The Smartest Man in the World reads Hugh Pugh aloud on his Podcast

A couple of Thursdays back on a late February evening my devoted, tolerant husband Frank accompanied me to one of my many fetishized podcast live events at Helium Comedy Club in Philly. This one, "The Smartest Man in the World" is the podcast presented by comedian and raconteur par excellence, Greg Proops. 

As we are almost exact contemporaries, Proops being just a couple years younger than yours truly, I find most of his material completely relatable. Lots of current events and commentary along with his insights relying on his breadth of knowledge of literature, history, music, sports and visual art. And he's funny, of course.

Here's the link to his site, which includes the link to the podcast we attended:

http://www.gregproops.com/blog/

And an exact link to the show in particular, which was entitled "Flyers" (a nod also to Philly and our local hockey team):

Check out this cool episode: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-smartest-man-in-the-world/id401055309?mt=2&i=337217073 

All this to get to the point as it relates to the Lover's Knot:  

Fans of Greg's podcasts know that before every show he literally walks through the audience and shakes every person's hand or sometimes, as was the case at the Bellhouse in Brooklyn last year, he greets everyone at the door as they enter!

Many people take this opportunity to grace Greg with personal gifts of art, music, books, sports memorabilia, or even "substances", so to speak. Thus, I brought along the small piece of stationery I designed featuring the Lover's Knot artwork and some of the extracted poetry to give Greg that evening. 

To my great pleasure, he read the first few lines of Hugh Pugh's Lover's Knot aloud to the live audience at the beginning of the show (when he acknowledges these gifts from his adoring fans) and it can be heard on the recorded podcast at about minute 6:10 in. 

So, a small thrill, to have one of my favorite entertainers speak the words to his listening audience that Hugh recorded with quill and ink for posterity in December of 1801.

I'm looking forward to the publication this Spring of Greg's first book: The Smartest Book in the World. (Of course!)

http://www.smartestbookintheworld.com/

The Retronaut

The True Lover's Knot became a part of a virtual time capsule at "The Retronaut" in March of this year:
http://www.retronaut.co/2012/03/true-lovers-knot-1801/

It was very exciting to once again give this precious artifact another unique and ultimately useful place in the minutiae of American Folk Art History. I've been remiss in not posting the link sooner and wish to thank Chris Wild, The Retronaut, for including it in his vast and fascinating archive. As the subhead of his masthead states:

"The Past is a Foreign Country. This is Your Passport."

Another decade older and still charming!

This fine example of
calligraphic American folk art
turns 210 years old Friday, December 9th!

This Ring is round And hath no end…

The True Lover's Knot "turns" 210 years old this Friday, December 9th. Hugh Pugh, the pen-artist, signed and dated the artifact: Bedford County Decem'r 9th 1801.

"This Ring is round
And hath no end
So is my Love
To thee my Friend
Mary Fisher"

(Verse appears within the left circle of the labyrinth.)

"Be thankful. Be humble. Seek Mercy." I have utilized excerpts from Hugh Pugh's letters home to his children in Radnor, Pennsylvania written in 1803 and 1807, to create a set of three new postcards highlighting his thoughtful, anguished at times, missives to the family he left behind in Delaware County. They are printed on 5" x 7" card stock with rounded corners and I paired them with "hipstamatic" images I took this fall where I work part time at Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in Medford, New Jersey.

Somehow the trees, with their fragile, close-to-falling leaves represented, in my mind, Hugh's separation from his own offspring. A little poetic license on my part, I admit, but when I think of Hugh alone, and obviously lonely, from the tone of those letters I continue to wish I could find out what became of him ultimately. Still no luck finding his last resting place, but I've put some of the research on hold in any case. Hoping that with all the new ancestry resources out there, eventually I will be able to solve the mystery of his last home on this mortal coil.

"Knote-Cards"

Lover's Knot Stationery

The Lover's Knot has proved so inspirational to me, that I designed and had printed blank notecards featuring Hugh Pugh's unique gift to posterity here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hughpugh

Letters of Note Blog Entry for Monday, 11.22.10

I heard about this interesting blog out of Manchester, England, called Letters of Note last week, so I took the initiative to write to the author regarding the True Lover's Knot and he was so intrigued that he posted it to the site today, following our correspondence over the weekend. The Letters of Note Blog was listed in GQ magazine as #65 in their list of the "100 BEST THINGS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW".

