Canadian Memorial Recalls Career of
A Judge and Humorist Who Contributed
To the Evolution of Our "Uncle Sam"
BJ'*6 %
TERN h *
Department
First known cartoon of a sym
bolical figure representing the
United States. It appeared in
Punch in 1844.
I By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
I (Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
OU may never have
heard of Thomas
Chandler Haliburton,
Canadian barrister and judge,
who died in England 75 years
ago this month. But you, as
an American, should have
good reason to remember
Thomas Chandler Haliburton,
author. For he was the crea
tor of “Sam Slick, the Con
necticut Clockmaker” and
Sam Slick provided one of the
elements out of which gradu
ally evolved our symbolical
figure of Uncle Sam. More
than that, he had an influence
on and contributed largely to
a type of humor which we
have come to regard as typi
cally American.
So, even though few Americans
know that such a man as Thomas
Chandler Haliburton ever existed
or have forgotten it if they did
know, we have more than a pass
ing interest in a project now
under way up in Canada. The
Haliburton estate at Windsor,
Nova Scotia, is being rehabilitat
ed and a noted painter, Sir Wyly
Grier, has been commissioned by
the government of Nova Scotia to
do a full-length, life-size painting
of the man who created Sam
Slick and whose writings, a hun
dred years ago, were delighting
readers not only in Canada but
in the United States and England
as well.
Haliburton, the scion of an an
cient Scottish family, was born in
Windsor in 1796. Educated at
King’s college in Nova Scotia he
was admitted to the bar in 1820,
later was elected to the houi?«> of
assembly of the colony, was
raised to the bench of common
pleas in 1829 and in 1840 became
a judge of the supreme court. In
the midst of his judicial duties, he
found time to write a series of
sketches for the local news
papers. In one of these he sati
rized the character of the New
England Yankee in the person of
“Sam Slick of Slickville, Onion
County, Connecticut,” a clock
maker and peddler whose knowl
edge of human nature, unsophis
ticated wit, droll speech and
cleverness in using what he
called "soft sawder” immediate
ly made him a favorite with
Canadian newspaper readers.
First published anonymously in a
paper called the Nova Scotian, a
collection of these sketches was
brought out in book form by
Joseph Howe, the editor of the
Nova Scotian. A copy of this
book fell into the hands of Thom
as Bentley, the English publisher,
(who immediately issued an Eng
lish edition.
A ‘Best Seller.’
“The Clockmaker, or the Do
ings of Sam Slick of Slickville”
was first published in 1835 and
was an instantaneous success. It
ran through 50 editions, a "best
seller” record which, considering
the time and the size of the book
buying public, has never been
equaled.
Th<* success of the first book
of sketches encouraged Bentley
to issue a second in 1838, a third
in 1840, and a fourth in 1844. In
all, there were five volumes in
which “Sam Slick" was the prin
cipal character. Three of them
were devoted to “The Clockmak
er. ’’ The fourth was called “Wise
Saws and Modern Instances” and
the fifth “The Attache, or, Sam
Slick in England.” In the latter
Sam appears as an attache to the
American legation in London and
his shrewd and humorous obser
vations on the upper classes of
England and their pampered ser
"Sam Slick,” after a drawing
made by Leech, artist for Punch,
who made the drawings for the
English editions of Haliburton’s
books.
vants were as mirth-provoking as
his satires on life among the
Yankees.
As for the influence of Halibur
ton and “Sam Slick” on Ameri
can humor and American litera
ture in general, a writer in the
Dearborn Independent several
years ago declared that "Bill
Nye, Artemus Ward, ‘Mrs. Part
ington’, O. Henry, all have light
ed their brands at one time or an
other at the torch of Judge Hali
burton. Certainly no other book
produced on this continent has
had so widespread and unmis
takable an influence.”
This writer then goes on to
point out that "Mark Twain’s ‘A
Connecticut Yankee at King Ar
thur’s Court’ is an emanation
from ‘Sam Slick, the Connecticut
Clockmaker.’ ‘Innocents Abroad’
is inspired by the same model.”
