Chianti (1805); CPL & NYPL

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Another Passover with the family.  My nephew, who has autism, is now 170
pounds.  He's only 11...My niece read a passage ("...out of Egypt, a nation
great, mighty, and numerous") and said: "brought us out of Egypt, a nation
great, mighty, and humorous."  Holy Moses!

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CHIANTI

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON
BREWING, DISTILLING AND RECITIFICATION
...WITH A COPIOUS APPENDIX ON THE CULTURE AND PREPARATION OF FOREIGN WINES,
BRANDIES, AND VINEGARS
by R. Shannon
London: Robert Scholey
1805

  OED and Merriam-Webster have 1833 for "Chianti."  The OXFORD COMPANION TO
WINE says "Chianti" has been around since 1398.

APPENDIX:
Pg. 146:  ...Those of the hills are a very pleasant drink about Christmas,
and during the spring; but until June the Chiantis are not esteemed to be fit
for drinking, though they are fit for exportation in butts in December;...

Pg. 146: (OED accuses me of breaking up sentences, but much of the stuff runs
like this--ed.)
   The art of brewing, or making-up, wines (further than the throwing into
each great butt the quantity of two or three hatsful of the choicest grapes
they had preserved, and laid on mats in the sun for that purpose, which were
picked from the stalks, and are esteemed (Pg. 147--ed.) proper for their
wines to feed on, and which they call governo) was not known in Chianti,
(though the hosts here practised something like it, mixing the small wines of
the country, with the strong ones of other parts; and fining their
white-wines with isinglass, whites of eggs, lime, and the like; and were
thought to put alum into their red wines to preserve them, and promote a
thirst in their guests) till on the breaking out of the first French war, an
English merchant from _Bourdeaux_ came into these parts, with a view to
accommodate the wines which were made in the best part of Chianti, and were
naturally as bright as a ruby, with a pleasant _flavour_, and a silky
softness, to the English palates, then in love with the deep-coloured rough
clarets; who instructed them first in the making of black wines, with the
Labrusco, or wild grape; which being mixed with the Chiantis, gave them a
deeper colour, and a rougher taste; and being liked in England, gave the
first occasion to great quantities being sent, thither every year in casks;
in the making of which the said gentleman was the first that instructed them;
for before, their casks were, as aboved related, very unwieldy.

Pg. 164:  The Morillon Taconne, or Munier, _i. e._ the _Miller's Grape_; this
is called the _Burgundy_ grape in England.  The leaves of this sort are very
much powdered with white, especially in the spring, when they first come out,
from whence it had the name of the _Miller's Grape_.  It produces middle-size
black grapes, which grow close upon the bunches, and are generally short and
thick.

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CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

   I've now used the Chicago Public Library's e-mail reference twice.  The
first time, as you know, I told the CPL that its "Windy City" explanation was
wrong.  I got a response that I posted here.  At least one "Windy City"
definition was supposed to have been changed, but _nothing_ has been changed:

http://www.chipublib.org/008subject/005genref/faqwindy.html
http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/chinicknames.html

   Recently, I asked the CPL about the CHICAGO TRIBUNE from ProQuest.  Often,
an organization such as the Chicago Public Library will be given an advance,
beta-testing version of the product.  I have since gotten an answer from
ProQuest that I posted here, about a month ago.  The CPL's web page says that
it responds in a week.
   FWIW, I finally got a CPL response:

Subj:   Response from CPL E-Mail Reference Team
Date:   4/16/2003 5:07:23 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:   <A HREF="mailto:refdesk at chipublib.org">refdesk at chipublib.org</A>
To: <A HREF="mailto:Bapopik at aol.com">Bapopik at aol.com</A>

Dear Mr. Barry Popik:

We are contacting you in reply to your E-Mail reference question.

Your question was:
full text version of Chicago Tribune from ProQuest

Answer:
We checked among our colleagues here and found that the
only full text version of the Chicago Tribune available
through ProQuest is for  a few  years previous to 1997.
The Tribune itself began indexing only in 1972. The years
1972 through the mid 1980s are indexed in book form.
Previous to 1972, there is no in-depth indexing of this
newspaper at all. The Tribune is involved currently in
preparing a retrospective index. We are not sure when this
will be  completed, or exactly which years it will cover.
Called the Chicago Tribune Historical Archive, it  is
available to us in an abbreviated form. We find often that
it is spotty in its coverage An event or person may, or may not, appear.If
you have a particular item for us to
search, we would be glad to see if we could find it.

Source: CPL information and policy


We hope this information is useful and you will use CPL E-Mail Reference
in the future.