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1431/5151966806_5e786b3cff_o.jpg

Description of the site: "Letters of Note is an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. Scans/photos where possible. Fakes will be sneered at. Updated every weekday. Edited by Shaun Usher."
The write-up Shaun posted about the Lover's Knot is concise and the blog in and of itself is quite interesting and well thought out otherwise. To see the the post, dated November 22nd, look here!
(If it's past the post day, you may have to look in the archive.) http://www.lettersofnote.com/

Hugh Pugh is descended from a line of the Welsh Quaker Pugh family which were originally in Montgomery Co. PA, and there is a genealogy via this online document, regarding Hugh's grandparents, James Pugh and Joan Price:

11. James Pugh m. Joan Price - a line from Goshen MM, Chester Co., PA

"Marriage Certificate, April 23, 1692, at John German's House, Radnor twp., Chester Co., PA, Signed: James and Joan Pugh (both by mark)"

"The Griffith, Hugh, Pugh and Morris families of Gwynedd Friends Meeting, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) County, Pennsylvania"

by James A. Quinn, Historian, Gwynedd Monthly Meeting (Religious Society of Friends), Pennsylvania and Elfed Owen, formerly of Bala, Gwynedd, Wales, Great Britain (now living in England)

http://www.gwyneddfriends.org/griffith.htm

Still in search of Hugh Pugh's Final Resting Place

I'm still attempting, when time permits, to discover where and truly when Hugh Pugh left this mortal coil. He did indeed make it as far west as Washington County, PA by 1805, but after that I can find no record. I keep hoping to bump up against some other ancestry researchers that might have clues.

BBC History of the World in Objects Screenshot

A screenshot of the page containing the True Lover's Knot, which was accepted following review by the BBC A History of the World in 100 Objects. The "Knot" also appears in their Flash timeline, by scrolling along the vertical bar on that page to 1801.

BBC History of the World Submission

I submitted the True Lover's Knot to the UK's BBC Channel 4 Radio program "A History of the World in 100 Objects." The show details human history via objects in The British Museum's collections. They have been reviewing objects which listeners can voluntarily submit, and which relate to the concept. I've been downloading the podcasts of the show via iTunes, and it's fascinating.

I'm happy to say The True Lover's Knot was accepted following a confirmation email, transcribed below, received today!

"Congratulations. You've made history. Your object is now part of A History of the World."

See your True Lover's Knot on the website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/-pl2cwtBR8-Dy0Sm4CsgeQ

Quaker Schoolmasters

Re Hugh Pugh (b. 1747-d. aft 1807) the pen artist who made the 1801 "True Lover's Knot" for my great great great grandmother Mary Fisher, was an itinerant Quaker Schoolmaster by profession. He migrated from southeastern PA's Chester County westward into Bedford and later Washington Counties, beginning around 1770 and into the early 19th c.

Reading about Chester Co. Quakers in the 18th c. from the book West Chester to 1865: That Elegant & Notorious Place. (Douglas R. Harper, Chester County Historical Society, 1999) Apparently, school teachers at the time were often "selected not so much for their learning but because they were men incapacitated for farm work by the effects of diseases or injuries."

Hugh was born with "but one hand" (per a mention by his father—Hugh Pugh Sr.'s last Will & Testament in the Chester Co. Archives), thus his career was essentially decided for him @ birth. His father specifically stipulated in his will that his youngest son—who was only about 2 years of age at his father's death—be educated so that he could make a living. Making it still more wondrous that he was such an excellent draftsman.

His father bequeathed him a sum of money—£80 pounds—to be dispersed to him at age 21 as well, but no property. £80 of unskilled wages in the latter 18th c. calculates to an equivalent worth in today's dollars of somewhere around $69K.

Fraktur Symposium

Attended the Fraktur Symposium yesterday held at the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. A day long free (!) event featuring speakers who are expert scholars in the field.

Dr. Don Yoder, U of P, spoke in the afternoon—detailing his suggestions for advancing research on Pennsylvania's Fraktur traditions.

Thrilled to hear him suggest that research needs to be done regarding True Lover's Knots, which he termed a "parallel form to Fraktur." I was delighted to introduce myself to him after the program and showed him an image of my TLK, which he pronounced to be an important example of the form.

Looking forward to receiving a copy of his article, written some years back, specifically on the topic of Lover's Knots. I've heard of it, but haven't been fortunate enough to encounter a copy of it to date. Of course, I do hope he follows up and sends it on to me. If not, I met two other attendees who have access to a copy, so I can pursue those avenues if necessary.

This link is to just one of the 5 TLKs in the Free Library's collection, which I saw in person last year, thanks to an aid in the Rare Books Department:

http://tinyurl.com/y9md9vb

Clearly it relates to the piece I own, both in terms of geometric form and the copy included in the labyrinth bands—tho it dates a full 20 years after. All five TLKs in the PFL collection date after mine, and—unlike Hugh Pugh's—all are anonymous (unsigned) and undated.

I highly recommend a visit to the current exhibit of Fraktur in the 3rd Floor Rare Books department galleries. The exhibit is entitled Art and Artifact: Pennsylvania German Fraktur. It's on display until November 10th of this year. This links to the fantastic Digital Collection of 13,000 Fraktur in the PFL's collections:

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/fraktur/index.cfm

Appraisement Update

The appraisement for Insurance purposes of this early 19th century Lover's Knot or Valentine is complete and I've received an Affadavit Copy to that end, from Freeman's (America's Oldest Auction House) in Philadelphia, to that end from Lynda A. Cain, Appraiser.

