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| Library Book From The Township of Wood Public School; One of my favourite titles |
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| The German Nightingale, Erna Sack who could reach vocally as high as C7th; see copy |
PROVENANCE GOES A LONG WAY, TO SUBSTANTIATING VALUE - RESEARCHING PIECES PAYS OFF
ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE BUYERS WANT MORE FOR THEIR INVESTMENT
I MUST OFFER THIS STATEMENT AS A PREAMBLE APOLOGY. YOU DESERVE TO KNOW. TODAY HAS BEEN ONE OF THOSE WRITING OCCASIONS, HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY REGULAR AND INTERESTING INTERUPTIONS. PLEASANT ONES MIND YOU. BUT STILL PROVING, THAT BEING HOLED-UP IN THE MUSIC STUDIO, HERE AT OUR GRAVENHURST SHOP, CAN BE BOTH ENTERTAINING, AND A GENEROUS DISTRACTION IN THE SAME TEN MINUTES.
I REMEMBER TELLING ROBERT ONCE, THAT I COULD NO LONGER LISTEN TO MY FAVORITE CBC 2 CLASSIC MUSIC MORNINGS, WHILE WRITING, BECAUSE AT MY ELDER AGE, I WAS BECOMING WEAK IN CHARACTER. SOFT TO THE INFLUENCES AROUND ME. I COULDN'T RESIST NEITHER A COOKIE NOR A SONG. I HAVE BECOME A FLOUNDER, OF SORTS, AND I MOVE WITH THE PREVAILING CURRENT.
IT BECAME THE CASE, I WAS BEING TOO HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY WHAT I WAS BEING EXPOSED TO; AND IF THE MUSIC WAS SAD, I WOULD HEAD THAT WAY; CHEERFUL AND POSITIVE, I'D SHIFT IN THAT DIRECTION AS WELL. SO IN ONE HALF HOUR OF CLASSIC INFLUENCES, I WOULD HAVE A STORY THAT DRIFTED IN AND OUT, LIKE THE OCEAN TIDES, BUT NONE OF IT INTENTIONAL; (I COULDN'T BLAME IT ON THE MOON OR STARS) AND IN READING BACK, THE TEXT WASN'T PARTICULARLY SENSIBLE EITHER. IT WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE, SHOWING THE EXACT POINTS WHERE I HAD TO STOP FOR THE MUSIC, OR SUCCUMB TO THE SOFT, GENTLE SOUNDS OF THE BUILDING. I CAN'T BELIEVE I USED TO BE ABLE TO WRITE IN A BUSY NEWSROOM, FULL OF TYPEWRITERS BEING POUNDED, AND PHONES CONSTANTLY RINGING. EVEN FOOD ITEMS BEING TOSSED BETWEEN DESKS, OUT OF ANGER AND TOM FOOLERY, AND COFFEES BEING SLOPPED INTO THE KEYBOARDS. I GOT THROUGH THOSE DISTRACTIONS, BUT NOW I CAN'T GET PAST THE KINDEST, MOST SUBTLY PLEASANT, MUSICAL INTERLUDES, GOING ON AROUND ME. UNLESS SOMEONE POUNDS ON THESE DRUMS TO KEEP ME AWAKE, I WILL FALL VICTIM TO GENTLE SOUNDS, FROM TRAVELLING MUSICIANS, WHO STOP, SO THOUGHTFULLY, TO ENTERTAIN ME.
THE SAME THING HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN THE STUDIO, BUT NOW I'M JUST WILLING TO WRITE IT INTO THE TEXT, AND CALL IT MUSIC "ACTUALITY." LAST WEEK IT WAS A DRUMMING SESSION, FOR RECORDING PURPOSES. NOW, THAT WAS A STARTLING REMINDER, OF WHAT KIND OF EXTREMES ONE CAN EXPERIENCE, IN A MUSIC STUDIO, ON A SUNNY AFTERNOON. RIGHT AFTER THIS, A FELLOW TRYING OUT A BANJO, ONCE AGAIN, EASED ME BACK INTO COMPLACENCY, AND FROM THERE, IT WAS A SHORT LEAP INTO FULL SOLITUDE; LIKE EXPERIENCING THE SOUNDS, WHILE SITTING OUT ON A COTTAGE PORCH, DURING A SPRING RAIN SHOWER; LISTENING TO THE CARESS OF WATER DRIPPING FROM THE LEAVES, AND NEEDLES OF THE EVERGREEN, HITTING THE FOREST FLOOR; AND TINKLING DOWN ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE LAKE. I CALL IT MY WRITER'S RESPITE. SUZANNE CALLS IT SOMETHING DIFFERENT. OF COURSE, AS A CAREER KNITTER AND SEWER, SHE DOESN'T FALL PREY SO EASILY, TO THE SOUNDS OF SOLITUDE. SHE DOES HAVE AN EXTREME FOCUS, THAT I WISH I NOW POSSESSED.
