Farrer, John (779-1853 Farrar, Eliza 1791-1870 9/9/2020 John Farrar (scientist) - Wikipedia WIKIPEDIA John Farrar (scientist) John Farrar (July 1, 1779 - May 8, 1853) John Farrar was an American scholar. He first coined the concept of hurricanes as "a moving vortex Born July 1, 1779 and not the rushing forward of a great body Lincoln, of the atmosphere", after the Great Massachusetts September Gale of 1815 [1][2][3] Farrar Died May 8, 1853 remained Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard University (aged 73) between 1807 and 1836. During this time, Cambridge, he introduced modern mathematics into the Massachusetts curriculum. He was also a regular Nationality United States contributor to the scientific journals. Alma mater Harvard Andover Scientific career Contents Fields Mathematics, Life and works Philosophy Notes Institutions Harvard College References External links Life and works After attending Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduating from Harvard in 1803. In 1805, he was appointed Greek tutor at Harvard. Farrar was chosen Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in 1807. [4] He retained the chair till 1836, when he resigned in consequence of a painful illness that finally caused his death. His second wife, Eliza Ware Farrar (née Rotch), was Flemish. She married him in 1828. She authored several children's books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Farrar_(scientist) 1/4 9/9/2020 John Farrar (scientist) - Wikipedia Farrar maintained weather records between 1807-1817 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. For the 23 September 1815 hurricane, he particularly noted the shape as "a moving vortex" [3] He also observed the veering of the wind, and its different times of subsequent impacts on the cities of Boston and New York City. [5] Farrar was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1808, [6] and a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814 L7. In 1815, Farrar made efforts to build an observatory at Harvard. However, despite of continuing efforts, the project failed to take off due to lack of funds. [8] In his capacity as Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, he reformulated the mathematical curriculum and introduced modern mathematics. He prepared the Cambridge mathematical series. He was also the first to translate mathematical works from European languages to make them available for American undergraduates. [9] He published a translation of Lacroix's "Elements of Algebra" (1818), which he followed by selections from Legendre, Biot, Bezant, and others. Harvard, the U.S. military academy, and other institutions at once adopted these works as textbooks. He regularly wrote for the scientific journals North American Review and Memoirs of the American academy. After Farrar's death, Eliza Farrar donated her husband's collection of books to form the original collection of the Lincoln Public Library. [10] Notes 1. John Farrar (1819) "An account of the violent and destructive storm of the 23d of September, 1815,"(https://books.google.com/books?id=HyxGAAAAd AAJ&pg=PA102#v=onepage&q&f=false) The Quarterly Journal of Literature, Science and the Arts, 7 : 102-106. From page 104: "In these cases, it appears to have been a moving vortex, and not the rushing forward of the great body of the atmosphere." 2. Norcross (2007). p. 96. 3. Fitzpatrick (2005). p. 108 4. Elliott and Rossiter (1992). p. 338 5. Ludlum (1963) 6. "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter F" (http://www.amacad.org/publicati ons/BookofMembers/ChapterF.pdf) (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved September 8, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Farrar_(scientist 2/4 9/9/2020 John Farrar (scientist) - Wikipedia 7. American Antiquarian Society Members Directory (http://www.americanantiq uarian.org/memberlistj) 8. Elliott and Rossiter (1992). p. 40 9. Elliott and Rossiter (1992). p. 57 10. Report of the Free Public Library Commission of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, (1899), p. 200 References Coolidge, J. L. (1943). "Three Hundred Years of Mathematics at Harvard". American Mathematical Monthly. Mathematical Association of America. 50 (6): 347-356. doi:10.2307/2303706 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2303706). JSTOR 2303706 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2303706). Elliott, C.A. and Rossiter, M.W. (1992). Science at Harvard University: Historical Perspectives. Lehigh University Press. ISBN 0-934223-12-2. Fitzpatrick, P.J. (2005). Hurricanes: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-647-7 Ludlum, David M. (1963). Early American Hurricanes, 1492-1870, The History of American Weather. Boston: American Meteorological Society. Norcross, B. (2007). Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, and Future. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-37152-7 Schlesinger, Elizabeth Bancroft (1965). "Two Early Harvard Wives: Eliza Farrar and Eliza Follen". New England Quarterly. The New England Quarterly, Inc. 38 (2): 147-167. doi:10.2307/363587 (https://doi.org/10.230 7%2F363587). JSTOR 363587 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/363587) Varney, B. M. (1908). 