HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD BOOKS

This week as we thought about another year coming to a close, we took another look around the shelves in the Bullis Room and wondered how many of these books are at least a century old.  A quick search identified a few books published in 1912, and we were interested to see what people were writing about a hundred years ago. Here's a list of some of them:

Aristotle, on the Athenian Constitution

 by F. A. Kenyon published in London

Howney's Cookbook

by Maria Howard, published in Boston

History of London

by Helen Douglas Irvine, published in New York

Self-Propelled Vehicles...Automobiles

James Homans, published in New York

Butterfly and Moth Book

Ellen Robertson Miller, published in New York

New York State Museum, Report of State Botanist 1912 (Mushrooms)

Published in New York

So now we know some of the things people were "into" way back when: cooking, constitutions, self-propelled vehicles, butterflies and moths, mushrooms, and London history. Wonder what people will be writing about in 2112...???

GRIMM TALES

This last week we were thinking about which book (or books) we might highlight in our next post, and suddenly came to the realization that we haven't done much with the fiction side of the collection lately.

Since December 20 marks the 200th anniversary of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's publication of their first volume of  Children's and Household Tales, this is the perfect time to let you know about the Bullis Collection's copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales (published by J. H. Sears & Co.). This book is showing its age, a result of being enjoyed by readers for a hundred years or so, but it's still readable.
So we invite you to stop by and again enjoy some of these two-centuries old stories.

And if any of you happen to have a copy of the Sears publication of Grimm's Fairy Tales,  could you let us know the publication date of your copy? We'd appreciate it.

CHARLES DARWIN

In 1859 Charles Darwin, the British naturalist, published On the Origin of Species, which explained his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. One hundred fifty-three years later we are still talking about Darwin and his theory.

Are you one of those interested in this subject? If so, have we got some good stuff for you to read. In fact, this collection has 19 volumes about Darwin's work, and you can sit in the cozy atmosphere of the Bullis Room and read every one of them. Honest!

Let us know when you want to stop by.

LINCOLN

Lots of talk around these days about the movie Lincoln  - which reminds us (you guessed it!) of all the books in the Bullis collection about Lincoln's life and his years as president. The one that stands out to us right now is Abraham Lincoln and Men of War-Times, written by Alexander K. McClure (1892, The Times Publishing Co., Philadelphia).

Alexander K. MClure was an associate of Abraham Lincoln, so this book gives an insider's view of Lincoln as president and politician.

If you've already seen the movie, this book will give you another viewpoint for comparison. And if you haven't (and don't plan to), it will help you better understand this president who left a lasting impression on our country. Either way, we invite you to take a look at the Bullis Room's copy.

GIVING THANKS FOR NETTIE BULLIS

(From Palmyra-Macedon Central School District's website)

"Jeanette A. (Nettie) Bullis was the valedictorian for the Macedon High School Class of 1911.  She attended Cornell University and spent her career at Gleason Works.  A strong work ethic earned Ms. Bullis corporate advancements, becoming the first woman treasurer.  She served in the position of Corporate Secretary and Private Assistant to the company President, James Gleason. 

 

In her valedictory speech of 1911 she stated, “Life, like every other blessing, derives its value from its use.”  The words of Miss Nettie Bullis epitomize the purpose of this program.  Her life’s work continues today and will continue well into the future as Palmyra-Macedon students benefit from a scholarship fund in her name.

 

Through a bequest, Ms. Bullis established a $12.3 Million Fund now operated by the Rochester Area Community Foundation, funded the 48-acre Bullis Park in the Town of Macedon, provided funding for the start of the District’s early intervention program, established the Bullis Room at the Town of Macedon Library and most recently funds from her bequest were provided for Via-Health of Wayne’s Emergency Room.

 

Significant for the tangible gifts she provided, Nettie Bullis also bequeathed an equally valuable lesson.  Those of us with what are considered ordinary careers can make extraordinary contributions to our neighbors and fellow citizens.  Ms. Bullis was a benefactor, humanitarian, and friend of education.

