Yeoman's in the Fork Blog

With hits like True Blood, Game of Thrones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Boardwalk Empire, HBO has found great success with creating its own brand of series programming. The programs mentioned are ongoing series and one could easily list dozens more successful programs over the last 35 years. One of the latest is Luck. A stellar cast is highlighted by Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, and a host of great actors. With Williamson County and surrounding area having an interest in all things equestrian I thought it appropriate to share this article in the LA Times that recaps the premier episode which aired this past Sunday. Having watched the episode, the strategy seems to be to introduce a lot of subtext with simple dialogue and quirky characters. I anticipate the upcoming episodes to crank up in action!

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/01/decoding-luck.html

“There is no use in trying’ said Alice, ‘One can’t believe in impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age I used to practice for half an hour a day. Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

 

Our thoughts are living things. What we think about becomes what we see all about us. So, let’s dream the impossible and discover it can indeed be possible.

 

So, to begin the New Year of 2012, think everything wonderful is possible, and let your soul soar. And to remind you that indeed wondrous things are possible, take a peek below and witness a child’s wonder in this fore-edge painting of Alice and the Rabbit on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Other Stories.

As most of you know who read this blog, on occasion we host Book Collecting classes here at the shop. To date, I believe we have held three such events. This past Saturday was the third installment in our ongoing effort to share our passion for collecting with anyone and everyone we can. Collecting books and documents (as well as selling a few here and there) has turned into my life's work and one of my greatest pleasures is to see the glimmer in the eye of a recently converted non-collector. As I preach, collecting is about the thrill of the hunt and the glory that comes along with the quest to attain the unattainable. From single pieces to very focused, but large collections, assembling pieces of our past is as rewarding a hobby as any I have been exposed to. Thanks to everyone who attended as well as supported our cause by making a few purchases from this brick and mortar store that still stands as a testament to the fact that we do not have to purchase everything via the internet...

Mike Cotter, Director of Operations

Escapes at Oglethorpe

During Foote’s Macon, GA confinement, he reports five escapes: June 27th (1 man), July 15th (3 men), and July 16th (1 man). He even references an escape on June 27th through the use of an elaborate tunnel system. Amazingly, he reports some 100 Union soldiers escaping on July 28th as they were being taken to Charleston via the railroad. That single tunnel-escape resulted in more free men than all the successful combined escapes from Libby prison.

Operation of Oglethorpe

Camp Oglethorpe was in operation from 1861 through 1864. It had a maximum capacity of 600 but saw its peak reach a threshold of nearly 2,000 Union souls. This prison was a converted fairgrounds facility. In May 1864 some 1,500 Union officers were taken prisoner in Camp Oglethorpe, doubtless many from the capture and Battle of Plymouth the month before. Arriving at Camp Oglethorpe

As the Union POWs reached Macon in mid May, Foote says they were packed 50-60 per railroad car. The tight quarters also brought it’s own challenges. Foote was robbed of all his Confederate money while in transit aboard the train on May 15th.

It took a couple days to reach the place where Camp Oglethorpe was set up, getting there on Tuesday the 17th of May. Foote’s diary says that they were “put in an open yard without shelter, one building for [the] sick & two for Generals and Staff. . . . all of the Plymouth Officers came in the yard today.” When Foote arrived at Oglethorpe there were roughly some 2,300 Union officers imprisoned. Foote’s experiences at Camp Oglethorpe

It only took Foote five days of being in Camp Oglethorpe before he mentions being sick in his diary. Many of the men suffered from chronic diseases like dysentery and scurvy due to poor sanitation and diet. His sickness escalated to an unremittant fever within days.

By late May, the Union prisoner population began swelling due to casualties in the Army of the Potomac engaged in Grant’s Overland Campaign. Foote mentions Generals Truman Seymour and Alexander Shaler coming in on Tuesday, May 24th. By the 25th of May Foote reported feeling better in terms of his fever but he acquired an eye infection on the 29th that caused some painful inflammation.

Enduring prison life at Oglethorpe

Besides enduring the challenging physical conditions as a prisoner of war, many soldiers also had to endure the emotional stresses. On June 3rd, a Friday, Foote records that Col. Egbert Olcott from the 121st New York Infantry came in and gave Foote news that his brother Frank was captured as well, and had his leg amputated. The news must have been devastating for Foote.

The next day, June 4th, a rainy day, Foote made an entry in his diary: “This place is decidedly better than Libby Prison. We get enough to eat here, of corn meal, bacon, rice & flour. The Generals and Staff draw their rations separately from the rest and get a little more.”

The next several days passed by in boredom and normalcy for Foote as his diary entries were sparse, often just mentioning it was raining, or hot; he washed his clothes, is feeling better, etc. But the entry on Saturday June 11th leaps from the small leather diary with disdain, “Rainy. Blue times. An Officer was shot this evening by a Sentinel, no provocation.”

Foote’s experience at Camp Oglethorpe

While at Camp Oglethorpe (mid May through late July 1864), Foote was often sickly with a fever and was nursing an infected eye. On June 4th he states that Camp Oglethorpe was better in conditions than Libby as well. A large number of Federal officers were brought in, some forty-plus, on June 14th; apparently all from the Army of the Potomac, no doubt part of the leadership command from Grant’s famed Overland Campaign referenced in his May 5th entry. Foote spent the Fourth of July with his fellow comrades, singing amongst a smuggled United States’ flag. During his stay at Camp Oglethorpe he records receiving war news on July 6th, 12th, 19th and the 22nd.

