Genius of Place (64 page)
Authors: Justin Martin
24
To shed some weight:
FLO, “A Voice from the Sea,”
American Whig Review
, December 1851.
To shed some weight:
FLO, “A Voice from the Sea,”
American Whig Review
, December 1851.
25
Fred was put to work:
Details about Olmsted's shipboard duties from FLO's
Ronaldson
voyage diary, Library of Congress.
Fred was put to work:
Details about Olmsted's shipboard duties from FLO's
Ronaldson
voyage diary, Library of Congress.
25
get to his sea chest:
FLO to parents, August 6, 1843.
get to his sea chest:
FLO to parents, August 6, 1843.
25
“Bah!”:
Foul-food dialogue from FLO's
Ronaldson
voyage diary.
“Bah!”:
Foul-food dialogue from FLO's
Ronaldson
voyage diary.
27
“set the lee foretopmast”:
Nautical lingo taken from various letters FLO wrote while onboard the
Ronaldson.
“set the lee foretopmast”:
Nautical lingo taken from various letters FLO wrote while onboard the
Ronaldson.
27
A sailor lost his purchase:
FLO to parents, August 6, 1843.
A sailor lost his purchase:
FLO to parents, August 6, 1843.
27
Then Fred fell:
FLO to JHO, December 10, 1843.
Then Fred fell:
FLO to JHO, December 10, 1843.
27
furl the sails:
FLO's
Ronaldson
voyage diary.
furl the sails:
FLO's
Ronaldson
voyage diary.
28
captain's-table prerogative:
FLO to parents, September 5, 1843.
captain's-table prerogative:
FLO to parents, September 5, 1843.
29
Fox did not swear:
FLO to JHO, December 10, 1843.
Fox did not swear:
FLO to JHO, December 10, 1843.
29
“Well, he's a most”:
Ibid.
“Well, he's a most”:
Ibid.
30
“My opportunities of observation”:
FLO to JO, September 24, 1843.
“My opportunities of observation”:
FLO to JO, September 24, 1843.
31
“I've heard much more”:
FLO to JHO, December 10, 1843.
“I've heard much more”:
FLO to JHO, December 10, 1843.
31
“But I was glad”:
FLO to Maria Olmsted, November 30, 1843.
“But I was glad”:
FLO to Maria Olmsted, November 30, 1843.
32
“What are you taking”:
Details of temple visit from “The Real China,” an unpublished essay that Olmsted wrote in 1856, reprinted in
Papers
, 1:187.
“What are you taking”:
Details of temple visit from “The Real China,” an unpublished essay that Olmsted wrote in 1856, reprinted in
Papers
, 1:187.
32
“turkeys & cranberry”:
FLO to Maria Olmsted, November 30, 1843.
“turkeys & cranberry”:
FLO to Maria Olmsted, November 30, 1843.
32
“Fred's company much wanted”:
JO diary, November 30, 1843.
“Fred's company much wanted”:
JO diary, November 30, 1843.
32
the fresher the tea:
Witold Rybczynski,
A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century
(New York: Scribner, 1999), 53â54.
the fresher the tea:
Witold Rybczynski,
A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century
(New York: Scribner, 1999), 53â54.
33
flogged him repeatedly:
Details and dialogue from near-mutiny episode drawn from “A Voice from the Sea.”
flogged him repeatedly:
Details and dialogue from near-mutiny episode drawn from “A Voice from the Sea.”
33
On April 20, 1844:
Date taken from Theodora Kimball's notes for
Forty Years of Landscape Architecture.
On April 20, 1844:
Date taken from Theodora Kimball's notes for
Forty Years of Landscape Architecture.
34
looking yellow and skeletal:
MPO memo, FLO Papers, Library of Congress.
looking yellow and skeletal:
MPO memo, FLO Papers, Library of Congress.
34
“Well, how do you”:
FLO to JHO, December 10, 1843.
