Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

ATD 273-295

2006-12-17T04:45:24Z

Sekinch: /* Page 293 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 273==

'''the electric''' 
???

==Page 274==

'''Arapahoe''' 
???

'''drygulched''' 
???

'''after Repeal in '93''' 
Refers to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which required the U.S. government to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion every month with notes that could be redeemed for either silver or gold. Repealed by Congress after the Panic of 1893 to prevent depletion of the country's gold reserves. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Silver_Purchase_Act Wikipedia entry].

'''Lake County''' 
Colorado county of which Leadville is the county seat.

'''Haw Tabor''' 
Horace Tabor, a prospector, businessman, politician, and one of the wealthiest men in Colorado in the 19th Century. Tabor moved to Denver in 1859, later settling in Leadville in 1877. With the wealth he accumulated from his silver mine, Tabor established newspapers, a bank, and an opera house in Leadville (which still stands), and the Tabor Grand Opera House and the Tabor Block in Denver. In 1878, Tabor was elected Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and served in that post until January 1884. He served as U.S. Senator from Colorado for two months in 1883. Tabor ran unsuccessfully for Colorado governor in 1884, 1886, and 1888. In 1893, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act devastated Tabor's fortune and his far-flung holdings were sold off. He died from appendicitis in 1899, and his legend still persists in Colorado.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Tabor Wikipedia entry].

'''Matchless''' 
The Matchless Mine in Leadville, formerly owned by Horace Tabor. Oscar Wilde visited the Matchless in 1882. The "widow" is Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt Doe, a/k/a "Baby Doe" Tabor, Horace Tabor's second wife (and his mistress before he married her in 1883). Baby Doe and her stubborn retention of the Matchless Mine is another Colorado legend. When Horace Tabor fell ill with appendicitis in 1899, his final request of Baby Doe was that she "hold onto the Matchless." This she did, with tragic results. After living in a shack beside the mine for 36 years, she froze to death one night in March 1935 after she ran out of firewood. Her body was found frozen with her arms crossed peacefully across her chest. After her death, 17 iron trunks that had been placed in storage in Denver were opened, as well as several gunny sacks and four trunks that had been left at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Leadville. All that was left from the Tabor fortune were several bolts of unique, untouched and exquisite cloth, several pieces of china, a tea service and some jewelry, including a diamond and sapphire ring. Baby Doe's story has inspired numerous works, including a movie and an opera by Douglas Moore, ''The Ballad of Baby Doe.'' More on Baby Doe Tabor, including pictures of the Matchless and the shack she lived and died in, can be found at these links: [http://www.babydoetabor.com/ Baby Doe Tabor.com]; [http://www.babydoe.org/index.php BabyDoe.org]

'''Zinc Rush''' 
???

'''some bright engineer''' 
???

==Page 275==

'''Molly-be-damned''' 
Molybdenum, which is still mined outside of Leadville.

'''Wren Provenance''' 
???

'''anthropologist''' 
Anachronism?

'''heaps''' 
pic?

'''Sons of Heaven section''' 
???

==Page 276==

'''Jennie Rogers's House of Mirrors''' 
Jennie Rogers (1843-1909) was a notorious Denver madam who built the "House of Mirrors" at 1946 Market Street in Denver in 1889 and ran it until her death in 1909. The House of Mirrors embodies the Romanesque architecture of the era, and was specifically desgined as a bordello. It was later taken over by the even more notorious Mattie Silks (1846-1929), who operated it until 1915, when it fell victim to so-called "reformers." The House of Mirrors still stands, and today operates as a bar and restauant. (This contributor has been drinking there many times.) More on its history, including pictures, and on the history of Denver's Market Street red-light district, can be found at [http://www.mattieshouseofmirrors.com/index.html this website].

'''dress cavalry helmet''' 
pic?

==Page 277==

'''Aztlán''' 
???

'''thirteenth century''' 
???

'''images of creatures''' 
pic?

==Page 278==

'''the report''' 
???

'''Albany... bar mirror''' 
???

'''Booth Virbling''' 
???

==Page 279==

'''Bulkley Wells''' 
???

'''Ice Saw murder''' 
???

'''sparking''' 
???

