Remembering new Novels — Dime Novels

      

Mr. Edward J. Smeltzer grew up at the turn of the 20th century in Pennsylvania, and later became a pioneer dime novel collector. He and another enthusiast, Baltimorean Robert Burns, conducted a short-lived “fanzine” called the Novel-Mart during the late 1930s and early 40s. Under the by-line of “J.E. Fisher,” Smeltzer penned the following little essay in the May-June 1941 issue. Its folksy grammar has been preserved.

“About 1907 I read my first novel, it was a Tip Top, cost me a penny. Novels were scarce, so I bought Novels that had been read and exchanged. A fellow who’s father owned a saloon, or a fellow who’s father had the will power to pass a Saloon, with it’s inviting swinging doors, free lunch etc and could give his Son a nickel was an exception. My Dad was neither of the two, so I got my penny by running errands for Ma and charging an extra penny on some article purchased. A brand new Tip Top Weekly sold for 5 cents, some boys read ’em before they went home, sat on some handy door step and in two hours returned the New novel for either 3 cents cash or took 3 older Novels in exchange. The 3 older Novels after being read were exchanged for 1/2 cent each.

The new Novel was sold, exchanged & resold, finally the bookstore man socked it with a big rubber Name stamp on the picture, inside on the first page of reading etc, if he felt playful he gave it a couple more stamps for good luck. Every boy in our neighbourhood read Novels swapped and sold ’em to each other, so I too got to be a Novel reader. No one gave a thought about saving them, they could be seen all over on display at Newsstands, Railroad Stations, Book Stores, candy Stores etc.

Cash registers were very rare in them days and when you forked over your Indian head for a book the storekeeper dropped it thru a hole in the counter, it fell into a wooden drawer underneath, you could tell by the sound when it dropped there wasn’t many others inside to keep it company.

One thing that excited my curiosity was when some young maiden came in the bookstore, whispered in the prop’s ear, blushed all over, seemed nervous, then quickly handing him the few greasy coppers, snatched, yes snatched the book and literally ran out with it. The proprietor told me she wanted a sexy love story, that the gals were nerts over ’em and he sold ’em like hot cakes.

Of course all the barber shops had the Police Gazette every week and a fellow who got his lunch hooks on one of ’em did not mind whether he was next or not, as the pictures of the gals in tights did then what Murine does for the eyes today.” — J.E. Fisher

[2] Newsstand under the “Third Avenue El” — the elevated railway  in New York City, 1902

THE FULL PICTURE above — the original black-and-white photograph, printed from a glass plate negative — depicts an open-air newsstand in New York City, December 1902, located under one of the midtown Manhattan platforms of the infamous “Third Avenue El.” The elevated railroad built in 1878 and torn down in 1955. Similar newsstands endured until the El’s demolition. This photo shows the great variety of illustrated papers and apparent nickel weeklies available at the time. Over on the right is a Nick Carter Weekly, a Bowery Boy Weekly, a Secret Service Weekly and possibly a Liberty Boys of 76. The photo is copyrighted 1903 and was taken in late 1902, based on the magazine issues clearly visible. The photo in large size can be seen HERE.  A digitally colorized version from 2015 plus more analysis can be found HERE.

Below are some pictures of the same location. Two stereos of the Third Avenue El, a 1930s print by Australian artist Martin Lewis, a boy and his mother on the spot at 64th St. NYC in 1951 with “El” in the background, and a scavenger’s horse cart photographed circa 1961.

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Reported by E.M. Sanchez-Saavedra

[updated version of an earlier Yesterday’s Papers article published in May 2013]

A Metamorphic View of General Nathaniel Lyon

   

[1] Civil War Patriotic Notepaper.

  

A Civil War 

“Topsy-Turvy”

   
by E.M. Sanchez-Saavedra

AN earlier publication here — titled “A Metamorphic View of Jefferson Davis” in Yesterday’s Papers, August 23, 2012 — featured a patriotic sheet of writing paper produced in 1861, depicting Confederate President Jefferson Davis going to war a soldier and returning as a jackass. The clever image, when rotated 180 degrees, produced the transformation: 

[2a] Gen. Lyon, of Missouri — Topsy-Turvy Envelope.

