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Ephemera-Journal-Vol14-Issue-3 The ephemera Journal Volume 14, Number 3 may 2012 Devilish Antecedents By Tina Wray Images of the Devil were popular with the designers of late 19th century American advertising illustration. Whether invoking literary allusion (Dante, Washington Irving, Goethe, Poe) or Satanic punishment (the Krampus of Christmas) illustrators tended to agree on the color red, and to use one or more of the identifiers: horns, tail, snaked tongue, wings, pitchfork. This rather late personification of Satan can be traced to roots in several ancient cultures. And the inclusion of Satan in the equation that includes humans, God, and the Devil – echoed in Victorian/American imagery – is theologically and culturally sound. How did Satan morph from the innocuous hassatan in the Hebrew Bible to the chaos monster Satan in the New Testament? In the Old Testament, the word (usually appearing with the definite article ha, so meaning the satan and implying a function rather than a proper name)1 appears less than a dozen times and is used as a way to refer to an enemy or opponent. In the New Testament, Satan assumes a more commanding role as Demon Extraordinaire, and demons crop up some 568 times, in unlikely places, Plug tobacco sample label, lithographed by Kaufmann & Strauss of New York 1870. William to challenge the ultimate authority of Cameron & Brother’s “Raven” brand of tobacco won international awards. The scene interprets Jesus. Satan is banished once and for the poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (whose childhood was Virginian): in the poet’s all in a final cosmic battle with Christ chamber, the time just after midnight, a raven perched by a bust of Pallas Athena, the poet half (called the Lamb) in the Book of reclining on “a cushioned seat” is haunted by whether his “rare and radiant” dead Lenore is Revelation. clasped by angels. This artist adds a clutching winged and horned dark devil to add menace to A series of historical and social the refrain of the raven, “Nevermore,” on the wall. Poe’s young wife died just two years after the events – beyond the pages of the poem. (Jay T. Last Collection, Huntington Library, San Marino, California) Bible – seem to have contributed to the Satanic metamorphosis. Continued on Page 6 1 In This Issue: Paul Bunyan – Page 11 ~ Ponce de Leon – Page 17 ~ Uncle Sam – Page 23 The Ephemera Journal Dear Members and Friends: ESA32 has just concluded and it was a great success. The Conference was very well attended with some terrific talks. Details will be made available by electronic means over the next few months. The Hyatt outdid itself for this year’s banquet at which Richard McKinstry received the Maurice Rickards Award. The bourse was humming and alive with a lot of energy. So if you were unable Copyright 2012 to attend this year, make every attempt to come next. The Ephemera Society of America, Inc. The topic of the 2013 Conference will be Art and Ephemera and how the two P.O. Box 95 disciplines inform each other. Watch for details. Cazenovia, NY 13035-0095 The Phil Jones Fellowship was awarded to Marianetta Porter, Professor of Art Messages & Fax: 315-655-9139 and Design at the University of Michigan. Her topic is: Stories told in Sunday Web Site: www.ephemerasociety.org School—Black Church Fans and their relation to Social History. E-mail: [email protected] You will have noticed some changes in our publication policy. The old mostly Volume 14, Number 3, May 2012 black & white Ephemera News quarterly is being replaced with a three time per year Ephemera journal in full color. The number of pages has been increased The Ephemera Journal (ISSN 1543- to at least 32 to preserve the amount of content. The success of the eNews in 4990) is published three times a year by disseminating current events permits us to remove some of the time-sensitive The Ephemera Society of America, Inc. material to free up space for more articles. A more formal Journal, such as we President: Art Groten (’12) published in the past, will be issued when our newly formed editorial board Vice President: Nancy Rosin (’13) deems it appropriate. Treasurer: Sandra Jones (’12) The entire run of Ephemera News has been indexed and is available on our Directors: website. Molly Harris is undertaking to index the Ephemera Journal. Frank Amari (’12) As time permits, content from past Ephemera News and Journals will be George Fox (’12) placed on the website so keep an eye out for some old chestnuts. John Grossman (’12) The Board of Directors will join the members of Linked-in, and we encour- Moira Harris (’13) age all members to add comments to the “Notes” section of our Facebook page Thomas Horrocks (’13) (accessed