a book and some noodling about mourning customs ~

for the 50bookchallenge:

no 50. ~ The Physician’s Wife and the Things that Pertain to Her Life by Ellen M. Firebaugh. this was fun. i was hoping for something more, but she tells some funny stories about being the wife of a country doctor before the turn of the century (this was published in 1894). she mostly focuses on how nobody ever pays their bills and how husbands are notoriously inconsiderate of their wives (she writes humorously, but i found her whining to be sorta cloying). it was nevertheless an amusing romp.

in pursuance: it's been muddling through the back of my head:

that the headquarters of every department, post, station, fort, and arsenal, be draped in mourning for thirty days, and appropriate funeral honors be paid.

thirty days gets us to mid-may, so just about the time that reporters are allowed in the courtroom, they ought to be taking the crepe down. furthermore, acting secretary of state orders:

...in honor to the memory of our late illustrious Chief Magistrate, all officers and others subject to the orders of the Secretary of State, wear crepe upon the left arm for the period of six months

i wondered about this because i thought: well that means everyone at the trial ought to be wearing mourning and yet none of their pictures show them to be! so i went back and looked at everyone again and here's a testament to my flimsy powers of observation: Holt and Hanty's staff are wearing mourning. it's true that most of the commission does not appear to be wearing it, however (Burnett is definitely not). it seems odd, but i'll try not to make much of that. i'm especially amazed that i failed to notice it on Hanty's staff.

( the blatant evidence )

this looks like the style of rosette that Dodd is
wearing in the picture under the cut. very cool.

man, i really love little details like that.