 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Thank you all for your quick work! There are some really valuable contributions.
It’s only a few days into the investigation and we’ve already got some interesting research, theories and leads to follow up. It’s also created some more questions and avenues for further research.
Some of you have commented on the article “Beecher on Evolution”, so we should clarify how it is placed in the scrapbook. This clipping appears on its own in the middle of the page. It is quite a small clipping, and the image is a close-up.
Wendy says her research leads her to believe Beecher started his evolution sermons in 1885 - we’ve found an article in the New York Times about these sermons from January 1883: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E04E0DC153DE533A25754C0A9679C94629FD7CF
It would be interesting to find out when the Beecher article in the scrapbook dates from, as it might indicate when the author of the scrapbook inserted it (though Wendyquite rightly points out it could have been added later).
Wendy also points out that most of the clippings are for the Ned Buntline show, which we noticed as well. The “Only a Ballet Girl” stood out for us as well - perhaps it was someone M’lle Morlacchi knew and was close to? Or perhaps it is just the sympathy of a fellow dancer’s lot?
The other unrelated article that stood out for us is the one titled Parley of Proverbs, appearing on the same page as “Only a Ballet Girl” and seemingly something the owner of the scrapbook liked and chose to keep as a memento?
We’re also curious about the handwriting saying ‘Put this in’ - whose could it be? When this was pointed out we went through the scrapbook pages again (please note there are many pages in this scrapbook and we haven’t published them all just yet!) and found this one which also has markings on it - note how some of the words are crossed out.
The post from the Texas Jack Association is also interesting. It looks like a good lead for learning more about the provenance of the scrapbook. We’ll follow that up.
Also, Kay Kessell - do you have the quote from the book you quote “The Lives & Legends of Buffalo Bill” by Don Russell, where it says Morlacchi brought the Can Can to America? This is all really interesting.
It seems we have a few more Detective Tasks this week.
Task One: Find out when Beecher starting preaching on evolution by contacting New York newspaper archives and doing a search. Perhaps you can locate the article in the scrapbook?
Task Two: Can you place any dates on the articles you’ve seen so far? If we can figure out when it spans from it may help to figure out who the owner could have been.
Task Three: Analyze the handwriting and the markings on the page in the scrapbook above. Speculate on what it might mean and who may have made the markings.
Did an Italian Can Can dancer keep a scrapbook of letters from Wild West characters like Buffalo Bill and other western ephemera?
Week 4 UPDATE: Is John Burke the author?
Week 5: We Review the Evidence - Is the Scrapbook Authentic?
Week 6: Wrapping up the Research
Week 7: Who owned the scrapbook? Our expert conclusion
View Full History »
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
TIPS AND RESOURCES
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
The handwritten margin notes Big Buckshot combination Detroit Post
I would suggest that combination refers to the use of the word in the
article in the second column AMUSEMENTS The Scouts of the Plains
"The extraordinary comination....." Combination is also used in several of
the other article titles, Buffalo Bill Combination Texas Jack Combination
found in the twenty pages of the scrapbook.
The words Detroit Post written at the bottom of the article title
"The Theatre Last Night" possibly refer to the newspaper that
published the article.
The words Big Buckshot (capitalized) might refer to one of the
names of a character in one of the plays much like Mr Broadbrim
mentioned in other articles, or Pale Dove or Mr Longlank. Big Buckshot
could also be in reference to the several descriptions of the gunplay,
firearms,marksmenship etc.found in the articles below that handwritten
note.
In trying to create a timeline for these articles, I was able to locate a Strawn's Opera House, in Jacksonville, IL.
"In 1859 he began the erection of the superb Strawn's Opera House in Jacksonville, Illinois,which was finished in 1861, and dedicated in March of that year, thereby adorning the city with its most ornate, commodious and imposing public structure, with which his name will be perpetually associated."
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilmaga/morgan/1906bios/strawnjacob.html
Interesting that the article is credited to the Detroit Press, as Detroit is some 500 miles from Jacksonville. My guess is that the keeper of the scrapbook is comparing articles, noting that a similar comment was made in the Detroit Press.
Seeing how many times Buffalo Bill's name is crossed out, my impression is that the creator of the scrapbook is a lesser member of the troupe, tired of Buffalo Bill receiving all the accolades and credits
I performed a Google search,search term"BigBuckshot"+Texas Jack
There was a citation credited to the Chicago Tribune dated September
10,1877 page four which reads "Texas Jack Big Buckshot Donald McKay"
Donald McKay is mentioned in one of the articles posted,title "Olympic
Theatre" " the Trappers Daughter" "Texas Jack and Donald Mckay
Dramatic Company.
As for the rest of the citation in the Chicago Tribune,it doesn't make any
sense, as if the OCR went berserk.
Using the New York Times newspaper archives as well as the historical newspaper
databases at Ancestry.com and Genealogybank.com for the Rev.Beecher sermons
on evolution. I entered the title of the article "Beecher On Evolution" as an exact
phrase search term. I did not find the exact article,but there are numerous other
articles with that title reporting the Beecher evolution sermons. The timeline for
the evolution sermons are 1883 through 1886"
The "Beecher On Evolution" article from the scrapbook is preceded and followed
by pages of articles that mention Texas Jack. Texas Jack died in 1880. It may well
be as Wendy suggested that the articles were added later,that the scrapbook was
not necessarily compiled chronologically. The questions that came to my mind concern-
ing the sequence of the articles was: Are we viewing the images from the scrap-
book as they appear in sequence in the scrapbook? Where do the pages of articles
posted as images here sequence in the scrapbook? Are we viewing random selections?
Most of the articles in the 20 pages we view that deal with "The Scouts of the Plains/
Prarie" theatrical production include references to Mlle. Morlacchi, that would date
those particular articles from 1872 on as that is when Mlle Morlacchi joined the production.
By using the historical newspaper databases mentioned above you find any number
of articles that chronicle Mlle Morlacchi's career and personal life including obituries,
announcements of her marriage to Texas Jack, the puchase of her farm,and reviews
of her dance performances. Are any of those earlier events represented in the scrapbook?
Why isn't the scrapbook presented in its entirety?
According to the Texas Jack biography at Widipedia Wild Bill Hickock was a
performer in the Scouts of the Plains in the 1873 and 1874 season tours. The
article images posted that include mention of Wild Bill would fall in that timeframe.
Wild Bill Hickock died August 2,1876 according to Wikipedia.
Curious observation... The first article on the page posted with handwritten Big Buckshoot and Detroit Press is the same article as the first article on page 5 of the scrapbook. The clipping on page 5 has the headline "Music and The Drama" which is missing from the clipping on the Big Buckshoot page. How far apart in the scrapbook are these two pages? How many other articles are duplicated in the scrapbook? Would a scrapbook compiled at the time the events happened contain dupliclate clippings?
Giuseppina Morlacchi/cancan reference in the Buffalo Bill biography
"Buffalo Bill Cody/the Man Behind the Legend"
Author Robert A. Carter
Chapter 10 More Fame---and the Medal of Honor
Page 180
".Giuseppinna Morlacchi born in Milan....
....before coming to America in 1867.In Boston that year,
she introduced the cancan to America."