| Eugene Field |
A Child's Garland of Verses The Tribune Primer: Chicago: 1916 Reilly and Britton Co Illustrated by R.F. Field ~ 63 pages This volume was given to attendees of the Sixteenth Annual Banquet of the American Booksellers' Association in Chicago, May 18, 1916 as a souvenir from The Reilly & Britton Company.     Other:
  |
 Eugene Field
was
an unusual poet. He was one of the few poets who wrote only children's
poetry. That is how he got his nickname, The Children's Poet. It all started
September 2, 1850, at 634 South Broadway in Saint Louis. That's where and
when Eugene Field was born. He had one brother named Roswell, who was one
year younger than he, and a sister who died soon after her birth. He and
his brother were very close, but very different. Eugene took after their
mother, Francis, while Roswell took after their father. Eugene was afraid
of the dark while his brother wasn't afraid of anything. Eugene hated studying
while Roswell loved it. When the boys were six and five, their mother died.
Mr. Field sent them to live with their cousin, Mary French, in Massachusetts
until he could take care of them. While living on their cousin's farm,
Eugene wrote his first poem . He was nine then, and the poem was about
their cousin's dog, Fido. At the age of fifteen, Eugene was shipped off
to a small private school in Massachusetts. There were only five boys in
the school, and Eugene loved leading the boys in tricks against the master
of the school. Eugene went on to William's College in Massachusetts. Unfortunately,
his father died when he was nineteen and he dropped out after eight months.
Next he went to Knox College but dropped out of college after a year. Then
he went to the University of Missouri, where his brother was also
attending. While there, he met Julia Comstock, who was fourteen. When Julia
turned sixteen, she and Eugene married. They had eight children.
Two died as babies, another died as a little boy. The remaining five grew
up and had long lives. While married, Eugene had many jobs. He worked for
many newspapers until the Chicago Daily News offered him a job and asked
him to write "exactly what I please on any subject I please.". He wrote
a humorous column called "Sharps and Flats". Eugene Field died in his sleep
on November 4, 1895, 62 days after his 45th birthday, a young man at the
height of his career, famous for both his poetry and his column, and the
father of five surviving children. He is buried in the churchyard
of the Church of the Holy Comforter in Kenilworth, Illinois. He had written
many poems, and had accomplished everything he had wished to accomplish.
Eugene Field will be remembered mostly for being a children's poet. Some
of his most famous poems are "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod"; "The Duel"; and
"Little Boy Blue".
The Eugene Field House and Toy Museum |
| Charles J. Finger |
Bushrangers ~ 1924 ~ 1st Edition 1st Printing ~ Illustrated
w/ Woodcuts by Paul Honore ~ Robert M. McBride and Co., 1924
  
Wikipedia |
| Frank Finn |
The Wild Beasts of the World: 1909 T.C. & E.C. Jack,
London. Volume I, 216 pages 55 full-page color illustrations.. Vol.
2, 188 pages 46 illustrations
 
  All About Wild Animals ~ 1913 Partridge of London ~ Chapters on beasts extinct in prehistoricand historic times: extinct birds and reptiles ~ animal foes and rivals of man ~ animal rivals & allies ~ 8 colour illustrations. 201 pages. Wild Animals of Yesterday & Today ~ 1910 ~ S. W. Partridge & Co Talks About Birds ~ 1911 ~ London: Black Eggs and Nests of British Birds ~ 1910 ~ Colour reproductions of 154 eggs from nature in 20 plates, and with reproductions of 74 eggs in Black and White, and other illustrations  
  |
| Sir Frank Finn: naturalist and poet |
| Guy W. Finney (1879- ) |
| Death watch on the Gazette ~ Los Angeles, Calif., The Press
Publishing Co. [c1933]
Other:
|
| Abigaill Fitch |
| Junipero Serra - The Man and His Work ~ A.C. McClurg 1914
eText Google Preview eText: Heritage History  
Father Junipero Serra Preface The best and most interesting method of obtaining historical information is the biographical. This is equally true whether the reader is studying a particular period relating to his own country or is taking a broad survey of universal history. Biography, especially when supplemented by extracts from original sources, leaves upon the mind a more definite impression than any other form of historical writing, with the one great exception of autobiography, of which unfortunately there is too little. When, therefore, I desired certain information relating to the central and dominant figure in California during the early period of Spanish occupation, I turned to Francisco Palou's biography of Fray Junipero Serra. This work, together with his Noticias de la Nueva California, is today the standard history of Spanish California, and constitutes the source from which every historian of