2.0.CO;2 "Early Meteorology at Harvard College" (https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1908)36).Monthly Weather Review. 36 (5): 140-142.Bibcode:1908MWRv...36..140 (https://u i.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1908MWRv...36..140V).doi:10.1175/1520- 0493(1908)362.0.CO;2 (https://doi.org/10.1175%2F1520-049 3%281908%2936%3C140%3AEMAHC%3E2.0.CO%3B2). External links Official website (http://www.math.harvard.edu/history/farrar/index.html)at Harvard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Farrar_(scientist) 3/4 9/9/2020 John Farrar (scientist) - Wikipedia Farrar, John. (1827) An elementary treatise of Astronomy. (http://www.math. harvard.edu/history/farrar_astronomy/index.html) Printed by Hilliard, Metcalf and Co, Boston, 1827 "Farrar, John" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Appletons%27_Cyclop%C3%A 6dia of American Biography/Farrar,_John). Appletons' Cyclopxedia of American Biography. 1900. Academic offices Hollis Chair of Mathematics Preceded by Succeeded by Samuel Webber and Natural Philosophy Joseph Lovering 1807-1838 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=John_Farrar_(scientist)&oldid=951034229" This page was last edited on 15 April 2020, at 04:03 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Farrar_(scientist) 4/4 9/9/2020 John Farrar (1779-1853) - Find A Grave Memorial ? Find A GRaVE John Farrar BIRTH 1 Jul 1779 Lincoln, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA DEATH 8 May 1853 (aged 73) Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA BURIAL Mount Auburn Cemetery Photo added by stc Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA PLOT Hibiscus Path MEMORIAL ID 68746037 American mathematician, b. in Lincoln, Mass., July 1, 1779, graduated at Phillips Academy, Andover and at Harvard University, Mass., 1803. In 1805, he was Greek tutor at Harvard; from 1807 to 1831 professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at the same institution. In 1820 he married Lucy M. Buckminster, who d. in 1824; in 1828 he married Eliza Rotch. His Elements of Algebra, translated from La Croix, Added by stc was published in 1818; in succeeding years he published eleven other translations of mathematical works, contributed to the North American Review, and d. at Cambridge, Mass., May 8, 1853. Family Members https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68746037/john-farrar 1/2 9/9/2020 John Farrar (1779-1853) - Find A Grave Memorial Spouses Lucy Maria Buckminste r Farrar 779 1787-1824 Eliza Ware Rotch Farrar 1791-1870 Created by: Member#47194125 Added: 22 Apr 2011 Find a Grave Memorial 68746037 Added by stc Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 9 September 2020), memorial page for John Farrar (1 Jul 1779-8 May 1853), Find a Grave Memorial no. 68746037, citing Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Member#47194125 (contributor 47194125) . Copyright © 2020 Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68746037/john-farrar 2/2 4/13/2020 Farrar, John Encyclopedia.com ENCYCLOPEDIA com Farrar, John Views 3,602,575 Updated Mar 08 2020 Farrar, John (b. Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1 July 1779; d. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 8 May 1853) mathematics, physics, education. Farrar was responsible for conceiving and carrying through a sweeping modernization of the science and mathematics curriculum at Harvard College, his alma mater (/social-sciences-and- aw/education/education-terms-and-concepts/alma-mater). He brought in the best French and other European writings on introductory mathematics, most of them unknown and unused in the United States (Lplaces/united-states-and-canada/us-political-geography/united-states) Much of the responsibility for shifting from the Newtonian fluxional notations to Leibniz's algorithm for the calculus was his. In natural philosophy Farrar also relied heavily upon French authors. He introduced current concepts in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, optics, and astronomy. As the foundation of his curricular reform, Farrar carried through the translation of many French works between 1818 and 1829. Published in separate, topical volumes, they became elements of two series: Cambridge Mathematics and Cambridge Natural Philosophy. He selected and combined the writings most suitable to the needs of his students. The burden of Farrar's presentation in mathematics was carried by Lacroix, Euler, Legendre, and Bézout, but he also drew from John Bonnycastle and Bowditch. In natural philosophy he relied most heavily upon Biot, but used Bézout, Poisson, Louis-Benjamin Francoeur, Gay- Lussac, Ernst Gottfried Fischer, Whewell, and Hare as well. Farrar's translations provided an excellent introductory program that was used not only at Harvard but also at West Point (/places/united-states-and-canada/miscellaneous-us-geography/west-point). and other colleges; they went through several editions. Farrar was a fine teacher and, as Hollis professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, played an important role throughout Harvard College. One of his major aspirations, the establishment of an astronomical observatory at