YOU SEE, ROBERT, TO RELAX THROUGHOUT THE DAY, DOESN'T SMOKE, DRINK, PLAY ON-LINE POKER, WRESTLE GRIZZLY BEARS, OR PLAY SOLITAIRE. HE UNWINDS BY LISTENING TO HIS VINTAGE RECORDS, OR PLAYING HIS ACOUSTIC GUITAR. I'M SITTING HERE IN A 1950'S UPHOLSTERED CHAIR, THAT IS WAY TOO COMFORTABLE FOR WORK PURPOSES; AND THE VENTILATION SYSTEM, HAVING A VERY LOW ROAR, HAS THE DISTINCT ECHOE OF A DISTANT WATERFALL. IT HAS A PLEASANT WASH TO IT, AS IF I'M SITTING ALONG THE BANK OF THE RIVER, FURTHER DOWNSTREAM; JUST NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO FEEL THE SPRAY. SO IF THE CHAIR ISN'T DETRIMENTAL, AND THE SOUND OF THE HEATING SYSTEM WON'T PUT ME TO SLEEP BY ITSELF, ROBERT PLAYING HIS GUITAR CAN PUT ME INTO A STATE OF SLUMBER IN ONLY A FEW MINUTES. RE-LOCATING TO ANOTHER PLACE IN THE BUILDING IS POSSIBLE, BUT THE SOFAS IN THE BACK ROOM ARE EVEN MORE COMFORTABLE, AND FOR MY ACHING OLD BONES, COMFORT IS MY DOWNFALL. SUZANNE GETS MAD IF I FALL ASLEEP DURING BUSINESS HOURS, OR EVEN AT HOME WATCHING TELEVISION, BECAUSE SHE IS JEALOUS. THAT'S RIGHT. IF SHE CAN'T SLEEP BECAUSE OF COMMITMENTS, NEITHER CAN I....ACCORDING TO OUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT, OR SO SHE SAYS. SO SHE WILL WALK PAST ME IN THIS ROOM, AND MAKE ANY NUMBER OF NOISES TO WAKE ME UP AGAIN, OFTEN ASLEEP AND DROOLING ABOVE THE KEYBOARD LIKE HOMER SIMPSON. SHE ACTUALLY HAS BEGUN CALLING ME HOMER, FOR SHIRKING RESPONSIBILITIES. I TELL HER THAT IT IS HARD TO WRITE THESE BLOGS DAILY, WHICH IS TRUE, CONSIDERING THAT EVEN IN MY NEWSPAPER DAYS, I NEVER COMPOSED ON A DAILY BASIS; AND A LOT OF THE NEWS STORIES WERE FIVE OR SIX PARAGRAPHS. I DON'T REALLY GET EXHAUSTED WRITING. I JUST BECOME SO RELAXED AROUND HERE, WITH ALL THIS MUSIC, AND LIVE PERFORMANCES, THAT I REALLY CAN'T HELP GETTING THOSE HEAVY EYELIDS, AND THE PLEASANT THOUGHTS OF RUNNING THROUGH SPRING MEADOWS. SO TODAY HAS BEEN A BANNER DAY FOR THE WRITER IN RESIDENCE, WHO HAS BEEN AWOKEN NOW A DOZEN TIMES, FROM LEGITIMATE CAT NAPS, BY MY TASKMASTERS AROUND HERE, WHO HAVE A HARD TIME SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT; LET ALONE CATCHING FORTY WINKS. SO I'M HOPING THAT MY EDIT THROUGH TODAY'S BLOG, WILL CATCH ALL THOSE PLACES, WHERE I PASSED-OUT, A VICTIM OF SUCH WONDERFUL DREAMS, AND TRANQUIL SURROUNDINGS; RETURNED TO THE REAL WORLD BY A WIFE'S HEAVY HAND. I REMIND HER NOW THAT SHE HAS RETIRED FROM TEACHING, SO SHE MUST STOP THINKING OF ME, AS HER STUDENT. AND YES, I FEEL ASLEEP IN CLASS AS WELL.
A GLIMPSE BACK AT THE GERMAN NIGHTINGALE
THE SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH THAT HEADS TODAY'S BLOG, WAS PURCHASED THIS WINTER, FROM A MUSKOKA AREA FAMILY, CLEARING OUT SOME OF THEIR KEEPSAKES. IN ONE OF THE JAMMED BOXES, I FOUND THIS INTERESTING PROMOTIONAL PHOTOGRAPH, WITHOUT MUCH PROVENANCE ATTACHED. WE KNEW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH, BUT SUZANNE, A DOGGED RESEARCHER, WHO NEVER GIVES UP WITHOUT A HARDY TUSSLE, WAS ABLE TO RETRIEVE SOME BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION, ONLINE, AS TO THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE PORTRAIT. WE KNEW SHE WAS A SINGER, BUT WHEN THE FELLOW, WHO SOLD US THE COLLECTION, SPOKE HER NAME, ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WE MADE ERRORS COPYING IT DOWN. THAT REALLY SCREWS THINGS UP, AND COST QUITE A BIT OF TIME, PADDLING UP STREAM, WHEN WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GOING WITH THE CURRENT. MEANING, I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE MATTED IMAGE OUT OF THE FRAME, TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY MORE INFORMATION ON THE BACK OR BOTTOM EDGE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH. I HATE DOING THIS, BECAUSE IT'S A LOT OF EXTRA WORK, AND I'M ALWAYS NERVOUS OF DAMAGING THE PICTURE IN THE PROCESS. BUT IN TERMS OF WHAT A RESEARCHER NEEDS, TO GET A GOOD START ON IDENTIFICATION, THE EXERCISE IS WORTH ALL THE FUSS.