that state draws his facts for the years 1769 to 1785. While Palou's account of his friend's life and labors on the Pacific coast is of great interest to the student of California history, it is perhaps not too much to say that his book makes but dry reading for the average person. There can be little doubt that the admiration and love Palou entertained for Junipero induced him to chronicle his life with the sole view of procuring for him recognition in the church as one of her saints; hence the prominence accorded the religious aspect of Junipero's life, the detailed narration of miraculous happenings in his career, etc., which detract for the general reader from the historical interest of the book. Although every work on California since Palou's days necessarily contains references to Fray Junipero Serra, no other biography of him has been written. It was to supply this lack, and also because Palou's biography has to my knowledge never been translated [Since this was written, a translation of Palou's Vida has been published], that I undertook to write the present work, not, however, without many misgivings as to my ability to do justice to the subject. The national, and not merely local, interest of Junipero, as the preserver to Spain (and thereby indirectly to the United States) of the Pacific coast, from San Francisco to San Diego, becomes evident to all who read the history of California. Just in so far as our importance as a nation is affected by our coast line, does the nation owe a debt to Junipero Serra. Even Mr. Hubert Bancroft, who in his invaluable History of California but faintly disguises his dislike of the friar, says: "It did not require Palou's eulogistic pen to prove him a great and remarkable man." A. H. FITCH. ~ DOBBS FERRY, N.Y.
|
| Miguel Jose Serra was born on the island of Majorca in 1713, but changed
his name to Junipero when he became a Franciscan monk at age sixteen. He
studied philosophy and theology, and was recognized as an exceptional student
and lecturer. He taught philosophy at the University of Palma until he
decided to become a missionary at the age of 35. He traveled to Mexico
and spent over nine years as a missionary in the Sierra Madre mountains.
He then returned to Mexico city in about 1760 and gained a great reputation
as a preacher at the College of San Fernando.
Seven years later, the Jesuit order was forcibly suppressed in all of the dominions of Spain, and their property fell to the Franciscans. At the time, the Jesuits had founded a number of missions in Northern Mexico and California. Immediately upon the expulsion of the Jesuits Junipero Serra was appointed as head of the Missions of Lower California. Soon afterward, the Spanish government determined that it was desirable to colonize California in order to establish a Spanish claim to the region. Juniper Serra therefore teamed up with Gaspar Portola, the military governor of the region. Working together, they established settlements from San Diego to Montery in the period of 1770 to 1772. At each site, Serra founded a mission and Portola established a Presidio, or a military fort, that would protect the region and handle trade. In 1772 however, Portola retired and was replaced by a governor less friendly towards the friars. Junipero was forced to travel all the way to Mexico City in order to register complaints about the new governor, and although the offending governor was replace the next governor was little better. In short, the military governors opposed expanding the missions and desired to take aggressive measures to keep the natives in line. They worried about having enough resources to protect and provision additional missions. The Franciscans desired to continue to increase the missions even at the expense of safety and comfort. Serra, in particular had little thought of material well-being for himself, so focused was he on saving souls. After a considerable delay, and much politicking, Serra was allowed to resume the establishment of Missions. The famous explorer Captain De Anza had done much to prepare the groundwork for missions in the San Francisco region, and the Spanish crown supported the idea of colonizing the region. It was mainly at the local level of military government that the Franciscans had encourntered resistance, since the onus was theirs to actually provide the necessary resources. Between 1775 and 1777, therefore, three northern missions were established at San Juan Capistrano, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. Father Serra was entirely single-minded in his devotion to his missions, his priests, and to the native people under his care. No scandal, intemperence, or selfishness can be found in his conduct, but rather relentless self-sacrifice. There are those to whom such selflessness appears disordered, and there are those who consider Western Civilization and Christianity in particular as harmful influences, but it is difficult to find an ulterior motivation, other than love of God and of his fellow-man, that animated him. He was unfailingly kind to the Indians under his charge and treated them as well as possible, according to his lights. By 1780 his health began to fail, yet he continued working to the last, traveling over 600 miles by foot in his last two years of life. He died in Carmel in 1784, at the age of 70, and was replaced by his biographer, and life-long friend, Francisco Palou. Ref: Heritage
