From the Geil Archive (3)—Hat and Cattle

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To learn more about Geil, click here for the Accidental Ethnographer Resource Center
A year ago on Round and Square (18 August 2012)—Rural Religion in China-14

Two years ago on Round and Square (18 August 2011)—Displays of Authenticity: Thome Run #600

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Please Note: All photographs marked "DHS" are with permission of the Doylestown Historical Society. All marked "RL" are my own pictures. None of these may not be reused without permission (e-mail me about mine, and I will put you in touch with DHS if you need to contact them). Photographs marked "RF" are "royalty free."

[a] Off the beaten path DHS

Click here for other posts in the Round and Square series "From the Geil Archive":

               Introduction                          1-Southern Mountain Museum             2-Sacred Mountain Map           

               3-Hat and Cattle                   4-Seeking Anthropology                       5-Curly Fives
               6-How to Write the Book      7-Mortarboard Man                               8-Orator

In yesterday's post, I made a completely off-handed remark that Geil was not "all hat and no cattle." I hope some of the English language readers from abroad looked up the phrase (it has sort of a Texas air to it). I am not sure that all native English speakers, even from the United States, caught it. In any case, I was referring to the way that some members of the Melbourne press responded to Geil when he spoke to packed lecture halls at the turn of the twentieth century. 

[b] All hat (allegedly) DHS

They were not amused, calling him an "Evangelical Barnum," and making cartoons that were none-too-flattering. Interestingly enough, Geil saved all of the clippings, even the "bad" ones. He seemed to "say" with his saving of materials that "bad publicity beats no publicity." In fact, there was only one thing in the entire archive that he crossed out (from an account about him). If you think I'm going to tell you about that now, you are mistaken.

Just one.

He saved, presumably lovingly, the mean editorials and the clown cartoons. I like to think that he understood that being a showman meant getting some bad press with people who don't laugh much. In any case, even though many tens of thousands of people were transformed by his speeches and sermons, he had his critics. It was as if they were saying "This guy(-l) is all hat and no cattle."

Well, William Edgar Geil disproves that clearly here, with a detailed map of his Africa trek (following yesterday's theme), and a photograph showing him en-route across the continent in 1903. Hat—✓ check (no, not "Hat Check"). Cattle?—✓ check. Got 'em both, and another exquisite, hand-drawn map, above, to boot.

Let's move on (and get along little dogies).

Click here for other posts in the Round and Square series "From the Geil Archive":

                Introduction                          1-Southern Mountain Museum             2-Sacred Mountain Map           

               3-Hat and Cattle                   4-Seeking Anthropology                       5-Curly Fives
               6-How to Write the Book      7-Mortarboard Man                               8-Orator

[c] Cattlehat DHS