H. Oldroyd

I looked through my copy of Oldroyd's book at the list of illustrations and I didn't see anything mentioned as a "magic" picture. Can someone help me understand what is meant by this?

Best
Rob

You may have the answer to this by now, but if not check out Magic lantern(aka stereoptican) slides. The were called magics and date back to the mid 19th c. Photographic images were made into slides.

I'm a new member who has not read Tarbell but thanks to your posts I just started Lincoln's bio. Your book is quite an undertaking-so much to keep organized. Best of luck and stamina.

[Rob Wick]

Anita,

Thank you so much for your posting. That makes perfect sense, and I had never thought about it before.

Thanks for the kind words on my book. It's taking up a good bit of my life right now, but at least it keeps me off the streets.

Best
Rob

[Anita]

(07-31-2013 05:14 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  Anita,

Thank you so much for your posting. That makes perfect sense, and I had never thought about it before.

Thanks for the kind words on my book. It's taking up a good bit of my life right now, but at least it keeps me off the streets.

Best
Rob

You are most welcome. It's good you're off the streets. It's dangerous out there.

[L Verge]

Magic lantern shows were popular parlor pastimes during the 19th century. I inherited one through my family, and Surratt House has several in their holdings. The lantern itself actually looks a bit like an early slide projector, but a tiny oil lantern sits inside. The slides that I inherited, and a collection that we have on the Lincoln assassination, are actually scenes painted onto glass. There can be one picture per slide or 4-5 like a running cartoon. The ones I have seen are truly works of art and are fetching some good prices in the collectors' field.

Along with the magic lantern, our ancestors also enjoyed the stereoptican, which was a hand-held device that allowed one to view 3-D images. I believe that David Richardson follows this forum, and he's a master at describing - and colorizing - these paper views.

[Rob Wick]

Additions are being made to the Tarbell papers constantly. A few weeks ago I approached Jane Westenfeld, the librarian in charge of Tarbell's papers, to see if her letters while she lived in Paris were digitized. They had not been, but Westenfeld started doing so. I received an e-mail from her the other day saying by the middle of this month they would be posted. Last night I found they are now online. There are 85 letters, most of which are multiple pages (one is 14 typed pages long!). They were transcribed (thankfully!) by a woman named Ada McCormick in 1946 for a biography she was going to write on Tarbell. McCormick, a rich woman who lived in Arizona, was a friend of Tarbell's in her later years. The biography was never published. I've attached a link to the letters. If you've got nothing better to do, they provide an interesting insight into Tarbell's life before she became famous, her first meetings with S.S. McClure, and tantalizing but obscure references as to why she quit working for the Chautauquan magazine (likely some form of sexual harassment or attack).

Best
Rob

https://dspace.allegheny.edu/handle/1045...pe=subject

[Rob Wick]

Anyone looking for a good investment? You might want to consider buying stock in Canon ink products. So far, I've gone through about $500 worth of ink and it shows no signs of slowing down. I've got to bring in another supply today as well as buying my THIRD case (yes, case!) of paper. When I get everything printed out I will take a picture of all the containers and post it here.

Best
Rob

[RJNorton]

(08-24-2013 06:53 AM)Rob Wick Wrote:  Anyone looking for a good investment?

We took out a reverse mortgage from Fred Thompson and Henry Winkler. I used all the funds to place a limit order to buy Canon (CAJ) at $29. It's currently selling over $30, so the stock price will have to decline a little for our buy order to be executed. Thanks for the tip, Rob. This should make Vicki's and my retirement a little easier.

[Rob Wick]

Quote:We took out a reverse mortgage from Fred Thompson and Henry Winkler.

Does anyone else think it's just wrong for the Fonz to be selling reverse mortgages? Ayyyyyyyy!

Best
Rob

[Rob Wick]

As promised, here are the file boxes for Star Seeker After Truth. I'm still in the process of going through files and putting them in the proper box. I just discovered that Allegheny College has uploaded Tarbell's files related to her autobiography All in the Day's Work, so that's what I'm working on now. I imagine it's possible I'll need another box but in an effort to save some cash I've been recycling my Conger file boxes (hence why some are blue and the others clear).



Best
Rob