History
|
| Edward Fitzgerald (March 31,1809 - June 14, 1883) |
| Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ~ 1899 ~
Widely regarded as the definitive translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, that of Edward Fitzgerald, nineteenth-century Anglo-Irish poet and peer of Alfred Tennyson, James Spedding, William Bodham Donne, John Mitchell Kemble, and William Makepeace Thackery. His translation amounts to a spectacular accomplishment, nothing less than a feat of marvelous poetic transfusion in which he turns the strange, sometimes outlandish imagery into English. "Leave well - even 'pretty well' - alone: that is what I learn as I get old." Online eText Edition Online eText Edition II Four Editions Compared   
http://www.photoaspects.com/chesil/khayam/ |
  Edward
FitzGerald: 1809–83 English writer, the poet of Omar Khayym, was
born as EDWARD PURcELI~, at Bredfield House, in Suffolk, on the 31st of
March 1809. His father, John Purcell, who had married a Miss FitzGerald,
assumed in 1818 the name and arms of his wifes family. From 1816 to 1821
the FitzGeralds lived at St Germain and at Paris, but in the latter year
Edward was sent to school at Bury St Edmunds. In 1826 he proceeded to Trinity
College, Cambridge, where, some two years later, he became acquainted with
Thackeray and W. H. Thompson. With Tennyson, a sort of Hyperion, his intimacy
began about 1835. In 1830 he went to live in Paris, but in 1831 was in
a farm-house on the battlefield of Naseby. He adopted no profession, and
lived a perfectly stationary and rustic life, presently moving into his
native county of Suffolk, and never again leaving it for more than a week
or two. Until f835 the FitzGeralds lived at Wherstead; from that year until
1853 the poet resided at Boulge, near Woodbridge; until 1860 at Farlingay
Hall; until 1873 in. the town of Woodbridge; and then until his death at
his own house hard by, ealled Little Grange.
During most of this time FitzGerald gave his thoughts almost without interruption to his flowers, to music and to literature. He allowed friends like Tennyson and Thackeray, however, to push on far before him, and long showed no disposition to emulate their activity. In 1851 he published his first book, Euphranor, a Platonic dialogue, born of memories of the old happy life at Cambridge. In 1852 appeared Polonius, a collection of saws and modern instances, some of them his own, the rest borrowed from the less familiar English classics. FitzGerald began the study of Spanish poetry in 1850, when he was with Professor E. B. Cowell at Elmsett and that of Persian in Oxford in 1853. In the latter year he issued Six Dramas of Calderon, freely translated. He now turned to Oriental studies, and in 1856 he anonymously published a version of the Salamdn and Absdl of Jmi in Miltonic verse. In March 1857 the name with which he has been so closely identified first occurs in FitzGeralds correspondence Hafiz and Omar Khayyam ring like true metal., On the 5th of January 1859 a little anonymous pamphlet was published as The Rubdiydt of Omar Khayydm. In the world at large, and in the circle of FitzGeralds particular friends, the poem seems at first to have attracted no attention. The publisher allowed it to gravitate to the fourpenny or even (as he afterwards boasted) to the penny box on the bookstalls. But in 1860 Rossetti discovered it, and Swinburne and Lord Houghton quickly followed. The Rubaiydt became slowly famous, but it was not until 1868 that FitzGerald was eflcouraged to print a second and greatly revised edition. Meanwhile he had produced in 1865 a version of the A garnemnon, and two more plays from Calderon. In 1880-1881 he issued privately translations of the two Oedipus tragedies; his last publication was Readings in Crabbe, 1882. He left in manuscript a version of Attars Mantic- Uttair under the title of The Bird Parliament. From 1861 onwards FitzGeralds greatest interest had centred in. the sea. In June 1863 he bought a yacht, The Scandal, and in 1867 he became part-owner of a herring-lugger, the Meum and Tuum. For some years, till 1871, he spent the months from June to October mainly in knocking about somewhere outside of Lowestoft. In this way, and among his books and flowers, FitzGerald gradually became an old man. On the 14th of June 1883 he passed away painlessly in his sleep. He was an idle fellow, but one whose