Stamford History Real Time

Whitman Bailey Selection for December Winter Scene on Brush Island

We haven't had our first snow yet this season – except maybe a touch in North Stamford. So here is a preview of what surely will be in store, from the Whitman Bailey Collection:

Winter Scene on Brush Island

 

Download newspaper clipping of December 7, 1940

It appears that there once was a Brush Island in Stamford harbor as described, and in another clipping, which we will show in a future post, Whitman Bailey writes that it was connected to the mainland by a small wooden bridge over marshland which was gradually filled in.

Next to the Cove, harbor scenes seem to have been favorites of Whitman Bailey. We do add the usual warning:

"At times, the accompanying vignettes are mostly folklore passed on to Mr. Bailey by residents of the areas where he was sketching.  In those instances he had no way of determining the truth of the story.  Nor have we.  It is presented as a sidelight to the sketch.  Therefore, researchers are cautioned to regard these tales as local color, interesting, thought provoking, but sometimes not entirely factual."

(Reference file: Bailey 398.jpg)

follow up to the post on Pride and Patriotism: Stamford’s Role in World War II

Our post

A look back: Pride and Patriotism: Stamford’s Role in World War II

was read on Twitter by A.T. Nelson's WWIIToday, of the WWII Community at The National World War II Museum.

A look back: Pride and Patriotism: Stamford’s Role in World War II

Earlier in the week was Pearl Harbor Day, and it so happens that this writer worked on the web pages of our 2006 WWII exhibit, preparatory to migrating them to our upcoming brand-new website.

Pride and Patriotism: Stamford’s Role in World War II  tells the story of Stamford’s experience during World War II through the lives of individuals who participated abroad as well as in the war effort at home. The individual experiences give exhibit viewers a more personal, intimate experience and appreciation of how the war affected people’s lives directly.

The exhibit includes exclusive, first-person accounts from veterans who are Stamford residents. There are representatives from all branches of the services as well as women’s divisions: the WACS and the WAVES. Stamford veterans were found in all the theaters of the war. In addition, the exhibit uses loaned weapons, uniforms, photographs, and artifacts to tell veterans’ stories. Loaned or society-owned items and objects trace the central role that local companies played in war efforts and reflect daily home-front life. A poster gallery, drawn from the Society’s World War II-era collection, offered visitors a snapshot of the U.S. Government’s efforts to attract and encourage public support for the money, material resources, labor, and day-to-day sacrifices needed for a successful war effort.

December Photo Selection of the Month A Reprise: The Portable Typewriter and its Uses, 1913

As readers may know, we are in the process of re-designing the society's website, and right now this involves a lot of grunt work (and does not leave much time to research our photographic resources for the monthly photo selections). Along the way, we come across a lot of interesting, or so we think, material. Today, it was the Blickensderfer typewriters. George Canfield Blickensderfer (1850-1917) developed typewriters that were way ahead of their time.

Apart from developing the first electric typewriter, Mr. Blickensderfer was an early proponent of portable machines. In 2003 we reproduced an article from The Guide Nature magazine of 1913, and it begins thus:

Any first-class typewriter is good to use out of doors if you have a porter or expressman to carry it for you. But there is a typewriter made by The Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company of Stamford, Connecticut, that is not only first-class but is easily portable. It weighs only five pounds and has been designed to meet all requirements in travelling.

This little gem of a thoroughly efficient typewriter is therefore entitled to be enrolled as an assistant in nearness to nature. Authors, professional people, naturalists, and all other people who love to write out of doors, or to utilize some of the time in travelling, will find in the Blickensderfer a really enjoyable and helpful companion.

So here goes: A Reprise: The Portable Typewriter and its Uses, 1913. Enjoy the pictures and the flight of fancy!

A model in the collections of the Stamford Historical Society
click to enlarge