Headley, Joel Tyler, Headley, J.T.
Description
Part of the Historic Adirondack Reprint Series
• Original Artwork
• Edited, proof-read, and formatted specifically for multiple devices and print for
...
mats.
• Full Text of the 1864 New Edition (32 chapters from original edition as well as 16 chapters added from the new edition.)
• New Introduction for the Historic Adirondack Reprint Series edition.
• All original prints are included
Joel Tyler Headley (1813-1897) was an American author, clergyman and politician from New York. He was one of an early group of people who wrote about the Adirondacks, helping both to popularize it for health and recreational purposes, but also to romanticize its way of life and the rugged people who lived there, from homesteaders to the archetypal Adirondack Guides.
This book is written in the form of letters to a friend. Headley took at least three long trips to the Adirondacks, in 1846, 1848 and 1858. First published as an account of the 1846-48 trips, it proved quite popular, and was thus reissued in a new edition with the account of the later trip as well.
Headley’s work greatly influential the popularity and mythos of the Adirondacks. His trips and books came before the big push for preservation (notably in the form of the Adirondack Park) got underway in the late 19th century, but did a lot to contribute to that cause. His positions as a newspaperman and politician (he served in the Assembly in 1855 and as NY State Secretary of State from 1856-1857) no doubt also helped to bring the issues of the region to greater light. He writes not only of the beauty and resources of the mountains and lakes, but of the need to protect them as well as enjoy them. He rails against hunters who wantonly kill deer for the fun of it, describing how communities band together to protect the game on which they depend. At the same time, he thoroughly enjoys and glorifies the hunt. There is even a passage where he describes how hard it is to kill a northern diver – a loon, which he wishes to take for its skin. Try as the hunters might, the birds always seem to evade the bullets, and the purpose of the hunt seems to be sport as much an anything else. With all its description and opinion, along with its stature as one of the first books of its kind, it should be read by all who are interested in Adirondack history. It is one of the seminal books of its kind which belongs on the shelf of every Adirondack enthusiast.
This book is noted for its wonderful illustrations, which have been widely emulated and which are included here. Thanks to the free archive at Old Book Art, these images are easily available to the public.
As much as possible, the spelling, punctuation and layout of the original text have been preserved. In cases of obvious typographical errors (such as “form” vs. “from”), corrections have been made. Inconsistencies in spelling (such as “White Face” in one chapter vs. “Whiteface” in another, “Keane” vs. “Keene,” spelling “Mitchell” alternately with one vs. two L’s, or “musquito”) have been preserved. Other spellings, though outdated, have also been preserved (such as “ospray”, "trowsers" and “loth”). Punctuation has also been preserved, although some blank spaces have been edited. The layout has been edited for the Kindle, but has been preserved as much as possible. Page numbers have been eliminated. Italicized text has been preserved. Footnotes have been moved into the text as inline citations. This prevents disruption of the flow on the kindle. The images appear in the approximate positions as they do in the original. If an image appeared mid-chapter, it has been moved to the beginning of the chapter.
If errors are found, updates will be made as soon as possible.
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