Theodore Roosevelt Visits Chehalis

While exploring a box of political odds and ends yesterday, I came upon what at first appeared to be a common 1-1/4” Theodore Roosevelt pin.  It’s in really poor condition. The shell of the pin is bent.  The paper is discolored.  The celluloid has several long cracks in it.  There is a hole punched right through the knot in Theodore’s tie.  At the top, is written “Our President.”  At the bottom is printed “Chehalis, May 22, 1903,” which, I think, makes this pin not so common after all.

When I researched the date and location, I learned that on May 22, 1903, during his campaign for the presidency, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Chehalis, Washington, and gave a 15-minute speech about hard work from atop the “McKinley Stump” at the intersection of West Street and Market Boulevard. 

Nearly 10,000 people attended, which must have made this a big event for a fairly small town:

In May 1901, The McKinley stump was cut from a 360-year-old Douglas Fir tree near Pe Ell in May, 1901 It was transported to Chehalis to serve as a speaking platform for President William McKinley. The trip was cancelled when McKinley’s wife took ill. A few months later, McKinley was assassinated, and Vice-President Roosevelt assumed the presidency. 

In 2007, the stump had to be removed because it was riddled with carpenter ants and internal rotting.  A replacement stump was put in place in 2008. 

An article describing the Roosevelt campaign event appears at the Washington State history site, http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8373.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Hungarian Dances Revisited

I have always enjoyed an occasional listen to the Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms.

I own a budget cd on the ONYX label, an orchestral version by the London Festival Orchestra conducted by Alfred Scholz.  It's nothing special; it was the only one I could find at the time that had all 21 dances.  So, it has been just a "pretty listen."

Yesterday on internet radio, I heard a recording of the original version for piano, 4 hands.  It virtually knocked my socks off!  There were harmonies, dissonances, and rhythmic structures that seem to get lost in the orchestral versions.

It was such a wonderful experience I thought I should mention it.  Here is the summary information:

Performers:             Stign Kolacny and Steven Kolacny
Label:                      EtCetra Records
Catalog Number:     ETC 5250

 

Yet another "hold-to-Light" Card

My collection of hold-to-light post cards continues to grow.  There are probably hundreds of cards in the "hold-to-light" category.  Most of them are scenic views; many are cartoons.  Except for the one card I have that depicts the town of Heidelberg, Germany, my collection is limited to those cards that depict ships.  In that restricted category, I have obtained 16 so far. This is the most recent acquisition:

Today I added a twelfth ship to my hold-to-light card collection.

Another hold-to-light post card

Today I received the 11th addition to my collection of hold-to light post cards.  This one appears to have been made in 1899.  It depicts a ship called The Hare.  When you hold it up to the light, the words "In a Thunderstorm" appear under the ship's name.  The ship is a "hybrid," as it has both a steam engine and sails.   I think it is the most attractive one I have seen so far...

Update on Mutt and Jeff pins

I should probably be using my term, "Fisher pins," in the title, because the cartoons drawn by Bud Fisher are the only ones I am collecting from the Mutt and Jeff series of cartoon pins.  I have made considerable progress since I wrote about them in July.

As I continue to find 7/8-inch multicolor pins, I have learned of at least 28 designs in the Fisher series. I now have 25 in multi-color and 1 in black and white. Here are pictures of the 3 that I still need to find:

 

I also found and obtained two Fisher designs for one of the phrases; the first, and more common one depicts both Mutt and Jeff; the second, only Mutt. 

 



 

Finally, in addition to the 11 designs I already have in the 1-1/4 inch size, I learned that I need to find at least two more designs in the larger size:

 

While most of these pins are relatively inexpensive, the "OH YOU CUBS!" pins seem to be selling for around $85.00.  The higher price is probably because they fit in 3 areas of collecting:  cartoon phrases, tobacco premiums, and baseball memorabilia.

 

I still do not know how many illustrations Bud Fisher made for the cigarette pins, nor how many of them were produced in the 1-1/4 inch size.