THE NAME OF THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH IS "ERNA SACK." PREVIOUS TO FINDING THIS IMPRINTED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PHOTO, WE WERE MISPELLING THE NAME FROM THE SIGNATURE. WE HAD HER FIRST NAME AS "VERNA" AND HER LAST NAME "SACH." WE KNEW SHE HAD BEEN AN OPERA SINGER, SO SUZANNE WAS NOW WELL ON HER WAY WITH THE NAME "ERNA" AND "SACK." IN LESS THAN TEN MINUTES ON THE COMPUTER, CONDUCTING HER SEARCH, (AFTER GETTING CLARITY ON THE SPELLING OF HER NAME), I HEARD THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SINGING COMING FROM OUR HOME-OFFICE, AS IF, YES, SUZANNE HAD FOUND THE VOICE OF A NIGHTINGALE. SHE SINGS BEAUTIFULLY, BUT NOT LIKE A NIGHTINGALE. WELL, ERNA SACK COULD SING IN THIS FASHION, AND IT WAS PART OF HER INTERNATIONAL NOTORIETY IN FACT.
ERNA WAS KNOWN, WITH GREAT AFFECTION, AS "THE GERMAN NIGHTINGALE,"(A SOPRANO COFORATURA) BECAUSE SHE WAS ONE OF VERY FEW SINGERS IN THE WORLD, WHO COULD ATTAIN THE HIGH NOTE OF "C-7," (ACCORDING TO HER BIOGRAPHY). THE SITE THAT SUZANNE DISCOVERED, HAD A RECORDING OF HER SINGING, AND IT SOUNDED MAGNIFICENT.....EVEN TO A CHAP, WHO IT IS SAID, POSSESSES A TIN EAR.
ERNA WAS BORN IN 1897 (OR '98), IN BERLIN, AND CAME TO LIVE IN MONTREAL IN THE POST WAR PERIOD. IT WAS WHEN SHE WAS BACK IN GERMANY, PERFORMING, CIRCA 1950, THAT SHE REPORTEDLY HIT THE "C-7" NOTE, EARNING HER THIS MUSICAL MILESTONE. SHE DIED IN 1977. THE FAMILY WE PURCHASED THE AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO FROM, BECAME FRIENDS WITH THE SINGER, WHEN SHE LIVED IN MONTREAL. IT IS PERSONALIZED TO "RONNIE." A NICE PIECE OF WORLD MUSIC NOSTALGIA, THAT MIGHT HAVE REMAINED A QUESTION, IF WE'D DECIDED JUST TO PASS IT ALONG IN THE SHOP, WITHOUT PUTTING IN A LITTLE RESEARCH TIME.
THIS IS ONE DEFICIENCY WE FIND A LOT IN ANTIQUE SHOPS THESE DAYS, IS THAT LACK OF DUE DILIGENCE, RESEARCHING PIECES AND INCLUDING RELEVANT PROVENANCE. WHILE IT'S NOT NECESSARY, ON ALL PIECES A DEALER COMES TO SELL, IN A GIVEN YEAR, THERE ARE CERTAIN PIECES THAT WARRANT A LITTLE EXTRA CARE AND RESEARCH COMMITMENT. TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE EARLY CANADIAN SPINDLE BED WE OWN, (WE USE IT NIGHTLY), KNOWN AS THE "DEATH BED," HAVING COME FROM THE MANSE OF THE ALHAMBRA CHURCH IN TORONTO. THE BED WAS USED IN THE MANSE, WHEN A MEMBER OF THE CONGREGATION HAD PASSED, AND A MEMORIAL WAS HELD AT THE HOUSE. THE BODY WASN'T PLACED IN A COFFIN IMMEDIATELY, BUT INSTEAD, LAID-OUT ON THIS BED, AS IF SOUND ASLEEP, WREATHED BY FLORAL TRIBUTES. WE HAVE A HISTORY ON THIS BED, THAT IS PRETTY INTERESTING, AND ONE DAY, WHEN WE DECIDE TO SELL IT, A COMPLETE HISTORY WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE NEW OWNER.
