DR. CHASE'S RECIPES, BLACKSMITHING, AND A BEAR

A Bullis Room volunteer reads Dr. Chase's recipe for improving poor iron for use in blacksmithing.

Below is our November 27, 2009 post. This week we took another look at that entry after we attended a Friends of Macedon Public Library blacksmithing presentation on Wednesday by two members of the New York State Designer Blacksmiths. They gave us the fascinating history of blacksmithing and brought us up to date on the current status of this craft. Afterwards, they asked if the Bullis collection had any books on the subject. Dr. Chase's book soon came to mind, and we're looking for others. In the meantime, we're zeroing in on blacksmithing recipes in this little book in order to share them with anyone interested.  We'll post some of them with you in next week. For now, perhaps you'd like to refresh your memory about this fun-to-read Bullis book.

"This little blue-covered book, which measures about 4 by 7 inches, is almost hidden by the thicker, taller medical tomes on the shelf. But it contains what must have been useful information in its day, proving that good things really do come in small packages.

Published in 1872 by R.A. Beal, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dr. Chase's Recipes; or, Information for Everybody; An Invaluable Collection of About Eight Hundred Practical Recipes instructs merchants, grocers, saloon keepers, housekeepers, physicians, druggists, barbers, bakers, and farmers how to make apple pie, an ague cure, deer skin tanning solution, a chronic rheumatism cure, washing fluid (saving half the wash-board labor), a Good Samaritan liniment, and 794 more concoctions. (Whew!)

Our copy is the 73rd edition and states that 730,000 copies (at $1.25 each) had been sold at that time, leading the author to the conclude that a good many folk recognized the value of so much handy information packed into one volume. Today, we may find many of these recipes outdated, but they still make entertaining reading. We recommend you spend some time with Dr. Chase's little blue book."

ROMANCE AND HISTORY

These last few weeks in the Bullis room, we've worked with books in two genres--romance and history.  There's one book in this collection that ties these subjects together...Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell.

The Bullis copy is currently in the display case outside the room.  One glance will tell you it's not a quick read. With 1,037 pages, it may be a book to put on your winter reading list.

If you do read (or reread) Gone With the Wind, we suggest you think about men like John Lapham Bullis who enlisted in the 126th New York Volunteer Infantry at 21 years of age and was quickly plunged into the middle of that heartbreaking war. He was injured and captured in the Battle of Harper's Ferry in September, 1862, barely a month after he enlisted. And although he rejoined his regiment after exchange, he was again wounded and captured at the battle of Gettysburg, and spent the following ten months confined to Libby Prison in Virginia.

John Lapham Bullis's wartime experiences can add perspective to both fiction and nonfiction accounts of the Civil War by giving us a personal connection. And perhaps when we better understand our history, we can in turn have a greater understanding of current events and situations.  We can always hope so.

LIFE IN DIXIE

Last week we posted a list of Bullis books that cover the Civil War. This week we took a closer look at one of them...Life In Dixie During the War, 1861-1862-1873-1864-1865 by Mary A. H. Gay, published in 1894.  This book is now at the top of our blogger's non-fiction reading list.

According to one source, Mary Gay lived most of her life in Decatur, Georgia. She wrote a number of books, but Life in Dixie is the most famous and one that deserves to be read (or re-read) during this 150-year anniversary of the Civil War.  The eyewitness accounts from a woman's point of view are unique as well as fascinating.

According to several sources (including Google eBook), Life in Dixie "...gave Martha Mitchell the idea for Gone with the Wind." Continuing to quote Google eBook, the book has "...terrific insights into the life and perspective of southern whites during the war, the character and deeds of union soldiers."

For this reason (and many others) we strongly recommend this book for your summer or wintertime reading. Either online...or here in the Bullis Room.

NATURAL DISASTERS OF THE PAST

When we were looking through the shelves this past week, this title caught our attention (because of recent natural disasters around the world):

ITALY'S GREAT HORROR OF EARTHQUAKE AND TIDAL WAVE

compiled by Jay Henry Mowbray

(1909, publisher unnamed)

Forty-eight pages of plates as well as numerous illustrations enhance the description of the events that resulted in "immense loss of life" and left Messina and other beautiful cities in Southern Italy and Sicily in heaps of ruins on December 28, 1908. 

Volunteers found that reading this book was a sobering experience, but one that served to remind us of our need to be prepared for whatever nature brings to us.   We invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and find out more about this "unparalleled catastrophe" of a hundred years ago.

WHAT MAY BE LEARNED FROM A TREE

Since today is Arbor Day, we scrolled through the collection's data base for books on trees, and stopped when we saw the entry "What May Be Learned From a Tree."  Wow, what a neat book!  The author, Harland Coultas, copyrighted the book in 1855 and it went into several printings. The Bullis copy was published in 1860 by D. Appleton.

