Editor’s Note

In this issue of Newport History, Gary Scharnhorst examines Bret Harte, an elusive literary figure who made a brief but lasting impact on Newport society and letters. Harte established his reputation as a writer in California with western tales like The Luck of Roaring Camp and The Heathen Chinee. He moved to Newport in 1871 in an attempt to remake himself into a respectable author and poet on the East Coast. One notable, though criticized, poem emerged from his tenure here: A Newport Romance. In On the Carbon-14 Analyses of Mortar from the Newport Tower: Theoretical Considerations, Andre J. De Bethune claims that the process of dating mortar through carbon-14 testing has inherent flaws. Until these questions can be resolved, according to Bethune, a pre-Columbian origin for the Newport Tower cannot be excluded. Finally, From the Collections examines the use of family history newsletters in genealogical research

Editor\u27s Note

With this issue of Newport History, we cross Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay to examine Some Jamestown Summer People, as written by Mary R. Miner. The Jamestown Summer Colony was a community separated from the more well-known watering hole in Newport not only by water, but also by the diversity of its members and the types of activities in which they participated. If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then the statue of the Comte de Rochambeau designed by Fernand Hamar and installed in the Place St. Martin in Paris in 1900 is among the most flattered sculptures in the world. Four versions of this statue exist today, including one in Newport in King Park, the landing site of Rochambeau and his army in 1780. Also in this issue, From the Collection offers insights into the use of museum objects as research sources

Editor\u27s Note

In Edwin Booth\u27s Life in Paradise, the feature article in this issue of Newport History, James L. Yarnall examines the history of Boothden and the lives of its principal occupants, Edwin Booth and his daughter, Edwina. Also in this issue, an eighteenth century manuscript letter in the collection of the Newport Historical Society is studied and transcribed. The letter illustrates troubles Aaron Lopez experienced with one of his ship captains and reflects the difficulties involved in eighteenth century ocean trade and communication. From the Collection examines a common item in eighteenth century households, the candlestick tinderbox