I WAS SO MAD THIS PAST WEEKEND, WHEN I CAME UPON A SUBSTANTIAL COLLECTION OF OLD STORE RECORD BOOKS, DOCUMENTING HARDWARE SALES, DURING THE 1920'S ONWARD. THEY WERE PRICED AFFORDABLY, AND I THINK THERE WERE AT LEAST FOUR HUGE BOOKS, FULL OF DAY TO DAY SALE RECORDS, WHICH FOR US, EPHEMERA-LOVING FOLKS, IS OUR HOLY GRAIL. YOU CAN LEARN A LOT FROM THESE STORE-KEPT BOOKS, DETAILING PRICES OF MERCHANDISE IN THIS DECADE OF BUSINESS, FROM BOXED SKATES, TO OIL LAMPS, PAINT, ROOFING MATERIALS, TO FIXTURES. I COULDN'T SPEND LONG LOOKING AT THEM, WHICH FOR THE RESEARCHER, WOULD HAVE WARRANTED A DESK, A STRONG LAMP, A COMFORTABLE CHAIR, AND ABOUT TWO HOURS TIME, JUST TO DO A QUICK SCAN THROUGH THE THOUSANDS OF PAGES. I PROBABLY COULD HAVE ACQUIRED THE WHOLE COLLECTION OF BOOKS, FOR ABOUT A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS. NOW HERE'S THE THING. THOSE BOOKS HAD TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE. IF THEY CAME FROM AN ESTATE, WHERE WAS IT LOCATED? IF THEY HAD BEEN PURCHASED FROM AN AUCTION, WHERE WAS THE AUCTION HELD? WHOEVER PURCHASED THOSE BOOKS, MUST SURELY HAVE KNOWN, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, ON SUCH EPHEMERA, TO GET WHAT EVER PROVENANCE POSSIBLE, TO UPHOLD AND INCREASE THE VALUE OF THE BOOKS. SO HERE'S MY POINT. WHAT IF, IN MUSKOKA CONTEXT, THESE BOOKS HAD COME FROM THE DITCHBURN BOAT WORKS OR THE CLIPSHAM BUSINESS HERE IN GRAVENHURST? POSSIBLY FROM THE OLD ECCLESTONE'S HARDWARE IN BRACEBRIDGE, OR THE MINETT SHIELDS BOAT WORKS. WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE THIS OUT IF WE HAD BEEN GIVEN TWO HOURS OF RESEARCH TIME. OTHERWISE, IT IS A SHORTFALL OF THE VENDOR, TO NOT HAVE PERFORMED BASIC DUE DILIGENCE, TO FIND SOMETHING NOTED IN THOSE BOOKS, THAT COULD BE TRACED ONLINE, TO A REGION, AND THEN LOCATION IN ONTARIO; TO THE PRECISE STREET OR RURAL ROAD THE HARDWARE STORE WAS SITUATED. THERE WERE LOTS OF NAMES TO RESEARCH AND SEVERAL BUSINESS NAMES OF CUSTOMERS, THAT COULD HAVE BEEN NARROWED DOWN IN A COUPLE OF HOURS, TO INFILL IMPORTANT PROVENANCE, THAT WOULD HAVE MADE THOSE BOOKS QUADRUPLE IN VALUE. THESE WERE DEFINITELY "SLEEPERS," BUT WE'RE ALSO NOT IN THE HABIT OF GAMBLING WITH A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS. WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED? THE DEALER WOULD, OUT OF A SENSE OF DUTY, HAVE NOTED EVERY SHRED OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOKS, AND WHERE THEY CAME FROM (BECAUSE THEY DID COME FROM SOME PLACE AFTER ALL), ON THE RESPECTIVE PRICE TAGS. I HAVE FOUND MORE AND MORE DEALERS SHIRKING RESPONSIBILITY THIS WAY, AND LOSING MONEY AT THE SAME TIME. IF THOSE BOOKS WERE FROM A MUSKOKA BUSINESS, OF THAT VINTAGE, THE PRICE FOR THE COLLECTION WOULD HAVE JUMPED TO FIVE HUNDRED, AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A BARGAIN. SO IT WOULD SEEM TO ME, AS A MATTER OF BUSINESS LOGIC, TO DO AS MUCH RESEARCH WORK AS NECESSARY, TO PROVIDE A NOTE WITH SUCH MATERIALS, EVEN IF IT IS ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF INFORMATION. IF I COULD HAVE FOUND JUST ONE DEALER-NOTE IN THESE BOOKS, THAT WOULD HAVE GIVEN ME A HINT, JUST A TINY, TINY REFERENCE, AS TO THE PLACE OF THEIR ORIGIN, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO JUSTIFY PAYING THE ASKING PRICE.