Chapter 3: Uncommon Friends“Well, how do you”:
FLO to JHO, December 10, 1843.
35
sat nearly an entire day:
FLO to Brace, July 30, 1846.
sat nearly an entire day:
FLO to Brace, July 30, 1846.
36
Brace came from a family:
Description of Brace drawn from multiple sources, including
The Life of Charles Loring Brace
, ed. Emma Brace (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1894).
Brace came from a family:
Description of Brace drawn from multiple sources, including
The Life of Charles Loring Brace
, ed. Emma Brace (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1894).
37
“Intense earnestness”:
Ibid., 8.
“Intense earnestness”:
Ibid., 8.
37
“uncommon set of common friends”:
Letter from Brace to Frederick Kingsbury in 1846, quoted in ibid., 27.
“uncommon set of common friends”:
Letter from Brace to Frederick Kingsbury in 1846, quoted in ibid., 27.
37
“honorary member of the Class of '47”:
FLO Jr. and Theodora Kimball, eds.,
Forty Years of Landscape Architecture
, vol. 1 (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1922), 5.
“honorary member of the Class of '47”:
FLO Jr. and Theodora Kimball, eds.,
Forty Years of Landscape Architecture
, vol. 1 (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1922), 5.
38
“Infantile Chemistry Association”:
FLO to Brace, July 30, 1846.
“Infantile Chemistry Association”:
FLO to Brace, July 30, 1846.
38
“I have a smattering education”:
FLO to Kingsbury, June 12, 1846, typed version in “Kingsbury Sketch,” Library of Congress.
“I have a smattering education”:
FLO to Kingsbury, June 12, 1846, typed version in “Kingsbury Sketch,” Library of Congress.
39
“'Twas a fine day”:
FLO to JHO, September 13, 1845.
“'Twas a fine day”:
FLO to JHO, September 13, 1845.
39
“He has dreamed about”:
MAO to JO, August 8, 1844.
“He has dreamed about”:
MAO to JO, August 8, 1844.
40
“I am desperately in love”:
FLO to Brace, February 5, 1845.
“I am desperately in love”:
FLO to Brace, February 5, 1845.
40
“rouse a sort of scatter-brained pride”:
FLO to Elizabeth Baldwin Whitney, December 16, 1890.
“rouse a sort of scatter-brained pride”:
FLO to Elizabeth Baldwin Whitney, December 16, 1890.
40
“Governor's daughter. Excellent princess”:
FLO to Brace, February 5, 1846.
“Governor's daughter. Excellent princess”:
FLO to Brace, February 5, 1846.
40
“private opportunity”:
FLO to JHO, March 2, 1846.
“private opportunity”:
FLO to JHO, March 2, 1846.
41
“right smack & square”:
FLO to JHO, March 27, 1846.
“right smack & square”:
FLO to JHO, March 27, 1846.
42
“self-examination was carried”:
Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe: Compiled from Her Letters and Journals
, pt. 2 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1890), 35.
“self-examination was carried”:
Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe: Compiled from Her Letters and Journals
, pt. 2 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1890), 35.
42
“I think there is nothing”:
MAO to JHO, March 1846 [no day specified in letter].
“I think there is nothing”:
MAO to JHO, March 1846 [no day specified in letter].
42
“how highly bless'd”:
MAO to JHO, April 3, 1846.
“how highly bless'd”:
MAO to JHO, April 3, 1846.
42
“Thank God for Miss Baldwin”:
FLO to Brace, March 27, 1846.
“Thank God for Miss Baldwin”:
FLO to Brace, March 27, 1846.
43
“God's fever attended me”:
FLO to JHO, April 7, 1846.
“God's fever attended me”:
FLO to JHO, April 7, 1846.
44
“any inclination for Agriculture”:
FLO to Brace, June 22, 1845.
“any inclination for Agriculture”:
FLO to Brace, June 22, 1845.
