The William Randolph Hearst Historical Society and Library

04/10/2021

Hi;

If this is your first visit to the WRHHS&L there hasn't been new posts lately. It is suggested you look past the posts about the fire threatening the Castle and look at the earlier posts about Hearst and the Cartoons, Hearst and Hollywood, Hearst and New Salem. New post are in the works so hit "Follow" so you won't miss them when they're posted here on Facebook.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again....

08/05/2017

Well, if there are no leaks the decorative marble work will be added but for now it's a once in a lifetime moment for the current visitors as the pool won't been seen again this way for a very, very... very long time.

As part of a $5.4 million renovation project, contractors have spent months stripping the massive Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle and repairing leaks ...

06/01/2017

Hearst Castle ~ 60th Anniversary
June 2, 2017, will mark the 60th anniversary of William Randolph Hearst’s Castle being opened to public touring. For many people, however, it was Life magazine, August 26, 1957, that provided their first introduction to this magnificent home located on the Central California coastline. The issue offered readers the first color photos of the Castle and information about its historic past. Its cover featured the outdoor Roman Pool which is one of the most photographed features of the site.

05/31/2017

Hearst Castle 60th anniversary:
June 2, 2017 marks the 60th anniversary of the opening of William Randolph Hearst’s Castle to public touring. Built between 1919 and 1947 the site has been toured by millions of visitors from around the world. His ‘Castle’ sits on a hilltop 1600 feet above sea level and features fine art and antiques collected over his lifetime. The Castle is located at San Simeon, San Luis Obispo County. California State Parks offer guided tours of the site 362 days of the year.

02/11/2017

HEARST, LINCOLN AND THE VILLAGE OF NEW SALEM
In Celebration of Lincoln’s Birthday ~ February 12, 2017

In 1902 T.G. Onstot wrote that someday New Salem, Illinois, would be considered the “Mount Vernon of the West”. In 1917 the New Salem Lincoln League was formed and work began on the reconstruction of what would become a shrine in memory of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States. Today Lincoln’s New Salem Historic Site is a state park, but without the interest and assistance of William Randolph Hearst it might never have survived to the 21st Century.

In August 1906 the Old Salem Chautauqua Association invited Mr. Hearst to lecture at their summer festival. These lectures were held at Petersburg, Illinois, on grounds across the Sangamon River from a 62 acre parcel that included land that once had been the village of New Salem; Abraham Lincoln’s home from 1831 to 1837.

Hours prior to the lecture Hearst was invited to tour the site, which was then called 'Salem Hill', to see what was left of the village. By 1906 it had become 'a hog and cow pasture' after being abandoned and only depressions in the earth marked where the homes and businesses had once stood. At the time of his visit the current owners, the Bale family of Petersburg, were resisting sale of the property to developers in hopes, like those of the Association, that it would someday become the site of a Lincoln memorial.

In the early 20th century Americans had become interested in the childhood and prairie years of Lincoln and the public wanted to visit the important places of his early life. First, there was significant interest in his birthplace, a log cabin on his father's 'Sinking Spring Farm' in Kentucky. It became part of a National Park in July 1916. However, his most formative years were considered to be those seven he spent in New Salem. There he began to show his leadership abilities, improved his education, became a lawyer, served in the military, ran for political office and became known for his honesty and kindness.

During his visit to New Salem Mr. Hearst agreed to purchase the property for historic preservation. When this action was announced to the 8,000 members attending his lecture it was received with 'tumultuous applause'. He later gifted the property to the Old Salem Chautauqua Association, in trust, so they could begin work on preserving the site. Although plans were immediately made for making it a memorial and relocating the Chautauqua summer school there, no development took place for the next ten years.

In January 1917 the Old Salem Lincoln League was formed and on-site research commenced. At a July 4th picnic the old settlers from the area helped the League in indentifying the locations of several cabins and marking out the old roads. The following January the League incorporated and held festivities there in celebration of the Illinois Centennial, which included re-enactments of scenes from Lincoln's life.

Restoring the village had now gained wide public approval and on April 3, 1918, the Illinois Legislature agreed to take over the site and restore it to the state of Lincoln’s residency. In 1918, with Mr. Hearst's approval, the Association deeded the land to the State of Illinois. Again there was a long pause while further research was conducted. Finally, in 1931, The Civilian Conservation Corps began the work of reconstructing the village.