 

Although Ms. Bullis died in 1979, her legacy remains impacting thousands of people, particularly the students of Palmyra-Macedon High School.  Ms. Bullis’ life is a testament to the power of the ordinary citizen doing extraordinary deeds.  Ms. Bullis’s award shall be placed in the Bullis Room of the Macedon Town Library to honor her contributions."

Nettie Bullis' award is displayed in the Bullis Room.  During your next visit, let us show it to you.

 

FLYING MACHINES

In between visitors to the Bullis Room’s open house last Saturday, we  pulled this book off the shelves for a quick scan-through:

Flying Machines: Construction and Operation. A Practical Book Which Shows, In Illustrations, Working Plans and Text, How To Build and Navigate The Modern Airship.

Since this book was published in 1910, radical changes and advances have occurred in this field (to say the least). And so we were interested and amused by some of the comments of authors William James Jackman and Thomas H. Russell. For example, under the title “Limits of the Flying Machine,” they write:

            In the opinion of the competent experts it is idle to look for a

            commercial future for the flying machine. There is, and always

            will be, a limit to its carrying capacity, which will prohibit its

            employment for passenger or freight purposes in a wholesale

            or general way.

However, they do acknowledge some practical uses for this invention in the fields of:

            Sports – flying machine races

            Science - exploration of otherwise inaccessible regions such as

            deserts, mountain tops

            War – reconnoitering in time of war to spy out the enemy’s encampment

            and ascertain its defenses

This book’s quaint illustrations showing basic principles of flight and early flying machines make it a fun look-through. We recommend you stop by the Bullis Room sometime and let us show it to you.

A SPECIAL INVITATION

Yes, this is a special invitation for you to visit the Bullis Room tomorrow, Saturday, November 10, from Noon to 3 PM.

And, it's a reminder for you to bring your historic photographs to Macedon Public Library during that same time frame, to be copied by Town Historian June Hamell. The scanned images will be archived by her office and eventually made available to the public.

So tomorrow we have  "twofer" for you at the library:

1. Getting your photos scanned into the historian's archives and sharing any family stories you may have connected to those photos,

and,

2. Spending some time in the Bullis Room in the company of some rare, classic books.

Hope to see you then!

WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL

This week, way back in 1783, General George Washington issued his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States near Princeton, New Jersey.  This event was a milestone in the demobilization of the armed forces that had been assembled for the Revolutionary War and followed the signing of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States.

If this event in history grabs your interest, you'll want to stop by the Bullis Room and look at the collection's copy of Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington by George Washington Parke Custis. In case you're wondering about the author (we did!), he was President Washington's step-son. During his life he wrote and published a number of plays. Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington was published posthumously by his daughter in 1859.

We think you'll agree that this book gives a special look at our first president, George Washington, through the eyes of a close family member.

CHARLIE'S BOOKS

Recently we picked up a book in the collection, opened it, saw some notes about date and place of purchase, and immediately thought, "This must be one of Charlie's books."

Nettie Bullis's brother Charlie (Charles Rogers Bullis, 1891 - 1974) must have loved old books. People who remember him talk about seeing him at area barn and garage sales, looking through boxes of second-hand books and usually choosing several to take home to add to the many, many stacks and boxes already in the house on Canandaigua Road.

Charlie Bullis's love of books undoubtedly came from his father and grandfather, who added a significant number of engineering and medical books to their library. The horticulture volumes were probably Charlie's "doing" as growing flowers was one of his interests as well. And of course, all of the  Bullises made their contributions over the years, as well.

So we say a belated "thank you" to those who assembled this collection over the years, with special gratitude for Charlie Bullis who kept up the tradition and Nettie Bullis who insured that the collection would remain intact and maintained for us to enjoy.

Hope you're getting your Macedon photos ready for our November 10 photo scan. We're looking forward to seeing you in the Bullis Room that day, as well.

PHOTO SCANNING PROJECT

On Saturday,  November 10 from Noon to 3 PM in the Macedon Public Library, a photo scanning session will allow area residents to have their historic photos scanned and become a part of the Macedon's history archives. 

We're mentioning this now so you have time to go through your collection of photos from the past and chose the ones you would like to share with the rest of the community. 

While your photos are being scanned, you can also visit the Bullis Room (which will be open and staffed that day) or drop by the Community Room for refreshments and see the Macedon Historical Society's display of scrapbooks.

