1916 Postcard From Dennen's Circulating Library to Fayetta Crowley Thurber

Sometimes these posts write themselves. Unlike The Detroit News new carrier card, that I found last time at John King Books and returned to
the owner, Fayetta Crowley Thurber won't be receiving this 1916 return
notice for the Aivanti Chartres book Marie Tarnowska from the lending
library at Dennen's Book Shop which she took to Gratiot Beach in Port
Huron for the summer.

The store was located at 19 East Grand River at
the foot of Woodward and was a new and rare bookstore.

Detroit Free Press, December 9, 1917

The store also sold stationary and party decorations and did engravings along with the circulating library.

Detroit Free Press, May 1, 1917

Fayetta Crowley married Donald Thurber, son of the private secretary to President
Grover Cleveland, and was well-connected socially being a friend of
opera singer Enrico Caruso.

Detroit Free Press, April 30, 1911

While the card spells it out the newspaper
traces her stay with the Lafayette Crowley family (her parents) in Port
Huron where she spent many summers. Lafayette Crowley was the founder
of Detroit Stove Works and the famous "Detroit Jewel" stove.

Detroit Free Press, June 25, 1916

With her financial backing Mr. Thurber's
parking and service garages before his death in 1927. She died at the
age of 96 in 1987.

Detroit Free Press, April 15, 1987

A 1915 edition of the Marie Tarnowska is shown below.

Fayetta's summer reading in 1917 concerned a Russian Countess
who was sent to prison for a role in the murder of her Count husband. I
briefly read some of the article but there were so many counts and
princes involved with her that I gave up trying to figure it out. The
other thing which perplexes me is why Fayetta, with all of her wealth,
just didn't buy the damned book instead of renting it.

Detroit Free Press, September 19, 1915

Comments

A Dudley Randall Poem in Milestone 2

I bought this Milestone 2 poetry Magazine at a Livonia estate sale this week. Milestone was the literary publication of Wayne (State) University and this second issue dates to 1949. While I don't recognize most of the names, Dudley Randall was both a nationally known poet and the librarian for the Wayne County General Hospital at Eloise via the Wayne County Library System. The poem featured is The Southern Road which was a revised version of the completed poem from 1948 that h as a handful or two of word differences between the two. I don't know if Randall edited the poem for later collected works editions or earlier but this link features it in its likely final form in 2009. Neither version particularly enchants me but the block print in the magazine is an added bonus.

A Cabinet Card of a Dead Man Lying in Repose From Wayne Photographer Susan Doolittle

The City of Wayne, Michigan was not a large village at the turn of the 20th century so it stands to reason that there wasn't a glut of photographers practicing their trade there. As such, the 3 cabinet cards and carte de visites that I own represents roughly a quarter of the early ones. Considering that the wives of Frank Hickok and William Corlett, first Village President of Wayne, took over after Frank's death in 1892 the list grows smaller beyond those two families. Had I snagged the Doolittle dead man cabinet card I'd be even that much more Wayne-rich in photographs. Speaking of Susan Doolittle, of whom I have learned very little about, it is interesting to note that Wayne had three women photographers in an era oft dominated by men in that very field. This photograph of a corpse is a startling example of her work.

Frederick Soop: Not An Equal Opportunity Restraunteer

Detroit Free Press , March 28, 1890 If you don't want to hear a racist tale of a suburban namesake then close your eyes now. As early as 1876 Frederick Soop had left his Belleville farm once again, having done a stint at the Hawkins House in Ypsilanti during the Civil War and the City Hotel in Detroit thereafter, and ventured off to Chatham, Ontario to run the Rutley Hotel , which was conducted as a Temperance House. Detroit Free Press , August 17, 1879 In 1879 he was searching for a good restaurant or small hotel to operate. Eventually he ended up on Washington Avenue near State Street running a dining hall which he ran until around 1890. Detroit Free Press , April 16, 1890 It was in 1888 when the aforementioned racial incident occurred at his dining establishment. It was then that William H. Haynes, a black doctor, sat down with his former classmate S. W. Barkwell for dinner. The men ordered but when the food was served none was placed before Mr. Haynes who, ironically, ha...

The Nankin Township Historical Society

Search This Blog