Lincoln’s Pocketwatch

 

‘In 2009 the Smithsonian found a “secret” message engraved in Abraham Lincoln’s watch by a watchmaker who was repairing it in 1861 when news of the attack on Fort Sumter reached Washington, D.C. 

‘In an interview with The New York Times April 30, 1906, 84-year-old Jonathan Dillon recalled he was working for M.W. Galt and Co. on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, where he was repairing Lincoln’s watch. The owner of the shop announced that the first shot of the Civil War had been fired. Dillon reported that he unscrewed the dial of the watch, and with a sharp instrument wrote on the metal beneath:

‘The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try.’

‘He then signed and dated the inscription and closed the dial. Dillon told The New York Times in 1906 that to his knowledge, no one ever saw the inscription. 

‘After being contacted by Dillon’s great-great-grandson, the museum agreed to remove the dial to see if the watchmaker’s message was inside. The museum did find a message inscribed on the brass underside of the movement. The wording was slightly different from Dillon’s own recollection. The actual engraving says: 

‘Jonathan Dillon
April 13-1861
Fort Sumpter [sic] was attacked by the rebels on the above date J Dillon
April 13-1861
Washington Thank God we have a government
Jonth Dillon

‘“Lincoln never knew of the message he carried in his pocket,” said the director of the National Museum of American History. This inscription remained hidden behind the dial for almost 150 years.’

– Smithsonian Museum

Wikipedia: Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. →

The First Photograph In History, 1826

Through a window of a building in Le Gras we see the first recorded image some 176 years ago. Life immortalized.

35 Million Dollar Car Collection Found in Abondoned Barn In Portugal

A while ago I came accross an unbelievable article about a man from New York who bought a property in Portugal and upon finding a locked barn, opened it and found 35 million in automobiles inside. Here is the story I had found.

Courtesy, CuriousType.com

A recently retired New York man wanted to use his retirement funds wisely, he and his wife decided to buy a home and a few acres in Portugal.

They found a perfect and out of the way farm at a decent price. The modest farm had been vacant for 15 years; the owner and wife both had died, and there were no heirs.

The estate was being sold to pay back taxes. There had been several lookers, but the large barn had steel doors, and they had been welded shut. No one wanted to go to the extra expense to see what was in the barn, and it wasn’t complimentary to the property anyway… (basically and eyesore) so, no one made an offer on the place.

The New York couple bought it as is, paying just over half of the property’s worth; moved in, and set about to access the barn… curiosity was killing him.

So, he and his wife bought a generator and a couple of grinders… and cut thru the welds.
Amazing… Total value of all vehicles… over 35 Million US dollars!

The man and his wife had full title to the complete lot of vehicles.

The Barn

Soviet Propaganda Posters

In my college years in Quinsigamond College in Worcester, I studied and did a project on Soviet Cubism and the design elements of Soviet-era art/propaganda. I was always intrigued by the power of the block elements incorporated within the art. Here are some good examples I’ve come across over my time collecting them via the web.

Vintage Signs – Labels

While browsing through the web ive come across some very interesting nostalgia. Here is a sampling…..