SIMILAR. I recently came across a similar treatment of Union General Nathaniel Lyon (1818-61) on a patriotic envelope. Unlike the scathing Jefferson Davis caricature, this was a highly laudatory image of an early Federal war hero – the first Union General to die in the Civil War. Punning on the general’s surname, the unknown artist metamorphosed his mustachioed profile into the “king of the beasts” and in a rhymed couplet contrasted his image with the earlier well-known Jefferson Davis topsy-turvy:

A Lion, loyal, eager for the fray,
No traitorous ass discovered by the bray.

The image needs to be turned 90 degrees to see the snarling lion’s face and read the verse. 

[2b] Gen. Lyon, of Missouri — Topsy-Turvy Envelope.

YOUNG Nathaniel, a Connecticut farm boy, the seventh of nine children of Amasa and Kezia Lyon, secured an appointment to The United States Military Academy at West Point in 1837. After graduating high in his class in 1841, he served in the second Seminole War and in the war with Mexico in 1846-48. He was wounded and promoted to a captaincy before serving in California and later in the bitter 1850s Kansas struggles between pro- and anti-slavery factions.

[3] Nathaniel Lyon CDV.

TENSION. During the tense months between South Carolina’s secession in December 1860 and the commencement of open warfare in April 1861, the original “border” states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri formed a troubling “third world” of unaligned loyalties. (A “brother against brother” situation would prevail in the border areas throughout the war: East Tennessee unionists attempted to break away from secessionist Tennessee in 1861, while several Virginia counties would form the new state of West Virginia in 1863.) Elected legislators and their constituents included both Union and Secession supporters and a mass of undecided or neutral people. Missouri proved to be a dangerous flashpoint when pro-secession Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson began to cast his eyes on the Federal arsenal in St. Louis.

[4] Claiborne Fox Jackson.

HE RECKONED without the fiery-tempered Union regular, Nathaniel Lyon, who had been ordered to St. Louis to protect the munitions. Raising a force of mainly German volunteers, Lyon combined political strategy with a show of force to remove the stores to Illinois. In retaliation, Governor Jackson ordered out the new Missouri State Guard to begin training for eventual Confederate service. Lyon preemptively marched his equally untrained force against Camp Jackson, took prisoners and marched them through St. Louis. Riots ensued. Lyon’s men fired on civilian mobs, killing 28 in the “Camp Jackson Affair.”

[5-6] Missouri Confederates, 1861.

Lyon was relieved of his duties, but soon received a commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers, in charge of all loyal Missouri forces on May 17. Governor Jackson appointed ex-Governor Sterling Price to command the Confederate Missouri State Guard. After peace negotiations failed, Jackson and Price attempted to reach the state capital at Jefferson City. Lyon pursued Price’s green troops westward and, in a rare early Union victory, Lyon’s equally neophyte army prevented the capture of the state capital by defeating Price at Boonville on June 17, 1861.

[7] General Sterling Price, CSA.

Lyon’s triumph put the Missouri River firmly under Union control for the rest of the war. A patriotic envelope carried a cartoon showing Missouri, depicted as a cat in a cap and apron, boiling a pot of “Secession Soup” captioned “Missouri tasting Secession Soup and gets burnt! and thinks she won’t go in.” Another cartoon, titled Strayed, punned on the names of the three principal leaders, advertising for

“a mischievous JACK[SON] who was frightened and ran away from his Leader by the sudden appearance of a Lion. He is of no value whatever and only a low PRICE can be given for his capture. (signed) [Uncle] Sam.”

[8] Strayed – Battle of Boonville Cartoon.

