BOOK REVIEWS
The French in the Mississippi Valley,
1740-1750. By Norman
Ward Caldwell. Illinois Studies in
the Social Sciences, Vol.
XXVI, No. 3. (Urbana, University of
Illinois Press, 1941.
113p. Map, bibliography.)
The author has used for this study the
rich photostatic col-
lection of documents relating to French
and Indian affairs in the
Illinois country made by the Illinois
Historical Survey. Most no-
table, perhaps, is his use of the
expense bills of the western posts,
from the colonial records in the French Archives
Nationales, to
analyze the financial basis of the
French empire and trade in the
Mississippi Valley during the decade of
the 1740's. The colonial
governments in both Louisiana and
Canada, he shows, ran constant
deficits. Although the income from the
post was usually adequate to
meet ordinary administrative expenses,
presents to the Indians,
subsidies to war parties, construction
of fortifications, and the
extraordinary expenses of wars (King
George's) had to be met
by drawing against French exchange, and
customarily overran the
annual amounts allowed by the crown. The
expenses of Louisiana
were strikingly large in comparison with
those of Canada, but both
were small in relation to the need.
The author's discussion of the fur trade
does not alter in any
substantial way the conclusions in
Innis's work of some years ago,
although the use of French archival
material adds some interesting
detail. A great deal of light, for
instance, is thrown on the volume
and character of the trading and mining
through the use of these
materials. One wishes, however, that the
author's material had
made it possible for him to study more
extensively the economic
basis of the Company of the West Indies
in relation to official ac-
tivities and to the licensed traders,
especially after the return of
Louisiana to the crown in 1731.
The most valuable part of the book
appears to be the discus-
(188)
BOOK REVIEWS 189
sion of Indian relations in Chapters IV
and V. The problem of
French policy in dealing with the Hurons
at Detroit is presented
clearly and the baffling question of the
Jesuit, La Richardie's, re-
lation to the matter seems to be
settled. There is a good analysis
of Anglo-French rivalry among the Ohio
tribes, and of its con-
nections with the Chickasaw War and with
the revolt of the Choc-
taw against the French during the years
preceding the outbreak of
war against the English. Noteworthy,
too, is the account of the
Indian uprising of 1847 which
accompanied the growing British
trading activity in the Ohio country.
The author concludes that the French, in
spite of Indian dif-
ficulties, were well able to hold their
own with the English in the
critical beaver trade, and that they
proved themselves superior to
the English in Indian relations. Yet,
when he writes (p.101)
that although the French government gave
much verbal encourage-
ment to the increase of population and
to the development of ag-
riculture, but "practically nothing
of a concrete nature was done
to meet these problems," one feels
that the criticism is too sweep-
ing to be justified upon the basis of
any systematic analysis of the
needs and problems of the French empire
which the author may
have made.
The book is a valuable addition to the
growing literature of
French and Indian history in our West in
the eighteenth century,
and has particular interest for the
historian of early Ohio. On
the whole it is well written, although
faulty transition from one
subject to another occasionally
obscures the line of thought in the
first two chapters. Occasionally, too,
there is repetition, as in the
reference to a sedentary command at
Detroit (p.43, p.53). Also,
selecting several topics at random, the
reviewer noted a number
of omissions in the index.
Hiram College. HAROLD E. DAVIS.
190 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Everyday Things in American Life. [Vol. II] 1776-1876.
By
William Chauncy Langdon. (New York,
Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1941. xv??398p. Illustrations,
bibliography and index.
$3.00.)
The Story of Everyday Things. By Arthur Train, Jr. With il-
lustrations by Chichi Lasley. (New York
and London, Har-
per & Bros., c1941. xi??428p.
Illustrations, bibliography
and index. $3.50.)
William Chauncy Langdon continues his
history of everyday
things, which was so well begun in his
first volume covering the
colonial period, 1607-1776,
published in 1937, with emphasis on the
home. In the present volume the emphasis
is on transportation.
