Category Archives: Rare Books & Manuscripts

Humor-mongering: Or, an 18th century joke book

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The Indiana State Library is home to a number of fascinating items, including an excellent 19th century facsimile of the original “Joe Miller’s Jests.”

First published in London in 1739, the joke book offers 247 of the “most brilliant jests; the politest repartees; the most elegant bon mots, and most pleasant short stories in the English language,” according to the full title. The reprint duplicates the original typescript and title page down to listing the price of one shilling. The book’s compiler, John Mottley, under the nom de plume Elijah Jenkins, Esq., exploited the cachet of the recently deceased actor and comedian, Joe Miller, to sell copies.

“The Wits Vadecum,” as it was alternatively titled, proved quite popular. A vademecum is a handbook or guide, the sort you consult so often you keep it in your purse or on the bedside table. Joe Miller’s Jests grew so well-known that a worn-out or clichéd joke was often called “a Joe Miller.” An example of a Joe Miller today would be:

Q: How do you make a tissue dance?
A: Put a little boogie in it.

Cue eye roll.

Let’s look at a few types of witticisms found in “Joe Miller’s Jests” that still elicit the odd chuckle or guffaw even today.

Fart Jokes

“When the Duke of Ormond was young and came first to Court, he happen’d to stand next to my Lady Dorchester, one Evening in the Drawing-Room, who being but little upon the Reserve on most Occasions, let a Fart, upon which he look’d her full in the Face and laugh’d. What’s the Matter, my Lord, said she : Oh! I heard it, Madam, reply’d the Duke, you’ll make a fine Courtier indeed, said she, if you mind every Thing you hear in this Place.” (5)

Puns (a.k.a. plays on words)

“One of the foresaid Gentlemen, as was his Custom, preaching most exceedingly dull to a Congregation not used to him, many of them slunk out of the Church one after another, before the Sermon was near ended. Truly, said a Gentleman present, this learned Doctor has made a very moving Discourse.” (32)

“A Beggar asking Alms under the Name of a poor Scholar, a Gentleman to whom he apply’d himself, ask’d him a Question in Latin, the Fellow, shaking his Head, said he did not understand him: Why, said the Gentleman, did you not say you were a poor Scholar? Yes, reply’d the other, a poor one indeed, Sire, for I don’t understand one Word of Latin.” (54)

“A famous Teacher of Arithmetick, who had long been married without being able to get his Wife with Child : One said to her, Madam, your Husband is an excellent Arithmetician. Yes, replies she, only he can’t multiply.” (234)

Political Humor

“Sir B—ch—r W—y, in the Beginning of Queen Anne’s Reigh, and three or four more drunken Tories, reeling home from Fountain-Tavern in the Strand, on a Sunday Morning, cry’d out, we are the Pillars of the Church, no, by G–d, said a Whig, that happened to be in their Company, you can be but Buttresses, for you never come on the Inside of it.” (60)

“The Tories and the Whigs – Pulling for a Crown” cartoon, 1789. Source: Library of Congress.

Fat Jokes (on par with blonde jokes and their ilk)

“Dr. Tadloe, who was a very fat Man, happened to go thump, thump, with his great Legs, thro’ a Street, in Oxford, where some Paviers had been at Work, in the Midst of July, the Fellows immediately laid down their Rammers, Ah! God bless you, Master, cries one of ‘em, it was very kind of you to come this Way, it saves us a great deal of Trouble in this hot Weather.” (66)

Religious Humor

“Michael Angelo, in his Picture of the last Judgment, in the Pope’s Chappel, painted among the Figures in Hell, that of a certain Cardinal, who was his enemy, so like that every-body knew it at first Sight : Whereupon the Cardinal complaining to Pope Clement the Seventh, of the Affront, and desiring it might be defaced : You know very well, said the Pope, I have Power to deliver a Soul out of Purgatory but not out of Hell.” (74)

Dirty Jokes

“A Country Farmer going cross his Grounds in the Dusk of the Evening, spy’d a young Fellow and a Lady, very busy near a five Bar Gate, in one of his Fields, and calling to them to know what they were about, said the young Man no Harm, Farmer, we are only going to Prop-a-Gate.” (85)

Old Age Jokes

“A Lady’s Age happening to be questioned, she affirmed she was but Forty, and call’d upon a Gentleman that was in Company for his Opinion; Cousin, said she, do you believe I am in the Right, when I say I am but Forty? I ought not to dispute it, Madam, reply’d he, for I have heard you say so these ten Years.” (99)

And my personal favorite…

Library Jokes

“A Nobleman having chosen a very illiterate Person for his Library Keeper, one said it was like a Seraglio kept by an Eunuch.” (90)

(A seraglio is another word for harem.)