44
just a few hundred feet:
Geddes obituary,
New York Times
, October 9, 1883.
just a few hundred feet:
Geddes obituary,
New York Times
, October 9, 1883.
44
“Geddes Canal”:
Detail from Daniel Klein and John Majewski,
Promoters and Investors in Antebellum America: The Spread of Plank Road Fever
(Berkeley: University of California Transportation Center, 1991).
“Geddes Canal”:
Detail from Daniel Klein and John Majewski,
Promoters and Investors in Antebellum America: The Spread of Plank Road Fever
(Berkeley: University of California Transportation Center, 1991).
44
variety of different foodstuffs:
Details about Fairmount farm such as acreage and what was grown there drawn from the
Cultivator
, July 1846.
variety of different foodstuffs:
Details about Fairmount farm such as acreage and what was grown there drawn from the
Cultivator
, July 1846.
44
“grind a bushel”:
FLO to JO, July 23, 1846.
“grind a bushel”:
FLO to JO, July 23, 1846.
44
inventor of the Geddes' Harrow:
Details about Geddes's inventions from Klein and Majewski,
Promoters and Investors in Antebellum America
.
inventor of the Geddes' Harrow:
Details about Geddes's inventions from Klein and Majewski,
Promoters and Investors in Antebellum America
.
45
“I do think Carlyle”:
FLO to JO, August 12, 1846.
“I do think Carlyle”:
FLO to JO, August 12, 1846.
46
“Up, up! Whatsoever thy hand”:
Thomas Carlyle,
Sartor Resartus
(Boston: James Munroe, 1840), 200.
“Up, up! Whatsoever thy hand”:
Thomas Carlyle,
Sartor Resartus
(Boston: James Munroe, 1840), 200.
46
copied it into a letter to his brother:
FLO to JHO, December 13, 1846.
copied it into a letter to his brother:
FLO to JHO, December 13, 1846.
46
“silver forks every day”:
FLO to JO, July 1, 1846.
Chapter 4: A Farmer and Finite“silver forks every day”:
FLO to JO, July 1, 1846.
48
As he spelled out:
FLO to JHO, September 1846 [no day specified in letter].
As he spelled out:
FLO to JHO, September 1846 [no day specified in letter].
49
But the farm itself:
Description of Sachem's Head farm taken largely from “Kingsbury Sketch,” FLO Papers, Library of Congress.
But the farm itself:
Description of Sachem's Head farm taken largely from “Kingsbury Sketch,” FLO Papers, Library of Congress.
49
“Real juicy”:
FLO to JHO, February 16, 1847.
“Real juicy”:
FLO to JHO, February 16, 1847.
50
“I don't believe”:
JHO to Kingsbury, March 27, 1847.
“I don't believe”:
JHO to Kingsbury, March 27, 1847.
50
“fine capabilities”:
JHO to Kingsbury, May 1847 [no day specified in letter].
“fine capabilities”:
JHO to Kingsbury, May 1847 [no day specified in letter].
50
“I hope the present”:
JHO to Kingsbury, March 13, 1847.
“I hope the present”:
JHO to Kingsbury, March 13, 1847.
50
“It is pretty much”:
Kingsbury to JHO, May 8, 1847.
“It is pretty much”:
Kingsbury to JHO, May 8, 1847.
50
very first published works:
Boston Cultivator
, March 13, 1847, as referenced in
Papers
, 1:290.
very first published works:
Boston Cultivator
, March 13, 1847, as referenced in
Papers
, 1:290.
51
“F. L. Olmsted, Sachem's Head”:
Horticulturist
, August 1847.
“F. L. Olmsted, Sachem's Head”:
Horticulturist
, August 1847.
51
“There's a great
work
”:
FLO to Brace, July 26, 1847.
“There's a great
work
”:
FLO to Brace, July 26, 1847.
52
“so far look bountifully”:
Ibid.
“so far look bountifully”:
Ibid.