Americans, unified under the
Constitution, were on the move,
building a nation. Of the sixteen
chapters in this volume, eight
treat of transportation: river craft,
roads, the Cumberland-Na-
tional Road in particular, natural
waterways, canals, the role of
steam in transportation, and the reasons
for the development of
transportation. The remaining eight
chapters treat of retail trade,
newspapers, home-life upstairs and down,
clothes and fabrics,
metals, agriculture and the celebration
of a hundred years of prog-
ress at the exhibition in Philadelphia
in 1876.
While the author has done a creditable
piece of work, he does
not by any means cover the broad scope
of his title, for as one
reads, the number of everyday things not
treated begin to multi-
ply in the mind. Why, for instance, is
there no mention of churches
and schools? Then, too, the area covered
is almost entirely con-
fined to the eastern United States.
While many of the things of
the East and early days of the Middle
West are common to the
South, the West and Far West, surely the
everyday things pe-
culiar to these other sections cannot be
overlooked. For instance,
there is not a word about ranch life,
gold prospecting, or slavery.
They are American too!
The one-volume work by Arthur Train,
Jr., The Story of
Everyday Things, similar in many ways to the work by Langdon,
achieves what Langdon fails to do. It is
well organized and easily
used for reference, being divided into
three parts: "The Seven-
BOOK REVIEWS 191
teenth Century--The Pioneers,"
"The Eighteenth Century--The
Colonizers," "The Nineteenth
Century--The Builders." It is pre-
ceded by a Prologue, "The Day of
the Red Man," and followed
by an Epilogue, "The Next Hundred
Years." The first part pre-
sents in five chapters the life of
"The Spanish: In the Wake of
the Conquistadors," "The
French: The Domain of the Roi Soleil,"
"The Dutch: Burghers and
Bouweries," "The English: The Ca-
valiers in the Old Dominion," and
"The English: Pilgrims and
Puritans in Massachusetts." The
second part is in four chapters:
"New England: The Merchant Reaches
Out," "The Middle Colo-
nies: The Flowering of
Craftsmanship," "The South: A Crop of
Leaders," and "The Young
Republic: Eagles and Lyres." The
Third part, in four chapters, describes
"1825-1860: The Doom of
the Craftsman," "The Westward
Movement: Cattle and Gold,"
"1860-1900: The Machine Takes
Over," and "Our Days: An
Age of Transition."
Since "the story of everyday things
. . . is really the story of
houses, furniture, food, clothes,
transportation and commerce" and,
"to a certain extent, the story of
agriculture, handicraft, and indus-
try, community life and the life of the
intellect, and amusements,"
as the author states in his
Introduction, each chapter, following a
short introductory essay, is segmented
into these categories, or
combinations of them.
This volume is a storehouse of
information which can be
Found most useful in the home library,
as well as in reference
and libraries. Authors will find it a
highly prized source
book. A seventeen-page topical
"Reading List" adds still more
to its value. Langdon's work has a
two-page bibliography. Both
books are well illustrated with
full-page plates and pictures
sprinkled throughout the text, and both
have adequate indexes.
C. L. W.
192 OHIO
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Prelude to Victory. By James B. Reston. (New York, Alfred
A. Knopf, 1942. xvii??238??x p. $2.00.)
The old adage that a prophet is without
honor in his own
country does not apply to James Reston
and his native Ohio, for
last October this prophet was given the
annual Ohioana award
for his volume, Prelude to Victory. Like
the prophets of old in
the land of Israel, this modern
prototype does not content him-
self with pure and simple prophecy but
instead specializes in
scoldings and sermons.
It all depends upon the reader's point
of view. If he agrees
with the writer then he will derive
great satisfaction from these
beratings and sing amen to each and
every chapter. If, on the other
hand, he is disposed to think
differently, he may regard Mr.
Reston as just another one of those
"typewriter strategists" who
knows ever so much better how to run the
war than do those in
charge of affairs. The reviewer prefers
to take an objective,
middle-of-the-road stand and concludes
that although the general
thesis of Mr. Reston's volume is
convincing he flies off on a tan-
gent occasionally and his passionate
writing is often but a blis-
tering bluster.