friendships were more like loves. In 1885 a stimulus was given to the steady advance of his fame by the fact that Tennyson dedicated his Tiresias to FitzGeralds memory, in some touching reminiscent verses to Old Fitz. This was but the signal for that universal appreciation of Omar Khayym in his English dress, which has been one of the curious literary phenomena of recent years. The melody of FitzGeralds verse is so exquisite, the thoughts he rearranges and strings together are so profound, and the general atmosphere of poetry in which he steeps his version is so pure, that no surprise need be expressed at the universal favor which the poem has met with among critical readers. But its popularity has gone much deeper than this; it is now probably better known to the general public than any single poem of its class published since the year 1860, and its admirers have almost transcended common. sense in the extravagance of their laudation. FitzGerald married, in middle life, Lucy, the daughter of Bernard Barton, the Quaker poet. Of FitzGerald as a man practically nothing was known until, in 1889, Mr W. Aldis Wright, his intimate friend and literary executor, published his Letters and Literary Remains in three volumes. This was followed in 1895 by the Letters to Fanny Kemble. These letters constitute a fresh bid for immortality, since they discovered that FitzGerald was a witty, picturesque and sympathetic letterwriter. One of the most unobtrusive authors who ever lived, FitzGerald has, nevertheless, by the force of his extraordinary individuality, gradually influenced the whole face of English belles-i cUres, in particular as it was manifested between 1890 and 1900. The Works of Edward FitzGerald appeared in 1887. See also
a chronological list of FitzGeralds works (Caxton Club, Chicago, 1899);
notes for a bibliography by Col. W. F. Prideaux, in Notes and Queries (9th
series, vol. vL), published separately in 1901; Letters and Literary Remains
(ed. W. Aldis Wright, 1902-1903); and the Life of Edward FitzGerald, by
Thomas Wright (1904), which contains a bibliography (vol. ii. pp. 241-243)
and a list of sources (vol. i. pp. xvi.-xvii.). The volume on FitzGerald
in the English Men of Letters series is by A. C. Benson. The FitzGerald
centenary was celebrated in March 909. See the Centenary Celebrations Souvenir
(Ipswich, 1909) and The Times for March 25
|
| F. Scott Fitzgerald ~ September 24, 1896-December 21, 1940 |
| The Beautiful and Damned 1922
The Beautiful and Damned, Fitzgerald's second novel, depicted Anthony Patch, an intelligent, sensitive but weak man. He spends his grandfather's money in drinking. In the end of the novel he has lost with his wife, Gloria, illusions of beauty and truth  
OTHER: Online eTezt Editions by Fitzgerald: http://arthursclassicnovels.com/arthurs/fitzgerald.html |
 F. Scott Fitzgerald(1896-1940)
is best known for his novels and short stories which chronicle the excesses
of America's 'Jazz Age' during the 1920s. Born into a fairly well-to-do
family in St Paul, Minnesota in 1896 Fitzgerald attended, but never graduated
from Princeton University. Here he mingled with the monied classes from
the Eastern Seaboard who so obsessed him for the rest of his life. In 1917
he was drafted into the army, but he never saw active service abroad. Instead,
he spent much of his time writing and re-writing his first novel This Side
of Paradise, which on its publication in 1920 became an instant success.
In the same year he married the beautiful Zelda Sayre and together they
embarked on a rich life of endless parties. Dividing their time between
America and fashionable resorts in Europe, the Fitzgeralds became as famous
for their lifestyle as for the novels he wrote. Fitzgerald once said 'Sometimes
I don't know whether Zelda and I are real or whether we are characters
in one of my novels'. He followed his first success with The Beautiful
and the Damned (1922), and The Great Gatsby (1925) which Fitzgerald considered
his masterpiece. It was also at this time that Fitzgerald wrote many of
his short stories which helped to pay for his extravagant lifestyle. The
bubble burst in the 1930s when Zelda became increasingly troubled by mental
illness. Tender is the Night (1934), the story of Dick Diver and his schizophrenic
wife Nicole, goes some way to show the pain that Fitzgerald felt. The book
was not well received in America and he turned to script-writing in Hollywood
for the final three years of his life. It was at this time he wrote the
autobiographical essays collected posthumously in The Crack-Up and his
unfinished novel, The Last Tycoon. He died in 1940.
http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html Photos: http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/a-f/fitzgerald-f-scott/ ALSO: The Great Gatsby 
   |
| Percy K. Fitzhugh |
| Tom Slade with the Boys Over There ~ 1918 ~ G&D illustrated
by R. Emmett Owen.
