Westminster Street, 1903

Here is an almost teenaged Lovecraft's world.  It is expandable with great detail.  Click it, or go here:  (Link)

Lovecraft's Neighbor (1903) Knowles

Only tangential to Lovecraft, but he would have seen this family and known of them. He would have been 13 or so.
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"Curiosities", The Streand Magazine, p. 357, 1903



ANOTHER EXPERIMENT IN DYNAMICS IN the Curiosities in The Strand for June it was stated that if a half unrolled spool of thread is placed on a table and the thread pulled horizontally from the under side of it the spool contrary to general expectation will roll towards the hand In connection with this it is interesting to note that if the cylinder is larger in diameter at the point around which the thread is wound than it is at the points on which it rolls it will roll away from the hand when the thread is pulled This experiment can be tried by passing a pencil through a spool and resting the ends of it on two books as in the illustration Also if the thread be drawn from the under side of a it spool resting on a flat surface the spool will not move in either direction I was led to these conclusions which I afterwards verified by trying in the case of the half unrolled spool mentioned in the June Strand to calculate the ratio between the rate of the spool and that of the hand as the hand pulled the thread This makes a very interesting little problem Mr J Courtland Knowles 2 Angel Street Providence RI US A

Lovecraft's First Comet

"The first comet I ever observed was Borelli's — in Aug. 1903."

Indeed this must have been exciting for young Lovecraft. It first was visible as early as 24 July, and at least as late as the end of the month as noted in articles below. Of course his 13th birthday was 20 August 1903. Larger observatories had it tracked for much longer periods.

For young Howard, he probably tracked it from a week or so before his birthday through about a week after his birthday depending on the weather (cloudiness) at the time.

Recall that Howard had ended Grammar school in June 1903, so was very free in his activities these several weeks later. It is as yet unknown (to Chrispy) if Chester and Harold Munroe had astronomical interests at this time, but it's highly probable he spoke much about it to them.

It's also pretty likely that by now Lovecraft was rushing to the library each month to readt Popular Astronomy that carried articles constantly by Pickering and Lowell - though Bornelli's comet was most likely announced in the newspaper after 22nd or 23rd July 1903. The August-September Popular Science had a major spread on the comet - much after the fact.

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The most complex data are from the Lick Observatory (Bulletin No. 47, listed as "Borelly") and can be found by clicking the link attached to the blog title.
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Here are other independent and contemporaneous notes.

Known also as the Borelly comet: "Still another comet was discovered on June 21 by M Borelly at Marseilles. It became conspicuous early in August, but later on in the month it approached too near the sun to be seen."

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"The Friend", August 1, 1903, Vol. LXXVII, No.3, p.27,



Text:Borelli's comet now visible in this latitude is the brightest seen for about twelve years At present it is as bright as the pole star It is said to be traveling at about twenty five miles a second and is something like 26,000,000 of miles from the earth It can be seen best about nine o clock in the evening when it is plainly visible to the naked eye in the northeastern sky On Eighth Month 27th the astronomers have calculated that the comet will be 31,000,000 miles from the sun when it will begin to recede.
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Popular science monthly, Volume 64, p. 88.
The comet was noted by Alexander Graham Bell in reference to the Aurora Borealis:



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PATTERN MAKERS JOURNAL, p. 19 (August 1903)
A comedic note:


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"The Summary, August 8, 1903, "News of the Week" segment.

Text: A third tail to the Borelli comet has been discovered by the astronomers at the Yale Observatory Photographs were taken on July 24 and 27 and these snow a third tail but it is also to be seen from these negatives that all the tails are broken.

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The Railway conductor, Volume 21‎, Page 231, 1904


And this was picked up in a number of the small press as evidenced here... "The Anamosa Prison Press", Vol. 6, No. 36, p.7 dated Saturday April 16, 1904.

In Search of ... "The Detective"

When Lovecraft was about 13, Sherlock Holmes was the rage. (The Hounds of the Baskervilles" was released to a high pitched fanaticism, having been a pent up demand to which the chagrined Doyle finally succumbed and produced.)

Lovecraft immediately set out to gather his Slater Avenue chums, the Munroes and Ronald Upham, and began a Baker Street irregular gropu, though he did not call it that. It was the PDA: Providence Detective Agency.

Throughout Lovecraft's letters he mentions items and events that sometimes appear NOWHERE ELSE. He was like a magnet of forgotten lore.

He briefly mentions carrying around "The Detective" filled with mugshots and profiles of murderers and bank robbers. This would have been summer of 1903, as he was turning 13.

So, whence "The Detective"?

I tracked down a 1909 dime sheet called "Dick Dobbs Detective Weekly" starting in 1909, much too late. However, there is some probability it was based on a pulpish scandal called "Detective Weekly" that I saw mentioned on a "Da Google" book snippet which involved a reminiscence of someone who recalled two British sheets at two pence (tuppence sheets". One was a red and blue lurid affair, and the other was a companion sheet called "The Detective".