Mr. Coultas began his book with the history of trees and followed up with discussions of tree anatomy, physiology, growth, community, and death.  Interweaved throughout is the author's purpose "...to show that the tree may be regarded as a vast community of phytons, or plants, which co-operate in its construction and are mutually dependent on and subservient to each other." (Introduction, page 11)

He concludes his introduction with, "Reader, whoever you are, may this book prove to you a friend, may you be induced by its pages to look on the Tree with a new interest; and obtaining from its noble form a clear and truthful view of your own position and duty in life, become, by the perusal of this volume, a wiser man and a better citizen." (Introduction, page 12)

Many trees are visible through the Bullis Room window. Some were here long before us and will be here long after we are gone, making their contributions (individually and collectively) to our planet. Let's do what we can to help them live out their purpose.

Note: You can read Mr. Coulas's book online, or here in the Bullis Room.

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER MONTH

April is National Volunteer Month.

Last week was National Volunteer Week.

Every day is Volunteer Day.

This is certainly true of Bullis Room volunteers.  Some days they work in the Bullis Room, researching, organizing, planning. Other days they work at home, updating worksheets or brainstorming ways to promote the collection in the community.

We say a sincere "thank you" to our own volunteers--and to those everywhere who make a tremendous contribution to our society.

STRAWBERRY GEMS OF '93

The back cover of Lovetts Guide to Fruit Culture, Spring, 1894, features these gems of 1893 and reminds us that we will soon be loading our cars with baskets and heading for the nearest berry farm. Some of us make jams, jellies, pies and our favorite Strawberry Shortcake recipes while all of us enjoy eating them fresh off the vine.

Strawberries are the first fruits of summer here in Western New York, followed by raspberries, blueberries, and then apples, peaches and pears. Coffeetable-size books with colorful plates showing these luscious summer fruits are on the shelves here in the Bullis Room. So let's enjoy all of these fruits while they're in season. And come November, we can take these books off the shelf and spend the winter dreaming of next summer's bounty. That way we can have our fruit and eat it too.

FROM THE FLOOR

How often do we look at the bottom shelf of books in a library? Speaking for myself, the answer is: "Not often enough." So last week I plopped myself down in front of the History section and began pulling books at random from the lower shelves. These books may be low, location-wise, but they are high in interest to those of us who love local history. Thus I was rewarded well for my time, effort and the occasional "twinge" from my lumbar region as I made the acquaintance of these books:

Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins, and Schuyler Counties, New York

Niagara and other Famous Cataracts of the World

Landmarks of Wayne County Landmarks of Monroe County

Warriors of the Genesee Political History of New York

Topographical Survey, Adirondack Region, New York

Hotchkins History of Western New York Annals and Recollections of Oneida County

Exhibit of State of New York at World's Columbia Exposition

All these books are over a hundred years old and they do show their age. A book evaluator would use words like "loose boards, warping, yellowing," or "brittle" to describe some of their conditions. In addition to natural aging, many of these books sustained additional damage from the heat and water of the 2001 library fire. Despite the toll taken by the storms of life, however, they keep on keeping on, their contents enhancing our knowledge and appreciation of the past as well as the present. Today, they sit in their assigned places, ready to serve yet another generation of readers. Let's not disappoint them.

(As the title states, this viewpoint comes from the floor...The Bullis Room floor. Hope to see you there one of these Thursdays.)

MORE ON AUDELS CARPENTERS AND BUILDERS GUIDE

"By Hammer and Hand All Things Do Stand"

Last week we talked about John Ruskin's quotation found in this set of books. What other gems can we discover in these four+ volumes?

Authors Frank D. Graham and Thomas J. Emery put together "A Practical Illustrated Trade Assistant on Modern Construction For Carpenters-Joiners, Builders-Mechanics, and all Wood Workers."

Illustrations, diagrams, charts, graphs, and pictures enhance the how-to explanations "in practical, concise language" that include how to figure and calculate various jobs.

Publisher Theo. Audel Co. seemed to do well with this series as it was copyrighted in 1929, 1933, 1945 and reprinted in 1948.

Whether you are a professional or a DIYer, you can find good information and interesting facts between the covers of these little black books.


Volume 1: Tools - Steel - Square Saw Filing - Joinery - Furniture

Volume 2: Builders Mathematics - Drawing Plans - Specifications - Estimating

Volume 3: House and Roof Framing - Laying Out - Foundations

Volume 4: Doors - Windows -Stair Building - Mill Work - Painting


We invite you to stop by and give Audel's guides a look-through. You may learn something that will make your next project go a little smoother.