Who in your field do you look up to, idolize ? When Bram Stoker was a young, aspiring writer, that person was Walt Whitman. For Arts in Letters subscribers I found what can only be characterized as a fan letter from Stoker to Whitman. I wonder what Whitman would have thought of Stoker’s later work!
In the never-ending search for interesting historical letters to bring to Arts in Letters subscribers, the best letters lead to interesting stories. In this week’s story, engraver John Pye, hoping to expand into photography is frustrated by restrictions involving the patent for Louis Daguerre’s photographic process.
Why is Pye being frustrated? Arts in Letters subscribers will find out next week!
Have you ever wondered when the first Christmas card was created or who made it? The first printed Christmas card was the idea of British inventor Sir Henry Cole. In 1843 Cole commissioned illustrator John Callcott Horsley to create the design, then sold the printed cards for a shilling each. Three years before that he had helped establish the Universal Penny Post, a postal system that enabled people to send letters throughout England for a penny each. Over 4,000 of his Christmas cards were purchased that first year. So he made some money for himself and encouraged people to use the postal service at the same time!
The first Christmas Cards printed in America were produced by Polish immigrant Louis Prang. Prang founded a printing company that specialized in the newest techniques in lithography. He used these techniques to reproduce works of art, then expanded into printing greeting cards.
He printed the first Christmas cards in America in 1874 and by the 1880’s was printing more than 5 million Christmas cards a year. Other companies started printing Christmas cards and eventually Prang & Co. was forced out of the Christmas card market.
Currently over 2 billion Christmas cards are sent every year in the US alone. That’s a lot of stamps! Now e-cards are becoming part of the Christmas tradition. Over 5 billion e-christmas cards will be sent this year, so check your email!
This week Arts in Letters presents two historical letters written by photographer Julia Margaret Cameron to Sir Henry Cole. Cameron’s photographic career wasn’t that long, but she made quite an impact. Many of her photographs are in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Cole was one of the Museum’s first administrators and had several claims to fame himself. He was influential in instituting the Penny Post mail service in Great Britain, in support of which he manufactured and sold the first commercially produced Christmas cards.
We never know what interesting history facts we’ll find when we go looking for historical letters to feature for our subscribers. The quotes we find are an extra bonus!
Quote from American Modernist Poet, Hart Crane, found during research for the B&B of an Arts in Letters installment. In a letter to friend and photographer Alfred Stieglitz he gives another glimpse of what he experiences as a writer –
“I have to combat every day those really sincere people, but limited, who deny the superior logic of metaphor in favor of their perfect sums, divisions and subtractions. They cannot go a foot unless to merely catch up with some predetermined and set boundaries, nor can they realize that they do nothing but walk ably over an old track bedecked with all kinds of signposts and “championship records.”
I love learning about what people think and feel about their work, expecially through their letters. Historical letters are the ultimate primary sources, first-person accounts of creators’ experiences and thoughts. The quotes that I include in each Arts in Letters Bio and Background are extra added bits of insight.
This quote demonstrates Crane’s love of metaphor, and what it can do when it is used well. Writers so often wrestle with words that it’s easy to think of them as adversaries and the quest to find the right ones incites a pitched battle. The vivid image Crane creates of being ‘drenched’ and ‘soaked’ in words so they’re there when he needs them creates a very different picture, less of a battle, more of a mission to prepare and be ready when the moment arrives.
This week I was thinking of some goals I have for this summer when this thought struck me –
Why not set some personal goals using the Grand SLAM as a guide? I’m always looking for ways to relate Arts in Letters topics to modern life, so I thought I’d give it a try. Here’s my first Summer SLAM Bucket List:
Science – gardening, building self-watering containers, and here’s the big goal, canning and/or preserving what I hope will be a bounteous harvest
Literature – read (actually read not listen to while doing other things) book written by an AinL subscriber, been meaning to do this for a year now; read some first works by AinL subjects, the not so well-known things by Shelley, etc
Art – see Cezanne exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago; maybe plan a day trip to Indy’s Newfields Art Museum, too, they’ve got an interactive Monet exhibit coming up
Music – why is this hardest for a musician? I think re-establish a daily practice routine would be most beneficial, maybe learn to beatbox. Haven’t heard a flutist beatbox? Here’s an intro by one of the masters, Greg Patillo
Maybe you’ll be inspired to create your own, probably much cooler than mine! If you want to share, I’d love to hear what you’ll come up with at communications@artsinletters.com
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| I recently came across a news article about the controversy being stirred up by a group wanting to stage performances of Wagner’s operas in Israel. Knowing that Wagner had openly expressed anti-Semitic views, I wasn’t surprised that there would be people opposed to this, but I didn’t realize that all Wagner’s music had been unoffically banned in the country. Personally I try to stay neutral and apolitical when I choose and write about my historical subjects. I endeavor to spotlight their positive contributions to the world without being too Pollyanna-ish. There are people, good and bad, whose impact on the world won’t be erased simply by not performing their music, or burning their books, or whatever. Yes, there are people I haven’t featured because their negative impact outweighs the positive and because I didn’t want to offend people. However, ignoring history, or trying to hide it, doesn’t benefit us, either. Very deep subject, one on which I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts at communications@artsinletters.com. Your suggestion might inspire me to take on a new subject! In the meantime, if you enjoy Wagner’s music and have missed it during the pandemic, there are many performances being scheduled. Check with the Wagner Society and Wagneropera.org for announcements from around the world. |