As with most sellers of anything rare these days, we are consistently scouring the internet for additional venues to showcase our wares. Rare books, documents, paper ephemera, etc… can be found for sale on hundreds of sites on the internet, but which ones are worth the time and effort and above all, THE COST? Which sites will yield us the new collector and/or seasoned veteran looking for a change? Which site gets the traffic you need to make listing their worth all the effort that goes into listing on it? While we currently list our books for sale on over a dozen such sites it has hit me like a stern slap in the face on prom night that our own dedicated site is the most important for us as well as you! You’re able to really get a feel for who we are as people and as professionals in our industry. Why is it that we must all waste our precious time pushing our past, present and future customers to another website to simply get a cut of the money that should be staying in your pocket? While this is absolutely a rhetorical set of statements and questions, it is truly mind-boggling that sellers are all in the same predicament and the customer will most likely always do better by working directly with one and/or a few of us. While there is no substitute for researching and comparing prices, the reputable sellers out there will usually always share with you what others are asking for their copies of a similar product. They will also elaborate on why their own copy is higher or lower in price, depending on what the individual case calls for. Have we all fallen victim to the fear creating demon called the internet? Have we lost all sense of what sort of relationship we should have with those who we buy our collectibles from? Perhaps we should all watch ‘Jerry Maguire’ again.

Thanks for your continued business with Yeoman’s in the Fork and I look forward to meeting you in the 3-Dimensional world where you will usually find me sitting behind a desk in our shop listing books and/or seeking out what I might want to add to our inventory…

Mike Cotter, Director of Operations

Foote was only at Danville for five days but interestingly, his May 8th diary entry says that the “prison here worse than Libby,” due to lack of water and the crowded conditions in the retro-fitted tobacco warehouses. The weather in Danville was just starting to turn warm in mid May 1864 when Foote was transferred to Camp Oglethorpe in Macon, Georgia.

While at Danville, Foote did not record any escapes. The Danville Confederate prison was in operation from 1863 through 1865. It had a maximum capacity of 3,700 and experienced a peak of 4,000 POWs. There were at least 70 escapes from Danville and almost 1,300 Union deaths. Converted buildings were used as quarters for prisoners.

John Grisham is back on the small screen. Based on the blockbuster feature film and best-selling novel by world-renowned author John Grisham ("The Pelican Brief," "The Client"), "The Firm" continues the story of attorney Mitchell McDeere and his family 10 years after the events of the film and novel. As a young associate, McDeere brought down the prestigious Memphis law firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke, which operated as a front for the Chicago mob -- and his life was never the same. After a difficult decade, which included a stay in the Federal Witness Protection program, Mitch and his family now emerge from isolation to reclaim their lives and their future -- only to find that past dangers are still lurking and new threats are everywhere.

While I am painting a fore-edge sometimes my mind wanders to how the early fore-edge painters worked. I imagine the 4th century monks working by candle light, patiently stroking small amounts of paint on the edges, rubbing their eyes from strain, knowing in the end it will all be worth it. And what kind of clamps or book press did Edwards of Halifax in the 18th century use? Wouldn’t it be exciting to travel back in time and watch the early fore-edge painters?

Well, we are so privileged because today there is a renewed interest in fore-edge painting, and one can have the opportunity to see the process in action. And in only two months from now, Hidden Treasures, The History and Technique of Fore-edge Painting by Jeanne Bennett will be available. But until then I will share a snap shot of me working on a Portable Combination Fepping Press™.

Happy Holidays!

It stands to reason that my collecting mind would wander to the Confederacy just after returning from the largest Civil War collectibles show in the country. Lucky for me, I did not have to travel far as the show hosted by Mike Kent and Co. is actually held about fifteen minutes from our shop in Leiper’s Fork. The show, as with all of the ones put on Kent was top-notch and filled with the usual mix of young and old exhibiting and purveying the items picked up along the back roads of the south. In the weeks to come, you will see a few of the treasures we picked up at this year’s show including the ONLY signed First Edition copy of ‘Company Aytch’ by Sam Watkins that we have ever seen! This book is one of the greats in Confederate literature and every Civil War scholar (and/or writer) from Margaret Mitchell to Ken Burns has commented on its power and its place as one of the great first-hand accounts of battle to come out of the war. Watkins description of the battlefield at Franklin is the most powerful that I have ever read and makes me knees weak now, one hundred and fifty years later.

“Perhaps Mr. Watkins did not contribute enormously to our store of information about military strategy and campaigns, but he certainly left a record to show what the dryly humorous foot soldier thought about it all. When I came to his simple but heart-rending description of how the field at Franklin looked after the battle, I found it difficult not to weep.” Margaret Mitchell

As those who follow our blog know, ‘Company Aytch’ is a staple for us and we have had the pleasure of locating and selling four or five of the 1882 First Edition copies of this book since we opened our doors in 2009. The signed copy that we will have coming to market soon is the pinnacle of the collecting world as it pertains to this book. I am so very thankful that the former owner decided to sell it to Yeoman’s. It is a great source of pride to us that so very many prominent collectors and personalities have built a relationship with us over the course of the past two years. We pledge to continue to honor the pieces that matter to you by both offering a fair price for them as well as honoring them ourselves while in our possession. The signed First Edition copy of ‘Company Aytch’ now in our possession is a tremendous example of the true unique pieces that we continue to seek out.