==Page 280==

'''South Pacific islands''' 
Cf Margaret Mead.

==Page 281==

'''first city''' 
???

'''"Beside the tracks at one bend stood a local lunatic"''' 
Like starting a Disney land ride.
:how so? [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 14:46, 4 December 2006 (PST)

==Page 282==

'''level of hatred''' 
Cf capacitance?

'''vagging bee''' 
Neologism?

==Page 283==

'''''"joven"''''' 
Young fellow (Spanish).

'''Ellmore Disco''' 
???

'''when it was still Leadville''' 
???

'''Seven-Toed Pete''' 
???

==Page 284==

'''jaconet... tartalan... crepe lissé''' 
???

'''Liberty's of London''' 
???

'''Grand Rapids style''' 
???

'''Four Corners Boys''' 
???

==Page 285==

'''million apiece''' 
Current values?

'''wackyzacky''' 
???

'''Cal Rutan''' 
???

==Page 286==

'''Loomis''' 
Loomis Disco.

'''lowland alkali''' 
???

'''hardpan''' 
???

==Page 287==

'''chicharrones''' 
Fried pork skins.

'''''Ristras''''' 
Strings of dried red chiles.

'''sixty-degree wedges''' 
One-sixth of a pie.

'''''"Por poco te faltó La Blanca"''''' 
Translates to "You just missed La Blanca."

==Page 288==

'''Montrose''' 
A city on Colorado's Western Slope. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose%2C_Colorado Wikipedia entry].

'''popcorn snows''' 
???

'''vanning''' 
???

'''''comal''''' 
???

==Page 289==

'''half a cubic foot''' 
12" by 12" by 6".

==Page 290==

'''gad''' 
???

'''McBryan's''' 
???

'''trick animal''' 
???

==Page 291==

'''Cosmopolitan''' 
Cf p260.

'''Mr. Edison's scheme... static electricity''' 
???

'''Wetherill's magnet''' 
If electric, that's Kit's domain.

==Page 292==

'''Hieronymus Wheel''' 
This may be a stretch but one of the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch is called the Circle of Hell which contains an assortment of odd creatures. As a central image there is a wheel coming out of (or going into) the mouth of a fishlike creature. The reference to hell seems appropriate for Telluride and a Japanese trade delegation in a Colorado bar may suggest the odd creatures. Just to stretch the connection a bit further, there was another Bosch, Robert, a Germany engineer who perfected a magneto ignition device in 1897 that became the standard for creating electrical sparks to start internal combustion engines. The modern Bosch Group is a leading manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology.

'''bellows''' 
pic?

==Page 293==

'''''"Sumimasen... Bobusan desu... Gonnusuringaa... mottomo abunai desu"''''' 
Don't know the rest, but "Bobusan" refers to Bob and "Gonnusuringaa" is likely "Gunslinger."

'''''"Anna koto"''''' 
???

'''fulgurescence''' 
???

'''"some distant geography where creatures as yet unknown thrashed about, howling affrightedly, in the dark"''' 
See the note for Hieronymous wheel on page 292. This further enhances the Circle of Hell connection for the Hieronymous wheel note above. The painting includes several unknown creatures, including a barrel with legs, while “thrashed about” suggests the central fish monster image of the painting.

'''packing out pyrites''' 
Mining fool's gold?

'''katana''' 
???

==Page 294==

'''Baron Akashi''' 
???

'''Squirrel and sarsaparilla''' 
???

==Page 295==

'''summer of '89''' 
???

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 296-317

2006-12-17T04:36:29Z

Sekinch: /* Page 296 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 296==

'''Rodgers Brothers''' 
???

'''Mescalero''' 
???

'''Timken springs''' 
Henry Timken was a carriage maker who held three patents for carriage springs in the 1890’s. He founded his company, The Timken Roller Bearing Axle Company, in St. Louis in 1899. He also invented the tapered roller bearings which bear his name and were used in the hubs of carriages and automobiles. The company still exists and Timken roller bearing are used today in a number if diverse industries including spacecraft. Oddly enough (maybe not so odd considering Pynchon), the modern day Timken company created for the Bosch Group (See the note above for “Hieronymous wheel” on page 292) a process to produce a high alloy steel that could easily be machined to make trucks parts.

