"Big Apple" revisited... -- locating Alain Locke's "c. 1919" quote (1925)
Jonathan Lighter
wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Sat Jun 13 22:04:36 UTC 2009
Great, Jerry. The quote may be more important than you think, as it may well
be the first to apply the turf phrase to Harlem and thus have directly and
indirectly influenced the usage of jazz musicians over the next several
years.
The absence of scare quotes tell me, as it must tell you, that Locke was
not using an extant sense of "the big apple."
JL
On Sat, Jun 13, 2009 at 4:14 PM, Gerald Cohen <gcohen at mst.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Gerald Cohen <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> Subject: Re: "Big Apple" revisited... -- locating Alain Locke's "c.
> 1919"
> quote (1925)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Alain Lockeąs quote of łc. 1919˛ turns out to be from his 1925 book
> (reprinted 1995) _The New Negro_. I am indebted for this information to
> Kathleen Bethel (African American Studies Librarian, Northwestern
> University
> Library) and am very grateful for her assistance. Many thanks.
>
> The quote is introduced by łHere in Manhattan˛ and says "Harlem is the
> precious fruit of the Garden of Eden, the big apple."
>
> This is the earliest attestation thus far of łbig apple˛ in specific
> reference to Harlem, but as far as I can tell, it is otherwise not
> significant. By 1925 łthe big apple˛ had already been appearing in print
> in
> other references. For example, in 1924 there were six łAround the Big
> Apple˛ columns in the turf newspaper ŚMorning Telegraph,ą and łthe big
> apple˛ had already been applied in print (one time) to Los Angeles and
> several times in the meaning of łbig shot/very important person or thing.˛
>
> I still need to check which page of Lockeąs book the quote appears on.
> And I need to be sure that it appears in the 1925 edition as well as the
> 1992 reprinting (although I expect no problems here).
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
>
>
>
>
> On 6/11/09 12:50 PM, "Gerald Cohen" <gcohen at MST.EDU> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster: Gerald Cohen <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> > Subject: "Big Apple" revisited: Alain Locke's supposed 1919
> Harlem/big
> > apple quote -- Reply from Hugh Rawson
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------>
> -
> >
> > The search for the elusive source of Alain Locke=B9s =B3c. 1919 quote=B2
> > ("Harle=
> > m
> > is the precious fruit of the Garden of Eden, the big apple") leads to
> three
> > books of quotations, but none of them gives the source. Hugh Rawson (many
> > thanks) kindly responded to my query for his source for the quotation,
> and
> > it turns out that he found Locke=B9s quotation in Deidre Mullane=B9s book
> of
> > quotations. But Mullane doesn=B9t give the source.
> >
> > I am presently trying to complete the manuscript for the second edition
> of
> > Origin of New York City=B9s Nickname =B3The Big Apple=B2 (first edition:
> > 1991),
> > this time co-authored with Barry Popik.
> > And I would like to have the Locke issue nailed down.
> >
> > I will therefore write a check of $100 to the first person who can
> provide
> > me the exact reference of Locke=B9s =B3c. 1919=B2 =B3Harlem/Big Apple=B2
> > quote. I
> > believe it=B9s non-existent, but I=B9ll be happy to change my opinion on
> this
> > i=
> > f
> > the quote can actually be shown to be bona fide.
> >
> > Below is Hugh Rawson=B9s reply to me.
> >
> > Gerald Cohen
> >
> > [Reply from H. Rawson]:
> >
> > Dear Professor Cohen:
> > The Locke quote is one of the few that we took from another
> dictionary
> > of quotations, in this case, as explained in our note to the quote, from
> > Words to Make My Dream Children Live: A Book of African American
> Quotations=
> > ,
> > edited by Deidre Mullane (Anchor Books, 1995). Mullane's book does not
> > include a source; only the "c. 1919." Checking my bookshelf, I find that
> th=
> > e
> > same quote, also dated to c. 1919 but otherwise unsourced, appears in My
> > Soul Looks Back, 'Lest I Forget: A Collection of Quotations by People of
> > Color, edited by Dorothy Winbush Riley (privately published in 1991 and
> > republished by HarperCollins, 1993). For whatever it is worth, both
> > dictionaries include sources for most other quotations. For Locke, in
> > addition to his books, quotes are sourced to such publications as Theater
> > Arts Monthly and Opportunity. I don't know if he wrote regularly for
> these
> > magazines.