 

 



 

Mutt and Jeff Buttons

     Collecting political campaign buttons, I came across this pin designed by Bud Fisher, the creator of the cartoon strip, Mutt and Jeff:

     There are two sizes.  The 7/8 inch pin is made with a paper print covered with celluloid, and the 1 1/4 inch pin is lithographed directly on the tin.  Most likely, neither button was produced for campaign purposes.  In fact, many companies issued "Tie the bull outside" pins that either had no illustration at all, or depicted a bovine bull.  However, Bud Fisher was one of several cartoonists who were contracted around 1912 (Probably by Whitehead & Hoag company of Newark) to produce cartoons that illustrate popular conversational phrases of the day on buttons that would be issued by a tobacco company.  Apparently, Bud Fisher found the Progressive Party's symbolic bull moose irresistible to illustrate the phrase, "Tie that bull outside." 

     I eventually discovered more Mutt and Jeff pins.  Here are a few:

     I began to wonder just how many different Mutt and Jeff buttons there are.  A book called Buttons in Sets 1896-1972, by Marshall N. Levin and Theodore L. Hake, mentions both sets under the heading, "Comic Cartoons.  It identifies the 7/8 inch set as issued by Hassan and Tokio cigarettes and manufactured by Whitehead & and Hoag of Newark, New Jersey. Ehrman, and T. J. Gleason.  It further states that other cartoonists including Rube Goldberg, TAD, Hal Hoffman, George Herriman, George McManus, Tom McNamara, Rudolph Dirks, TEP, Gus Mager, HBM, and C.M. Payne contributed to more than 290 multicolor designs and over 170 black and white pins.   So far, I have seen 27 phrases that were illustrated with Bud Fisher drawings on 7/8-inch color pins.

     According to Levin and Hake, the manufacturer of the 1 1/4 inch set is not identified.  The back of each 1 1/4 inch badge contains the legend "Factory No. 30, 2nd District New York."  They state that 48 designs had been seen, and that artists include Bud Fisher, Rube Goldberg, and TAD.  The 48 known phrases are listed as well.

     I am interested, of course, only in the badges designed by Bud Fisher for the two sets, and I have been searching for "Mutt and Jeff buttons" on the internet for a few years now.  I decided I could obtain more results by searching the for each of the 48 known phrases as well.  That's when I learned that Sweet Caporal Cigarettes issued the cartoon phrases on cigarette cards.  These cards title the group "Mutt and Jeff Series."  They state that there are "over 250 designs," and they tie Sweet Caporal Cigarettes to Factory No. 30.

     My search on the phrases determined that some of the 48 phrases in Levin and Hake's list of 1- 1/4 inch pins were illustrated by cartoonists other than Bud Fisher.  My own collection includes 8 Mutt and Jeff phrases that are not in that list of 48, so the total number of 1-1/4 inch pins could be 56.  But it is probable that not all of the Fisher designs in the 7/8 inch series were included in the 1-1/4 inch series.

     Since the name, "Mutt and Jeff Series," is applied to a set that includes pins and cards designed by the other cartoonists, I plan to refer to my subset of the series as "Bud Fisher pins."

     Although I now know a lot more about my Bud Fisher pins, I still don't know how many there are.  Here is a  list of the phrases that I know were illustrated by Bud Fisher:

1.   Aw! Stick around awhile

2.   Beat it!*

3.   Can it!*

4.   Cut that stuff

5.   Dog on you!

6.   For the love of Mike, Mutt, be reasonable

7.   Good Night*

8.   Got cleaned last night

9.   I smell a rat

10.  I'm stuck on you*

11.  I'm the guy*

12.  I'm the guy that done it all*

13.  I'm through

14.  Is My Hat on Straight?

15.  I've got you

16.  I've got your number (version 1)*

17.  I've got your number (version 2)

18.  Lead me to it

19.  Let's see what you've got*

20.  Nothing to do until tomorrow

21.  Oh, just hanging around

22.  Oh you Cubs!*

23.  On your way

24.  Speak right out*

25.  Struck with delight*

26.  Take it from me, Bo.*

27.  Take that noise outside*

28.  Tie that bull outside*

*I found these designs in both sizes.