A Sandburg Stumper

[L Verge]

(05-04-2019 03:07 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  Laurie is correct. The Library of Congress has the largest number of collections that have Sandburg material. I'm at work, so I don't have the exact number, but when I get home I can get it.

Edit: The LOC has 111 collections that has some sort of Sandburg material. Some of the more important would include the David C. Mearns Papers (Mearns was manuscript curator at the LOC and a very close friend of Sandburg. In fact, when Sandburg was in Washington he stayed with Mearns) as well as the James G. and Ruth Painter Randall Papers.

Now, what is the second one?

Best
Rob

Guessing again, but the NY Public Library seems to have everything, so maybe it's #2?

[Rob Wick]

That is the second facility. It has 55. Compared to the University of Illinois, which only has 38 collections. Of course, those collections are generally ALL Sandburg (either from Carl or his daughters or others).

The top ten facilities with Sandburg material are:

1. The Library of Congress (111)
2. The New York Public Library (55)
3. The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (38)
4. University of Chicago (34)
5. Houghton Library, Harvard (32)
6. University of Virginia (31)
7. Michigan State University Libraries (30)
8. Yale University/Beinecke Library (28)
9. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (27)
10. Wisconsin Historical Society and Library (22)

Not all of the facilities would be worth the reseacher's time, given that there are 99 facilities with only one collection, many of which are simply a single letter written by or to Sandburg.

Good job Laurie.

Best
Rob

[LincolnMan]

Kind of surprised MSU is on the list. I would have thought U of M because of his connection there.

[L Verge]

(05-04-2019 07:55 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  That is the second facility. It has 55. Compared to the University of Illinois, which only has 38 collections. Of course, those collections are generally ALL Sandburg (either from Carl or his daughters or others).

The top ten facilities with Sandburg material are:

1. The Library of Congress (111)
2. The New York Public Library (55)
3. The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (38)
4. University of Chicago (34)
5. Houghton Library, Harvard (32)
6. University of Virginia (31)
7. Michigan State University Libraries (30)
8. Yale University/Beinecke Library (28)
9. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (27)
10. Wisconsin Historical Society and Library (22)

Not all of the facilities would be worth the reseacher's time, given that there are 99 facilities with only one collection, many of which are simply a single letter written by or to Sandburg.

Good job Laurie.

Best
Rob

For those of you with suspicious minds, I will place my hand on the Bible and swear that I did not cheat. I know very little about Carl Sandburg, and after so many other logical guesses were dismissed, I just started thinking of the institutions with the greatest amount of any type of collection or materials. LOC and NYPL are just huge resources for many types of things.

[Rob Wick]

Who is this?



Best
Rob

[Rob Wick]

First clue. Sandburg knew him in Galesburg.

Best
Rob

[RJNorton]

Ira Clifton Copley?

[Rob Wick]

Good guess, Roger, but that's not it. I won't be able to provide another clue until later today.

Best
Rob

[Rob Wick]

Next clue. Sandburg and his brother worked for him.

Best
Rob

[RJNorton]

Paul Jordan Smith?

[Rob Wick]

Sorry, Roger, but that isn't the answer. Next clue. When this man died a newspaper got his name wrong by calling him Andrew.

Best
Rob

[Joe Di Cola]

Sandburg worked for a time for Samuel K. Barlow, delivering milk. He also worked as a shoeshine at the Union Hotel for a barber named Humphries--the hotel managed by Hiram Belding. I think Samuel K. Barlow is going to be my answer.

[Rob Wick]

Very logical guess Joe, but it isn't Barlow. Next clue. He once asked Sandburg if there was any money in "this poetry business."

Best
Rob

[Joe Di Cola]

You know, Rob, I was originally tempted to go with Sandburg's father since the photo looked a lot like August Sandburg. I should have gone with my instinct.
I believe it is August Sandburg.

[Rob Wick]

You are correct Joe. It is August Sandburg. My next clue was going to be how Sandburg nicknamed him "The Old Man." Sandburg and his brother worked for their father doing chores around the house and what made it interesting to me was that Sandburg marveled at how his father would put in 14 hours as a blacksmith's assistant and then come home and work several more hours around the house.

Good job!

Best
Rob