Engraving of a library by Richard Bernard Godfrey, ca. 1700s. Source: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.

Many “jests” referred to well-known personages and their foibles, much like modern comedians poke fun at prominent politicians and celebrities today. It was the common practice of 18th-century journalists and satirists referencing a real, living person to censor most of the name (e.g., Lord C—by) to sidestep pesky charges of libel. Contemporaries of daily newspapers and scandal sheets would have understood the allusion, while present-day readers are left to puzzle it out using historical research or just remain in the dark.

The Duke of A—ll could refer to the Duke of Argyll or the Duke of Atholl, but 18th-century readers would easily have identified the culprit.

Other jokes and anecdotes featured famous historical figures like Henry VIII, Sir Thomas More, Oliver Cromwell, Caesar Augustus and Michelangelo.

Print of Sir Thomas More by Jacobus Houbraken, 1741. Source: Yale Center for British Art; Yale University Art Gallery Collection.

Though something is lost in translation without knowledge of historical society or slang, the roots of what makes people laugh remains the same. So, maybe it’s not too surprising that “Joe Miller’s Jests” has been reprinted and republished over and over in the 278 years since its original publication.

You can read more on the continuity of humor in this piece in the New York Post.

This blog post was written by Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarian Brittany Kropf. For more information, contact the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division at (317) 232-3671 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Meet the intern: Julia Deros

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Meet one of the newest Indiana State Library interns, Julia Deros. Julia is originally from Cockeysville, Maryland and went to Gettysburg College, where she graduated with a bachelor’s in environmental studies and history.

Which school are you currently attending?
IUPUI.

What is your major?
Dual degree in library and information science and public history.

What is your job here at the Indiana State Library?
I am an intern with the Rare Books & Manuscripts Division.

Favorite part of the library or favorite thing about working at the library?
I really enjoy getting to work with documents from different time periods and helping visitors access history for their research.

How will this internship further your career?
I hope to one day work as an archivist, so this internship is a great experience for learning new skills and ways of thinking I’ll need as I start my career.

What is your favorite band?
Panic at the Disco.

Favorite movie?
The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

Finally, the best place to eat in Indy?
Nine Irish Brothers.

Thanks!

This blog post was written by John Wekluk, communications director, Indiana State Library. For more information, email the communications director.

Recent acquisition: Local abstract art and papers of Barbara Stahl

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The Rare Books and Manuscripts Division recently acquired a collection of drawings, photographic prints and personal papers from notable Indianapolis artist, Barbara Stahl. The collection will continue to grow and be available for public viewing after processing is complete.

Barbara Stahl portrait, 2000

A native of Vincennes, Indiana, Stahl moved to Indianapolis in 1992 after receiving her MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania. Stahl is the founder and owner of Stahl Studios Inc., which specializes in commercial and public art. She is well-known for her Indiana Pacers schedule wall near Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the commemorative Super Bowl XLVI art project “Morning Magnolias” mural along the White River Canal.

Barbara Stahl, Morning Magnolias mural, 2012 Image Source: http://magazine.iupui.edu/12Spring/impact/46forXLVI.shtml

The Barbara Stahl collection is the first donation of abstract work by a female artist to the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division. It comprises over four cubic feet of material, including clippings, photographs, undergraduate artwork slides, wax paintings on wood panels, screen and intaglio prints, charcoal drawings and mud paintings completed in Belize. Her 2014-2015 “Tiny III” artwork is pictured below.

The Indiana State Library Foundation recently purchased “Consciousness Rising,” a large-scale oil painting from her 2017 “Skybridge” series. The painting is on permanent display at the library and can be viewed during regular business hours.

This blog post was written by Bethany Fiechter, Rare Books and Manuscripts supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

‘Hoosiers at War!’ reception to take place at Indiana State Library

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Visit the Indiana State Library on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, from 4:30 to 7 p.m., for a special open-house reception to coincide with the “Hoosiers at War! From the Homefront to the Battlefield” exhibit that is currently on display throughout the library.

