Friday, December 30, 2011

LOOKING BACK

2011 was another busy year for us here in the Bullis Room. Repairing and restoring books, organizing, researching (and searching), displaying, presenting, traveling, monitoring, planning...and reading.

As we've noted before, reading is a "problem" for us volunteers. This room is filled with such interesting stuff that it's difficult to remain focused on a particular task. We walk in the room with a goal in mind, but when we see a stack of letters written by a Bullis family member lying on the shelf - or some interesting books strewn around on the table top - we stop to take a quick look, which sometimes stretches into hours. And we often leave with our original goal unattained.

So as we look back we remember all of the projects we planned but never completed (such as making a timeline of John Lapham Bullis's life and typing transcripts of some newly-obtained letters).  That's the bad news, so to speak. The good news is we can have another go at all these projects in 2012.

Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

SUBJECT: RELIGION

Since several religions are celebrating special days this month, we searched the Bullis book data base for books on this subject. Here are five books that caught our eye as we scrolled through the list:

Rays of Light from All Lands; the bibles and beliefs of mankind. Scriptures, faiths, and systems of every age, race and nation, a complete story of all churches and communions;notable utterances by foremost representatives of all faiths. Editors: Rev. E. C. Towne, Rev. A. J. Canfield, and George J. Hagar, published c1895.

Ten Great Religions, by James Freeman Clarke, published c1871 and 1887.

The Light of the World; a brief comparative study of Christianity and non-Christian religions, by Robert E. Speer, published c1911.

Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Teachers, written by Elbert Hubbard (done into a printed book by Roycrofters at their Shop), published 1908.

Church and state in the United States; or, The American idea of religious liberty and its practical effects, with official documents, by Philip Schaff, published in 1888.

There are many more books on a variety of religions in the collection. If you're researching a specific topic or just reading for general information, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

PRESSED FLOWERS FROM THE HOLY LAND

The complete title is PRESSED FLOWERS FROM THE HOLY LAND GATHERED AND PRESSED IN PALESTINE,  and it was authored by Harvey B. Greene with an introduction by
Rev. Smith Baker, D.D.

We recently rediscovered this little book of pressed flowers tucked away on a shelf here in the Bullis Room and were amazed at the relatively good condition of the cover and the pressed flowers inside. You can see for yourself from these photos.



And here's a photo of a pressed Lily of the Valley, one of many scarlet flowers Mr. Greene found in the Holy Land.


The author also included pressed papyrus, in the shape of a cross, which is still in excellent condition in spite of its century-plus age.

And in case you are wondering if the author really did gather and press these plants in Palestine, the book includes this statement from the consulate:

"Consulate of the United States
Jerusalem, Palestine
February 12, 1898
I take great pleasure in stating that Mr. H. B. Greene has spent three springs, in gathering and pressing the flowers of Palestine, during which time he made with the assistance of native helpers, large collections of the wild flowers, and I feel sure that these flowers he now offers for sale really grew in the Christ Land."
(Signature)

Which leaves us with nothing more to say except that this little book is a real treasure.