Faces of the American Revolution
The American Revolution was so many years ago, that the time period in which great men like Washington, Jefferson and Adams lived seems as distant to most of us as the fall of Rome or the reign of Alexander the Great. Part of what makes this period so distant to us is the lack of a photographic record. We do not have actual photographs of Washington, or the Battle of Bunker Hill, or of the soldiers who fought for our freedom. Or do we? The advent of photography in the late 1830’s and early 1840’s was so many years after the Revolution that we, of course, have no photographs...
Read MoreThe Last Soldier of the American Revolution
Have you ever heard the name Daniel F Bakeman? No? I didn’t think so. It isn’t a name that shows up in most history textbooks. When you are watching a documentary about historic events, such as the American Revolution, you are not likely to hear him mentioned. Despite the fact that he is not a household name, he was a man of great significance and importance. He was a man who lived, not only through the American Revolution (where he fought as a private in the New York militia), but also through the War of 1812, and (believe it or not) the American Civil War as well. ...
Read MoreAutograph Dealers – 6 Tips On Finding Good Ones
If you are a collector of autographs, you have certainly, at some point, had to face up to the sad reality that the market is super-saturated with unscupulous autograph dealers, and finding authentic autographs takes time, expertise and experience. For a new collector (and even a fairly experienced one) it can be quite frustrating to dig through the insanity that is the online autograph marketplace and find good, honest autograph dealers that believe in what they are doing, and only wish to sell authentic items. Few things are less fun for an autograph collector than to have a signed piece...
Read MoreThomas Jefferson’s Original Draft of The Declaration of Independence
Well, another Independence Day is upon us this week. In fact it is the 236th anniversary of the birth of the United States which is celebrated on July 4th each year commemorating the day the unanimous declaration of independence from Great Britain was adopted by the Continental Congress. American’s have a dreadful habit of letting holidays get watered down into a scattered array of festivities and traditions and forgetting what it is we are actually celebrating. I suppose we are all guilty of it to some degree, but every year when I see those blasts of colored sparks explode across...
Read MoreA Study In Signatures – The Autographs Of The Sherlock Holmes Actors Of The Basil Rathbone And Nigel Bruce Film Series
A Study In Signatures The Sherlock Holmes actors of the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce film series made up one of the most quirky and interesting group of characters in any similar film series of the era. In 1939 20th Century Fox filmed what would become the first of 14 Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone as the inimitable private detective and Nigel Bruce filling the role of Dr. Watson. “The Hound of The Baskervilles” was an instant success and the studio quickly went into production of a follow up film “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, both set in the usual...
Read MoreNotes From The Doctor Who Tried To Save Lincoln Are Found
The personal notes of a young doctor who was the first to treat president Abraham Lincoln after he was shot have been discovered in a box of medical records at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Overlooked for nearly 150 years, the 21 pages of notes detailing the doctor’s recollections of the momentous and historical night were discovered in May by a researcher with the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project, an organization dedicated to researching documents about and written by Lincoln. The find is beyond doubt one of immense historical importance and will provide researchers a...
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