History - Karen A. Chase

Jefferson wrote in his books!

September 14, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

PatrickHenry — As part of a presentation to my DAR group, I got to touch and hold this book of Patrick Henry’s in which he glued a bookplate and scrawled his name multiple times. Jefferson marked his books a different way.

As a lover of books and history, I am fascinated by the library collection of Thomas Jefferson. Over six thousand of his books became the Library of Congress. Terribly, in 1851 a fire reduced it to 2,465 volumes, and one-by-one, the Library of Congress has sought to replace the lost books as best they can. But those new acquisitions don’t always bear the mark of Jefferson’s library.

Bookplates, small paper panels glued into the inside cover or first page, were common in the 18th and 19th century. Books were costly treasures, definitely not 99¢, and so owners inserted custom engraved bookplates, and often signed them.

However, the bookplate wasn’t for Jefferson. During his lifetime, books were hand-printed and bound in small sections called signatures, and then those signatures were stitched together into the book. To ensure those signatures were put in the right order, each one had a tiny letter stamped on the bottom of the first page. “A” for the first signature, “B” for the second signature, “C”, etc.

In his books, Jefferson cleverly hand wrote a “T” before the small imprinted “J” and sometimes a “J” after the “T.” Nothing more. I can just see it. Jefferson, sitting alone in his study, tongue in the corner of his mouth, inking in a small “T” or “J” and nothing more. Smirking. It makes him seem mischievous and not just a little cunning.

Do you write in, or mark up your books as your own? How?

The bookplate of George Washington and others can be seen at Bookplate.org.
Learn more about Jefferson’s collection on display now at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Where Do You Research?

July 27, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

This week I was asked where I’ve been conducting research for my novel about the American Revolution. My response was, “would you like that alphabetically or chronologically?” Certainly, I’ve worked with the traditional sources like libraries and archives. However, historical fiction isn’t like non-fiction where you must always go in search of proof. Sometimes it’s in search of opportunities for fiction.

Conflicting viewpoints are one way to find it. Wikipedia. Blogs. Historians. Those resources are filled with proofs and facts, but also opinions, theories and undocumented sources. Where two ideas collide gives me the opportunity to draw out what would happen if one of those two ideas was correct.

I also search for holes. Historical documents, textbooks (especially elementary and high school versions), and websites by historic hobbyists don’t always provide the same level of facts. Where I find a repeated dearth of details with regard to a place, event or time, is a hole I can fill with… well… stuff I make up.

I also research for the senses. I rarely find those in a book, so I travel to actual locations. I want to hear a place, smell it, touch trees, or look at the view – even if they’ve changed. There’s often a nearby museum, and there’s always some historic-ranger-docent guy who loves the place or whose grandpa told stories. I love them. After all, that’s what I do. Tell stories.

How do you conduct historical research for fiction?

Below are my photos from Stratford Hall, about an hour north of Richmond. It was home to the Lee family, who contributed two signers to the Declaration of Independence, and the general of the south, Robert E. Lee.

Celebrate the Flag

June 29, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

CH_Flag — A properly hung American Flag in my neighborhood in Church Hill. Photo courtesy of Worthington Photography located here in Richmond. Worthington-photography.com

I’m a Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR), which means I’ve proven I have an ancestor who fought in the American Revolution. Today, the DAR helps share knowledge about our country’s history, including information about the American flag, which is very appropriate for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations. In case you don’t know, there is an official US Flag Code, and it may alter your July fourth party plans.

The flag should not be put on an article of clothing or anything disposable (paper plates, napkins, etc.). Should you really be wiping BBQ sauce off your face with the flag? It shouldn’t have anything beneath it or touch the ground, so no flag table cloths. If you do hang the flag (stripes down), it should be lit at night if it stays outside and come down during bad weather.

Can you burn a flag? Section 8k states: “When it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, [it] should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.” The Girl Scouts is one of the organizations that performs official retirement ceremonies.

You can read the Flag Code in it entirety, or for a more fun review of wrongful uses go to the Flag Wall of Shame. It’s also a great what-not-to-wear guide.

An interesting note: Betsy Ross didn’t design this flag we have today. Our current flag with the 50 stars was designed by a 17-year old, Robert G. Heft, who in 1958 designed it for a school project. He got a B-minus. When it was chosen out of 1500 entries to be the flag, the teacher changed the grade to an A.

Writing the Declaration

June 22, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

PhillyStateHouse_KAC — During one of my research trips a couple years ago I visited the Philadelphia State House where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. (I was blonder then. I'm much smarter after all this research.)

For the last three years, whenever I could, I’ve been conducting research for an historical fiction novel I’m writing about the American Revolution. With the upcoming July fourth holiday we celebrate the Declaration of Independence, so I share some of what I learned about the drafting of the finished piece.

Thomas Jefferson, as most know, was the main writer. Most don’t know he wrote it in just two days. The Continental Congress agreed to the resolution for independence on July second, Jefferson presented his rough draft after a little editing help from Adams and Franklin (read Adams’ first-hand account here), the Congress cut off about another quarter of the text, and the formal finished piece was adopted on July fourth. That day, John Dunlap printed 200 copies to distribute throughout the colonies, twenty-four of which exist today, including one in nearby Jamestown Yorktown Victory Center.

The famous parchment version with all the signatures, now housed at the National Archives, had some editing issues. The word “unalienable” was misspelled. It should be “inalienable.” When the founding fathers went to sign it, it’s assumed Jefferson’s hand corrected a couple more. The word “representatives” was missing the “en” so that was penned in. The word “only” was also inserted about ten lines up from the bottom into “Our repeated Petitions have been answered only in repeated injury.” You can actually see the changes on the original parchment. They make me feel so much better about my own editing mistakes.