"Let your boy grow up with Tom Slade," is a suggestion which thousands of parents have followed during the past, with the result that the Tom Slade Books are the most popular boys' books published today. They take Tom Slade through a series of typical boy adventures through his tenderfoot days as a scout, through his gallant days as an American doughboy in France, back to his old patrol and the old camp ground at Black lake, and so on." ---Grosset & Dunlap advertisement. Other: The Tom Slade Series a brave Boy Scout who used his ample talents and scouting skills in many dangerous situations in the early years of the 20th century. Tom Slade, Boy Scout of the Moving Pictures 1915 G&D Adapted and Illustrated from the Photo Play, "The Adventures of a Boy Scout" G&D Tom Slade with the Flying Corps 1919 G&D glossy frontispiece and three internal illustrations Tom Slade at Black Lake 1920 Tom and his fellow Boy Scouts encounter action and adventure as the lads visit the wilds of Black Lake. Tom Slade's Double Dare 1922 G&D glossy frontispiece and three internal Tom Slade With The Colors. 1918 G&D by the author of Tom Slade, Boy Scout, Tom Slade At Temple Camp, Tom Slade On The River. Illustrated by Thomas Clarity. Published with the approval of The Boy Scouts of America. Tom Slade On The River 1917 G&D ~ Published with the approval of The Boy Scouts Of America The Westy Martin Series Out West With Westy Martin: This book contains four Westy Martin books titled.1 Westy Martin 2. Westy Martin In The Yellowstone 3. Westy Martin In The Rockies 4. Westy Martin On The Santa Fe Trail The Story of John Paul Jones 1906:   
  |
| Percy K. Fitzhugh: When some of the popular juvenile
novels of the early 1900s utilized Boy Scouts as protagonists in astounding
adventures, such as foiling foreign plots to overthrow the United States,
Scout officials decided that such books gave an unrealistic view of their
movement and they commissioned Percy K. Fitzhugh to create Scout heroes
of less flamboyant doings. His series became extremely popular among young
readers, who followed the more authentic activities of Tom Slade, Pee Wee
Harris, Westy Martin and Roy Blakeley:
Roy Blakeley on The Mohawk Trail. Illustrated by H. S. Barbour. Published with the Approval of the Boy Scouts of America. A major theme of the Horatio Alger books is that
honest, hard-working, ambitious young men can be found in slums and poorhouses,
sleeping under bridges and blacking boots on street corners; despite the
squalor and poverty of their lives, their native good character will be
undefiled. Similarly, dishonesty, cowardliness, sneakiness, and laziness
can flourish anywhere; education and a fortunate environment will not eradicate
inborn weaknesses of character. The
Tom Slade series, written a few decades later, takes the opposite view:
dishonesty, violence, and other moral failings are not inborn flaws, but
are product of a bad environment -- remove the boy from the bad environment,
and you can change his character. When we meet Tom, he is a hoodlum. Uneducated,
half-starved, abused by his father, Tom roams the streets committing acts
of robbery, vandalism, and intimidation. Thrown out on the streets after
his father and he are evicted, Tom is taken under the wing of Roy Blakeley
and Scout leader Mr. Ellsworth, and swiftly develops into a sturdy, ambitious,
and honorable boy. Similar reformations happen with several other of Tom's
slum friends, as well as to the spoiled young Connie, victim of an overprotective
mother. As the series progresses, Tom grows up, participates in various
capacities in the World War, and returns to Temple Camp to resume his connection
with Scouting and with the camps as a young adult. In a typical plot, Tom
Slade performs some self-sacrificing action which is misunderstood by those
around him. He stolidly weathers universal disapproval until the true facts
are somehow discovered by accident and his noble motivations become known.
|
| Robert Joseph Flaherty |
My Eskimo Friends: Nanook of the North ~ 1924 ~ Doubleday,
Page & Co ~ Illustrated with three color plates; six halftone
plates; and nine photogravure plates ~ 170 pages
  
OTHER: Film: Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North. 1922. 35mm film, black and white and color tinted, silent, 56 minutes (approx.). Acquired from the artist; preserved with funding from the Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts In undertaking to shoot a narrative-based film that would demonstrate the character and majesty of the Inuit people of the Hudson Bay, Canada, Flaherty chose as his protagonist a revered hunter. He accompanied the man, named Nanook in the film, and his extended family for a year from igloo to igloo, from kill to kill. Technical ingenuity and the collaboration of the Inuit were key to the film's success. When an actual seal killing could not be filmed, for example, the Inuit dragged a carcass under the ice and re-created its fight for life. An explorer who charted the Canadian tundra for mineral and railroad interests, Flaherty first brought a movie camera with him on an expedition of 1913 in order to make visual notes. Filmmaking soon became his primary focus. Nanook of the North was financed by a French furrier, Revillon Frères, and distributed by the French movie giant Pathé. America's top movie companies had turned it down, but the film became a huge critical and commercial success, and the progenitor of all documentaries to come. Unlike the typically detached travelogue, Nanook of the North blended realistic, stark, and beautifully composed images with a loose story line and a strong central character. Moreover, with its fictionalization of real-life events, and with Flaherty's romanticization of his subject, the film continues to raise issues about the objectivity of the documentary genre. How I Filmed Nanook of the North ~ World's Work, October 1922, pages 632-640. |
  Robert
J. Flaherty (1884-1951) was a filmmaker who
directed and produced the first feature length documentary (Nanook of the
North) in 1922. Flaherty began his career as a prospector in the Hudson
Bay region of Canada, working for a railroad company. In 1913, on his third
expedition to the area, his boss, Sir William Mackenzie, suggested that
he take a motion picture camera along so that he could record the unfamilar
wildlife and people he encountered. He was particularly intrigued by the
life of the local Inuit people, and spent so much time filming them that
he had begun to neglect his real work. On the other hand, he received an
avid response from anyone who saw the footage he shot. To make the film,
Flaherty lived with Nanook and his family for some time before beginning
filming; the film was destroyed in a fire started from his cigarette and
so Flaherty returned and reshot the film. He later claimed that this was
to his advantage, since he was unhappy with the original footage. According
to him, it was too much like a travelogue and lacked a cohesive plot. For
the new film, Flaherty staged almost everything, including the ending,
where Nanook and his family are supposedly at risk of dying if they could
not find or build shelter quickly enough (the igloo had been built beforehand,
with a side cut away for light so that Flaherty's camera would have a picture).