Mr. Reston writes well, at times even
brilliantly and always
with force, but throughout the book he
acts as if he were angry
with his readers and with this perpetual chip on the shoulder he
hits right and left and even center
without so much as asking
how the other fellow feels about it. He
takes it for granted that
we are complacent and unready and
drugged by false con-
fidence. He gives us no credit for doing
any thinking on our
own. After a bit, this attitude becomes
somewhat annoying and
challenges a reader to find flaws in an
argument to which he
might otherwise have agreed. It is questionable whether the
author wants to antagonize but he
certainly succeeds in doing so.
(Perhaps we have been complacent and
need awakening but an
alarm clock would have worked as
effectively as a pitcher of ice-
water. The latter, which is Mr. Reston's
method, is more apt to
make the sleeper angry than anything
else. Yet, one must admit
that it does serve as a sure
"getter-upper.")
BOOK REVIEWS 193
Here are Mr. Reston's provocative
chapter headings: The
Illusion that Freedom Comes Easy (not
all of us share that one);
The Illusion that Wars Do Not Really
Settle Anything (the ques-
tion is rather how they do settle
things); The Illusion that Time
and Money Will Save Us (we could argue
that one a bit); The
Illusion that this is Entirely a War of
Guns, Tanks, Planes and
Ships (as if we are so naive as to leave
out the human factor);
The Illusion that We can Win the War
with Our Second Team
(this is also subject to debate); The
Illusion that the Facts Will
Speak for Themselves (on this we agree
that they will not and
do not); The Illusion that Britain and
Russia Are the Enemy
(the reviewer believes that this illusion
is rapidly dying and our
victories on various fronts are hurrying
along the death struggle
of this vicious bit of propaganda); The
Illusion that It's Always
Somebody Else's Fault (of course our
author is never guilty on
this score!); The Illusion that We Are
Fighting to Get Back to
Normal (that all depends on what we
consider "normal"); The
Illusion that Everybody Loves Democracy
(we know very
well that is not true for we need not
leave our own shores to dis-
cover non-lovers); The Illusion that We
Can Do Nothing about
It (that is the most dangerous illusion
of all). This last is the
best chapter in the book since it is
more positive and to the point
and less in the realm of direct attack.
On the whole, Prelude to Victory is
worth reading and worth
arguing about. If that was the reason
for its being written then
the author has achieved his aim.
B. J.
See Here, Private Hargrove. [By]
Marion Hargrove. (New
York, Henry Holt, 1942. 211p. $2.00.)
This funny little volume is presented to
the public with a
vow by Maxwell Anderson. It is said
that he read the manuscript
only on the insistence of Hargrove's
debtors; it was their one
hope of any remuneration for all their
furlough loans to Har-
grove. "Wait until my ship comes
in and gets published," he
194
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
always said as he ran away and hid for
two weeks. Maxwell
Anderson allowed himself to be presumed
upon, the manuscript
was read, O.K'd by the Army authorities,
and enthusiastically
presented to the reading and laughing
public.
Edward Thomas Marion Lawton Hargrove cut
most of his
capers at Fort Bragg and rowdied around
often with Maury Sher,
a Columbus, Ohio, soldier stationed
there. Civilian Hargrove was
a young newspaper man who had always
proudly gotten himself
into trouble. His editor happily gave
him up to the draft, and
his sergeant not so happily received
him. Even after his basic
training he still clicked his heels to
the non-coms and forgot to
salute the brass hats -- but he must
have done it all with an air
(or else writes of it in hyperbole) for
the papers have recently
carried the news of Hargrove's promotion
to corporal. He is
reputed to have spent more time on K. P.
than most Army in-
corrigibles ever dreamed of. The reason
Private Hargrove was
so regularly gigged during rifle
inspection was that his nose al-
ways itched when his turn came, and he
had to twitch and scratch
instead of salute and present arms.
Corporal Hargrove has written a healthy,
honest book. The
civilian laughs at it because he is a
civilian, and clumsy Army
situations are always funny. (That's why
perhaps, Abbott and
Costello never look for a new plot. The
audience always laughs
when the General is hit with a rifle butt.)
