A collection of letters mainly between Gershom Flagg and his son Willard but also to and from prominent St. Louisans, Illinois politicians, and others. Crusty, wry, opinionated, Gershom Flagg and his son who was at Yale, kept each other up to date concerning local, national, and international politics; agricultural, social, and economic trends; and duels, bank robberies, and hangings in and around St. Louis and southern Illinois; and the latest fads at Yale. These letters show that even during the early prairie years, Illinoisans were not isolated from the world of culture and politics unless they chose to be. Gershom Flagg viewed the world through a curmudgeon’s eyes, his son Wil­lard through the eyes of a romantic. Their letters add flesh and blood to the skeleton of history as they provide first-hand accounts of great events by the men who lived through them. The Flaggs wrote of cholera epidemics, river travel, prairie fires and fires in St. Louis, education, social events, and entertainment. Because Ger­shom was a great gossip who kept track of his neighbors, he includes facts about local weddings, births, deaths, even family quarrels.

Washington Allston (1779-1843), the first major American artist trained in Europe, produced important paintings, explored sculpture and architecture, and published poetry and art criticism. On his return to America he became influential in the cultural and intellectual life of New England. Allston "knew everyone" and corresponded with many of the leading figures of his day, including Wordsworth, Longfellow, Irving, Sully, and Morse. Nathalia Wright's edition is the most comprehensive work to date on Allston, bringing together all known letters by and to him and describing his principal activities in years for which correspondence is lacking. Allston holds an important place in the history of American culture and European art and has long deserved such a volume, which offers a fascinating view of the world of arts and letters during the early American flowering.

A collection of letters mainly between Gershom Flagg and his son Willard but also to and from prominent St. Louisans, Illinois politicians, and others. Crusty, wry, opinionated, Gershom Flagg and his son who was at Yale, kept each other up to date concerning local, national, and international politics; agricultural, social, and economic trends; and duels, bank robberies, and hangings in and around St. Louis and southern Illinois; and the latest fads at Yale. These letters show that even during the early prairie years, Illinoisans were not isolated from the world of culture and politics unless they chose to be. Gershom Flagg viewed the world through a curmudgeon’s eyes, his son Wil­lard through the eyes of a romantic. Their letters add flesh and blood to the skeleton of history as they provide first-hand accounts of great events by the men who lived through them. The Flaggs wrote of cholera epidemics, river travel, prairie fires and fires in St. Louis, education, social events, and entertainment. Because Ger­shom was a great gossip who kept track of his neighbors, he includes facts about local weddings, births, deaths, even family quarrels.

Vol. 13 Michael David Cohen, editor ; Bradley J. Nichols, editorial assistant.