Flaherty also insisted that the Eskimos not use rifles to hunt, though
they had become common, and pretended at one point that he could not hear
the hunters' pleas for help, instead continuing filming their struggle
and putting them in greater danger.Nanook of the North was a successful
film, and Flaherty was in demand afterwards. On a contract with Paramount
to produce another film on the order of Nanook, Flaherty went to Samoa
to film Moana; the studio heads repeatedly asked for daily rushes but Flaherty
had nothing to show because he had not filmed anything yet -- his method
was to live with his subjects as a participant-observer, becoming familiar
with their way of life before building a story around it to film. Flaherty
was also concerned that there was no inherent conflict in the peoples'
way of life, providing further incentive not to shoot anything. Eventually
he decided to build the film around the ritual of a boy's entry to manhood.
The film, on its release, was not as successful as Nanook of the North.
Lousiana Story was another heavily fictionalized "documentary"; this one
was about the installation of an oil rig in the Louisiana swamp. The film
stresses the oil rig's peaceful and unproblematic coexistence with the
surrounding environment, and was in fact funded by an oil company. Filmography:
Elephant Boy ~ Louisiana Story ~ Man of Aran (1934) ~ Moana
(1926) ~ Nanook of the North (1922) |
| Camille Flammarion 1842-1925 |
| Astronomy for Amateurs...translated by Frances A. Welby
~ 1904 ~ NY, Appleton, 1904
" We all are of the citizens of the Sky" This book is dedicated to Madame C. R. Cavaré. Originally entitled (en Français) "Astronomy for Women", the nine page introduction of this American English edition reviews the contributions of many 18th and 19th century female contributors to astronomy. Read the eText HERE 
The Man and His Work ERBzine 3197 ERBzine 3197a
Omega The Last Days of the World ~. Bison Books, 1999. 287 pages. The Unknown: 1902 Harper & Brothers ~ 487 pages History of the sky ~ published in Paris, France in 1872 THE FRENCH WOLD-NEWTON UNIVERSE The preeminent French astronomer Camille Flammarion popularized astronomy and cosmology, and discussed the physiological properties of extra-terrestrial life in his ground-breaking La Pluralité des Mondes Habités (The Plurality of Inhabited Worlds) (1862), Les Habitants de l'Autre Monde (The Inhabitants of Other Worlds) (1862), Les Mondes Imaginaires et les Mondes Réels (Imaginary and RealWorlds) (1864), and finally, Les Terres du Ciel (Lands in the Sky) (1884): By far the most important space journey of the late 19th century was chronicled by Georges Le Faure and Henri de Graffigny in Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'un Savant Russe (The Amazing Adventures of a Russian Scientist), which was prefaced by Camille Flammarion.: This Franco-Russian expedition used a nickel-magnesium alloy spaceship, the Ossipoff, launched from a cannon built inside the Cotopaxi volcano. Oxygen was stored in tablet form and carbon dioxide was removed with potassium hydroxide. Electricity provided light and heat. Once on the Moon, the explorers used a jet-propelled craft to take them to Venus. They then travelled to Mercury by solar power, using the pressure of solar winds on a hollow sphere. They continued their journey to Mars, using a fragment of Mercury torn away by a comet. They discovered that Phobos was atmospherically connected to Mars (not unlike the Moon was to the Earth, once), and travelled by balloon down to the red planet, wearing pressure suits. After having established contact with the Martians (more about this below), the explorers flew to Jupiter in a barrel-shaped, reaction-powered starship, which sucked interplanetary debris at one end and expelled it at the other. Interplanetary communication was achieved through beams of light picked up and modulated by selenium photocells. Les Terres du Ciel (The Worlds in the Sky) (Marpon-Flammarion).