'''Basin''' 
???

==Page 297==

'''Pandora works''' 
???

'''adits''' 
???

'''tommyknockers''' 
Mythical mine dwellers, originally part of European legend, introduced to America by European miners. The name "tommyknockers" comes from Cornish mining lore. According to legend the tommyknockers are underground spirits who guard the earth's ores, especially gold and silver. Tommyknockers were known for mischief, pranks, jokes, and being highly spirited. "Knockers" comes from knocking sounds heard in mines that were attributed to their antics. They are tiny characters who dress like little miners and perform many mining duties while underground working alongside miners. [http://www.blm.gov/heritage/HE_Kids/tommy_knock.htm BLM Website]

'''bullion day''' 
???

==Page 298==

'''''duendes''''' 
???

==Page 299==

'''matte-surface''' 
???

'''"...Sunday-morning voice..."''' 
???

==Page 300==

'''Chinese children''' 
(Lots of mentions of China when Merle's around?)

'''fragment of time''' 
Sparks move faster than shutter.

'''collodion''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collodion Wikipedia]

==Page 301==

'''squareheads''' 
???

==Page 302==

'''Gallows Frame Saloon''' 
???

'''fathom miners''' 
???

'''remittance men''' 
Black sheep paid regularly by families to stay away.

==Page 303==

'''Circassian walnut''' 
???

'''Charlie Fong Ding''' 
???

'''congress... congregation''' 
Two vs more-than-two at a time?

'''California Peg''' 
???

'''''sous-maitresse''''' 
???

'''Grundyesque''' 
???

'''Popcorn Alley''' 
???

'''hurdy girl''' 
???

'''Pick and Gad''' 
???

==Page 304==

'''civil war and White Terror''' 
???

==Page 305==

'''"The Shooting of Dan McGrew"''' 
1907 poem by Canadian poet Robert Service, so anachronistic here. [http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/poetry/TheSpelloftheYukon/chap13.html etext]

'''ruffled doves''' 
A/k/a "soiled doves," a Western term for prostitutes.

'''Stephen Emmens''' 
???

'''"argentaurum"''' 
???

'''nymph's mirror''' 
???

'''''Schieferspath''''' 
???

'''superstitious Scotchman''' 
???

==Page 306==

'''''grown brighter''''' 
???

'''gold... silver''' 
???

'''rhomboid''' 
???

'''Veta Madre''' 
???

==Page 307==

'''Lyman Gage''' 
???

'''like a kettle coming to a boil''' 
???

'''stopes''' 
???

'''Charles Bonnet Syndrome'''

Named after the Swiss philosopher and naturalist, Charles Bonnet (1720-1793), who first described a syndrome in which visually-impaired people see vivid, complex images that aren't real. CBS is thought to result from visual deprivation, and commonly occurs in sufferers of macular degeneration and other impairments of the eyes. Importantly, CBS does not (clinically, cannot) result from any type of psychosis or dementia. Thus, those who experience CBS are otherwise "normal" people.

Remarkably, CBS is characterized often by bizarre and grotesque images: ghosts, elves, sprites, cartoon-like figures, disembodies faces, magical landscapes. According to Cliff Pickover, author of ''Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves'' (Smart Publications, 2005), "people affflicted with certain eye diseases give similar reports of beings from parallel universes." [http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_rnib003641.hcsp Royal National Institute of the Blind] [http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/Pickover/pc/bonnet.html Dr. Cliff Pickover Comments] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bonnet Wikipedia Wikipedia entry on Bonnet] --[[User:Jmanmiami|Jmanmiami]] 09:10, 1 December 2006 (PST)

'''Puckpool''' 
???

==Page 308==

'''macular degeneration''' 
Degeneration of the macula, the part of the retina responsible for the sharp, central vision needed to read or drive. A leading cause of vision loss and blindness in people aged 65 and older.

==Page 309==

'''Old Gideon''' 
???

'''A.T. Still''' 
???

==Page 310==

'''''Jefe''''' 
Chief (Spanish).

==Page 311==

'''mind-poisoning vetches''' 
???

