…And to all a Good Night! —that means you, John Boy

The holidays are upon us! As we watch the students head home, the weather cool (well…not as much as we might like), and twinkling lights appear all over town, we are adding to the holiday mood with a special post from Reference Coordinator Regina “Ms. Claus” Rush. Enjoy, and be sure to check our website for holiday hours in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the movie recommendation, Regina!

Inquire of any of my colleagues at Special Collections Library and they will attest that I govern my life by the Golden Rule. No, not that Golden Rule. I follow the Golden Rule according to Ebenezer Scrooge. Allow me to clarify further: not the Bah-Humbug Scrooge, but the kinder-gentler-post-three-ghostly-visitations Scrooge. His Golden Rule reads, “I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all year!”

Throughout the year, my colleagues can count on me to daily mention a Christmas movie, sing a verse or two from a favorite Christmas carol, or contemplate my plans for the coming year’s Christmas tree themes for my home. These are ways that I keep the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future at bay. So when asked by my colleague Molly Schwartzburg to write a post highlighting an item from our collection pertaining to Christmas, quicker than “Jack Frost can nibble at your nose,” I. WAS. ON. IT!

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Regina, at right, with fellow snow fan and Reference Coordinator Anne Causey. They both wish that the claim made on this Reading Room holiday decoration was TRUE!

Shortly after I began looking into the Small Library’s treasure troves, I was delighted to discover that we hold a small but rich collection of Virginia native Earl Hamner Jr., an Emmy-winning television writer and director during the 1970’s and 80’s. The collection includes a first edition of Hamner’s 1970 novel, The Homecoming: A Novel about Spencer’s Mountain, the final shooting script for the 1971 film The Homecoming: A Christmas Story and television scripts for three mid-1970s episodes of The Waltons.

Earl Hamner, Jr. The Homecoming: A Novel about Spencer's Mountain.

Earl Hamner, Jr. The Homecoming: A Novel about Spencer’s Mountain. (PS3558 .A456 H6 1970). The novel’s epigraph reads, “It is remembered in my family that Christmas Eve of 1933 my father was late arriving home. That, along with the love he and my mother bestowed upon their eight red-headed offspring, is fact. The rest is fiction.”

The novel, drawn from Hamner’s childhood experiences growing up in Schuyler, Virginia during the Great Depression, was the impetus for the film. Originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1971, the movie was so popular that it spun off a series, “The Waltons’, which aired on CBS in September 1972 and became wildly popular, lasting nine seasons.

Final Shooting Script of The Homecoming

Cover of the Final Shooting Script for the Lorimar Productions film “The Homecoming” (MSS 10380,-a,-b)

The Homecoming movie

DVD of the movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, by Earl Hamner, Jr.

The final draft of of The Waltons television script

Cover of the television script for an episode of “The Waltons.” This is the revised final draft of episode #188015, “The Fighter” by Andy White (MSS 10380,-a,-b)

Christmas fans like myself know that the film that started the Waltons’ phenomenon is a holiday must-see. Included in the final script of the 1971 film ‘The Homecoming’ is a section entitled “Notes from the Author”:

[The] Christmas Season and Christmas has become a nightmare for most people. The packed stores, the enraged crowds, the stalled traffic and money worries that are common to our audience for the most part produce a national insanity. Yet underneath there is a pathetic wish that they can really experience something, maybe “The Christmas Spirit” something that no other time provides.

This holiday classic is a great start toward achieving that “Something.” So, shut out the madness of the holiday hustle and bustle. Pour yourself a BIG glass of egg-nog, get comfortable in your favorite chair and lose yourself in this wonderful coming-of-age Christmas classic. By the film’s end, I guarantee you will feel all warm and fuzzy inside (though that BIG glass of rum-infused egg nog may be partly responsible!). Wishing my colleagues and all the loyal readers of ‘Notes from Under Grounds’ a very safe and happy Holiday!

“Good Night, Penny”

“Good Night, Edward”

Good Night, David”

“Good Night, Heather and Gayle”

“Good Night George, Petrina, and Molly”

“Good Night E.J., Sharon, Ellen, Barbara, Jane…………”

Good Night, “Notes from Under Grounds” Readers!