The soldier laughs
because he is a soldier and the
situations are so close to him
that he lives his trials all over again
-- and he laughs this time,
instead of griping. Hargrove's story is
a heartening reminder
that every cloud -- even a war cloud --
has its silver lining (and
Hargrove would add: "And all is
gold that glitters -- especially
when worn by superior officers.")
This book is a great morale
builder and should have found its way
into many Christmas khaki
stockings.
A. H. W.
BOOK REVIEWS 195
Until the Day Break. Louis Bromfield. (New York, Harper &
Bros., 1942. 325p. $2.50.)
Mr. Bromfield's reputation, happily,
rests on other books.
Perhaps a man of his literary stature
can afford to turn out an
occasional "quickie" of a
book, and enjoy movie reputation for
it rather than literary reputation. At
best, Until the Day Break
is shallow action reading-well set,
potentially powerful, but
weakly wrought.
Mr. Bromfield does know his France, and
his picture of Paris
after the German occupation -- from what we can know -- is
actual and well corroborated. His people
are colorful: Roxanne,
the American feather dancer; Nicky, her
Rabelaisian Russian
lover; the Levantine D'Abrizzi,
Roxanne's manager, who, with
Nicky, sets in operation a counter
movement underground; Major
von Wessellhoft, the perverted Nazi --
and others; all these by
Bromfield's intention, should make
rousing, inspiring reading, but,
somehow, the heart seems to have gone
out of the story. Perhaps
the author seized on the setting before
he had lived with his
people long enough. However it was, the
effort is clumsy.
Bromfield's evaluation of the German is
pretty dead-set and
generalized. To him, all Germans are --
and always have been --
dull, mechanical, empty-hearted. Every
German is thoroughly a
Nazi; none of them has any natural
humanity left about him. The
eunuch field marshal, caricatured as a
"rouged pig" is made much
of. Even the love young Major von
Wessellhoft bears for Rox-
anne is a sublimation of his warped
passion for his governess
twenty-five years before.
It is interesting that Mr. Bromfield
pictures the old France
not so much as a decadent nation as an
outwitted, bewildered one.
This is respectful comment since the
author lived in France for
many years and observed, first hand,
French national character.
With the powers Mr. Bromfield has, his
large and admiring
??eading public, the immense resources
in experience and oppor-
unity that are his, it is especially
disappointing that he writes
here so effortlessly. We have come to
expect much, and usually
he gives it. This book is still romance,
drama, adventure -- al-
196
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
most another "Cask of
Amontillado" in story -- but in extremely
short measure.
A. H. W.
Cheeah-luta of Balsam Grove. By Charles N. Willard. (Wash-
ington, D. C., The Author, c1941. 145p.
Illus.)
This is a legend of southern Indiana,
the story about a white
girl who grew up with the Indians. Her
father and mother had
been killed by the Mingos under Chief
Logan in revenge for the
massacre of some of their people.
Tamianche, chief of another
tribe, had discovered her back of her
home during the killing. He
took her with him to his own tribe and
named her Cheeah-luta,
Dancing Sunshine. His love for her
compelled him to move
down the Ohio River to escape any law
that might make him give
her up. He found a small tribe at a
place known as Balsam
Grove, on land which later was to be
part of Indiana. Here
Cheeah-luta grew up with other Indian
maidens. On his death
bed, Tamianche told her that she was a
white girl. A soldier,
who chanced to stop at Balsam Grove,
married her.
This story interested me in the
simplicity of Indian life, and
I liked the descriptions of the country
along the beautiful Ohio.
The story itself moved along very
interestingly.
Columbus, Ohio. JANET WEAVER.
Blue Ridge Country. Jean Thomas. (New York, Duell, Sloan
Pearce, 1942. 338p. $3.00.)
