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Show Canadian Memorial Recalls Career of A Judge and Humorist Who Contributed To the Evolution of Our "Uncle Sam"! First known cartoon of a symbolical sym-bolical figure representing the United States. It appeared in Punch in 1844. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) YOU 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 creator crea-tor of "Sam Slick, the Connecticut Con-necticut Clockmaker" and Sam Slick provided one of the elements out of which gradually gradu-ally evolved out 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 typically 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 passing pass-ing interest in a project now under way up in Canada. The Haliburton estate at Windsor, Nova Scotia, is being rehabilitated 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 hundred 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 ancient 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 house 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 newspapers. news-papers. In one of these he satirized sati-rized the character of the New England Yankee in the person of "Sam Slick of Slickville, Onion County, Connecticut," a clock-maker clock-maker and peddler whose knowledge knowl-edge of human nature, unsophisticated unsophis-ticated wit, droll speech and cleverness in using what he called "soft sawder" immediately 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 Thomas Thom-as Bentley, the English publisher, who immediately issued an English Eng-lish edition. A 'Best Seller.' "The Clockmaker, or the Doings 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 book-buying public, has never been equaled. The 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 principal prin-cipal character. Three of them were devoted to "The Clockmaker." 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 observations obser-vations on the upper classes of England and their pampered ser- sym- L; p-j f the pm I ppl Unc ed in f I J i and SON I 1 the6' Jnion.) --k t r " I Whic have &ZLJ' i DsSfc. v the mas " " sym "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 Haliburton Halibur-ton and "Sam Slick" on American Ameri-can humor and American literature litera-ture in general, a writer in the Dearborn Independent several years ago declared that "Bill Nye, Artemus Ward, 'Mrs. Partington', Part-ington', O. Henry, all have lighted light-ed their brands at one time or another an-other at the torch of Judge Haliburton. Hali-burton. . Certainly no other book produced on this continent has had so widespread and unmistakable unmis-takable an influence." This writer then goes on to point out that "Mark Twain's 'A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's 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 situations 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 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' is that 'Topsy' 'just growed.' That is cribbed directly di-rectly from 'Sam Slick' who was read and quoted in Harriet Beech-er 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" contribution contribu-tion to the evolution of our symbolical 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 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 conceived con-ceived by Judge Haliburton and as drawn by Hervieu, a Frenchman, 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 demonstrate dem-onstrate the credibility of that theory. In the center is the figure of "Sam Slick," as delineated by 1 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" "long-leggedness" is striking. It represents 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 England. 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 trousers, 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 appearance. 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 America. Typifying America in both costume and spirit, he traces directly back to the typical American character created by a Canadian judge more than a hundred 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 authoritative authori-tative history of Nova Scotia. Incidentally, In-cidentally, Longfellow is said to have drawn part of his inspiration inspira-tion for writing "Evangeline" from this history. But Judge Haliburton could not be very serious se-rious even about his serious work. Concerning this history he once said that "Next to Mr. Slick's History His-tory of Cattyhunk in Five Volumes, Vol-umes, it (this history) is the most authoritative account of unimportant 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 appreciation 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 University 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. |