Harvard, was not attained until after his death. In the larger community Farrar made similar contributions. He was active in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences s_(/literature-and-arts/art-and-architecture/american-art/american-academy-arts-and sciences). and occasionally translated such topical works as Arago's 1832 Tract on Comets, written in preparation for the comet of that year. He published essay reviews in the North American Review and occasional observations and a few scientific papers on astronomy, meteorology, and instruments in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (/literature-and-arts/art-and- architecture/american-art/american-academy-arts-and-sciences). and the Boston Journal of Philosophy and the Arts. BIBLIOGRAPHY I. Original Works. Farrar wrote few scientific papers. In the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he published "An Account of the Violent and Destructive Storm of the 23d of September 1815," 4 (1821), 92-97, and "An Account of a Singular Electrical Phenomenon," ibid., 98-102. His "Account of an 4/13/2020 Farrar, John I Encyclopedia.com Apparatus for Determining the Mean Temperature and the Mean Atmospherical Pressure for Any Period" appeared in Boston Journal of Philosophy and the Arts, 1 (1823-1824), 491-494. In the North American Review he published several review essays, all of them unsigned: 6 (1817-1818), 205-224; 8 (1818-1819), 157-168; 12 (1821), 150-174; 14 (1822), 190-230; and a few observations: 3 36-40, 285-287; 6 (1817-1818), 149, 292. His primary publishing activity lay in translating and combining French writings with a few others in a manner that effectively produced good college textbooks which were abreast of recent advances. Some appeared without any indication of Farrar's role; others did not name the authors on the title page but always scrupulously noted them at some point. The first editions (often of many) are a translation of S. F. Lacroix, An Elementary Treatise on Arithmetic (Boston, 1818); a translation of S. F. Lacroix, Elements of Algebra (Cambridge, Mass., 1818); a translation of L. Euler, An Introduction to the Elements of Algebra (Cambridge, Mass., 1818); a translation of A. M. Legendre, Elements of Geometry (Boston, 1819); translations of S. F. Lacroix and E. Bézout, An Elementary Treatise on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry (Cambridge, Mass., 1820); An Elementary Application of Trigonometry (Cambridge, Mass., 1822); translations of E. Bézout, First Principles of the Differential and Integral Calculus (Cambridge, Mass., 1824); An Elementary Treatise on Mechanics (Cambridge, Mass., 1825); An Experimental Treatise on Optics (Cambridge, Mass., 1826); Elements of Electricity, Magnetism, and Electro-Magnetism (Cambridge, Mass., 1826); An Elementary Treatise on Astronomy (Cambridge, Mass., 1827); a translation of E. G. Fischer, Elements of Natural Philosophy (Boston, 1827); and a translation of F. Arago, Tract on Comets (Boston, 1832). Letters and other MS records are held by the Harvard University_(/social-sciences-and law/education/colleges-us/harvard-university.). Archives and the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a few by the Boston Public Library. II. Secondary Literature. On Farrar or his work, see Mrs. John Farrar, Recollections of Seventy Years (Boston, 1866); Dirk J. Struik, Yankee Science in the Making (New York (Lplaces/united-states-and- canada/us-political-geography/new-york), 1962), pp. 227-229, passim; and [John Gorham Palfrey], Notice of Professor Farrar (Boxton, 1853). Brooke Hindle Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography More From encyclopedia.com (https://www. anGyclopedia.com/people/science-and- (https://www. encyclapedia.com/people/science-and- Peter Guthne Pait George technology/mathematics-biographies/peter-guthrie-tait) technology/mathematics-biographies/george-abram-miller) 4/13/2020 John Farrar (1779-1853) - Find A Grave Memorial ? Find A GRaVE John Farrar BIRTH 1 Jul 1779 Lincoln, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA DEATH 8 May 1853 (aged 73) Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA BURIAL Mount Auburn Cemetery Photo added by stc Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA PLOT Hibiscus Path T MEMORIAL ID 68746037 . American mathematician, b. in Lincoln, Mass., July 1, 1779, graduated at Phillips Academy, Andover and at Harvard University, Mass., 1803. In 1805, he was Greek tutor at Harvard; from 1807 to 1831 professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at the same institution. In 1820 he married Lucy M. Buckminster, who d. in 1824; in 1828 he married Eliza Rotch. His Elements of Algebra, translated from La Croix, Added by stc was published in 1818; in succeeding years he published eleven other translations of mathematical works, contributed to the North American Review, and d. at Cambridge, Mass., May 8, 1853. Family Members 4/13/2020 John Farrar (1779-1853) - Find A Grave Memorial Spouses Lucy Maria Buckminste r Farrar 1787-1824 Eliza Ware Rotch Farrar 1791-1870 Created by: Member#47194125 Added: 22 Apr 2011 Find a Grave Memorial 68746037 Added by stc Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 April 2020), memorial