HAPPY AUTUMN!

Autumn is here. Another one. We refrained from mulling over those thoughts like "where did the summer go" and "the holidays are just around the corner," and instead we took a look at what's in the collection on the subject of Fall.

We got several hits, and one that is rare in this collection - a child's storybook:

Little Amy's Birthday and Other Tales: A Story Book for Autumn

by Harriet Myrtle, published in 1846, London: Joseph Cundall

This is a book you'll want to stop by and take a look at during this colorful season. There's an illustration titled  "Making wreaths in the autumn woods" that shows chubby-cheek Little Amy at work. The story titles are:

"An Autumn Flood"

"Little Amy's Birthday Party"

"The Adventure of the Kite"

"The Elves"

"The Pleasures of Autumn"

So ... here is your official invitation ... to stop by the Bullis Room, look at this charming little book, and sit for a spell and admire the fall colors through the Bullis Room window.

BACON AND FRIDAY THE 13TH

Today is Friday the 13th.  We have been told by folklorists that this particular combination of the day of week and date can be unlucky.

Rather than dwell on the possibility of experiencing bad luck today, we challenged ourselves to find a connection between Friday the 13th and Bacon--the subject of last week's post. And we did!

Lord Francis Bacon's book entitled:

The Moral and Historical Works of Lord Bacon: Including His Essays, Apophthegms, 

Wisdom of the Ancients, New Atlantis, and Life of Henry the Seventh

(published in London by Bell & Daidy, 1873)

is part of the Bullis Collection and includes his essay "Of Superstition."

So if you'd like to know what Bacon thought about superstitions, this is the book for you.  It can be accessed online or, for those of you who like the feel and aroma of a classic book, it's here in the Bullis Room. Just give us a call if you'd like to stop by and take a look.

BACON and CUSTER

This past week people from all over the world celebrated International Bacon Day. So of course, we  Bullis volunteers had a look in the data base to see what we could find with that "meaty" keyword. 

And ... we found nine entries, including three by Elizabeth Bacon Custer.  Custer? Yes, as in General George Custer. Elizabeth was his wife, and after the bad press he received following his defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn in June 1876, she feared that he would be made a scapegoat by history. So she began a campaign to remedy this situation. She gave speeches and wrote three books that are in the Bullis collection:

Tenting on the Plains; or, General Custer in Kansas and Texas

published by W. L. Webster & Company, New York, 1887

Boots and Saddles; or, Life in Dakota with General Custer

published by Harper & Brothers, NY, 1885

Following the Guidon

published by  Harper & Brothers, NY, 1890

To those of you interested in that time in our country's history, these books may offer some interesting tidbits for your consideration.

As for the "meaty" bacon, we'll let you know next week if we find any books or materials in the collection  that may reveal more about the history of that breakfast favorite.