Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Time machine...

Between studying up on the recent Smith and Colt acquisitions and all the books I've been reading about the pre-Dreadnought era lately, I've been finding myself mildly surprised to find it's 2014 and not 1898 every time I step outside.
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17 comments:

mikee said...

To avoid the error of thinking it is 1898, I try to shoot my .38 Special S&W Model 10 regularly.

A cartridge released in 1899 is a sure cure for 116 year mental ellipses.

11:05 AM, January 28, 2014
Stretch said...

Of course the parallels between 1898 and 2014 are "interesting" in the manner of the old Chinese curse.

US forces are fighting Moros in the Philippines.
Japan is rebuilding her fleet though not to fight Russia ... yet.
Afghan tribes are causing a bother.
Holmes is still solving crimes in London.

On the down side we've no steam trains, gas lights, or the hopes of a Calvin Coolidge.

11:07 AM, January 28, 2014
Anonymous said...

I am glad I am not the only person fascinated by warship design pre and post Dreadnaught. Bring on the battle cruisers!

SED

11:34 AM, January 28, 2014
staghounds said...

Or gold and silver pocket change.

Funny, the un-1898ness should be most obvious indoors, where you aren't a slave to a wood or coal stove and can vote.

11:40 AM, January 28, 2014
Sherm said...

Read Barbara Tuchman's "The Proud Tower." It covers the 25 year run up to WWI and will get you at least to the summer of 1914.

If nothing else, it'll introduce you to Speaker of the House, Thomas Brackett Reed. Quite the contrast with what we have today.

1:03 PM, January 28, 2014
Tam said...

"Read Barbara Tuchman's "The Proud Tower.""

I am saddened that there are people who would think I have not. :(

;)

2:22 PM, January 28, 2014
Joe in PNG said...

I'm currently reading* C. Emmerson's "1913", and got rather depressed when he talked about Washington DC. Not because it was a free utopia, but because that bastard Wilson was in office.

*interupted by Mr. Kloo's new book

2:30 PM, January 28, 2014
Anonymous said...

I read recently that Oscar Wilde got out of jail. It was a bad idea for him to sue.

May Michael Mann find similar justice.

3:44 PM, January 28, 2014
Anonymous said...

I was just saying last night that it would be nice to have some gas lamps in case the new fangled electic ones failed...

3:45 PM, January 28, 2014
Sherm said...

One thousand apologies.

In my defense, you are the first person I've ever mentioned it to who has heard of it let alone read it.

Now I suspect you have also read Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783"

5:49 PM, January 28, 2014
fast richard said...

I'll put "The Proud Tower" on my list though. I haven't read it. Reading recommendations are among the things that keep me coming back here.

6:04 PM, January 28, 2014
Royal said...

I don't know if you've read it yet, but I strongly suggest Robert Massie's Dreadnought. It covers the diplomatic and naval developments leading up to the lights going out in Europe in a way that makes the complexity both human and readable. One of the best pure history books I've read.

7:27 PM, January 28, 2014
Dan F said...

For some appropriate background music, UC Santa Barbara has been converting Edison cylinder recordings to mp3.

Related: Teddy Roosevelt doesn't sound as... lumberjack as I imagined.

7:27 PM, January 28, 2014
John A said...

How about an 1898 Porsche? With an electric motor, 49-mile range (just like the 2014 model electrics)!

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1401-first-porsche-designed-car-on-display-museum/

9:19 PM, January 28, 2014
God, Gals, Guns, Grub said...

You look at those old guns and sometimes think we've come a long way, but then again... not that far...

Dann in Ohio

10:40 PM, January 28, 2014
Anonymous said...

Correction: .38 Special cartridge was released in 1898, the S&W .38 Special revolver was released in 1899.

Of such error is comment thread apocalypse hastened.

1:58 PM, January 29, 2014
Kirk Parker said...

"all the books I've been reading about the pre-Dreadnought era"

Titles? Please?????



(And yes, piling on to second/third/whatever The Proud Tower and Dreadnaught.)

5:00 AM, January 30, 2014

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