FOR US, AS REGIONAL ONTARIO HISTORIANS, THESE HANDWRITTEN JOURNALS, EVEN AS RUDIMENTARY AS THESE WERE, IN RECORDING DAILY SALES (NOTING MATERIALS THAT WERE PURCHASED AND BY WHO - BUT WITH NO ADDRESSES GIVEN), WE CAN LEARN A LOT MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK, ABOUT THE PRE-DEPRESSION TIMES. OH WELL. BUT HERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE, OF OLD HANDWRITTEN JOURNALS GIVING US SOME VALUABLE INSIGHT ABOUT HISTORY, FROM A FIRST PERSON PERSPECTIVE. THE MINUTE BOOKS, TO WHICH I AM REFERRING, WERE ACQUIRED SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AT A GRAVENHURST AUCTION. I GOT THEM FOR A VERY GOOD PRICE, BECAUSE NO ONE COULD SEE THE VALUE OF THESE LODGE MINUTES. I MADE REFERENCE, IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, TO AN ENTRY REGARDING BROTHER SNOOKS ILLNESS, THAT REQUIRED A STAY AT THE GRAVENHURST TUBERCULAR SANITARIUM. IT DIDN'T WORK OUT WELL FOR BROTHER SNOOK, WHO WAS EVENTUALLY SENT BACK TO A TORONTO HOSPITAL, TO DIE CLOSER TO HIS FAMILY. BUT IT WAS NEAT TO BE ABLE TO SEE THIS ENTRY, CIRCA 1918, AND IT ADDS SOME EXTRA VALUE TO THE RECORD CONTAINED IN THESE MEETING OVERVIEWS, FROM 1913 INTO THE MID NINETEEN THIRTIES.
POST WAR SPANISH FLU EPIDEMIC KILLED 1,750 RESIDENTS OF TORONTO
It became the curse after the Great War. It had a broad sweeping devastation, that made its way around the globe. The Spanish Influenza. (THE REFERENCE IS PRETTY SMALL, AND A LITTLE BIT HUMOUROUS, DESPITE THE FACT IT WAS DEALING WITH AN INFLUENZA OUTBREAK THAT WOULD KILL AN ESTIMATED FORTY MILLION PEOPLE, DURING THE SEVERAL YEAR EPIDEMIC)
Here is the simple, but strikingly important notation, by recording secretary, Brother Henry McKinnon, in the minutes of the November 6th, 1918 meeting, of the Loyal Winchester Lodge #73, of the Canadian Order of Oddfellows, 439 Jones Avenue, Toronto.
"Brother Train reported that owing to the epidemic raging in the city, that no action had been taken in reference to the Euchre Drive which was to be held this evening." Not a long reference, or anything that would suggest it had hit the Oddfellows membership particularly hard. After finding this entry, I went back through the minutes and found many other inclusions of members listed as sick, and who were receiving benefits from the association, to assist their strained personal economies. The Spanish Flu killed more people than the First World War, and there were fifty thousand Canadians in that number. It spread in the post war period, particularly bad during 1918-19, and then as a milder strain, into the 1920's, both reflected in the minute bookS, if you study the "sick leave" reports, documented by the recording secretary of each meeting. It was noted primarily, because there were sick benefits given to those on the list, which had to be approved by the executive committee; some getting financial relief for periods from four to eight weeks. During the start of the epidemic's run in Toronto, there are many more absences recorded due to illness, and very few are under two weeks in duration. The number of ill progressively increase, to the date of the above meeting, November of 1918, and immediately following. But in the secretary's notation, it seems like more of an inconvenience to Euchre nights, than something much more ominous that would claim many lives in the city. The word "raging" and "epidemic," used by the secretary, say it all.
Reading through the minutes, the number of sick members begins increasing, in early to mid February 1918, showing periods of sickness from eleven days to multiple weeks. Into April, of the same year, the sick list doesn't increase substantially, but the increase in absences is duly noted. Amongst those suffering from the influenza outbreak, there is Brother Snooks, who was ill due to tuberculosis, and Brother Wismer, who had his fingers amputated, without any reference to the illness he was suffering. Also from this early stage, prior to knowing the full weight of the Spanish Influenza, there is a motion on the floor, that reads, "That members absent at quarterly meetings without a satisfactory excuse be fined $10." The motion did not pass. There were sick leave claims made at this time, for three absent members, ranging from payouts equalling $12, $20, to $65, depending on periods absent and off work. There are also drains on the clubs coffers for funeral pay-outs to the families of deceased members, such as Brother Snooks, who did not survive his bout with tuberculosis.
Even in January 1920, there was still a substantial number of Oddfellow members, on the "Sick List," which added up to seven, from a small Lodge (at that time) that may have had well less than fifty members. By February 6th, six members had been retired from the sick list, and two more added. The sick leave payout in March, 1920 was $69.08 to eight members who had been ill, from a period of seven days to 24 days. By June 2nd, the lodge membership was returning to normal levels. Except for Brother F.W. Barry who had to take time off, from club responsibilities due to an injured back. There are sicknesses and pay-outs of benefits after this point, but the crisis has largely passed.