52
“Well, the world needs”:
Kingsbury to JHO, May 8, 1847.
“Well, the world needs”:
Kingsbury to JHO, May 8, 1847.
53
belonged to Dr. Samuel Akerly:
Description of Tosomock Farm drawn from multiple sources including
Staten Island Historian
(JanuaryâMarch 1954) and “Kingsbury Sketch.”
belonged to Dr. Samuel Akerly:
Description of Tosomock Farm drawn from multiple sources including
Staten Island Historian
(JanuaryâMarch 1954) and “Kingsbury Sketch.”
54
Olmsted considered “Entepfuhl”:
FLO to Kingsbury, November 17, 1848.
Olmsted considered “Entepfuhl”:
FLO to Kingsbury, November 17, 1848.
54
“Here I am now”:
Ibid.
“Here I am now”:
Ibid.
54
a corruption of Tesschenmakr:
Staten Island Historian
(OctoberâDecember 1953); FLO to William James, July 8, 1891.
a corruption of Tesschenmakr:
Staten Island Historian
(OctoberâDecember 1953); FLO to William James, July 8, 1891.
54
“One thing, Fred”:
JHO to Kingsbury, March 1848 [no day specified in letter].
“One thing, Fred”:
JHO to Kingsbury, March 1848 [no day specified in letter].
54
transforming the property:
Staten Island Historian
(JanuaryâMarch 1954).
transforming the property:
Staten Island Historian
(JanuaryâMarch 1954).
55
Increasingly, Staten Island:
Description of Staten Island drawn partly from Charles Leng and William Davis,
Staten Island and Its People: A History, 1609â1929
(New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1930)
.
Increasingly, Staten Island:
Description of Staten Island drawn partly from Charles Leng and William Davis,
Staten Island and Its People: A History, 1609â1929
(New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1930)
.
56
“But the amount of talking”:
Letter from Brace to Kingsbury, September 30, 1848, quoted in
The Life of Charles Loring Brace
, ed. Emma Brace (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1894), 61.
“But the amount of talking”:
Letter from Brace to Kingsbury, September 30, 1848, quoted in
The Life of Charles Loring Brace
, ed. Emma Brace (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1894), 61.
56
Olmsted began making improvements:
“Kingsbury Sketch.”
Olmsted began making improvements:
“Kingsbury Sketch.”
57
William Vanderbilt even requested:
Staten Island Historian
(AprilâJune 1954).
William Vanderbilt even requested:
Staten Island Historian
(AprilâJune 1954).
57
learned that King Louis Philippe:
Ibid.
learned that King Louis Philippe:
Ibid.
57
“Here are two close”:
FLO to Kingsbury, December 13, 1848.
“Here are two close”:
FLO to Kingsbury, December 13, 1848.
58
“just the thing for”:
FLO to Kingsbury, July 16, 1848.
“just the thing for”:
FLO to Kingsbury, July 16, 1848.
58
“A marriageable young lady”:
JHO to Kingsbury, December 11, 1849.
“A marriageable young lady”:
JHO to Kingsbury, December 11, 1849.
59
“nothing but Hog-French”:
JHO to Kingsbury, October 30, 1848.
“nothing but Hog-French”:
JHO to Kingsbury, October 30, 1848.
60
“We ask you, then”:
FLO, “Appeal to the Citizens of Staten Island,” December 1849, reprinted in
Papers,
1:331â334.
“We ask you, then”:
FLO, “Appeal to the Citizens of Staten Island,” December 1849, reprinted in
Papers,
1:331â334.
60
“For the matter of”:
FLO to Brace, June 22, 1845.
Chapter 5: Two Pilgrimages“For the matter of”:
FLO to Brace, June 22, 1845.
61
“I have a just”:
FLO to JO, March 1, 1850.
“I have a just”:
FLO to JO, March 1, 1850.