Hope to see you on November 10. If you have any questions, just call 315-986-5932, Ext. 3.

LOOKING FOR COLUMBUS

...that's one thing we were doing this week in the Bullis Room. And we found him. Well, at least we found two books on that subject.

Why Columbus? Well, yesterday was the official holiday and remembrance of Christopher Columbus's 1492 arrival in the New World.  And it's at this time each year that we're reminded of the man and his discovery and what it meant to the world.

And now for the results of our search - for your reading and browsing pleasure we recommend:

Columbus and Columbia;

a pictorial history of the man and the nation, 

embracing a review of our country's progress, a complete history of America,

a new life of Columbus and an illustrated description of

the great Columbian exposition.

(Yes, that's the title!) However, this volume actually contains four books:

Book I - by Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State

Book II - by J. W. Buel, Distinguished author and traveler

Book III - by Prof. John Clark Ridpath, noted historial

Book IV - by Hon Benj. Butterworth, Sec. Columbian Commission

Published by Historical Publishing Company of St. Louis, Missouri in 1832, the volume is "Embellished with over 500 engravings, maps, charts diagrams, and illustrations in oil colors by the great masters." 

This book has a total of 832 pages, so allow yourself plenty of time to give it a thorough look-through next time you drop in the Bullis Room.

ROYCROFT

We browsed the shelves this week for works on religion, and a group of Roycroft books caught our eye.  Elbert Hubbard founded the Roycroft community in 1895 in the small town of East Aurora, New York. Thus, it is no accident that these books are a part of the collection, since East Aurora is "just down the road" from Macedon.

Author Robert Rust wrote in The Roycroft Campus (Arcadia Publishing; Reprint edition, May, 1999) that Elbert Hubbard and his Roycrofters were one of the most influential aspects of the American Arts & Crafts Movement. Hubbard founded the Roycroft Press in 1895, and by the turn of the century, the varied group of artisans and celebrities had transformed the small town of East Aurora, New York, into a world-renowned utopian community.

So if you're interested in learning more about this talented and productive community of artisans and authors, just drop by the Bullis Room and ask to see these books:

The Roycrofters (1917)

A List of Books Made During the Year 1899 by the Roycrofters at the Roycroft Shop (1899)

Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Orators--Burke (1903)

Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Orators--Ingersoll (1903)

THE VILLAGE READER

September is back-to-school month here in upstate New York, so this week we’re focusing on a book in the collection that was used by educators and students more than 170 years ago. This was back in the days when there were no electronic “gizmos” to rely on—when students recorded their work on slates with that white stuff called chalk,  and primary readers were called primers. Does this bring you a touch of nostalgia? If so, stop by the Bullis Room and ask to take a look at:

The Village Reader: designed for the use of schools

By the compilers of

The Easy Primer, Child’s Guide, and Intelligent Reader

This book, published by G. & C. Merriam in 1841, has 300 pages of reading instruction that includes rules for punctuation, and rules for reading aloud. The daily exercises include tales, short essays, and general instruction as well as grammar drills.

So if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by today’s high-tech world, we suggest you take a break, spend some time with The Village Reader, and for a few minutes experience what school life was like a century and a half ago.

CHECKERS

Sooo - you may be wondering what Bullis volunteers did this week. Well, for one thing. we searched the database for books on the subject of "checkers."

And why would we be interested in that subject? Because we've seen various references to the Richard M. Nixon "Checkers" speech that he made on live television on this date 60 years ago. And we just wondered ... Is there anything in the collection about this political speech? ...  And is there anything else about "checkers?"

No to the first question; yes to the last.  There are two books about the game, and for those of you who play the checkers - or cheer on those who do - here they are for your reading enjoyment:

1. International Match. Complete Record of the (checker) games played between players of Great Britain and the United States, Boston, March 14th to 25th, 1905. This volume was published by Angel Guardian Press in 1906.

2. Complete Record of the Games Played in the First American Tourney: March 18th to 24th, 1907, at Boston, Mass. Angel Guardian Press also published this book in 1907.