Obviously, these minute books would be far more interesting to a member of the Oddfellows Lodge, who appreciate the organization's protocols. In the two minute books we have in our possession, there are many references to money paid out to assist with funeral expenses, for members and families who qualified for assistance. There was a funeral levy on all members, to build up such a benevolent fund. The books are also full of references, related to social, cultural and recreational outings, with associate Lodges, such as boat cruises on Lake Simcoe, and Ontario; Hallowe'en Parties that were held on November Ist, not on October 31st. For Christmas, they refer to going to another lodge to celebrate "The Tree," and it's also recognized as an event, celebrated after Christmas Day. As far as social-cultural heritage of the lodges, and the city of Toronto, there are a lot of historical references, that paint a pretty interesting picture of the respective decades. You just have to be patient enough to read all the minutes and motions, to discover the fine points of history, buried within. Whenever I read through books like this, handwritten, and signed by many past secretaries, I do get a strange feeling of sudden inclusion in otherwise private documents, that weren't meant for public consumption. But there are local, regional, and national details, rolled up tightly in these penned minutes, that would have been eventually thrown out, as being of no use today. It doesn't mean the books are valuable in monetary terms. But make no mistake, they have their value. We are intending to offer these books to an Oddfellows archives in the near future.
We are happiest, I think, when we face a research challenge. It's wonderful, to be able to infill the provenance of a piece, and send it along with the new owner, whether it happens to be a quilt, an old office desk, or an associate copy book, extended from one author to another, with kind regards. The antique business is our main enterprise, after all, but it isn't the whole story. When we can connect people with important heirloom pieces, there is no finer feeling. We did this several years ago, working with the Habitat Re-Store, when we were able to re-patriate an historic 1770's sample, done by a student at a private school for girls in England; which by the way is still in operation. We assisted the Re-Store, return this valuable sewing relic, back where it was created; and what a thrill to find out that it was received safely, and placed in their climate controlled archives, to share with the public. The Re-Store had received this art piece as a donation, and it was decided, that in the best interests of history, it should be conserved for posterity. Former Manager Larry Holditch was instrumental in initiating this important exchange, and Suzanne and I were delighted to be asked to participate.
Thanks for joining today's blog. I couldn't do it without your support.
COLLECTING OLD COOKBOOKS AND HANDWRITTEN RECIPES……STRANGE? BUT TRUE, AND VERY ENJOYABLE AND SOMEWHAT PROFITABLE
I HAVE ONE "BIBLIO" MAGAZINE LEFT - AND IT CONTAINS MY FAVORITE FEATURE COOKERY ARTICLE
IT HAS A PICTURE OF AMERICAN NOVELIST, TOM WOLFE ON THE FRONT COVER, CASUALLY LEANING ON A LADDER. THERE'S AN ARTICLE ON THE FAMED WRITER INSIDE. THE SHORT-LIVED MAGAZINE, "BIBLIO," WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALL-TIME PUBLICATIONS, BUT IT WAS ONLY IN PRODUCTION FOR A SHORT WHILE. AT LEAST TO MY KNOWLEDGE, OF THIS MAGAZINE, AIMED AT "EXPLORING THE WORLD OF BOOKS." MY INTEREST OF COURSE, WAS THE WORLD OF OLD BOOKS.
I HAD THREE DIFFERENT MONTHS OF THE MAGAZINE TUCKED AWAY SAFELY, IN MY ARCHIVES; THOSE WITH FEATURE ARTICLES THAT ADDRESSED SOME OF MY MAJOR BOOK COLLECTING INTERESTS. NOW I ONLY HAVE ONE LEFT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ABOUT MY ARCHIVES, THAT MAKES IMPORTANT STUFF DISAPPEAR….OR VAPORIZE. THE ISSUE I HAVE LEFT, HOWEVER, IS THE FEBRUARY 1999, NUMBER 2, OF VOLUME 4, AND IT CONTAINS A CRITICALLY IMPORTANT ARTICLE, ON "THE JOY OF COOKBOOKS - A MIDWESTERN SANCTUARY FOR BIBLIOPHILES, GASTRONOMES, AND OENOPHILES THE WORLD OVER," BY WRITER ROY MEADOR. ROY MEADOR, BY THE WAY, IS A BOOK COLLECTOR, AND WAS A CONTRIBUTOR TO THE "BIBLIO" MAGAZINE, AND HE JUST HAPPENED TO RESIDE DOWN THE ROAD, FROM "THE WINE AND FOOD LIBRARY," IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.