Not only did later writers get
ideas for characters and situa
tions from Haliburton but they
also used some of his words and
expressions verbatim or almost
verbatim. For, as this same
commentator points out, "The
one most quoted expression from
‘UncleTom’sCabin’ is that ‘Topsy’
‘just growed.’ That is cribbed di
rectly from ‘Sam Slick’ who was
read and quoted in Harriet Beech
er Stowe’s family, as he was in
every other family throughout the
United States . . .
“We use the expression ‘corn
fed’ and fancy it originated in our
Middle West, but it comes from
’Sam Slick’ who always described
women in the terms which he
uses for horses, one of his most
commentary ones being ‘fine forn
fed.’ ”
As for “Sam Slick’s” contribu
tion to the evolution of our sym
bolical figure of Uncle Sam, this
same writer declares “That figure
with his shrewd smile, his goatee,
striped trousers held down by
long straps, the symbolical Uncle
Sam—we are apt to think that
he was hit upon by someone in
a moment of inspiration and pic
torially set forth to symbolize the
United States. Not at all. This
figure is ‘Sam Slick,’ the hero of
‘The Clockmaker, or the Doings
of Sam Slick of Slickville,’ as con
ceived by Judge Haliburton and
as drawn by Hervieu, a French
man, and Leech, the artist, who
made Punch famous, to illustrate
the English editions.”
A glance at the illustrations at
the top of this article will dem
onstrate the credibility of that
theory. In the center is the figure
of “Sam Slick,” as delineated by
I-—■ —— -1
First American cartoon of
Uncle Sam, drawn by F. Bellow
and published in 1852.
Leech, the artist for Punch. At
the left is reproduced a picture
which is generally accepted as
the first known cartoon of a
symbolical figure representing
the United States. It appeared
in Punch in 1844 and although the
name of the artist is unknown it
may have been Leech.
At any rate, the resemblance
between this figure and the figure
of “Sam Slick,” especially in the
matter of costume and “long
leggedness” is striking. It repre
sents a young man, of decidedly
flippant tendencies, thumbing his
nose at the spectators and was
intended to depict the rowdy
young nation of the United States.
The symbol of this nation was
“Brother Jonathan” as “John
Bull” was the symbol of Eng
land.
The First Uncle Sam.
The picture on the right is
usually regarded as the first
American cartoon of Uncle Sam.
It was drawn by F. Bellow and
was published in the New York
Lantern, a comic weekly, on
March 13, 1852. In it is pictured
an amused young man, wearing
the high beaver hat, tight trous
ers, low-cut waistcoat, high col
lar and bow tie in which he is
still portrayed. The costume is
the same as “Sam Slick’s” and
even the face resembles Sam’s.
The only difference is that Uncle
Sam’s trousers are striped.
It will be noted that Uncle Sam
was then a beardless young man.
English and American cartoonists
continued to portray him thus
down to the days of the Civil war.
Then Thomas Nast, one of the
greatest cartoonists this country
ever produced, began making
some changes in Uncle Sam’s ap
pearance. It was Nast who put
chin whiskers on him and made
him the kindly old gentleman that
we know. It is said that Nast had
in mind Abraham Lincoln when
he began depicting Uncle Sam.
He also added the familiar
starred vest and striped coat and
put stars on his hat. Since that
time, cartoonists generally have
followed Nast’s lead in portraying
Uncle Sam.
But the essential fact is that he
is the tall gangling man in tight
trousers, swallow-tailed coat,
high collar, bow tie and tall hat
and represents the spirit of
Amerioa. Typifying America in
both costume and spirit, he
traces directly back to the typical
American character created by a
Canadian judge more than a hun
dred years ago—“Sam Slick, the
Connecticut Yankee.”
Haliburton the Historian.
Haliburton was not a writer of
humorous works only. Some of
his more serious works included
“Rule and Misrule of the English
in America” and the first authori
tative history of Nova Scotia. In
cidentally, Longfellow is said to
have drawn part of his inspira
tion for writing “Evangeline”
from this history. But Judge
Haliburton could not be very se
rious even about his serious work.
Concerning this history he once
said that “Next to Mr. Slick’s His
tory of Cattyhunk in Five Vol
umes, it (this history) is the most
authoritative account of un
important things I have ever
seen.” However, the government
authorities of Nova Scotia thought
enough of it to recognize it with
a ceremonious speech of appre
ciation in the house of assembly.