'''Edgar Hadley''' 
???

'''Margaret Perril''' 
???

'''blood diverted from its return''' 
Accurate but odd?

'''Trout Lake''' 
???

==Page 313==

'''tridigital''' 
Three fingers (measure of liquor).

'''packer's knife''' 
???

==Page 314==

'''Dutch Waltz''' 
???

'''centrifugal''' 
Pulling away from center.

==Page 315==

'''Railbird Saloon''' 
???

'''Gastón Villa''' 
???

'''''cholo'' balls''' 
???

'''''charro''''' 
???

'''Galandronome''' 
???

'''Battle of Puebla''' 
???

==Page 316==

'''Ophir road''' 
???

'''wraith''' 
(Was she nearby at this moment?)

==Page 317==

'''backward departure''' 
No way to turn engine?

'''''abrazos''''' 
???

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}

ATD 273-295

2006-12-17T04:29:56Z

Sekinch: /* Page 292 */

:'''<big>Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.</big>''' 

==Page 273==

'''the electric''' 
???

==Page 274==

'''Arapahoe''' 
???

'''drygulched''' 
???

'''after Repeal in '93''' 
Refers to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which required the U.S. government to purchase an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion every month with notes that could be redeemed for either silver or gold. Repealed by Congress after the Panic of 1893 to prevent depletion of the country's gold reserves. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Silver_Purchase_Act Wikipedia entry].

'''Lake County''' 
Colorado county of which Leadville is the county seat.

'''Haw Tabor''' 
Horace Tabor, a prospector, businessman, politician, and one of the wealthiest men in Colorado in the 19th Century. Tabor moved to Denver in 1859, later settling in Leadville in 1877. With the wealth he accumulated from his silver mine, Tabor established newspapers, a bank, and an opera house in Leadville (which still stands), and the Tabor Grand Opera House and the Tabor Block in Denver. In 1878, Tabor was elected Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and served in that post until January 1884. He served as U.S. Senator from Colorado for two months in 1883. Tabor ran unsuccessfully for Colorado governor in 1884, 1886, and 1888. In 1893, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act devastated Tabor's fortune and his far-flung holdings were sold off. He died from appendicitis in 1899, and his legend still persists in Colorado.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Tabor Wikipedia entry].

'''Matchless''' 
The Matchless Mine in Leadville, formerly owned by Horace Tabor. Oscar Wilde visited the Matchless in 1882. The "widow" is Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt Doe, a/k/a "Baby Doe" Tabor, Horace Tabor's second wife (and his mistress before he married her in 1883). Baby Doe and her stubborn retention of the Matchless Mine is another Colorado legend. When Horace Tabor fell ill with appendicitis in 1899, his final request of Baby Doe was that she "hold onto the Matchless." This she did, with tragic results. After living in a shack beside the mine for 36 years, she froze to death one night in March 1935 after she ran out of firewood. Her body was found frozen with her arms crossed peacefully across her chest. After her death, 17 iron trunks that had been placed in storage in Denver were opened, as well as several gunny sacks and four trunks that had been left at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Leadville. All that was left from the Tabor fortune were several bolts of unique, untouched and exquisite cloth, several pieces of china, a tea service and some jewelry, including a diamond and sapphire ring. Baby Doe's story has inspired numerous works, including a movie and an opera by Douglas Moore, ''The Ballad of Baby Doe.'' More on Baby Doe Tabor, including pictures of the Matchless and the shack she lived and died in, can be found at these links: [http://www.babydoetabor.com/ Baby Doe Tabor.com]; [http://www.babydoe.org/index.php BabyDoe.org]

'''Zinc Rush''' 
???

'''some bright engineer''' 
???

==Page 275==

'''Molly-be-damned''' 
Molybdenum, which is still mined outside of Leadville.

'''Wren Provenance''' 
???

'''anthropologist''' 
Anachronism?

'''heaps''' 
pic?

'''Sons of Heaven section''' 
???

