Friday, July 3, 2009
Uncle Remus Cannot Die — New York Times Obituary of Joel Chandler Harris
Posted by: Lain // Category: Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus // 2:34 pm
Joel Chandler Harris passed away 101 years ago today. He was 62, give or take.
Here’s what the New York Times Book Review had to say –
“Uncle Remus cannot die. Joel Chandler Harris has departed this life at the age of 60, after nearly forty years of toil (for he went to work at a handpress in his boyhood), but his best creation, the old plantation darky with his fund of folk-lore, will live in literature. Mr. Harris wrote many other books besides those containing the tales told to a nameless small boy by Uncle Remus, but though they have merit, a true literary charm, and are full of humor, wise observation, and gentle sympathy, not one of them will live with Uncle Remus. Mr. Billy Sanders of Shady Dale will pass away and be forgotten. He belongs only to his own hour, while Uncle Remus is for all time.”
That’s just the first paragraph. Here’s the rest (.pdf).
Related: Harris graced the cover of the Atlanta Constitution on July 4th, 1908. The words on Harris’ gravestone at the bottom of the post are also well worth your time.
Comments: 0An Article on The Wren’s Nest Won An Award — It’s About Damn Time
Posted by: Amelia // Category: Joel Chandler Harris, Paste Magazine, Uncle Remus, Victorious! // 2:06 pm
Did you know that Rachael Maddux won the Magazine Association of the Southeast’s 2009 Silver GAMMA award for Best Feature with her article on The Wren’s Nest?
Neither did we. Read the article — Dummies in the Attic — to relive the magic, Paste Magazine July ‘08 style. I’m not going to say a great writer is nothing without a great subject, but I sure am going to plant the notion.
Rachael’s (undoubtedly impressive) certificate of achievement was not highlighted during our recent tour, for reasons I do not understand. Rachael and her modesty are the worst. I mean, best! (I mean worst.)
Comments: 1National Historic Marker No Longer On the Floor
Posted by: Lain // Category: 2008 - 2009 Wren's Nest Conservation Project, Historic Preservation, Joel Chandler Harris // 11:41 am
For years, the National Historic Marker for the Wren’s Nest sat on the floor.
Like so, but around the corner.
I think it’d just been forgotten. It’s a shame because Wallace Jones went to a lot of trouble to make sure we received one in 1978.
Mr. Jones visited the Wren’s Nest with his retirement community a few months ago, regaled us with stories of untold bureaucratic intrigue red tape, and left us with this newspaper clipping.
Since his visit, our carpenter made a little frame for our National Historic Marker.
It’s just to the left of the front door. The frame matches the windows. Do you think we should keep it? Or should the marker be naked on the wall? Here’s a wider view if you need more context.
Comments: 9Wren’s Nest Conservation Project - Before and After Interior Photos
Posted by: Lain // Category: 2008 - 2009 Wren's Nest Conservation Project, Historic Preservation, Joel Chandler Harris // 10:16 am
IFACS has finished cleaning and restoring the interior of the Wren’s Nest. The house looks, feels, and smells delicious.
Check out our Facebook album, filled with before and after photos. Don’t worry - you do not need to have a Facebook account to look at them. But if you do have a Facebook account, ask yourself: are you a fan of the Wren’s Nest?
IFACS ended up completing more work than they said they would. It’s too much to chronicle in just one picture album, so I’ve included their report on works completed (.pdf).
I’m pretty thrilled. The Wren’s Nest received over 600 hours of conservation work at a great value — IFACS did this project at cost.
Comments: 3Wren’s Nest Conservation Update - Joel Chandler Harris Bedroom
Posted by: Lain // Category: 2008 - 2009 Wren's Nest Conservation Project, Historic Preservation, Joel Chandler Harris // 4:26 pm
The most distinctive room in the Wren’s Nest is Joel Chandler Harris’s room.
Esther LaRose Harris, his widow, insisted that his room remain “unmessed with” (don’t worry — it’s a technical term) if the Wren’s Nest were to become a museum.
So, the bedroom remained more or less the same for the past 100 years. The artifacts are cataloged, and Miss Nannie dusts in there from time to time, but that’s really about it. For better or worse, it’s rare to have this sort of preservation in a monitored setting.
When it came time for IFACS to start cleaning the room, we had one major concern — the matting on the floor.
The matting is original to the room, but it’s beat up, dusty, falling apart, and detrimental to the surrounding artifacts.
Our solution was this — buy a similar matting, distress it, and place it over the original. This would preserve the original matting much better, not to mention the surrounding artifacts.
After snooping around inside the room, the IFACS folks made a glorious discovery — there’s additional original matting under the top layer!
On the left side, the top layer of matting has been rolled up to reveal even more original matting in pretty excellent condition. On the right side, you can see how the top layer was falling apart.
So, instead of buying anything new, IFACS merely rolled up the top layer and stored it safely.
In person, you can even see the faded pattern on the “new” matting. The pattern looks a little bit like it was modeled after some of the enemy spaceships from Space Invaders.
Comments: 6Song of the South Premiere Photos With Walt Disney
Posted by: Amelia // Category: Atlanta, Events, Joel Chandler Harris, Song of the South // 4:12 pm
Friend of the Wren’s Nest and awesome preservation dude Jonathan was kind enough to send a picture our way of the Atlanta Song of the South premiere.