Glimpses of Lafcadio Hearn in Virginia

This week we are pleased to share a guest post by Rodger Steele Williamson, who is a professor at the University of Kitakyushu, Japan. Professor Williamson spent several months over the last year working in the Lafcadio Hearn collection in the Barrett Library of American Literature. Professor Williamson was a cheerful and vibrant addition to our community during his time here and we miss him (and his pastry-chef wife’s delectable and elegant treats, delivered at impressive intervals to the staff break room!).

In Japan the names Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) or Koizumi Yakumo, his name after adoption into his Japanese wife’s family register, are synonymous with ghost stories or nostalgic and exotic tales of Japanese cultural heritage. Today Hearn is renowned by the Japanese public for his advocacy, respect, and praise for what he viewed as refined and even superior cultural traits of Japanese culture and society that disappeared with the rapid modernization that characterized the Meiji Era (1868-1912). If one mentions him to locals in the two major American cities (Cincinnati and New Orleans) that he called home for a total of almost twenty years, you most likely get a blank stare.

Outside of most academic circles Hearn is relatively unknown in a country he called home for nearly twice as long as Japan. His many publications on Japan (all of which may be found at the University of Virginia) had been the cornerstone of any American studies on Japan until he was essentially blacklisted due to Japanese use of his writings as propaganda during World War II; also damaging was the fact that he took Japanese citizenship to protect his family at a time when marrying a non-citizen would have meant his wife’s loss of rights as a Japanese.

In contrast to the United States, Hearn studies thrive in Japan, where numerous books, mostly in Japanese, continue to be written about his life and works. Interestingly, there are many Japanese who do not even realize that all of Hearn’s works are available in English and are widely available online for free, making them great resources for English-language classroom readings.

A longtime resident of Japan, I was, in fact, introduced to Hearn in Virginia, by my history professor at the University of Richmond: around that time there were several new publications related to the centennial of Hearn’s arrival in Japan (1890). That led to research in the Hearn holdings in the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Liteature at U.Va. and then graduate studies in Japan. I had the great privilege of writing my dissertation at Kumamoto University, where Hearn taught at the Higher Middle School from 1891 to 1894. I am fortunate to have come full circle with an investigation of Hearn’s Irish and American roots (even though he was never an American citizen).

Clifton Waller Barrett (1901-1991), 1920 alumnus of the University of Virginia, wrote in 1983 that, “In 1939 I made a decision that brought about a radical change in my life. I decided to amass a comprehensive collection of American Literature.” Writing on the occasion of a U.Va. Library exhibition of his Hearn collection, he stated, “One writer who stood out in this group was Lafcadio Hearn. His amazing originality, combined with the unusual beauty and quality of his writing had won praise from discriminating critics; however, in the years of World War II and the decade following he was neglected.”  During his lifetime Lafcadio Hearn never mentioned any personal connections with Virginia or the University of Virginia but scholars of Hearn owe much gratitude to the pursuits of Clifton Waller Barrett in building “a representative collection of Hearn’s printed works and manuscripts most particularly.” One might say it is now the greatest depository of Hearn related materials and original manuscripts in the world.

I was glad to return recently for an in-depth study of the Hearn collection, and have reflected during that time on its strengths and its history as a collection. It is  important to realize the dedication of family and scholars responsible for some of the Barrett collection’s core Hearn materials. Hearn’s eldest son, Kazuo Hearn Koizumi, writes about his attempt to save his father’s papers in his essay “On War’s Futility,” published in the collection Re-Echo in 1957:

During World War II I was afraid that Father’s treasured manuscripts would be burned in an incendiary bomb attack. I divided his mementos into three packages, two of which I left with friends. I kept one packet. One package my friend stored in a warehouse which was burned; the other package was stolen.

Once the war was over he dug out his package and while airing out the papers “in the sunbeams, under the bright, blue, peaceful, autumn sky in which there were no more air raids, the memories of the dear old days of my childhood returned to heart.” It was his hope that the papers could be published in some form;  his book and the works of numerous others greatly benefited from this labor of love. Most of the papers and notebooks from the bundle are now easily accessed in the Barrett Reading Room in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. The original manuscripts of Re-Echo are perfectly preserved there along with all the artwork that Hearn’s son painstakingly took out as clippings from the notebooks for the publication.