62
costing them $12 apiece:
FLO,
Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England
(Amherst, MA: Library of American Landscape History, 2002), Charles McLaughlin's introduction, xxv.
costing them $12 apiece:
FLO,
Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England
(Amherst, MA: Library of American Landscape History, 2002), Charles McLaughlin's introduction, xxv.
63
had to see Birkenhead Park:
Description of Olmsted's visit to the park, ibid., 90â96.
had to see Birkenhead Park:
Description of Olmsted's visit to the park, ibid., 90â96.
63
Olmsted's first brush:
Description of first visit to English countryside, ibid., 98â99.
Olmsted's first brush:
Description of first visit to English countryside, ibid., 98â99.
64
Crosskill's Patent Clod-Crusher Roller:
Ibid., 192.
Crosskill's Patent Clod-Crusher Roller:
Ibid., 192.
64
grounds of Chirk Castle:
Description of Olmsted's visit to Chirk Castle, ibid., 224â225.
grounds of Chirk Castle:
Description of Olmsted's visit to Chirk Castle, ibid., 224â225.
65
71¢ per day:
FLO to JO, August 11, 1850.
71¢ per day:
FLO to JO, August 11, 1850.
65
“The fact is evident”:
FLO to Brace, November 12, 1850.
“The fact is evident”:
FLO to Brace, November 12, 1850.
66
“The mere fact of”:
FLO to Brace, January 11, 1851.
“The mere fact of”:
FLO to Brace, January 11, 1851.
67
His pronouncements, delivered:
Characterization of Downing's aesthetics drawn from assorted issues of the
Horticulturist
and August 14, 2009, interview, JM with Francis Kowsky, author of
Country, Park, and City: The Architecture and Life of Calvert Vaux
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
His pronouncements, delivered:
Characterization of Downing's aesthetics drawn from assorted issues of the
Horticulturist
and August 14, 2009, interview, JM with Francis Kowsky, author of
Country, Park, and City: The Architecture and Life of Calvert Vaux
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
68
“A Note on the True”:
Horticulturist
, December 1852.
“A Note on the True”:
Horticulturist
, December 1852.
69
“one farmer's leg”:
FLO,
Walks and Talks
, preface, 1859 edition, 9.
“one farmer's leg”:
FLO,
Walks and Talks
, preface, 1859 edition, 9.
69
“Sit ye down now”:
Ibid., 212.
“Sit ye down now”:
Ibid., 212.
69
“What artist so noble”:
Ibid., 145.
“What artist so noble”:
Ibid., 145.
70
“As it is”:
FLO to Brace, January 11, 1851.
“As it is”:
FLO to Brace, January 11, 1851.
70
“The sun shines”:
FLO to Brace, November 12, 1850.
“The sun shines”:
FLO to Brace, November 12, 1850.
70
“The conclusion is”:
FLO to Kingsbury, February 10, 1849.
“The conclusion is”:
FLO to Kingsbury, February 10, 1849.
71
“Sit erect when you”:
JO to JHO [undated].
“Sit erect when you”:
JO to JHO [undated].
71
“sentence of death”:
JHO to Kingsbury, August 11, 1851.
“sentence of death”:
JHO to Kingsbury, August 11, 1851.
71
tuberculosis was an “incipient” form:
FLO to Kingsbury, August 5, 1851.
tuberculosis was an “incipient” form:
FLO to Kingsbury, August 5, 1851.
71
“revulsion of feeling”:
JHO to Kingsbury, September 12, 1851.
“revulsion of feeling”:
JHO to Kingsbury, September 12, 1851.
72
“I am to be examined”:
JHO to Kingsbury, October 12, 1851.
“I am to be examined”:
JHO to Kingsbury, October 12, 1851.
72
“seems to me somebody”:
FLO to JO, November 21, 1851.
Chapter 6: “The South”“seems to me somebody”:
FLO to JO, November 21, 1851.