In 1850 Haliburton retired from
the supreme court and went to
England to live. In 1859 he was
elected as a conservative in the
house of commons and held his
seat there until its dissolution in
1865. Because of ill health, he
declined a re-election. The Uni
versity of Oxford conferred the
degree of D. C. L. upon him a
short time before his death at
Isleworth, England, on August 27,
1865.
Suede Fashions Due for Big
Vogue This Fall and W inter
By CHERIE NICHOLAS
IF YOU have not already been con
*■ verted into a suede way of think
ing, you will when you see the fasci
nating things designers are doing
with handsome suede for the com
ing fall and winter. In a wide range
of colors, never so beautiful, never
so exquisitely supple and never be
fore so versatile for all purposes,
suede has reached the point where
it is regarded as a staple medium
for the making of smart apparel.
No matter from what fashion an
gle the approach is made, suede
qualifies as the perfect answer.
There’s nothing smarter on the
boards for fall than a coat or a jack
et, a suit or a one-piece dress made
of suede. As to accessories of suede
the rich colors of suede and its de
lightsome yield to deft handling is
revealed throughout a whole list of
bags and hats, belts, gloves and
footwear that add the swank touch
to goodlooking costumes.
Women of keen fashion-sense like
suede because it not only has proved
to be dependably wearable and prac
tical, but when it comes to color
suede is positively glamorous and
stands in a class all its own when
it comes to interpreting a new hqjh
in fashion.
Destined to be adored is the little
boy jacket done in suede as shown
to the left in the illustration. It is
collarless with slightly padded shoul
ders. It boasts of three large patch
pockets. Helen Wood, glamor girl
of 1940 in filmland, chooses this
jacket in a gold nugget hue to wear
over a moss green suede dress.
Any school-faring girl will do well
to include in her wardrobe a suede
ensemble after the manner of the
model shown to the right. Here you
see Rosemary De Camp, dramatic
cinema actress, in a one-piece dress
made of porcelain blue suede. Soft
ness is achieved by a fullness gath
ered in under the slash pockets on
the waist. The only trimming de
tail is a thong lacing outlining the
neckline and the invisible slide fast
ener down the front. You will love
this dress in any of the new colors.
Part of the glory and romance of
the new suede costumes is that
hats to match are ever available.
You can get a sort of college girl
mortar-board type such as crowns
the pretty head of the figure stand
ing, or if you like the cunning match
ing hat inspired by a bellhop cap as
you see pictured in the inset below,
shops and departments carry both
types.
society nas taken to vacationing
in the far West where picturesque
“dude” ranches offer fascinating
sport and diversion. Part of the fun
is “when you are in Rome do as
Romans do,” which is to say in this
connection, adopt cowboy costumes.
At least this is what fashion is do
ing, playing on the theme in a way
to dazzle the eye with the novelty
and chic of slacks and even dresses,
and blouses and jackets made of
suede or other fanciful leather. And
here’s where suede comes into its
own in all its glory, in just such
attractive outfits as the white leath
er Western riding habit centered in
the picture. The fringed skirt is ac
cented by studs of silver. The boots
and fringed bolero are similarly
treated.
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
Red Corduroy
It’s time to give thought to the
inevitable easy-to-slip-on jacket that
is indispensable when cool breezes
announce that autumn days are
here. The pick of them all, in the
estimation of fashion-wise college
girls and their younger school-far
ing sisters is the Jacket that is made
of bright red corduroy. A grand
twosome for early fall days on the
campus or for general wear when
the tang of autumn calls for com
fortable wraps is a jacket of stop
light red corduroy such as is pic
tured here, topped with a matching
hat of the identical corduroy.
Pompadour Styles
Fix Hat Fashions
The revival of the pompadour
comes to some of us as a surprise,
but here it is and no mistake, smug
| gled in under the guise of a group
of flattering curls or some other
softly arranged coiffure that is real
ly very flattering. If there is one
thing more than another that we are
learning this season it is that the
new hat fashions have to a certain
extent been greatly influenced by
the return of the pompadour.