On November 26, 1933 the village of New Salem was dedicated as a state park to the memory of Abraham Lincoln and opened to public touring. In their book “Salem Hill” the authors, Miller and Montgomery, state that Mr. Hearst “indicated he wanted the park to be forever free”.

Mr.Hearst passed away on August 18, 1951. On August 19 a bronze plaque was placed at New Salem honoring his purchase and gift stating that his actions had fostered “the restoration of the village where Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837”. For if William Randolph Hearst had not purchased the Bale property for historic preservation it might have been eventually sold for development and lost to our Nation forever.

TEXT: STAFF - IMAGES: WRHHS&L ARCHIVES

10/28/2016

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH: THE PERGOLA IS ADDED AS AN EQUESTRIAN FEATURE AT SAN SIMEON

A pergola is an archway consisting of a framework covered with climbing or trailing plants. The one built at San Simeon during the 1920’s was to be used as a bridle path by the host and his guests when at the Ranch. However, in the planning stage Mr. Hearst specified to architect Julia Morgan that the distance between the columns was to be wide enough to enable a car to drive along the route as well.

A mile and a half in length, it encircles the ridge immediately to the West of the one used for the estate. On one side of this ridge the guests were afforded views of the Pacific Ocean with its rocky, jagged coastline. On its other side they overlooked the Arroyo de la Cruz and the Santa Lucia Range.

The photograph which looks to the East shows the bridle path with the columns already set in place. The span between the tops of each pair was eventually connected with the necessary cross beams. A grapevine was planted at the base of each column which grew up and onto those cross beams to create a grape arbor. On each side of the pathway one column was connected to the next by several strands of heavy gauge wire, like the boards of a fence. In the middle of that span was planted various fruit trees whose limbs were then espaliered along these wires.

Mr. Hearst delighted in taking his guests on a horseback ride, either out on the Ranch or through the pergola. Guests who had no equestrian training would be offered a drive through the pergola in one of his on-site limousines. The drive offered them the opportunity to also appreciate the spectacular views along the bridle path. Whether on horseback or in an automobile, at some point along the way, there was pause for all to stop to taste the grapes and fresh fruit, while enjoying the shade provided by the grapevines.

The biggest problem in building the pergola was how to make the columns. When searching for a manufacturer, one company Morgan contacted offered to sell them a recently cancelled order of sewer pipes at a discounted price. A deal was struck and they had a ready-made set of columns for the pergola.

The remnants of the Pergola are seen on the bus trip to and from Hearst Castle. When the tour buses pass through the ‘landscaped’ area that includes the Pergola it is to the left-hand side of the roadbed. This area belongs to the Hearst Ranch but is maintained by employees of the California Sate Parks. California State Parks offer tours of Mr. Hearst’s Castle 362 days of the year.

CREDITS: TEXT: STAFF - IMAGES: GOOGLE/ IMAGES
Posted: 10/28/16

10/13/2016

THE HEARST NEWSPAPERS: HEARST BEGINS ADDING ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE DAILY NEWS

It was March 1887 when William Randolph Hearst took over the San Francisco Examiner from his father. George Hearst, who previously had owned the paper, had been elected a Senator and was on his way to Washington to represent California in the Senate. At that time there were no illustrations on its pages just text. The late 1880s and the early 1890s was a time before the development of technologies that would allow for photographs to be inserted into a publication, but graphics could be added onto its pages.

The use of illustrations was an already well established practice in the magazines of his day. Mr. Hearst, wanting to begin complimenting the news stories with "graphics" of current events, began hiring artists such as James ‘Jimmy’ Swinnerton to produce drawings to enhance the news stories appearing in the Examiner.

Pictured here is a typical news story with an accompanying illustration from a November 1897 Morning Edition of the San Francisco Examiner. Sometimes these illustrations included the artist’s signature but in this example the graphic remained unsigned.

Note that near the lower right hand corner of the image there is an illustration of the man, ax in hand, chasing the turkey. This one box cartoon was added to the page as an indicator to his readers that the Thanksgiving holiday was close at hand.