The document states that the fixed value by her in the appraisement is the fair market values for replacement purposes, taking into consideration wear, tear and depreciation, to the best of her knowledge, information and belief, as follows:

American School, 19th Century
A Lover's Knot or Valentine for Mary Fisher
Bedford County, Pennsylvania,
signed and dated "Hugh Pugh, 1801"
watercolor and ink on laid paper,
12-3/4 inches square, framed.

$XX,XXX.XX

Note: Correspondence and accompanying
genealogy and publications.

Genealogy Guys Acknowledgment

The Genealogy Guys, George G. Morgan and Drew Smith discuss genealogy-- their podcast is the longest-running, continuous genealogy podcast in the world. ( http://www.genealogyguys.com/ )

They kindly made a follow-up mention in the June 4th '08 episode to the True Lover's Knot referencing their original story in their December '07 podcast. They generously mention the Real Simple magazine publication and link to it and this blog.

(The story begins at about the 14th minute into the recording.)

Here's the link to that particular mp3 Direct download:
genealogyguys-2008-06-04.mp3

And here's the original podcast story from the Guys' December '07 episode mp3 Direct download:
genealogyguys-2007-12-29.mp3

Keep it or Sell it?

I submitted the Knot to Real Simple magazine, via a contact at Time, Inc., last year. As a result, its image was published along with a brief caption in the June 2008 issue which hit the newstands the week of May 11th.

It also appears online at this link:

http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/gallery/0,21863,1739324-9,00.html

The article, "Keep It or Sell It?" appeared in the Home section and was subtitled: "Sometimes only an expert can tell whether an object is worth $350 or $3.50. Nine Real Simple readers find out the value of their stuff."

The image and the copy relating to the Knot appeared in the 9th, last column, of the 4-page piece. I suppose it was the penultimate placement, as it was the piece with potentially the most monetary value attached to it.

The article was written by Nicole Sforza, the editor of the Home section, and Kendell Cronstrom. The appraisers they enlisted to examine the submissions included two who were quoted regarding the Knot's value-- and their opinions differed.

Susan Bednar Long, a principal of Tocar Interior Design in NYC, suggested it could be worth thousands, but that it "probably has more sentimental value"... while Jim Antone, owner of Pleasant Cove Antiques in Florida, disagreed, suggesting it "belongs in a museum" and estimating its worth at tens of thousands.

Today, I followed up my email correspondence with Samuel T. Freeman of Freeman's -- "America's Oldest Auction House" on Chestnut Street in downtown Philadelphhia.

I met with two representatives at their bi-monthly Wednesday open appraisal days-- Amy Parenti, the Coordinator and Jim Buckley, the Executive Vice President.

They seemed intrigued, and suggested that I leave the piece-- yes, I got a receipt!-- for review by one of their Americana experts in the field. I should have their appraisal in writing in about two weeks. In the meantime, the Lover's Knot resides in their temperature-controlled vault until I can retrieve it.

I supplied them with lots of "provenance" materials for reference, which they made copies of as well. I feel that I'm doing the right thing, protecting this family asset by having it properly appraised, and ultimately insured.

Hugh Pugh's fine work is now published nationally and I'm thrilled to have brought his legacy into the light of day.

Provenance

This "fraktur"-style artifact was made for my maternal great, great, great grandmother Mary Fisher BOWEN (b. 1781 - d. 1850, St. Clair, Bedford Co., PA). by her itinerant schoolmaster, Hugh PUGH (b. 1747/48 Uwchlan, Chester Co., PA - d. aft. 1807, place unknown).

Date: December 9th, 1801
Medium: Brown writing inks; red, green, brown watercolor
Support: Laid paper
Size (H x W) 12-3/4" sq.

Mary FISHER's (maiden) name appears four times within the text.
Hugh PUGH's monogram -- "H Pugh" -- appears twice.

English text interwoven, (partial) transposed from the Knot

A true Lovers Knot to thee my Dear I send, An Emblem of true Love without an end, Crossing turning, winding in and out, Never ceasing turning round about. And as thee sees its Linkes and Crosses here, so hath thy Beauty prov'd to me a Snare, By observation of true Love I find I am bereaved of both heart and mind.

Most lovely fair one look with pity down, And do not on thy faithful Lover frown, But pardon him who ever doth thy Love desire, And ever will thy Beauteous form admire.

Therefore thou Lovely fair one let thy Beauty shine, With Beams of Comfort ravishing and divine, That so my raving Soul may by thy Love, Pass into Bliss if we both constant prove, Then shall these Crosses in this Knot of Love, Be all disdain'd if thou consenting prove.

Here is an Impression of my heart thee may see, Within this Knot that I present, to thee, Therefore thee may imagine that I am in grief, And none but thee can yield to me Relief, My ravished Soul doth ever long to see, The Marriage Knot so firmly ty'd between thee and me.