We were on a roll, so next we did an internet search on checker tournaments,  to see what was currently going on. Know what? Lots of stuff. So if you're interested in checkers (the game), we suggest you stop by the Bullis Room to take a look at these two books; then find the nearest checker game, choose your color, and play.

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

On this date in 1814 Francis Scott Key was moved to write a poem after witnessing how an American flag flying over Maryland's Fort McHenry withstood a night of British bombardment during the War of 1812.  He wrote the first stanza of this poem "on the back of a letter he had in his pocket,"  author Robert Sears wrote in his book The Pictorial History of the American Revolution; with a sketch of the early history of the country...." (This book, published in 1846 by R. Sears, is in the Bullis Collection for your reference use.) A facsimile of the original manuscript of the first stanza of the "The Star-Spangled Banner" is included in the book.

Key initially titled his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry."  The morning after he wrote the poem, Key showed it to his uncle, who had copies printed and distributed in the Baltimore and Gay streets neighborhood. Later on, the words were set to the tune of a current popular song and (as they say) the rest is history.

Sears also wrote, "The Star-spanged Banner itself...that waved over Fort McHenry during that bombardment, is still in existence. I saw it at the house of Christopher Hughes Armistead (a son of the gallant defender of the fort) in Baltimore during the late Civil War. It had eleven holes in it, made there by the shot of the British during the bombardment."

As we looked through Sears' book this week, our national anthem took on new meaning for us. We hope you have the same experience.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

With less than two months remaining in this presidential election campaign, we searched the collection's data base for books on that subject. Here's one that covers the first 24 elections in our country:

A History of the Presidency, from 1788 to 1897,  written by Edward Stanwood and published in 1912 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

We tried to remember the 24 names of the people who made up that distinguished list, and resorted to an online search titled "presidents of the United States." In case you may have difficulty recalling all of them, here's the list (last names only ...  can you remember all of the first names?):

Washington (1989-1797), Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Adams, Jackson,  Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Grant, Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, Cleveland (1893-1897)

The first chapter of this book covers the establishment of the electoral system and we learned some very interesting facts from scanning through those pages. For example, did you know that, in answer to the question "In how many persons should the executive power be vested?", "one voice was raised in favor of three, -- one to be chosen from the North, one from the Middle States, and one from the South." (pages 2-3). And we think our current system is complicated!?! 

So we suggest you stop by and give this book a few minutes of your time. It's informative and thought-provoking -  a good combination.

LOOKING BACK

It's Labor Day weekend once again - the end of summer holidays. For those of you who are feeling a bit of regret that another vacation season has passed, we offer you this photo of Fourth Lake in the Adirondacks as a way of easing that loss a bit.

We also suggest that you look back in this blog to these previous postings: October 23, 2008 and January 22, 2009.  These postings list Bullis books about the Adirondack area.

And please remember - there's always another season to enjoy the outdoors ... and the Bullis books. Volunteers are hoping to see you soon.

AMERICAN INVENTORS

Two hundred five years ago today, Robert Fulton's steamboat arrived in Albany, two days after leaving New York.  You can read more about Mr. Fulton's world-changing invention (and many more) in a book in this collection titled Inventors. Philip Gengembre Hubert wrote this book which was published in 1893 by C. Scribner's Sons as part of a Men of Achievement series. Its 299 pages contain illustrations, plates, and interesting information about  these American inventors:

Robert Fulton, Benjamin Franklin, Eli Whitney, Elias Howe, Samuel F. B. Morse, Charles Goodyear, John Ericsson, Cyrus Hall McCormick, Thomas A. Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell.

To further tempt you to take a look at this Bullis book, here's an excerpt that documents Robert Fulton's account of his voyage:

"My steamboat voyage to Albany and back, has turned out rather more favorable than I had calculated. The distance from New York to Albany is one hundred and fifty miles; I ran it up in thirty-two hours, and down in thirty. I had a light breeze against me the whole way, both going and coming, and the voyage has been performed wholly by the power of the steam engine. I overtook many sloops and schooners beating to windward, and parted with them as if they had been at anchor. The power of propelling boats by steam is now fully proved. The morning I left New York there were not, perhaps, thirty persons in the city who believed that the boat would even move one mile an hour, or be of the least utility; and while we were putting off from the wharf, which was crowded with spectators, I heard a number of sarcastic remarks. This is the way in which ignorant men comment what they call philosophers and projectors. Having employed much time, money, and zeal, in accomplishing this work, it gives me, as it will you, great pleasure to see it fully answer my expectations. It will give a cheap and quick conveyance to the merchandise on the Mississippi, Missouri, and other great rivers, which are now laying open their treasures to the enterprise of our countrymen; and although the prospect of personal emolument has been some inducement to me, yet I feel infinitely more pleasure in reflecting on the immense advantage that my country will derive from the invention." (pp. 60-61)

This book is on our "to read" list - we suggest you consider putting it on yours.

CARS, CARS, and CARS

Our July 20 post focused on a Bullis book published in 1903 that chronicled a car trip through a portion of western United States. This week we dug around some more and came up with three more books about cars, and if you haven't stopped by the Bulis Room to take a closer look at The West from a Car Window, we hope that these other books will lure you in.

First, we found The Car That Went Abroad, Motoring Through the Golden Age,  written by Albert Bigelow Paine, illustrated from drawings by Walter Hale, and published in 1921 by Harper. "Abroad" means France, and looking at the list of places that automobile visited, it's tires barely had a chance to cool down from one side trip before it was on to the next.

Second, this book popped up on our search: By Camel and Car to the Peacock Throne by E. Alexander Powell, published in 1923 by Garden City Publishing Co.  What makes this book especially interesting to those of us in Upstate New York is that Mr. Powell was a native of Syracuse. He was born there in 1879 and was on the Syracuse Journal staff from 1898-1899.  At the beginning of World War I he was a war correspondent, and due to his neutral position was allowed on both sides of the battle lines. When the US entered the war in 1917, he was commissioned as a captain in US military intelligence. Following the war through1954, he had a successful career as an adventure and travel writer. This book is one of the 20 he wrote during that time. (Wikipedia, "E. Alexander Powell")

The third book we found is from a second-world-war timeframe: The Automobile User's Guide (with wartime suggestions on how to get the most out of your car and make it last longer : a practical operating manual for automobile owners and their families. General Motors Corporation authored and published this book in 1940. Although times and cars have changed in the last 72 years, there are still some good, practical ideas and lots of nostalgia between the covers of this book. 

There's still time for car trips this summer, and in between your travels, we hope you'll stop by and let us show you these interesting (and fun-to-read) books.

REACHING OUT

This week volunteers worked on reaching out to the local area in another way ... with an ad in the 30th annual Macedon Center Community Lumberjack Festival's booklet.  On September 8 (9 Am to 5 PM) and September 9 (11 AM to 5 PM), both professional and amateur lumberjacks will compete for prizes in a series of events that include log chopping, chain sawing, log rolling, tree felling, and greased pole climbing.

When festival goers open their ad booklets, they will find our announcement that tells them this collection has over 6000 items "to help you explore the World, the Sciences, the Past, and the Faiths from the perspective of Victoria era authors." Readers will also be encouraged to schedule a visit by calling the library at 315-986-5932 option 3.  We hope that many of them will do just that.

We've also included a reminder of the Bullis Room open house on November 10, 2012, from Noon to 3 PM, when area residents can bring their old photos of Macedon to scan into the Town Historian's digital archive of Macedon.

Our purpose in posting this information now is to get you to mark you calendars for the November 10 open house. But please don't wait until then to stop by the Bullis Room. Just call the number above and we'll gladly schedule some time for you to come in, peruse the shelves, choose some volumes to leisurely look through, and bask in the aroma and atmosphere of old books. (For free!)

"GOINGS-ON"

We want to give you advance notice on some "goings-on" here in the library that are a high priority for those of us interested in the Bullis Collection. So we suggest you mark your calendars now for these events:

1. Sunday, October 21, 2 PM - Peter Jemison, Manager of the Ganondagan historical site in victor, will make a presentation in MPL's Community Room. He'll be focusing on the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua and the importance of the treaty to the settlement and history of the greater Macedon area.

