Handprint of Henry Miller's right palm....A man of good taste, intellectual quality of mind, and the ability to translate his ideas into words and action...he has a broad-minded attitude toward people and situations...He has a quick wit, he likes being with people who have alert minds so there can be a stimulating exchange of ideas...In 1957, novelist Henry Miller made handprints of his right and left palms. In 1966, Miller sent the handprints, with instructions, to graphologist Dorothy Sara for analysis, the above quotation an excerpt from her report.The left hand of god.The prints are amongst 120 Miller-related items from...
Murdered "Mill Girl" Memorialized At Maine Library
Illustration From: Mary Bean Or The Mysterious Murder by Miss J.A.B.,Cincinnati: H.M. Rulison, 1852.Saco, Maine 1850: The partially-clad body of a beautiful, young woman is found, bound to a board, floating in a stream. An immediate scandal ensues when the local police cannot identify the body. Newspaper reports take on an alarmist tone: Where is the girl's family? Why is she alone and far from home? Who has brought about her untimely death, and why? A new online exhibit hosted by Biddeford, Maine's McArthur Public Library reveals the history of this murder case so sensational it inspired three books in...
Bambi’s Dark Secret
Note that the book is featured in the movie's poster,typical during Hollywood's Golden Age.Walt Disney may turn in his grave or thaw and drop deader if and when he learns that Bambi, the book he adapted to create the animation classic, was written by a man who is solidly credited as being the anonymous author of a celebrated and notorious work of German erotica.In 1906, an erotic memoir was privately published. Purportedly written by a Viennese prostitute at the end of her life, Josefine Mutzenbacher, oder Die Geschichte einer Wienerischen Dirne, it became a popular success; it is now a...
ReadInk Rare Books Proprietor Outs His Secret Job
Howard Prouty, home on the range at the Margaret Herrick Librarywhere he wrangles and corrals collections.Our friend and colleague, Howard Prouty, of ReadInk books, has had a day job for around twenty-five years, one that I presumed he wished to maintain a low profile about.A private man, he may be uneasy but a recent Oscar®-related newspaper feature discusses itToday, the Omaha World-Herald features a high profile feature about Howard and his job as acquisitions archivist at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' Margaret Herrick Library.As the story notes, "Prouty spends lots of time in dead people's homes, attics,...
Purdue Library Celebrates Wind Beneath Earhart’s Wings
George Palmer Putnam and Amelia Earhart, circa 1935. (All photos courtesy of Purdue University libraries.)The modern "manufacturing" of celebrities involves finding a camera-friendly face and figure with a charismatic personality, plus an indefinable personal magnetism, and using the power of mass media to create an overnight sensation. Result? A legion of people famous for being famous. Accomplishment is no longer a prerequisite for stardom: savvy promotion trumps talent. But a new exhibit at Purdue University's Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center proves this phenomenon existed far earlier than the advent of "reality T.V." America's most famous female...