==Page 276==

'''Jennie Rogers's House of Mirrors''' 
Jennie Rogers (1843-1909) was a notorious Denver madam who built the "House of Mirrors" at 1946 Market Street in Denver in 1889 and ran it until her death in 1909. The House of Mirrors embodies the Romanesque architecture of the era, and was specifically desgined as a bordello. It was later taken over by the even more notorious Mattie Silks (1846-1929), who operated it until 1915, when it fell victim to so-called "reformers." The House of Mirrors still stands, and today operates as a bar and restauant. (This contributor has been drinking there many times.) More on its history, including pictures, and on the history of Denver's Market Street red-light district, can be found at [http://www.mattieshouseofmirrors.com/index.html this website].

'''dress cavalry helmet''' 
pic?

==Page 277==

'''Aztlán''' 
???

'''thirteenth century''' 
???

'''images of creatures''' 
pic?

==Page 278==

'''the report''' 
???

'''Albany... bar mirror''' 
???

'''Booth Virbling''' 
???

==Page 279==

'''Bulkley Wells''' 
???

'''Ice Saw murder''' 
???

'''sparking''' 
???

==Page 280==

'''South Pacific islands''' 
Cf Margaret Mead.

==Page 281==

'''first city''' 
???

'''"Beside the tracks at one bend stood a local lunatic"''' 
Like starting a Disney land ride.
:how so? [[User:Bleakhaus|Bleakhaus]] 14:46, 4 December 2006 (PST)

==Page 282==

'''level of hatred''' 
Cf capacitance?

'''vagging bee''' 
Neologism?

==Page 283==

'''''"joven"''''' 
Young fellow (Spanish).

'''Ellmore Disco''' 
???

'''when it was still Leadville''' 
???

'''Seven-Toed Pete''' 
???

==Page 284==

'''jaconet... tartalan... crepe lissé''' 
???

'''Liberty's of London''' 
???

'''Grand Rapids style''' 
???

'''Four Corners Boys''' 
???

==Page 285==

'''million apiece''' 
Current values?

'''wackyzacky''' 
???

'''Cal Rutan''' 
???

==Page 286==

'''Loomis''' 
Loomis Disco.

'''lowland alkali''' 
???

'''hardpan''' 
???

==Page 287==

'''chicharrones''' 
Fried pork skins.

'''''Ristras''''' 
Strings of dried red chiles.

'''sixty-degree wedges''' 
One-sixth of a pie.

'''''"Por poco te faltó La Blanca"''''' 
Translates to "You just missed La Blanca."

==Page 288==

'''Montrose''' 
A city on Colorado's Western Slope. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose%2C_Colorado Wikipedia entry].

'''popcorn snows''' 
???

'''vanning''' 
???

'''''comal''''' 
???

==Page 289==

'''half a cubic foot''' 
12" by 12" by 6".

==Page 290==

'''gad''' 
???

'''McBryan's''' 
???

'''trick animal''' 
???

==Page 291==

'''Cosmopolitan''' 
Cf p260.

'''Mr. Edison's scheme... static electricity''' 
???

'''Wetherill's magnet''' 
If electric, that's Kit's domain.

==Page 292==

'''Hieronymus Wheel''' 
This may be a stretch but one of the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch is called the Circle of Hell which contains an assortment of odd creatures. As a central image there is a wheel coming out of (or going into) the mouth of a fishlike creature. The reference to hell seems appropriate for Telluride and a Japanese trade delegation in a Colorado bar may suggest the odd creatures. Just to stretch the connection a bit further, there was another Bosch, Robert, a Germany engineer who perfected a magneto ignition device in 1897 that became the standard for creating electrical sparks to start internal combustion engines. The modern Bosch Group is a leading manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology.

'''bellows''' 
pic?

==Page 293==

'''''"Sumimasen... Bobusan desu... Gonnusuringaa... mottomo abunai desu"''''' 
Don't know the rest, but "Bobusan" refers to Bob and "Gonnusuringaa" is likely "Gunslinger."

'''''"Anna koto"''''' 
???

'''fulgurescence''' 
???

'''packing out pyrites''' 
Mining fool's gold?

'''katana''' 
???

==Page 294==

'''Baron Akashi''' 
???

'''Squirrel and sarsaparilla''' 
???

==Page 295==

'''summer of '89''' 
???

==Annotation Index==
{{ATD PbP}}