CPL E-Mail Reference Team

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NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

   Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced his doomsday budget, so I guess I
should be happy that any library is open at any time.
   As I've said before, almost all of my food books are off-site, either in
the annex (on West 43rd Street) or in New Jersey.  A Thursday request will
get there on Tuesday afternoon at the earliest.
   Look at the following:

Call #  <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/cCIS+*XLF-373+US+Exec+MF+A1003-68/ccis+*xlf+373+us+exec+mf+a1003+68/-5,-1,0,E/2browse">CIS *XLF-373 US Exec MF A1003-68</A>
Title   Description of some Chinese vegetable food materials and their
nutritive and economic value [microform].
Imprint [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. G.P.O., 1899.
LOCATION    CALL #  STATUS
  SIBL   CIS *XLF-373 US Exec MF A1003-68
Location    SIBL
Govt. doc#  A 10.3:68
Descript    48 p. : ill. ; cm.
Series  <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/tExperiment+Station+Bull.+No.+68/texperiment+station+bull+no+++68/-5,-1,0,B/browse">Experiment Station Bull. No. 68</A>
    <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/tExperiment+Stations+Office+Pub.+No.+301/texperiment+stations+office+pub+no++301/-5,-1,0,B/browse">Experiment Stations Office Pub. No. 301</A>
    <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/tUS+Executive+Branch+Documents%2C+1789-1909%3B+no.+A1003-68/tus+executive+branch+documents+1789-1909+no+a1003-68/-5,-1,0,B/browse">US Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909; no. A1003-68</A>
Note    [With data]
References  CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909 Part 4
Note    Microfiche. [Bethesda, Md.]: Congressional Information Service, 1993.
11 x 15 cm. (CIS US Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909: no. A1003-68)
Subject <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/dVegetables%2C+Chinese./dvegetables+chinese/-5,-1,0,B/browse">Vegetables, Chinese.</A>
Add'l name  <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/aBlasdale%2C+Walter+Charles%2C+b.+1871./ablasdale+walter+charles+b+1871/-5,-1,0,B/browse">Blasdale, Walter Charles, b. 1871.</A>

   Sounds great.  Maybe there's "snow peas."
   It's not available.  Not only that, but the whole microfilm shelf (the
VARIETIES OF CHEESE microfilm is around this call number) of agricultural
publications is missing. EVERYTHING IS MISSING.  I went from librarian to
librarian to librarian.  The stuff just disappeared without a trace.
   Recently, I requested stuff like this:

Call #  <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/cVPZ+(United+States.+Dept.+of+agriculture.+Department+bulletin.+no.1282)/cvpz+united+states+dept+of+agriculture+department+bulletin+no+1282/-5,-1,0,E/2browse">VPZ (United States. Dept. of agriculture. Department bulletin.
no.1282)</A>
Author  <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/aWood%2C+Milo+N.+(Milo+Nelson)%2C+1883-/awood+milo+n+milo+nelson+1883-/-5,-1,0,B/browse">Wood, Milo N. (Milo Nelson), 1883-</A>
Title   Almond varieties in the United States / by Milo N. Wood.
Imprint Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1924.
LOCATION    CALL #  STATUS
  Humanities-Genrl Res   VPZ (United States. Dept. of agriculture. Department
bulletin. no.1282)
Location    Humanities-Genrl Res
Descript    142 p., 26 p. of plates : ill., 1 map ; 24 cm.
Series  <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/tDepartment+bulletin+(United+States.+Dept.+of+Agriculture)+%3B+no.+1282./tdepartment+bulletin+united+states+dept+of+agriculture+no+1282/-5,-1,0,B/browse">Department bulletin (United States. Dept. of Agriculture) ; no. 1282.</A>

Note    Cover title.
    "December, 1924."
Subject <A HREF="http://catnyp.nypl.org/search/dAlmond+--+United+States+--+Varieties./dalmond+united+states+varieties/-5,-1,0,B/browse">Almond -- United States -- Varieties.</A>

   Again, check the call number.  I requested a large number of Department of
Agriculture publications, from MARKETING LETTUCE to SOY AND RELATED
FERMENTATIONS to MARKETING PEANUTS to RETAIL MARKETING OF MEATS to MARKETING
CREAMERY BUTTER to MARKETING CABBAGE to SOME NEW VARIETIES OF RICE to THE
NAVEL ORANGE OF BAHIA.  Absolutely essential, wonderful stuff.
   Naturally, all were off-site.  And I got back--
   nothing.
   First, the materials were supposed to be at the 43rd Street annex.  Then,
New Jersey was searched.  I checked back day after day after day.  Librarians
were working on it.  Today, I got a response that was e-mailed to 20
librarians for me:

  "After a thorough search for Mr. Popik's material VPZ U.S. Dept. of Agri.,
Bull #'s, the final report to Mr. Popik would be the material is
_unavailable_."

   Everything is unavailable.  They just don't know where any of the books
are.  A librarian handed me the e-mail and said, "I feel that we've failed
you."
   Which all means that some time next week, and probably frequently, I'll go
again to the Library of Congress.
   I like to look up a missing book (or two) at the LOC.  But we're talking
about a LOT of books here.  Trips to Washington take time and aren't free.
   Just a minute, I need some "bread of affliction" here...