The train from Pittsburgh | Collections | The Huntington

The train from Pittsburgh | Collections | The Huntington

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The train ride
Rare Books
The anonymous hero whose brutal adventure is the horror at the heart of The Train Ride is a sailor; he has a vile hangover; he is due back on his ship in a few hours. Equipped with a fistful of dirty magazines, he stumbles onto the train. Half-asleep, bored, jaded, he thumbs through the girlie magazines, his appetite both inflamed and frustrated. What could he possibly do on a train? He looks around - and sees a frail little girl with braided blonde hair. It is here that the author begins his tale with a protagonist who is both villain and victim, both abominably sub-human and upsettingly familiar. His personality, his crime, and his desperate attempt to escape, combine to pose a moral problem not unlike that found in The Collector--Adapted from dust jacket flaps.
644286
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Ghost train to the Eastern star : on the tracks of the great railway bazaar
Rare Books
In Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Theroux recreates an epic journey he took thirty years ago, a giant loop by train (mostly) through Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, China, Japan, and Siberia. In short, he traverses all of Asia top to bottom, and end to end. In the three decades since he first travelled this route, Asia has undergone phenomenal change. The Soviet Union has collapsed, China has risen, India booms, Burma slowly smothers, and Vietnam prospers despite the havoc unleashed upon it the last time Theroux passed through. He witnesses all this and more in a 25,000 mile journey, travelling as the locals do, by train, car, bus, and foot, providing his penetrating observations on the changes these countries have undergone.--From publisher description.
646332
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Eli Fay letter to "Dear Friends,"
Manuscripts
In this letter to unidentified individuals who appear to live in Sheffield, England, Eli Fay writes of his arrival to California from England. He arrived in New York and "took the cars" to Chicago, a journey that he reports took 26 1/2 hours. He is amazed at the growth of Chicago. Leaving Chicago, again "on the cars," Fay continued west, describing the landscape in general detail. Once arriving in Los Angeles, he describes the city and its inhabitants in greater detail. Of southern California, he writes that "as a whole is but little more than a vast Sanitorium," a refuge for "people who suffer from throat and lung troubles." Fay himself is ill, and has come to California for relief, for his doctors have told him that "my only chance of recovery was in a total suspension for the time being of my pulpit labor." He reports his health has improved, and his daily horseback rides in the open country have been of vital help. He laments that he left England "before I had finished the work that I had laid out for myself" and hopes to return once he has fully recovered. He asks for details of the church he has left, and hopes all is well.
mssHM 16550
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Eben Chapman letter to Eben Hunt
Manuscripts
Chapman writes that he has heard no news from home, and that a bank draft he sent to his wife was returned. He has found gold in California but not as much as he expected. Of California, he writes, "For the timid here is no place, he that would do well here must have courage," and describes the many plights of the miner. he also asks for Hunt's help regarding a debt owed him.
mssHM 4196
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Jack London letter to Cleve E. Long
Manuscripts
Jack London wrote this letter to "Comrade Long" in January 1915 from his home in Glen Ellen, California. In it he expresses regret that he "cannot join in the adventure" with Long and that he must travel to San Francisco to deal with a pressing matter. London also talks about his book The iron heel and complains about his "capitalist book buyers" and "capitalist publishers." He further states that he signed a new contract for several years but that it "stipulates that it must be acceptable fiction - - - of course, that means acceptable capitalistic fiction." The letter ends "Yours for the Revolution, Jack London."
mssHM 80608
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Habitat 7
Rare Books
"One of the main arteries between Queens and Manhattan is the IRT 7 subway and rail line. Jeff Liao lives along this route, and takes the train every day. Over the course of many journeys, he has developed a connection with his fellow passengers, many of them fellow immigrants who, he believes, share his dream of a better life in America. Liao walked the length of the line and selected locations where there was evidence of the 7, even if there was no train in sight. These photographs show wide sweeps of the neighborhood with such an amazing depth and perspective that is a surprise to learn that he does not use a panoramic camera. Instead, he makes several 8 x 10 negatives of the same scene and combines them digitally, taking up to 60 hours to complete one composition. His technique is as breathtaking as the pictures he produces, and is described in greater detail in the essays by Anne Wilkes Tucker and Tom Finkelpearl"--Publisher's description.
653307