Story Credit: Staff / Image Credits: WRHHS&L Archives
Also see on this page THE HEARST NEWSPAPERS AND THE COMICS: JAMES “JIMMY” SWINNERTON AND THE ORIGIN OF THE MODERN COMIC STRIP

09/16/2016

THE HEARST NEWSPAPERS AND THE COMICS: MAGIC POST CARDS WITH THE SUNDAY COMICS

In the first decade of the 20th Century the Hearst newspapers began to include a sheet of card stock with 4 post cards printed on them. These were inserted in his Sunday Comics section to be cut apart for collection, or to be sent to friends and relatives. Each post card featured a favorite cartoon character found in the Hearst newspapers.

This one is an example of the Hearst newspaper's “magic” post cards. The image on the left was printed in colored ink while the image on the right was ‘invisible.’ The invisible image could only be seen once a heat source, such as a candle or a light bulb, was held close to the card to bring out the hidden image.

This post card was published in 1906 and features one of Swinnerton’s newest characters at the time, one he had evolved from his “Tiny Tigers” comic strip; a tiny tiger named Mr. Jack.

Now Mr. Jack liked to flirt with the ladies and was always in trouble with his wife. On the bottom left of this post card is a question: “Who is Mr. Jack trying to flirt with?” The hidden image, when revealed, answered the question. It turned out to be his long-suffering spouse, "Wifey".

Story Credit: Staff / Image Credits: WRHHS&L Archives

To read more about Hearst, Swinnerton and the modern comic strip see: “THE HEARST NEWSPAPERS AND THE COMICS: JAMES “JIMMY” SWINNERTON AND THE ORIGIN OF THE MODERN COMIC STRIP” here on the WRHHS&L Page

09/14/2016

Repost: Wonderful picture after Hearst Castle was given the "all clear" from the Chimney Fire after it was 100% contained. Thanks to all the people who gave their all. Especially the firefighters and volunteers who were on the frontlines. And thanks to Danna Joy images for capturing and sharing this image.

Here's the final Chimney Fire photo with smoky skies and Hearst Castle in the background. So thankful the fire is 100% contained and our clear skies have returned.

09/03/2016

THE HEARST NEWSPAPERS AND THE COMICS:
JAMES “JIMMY” SWINNERTON AND THE ORIGIN OF THE MODERN COMIC STRIP

The use of picture narratives can be traced at least as far back as Paleolithic cave paintings found at Lascaux, France; ca. 15,000 BCE. However, this article and those that will follow in future posts will focus on William Randolph Hearst’s influence on modern picture narratives commonly known as the comic strip, the artists he hired to draw them, and the cartoon characters they created. This history begins in 1892.

1892 is when the “Little Bears” first appeared in William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner as a single recurring cartoon feature. As the name implies these cartoon pictures revolved around the activities of little bears. They were the creation of James “Jimmy” Swinnerton, an illustrator Hearst hired to produce drawings to enhance the news stories in his Examiner. Since this was long before the ability to insert photographs, the newspapers hired illustrators to compliment the news with "graphics" of current events.

Swinnerton’s cartoon feature began as a single, adorable ‘little bear’. This choice was inspired by the fact that California had become known as the "Bear State" due to the large population of Grizzly bears found throughout at the time. At first a little bear illustration appeared only on the weather page of the Examiner. As the popularity of this bear grew he began showing up in other sections of the paper and soon Swinnerton added other little bears with narration. Eventually they became a regular feature called ‘The Little Bears.’ Following their success Swinnerton teamed the bears with another of his growing cartoon creations, those of small children, in a comic strip entitled ‘Little Bears & Tikes’.

In 1896 Mr. Hearst brought Swinnerton to his New York Journal staff where he switched his characters to ‘tigers’ in keeping with a popular symbol used in the political cartoons of Thomas Nast. In 1871 Nast created the ‘Tammany Tiger’ as a symbol of New York City’s powerful Democratic machine headed by William M. “Boss” Tweed. Nast used his ‘Tammany Tiger’ to lampoon Tweed and the Democratic Party’s Tammany Hall, the center for their New York City political organization that endured for nearly two centuries.

Even though comic strips would continue to evolve, Jimmy Swinnerton‘s “Little Bears”, first published in Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner in the 1890s, holds the distinction of being recognized as the first comic strip.

Click on each of the illustrations below to learn more about them.

Story Credit: Staff / Image Credits: Google