Hearn’s early notebook draft material for “Re-Echo.” (MSS 6101)

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Draft illustration for “Re-Echo.”

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Page proof for “Re-Echo.”

Another contributor to whom much is owed is P.D. Perkins, who compiled and published a comprehensive bibliography of Hearn in 1934 during the commemorations of the thirtieth anniversary of Hearn’s passing. Perkins also saved some of Hearn’s rarest–and most politically forceful–work from destruction. In a letter to Barrett, he describes how, at his own personal risk, he traveled to Japan and “spent two weeks in September 1941 three months before the start of World War II going over the files of the [Japan Chronicle] newspaper for 1894-95,” when Hearn wrote for hte paper.  If not for his actions all would have been lost: “the file of the Chronicle from which I obtained these articles was destroyed during the bombing of Kobe during the war. To the best of my knowledge there is now no file of the Chronicle in existence.” Perkins was unable to publish these pieces and they remain in the Hearn collection at Virginia as a a set of typescripts.

In these typescripts, Hearn uses his unusual position to critique foreign views of both Japanese and Western culture. Writing in 1895 to Atlantic Monthly editor Horace Scudder, Hearn states, “The difference between myself and other writers on Japan is simply that I have become practically a Japanese – in all but knowledge of language; while other writers remain foreigners, looking from outside at riddles which cannot be read except from the inside.” From this vantage point, Hearn condemned what he thought to be predominating social and racial biases among foreign residents in Japan. In a notable unpublished Chronicle article from August 1895, Hearn advocates for the rights of religious minorities:

The majority have no more right to say that the minority shall be voiceless than the minority have the right to compel the majority to accept their view. It is indeed a proof of how very little the civilization of the nineteenth century has advanced in certain respects beyond that of the Middle Age.

In an editorial of October 1885, he writes on racism that “Race hatred itself [is] based on a sort of perverted emotionalism….Certainly it is clear that it is the growth of intellectuality that we must look for [in] the elimination of race hatreds and the spread of a sane cosmopolitanism.”

Hearn believed that his opinions did not sit well with some expat readers in Japan. After leaving Kobe for Tokyo he would write in a letter, “I have long been a subject of persecution in Japan . . . The matter appears to have been managed by a humble clique of English officials, with the aid of the religious bodies.” With this in mind, we can only speculate why these particular articles were not originally chosen for publications. Some of them might have been viewed as too controversial for their anti-western sentiments. In any case a great debt is owed to P.D. Perkins for saving them and then Mr. Barrett for adding them to his collection.

A key strength of the Hearn collection is in its breadth, as may be seen in the library’s own description of the collection: “three hundred letters, some of them to Ernest Fenollosa and to Japanese friends, twenty-five groups of manuscripts, including those of Kwaidan and the description of feudal customs, Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, over thirty notebooks, and innumerable periodical appearances and translations.” The essayist Guy Davenport, writing for a U.Va. exhibition on Hearn, noted the voluminous presence of “variant bindings, later editions, periodical printings, translations, [and] inscribed association copies.” It holds a true wealth of resources for a visiting Hearn scholar.

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Lafcadio Hearn was virtually always photographed in profile, with his right side visible. This was due to a disfiguring scar caused by an accident in his youth. The injury was not attended to quickly enough, causing him to lose the sight of the left eye: his cornea was completely transformed into a white scar. His right, uninjured eye was so myopic that, even with lenses, he could scarcely see clearly beyond six inches from his nose. This 1898 image shows Hearn facing the camera much more directly than other photographs. (MSS 6101)

 

 

 

Tales from Under Grounds III: Circuses and Light

This is the first in a series of three posts, spotlighting the mini-exhibitions of students from USEM 1580: Researching History, Fall 2015.

This semester marks the third time I have taught the University Seminar course Researching History. The course gives first- and second-year students the opportunity to immerse themselves in primary source research. During the class, my students had to navigate through the rich array of research materials held in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library and share what they learned in one-on-one sessions with their friends and family. Also, they each interviewed an author, who had used Special Collections materials to write his or her book. In their final projects, the students employed all of the skills that they had learned in the class to curate and present mini-exhibitions at their outreach program, Tales from Under Grounds III. U.Va’s new Provost Thomas C. Katsouleas even stopped by to see their impressive work. Students created their mini-exhibitions by illustrating a particular story with only seven special collections items of varying formats.

