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Strange and Fascinating American Pamphlets from Garrett Scott, Bookseller American Pamphlets from Garrett Scott, Bookseller. By Michael Stillman Garrett Scott, Bookseller, has issued Catalogue 20: American Pamphlets. Scott specializes in American pamphlets, and it can readily be argued that these are some of the most interesting pieces of Americana you can find. They are mostly from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Publishing a book was a fairly expensive undertaking at the time, but publishing pamphlets was within the means of people with more limited financial assets. The result is you can find just about any opinion, from the rational to the strange, in the form of a pamphlet. Naturally, it is the bizarre that can be the most entertaining, but others are insightful and informative. Take your pick. Political and theological topics were the favorites of the pamphleteer. However, there are many other subjects covered, including science and "science," medicine and "medicine," and so on through literature, temperance, economics, entertainment, crime and much more. Here are a few samples. Item 288 is the story of a strange case by a man who had psychological issues of some form or other. The book is Wonderful Works of God. A Narrative of the Wonderful Facts in the Case of Ansel Bourne...who in the Midst of Opposition to the Christian Religion, was Suddenly Struck Blind, Dumb and Deaf; and After Eighteen Days Was Suddenly and Completely Restored... Bourne, an atheist, had had some previous episodes of amnesia, but nothing like what happened to him on October 28, 1848. Bourne was evidently asked by some friends to go to a chapel, but declined, saying to himself, "I would rather be struck deaf and dumb forever than go there." He quickly received his wish, being struck deaf and dumb, plus blind for good measure. Eighteen days later, a properly chastised Bourne went to the same chapel and was cured. Bourne became something of a wonder, while trading in his atheistic ways to become a preacher. Offered is a second edition from 1877. Bourne would make his way back into the news in 1887 when he disappeared for two months from his Rhode Island home. He took up residence in Pennsylvania under the name Albert Brown. He opened a confectionary store which he operated for two months before awakening one morning supposedly totally unaware of his two months as Albert Brown, and confused as to what in the world he was doing in Pennsylvania. Bourne/Brown was hypnotized by William James who concluded he had some type of multiple personality disorder. Priced at $50. If you think this year's presidential election mantra is something new, take a look at this 1840 political polemic: "Wherefore Change?" More than One Hundred Reasons why William Henry Harrison Should and Will have the Support of the Democracy for President... Harrison found the "change" mantra quite effective against incumbent Martin Van Buren, who suffered grievously from the economic downturn following the Panic of 1837. This unkind pamphlet refers to Van Buren as "the Nero in the White House...feasting and dancing while the American Rome is burning." The electorate was convinced of the need for change and selected Harrison, who promptly died in office without accomplishing a thing. Item 22. $75.
Strange and Fascinating American Pamphlets from Garrett Scott, Bookseller Monument to Lost Children of the Alleghenies, circa 1910. Alfred P. Schultz came up with one of the better arguments against evolution in his The End of Darwinism, published in 1911. Schultz notes that since culture has been going downhill ever since the time of ancient Greece, how could evolution, which is based on advancement, be true? Touché. Item 352. $50. After all this weighty stuff, here is something more mundane: Manuel for Elevator Operators: The Herpolsheimer Company. Remember when elevators were run by elevator operators, rather than push buttons? That's a job which ended up having a 100% unemployment rate. Among the phrases the elevator operator was taught to use were "Step back in the car, please," and "Face the front, please." As for Herpolsheimer's, it was a department/discount store in Grand Rapids at the time these instructions were printed (circa 1940s). The future Betty Ford was a fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's when she met future President Gerald Ford. Herpolsheimer's was taken over by Lazarus Stores and renamed in the 1990s, which was in turn taken over by Macy's. Item 348. $35. Item 26 is a sad tale of long ago: The Lost Children of the Alleghenies, and How They Were Found Through a Dream. The lost children were George and Joseph Cox, aged 7 and 5, of rural Pennsylvania (near Pavia). One day in 1856 they wandered out after their father, but became lost in the wilderness. When they did not return by afternoon, a search party was sent out across the countryside. Starting with a few hundred, eventually as many as a thousand searchers participated, but no trace of the boys was found. For a while, the boys' parents were suspects, but a thorough search of their property yielded no bodies. Nor could even a psychic or a dowser locate the boys. Then, on the tenth day, Jacob Dibert, who lived a dozen miles away, began having dreams. He dreamed he was searching for the boys and located them under a tree across a stream. He reportedly also pictured a dead deer and boy's shoe along the way. After three days of intensifying dreams, he determined to set out for the place, though he did not know the area well. Fortunately, his wife grew up nearby, and Dibert, with his brother-in-law, followed his dream. Reportedly, the two first saw a dead deer, and then a shoe, before crossing the stream to a birch tree with a broken top he had seen in the dream. There they found the boys' bodies, dead for three or four days. They had evidently starved after days of wondering the wilderness. No one had thought to look in the area as they did not believe the children could ford the stream, but they had crossed in an area where fallen trees provided a bridge. Dibert died in the Civil War, and a monument was erected to the lost boys at the place they were found 50 years after they disappeared. This book, by Charles R. McCarthy, was not published until 1888, though it may be the first account of this story in book form. Earlier this year, Alison Krauss released a song about this sad occurrence entitled "Jacob's Dream." $40. Garrett Scott, Bookseller, may be reached at 734-741-8605 or garrett@bibliophagist.com.