2. Saturday, November 10, from Noon to 3 PM - "Documenting our Macedon Memories" -  Macedon area residents can bring their historic photos of Wayne County to one of three scanning sessions in the library. The emphasis will be to document information about the photographs, gather family stories, and increase awareness about the photography collection in the Town Historian's office (which is right next door to the Bullis Room).

3. On a Sunday afternoon in February, 2013 - Dr. David Anderson, a noted storyteller and faculty member at Nazareth College, will present "If My Life is but Spared; Austin Steward's Sojourn from Slavery to Freedom."
     Mr. Steward, a former slave who made his home in Farmington and later Rochester, wrote Twenty-two Years a Slave and Forty Years a Free Man, published in 1857. AND, we have a copy of this book in the Bullis Collection.

Hope to see you at these events. And if you'd like to stop by the Bullis Room before or after any of these "goings-on," we'll be there.

THE WEST FROM A CAR WINDOW

Okay - maybe you already knew (we didn't) that the Ford Motor Company shipped its first car on this date in 1903. Well, when we found out we once again went to the collection's data base and searched for "cars." Here's the first hit that caught our attention:

The West from a Car-Window

by Richard Harding Davis

Published by Harper & Brothers in 1903

This work documents a car trip from Texas through Oklahoma and into Colorado. And there are photos and illustrations, too!  In an effort to get you to stop by the Bullis Room and take a look at this book, here's a partial list of the visuals:

A Bucking Broncho

"Remember the Alamo!"

Third Calvary Troopers--Searching a Suspected Revolutionist

The "Holy Moses" Mine

The Cheyenne Type

Big Bull

Oklahoma City on the Day of the Opening

A Kiowa Maiden

The Omnipotent Bugler

The Barracks, Fort Houston

Gateway of the Garden of the Gods, and Pike's Peak

Polo Above the Snow-line at Colorado Springs

Pike's Peak from Colorado Springs

So before you set out on your car trip west this summer, you might like to see what it looked like from a car window over a hundred years ago.  This book's waiting for you in the Bullis Room. Hope to see you soon.

ST. THOMAS MORE, HENRY VIII, and a DENTAL CONGRESS

Last week we searched for books on California and got sidetracked by a reference to St. Thomas More. So this week we looked in the Bullis data bank for books on More and were disappointed that we didn't find a book dedicated exclusively to him. However, because he was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England as well as Lord Chancellor from October 1529 to May 1532, there are references to him in these two Bullis books that chronicle the life of that monarch:

1. Memoirs of Henry the Eighth of England: with the fortunes, fates and character of his six wives, written by Henry William Herbert and published by Miller, Orton & Mulligan in 1855.

2. The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon: the story as told by the imperial ambassadors resident at the court of Henry VIII, written by J. A. Froude and published by C. Scribner's Sons in 1899.

So for you history buffs who are into that period in history, we recommend you take a look at these two volumes.

Now for the "Dental Congress" part of this post's title - our "California" search last week also hit on this book in the collection:

Panama-Pacific Dental Congress, San Francisco, California, August thirtieth to September ninth, nineteen fifteen, authored by Panama-Pacific Dental Congress (1915: San Francisco) and published by The Abbott Press in 1915.

How did this book make its way into the Bullis collection? In fact, how did it make its way to Macedon? As far as we know, there were no dentists in the Bullis family and very few (if any?) in the Macedon area in 1915.  We'll never know the how and why of it, but we do know it is in residence on a shelf in the Bullis Room. So if  you're interested in what was going on in dentistry in the Panama-Pacific area a hundred years ago, this may be just the book for you.

CALIFORNIA, HYDRAULIC MINING, AND ISAAC NEWTON

This week we're posting two books in the collection as a way of remembering two events.

First, on July 7 in 1846, the United States officially annexed what is now California, following the surrender of a Mexican garrison at Monterey.  We searched the Bullis data base for "California" books and found this entry:

A Practical Treatise on Hydraulic Mining in California written by Augustus Jesse Bowie and published by D. Van Nostrand Company in 1889. This book contains a "description of the use and construction of ditches, flumes, wrought-iron pipes, and dams; flow of water on heavy grades, and its applicability, under pressure, to mining."