THE ARTICLE ON THE SPECIALTY BOOK SHOP, BEGAN ON PAGE 42, WHICH IS PRETTY WORN DOWN NOW, AND UNCEREMONIOUSLY FOLDED, AT THE TOP AND IN THE MIDDLE FOR REFERENCE. THAT'S PRETTY GOOD, CONSIDERING HOW MANY OF OUR COLLECTOR FRIENDS HAVE READ IT, AND HOW OFTEN I'VE CONSULTED IT, WITH SUZANNE, SINCE THE WINTER OF 1999. IT GAVE US A LOT OF INSPIRATION, YOU SEE, ABOUT CREATING SOMETHING SIMILAR IN GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO. SO IT'S TRUE, I HAVE VERY MUCH OBSESSED, FOR FAR TOO LONG NOW, OVER THIS WONDERFULLY ENLIGHTENING FEATURE STORY, ABOUT JAN AND DAN LONGONE, AND THEIR INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN, "WINE AND FOOD LIBRARY." ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR, ROY MEADOR, "THOUGH MANY FEEL CALLED TO VOCATIONS THAT MIGHT INCREASE CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING, FEW WOULD LIKELY THINK OF FINDING SUCH A MISSION AS A PURVEYOR OF COOKBOOKS. BUT FOR JANICE LONGONE, AND INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN DEALER OF GASTRONOMIC AND ENOLOGICAL BOOKS, THAT'S EXACTLY THE VALUE SERVED BY STUDYING 'OUR CULINARY ROOTS.' THE PROPRIETOR OF THE WINE AND FOOD LIBRARY, IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, TRACES HER INTEREST TO HER YEARS AS A GRADUATE STUDENT AT CORNELL. HER HUSBAND, DANIEL LONGONE, WAS WORKING TOWARD HIS PH.D, IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, AND SHE STUDIED CHINESE AND INDIAN HISTORY. THEY DEVELOPED FRIENDSHIPS WITH FOREIGN STUDENTS, AND THEIR CONVERSATIONS TURNED TOWARD DIFFERENT NATIONAL FOODS." THE COUPLE, ACCORDING TO MEADOR, STARTED TO DELVE INTO THESE INTERESTING ETHNIC RECIPES, BUT THEIR INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS WANTED MOST OF ALL, TO HAVE A "TYPICAL AMERICAN MEAL," INSTEAD OF THEIR OWN ETHNIC DISHES.
THE AUTHOR NOTES THAT, TO FIND OUT, WHAT THE "TYPICAL AMERICAN MEAL," REPRESENTED IN CULINARY TRADITION, "SHE LEARNED NOT ONLY THAT SHE WAS A GIFTED NATURAL COOK, BUT THAT FOOD HISTORY IS A CRITICAL PART OF THE HUMAN PANORAMA - AND THAT THE KITCHEN AND THE BOOKSHELF ARE EMPHATICALLY CONNECTED."
MAKING FOOD A BUSINESS WITHOUT OPENING A RESTAURANT
In 1973 the Longones, with considerable education in the field, opened the Wine and Food Library, after closely examining "the need for a bookstore specializing in the vast number of books and related materials on food, wine, and the culinary arts." According to the article's author, Jan was the food specialist and Dan was the wine expert. The response to the specialty shop was positive, and it became obvious, soon into the venture, they had made a life-changing move for the better. Roy Meader reported that, "The Longones' start-up inventory included two large purchases of new and out of print cookbooks, from an Ohio store, and a Michigan book dealer. Today (circa 1999) the Wine and Food Library stocks about twenty thousand items - 'spanning the five hundred years of printed history, from the rare and scarce to select recent works of importance,' as noted in their catalogue of cookbooks available.
The reason I've held onto this magazine, was not only because it was an article that profiled a business I wanted to parallel one day, but because it appealed to me as a book collector at the same time. By time this article appeared on the magazine store shelf, I'd been collecting old books for about fifteen years, selling them for ten of those years. I had apprenticed with a well known Ontario book collector, Dave Brown, of Hamilton, Ontario. In fact, even by this time, I was working on his biography, which included a split study between his career as a leader in provincial outdoor education programming, and his reputation as a huge collector of non-fiction; mostly natural histories, regional Canadiana and Americana. Dave used to lodge with us, when he was coming back from one of his canoe trips, up north, or while on a buying trip, and Suzanne and I got our tutorials on being astute old book buyers and sellers. Even though Dave didn't sell books, (but wasn't adverse to trading), he told us hundreds of stories about rare book shops, and major book sales, he had attended, in Ontario and United States, and where he often found his most valuable treasures (resources).
Dave kindly offered us some great advice about how to make major purchases, and to buy astutely at auctions. Dave knew every trick in the trade, and he could count many of the most prolific auctioneers, in the Hamilton area, as his friends. At the time of his death, he had close to 100,000 books jammed into in his Hamilton bungalow. Some of his collection was donated to McMaster University. Point is, when he knew we had an interest in old cookbooks, we could expect a box of them, each time he arrived here at Birch Hollow. He would buy a thousand books at one auction, and he would separate any culinary titles and cookery related booklets for us. His rule was simple. He didn't want us using his trade secrets in the business, to intrude upon his activities, and that included when traveling with him on buying junkets here in Muskoka. I played the role of dutiful apprentice, and let him do the talking, when it came to delicate negotiations at estate sales. He would show me where the old cookbooks were situated, and then he would give his opinion on the books' rarity or uniqueness, as far as its historical value. Some regional Canadiana (particularly Quebec and the Maritimes) and Americana, that had small printings, are obviously more collectible and valuable, than those printed for an international market. Or those that had been reprinted numerous times, and really didn't have anything too enticing to offer.