Toque and Turban
Fashions Arriving
Coming in are a series of toque
and turban fashions that suggest
the quaint bonnets worn in the six
ties. You wear them back of the
pompadour and the inspiring note
about these little chapeaux are they
are becoming to youth and to the
not so young, as well. In fact for
the matronly type these turbans and
toques solve the pompadour hat
problem perfectly. An older woman
who could under no circumstances
venture to wear a wide brim posed
back on the head such as the teen
age delights in, finds that the little
draped toqqps are a triumphant so
lution.
Also there is comfort in the
thought that milliners are designing
smart hats that are intended to dip
over the brow, that tune to the new
style demands every whit as smart
ly as do the excitingly new pompa
dour effects.
Gold Jewelry Will
Be Vi orn This Fall
In spite of the fact that gold jew
elry has been somewhat out of the
picture for a brief spell comes re
ports to the effect that it has again
come to the fore in the style pic
ture. However, the new gold jewel
ry that will enliven smart black
jersey dresses and those of sheer
wools, is not of the garish spectacu
lar type. There is exquisite refine
ment expressed in subtle detail and
workmanship in the incoming neck
laces, bracelets, pins, clips and la
pel ornaments.
Fringe and Lacing
Decorative Trims
Soft fringe and lacing are two
decorative trims used together on .a
pretty pair of white linen shoes
shown by a New York designer. The
shoe is a very high-heeled pump i
laced up the toe and down the back
of the shank. The throat of the
pump is edged with a rim of nar
row fringe repeated in a straight
band below each crossed lacing on
the toe.
O EMEMBER how nice you used
to look and feel when you
tripped off to school in a fresh
white blouse with a sailor collar?
Well, if you’re in the junior size
range, you can take upon yourself
that same naive, engaging charm,
by making this frock with sailor
collar and rows and rows of braid.
Design No. 8738 has very soft and
feminine lines, however sailorfied
its spirit, because the skirt has
smart unpressed front fulness and
the blouse is gathered to round
out your bustline.
Carry out the nautical idea by
making it up in blue chambray
with white braid, white linen with
navy braid, or beige with scarlet.
It’s a good style for checked ging
ham and sharkskin, too. Send for
the pattern right now. Be among
the first to wear it!
Pattern No. 8738 is designed for
sizes 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19. Size 13
requires 4*4 yards of 35-inch ma
terial without nap; 814 yards
braid. Send order to:
SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT.
Room 1324
211 W. Wacker Dr. Chicago
Enclose IS cents in coins for
Pattern No. Size..
Name .....
Address...
--
HOUSEHOLD
QUESTIONS
-
Make cuts in marshmallows, in
sert bits of butter and jelly. Ar
range on crackers and broil or
bake until the marshmallows are
puffy and brown.
* * *
When stewing fruit, add the sug
ar just before taking the fruit off
the stove. In this way far less
sugar is needed than if it is put
in at the beginning.
• * •
The backs of pictures should be
inspected from time to time. If
there are any holes in the paper,
fresh pieces should be pasted over
them, or dust will get in.
• * *
When laundering curtains of
voile, scrim or any material which
has to be ironed, if they are folded
so the selvage ends are together
and ironed, they will hang per
fectly even and straight.
* * *
Grass stains can easily be re
moved from linens, cottons or
white stockings by rubbing the
stains with molasses before wash
ing.
* * •
When folding a bedspread bach
for the night begin at the top of
the spread and fold it toward the
foot of the bed in half. Then fold
from each end toward the cen
ter, forming a triangle, the point
of which is toward the head and
the base toward the foot of the
bed. Hold the point and fold it
smoothly over the footboard. To
unfold, follow in reverse order.
See how you’re helped
by delicious oranges!
Hardly one family in two now gets enough vitamins and minerals to per
mit radiant good health. So enjoy oranges liberally-tAttTy/ Eat them for
healthful refreshment. Or keep ready a big pitcher ef fresh orangeade.
An 8-ounce glass of fresh orange juice gives you all the vitamin C you
normally need each day-and one-third of the vitamin B}. It also supplies
vitamins A and G, and the minerals calcium, phosphorus and iron.
Sunkist brings you the pick of California’s finest-ever crop of summer
oranges. Buy a supply next time you buy groceries.
Copyright, 1940, California Fruit Grower* Exchange