LUCK RAN OUT for Lyon two months later, however. Many of his ninety-day volunteers had returned home. His “Army of the West,” made up of troops from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and some regular U.S. Army forces, was short of supplies and outnumbered 2 to 1. A combined force of Missouri State Guards and regular Confederate troops under ex-Texas Ranger General Ben McCulloch now opposed Lyon. The two armies met at Wilson’s Creek, near Springfield, on August 10, 1861.

[9] General Lyon, Harper’s Weekly, August 31, 1861.

BATTLE.  This first major battle west of the Mississippi was characterized by confusion and blunders on both sides. Lyon divided his forces, hoping to flank the enemy, but he and Col. Franz Sigel soon lost contact with each other. Attacking Louisiana troops were mistaken for their own gray-clad Iowa infantry and routed the Unionists. Lyon received two wounds and had a horse shot from under him. While rallying his troops, mounted on a borrowed horse, Nathaniel Lyon was shot through the heart. The martyred general became a rallying point for Union sympathizers.

[10] Missouri tasting Secession Soup — Envelope.

Although Governor Jackson rammed an ordinance of secession through the legislature, Missouri remained in the Federal fold. A majority of the state population still opposed quitting the Union. Although Confederate forces could not drive increasing numbers of Federal troops out of the state, Missouri would become the scene of some of the most vicious guerrilla warfare in North America since the Carolina campaigns of the early 1780s.

[11] Gen. Nathaniel Lyon — Envelope.

“BUSHWHACKERS” under William Quantrill, “Bloody Bill” Anderson and other ruthless commanders kept Missouri in a state of constant violence. Alumni of these irregular guerilla bands included Jesse and Frank James and the Younger brothers, who would carry on a private war against bankers, railroads and other capitalists until Jesse’s assassination in 1882.

[12] English Envelope, 1840.

POSTAL ACT.  The phenomenon of patriotic and comic envelopes and writing paper had begun in England during the 1840s, immediately following the introduction of prepaid postage stamps. In America, the 1845 Postal Act established rates based on weight and distance. (Previously, a separate wrapper or envelope had counted as a second sheet, and doubled the rate, which is why envelopes were rare before 1845.) With the popularity of the newfangled envelopes, merchants and politicians saw a golden opportunity to include advertising on all their correspondence.

[13] Charles Magnus Envelope.

DESIGNS.  The four-way election of 1860 gave scope for stationers and printers to produce and market decorative envelopes touting the candidates, but the outbreak of civil war a few months later spurred the creation and distribution of perhaps 15,000 different designs. Many people were captivated by their color and variety and began to collect them for their own sake or as mementos of the national crisis. They ran the gamut from crude and amateurish anonymous prints to the finely lithographed and hand colored products of Charles Magnus. Lacking the manpower and essential paper, inks and presses, a handful of Confederate publishers nevertheless managed to issue a small number of Southern inspired patriotic envelopes.

[14] General Boar-a-Guard, On Duty — Envelope.

PUBLISHERS.  One of the more prolific publishers was the New-York Union Envelope Depot at 144 Broadway, New York City. The Lyon/Lion design was one of hundreds of patriotic, sentimental and comic envelopes issued by the firm. One design lampooned Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard as “General Boar-a-Guard,” as a porker in uniform, a Confederate “Stars and Bars” flag attached to his curly tail.

[15] A Southern Gorilla (Guerilla) — Envelope.

Another memorable cartoon showed a monstrous “Southern Gorilla (Guerilla)” accoutred with a musket, a sword, two pistols, a bowie knife, a whip and a canteen of “rot gut.” (The accompanying verse was plagiarised from the New York Daily Tribune for June 17, 1861, the day of Lyon’s victory at Boonville.) A more subdued design imagined “Jeff Davis’ Passport: Mr. Jeff. Davis and friends are permitted to leave the State of Virginia, (signed) Winfield Scott.

[16] Recruits wanted for the Brave Southern Army — Envelope.

BY 1863, after both sides began to tire of the unending battles and high casualties, the patriotic stationery fad waned, although printed envelopes with war themed designs continued to be produced though 1865. These tended to be more serious and sober than the unbridled hyper-patriotic messages of 1861. A popular theme was “the Soldier’s Farewell.” 