This book gives a vivid description of
the life of the mountain
people occupying the region extending
from northern Virginia
through West Virginia, Kentucky, east
Tennessee, western North
Carolina and the foothills of South
Carolina, Georgia and Ala-
bama. Probably no more capable person
could be found to handle
the subject than the author who has
known and mingled with
these people for many years. She not
only knows these people
BOOK REVIEWS 197
and their environment, but she has
gained their love and con-
fidence, and has thus been able to
interpret their life in a re-
markable manner. The book tells of
mountain feuds, religious
customs, superstitions, legends,
singing, social life. The book
closes with a chapter telling of the
great changes which have come
about in recent years, with the building
of roads, park areas,
T. V. A. development and the bringing of
the outside world into
this region which has maintained its
originality for generations.
The author is the originator of the
American Song Festival,
held annually in northeastern Kentucky,
some twenty miles south
of Ashland, the author's home. She has
collected a vast amount
of original material invaluable for a
study of this unique con-
tribution to American life.
Blue Ridge Country is one of the volumes of the American
Folkways series, edited by Erskine Caldwell.
Songs of Yesterday. Philip
D. Jordan and Lillian Kessler.
(Garden City, Doubleday, Doran and Co.,
Inc., 1942. 392p.
Illus. $3.00.)
This book will be of interest to our
readers both because of
its content and its authorship. The
authors are both Ohio people--
Dr. Jordan being a member of the History
Department of Miami
University, and Miss Kessler, one-time
director of the His-
torical Records Survey of the Ohio W. P.
A.
The sub-title of the book is "A
Song Anthology of American
Life." In it there is reflected the
history of America in the over
ninety popular songs of the day which
are grouped under nine-
teen headings and portray social,
economic and political conditions,
rural and urban life, tragedies,
manners, juvenile life, the west-
ward movement and American patriotism.
Each song is repro-
duced in facsimile of original editions,
and each group is preceded
by an historical introduction in
addition to the general introduc-
tion to the volume as a whole.
Some may wonder what served as the basis
for the selection
198
OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
and be inclined to take issue with it.
It is likely, however, that
it would be impossible to make a
selection satisfying to everyone,
and after the efforts expended by the
authors, the reader should
be thankful that such a selection has
been made and so ably pre-
sented by the editors.
The book has a place in the library, in
the school and in the
home.
The C. and 0. Mounds at Paintsville,
Sites Jo 2 and Jo 9, John-
son County, Kentucky. By Wm. S. Webb. With chapters on
Pottery by Wm. G. Haag, and Physical
Anthropology by
Charles E. Snow. Reports in
Anthropology and Archaeology.
Vol. V, No. 4. (Lexington, Ky., The
University of Ken-
tucky, 1942. 75p. Illus.)
This report describes the exploration of
two Indian mounds
of the Adena Culture which were located
at Paintsville in eastern
Kentucky. It is of particular interest
to the archaeologist for the
new light it throws on the customs of
these prehistoric peoples.
Excavations revealed that the Adena
peoples had built the mounds
on one of their own village sites and
that only the portions of the
village covered by the mounds had been
preserved. Thus the
opportunity was afforded to study the
village life of this group as
well as the burial complexes of the
mounds proper.
Circular patterns of paired post-molds
were found under both
mounds indicating that houses once stood
on the site. There were
also small circular fire-places or
basins which apparently were used
for cooking purposes. In the shallow
midden under mound Jo 9
were found twenty-one cremated burials.
These burials were made
in the village refuse and had no direct
connection with the mound.
Dr. Webb concludes, therefore, that
ordinary members of the
Adena community were cremated and that
only individuals of con-
siderable rank or importance were buried
in log-tombs on the
mounds. The apparent scarcity of Adena
village sites is explained
by their destruction due to cultivation
and erosion. The shallow-
ness of the village debris, which
indicates relatively short periods
BOOK REVIEWS 199
of occupation, would mean the complete
destruction of such sites
by plowing.
More Adena potsherds (almost six
thousand) were found
than ever have been reported previously,
hence, Mr. Haag has been
able to describe more fully the
characteristics of the several Adena
pottery types. Mr. Snow has described
the fragmentary skeletal
remains and gives detailed measurements
on one well-preserved
skull. His studies indicate that
artificial skull deformation was
practiced and that two of the skulls may
be classed as belonging
to the Centralid physical type.