Above is Walt Disney (far right) and other presumed persons of importance at a Capitol City Club dinner or other table sitting adventure. Neat!
Then we looked into the Georgia State University Photographic Collections, which offered plenty of photos from the premiere. The Fox was (and remains) the place to be, eh?
Song of the South premiered in 1946, when car swarming was clearly just as popular as it is today. Look, Walt Disney (on the right again, in the car) is loving it!
According to Jim Auchmutey, Disney was hounded by autograph seekers at the Wren’s Nest too. They accidentally knocked him over.
Well, hello ladies. Cool portrait you’ve congregated around.
You say that’s Joel Chandler Harris? What a handsome man. I only wish I could see such a fine portrait up close, now 63 years later.
Wait wait wait, that EXACT same portrait is in the east parlor of the Wren’s Nest?! Today? Right now?! And probably tomorrow too?! I should visit the Wren’s Nest immediately!*
*See how I did that? Smooth, I know.
Comments: 1Cool Wren’s Nest Business Cards From Virgil O. Stamps
Posted by: Lain // Category: Historic Preservation, Joel Chandler Harris, Marketing Tricks, Shameless Promotion, Uncle Remus // 2:58 pm
At the risk of sounding like Patrick Bateman, I just wanted to let you know that I got new business cards.
Here’s the front, designed by Lauren over at Lampe-Farley.
The back is part of a page taken from a beat up, 104 year-old Uncle Remus book.
Virgil O. Stamps pressed it in his letterpress laboratory.
Each card is different, since the backs are all different pages. Some have pictures, some are all text, and some have a lot of white space.
In general, I don’t really covet things — or condone chopping up antique books. And previously I didn’t take much stock in business cards. But then I saw what Virgil O. Stamps could do, and I knew that this would be a unique way to build brand equity with a physical representation of our mission and our history. Plus, they’re totally sweet.
And as I read this morning, the Atlanta Business Chronicle agrees.
Before you start worrying, stop — the Wren’s Nest didn’t pay for this. My stimulus check, part of it anyway, provided the funding.
For more, check out the other stuff Virgil prints or become a fan on Facebook.
Comments: 10The Blagojevich Tar Baby
Posted by: Lain // Category: Failed Attempts at Looking Reputable, Joel Chandler Harris, Tar Baby // 11:41 am
If there’s a more apt description of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, I can’t think of it.
I wonder if the cartoonist, Pat Oliphant, will hear any criticism about using the phrase tar baby. Though the use of tar baby is spot-on in the Joel Chandler Harris connotation, readers of this blog know how folks can flip out whenever someone says it.
Thanks for sending the cartoon along, Deb.
Related:
- Tar Baby Is Alive and Well on the Internet
- Tar Baby in Classic Saturday Night Live Sketch
- The Black Addams Family
Comments: 2
The Von Trapp Family and the Wren’s Nest Family Aren’t So Different
Posted by: Amelia // Category: Birds of a feather, Challenges!, Historical Quagmires, Joel Chandler Harris, Marketing Tricks, Song of the South // 2:30 pm
Last week the New York Times published an article about the Von Trapp family, made famous by the 1965 movie The Sound of Music. You remember — it’s one of your favorite things.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwLrUgJlung[/youtube]
Turns out the family portrayed in the movie isn’t quite the same as the actual family. The Von Trapps now run a successful ski lodge in Vermont, and the confusion between film and reality can lead to strain and confusion.
For example, family members bristle when asked which “character” they are. Especially when their equivalent wasn’t represented in the film family at all.
The Von Trapp’s relationship with the Sound of Music reminded me quite a bit of the Wren’s Nest’s relationship with Song of the South. On the one hand, we’re thrilled when it brings visitors to the museum, and it’s an important part of film history.
But some people come here ready to expound its virtues, crying that there’s not a racist bone in its celluloid body. Others let us know all of its sizable problems the moment they enter the home. Either way, we stand there awkwardly, ready to start talking about Joel Chandler Harris again.
Like the Von Trapps, we don’t want to let down people who love the film. But it can be a trifle awkward when they find our house museum rather than an homage to Disney. Or in the case of the Von Trapps, when visitors find an inn instead of the film come to life.
The Von Trapp family is currently working to figure out how to exploit the success of the film to their advantage without exploiting themselves. Tricky!
Anyhow, take a read. It’s a good one — Von Trapps United, Without the Singing
Related:
- In Search of Uncle Remus (AJC)
- Song of the South 62nd Anniversary — Your Questions Answered (Wren’s Nest)
- Song of the South History (New Georgia Encyclopedia)
Edit: Wednesday, December 31 — Whoops! Amelia was the author of this post! Fixed. Our bad.
Comments: 6Happy Birthday, Joel Chandler Harris!
Posted by: Amelia // Category: Birthdays, JCH, Joel Chandler Harris, Really? // 10:59 am
Today would have been Joel Chandler Harris‘ 163rd birthday if he had defied everything* we know about the human body.
Instead, he passed away at the age of 63 in 1908.
I wish I could show you a picture of the sweet (literally) birthday cake we had for him at Victorian Christmas - complete with “163″ birthday candles - but our camera choked once again.
Regardless, join me in wishing Mr. Harris a happy birthday! I’ll be eating leftover cake in his honor all day.
*Tortoises seem to have no such restraints.
Comments: 2