[17] Jeff Davis Passport — Envelope.

[18] Soldier’s Farewell — Envelope.

[19] General Frans Sigel, CDV.

[20] General Ben McCulloch, CSA.

★

For Further Reading: Steven R. Boyd, Patriotic Envelopes of the Civil War: The Iconography of Union and Confederate Covers (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2010).

Humor in the Trenches — The Songs My Mother Never Taught Me

   

[1] “Madelon – Madelon – Madelon!!”

[2] Composer-performer John Jacob Niles.

  
by E.M. Sanchez-Saavedra

 
This delightful 1929 compilation was published by The Macaulay Company of New York. It was the work of three men: John Jacob Niles (Jack, 1892-1980, composer, performer, folklorist), Douglas Stuart Moore (Doug, 1893-1969, composer, educator, author), and Abian Anders Wallgren (Wally, 1891-1948, artist, official cartoonist of The Stars and Stripes, AEF).

[3] The book’s front cover.

Aficionados of the folk music renaissance of the 1940s-60s remember John Jacob Niles’ eerie voice, dramatic and emotional presence and oversized Appalachian dulcimer. He may be seen and heard performing his best-known composition, Go ‘Way From My Window — HERE.

[4] Composer Doug Moore.

In addition to his books of folk music, Niles co-authored with fellow air service Lieutenant Bert Hall One Man’s War; The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille (New York: Henry Holt, 1929). It is difficult to picture the intense folklorist of later years as a devil-may-care member of the Army Air Service, Officer Reserve Corps, but his work on The Songs My Mother Never Taught Me is proof positive of his lighter side. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Niles learned music theory and folk songs from his mother. Before his enlistment, he had spent a number of years collecting Appalachian music and writing his own songs.

[5] The book’s endpapers.

After his stint in the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant (Junior Grade), New Yorker Douglas S. Moore studied music in Paris, then continued his studies and began composing classical pieces in Cleveland. In 1926 he joined the music faculty at Columbia University. He collaborated with Stephen Vincent Benet on the opera The Devil and Daniel Webster. He eventually wrote music for orchestra, ballet, theater and film, and wrote two books on music.

[6] Artist Wally Wallgren.

Poles apart from Niles and Moore was Philadelphian Abian Anders Wallgren who signed his art Wally. He began cartooning when a teenager and had two strips running in the Sunday papers at the age of 16. Among the first Americans to enlist in 1917, Wallgren flouted regulations and was usually in trouble with the M.P.s for such offenses as smuggling cognac into camp. As an army sign painter he painted “Latrine” and “Officers Only” signs throughout the American sector, until he joined the staff of the American Expeditionary Force’s newspaper, The Stars and Stripes. 

[7] “U.S. Air Service.”

He created Hoosegow Herman, Inbad the Sailor and The Saluting Demon, among others. Wallgren received high praise from General John J. Pershing for his contribution to morale. Like his BEF contemporary in WW I, Bruce Bairnsfather, and his World War II counterpart, Bill Mauldin, Wallgren captured the essence of the combat experience with a mix of pathos and wry humor.

[8] The book’s title-page.

 [9] The song list.

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[11] “Mad’moiselle from Armentières.”

[12] “She got the palm and the croix de guerre.”

[13] “We hope to Christ it breaks his back.”

[14] “The doughboy he went over the top.”

 [15] “Mad’moiselle from Armentières.” Wally cartoon.

[16] “Dempsey helped to build the ships.”

[17] “Twas a Hell of a war, as we recall.”

[18] “The folk song of the war.”

[19] “If you want to know where the privates are.”

 [20] “If you want to know where the officers are.”

[21] “Marine Song.”

[22] “Jamais de la vie.”

[23] “The French they are a funny race.”

[24] ‘Rollicking Soldier Songs.’ Appraisal in The Saturday Review of Literature, January 4, 1930.

See Humor in the Trenches — The Wipers Times HERE.

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