For those who could not make it to Tales from Under Grounds III, I present to you the second best thing: Tales from Under Grounds III in its abridged version as captured in each student’s own words.

Note: only three selections per student are shown.

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Mary Grace Milam, First-Year Student

Photograph of Mary Grace Milam by Sanjay Suchak, November 17, 2015.

Photograph of Mary Grace Milam by Sanjay Suchak, November 17, 2015.

Barnum’s Big Top

The Barnum and Bailey Circus is one of the most famous circuses in history. It’s proprietor, Phineas Taylor Barnum initially created a museum holding the world’s first aquarium and featured the world’s human oddities and his famous hoaxes. He later contracted with James Anthony Bailey to create the famous traveling circus.

Some of the most notable attractions were Tom Thumb, Chang and Eng, the Siamese Twins, and Jumbo the Elephant. Most of these acts are no longer a part of any circus routine. Slavery and racism were still prevalent in the 19th century, which shaped how the public accepted these acts. Barnum’s human acts were marketed as “freaks,” and exploited them for profit. However the success of the acts allowed some of the performers to end their circus careers quite wealthy. Barnum wrote, “Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed.” Was circus employment the designated vocation for these people? The acts were very lucrative for some performers, yet at the same time exploitative.

Barnum, P. T, and Sarah J Burke. P.T. Barnum's Circus, Museum and Menagerie. New York: White & Allen, 1888. (PZ10.3 .B266 Ci 1888). Gift of Mr. & Mrs. W.B. Murphy This children’s book, written by P.T. Barnum, takes the reader on a tour of P.T. Barnum’s Circus and Menagerie. Some of the famous oddities include General Tom Thumb, the “Skye Terrier Family,” and the White Elephant.

Barnum, P. T, and Sarah J Burke. P.T. Barnum’s Circus, Museum and Menagerie. New York: White & Allen, 1888. (PZ10.3 .B266 Ci 1888). Gift of Mr. & Mrs. W.B. Murphy
This children’s book, written by P.T. Barnum, takes the reader on a tour of P.T. Barnum’s Circus and Menagerie. Some of the famous oddities include General Tom Thumb, the “Skye Terrier Family,” and the White Elephant. (Photograph by Sanjay Suchak, November 17, 2015)

Carte de visite of Tom Thumb from the Photograph Album of Cullen and Graham Family. (MSS 14198). Here is an image of Tom Thumb, a dwarf or little person who was a very popular act in Barnum’s circus. Tom Thumb, originally Charles Stratton, was hired as a young boy to the circus. During his act Tom sang songs or dressed up like characters such as cupid or Napoleon Bonaparte. After his circus career Tom married a woman, who was a dwarf, and they lived quite comfortably.

Carte de visite of Tom Thumb from the Photograph Album of Cullen and Graham Family. (MSS 14198).
Here is an image of Tom Thumb, a dwarf or little person, who was a very popular act in Barnum’s circus. Tom Thumb, originally Charles Stratton, was hired as a young boy to the circus. During his act, Tom sang songs or dressed up like characters such as cupid or Napoleon Bonaparte. After his circus career Tom married a woman who was a dwarf, and they lived quite comfortably. (Image by Petrina Jackson, December 3, 2015)

Siamese Twins for ... Day Only. New York: J. M. Elliott, Printer, n.d. (Broadside 870). This advertisement is for the famous Siamese twins Chang and Eng. They were a part of Barnum’s museum for a short six weeks. They exhibited themselves throughout much of their early life and were quite successful throughout the nineteenth century. In their later years they married and settled down in North Carolina on a plantation they owned.