under “Links” under “Resources” on our web site, www.ephemera- David Lilburne (’12) society.org) – part of social media outreach to give the Society and ephemera Barbara Loe (’13) more exposure. Henry Raine (’12) Richard Sheaff (’12) You can see that a lot is happening. This is YOUR society and we actively Bruce Shyer (’13) seek your input. Don’t hesitate to contact me directly or through the Adminis- trator with any questions or comments. Ex-Officio: Have a wonderful Spring and Summer. Georgia Barnhill Vermont Agent: Pat Laffin All best, APS Affiliate #256 Administrative Director: Mary Beth Malmsheimer Arthur H. Groten, M.D. [email protected] Ephemera Journal Editor: Diane DeBlois P.O. Box 477 West Sand Lake, NY 12196 Speakers on the Fascinating Subjects of Ephemera [email protected] Event planners looking for experienced speakers on a variety of inter- DISPlAY ADvErTISINg rATES: esting and intriguing ephemera subjects will find an excellent roster of The Journal will accept pdf, jpeg or tiff speakers available on the Society’s website, www.ephemerasociety.org/ files as well as camera-ready ads at the resources/speakersbureau.html. On the same page is an application for following pre-paid rates: being listed as a speaker. Quarter page (3.25” x 4.5”) $ 70 Half-page vertical (3.25” x 9.5”) $105 JOIN THE SPEAKErS BUrEAU Half-page horizontal (7” x 4.5”) $105 The Society invites members who enjoy speaking on ephemera subjects Full page (7” x 9.5”) $185 to join the Speakers Bureau and share their knowledge and enthusiasm with others. 2 Deadlines: April 1, August 1, December 1. ties with the British Ephemera Soci- ety, attending their 25th anniversary celebrations in 2000. Maurice Rickards Award 2012 But by far Richard’s greatest gift to us as a Society was to give us a Citation to E. Richard McKinstry, Downs Collection of Manuscripts and permanent home. He initiated, cre- Library Director and Andrew W. Printed Ephemera.) ated and still maintains our archives Mellon Senior Librarian at the Win- Richard’s own broad-based re- at the Winterthur library. He was not terthur Museum, Garden and Library: search in the work of Charles Magnus content to merely accept donations is in the editing stage, and promises (including review copies of books We who collect the transient salute to be a classic in the ephemera field. sent to our editor), but has actively Richard McKinstry for all his efforts While at Winterthur, Richard sought material, subscribed to key to ensure permanence for what we do. has been active in introducing the publications, and developed on line In 1988, Beatrice Tay- delights of ephemera finding aids for the archives. He lor brought Richard to the to future museum made sure that our archives URL is Boston ABAA fair, to in- curators through a featured link in the Wikipedia entry troduce him to rare their graduate for ephemera. book dealers as studies out- So, in appreciation of the myriad her successor in reach. He ways in which Richard McKinstry the library at is now an has made ephemera a permanent Winterthur. adjunct as- part of research at Winterthur and in She empha- sociate pro- gratitude for his contributions to the sized that fessor in the permanence of our Society, we honor this young Winterthur him with our Society’s highest award, man would Program in the Maurice Rickards Medal. continue to A m e r i c a n —Diane DeBlois, March 17, 2012 make sure M a t e r i a l t h a t m a n u - Culture at script and print- the Univer- ed ephemera was sity of Dela- at the heart of ware. the institution- In 1999, al collection. The Maurice Rickards Medal: an adaptation, Richard be- Throughout in silver, of the 1876 Centennial Philadelphia came our So- Exhibition Medal, depicting a female America his long career ciety’s first overseeing Commerce. at Winterthur, p r e s i d e n t Richard has who was not done just that. And he has broadly in- primarily a collector or a dealer. And troduced the collection to researchers he ‘spread the word’ about what the through several influential descriptive Society could offer to the museum catalogs (particularly the 1984 Trade world and to academe. He was key Catalogues at Winterthur: a Guide to launching the Society website (and to the Literature of Merchandising, our webmaster says he contributed 1750-1980; the 1997 bibliography of more than 100 pages of its content). diaries: Personal Accounts of Events, He wrote a long series of articles on E. Richard McKinstry in The Winterthur Travels and Everyday Life in America; ephemera for the Northeast Journal Library Archives, with the shelves devoted and the 2003 Guide to the Joseph of Antiques & Arts. He forged closer to The Ephemera Society Archives.
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