This publication contributes a great
deal to a better under-
standing of one of the important
prehistoric Indian cultures of the
area.
R. G. M.
"Old Canal Days." By Burton P. Porter. (Columbus, The Heer
Printing Co., 1942. 471p. Illus.)
Burton P. Porter, "lawyer and
retired entrepreneur," as his
prefacer, Miss Grace Goulder,
characterizes him, writes of the
old Ohio canal days in and adjacent to Canal
Fulton, Stark
County, where the author spent his
boyhood days. That Author
Porter is fortunate in having a
photographic memory is obvious in
the wealth of homely narrative which he
records for that interest-
ing period of Ohio history.
In achieving outstanding success in his
profession, Burton
Porter found time through the years to
revisit the home of his
youth and to add to his amazing fund of
reminiscence everything
which might be gleaned from old-time
"canalers" who had had an
actual part in the epic of canal
transportation.
The author of "Old Canal
Days" makes no pretense of writ-
ing history. His objective has been
solely to record a wealth of
homely, human interest scenes of the
canal boat drama as he saw
and remembered it, and to supplement
these with the recollections
of others while there was yet time.
"Old Canal Days" will appeal to those readers who are con-
200
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
scious of the importance and the appeal
of this phase of the de-
velopment of the Buckeye State.
H. C. S.
The Free Labor Movement, A Quaker
Protest Against Slavery.
By Ruth Ketring Nuermberger. Historical
Papers of the
Trinity College Historical Society. (Durham, N. C., Duke
University Press, 1942. 147p. $1.00.)
This history of the Free Produce
movement is the result of
a study begun by the author in her
college years, the first outcome
of which was a history of Charles Osborn
who was one of the
leaders in the movement. The movement
was originally supported
largely by the Quakers although never
officially recognized by
them.
Others opposed to slavery joined in the work of the
organization.
This book will be of interest to Ohioans
because of the
activities in the State. Mount Pleasant
was the center of the
activities in Ohio, and the Ohio State
Museum has the original
sign used in marking the Free Labor
store in that community.
Mrs. Nuermberger traces the development
of the movement
from its beginning in the early
eighteenth century (although it did
not reach the stage of an organization
until 1826). A chapter is
given to the beginnings of organization
followed by one on "Free
Produce Becomes a Quaker Movement."
She describes the search
made for free labor products and traces
in particular the work
of George W. Taylor. The last chapter is
devoted to "Propa-
ganda and the Press."
There is an appendix which gives a
chronological list of Free
Produce societies, with date and place
of founding and date when
last known. There is also a list of Free
Produce stores, giving
place, proprietor and date of opening
and closing. An excellent
bibliography arranged under subject
headings is included with a
well-prepared index.
Mrs. Nuermberger has rendered a real
service to those in-
terested in the antislavery movement and
has given a history of
BOOK REVIEWS 201
one method of protest used by the
abolitionists which has not been
well enough known in the past.
H. L.
Ballads and Songs of Southern
Michigan. Collected and edited
by Emelyn Elizabeth Gardner and
Geraldine Jencks Chicker-
ing.
(Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press;
London, Humphrey Milford, Oxford
University Press, 1939.
[xx] ??501p. incl. front., illus., music.
$3.50.)
Miss Gardner's interest in traditional songs
has extended
over a number of years during which, as
a teacher in the Michigan
State Normal College at Ypsilanti, she
secured the cooperation of
the students there to recall and record
the songs they had heard
in their childhood. From this beginning
a number of the students
(with several from Wayne University,
Detroit) became enthusi-
astic fieldworkers who gathered singing
games, songs and ballads
among their neighbors and friends. Among
the students from
Wayne was Mrs. Geraldine Chickering who
alone collected about
400 songs, which served as the basis for
her master's thesis in
1933. Since that time Mrs. Chickering
and Miss Gardner have
continued with the work which resulted
in this well-presented
and very fine volume. Their collecting
experiences are interest-
ingly related in the Introduction.