We're recommending this book to any of you who are interested in California history or hydraulic mining (and currently hydrofracturing). Please feel free to stop by and take a serious look at this book, as it contains maps, diagrams, tables, and detailed drawings that illustrate the finer points of a process that was the forerunner of today's methods.

Second, since Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica, a three-volume work setting out his mathematical principles of natural philosophy, was published on July 5, 1687, we again looked in the Bullis records for that work. No hits, but we did find another which we think you'll also find interesting:

The Life of Sir Isaac Newton by David Brewster, published in 1831 by J. and J. Harper.

Principia Mathematica is considered one of the most important works every written. You can take a look at it online and you can find out more about the author when you stop by the Bullis Room and look at Sir David Brewster's book. (As an aside: Sir David was a Scottish physicist, mathematician and astronomer who invented the kaleidoscope and made major improvements to the stereoscope.)

One other date this week caught our attention: On July 26, 1535, St. Thomas More was executed in England for high treason. But that's for another post.

THE GLOBE

On this date in 1613 London's Globe Theatre (which we remember as the site of many of Shakespeare's plays)  burned to the ground. The fire started when a theatrical cannon used in the performance of Henry the Eighth misfired and ignited the wooden beam and thatch structure.

Although the Globe is no more, we still enjoy Shakespeare's work through contemporary performances and print. There are two books on the Bullis Room shelves that we think you'll find interesting, perhaps even illuminating:

1) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: with a full and comprehensive life, a history f the early drama, an introduction to each play, the readings of former editions, glossarial and other notes...) from the works of Collier, Knight, Dyce, Douce, Halliwell, Hunter, Richardson, Verplanck, and Hudson, edited and authored by George Long Duyckinck and published in 1881.

2) Studies in Shakespeare, by Richard Grant White, published in 1885 by Houghton, Mifflin.

The Globe Theatre has been gone almost four hundred years, but Shakespeare's work lives on - thanks to the printed word.

STANDING ROOM ONLY

The Friends of Macedon Public Library's presentation on slave quilts packed the Community Room last night. By packed, we mean that there was standing room only with an attendance count of approximately 85.

Some of us were there as both "Friends of MPL" and "Bullis Room Volunteers" and we were overwhelmed by the show of enthusiasm for this topic. As a result, both groups are now thinking and planning for other programs on related topics.

Our speaker Susan Howard began her presentation by stating that slaves did not come to America--Africans came, then were enslaved. This all started around 1619, but slavery goes back a lot farther than this in other parts of the world.

If you'd like to learn more about the history of slavery overall, we recommend that you take a look at a book in the Bullis Room entitled The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade Ancient and Modern. This book was published in 1857 by J. and H. Miller and authored by William O. Blake. Compiled from authentic materials, it covers "the forms of slavery that prevailed in ancient nations, particularly in Greece and Rome, the African slave trade, and the political history of slavery in the United States.

Remember, you're welcome to stop by the Bullis Room for a "look-see," anytime.

JUNETEEN

Juneteen is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by remembering the  abolition of slavery in Texas in 1865. It is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.

To commemorate Juneteen, the Friends of Macedon  Pubic Library is sponsoring "Hidden in Plain View - A Secret Story of Slave Quilts and the Underground Railroad." In this presentation, Susan Howard will share her knowledge of how quilts were used to communicate with slaves who were planning to escape to freedom via the underground railroad.

This free presentation will be held in the library's Community Room at 6:30 PM on June 19. You are  invited and encouraged to attend.

And if you'd like to take a look at the Bullis books on slavery or the Civil War, let us know and we'll be glad to meet with you before the presentation.

CLAY AND DOUGLAS

If you received PLS's Past and Present newsletter this week, you know that one of their recommendations was the book America's Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise That Preserved the Union (written by Fergus M Bordewich, published 2012-04 by Simon Schuster). And if that entry caught your eye, you may also want to take a look at these two Bullis books:

1) The Life and Times of Henry Clay by Calvin Colton, published in 1845 by A. S. Barnes & Co.

and

2)  The Life of Stephen A. Douglas by James W. Sheahan, published in 1860 by Harper & Brothers.

These three books offer interesting reading as well as different perspectives (spanning over 150 years) on these two men from our past. We suggest you consider taking a look at all three.