page for John Farrar (1 Jul 1779-8 May 1853), Find a Grave Memorial no. 68746037, citing Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Member#47194125 (contributor 47194125) Copyright © 2020 Find a Grave 4/13/2020 Collection: Correspondence and faculty reports by John Farrar, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy I HOLLIS for HOLLIS for Archival Discovery COLLECTION Identifier: UAI 15.963 " CITATION REQUEST VIEW PDF CSV ? ASK AN ARCHIVIST Correspondence and faculty reports by John Farrar, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy FOUND IN: Harvard University Archives / Correspondence and faculty reports by John Farrar, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy COLLECTION OVERVIEW COLLECTION INVENTORY DIGITAL MATERIAL Overview The correspondence and faculty reports in this collection document the activities of John Farrar, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and the Department of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard from 1810 to 1831. The records provide an overview of Farrar's attempts to modernize mathematical and scientific instruction at Harvard University and illustrate the subjects that were taught to students and the textbooks See more > Dates 1810-1831 and undated. Researcher Access Correspondence and faculty reports by John Farrar, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy are open for research. Access to fragile original documents may be restricted. Please consult the Public Services staff for further details. 4/13/2020 Collection: Correspondence and faculty reports by John Farrar, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy HOLLIS for Copying Restriction Copying of fragile materials may be limited. Extent .20 cubic feet (1 half-document box, 1 pamphlet binder) EXPAND ALL SCOPE AND CONTENTS The correspondence and faculty reports in this collection document the activities of John Farrar, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and the Department of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard from 1810 to 1831. The collection also includes a single faculty report written by John Farrar documenting the activities of the Department of Experimental Physics and Natural History (1826 January 10). Principal correspondents represented in this collection are Harvard Presidents John T. Kirkland (1770-1840) and Samuel Webber (1759-1810). The records provide an overview of Farrar's attempts to modernize mathematical and scientific instruction at Harvard University and illustrate the subjects that were taught to students and the textbooks that were used in the instruction of mathematics and natural philosophy (physics) at the beginning of the nineteenth century at Harvard. The collection also illustrates Farrar's administration of the instruments in the scientific laboratory, known as the Chamber of Natural Philosophy, and his use of those instruments as classroom teaching aids to promote scientific discovery at Harvard University. The records were assembled as an archival collection by the archivist at an unknown date from various sources without regard to original provenance in order to document University professorships. ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION REPOSITORY DETAILS 4/13/2020 Catalog Record: Recollections of seventy years I HathiTrust Digital Library Home About Collections Help Feedback LOG IN Search words about the items All Fields Search HathiTrust Full-text Catalog Full view only Advanced full-text search Advanced catalog search Search tips Recollections of seventy years / by Mrs. John Farrar. Cite this Export citation file Main Author: Farrar, John, Mrs., 1791-1870. Language(s): English Published: Boston : Ticknor & Fields, 1865. Physical Description: [iii]-viii, 331 p. 19 cm. Locate a Print Version: Find in a library service is not available from this catalog. Search Worldcat Viewability Item Link Original Source III Full view University of Michigan View HathiTrust MARC record Similar Items Recollections of seventy_ years Author Farrar, John, Mrs., 1791-1870. Published 1866 Recollections of seventy_years Author Farrar, John, Mrs., 1791-1870. Published 1869 Recollections of seventy_years Author Farrar, John, Mrs., 1791-1870. 4/13/2020 Eliza Ware Rotch Farrar (1791-1870) - Find A Grave Memorial ? Find A GRaVE Eliza Ware Rotch Farrar BIRTH 12 Jul 1791 Dunkirk, Departement du Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France DEATH 22 Apr 1870 (aged 78) Springfield, Hampden Photo added by stc County, Massachusetts, USA BURIAL Mount Auburn Cemetery Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA MEMORIAL ID 68746951 . Daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth Barker Rotch; married John Farrar, 1828 (died 1853) Daughter and granddaughter of Nantucket Quakers who had emigrated to France to establish a tax-free whaling port, Eliza Rotch Farrar went with her family to England during the Reign of Terror. At her father's estate near Milford Haven she received an excellent Added by stc education and grew up among eminent European and American visitors. When her father lost his fortune in 1819, she went to live with her grandparents in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Disowned as too liberal by the Quaker meeting there, she became a Unitarian. 