Siamese Twins for … Day Only. New York: J. M. Elliott, Printer, n.d. (Broadside 870).
This advertisement is for the famous Siamese twins Chang and Eng. They were a part of Barnum’s museum for a short six weeks. They exhibited themselves throughout much of their early life and were quite successful throughout the nineteenth century. In their later years, they married and settled down in North Carolina on a plantation they owned. (Image by Petrina Jackson, December 3, 2015)

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Joseph Tran, First-Year Student

Photograph of Joseph Tran by Sanjay Suchak (November 17, 2015)

Photograph of Joseph Tran by Sanjay Suchak (November 17, 2015)

Consumer Use of Artificial Light circa 20th Century

This exhibition is largely based on the use of artificially created light from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. This time period was highlighted by the increasing use of light bulbs in virtually every setting to illuminate the darkness. The inspiration that founded this collection can be seen as the greatest light bulb of our time, the Sun.

These items are not contemporary, but they are rather broad in the sense that light is a fundamental need that will always be of use to all people. They will portray the creative manipulation of light to change human perception.

Message from the President of the United States, accompanied with a report upon the subject of the light-houses ordered to be built by the act of third of March, 1821 (A 1821 .U56b no.5) From the executive papers with U.S. Pres. Monroe. Message… to both houses of Congress… 1st session, 17th Congress, Dec. 5, 1821 This report outlines the necessity of lighthouses to be built nearby to the shores by President Monroe. These would illuminate the night sky and allow for sailors and captains to be able to navigate toward land with relative ease. In 1821, these lighthouses would have used a flame lamp of oils that slowly burned over the course of the night, and they were unlike modern lighthouse in that they did not revolve around with mirrors and lenses.

Message from the President of the United States, accompanied with a report upon the subject of the light-houses ordered to be built by the act of third of March, 1821 (A 1821 .U56b no.5)
From the executive papers with U.S. Pres. Monroe. Message… to both houses of Congress… 1st session, 17th Congress, Dec. 5, 1821
This report outlines the necessity of lighthouses to be built nearby to the shores by President Monroe. These would illuminate the night sky and allow sailors and captains to be able to navigate toward land with relative ease. In 1821, these lighthouses would have used a flame lamp of oils that slowly burned over the course of the night, and they were unlike modern lighthouses in that they did not revolve around with mirrors and lenses. (Image by Petrina Jackson, December 3, 2015)

Jackson Davis with camera and an unidentified man (MSS3072, 3072a) Jackson Davis Collection of African American Photographs A photograph taken in 1915 illustrates the use of a camera widely available to the general consumer, which was most likely a Kodak. Cameras at the time would have already started using film and shutters to capture an image. Film is able to retain an image because chemically, it is made with a substance that reacts when struck with a light, namely a flash. The camera revolutionized the way events and people are remembered from a sketch or drawing to a photograph capturing every detail.

Jackson Davis with camera and an unidentified man, 1915. (MSS3072, 3072a). Jackson Davis Collection of African American Photographs
This photograph illustrates the use of a camera widely available to the general consumer, which was most likely a Kodak. Cameras at the time would have already started using film and shutters to capture an image. Film is able to retain an image because, chemically, it is made with a substance that reacts when struck with a light, namely a flash. The camera revolutionized the way events and people are remembered from a sketch or drawing to a photograph capturing every detail. (Image by Digital Production Services)

Reed, Justin James. 2013. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Horses Think Press, 2012. (N7433.4.R424 T8 2012) Purchased from the Agelasto Family Library Fund, 2012/2013 This interesting piece by Justin James Reed is a bit deceptive as its pages seem to be completely blank to the naked eye. But, with the aid of an ultraviolet flashlight, the true images begin to appear visible. This self-published book includes many abstract images, from forest scenery to statues of people. This item fits in this collection because it shows how creative manipulation of light can be used even in small things to produce interesting effects.

Reed, Justin James. 2013. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Horses Think Press, 2012. (N7433.4.R424 T8 2012). Purchased from the Agelasto Family Library Fund, 2012/2013
This interesting piece by Justin James Reed is a bit deceptive as its pages seem to be completely blank to the naked eye. With the aid of an ultraviolet flashlight, the true images begin to appear visible. This self-published book includes many abstract images, from forest scenery to statues of people. This item fits in this exhibition because it shows how creative manipulation of light can be used artistically to produce interesting effects. (Photograph by Sanjay Suchak, November 17, 2015)