Strange and Fascinating American Pamphlets from Garrett Scott, Bookseller

American Pamphlets from Garrett Scott, Bookseller.

By Michael Stillman

Garrett Scott, Bookseller, has issued Catalogue 20: American Pamphlets. Scott specializes in American pamphlets, and it can readily be argued that these are some of the most interesting pieces of Americana you can find. They are mostly from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Publishing a book was a fairly expensive undertaking at the time, but publishing pamphlets was within the means of people with more limited financial assets. The result is you can find just about any opinion, from the rational to the strange, in the form of a pamphlet. Naturally, it is the bizarre that can be the most entertaining, but others are insightful and informative. Take your pick.

Political and theological topics were the favorites of the pamphleteer. However, there are many other subjects covered, including science and "science," medicine and "medicine," and so on through literature, temperance, economics, entertainment, crime and much more. Here are a few samples.

Item 288 is the story of a strange case by a man who had psychological issues of some form or other. The book is Wonderful Works of God. A Narrative of the Wonderful Facts in the Case of Ansel Bourne...who in the Midst of Opposition to the Christian Religion, was Suddenly Struck Blind, Dumb and Deaf; and After Eighteen Days Was Suddenly and Completely Restored... Bourne, an atheist, had had some previous episodes of amnesia, but nothing like what happened to him on October 28, 1848. Bourne was evidently asked by some friends to go to a chapel, but declined, saying to himself, "I would rather be struck deaf and dumb forever than go there." He quickly received his wish, being struck deaf and dumb, plus blind for good measure. Eighteen days later, a properly chastised Bourne went to the same chapel and was cured. Bourne became something of a wonder, while trading in his atheistic ways to become a preacher. Offered is a second edition from 1877. Bourne would make his way back into the news in 1887 when he disappeared for two months from his Rhode Island home. He took up residence in Pennsylvania under the name Albert Brown. He opened a confectionary store which he operated for two months before awakening one morning supposedly totally unaware of his two months as Albert Brown, and confused as to what in the world he was doing in Pennsylvania. Bourne/Brown was hypnotized by William James who concluded he had some type of multiple personality disorder. Priced at $50.

If you think this year's presidential election mantra is something new, take a look at this 1840 political polemic: "Wherefore Change?" More than One Hundred Reasons why William Henry Harrison Should and Will have the Support of the Democracy for President... Harrison found the "change" mantra quite effective against incumbent Martin Van Buren, who suffered grievously from the economic downturn following the Panic of 1837. This unkind pamphlet refers to Van Buren as "the Nero in the White House...feasting and dancing while the American Rome is burning." The electorate was convinced of the need for change and selected Harrison, who promptly died in office without accomplishing a thing. Item 22. $75.

Strange and Fascinating American Pamphlets from Garrett Scott, Bookseller

Monument to Lost Children of the Alleghenies, circa 1910.

Alfred P. Schultz came up with one of the better arguments against evolution in his The End of Darwinism, published in 1911. Schultz notes that since culture has been going downhill ever since the time of ancient Greece, how could evolution, which is based on advancement, be true? Touché. Item 352. $50.

After all this weighty stuff, here is something more mundane: Manuel for Elevator Operators: The Herpolsheimer Company. Remember when elevators were run by elevator operators, rather than push buttons? That's a job which ended up having a 100% unemployment rate. Among the phrases the elevator operator was taught to use were "Step back in the car, please," and "Face the front, please." As for Herpolsheimer's, it was a department/discount store in Grand Rapids at the time these instructions were printed (circa 1940s). The future Betty Ford was a fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's when she met future President Gerald Ford. Herpolsheimer's was taken over by Lazarus Stores and renamed in the 1990s, which was in turn taken over by Macy's. Item 348. $35.

Item 26 is a sad tale of long ago: The Lost Children of the Alleghenies, and How They Were Found Through a Dream. The lost children were George and Joseph Cox, aged 7 and 5, of rural Pennsylvania (near Pavia). One day in 1856 they wandered out after their father, but became lost in the wilderness. When they did not return by afternoon, a search party was sent out across the countryside. Starting with a few hundred, eventually as many as a thousand searchers participated, but no trace of the boys was found. For a while, the boys' parents were suspects, but a thorough search of their property yielded no bodies. Nor could even a psychic or a dowser locate the boys. Then, on the tenth day, Jacob Dibert, who lived a dozen miles away, began having dreams. He dreamed he was searching for the boys and located them under a tree across a stream. He reportedly also pictured a dead deer and boy's shoe along the way. After three days of intensifying dreams, he determined to set out for the place, though he did not know the area well. Fortunately, his wife grew up nearby, and Dibert, with his brother-in-law, followed his dream. Reportedly, the two first saw a dead deer, and then a shoe, before crossing the stream to a birch tree with a broken top he had seen in the dream. There they found the boys' bodies, dead for three or four days. They had evidently starved after days of wondering the wilderness. No one had thought to look in the area as they did not believe the children could ford the stream, but they had crossed in an area where fallen trees provided a bridge. Dibert died in the Civil War, and a monument was erected to the lost boys at the place they were found 50 years after they disappeared. This book, by Charles R. McCarthy, was not published until 1888, though it may be the first account of this story in book form. Earlier this year, Alison Krauss released a song about this sad occurrence entitled "Jacob's Dream." $40.

Garrett Scott, Bookseller, may be reached at 734-741-8605 or garrett@bibliophagist.com.