A man and woman who died at the top of a mountain find themselves reincarnated
on Mars.Includes a description of Martian fauna and flora.
In 1880 Camille Flammarion published L'Astronomie, in which he included a picture similar to that of Peter Apian, showing the passage of Halley's Comet between the Great Bear and Leo, with the comet's tails away from the sun. This image is used on the stamp from the British Antarctic Territories. Flammarion on the Mysteries of
Spiritualism ~ New York Times newspaper dated June 7, 1908
|
     Besides, Flammarion observed the Moon and planet Mars. In 1873 and 1885, he brought up the hypothesis that Mars' color might be attributed to vegetation. He published several popular books (L'astronomie Populaire in 1879, of which over 100,000 copies were sold and an English translation by J.E. Gore appeared in 1894, as well as a book on Mars, La Planète Mars, supporting the existence of "canals", built by an advanced civilisation, Vol. 1 in 1892 and Vol. 2 in 1909), and encouraged amateur astronomy. In 1877, Flammarion founded the Astronomical Society of France. In 1882, he was donated a private observatory and estate by a M. Meret who admired his work. In 1922, he was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor for his astronomical life-work. Camille Flammarion passed away on June 3, 1925 in Juvisy-sur-Orge (Essonne, France). Flammarion was honored by the naming of a Moon Crater (3.4S, 3.7W, 74.0 km diameter, in 1935) and a Mars Crater (25.4N, 311.8W, 173.0 km, in 1973). Asteroid (1021) Flammario has been discovered by Max Wolf on March 11, 1924 and provisionally known as 1924 RG; also as A910 CE and 1977 UM from indepnedent findings. In 1877, Camille Flammarion had found and acquired Messier's personal copy and notes of the Messier Catalog from an old book store. He used this as reference for various works including a revised version of the catalog. Evaluating Messier's handwritten notes, he tentatively identified M102 with NGC 5866 before 1917, and in 1921, he added M104 to the Messier Catalog, which he identified with William Herschel's H I.43 or NGC 4594. This was the first of a number of additions to Messier's catalog. Camille Flammarion, despite is scientific background as an astronomer, once stated "spiritualism was not a religion but a science", but in his last book 'Natural Unknown Forces', published in 1909, he admitted not to be able to give a complete and conclusive explanation of the phenomena observed by him for more than 40 years. A
DETAILED CHRONOLOGY
The canal controversy would not be completely resolved until spacecraft arrived at Mars. In the 1960's most scientists thought there were no canals on Mars, however there were a few exceptions, such as Earl Slipher. He wrote several books, some of which contained photographs. Slipher claimed these photographs had lines in the same place as the canals of Percival Lowell. One of these books was published as late as 1964. That same year, after a few U. S. and soviet failures, a U. S. spacecraft, Mariner 4, is the first to flyby Mars. In 1969, Neil Armstrong walks on the Moon. Some consider that a manned mission to Mars is the next step. However there are problems with the idea. A round trip would take two years. Enough fuel and water must be carried on board so the astronauts could survive and return to earth. The weight of that fuel and water adds to the expense. A one way manned trip to Mars (assuming one could find anyone to volunteer for such a thing) seemed manageable, but a round trip seemed too expensive and too difficult. To date, it has never been attempted, but the idea has been tempting and there are plans to send people to Mars (it remains to be seen if and when theseplans will succeed). Since Mariner 4, the U. S. has sent several spacecraft which either flyby or orbit Mars: Mariner 6, 7 and 9, Viking 1 and 2, Pathfinder, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Odyssey. Odyssey was launched in April 2001 and entered orbit around the red planet in October 2001. These spacecraft along with several soviet spacecraft have returned thousands of photographs and a vast quantity of other data. In addition, a dozen or so meteorites are known to have originated on Mars. Analysis of these meteorites has supplied additional data. We now have a very different picture of Mars. Some parts of Mars have numerous craters suggestive of Mercury and the Moon, but other parts of Mars have plains, volcanoes, canyons and river channels. The volcanoes and canyons are bigger than any other known examples, however there is a vague similarity between some of these features and similar features on the Earth. There was no evidence of canals or liquid water. However data prove Mars was warmer and had abundant liquid water in its early history. Today there is still water, but almost all is in the form of ice in the polar caps and below the surface (some locations on Mars may experience temperatures above the melting point of water, hence transient pools of liquid water are possible). There is also the possibility Mars may have had tectonic plates like the Earth does now (if so, they were