Over 150,000 people from Indiana answered the call to serve when the United States entered the Great War on April 6, 1917. “Hoosiers at War! From the Homefront to the Battlefield” showcases publications, correspondence, diaries, photographs and other materials detailing the experiences of Hoosiers during World War I, both at home and abroad.

The installation process.

The library will present artifacts of every day Hoosier heroes from the Great War, as well as some specially-selected treasures from the library’s collections. Library tours will also be available and light refreshments will be provided. Click here to register for this free event. Registration is encouraged, but not required.

The library is located at 315 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. Parking is available in the Senate Ave. parking garage across from the library for $10 beginning at 4:30 p.m. The garage accepts credit cards only. No cash payments will be accepted. Street parking is also available.

This blog post was written by John Wekluk, communications director, Indiana State Library. For more information, email the communications director.

Two World War I stories: Newly digitized collections from World War I and the Hoosier Experience

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With the World War I centennial upon us, library staff have been hard at work digitizing the collections of Hoosier heroes of all walks of life from wartime. While we are taking the time to highlight collections of those who served both at home and abroad, here are two new additions from the past few months: S0091 Joe Rand Beckett Collection and L359 Franklin Newton Taylor Collection.

A 1912 advertisement for Franklin N. Taylor as a voice teacher at the Metropolitan School of Music.

Both men were from Indianapolis, though Taylor was originally born in Danville, Ind. Taylor was a singer and, as part of the Y.M.C.A., traveled France entertaining the troops mostly throughout the Bordeaux region. Aside from his war work, he served as music director at the Central Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, choir director at Irvington Methodist Episcopal Church and was a voice instructor at Metropolitan School of Music (later Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music at Butler University) from 1908 until 1949. His collection includes a plethora of personal correspondence and newspaper clippings, as well as Y.M.C.A. and World War I travel ephemera and interesting personal effects that he collected.

Seashells collected by Franklin Taylor in La Rochelle, France while overseas with the Y.M.C.A., dated Jan. 30, 1919.

Beckett was an Indianapolis architect, lawyer, philanthropist, member of the Indiana Senate and captain of the 326th Field Artillery, Battery D during World War I. Shortly before the war, he had passed the bar and formed the law firm, Beckett and Beckett, with his father. At the beginning of his service, Beckett’s rank was first lieutenant and rose to captain in August 1918. The battery sailed from New York to Scotland the following month, arriving in France at the end of September only a few weeks out from Armistice. His senatorial career took place during 1929 and 1931; afterwards he became known for pioneering low-income housing in Indianapolis, specifically Lockefield Gardens. His collection contains several photographs, correspondence during and after the war and military papers, including the roster and movements of 326th F.A., Battery D.

A photograph of Joe Rand Beckett (right) in uniform in 1918; location unknown.

This postcard was sent to Captain Joe Rand Beckett’s wife, Mary Ann Beckett, to notify her that he had arrived safely overseas; ca. September 1918.

 

Sources:

“Joe Rand Beckett.” Indiana Legislator Database. Accessed Sept. 1, 2017.

Barrow, Robert G. “The Local Origins of New Deal Housing Project The Case of Lockefield Gardens in Indianapolis.” Indiana Magazine of History 103, no. 2 (2007): 125-151, accessed Sept. 1, 2017.

This blog post was written by Lauren Patton, Rare Books and Manuscripts librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Marie Stuart Edwards: Suffragist and social reformer

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Indiana engendered more than one leader of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. The most recognized of these Hoosier suffragists today are probably May Wright Sewall and Ida Husted Harper. Marie Stuart Edwards of Peru, Ind. was among the next generation of activists to take up the cause.

Marie Stuart Edward, circa 1910s. (SP021)

In many ways, Edwards was typical of women’s suffragists from Indiana. Born on Sept. 11, 1880, she was one of two children in an upper middle-class family from Lafayette, Ind. Edwards received a first-class education, having graduated from Smith College in 1901 and had a supportive husband, Richard E. Edwards (1880-1969), who she married in 1904.