4/13/2020 Eliza Ware Rotch Farrar (1791-1870) - Find A Grave Memorial Except for trips to England to visit her parents, she spent the rest of her life in Massachusetts. In her "Address to Parents" at the beginning of The Children's Robinson Crusoe (1830), Farrar praises Defoe's work for its "spirit" and "naturalness": "It seems to be exactly what it purports to be, the narrative of a profane, ill- educated, runaway apprentice of the 17th century." Farrar then asks, "Can such a tale, though perfect in itself, be suited to children who have been carefully guarded from all profaneness, vulgarity, and superstition? Her version of Crusoe is accordingly cleansed of such faults as his "disobedience to his parents, and his inordinate love of adventure" and endowed with qualities parents would wish their children to admire and cultivate: "industry, perseverance, resignation to the will of God." To increase the utility of her hero's adventures, Farrar adds "as much information about domestic arts as could well be interwoven with the story" and makes Friday into a native "of a mild, affectionate, and tractable nature." Farrar presented another proper hero to be emulated by children in The Story of the Life of Lafayette as Told by a Father to His Children (1831) Henry Moreton tells his father he wishes he lived in the days of Alexander or Caesar and could see these great men; his father takes issue with Henry's idea of these men as great, and reminds him that he has seen on Boston Common "one of the most extraordinary men 4/13/2020 Eliza Ware Rotch Farrar (1791-1870) - Find A Grave Memorial that ever lived!" Again, the hero's life acquires value as an example and lesson, but his actions are generally left to speak for themselves without intrusive moralizing. The tale takes 17 evenings. Stirring events are briskly and clearly related, the moral intent doesn't interfere with the often exciting story and interesting anecdotes, and many vignettes of Moreton family life provide humor. A manual of advice, The Young Lady's Friend (1836), was Farrar's most important work, widely popular in England and America and reprinted as late as 1880. Farrar addresses her work to middle-class girls who have finished school. It opens with a brisk chapter of warning to those who assume that their intellectual life ends when they leave the schoolroom and a second chapter "On the Improvement of Time It closes with a chapter on "Mental Culture" and impressive lists of books for a "course of reading" on history, biography, and travel. In between, she holds to an essentially conservative view of "woman's peculiar calling," but emphasizes practical details of behavior and treats these with gentle amusement and, above all, common sense. The Young Lady's Friend provides valuable insight into the activities and preoccupations of the 19th-century American middle class. Recollections of Seventy Years (1865), Farrar's last book, furnishes fascinating glimpses of life in England and France between 1783 and 1819. Her method is anecdotal, and many of her lively 4/13/2020 Eliza Ware Rotch Farrar (1791-1870) - Find A Grave Memorial anecdotes seem, in themselves, to furnish enough material for entire novels. Farrar cared for her invalid husband for 14 years before his death in 1853. These are the tales she told to enliven his sickroom. They remain beguiling entertainment today. Family Members Spouse John Farrar 1779-1853 Created by: Member#47194125 Added: 22 Apr 2011 Find a Grave Memorial 68746951 Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 April 2020), memorial page for Eliza Ware Rotch Farrar (12 Jul 1791-22 Apr 1870), Find a Grave Memorial no. 68746951, citing Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Member#47194125 (contributor 47194125) . Copyright © 2020 Find a Grave THE NEW ENGLAND QVARTERLY Vol. 38, 4 Z JUNE 1965 TWO EARLY HARVARD WIVES: ELIZA FARRAR AND ELIZA FOLLEN ELIZABETH BANCROFT SCHLESINGER S TREET signs furnish one aspect of the cultural history of a community, since they honor those whom city fathers be- lieve future generations should remember. A good example is Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they constantly remind a pedestrian of distinguished citizens of a past era when the town, proud of its famed university, marked its thoroughfares in memory of revered professors. Thus Farrar and Follen streets became a part of its daily life. ( John Farrar was a New Englander and a professor of math- ematics, while Charles Follen was a radical émigré from Ger- many who taught the first German classes in the college and also introduced gymnastics there. Today few, if any, remember these men; and their wives, alas, have slipped into the sea of total oblivion (And yet they were almost as well known as their husbands in the intellectual circles of Boston and Cambridge In their modest homes they entertained many eminent figurés of their time as well as their husbands' students. All that re- mains to give color to the warp and woof of their lives are dusty books on library shelves and the thin fragile letters writ- ten crisscross in the spidery handwriting fashionable in their 147-167