The good Mr. Brown never set down precise book values, because he didn't wish to corrupt his underling, encouraging reckless quests for the so called holy grail. One day, he took a new book price guide I had just purchased, from a local book shop, closed it, put it under his arm, and tossed it unceremoniously in a closet. His point. Don't hinge book collecting on price guides. Valuations come with experience, and an understanding of the book industry as it has existed and prevailed from the beginning. "You will learn more from those involved in the book enterprise Ted, than you'll ever find in those kind of books." He just taught me to be frugal and demanding in these situations, and not wind-up buying books that were of lesser quality, just because the packaging was elegant. I can't tell you how much his friendly tutorials, over dinner and an evening glass of wine, have helped us become better book buyers, and even in the area of cookbooks. Truthfully, Dave really didn't know much about cookbooks, at all, but he knew an awful lot about rarity, and the significance of having a book, with important information, by an accomplished author, that was in demand by the world…..not just a neighborhood or a few buyers. In his mind, the possessor of critical information, had significant power, and almost immeasurable capability to market it…..based on prevailing demand. Sometimes books and authors fell into disregard, when theories were disproven, and beliefs debunked. He looked at cookbooks as he would regional histories, and natural histories, and he knew the kind of books and publishers, that would have only printed small quantities, thusly increasing their value and desirability, especially if they became source books of research, for other future histories.
He had a nose for books, and he pushed us to learn more, and never be so cocky, as to feel, dishonestly, that we knew it all. He kept us grounded. Right up to a few days before his death, he was still offering advice on our book acquisitions, and we appreciated every bit of expertise he passed on, over our years of collaboration. His biography? It sold out! He had been a popular Hamilton teacher, well known Ontario outdoor educator, and a very well known book collector. And he was our personal instructor. And when we open our cookery heritage collection, on Canada Day this year, we will name it after Dave Brown, our mentor in old books.
So over time, we have continued buying and selling books, but admittedly, we have found it necessary to down-size a tad, from the many thousands of texts we had jammed into our small house here in Gravenhurst. What we decided to do, some time ago, was to narrow down our book titles, and specialize in the acquisition and selling of rare and out of print cookbooks, which we have been doing for quite a few years, but not as a specialty. Along with this, as I've mentioned previously, Suzanne and I have been collecting regionally found "handwritten" recipes, which we find amazing and under-recognized works of social / cultural heritage, and will, by this coming summer season, have a catalogue, and potentially a data base, of these individual recipes found in and around Muskoka…..some dating back to homesteads from the 1860's. We are not collecting these handwritten pieces from all over the country, or the world, but rather, for historical relevance, trying to stick to what has been used, in household culinary arts, in this region of the Province of Ontario. We do think there are regional Muskoka differences, especially going back into the pioneering period, which began in the late 1850's. This was a difficult region to settle, and to suggest pioneers had to be hale and hardy to survive, would be a gross understatement. Many settlers didn't survive. Many homesteads failed. Thousands of emigrants arrived here, only to find they did not have the grit and knowledge of farming, it would take to turn pine forests and rock strewn fields into working, arable farmsteads. So the homestead cooks, working on recipes they had brought from overseas, were forced to adapt to what was available in supplies, locally, and what could be grown in a short summer season. Truthfully, they were the real heroes of frontier life…..and we want to recognize their efforts helping to build the foundation of our present towns, and municipalities, by stubborn resistance, and the ability to adapt to unrelenting, harsh realities, in order to feed their families……and survive on their backwoods homesteads.
As Roy Meader points out, in his article,…. the interest in culinary heritage, is not solely limited to those who actually cook. As so poignantly expressed by well known author, Joseph Conrad, commenting on the purpose of the cookery book,….. it remains, "the only product of the human mind altogether above suspicion." Conrad, according to Meader, wrote, "The purpose of a cookery book is one and unmistakable. Its object can conceivably be no other than to increase the happiness of mankind."
I will not part with this dog eared copy of Biblio Magazine, and when we finally are able to bring our little cookery heritage section, to fruition, in our present antique shop in Gravenhurst, we will have this fine publication, and insightful article about the Longone family, by Roy Meader, available as a primary resource….free to use by all our cookery lovers, who have come for a little look-see.
Nice to have you folks here for a visit. It's been a long day for an old writer, as I've been working at this keyboard for the better part of this day. I have become a little tardy with my writing schedule, so I had to catch-up on some articles for regional publications this week, as well as continuing my freelance history, for a local recreational organization. So it was nice to write this comfortable piece for my daily friends. See you again soon.
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