That's the best I can do. Perhpas there was an American immitator, or perhaps the same newsstands that carried dime pulps carried this sheet direct from England, or it's possible, and slighly likely, that these were story papers that included, for effect and notoriety, mugshots and notices in their rear sections.

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It's pretty likely that Google will soon win its lawsuits, and a rush of scans will hit the internet creating a tidal wave bonanza for researchers everywhere. Let's see what the next few years bring us.

Chrispy Time Travelin': In Search of ... "Bedelia"

Warning. Although Chrispy tries valiantly to make this a family-freindly blog, the nature of Lovecraft's beliefs and his era and milieu causes us to delve into darkness sometimes. I will do all I can to keep this of moderate temperament. "Bedelia" is ethnic and somewhat racist. Recall, Howard is now 12 years old, and these songs were permeating his young world. Chrispy believes that racism is learned, and usually in the pre-teen or teen-aged years. And so from an early age, HPL was being indoctrinated by his culture and probably by his family.

Before you throw stones at Lovecraft, let us all examine our own prejudices and beliefs. Beware glass houses. Otherwise, let us now scholarly pursure "Bedelia"
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The music (no words) can be heard on this quick-time link. You will have to have quicktime. Chrispy was unable to find all the words on this time travel trip, sorry.

http://parlorsongs.com/content/b/bedelia.mid

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OK, Lovecrftians, sit back as we click the time machine and go back to visit young Lovecraft in 1903. He mentions in passing* he used to sing "Bedelia". What's a Bedelia, you may ask? Let's depress "Da Google" button, and slip up the wikipedia lever a notch, and we get ...

"Bedelia (I Want to Steal Ye, Bedelia, I Love You So)", written by Billy Jerome and Jean Schwartz. We now go over to the Indiana University archives and we find ...

Title: Bedelia
First Line: There's a charming Irish lady with a roguish winning way,
First Line of Chorus: Bedelia, I want to steal ye, Bedelia, I love you so,
Composer: Schwartz, Jean
Lyricist: Jerome, William, 1856-1932
Performer: Elizabeth Murray
Published: New York: Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., copyright 1903

Now remember, these hit songs were covered by many, many people once they broke out, so we may not know which singer he heard (see cover art above), or maybe he heard several versions of them. They would be played EVERYWHERE, much like Billy Cyrus' Achy-Breaky Heart or Macarena was a while back. You wouldn't be able to miss it. Believe me, you COULDN'T miss it, any more than you would have missed those songs YOU hear EVERYWHERE.
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Here is a commentary:

... the Irish were also vilified in the early 20th century as invaders of the land and stealers of employment. The authors of this song seemed to go for a double play by sub-titling this song as "The Irish Coon Song Serenade". My God, what on earth were they thinking of! The lyrics of the song are all Irish referenced but the sub title perhaps shows just what the authors thought of the Irish.

In fact though, it does appear that it was the musical style, the "coon song" style that they may have been referring to for the lyrics make no mention of African-Americans, nor does it try to make comparisons. The lyrics do however, use stereotypes and common misconceptions about the Irish.
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Lovecraft doesn't mention it, but we should add this historical note, as well.

"Cordelia Malone" a novelty song written in 1904 by Billy Jerome and Jean Schwartz, and recorded that same year by popular Irish American singer Billy Murray {Not Bill Murray, the ghostbuster SNK person}. The lyrics are a stableboy's first-hand account of his courtship of Cordelia Malone, a "smart Irish girl". Over the course of the song, he describes his seemingly successful efforts to woo Cordelia through use of the then newly invented telephone, stating that:

"...Young suitors can all nightly flock 'round the door, since her sister Bedelia won fame, but her smiles don't you see, they are only for me, so they might as well leave her alone, 'cause she seems to rejoice at the sound of my voice when I sing through the Bell telephone: "Hello, hello, sweet Cordelia"..."

The name given to Cordelia's sister, 'Bedelia', may be in reference to a popular (previous year) 1903 song, "Bedelia (I Want to Steal Ye, Bedelia, I Love You So)", also written by Billy Jerome and Jean Schwartz.
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Well, that's all we have "time" for right now, heh. (Mr. Wells only lets us borrow his machine every so often.)

[* In a 1934 letter he writes down the lyrics of "Bedelia", the big hit of 1903..., I don't have a copy but a reference states this is in Selected Letters: 1932-1934 p. 365 - To J Vernon Shea, 4 February 1934]

Very Rare Astronomy Journal

THE ANNUAL REPORT ON THE SCIENCE OF ASTRONOMY 1903 AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT (AMsS) in facsimile of a printed scientific report, with text and drawings by Lovecraft throughout, and signed by him in pencil on the first blank. Touch of wear to wrapper edges, but fine condition overall. Price: $3,500.00