Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-05-25
A TYPOG sAPHIC ROMANCE OF
THE OEDEN TINE.

THE OEDEN TINE.
Under the caption, "A Curious Rev.
dictionary Handful, the Nelg YorE
Herald published in its Revolutionary
Supplement-, No. ,, a fac-simile of al
old-style print with heavily elaborat,
border, enclosing the first three Of tt,
Mecklenburg resolutions of May 20
Tvs. On the lower margin was tn,
imprint "Heiskel & Brown, Prs,
without indication of date or locality
Altogether, this fac-simile of ar ole
hand bill wore familiar appearance,
to some parties in Knoxville, aud it
real age and origin are thus explained
by the Press and Herald:
We called on Col. +. S. Heiskell a
] his residence, last evening, and fOunC
/ him ut home. With cordial welcOm,
! he invited us to enter his study, anC
we took a seat by the old gentleman
side. Col. Heiskell is a veteran Jour
nalist and practica printer, and is nov
in ais eighty-ffth year. He is tn,
/ father Of Hon. J. B. Heiskell, the At
torney General Of the State. NOtwith
standing his age he is alert and vigor
ous-meRS sdRa IN cOrpOre sGnO Hi:
hearing is a ute, his eyesight excellent
and his memory accurate rs to dates
and details
We opened out the Ncl0 York Herald
before him on his study table, and
asked him if he recognized the ''revo-
iutionary relic" handful. The old gen.
tleman's eyes twinkled merrily as BE-
instantly replied, MY dear sir, I set
mp and printed that handful, 4" and
turning over the leaves of a scrap
book, he pointed to the handful which
had arrested our attention. The hand
bill In Col. Heiskell's possession is
printed on heavy paper of light brown
color, showing marks Of age. Com
pairing it with the fac-simile Of the
revolutionary relic" in the Herald, we
found the two to be exactly alike.
We entered into a conversation with
Col. Heiskell on the subject, and this is
the gist of his statement:
i was in partnership with Mr.. Hugh
Brown. under the firm name Of HE'S
kcn & Brown, in the printing business
IN this city for perid o. thirteen years,
from 1916 t. 1929. About the year
IS25-certainly not before that date
we printed the handful you see on an
order from DIR. J. G. II. Ramsey, who
is still an honOred resident Of Knox
Vile recollect distinctly setting up
the type myself. The border l thought
WAS a marvel IN compOsitIOn-and It
was Sd regarded at thaI day. We
printed two OF three copies on silk, and
a number Of copies on paper. Ha. la,
ha, The Near York Herald says it is
a curious revolutionary hand-bIll, and
an old printer thinks it could not have
been issued until the end Of the last
century! Yes, / set 1t myself, in 1926,
or about that year. You can see our
imprint plainly enough reproduced in
the Herald's fac simile, 'Heiskell &
Brown, Prs
We called next on DR.. J. G. NJ
Ramsey. the Venerable historian Of
Tennessee, and found him hale and
vigorous IN intellect, though still suf-
fering somewhat IN body from a fall
from his horse some months ago. The
doctor welcomed us cordially. Inform
ing him Of the object of our visit, he
stated that he recognized the handful.
Sometime about 1923 or 1895, Col.
VIM. Polk, Of Raleigh, n. c., sent him
q pamphlet and a paper containing the
Mecklenburg resolutions, and other
matter pertaining 10 the Meek
lcnburg DeelaratioD-in the per-
feet genuineness Of which DR..
Ramsey is a firm believer and eloquent
advocate. Thepaurphlet was gotten up
IN a poor style, and so DR.. Ramsey had
MessIs. Heiskell & Brown print the
three resolutions IL handbills. Two Of
these were printed on satin, and one Of
the two DR.. Ramsey had framed and
now possesses II hanging in his paTlOr.
The other he sent to Gen. Andrew
jackson, who acknowledged its receipt
with expressions Of great pleasure.
The Doctor said ne also had several
copies printed on paper and presented
them To his friends.
j. II. Alexander, Secretary. whose
name is attached to the Mgckienburg
Declaration as printed IN the handbills,
vas the grandfather II DR.. Ramsey.
The Press and Herald speaks as
though it had caught its New York
contemporary mapping" over this
revolutionary LanGbill, which is, OF
course, a misnomer, as it is not a hand
bill Of revolutionary times; but, in the
accompanying text, the Herald says of
the document:
It has been stated that It was issued
Immediately after the adjournment Of
the Provincial Congress; but, judging
from the elaborate bordering, the style
and variety Of type, old printers agree
that It could not have appeared until
about the end Of s.. last century.
In thus sppea to tbs Judgment
Of experts, the / Z SD we'd its en-
terprise and desl- -gr accuracy. Look
ing back over the history Of printing in
this country, the experts were not far
wrong, considering that they were in
the dark as to the locality where the
handbill was printed. In that early
period a difference Of twenty-five years
was about the difference in style be-
tween New York and Knoxville.
A more important question, however,
is preached by the Press and Herald in
The following:
By the way, the Herald prints right
beneath the fac-simile Of the hand bill
what purports to be the fac simile Of
the autographs Of the signers Of the
declaration. One Of the signatures
is that of "Waightstill Avery" The
name as printed in the HgaId's fac
similc Of the hand bill Is "WaiUstiu
Avery" and this is correct The
FAM y are well known through this
section, many Of the descendants Of
Waitstill Avery retaining the name
and the photography Of "WaitstiIl"
As it claimed that the original Meek
leuburg Declaration" was burned up,
it might be Of interest to know where
the Herald obtained the autographs Of
the signeTs.
This springs another question: As