active for only a 500 million years or so). We now know that the atmosphere has a pressure that varies between 5 and 10 millibars (much lower than anyone had suspected until Mariner 4 made radar occultation measurements). It is almost entirely carbon dioxide, but contains some water vapor and other trace gases. The polar caps are partly water ice and partly frozen carbon dioxide, but there are differences between the northern and southern polar caps, as there is between a polar cap seen in the Martian winter and a polar cap seen in the Martian summer. Since the canals are not real, why were Schiaparelli, Flammarion and Lowell (among others) so convinced they were real? There are some clues. First, Schiaparelli was colorblind and this may explain why he saw details others did not. Once Schiaparelli's results were known, the power of suggestion may have influenced other observers. Also, records suggest most observations of canals happened under poor seeing conditions or when small apertures were used. The canals disappeared under better conditions and larger apertures. Lowell preferred to reduce the aperture of his scope (which made observing the canals easier), but many of his critics used larger apertures. There also have been a few tantalizing clues suggestive of life, but to date no proof that Mars has or ever had life. The most publicized of these clues was a meteorite that was given the designation ALH84001. ALH84001 is one of the dozen or so meteorites known to come from Mars and had what looked like fossils. Some scientists believe these fossils come from ancient Martian bacteria, however other scientists are not convinced. I should note that Viking photographs in the region known as Cydonia look like a human face, but MGS photographs of the same region look like a pile of rocks. A few non-scientists claim this is a structure built by Martians, however that is unlikely. There is currently a spacecraft enroute to Mars; it was launched by Japan in 1998. There were some technical problems, but it is expected to arrive at Mars in late 2003. Anyone with a telescope can attempt to observe Mars themselves. The best time to observe Mars is the couple months before and after opposition (the next opposition is in the year 2003). The rest of the time, it is difficult to see any detail. Every 15 years there is an exceptionally good opposition; the last one was in 1988, the next one is in 2003. Observing Mars takes practice. Details become clear after a little acclimation. If the seeing is bad, you will not observe as much detail as when the seeing is good so patience is important. You should try to observe Mars as often as possible during the opposition, this will allow you to track changes in surface and atmospheric features. When you observe Mars, you may want to try sketching; this will train your eye to observe detail. Generally the polar caps are the easiest features to see, however you should see the maria and deserts as well. If you observe over long periods and are patient, you may see clouds, dust storms and various atmospheric phenomena. You may also notice changes in the polar caps and the maria. If you have a good telescope and sharp eyes it may be possible to see the two moons, Phobos and Deimos. At best they have magnitudes 11 and 12, and are rather close to the bright red Mars. Observers have seen various types of clouds on Mars. They are known by the labels blue, white, yellow and W-shaped. These labels can be misleading. Yellow clouds look yellow to the eye, however blue clouds do not necessarily look blue, white clouds do not necessarily look white and W-shaped clouds are not always W shaped. Yellow clouds are composed of dust and sometimes grow to cover much of the Martian surface, when this happens it is known as a dust storm. Having the correct equipment will help your observations. If you wish to observe surface details, a dark yellow, red and/or orange filter is helpful. Violet and blue filters are helpful if you want to observe clouds and other atmospheric phenomena (but not yellow clouds or dust storms). Green filters are helpful for observing the polar caps and other white areas, yellow clouds and dust storms. If you have made either Jupiter or Saturn observations, you may want eyepieces that provide slightly more magnification than the eyepieces you used for Jupiter and Saturn. One phenomenon worth mentioning is the violet clearing. When Mars is observed through a blue or violet filter, it usually appears as a featureless blob (but clouds can sometimes be observed). However on occasion (usually only once every few years) details on the surface appear. This lasts a few days; such events are known as violet clearings. It has been suggested this demonstrates a poorly understood change in the Martian atmosphere, but the best evidence suggests it has nothing to do with the atmosphere at all and is probably an optical illusion.    
Go to the Flammarion Gallery: The Man and His Work ERBzine 3197a Flammarion: A French Site Yahoo! Encyclopedia An Observational History of Mars New Astronomy Flammarionmooncrater |
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