Is That an Emoticon in 1862? in NYT

[Laurence Horn]

At 11:05 PM -0500 1/19/09, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>Adding to the idiocy of the whole thing is the fact that if the ;) is an
>emoticon, where's the closing parenthesis?
>
>"I am here upon the scaffold" (wink, wink!)

Is that an emoticon in your parenthetical, or are you just hanging
around to see me?

LH

>He must have been counting on a rescue by the Merry Men.
>
>JL
>
>On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 10:14 PM, George Thompson
><george.thompson at nyu.edu>wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
>>  Subject:      Re: Is That an Emoticon in 1862? in NYT
>>
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Due to one thing and another, and so forth, I have on my home computer only
>>  the section of my notes covering 1826-1860.  In that block I find the ";)"
>>  sequence only once, in a program of a recital of songs and soliloquys by
>>  James Hewlett, my ace boon coon, so to speak, the leading actor of "The
>>  African Theater", from the years after the failure of that theater company,
>>  when Hewlett was touring on his own.
>>
>>  But I do find it.
>>
>>  ***  Richard III, in imitation of Mr. Kean; a scene in Othello, in
>>  imitation of Mr. Kean; a scene in Brutus, in the fall of Tarquin; in
>>  imitation of Mr. Cooper in Bertram, and the speech of Damon (I am here upon
>>  the scaffold;) Mr. Conway in Julius Caesar.  ***
>>  New-York National Advocate, March 30, 1826, p. 2, col. 6.  A similar notice
>>  appeared in the New-York National Advocate, April 10, 1826, p. 3, col. 1;
>>  repeated April 11, 1826, p. 2, col. 6.
>>
>>  Hewlett usually offered his songs or recitations as being done imitation of
>>  the style of a noted actor or singer of the day.
>>
>>  GAT
>>
>>  George A. Thompson
>>  Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
>>  Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.
>>
>>  Our national nightmare is ending.
>>
>>
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>  From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>  Date: Monday, January 19, 2009 9:06 pm
>>  Subject: Re: Is That an Emoticon in 1862? in NYT
>>  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>
>>  > At 1/19/2009 09:01 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>>  > >So
>>  > >I take the printing as part error, part 1229th century style.
>>  >
>>  > That should, of course, have been "19th century style"!
>>  >
>>  > Joel
>>  >
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