Over six feet in height with brown hair and eyes, Edwards was described as “a woman of brilliant, buoyant personality” in the Carroll County Citizen-Times. Not one for idle hands, Edwards oversaw designing and decorating for her husband’s business, the Peru Chair Company, while raising her only child, Richard Arthur (1909-1984), and taking an interest in social reform.

Marie Stuart Edward and her son, Richard Arthur, 1912. (SP021)

Alongside her contemporaries Grace Julian Clark and Luella McWhirter, Edwards belonged to various women’s clubs and desired the right to vote so she might effect social change. Also, like many Hoosier suffragists, Edwards lent her support to the mainstream suffrage movement, carefully keeping away from the more radical factions, such as Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party.

Map of states where women could vote in 1914. From NAWSA pamphlet (S3355).

In 1917, Edwards was elected president of the Woman’s Franchise League of Indiana, an organization associated with the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). That same year, the Indiana General Assembly passed the Maston-McKinley Partial Suffrage Act, granting Hoosier women the right to vote in municipal, school and special elections.

Woman’s Franchise League of Indiana leaflet before repeal of partial suffrage law, 1917. (S3355)

Between 30,000 and 40,000 women registered to vote in Indianapolis alone within a few months. However, Indiana suffragists soon suffered a bitter disappointment. On October 26, 1917, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled the law was unconstitutional.

The court’s decision shocked Edwards, but she declared that Indiana women would continue to fight for equal enfranchisement. She was right. Although the women of the state seemed shaken by the setback, they soon recovered, gaining confidence as momentum for a national suffrage amendment mounted.

Cartoon from NAWSA leaflet promoting pro-suffrage parades in Chicago and St. Louis, 1916. (S3355)

While managing her husband’s chair factory during his war service, Edwards also served as the Franchise League’s president until 1919, when she became more heavily involved with NAWSA working for the passage of the 19th Amendment. The Susan B. Anthony Amendment, as it was then called, was ratified on August 18, 1920. It stated, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

Carrie Chapman Catt and Marie Stuart Edwards on either side of the next U.S. president, Warren G. Harding, Social Justice Day, October 1, 1920, Marion, Ohio. (SP021)

In February of 1920, months before the amendment’s passage, Edwards helped found the League of Women Voters, in preparation for helping women exercise their new rights as voting citizens. A non-partisan organization, approximately 2 million women joined the League by 1921. Edwards served as the first treasurer of the National League of Women Voters and then as the organization’s first vice president until 1923. As part of her duties as treasurer and manager of the national speakers bureau for the League, she traveled widely across the United States.

Marie Stuart Edwards (front row, middle) volunteering with the Red Cross during World War II. (SP021)

In Indiana, Edwards remained heavily invested in civic responsibility. She was the first woman to sit on the Peru Board of Education and in 1922, Governor Warren T. McCray appointed her to the Indiana State Board of Education. Later, Edwards led the local Works Progress Administration board in Miami County during the Great Depression. In 1937, she served as vice president of the Indiana Board of Public Welfare, as well as chairman of the drafting committee for the Indiana Civil Service bill. Edwards was also a member of Miami County Board of Public Welfare (late 1940s-1955) and served on state women’s prison parole board during the 1950s. She died in Peru, Indiana on November 17, 1970.

Sources:
Wilson, Mindwell Crampton. “Thoughts in Passing.” Carroll County Citizen-Times, November 17, 1917, 3.

Dice, Nellie Waggoner. “Forum: The Readers Corner.” Indianapolis Star, July 16, 1977, 63.

Harper, Ida Husted, ed. “Indiana.” In History of Woman Suffrage, 1900-1920, vol. 6. New York: National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922.

Kalvaitis, Jennifer M. “Indianapolis Women Working for the Right to Vote: The Forgotten Drama of 1917.” MA thesis, Indiana University, 2013.

Images from the Mary Smiley Small Photograph Collection (SP021) and Women’s Suffrage Movement Collection (S3355), Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library. These items are available online in Women in Hoosier History collection in the ISL Digital Collections.

This blog post was written by Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarian Brittany Kropf. For more information, contact the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division at (317) 232-3671 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”

Florence J. Martin, Indiana native and World War I chief nurse

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Florence J. Martin (1876-1963) was born in Jeffersonville, Ind. and lived in Indianapolis for most of her life. On April 4, 1917, at the very beginning of U.S. involvement in World War I, she was appointed chief nurse of Base Hospital 32. Base Hospital 32 was largely funded through contribution from Eli Lilly & Company.