After making her study of the old songs,
Miss Gardner
comes to 13 conclusions. One of these
shows the importance of
a collection of this kind to the local
historian. She says, "A study
of the songs and ballads of the present
collection. . .shows that
they unmistakably reflect the historical
background and the tra-
ditions of the people who have created
and re-created them, and
in this way throw an interesting sidelight
on the history of the
Southern Peninsula of Michigan."
The songs are classified under the
following headings: "Un-
happy Love," "Happy
Love," "War," "Occupations," "Disasters,"
"Crimes,"
"Religion," "Humor," and "Nursery." A
number
of them have two or more texts, or
versions. The volume closes
202 OHIO
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
with several useful lists: "Other
Songs Sung in Michigan,"
"List of Informants,"
"Bibliography," "Index of Tunes" and
"Index of Ballads and Songs."
C. L. W.
Mrs. Parkington. By Louis Bromfield. (New York, Harper &
Bros., 1942. 330p. $2.75.)
The author has given a vivid picture of
many happenings in
our land during the last century, by
reviewing the life of Mrs.
Parkington. We see her first in her
boudoir, arranging her hair,
and dressed in a black evening dress,
ready for a family Christ-
mas Eve party. This perfect Christmas
Eve with its big, fluffy
snow-flakes, helped make Mrs. Parkington
reminiscent as she
went from flower to flower in her
drawing room -- a room so
beautiful that she could not help being
proud of it.
Her life had passed through many cycles
during the past 83
years; she had much to remember. Her
early life in a boarding
house, in the Grand Hotel, Leaping Rock,
Nevada, was quite
different from the mammoth, gaudy home
in the center of New
York to which one of the wealthy
boarders, Major Augustus
Parkington, took her. With very little
education, she had to pass
through many periods of change and development, but God had
endowed her with qualities which enabled
her to become a cultured
woman, to speak good French and German,
and to learn how to
use the wealth her husband, Gus, had
left her.
One naturally wonders where the
characters in the book
come from, for it is essentially a story
of changing America from
the conditions of the economic and
industrial world of the great
magnates and "big business" to
the conditions of the past decade.
The story is typical of the American
life of this period and
serves as a background to a better
relationship between the former
standards of living and the present
"New Deal."
Columbus, Ohio OLIVE ROGERS LINDLEY
BOOK REVIEWS 203
East Is East and West Is West; Some
Observations on the World's
Fairs of 1939 by One Whose Main
Interest Is in Museums,
Dr. Carlos E. Cummings. Bulletin of
the Buffalo Society of
Natural Sciences. Vol. XX. (Buffalo, Buffalo Museum of
Science, 1940. xviii??385p.
Illus.)
This is a belated notice of an extremely
intriguing book.
Under a grant from the Rockefeller
Foundation, Dr. Cummings,
outstanding American museums authority,
undertook a detailed
study of the two great World's Fairs of
1939 in order to learn
what these might contribute to museum
methods and techniques.
Assisted by a corps of museum workers
drawn from every quarter
of the world, the author virtually
dissected and analyzed a vast
array of exhibits in the New York and
San Francisco exhibitions.
From the standpoint of museum directors
and curators, Dr.
Cummings' volume needs no extended
comment here. Every
alert museum person already knows and
has profited by its con-
tents. It might be said, however, that
the unbiased discussion of
the many mooted museum problems, most of
which were left right
where they were prior to the author's
contribution, is sufficient
evidence of the fairness of the
investigation.
From the viewpoint of the lay reader and
scholar, East Is
East and West Is West is not so easily disposed of. These are the
words of not only one of the foremost
authorities on the subject
of museums, but a classical scholar who
does not hesitate to make
free use of current phraseology (slang
to you and me) and who
injects a liberal measure of humor into
his altogether delightful
text.
Aside from its value to museum workers,
this is a book for
the connoisseur who prizes beautiful
style, format, binding, paper
and type. The liberal use of excellent
photographs and humorous
drawings does not detract in the least
from this appraisal.
H. C. S.