> > I'm afraid all this doesn't tell you much except that Locke's
> reference
> > to the big apple has been kicking around for some time. Wish I could be
> of
> > more help. I will be sure to let you know if I stumble over any other
> leads=
> > .
> > Best wishes,
> > Hugh R
> >
> >
> > From: "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at mst.edu>
> > Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2009 21:17:52 -0500
> > To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Cc: <bapopik at aol.com>
> > Conversation: "Big Apple" revisited: Alain Locke's supposed 1919
> Harlem/bi=
> > g
> > apple quote (2nd try)
> > Subject: RE: "Big Apple" revisited: Alain Locke's supposed 1919
> Harlem/big
> > apple quote (2nd try)
> >
> > =20
> > ...I was mistaken about Google books. I see the book Marc Miller was
> > referring to is the book of quotations by Hugh Rawson and Margaret Miner
> > (2005). That book gives the "Harlem is the precious fruit in the Garden
> of
> > Eden, the big apple" quote and adds: "Alain Locke, c. 1919." But Rawson
> &
> > Miner don't say just where this quote appears in Locke's writings (at
> least
> > not in the Google-books excerpt). And why the approximate date?
> >
> > I'll get ahold of Rawson and Miner to see if they present any
> additional
> > information. =20
> >
> > Gerald Cohen
> >
> >
> > From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Cohen, Gerald Leonard
> > Sent: Tue 6/2/2009 7:54 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: "Big Apple" revisited: Alain Locke's supposed 1919 Harlem/big
> appl=
> > e
> > quote
> >
> >
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> > -
> > ---
> >
> > This is a follow-up and a request for assistance.
> >
> > Barry Popik and I have been checking the statement as reported in the
> > 1/17/2007 Wall Street Journal that A. Locke said in 1919: "Harlem is the
> > precious fruit of the Garden of Eden, the big apple." The statement
> > reportedly appears on a map of the Harlem Renaissance in the possession
> of
> > Marc H. Miller (Founder and Director of Ephemera Press), but no source
> was
> > cited.
> >
> > I don't find the quote entered in Google books, and in some twenty
> year=
> > s
> > of research on the origin of "The Big Apple" neither Barry nor I have
> come
> > across mention of it other than in the 2007 WSJ article. Marc Miller
> > recently responded to a query of mine about this, but the source still
> > remains unknown (a book of quotations in the B'klyn Public Library--title
> > not given--and the book of quotations did not cite the source of A.
> Locke's
> > supposed 1919 "big apple" quote).
> >
> > Barry's website (barrypopik.com) comments: "I have spent many
> hours
> > reading the Amsterdam News and New York Age, and looking at all of
> Locke's
> > and [Fletcher] Henderson's works. "Big Apple" is not there before the
> > 1930s."
> >
> > The interpretation seems clear. Unless a source can be located for
> A.
> > Locke's 1919 quotation, it should be regarded as non-existent. But, if
> by
> > chance, someone can locate the quote, I'd very much appreciate hearing of
> > it. Full credit would be given in the "Big Apple" book that Barry and I
> are
> > presently preparing (2nd, revised, edition of my 1991 monograph on the
> > origin of the sobriquet).
> >
> > Btw, below my signoff is the response I've just received (June 1)
> from
> > Marc Miller on the A. Locke quotation.
> >
> > Gerald Cohen
> >
> > [reply on A. Locke's supposed 1919 "Harlem is...the big apple"
> quotation]:
> >
> > Dear Gerald Cohen,
> >
> > My knowledge about this quotation has not changed since I last answered
> you=
> > r
> > query. I found it in a book compiling well-known quotations in the main
> > branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. I was seeking an appropriate
> > quotation about Harlem. Unfortunately I do not have a record of the
> title
> > of the book. If the book had listed a source for the quotation along
> with
> > the date, I would have written it down. Knowing a bit about Locke, I
> can
> > say it is not uncommon for him to use the word "fruit" or to make
> biblical
> > allusions I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the quote. It
> is
> > possible that the book of quotations was mistaken about the date. Locke
> > lived until 1954. Good luck with your book.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Marc H. Miller. Ph.D.
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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