Offer letter from the Indiana State Medical Association director John H. Oliver to Florence Martin for the position of Chief Nurse of Base Hospital 32.

Photo of Florence Martin taken in New York in 1917.

In December of 1917, Miss Martin and the nurses of Base Hospital 32 sailed on the U.S.S. George Washington across the Atlantic and began their journey to Contréxeville, France. Throughout the war, Base Hospital 32 cared for patients from over 30 countries and faced injuries from gas attacks, Spanish Influenza epidemics and overcrowding, among other wounds from wartime. For her service, which lasted the duration of the war, Miss Martin received the French Medal of Honor on March 18, 1919.

List of nurses bound for Base Hospital 32 aboard U.S.S. George Washington and their room assignments on board.

Postcard of Contrexeville, France.

Her scrapbook (V334) at the Indiana State Library in the Rare Books & Manuscripts Division, includes letters, photographs, postcards, news clippings, official orders and memoranda from 1917 to 1919 chronicling her experiences as a nurse during World War I.

Florence Martin’s Medal of Honor from France.

Sources used: Benjamin D. Hitz, A History of Base Hospital 32, (Indianapolis, IN: Edward Kahle Post No. 42 American Legion, 1922)

This blog post was written by Lauren Patton, Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm.

The Indiana/Virginia land dispute

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The Cornelius Harnett and William Sharpe letter (S0593) was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Guy Morrison Walker on June 2, 1919.

The letter was sent to North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell by Harnett and Sharpe while they served in the Continental Congress during the United States Revolutionary War. Dated November 4, 1779, Harnett and Sharpe relay information about a petition presented to Congress by the Indiana Land Company regarding land claims. There had been a dispute between shareholders of the Indiana Land Company and Virginia as to who had the legal right to sell land located along the Ohio River. The Indiana Land Company’s petition asserted Congress had jurisdiction over the land but Virginia claimed it had jurisdiction and North Carolina supported Virginia’s claim. For more information about the controversy, visit the Indiana Historical Bureau’s “The Naming of Indiana” page.

This historical document is in the process of being digitized and transcribed and will be available via the Indiana State Library Digital Collections page.

To read more about proposed borders in early Virginia region history, including Vandalia, visit the West Virginia Division of Culture and History’s website.

This blog post was written by Bethany Fiechter, Rare Books and Manuscripts Supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm.

Vintage Valentine’s Day cards

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Love it or hate it, today is Valentine’s Day. Here are three images of a Valentine’s Day pop-up card from the 1910s -1920s, courtesy of the Indiana State Library’s Rare Books and Manuscripts collection. The recipient, Hazel Whiteleather, married Indiana artist Floyd Hopper. Hazel worked at the Indiana State Library for 44 years before retiring in 1975.

You can find many more Valentine’s Day cards within the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division.

This blog post was written by Bethany Fiechter, Rare Books and Manuscripts supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm.

State library staff meet Governor Holcomb

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On Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, staff from the Indiana State Library met Indiana’s 51st Governor, Eric Holcomb. After learning he was an American Civil War buff, Associate Director of Public Services Connie Bruder, Rare Books and Manuscripts Supervisor Bethany Fiechter and Rare Books and Manuscripts Program Coordinator Laura Eliason presented a Civil War carte de visite album commissioned by Governor Oliver P. Morton.

Bethany Fiechter shows Governor Holcomb a Civil War carte de visite album commissioned by Governor Oliver P. Morton.

The Governor Oliver P. Morton Civil War Soldiers Photograph Collection (P001) includes three carte de visite albums to perpetuate the remembrance of Indiana regiment officers. The portraits are arranged alphabetically by last name with notations indicating the name, rank, regiment and, if applicable, place of death.

L to R: Bethany Fiechter, Governor Holcomb, Laura Eliason and Connie Bruder.

For more information about Governor Oliver P. Morton, view our finding aid here. Interested in more Civil War photographs? The Rare Books and Manuscripts Division has made available over 80 photographs here.

This blog post was written by Bethany Fiechter, Rare Books and Manuscripts supervisor, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at (317) 232-3678 or “Ask-A-Librarian” at http://www.in.gov/library/ask.htm.