74
During its first year:
Account of
Uncle Tom
's
Cabin
sales from “Tomitudes,”
Putnam's Monthly Magazine
, January 1853.
During its first year:
Account of
Uncle Tom
's
Cabin
sales from “Tomitudes,”
Putnam's Monthly Magazine
, January 1853.
74
In Boston alone, three hundred:
Janet Badia and Jennifer Phegley,
Reading Women: Literary Figures and Cultural Icons from the Victorian Age to the Present
(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005), 66.
In Boston alone, three hundred:
Janet Badia and Jennifer Phegley,
Reading Women: Literary Figures and Cultural Icons from the Victorian Age to the Present
(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005), 66.
75
Olmsted remained a gradualist:
Characterization of Olmsted as a gradualist drawn from FLO,
Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England
(Amherst, MA: Library of American Landscape History, 2002), 241, and FLO to JO, August 12, 1846.
Olmsted remained a gradualist:
Characterization of Olmsted as a gradualist drawn from FLO,
Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England
(Amherst, MA: Library of American Landscape History, 2002), 241, and FLO to JO, August 12, 1846.
76
forebears had been slaveholders:
Support for Olmsted's forebears as slaveholders drawn from Lee Paquette,
Only More So: The History of East Hartford, 1783â1976
(East Hartford, CT: Raymond Library, 1976), 234.
forebears had been slaveholders:
Support for Olmsted's forebears as slaveholders drawn from Lee Paquette,
Only More So: The History of East Hartford, 1783â1976
(East Hartford, CT: Raymond Library, 1976), 234.
76
“red hot abolitionist”:
FLO to Kingsbury, October 17, 1852.
“red hot abolitionist”:
FLO to Kingsbury, October 17, 1852.
77
On the decline:
Elmer Holmes Davis,
History of the “New York Times,” 1851â1921
(New York: New York Times, 1921), 7.
On the decline:
Elmer Holmes Davis,
History of the “New York Times,” 1851â1921
(New York: New York Times, 1921), 7.
78
“diverting the public mind”:
New York Sun
article quoted in Frank Luther Mott,
American Journalism: A History, 1690â1960
, vol. 2 (New York: Macmillan, 1962), 226.
“diverting the public mind”:
New York Sun
article quoted in Frank Luther Mott,
American Journalism: A History, 1690â1960
, vol. 2 (New York: Macmillan, 1962), 226.
78
“We do not mean”:
Prospectus, quoted in Davis,
History of the “New York Times, ”
21.
“We do not mean”:
Prospectus, quoted in Davis,
History of the “New York Times, ”
21.
78
Circulation had immediately shrunk:
Ibid., 26.
Circulation had immediately shrunk:
Ibid., 26.
78
“matter of fact matter”:
FLO to Kingsbury, October 17, 1852.
“matter of fact matter”:
FLO to Kingsbury, October 17, 1852.
79
tailed a funeral procession:
Description of funeral procession from FLO,
A Journey Through the Seaboard Slave States
(New York: Mason Brothers, 1861), 24â26.
tailed a funeral procession:
Description of funeral procession from FLO,
A Journey Through the Seaboard Slave States
(New York: Mason Brothers, 1861), 24â26.
80
“You can't imagine”:
FLO to Brace, February 23, 1853.
“You can't imagine”:
FLO to Brace, February 23, 1853.
80
“The mean temperature”:
“The South,” no. 2,
New-York Daily Times
, February 19, 1853.
“The mean temperature”:
“The South,” no. 2,
New-York Daily Times
, February 19, 1853.
80
In a letter to his father:
FLO to JO, January 10, 1853.
In a letter to his father:
FLO to JO, January 10, 1853.
81
“French friterzeed Dutch flabbergasted”:
FLO,
A Journey in the Back Country
(New York: Mason Brothers, 1860), 135.
“French friterzeed Dutch flabbergasted”:
FLO,
A Journey in the Back Country
(New York: Mason Brothers, 1860), 135.
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