11:24 AM

New Book is out- The Great Heart of the Republic- St Louis and the Cultural Civil War by Adam Arenson 2011 published by Harvard University Press.


I often feel overwhelmed with the bits of info I've gathered about the Steamboat Arabia's businessmen. It isn't a comfortable and I can lose sight of the bigger picture and drown in a sea of meaningless facts that don't translate into the big picture. That's why I try to read as much as possible to keep myself focused.


I ordered this book before it was even printed and it arrived. Why did I order this book because the Arabia sank in 1856 you ask? Well, the businesses were still operating and because several of my consignees took opposing sides during the Civil War..... and I wanted a some serious research quickly giving me the foundation I need to understand. You know how fussy I am about good primary sources and this one is good. This book does that- 


Just thumbing thru the acknowledgements, it lists key people I should contact and grants he recieved were top drawer- St Louis Mercantile Library, the State Historical Society of Missouri and Yale to name a few.


By the title you' think it is only about the Civil War, but it is not. It picks up when my research begins and that puts me right back into my comfort zone that my judgement was on the right path all along.


The ephemeral pieces inside the cover made my heart sing when I saw the the lithos below my St Louis Levee Photograph- Compare the Photo with the litho. (It confirms my St Louis Levee photograph location and gives me another primary source.)





This is the Corner of Olive and the Levee (26-29 N.Levee)- Follow the four story building on the right in the litho below- it was one of the fireproof buildings that survived the 1849 fire started by a Steamboat the White Cloud. Under the awning in the next building to the left is the store where the Steamboat Arabia's clerk, Nicholas Springer worked in the firm of James Carson & co.
Go back to my second blog- 1856- The Real Gateway to the West now the site of the St. Louis Gateway Arch 


It was redrawn from the David Rumsey Map collection from the Plate of the Pictorial St Louis, the Great Metropolis of the Mississippi Calley: A Topographical Survey Drawn in Perspective AD 1876....


The red block shows the photo above on the Birds Eye View. There are four more building to the left of the image taken. 












The X's show the photo and check out where the 1849 fire damage was....Great starting point for me, because Snowden's business partner Carson and his previous partner owned the White Cloud when it started this fire....