Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

Marilyn Monroe? Eleanor Roosevelt? Anne Boleyn? Laurel Thatcher Ulrich? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: Observing a stream of tweets is a confusing way to learn about a quotation:

Well behaved women rarely make history – Marilyn Monroe
Well-behaved women rarely make history – Eleanor Roosevelt
Well behaved women rarely make history – Anne Boleyn
Well behaved women rarely make history – Unknown
Well behaved women never make history – Marilyn Monroe
Well-behaved women never make history – My senior Quote

Some of these quotes use the word “rarely” and others use the word “never”. Anne Boleyn was beheaded, and I doubt she wanted to enter the history books via an execution. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of a version of this phrase known to QI appeared in an academic paper in the journal “American Quarterly” in 1976 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. The statement used the word “seldom” instead of “rarely” or “never”:[1]1976 Spring, American Quarterly, Volume 28, Number 1, “Vertuous Women Found: New England Ministerial Literature, 1668-1735” by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Start Page 20, Quote Page 20, The … Continue reading

Well-behaved women seldom make history; …

In 1976 Ulrich was a student at the University of New Hampshire, and she earned her Ph.D. in History there in 1980. She is now an eminent Pulitzer-Prize-winning Professor of early American history at Harvard University. The article containing the phrase was titled “Vertuous Women Found: New England Ministerial Literature, 1668-1735”. The goal of the paper and much of Ulrich’s work was the recovery of the history of women who were not featured in history books of the past. She was interested in limning the lives of ordinary women who were considered “well-behaved” or “vertuous” (an alternate spelling of virtuous).

The 1990 book “A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812” by Ulrich reprinted and extensively commented on the diary entries of an ordinary midwife in Maine who also acted as a healer. The book illuminated the medical practices and sexual attitudes of the era and was awarded a Pulitzer-Prize and Bancroft Prize.

Here are additional selected citations.

Continue reading “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History”

References

References
↑1 1976 Spring, American Quarterly, Volume 28, Number 1, “Vertuous Women Found: New England Ministerial Literature, 1668-1735” by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Start Page 20, Quote Page 20, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, (JSTOR) link

St Paul’s Cathedral Is Amusing, Awful, and Artificial

King Charles II? Queen Anne? King James II? King William III? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: There is a venerable tale illustrating the shifts that occur in the meanings of words over time. During the construction of the Cathedral of St Paul the monarch of England was taken on a tour of the edifice by the chief architect, Sir Christopher Wren.  When the excursion was complete the monarch told Wren that the new building was amusing, awful, and artificial. Remarkably, Wren did not feel insulted; instead, he was greatly pleased. In the 1600s amusing meant amazing, awful meant awe-inspiring, and artificial meant artistic. Is there any support for the accuracy of this entertaining legend?

Quote Investigator: There are many variants of this story involving different monarchs; for example, King Charles, King James, King William, and Queen Anne are sometimes named. The words with changing meanings include: awful, amusing, pompous, and artificial. The Cathedral of St Paul in London was built between 1675 and 1711 based on a design submitted by Christopher Wren, and this period overlapped the reigns of several monarchs in England. The previous cathedral on the site had been destroyed in a fire.

There is solid evidence that a royal warrant from King Charles II used the phrase “very artificial” while praising Wren’s design. This usage might be the seed that resulted in an efflorescence of different tales in later years. The warrant authorizing the beginning of the construction of the Cathedral of St. Paul was annexed to the surveyor’s drawings, and the document was signed in 1675.

The grandson of the cathedral designer published the text of the warrant in a book of family memoirs in 1750. The royal “We” was capitalized in the warrant. Boldface has been added to the following passage and some excerpts further below:[1]1750, “Parentalia: Or, Memoirs of the Family of the Wrens; Viz. of Mathew Bishop of Ely, Christopher Dean of Windsor, &c. But Chiefly of Sir Christopher Wren, Late Surveyor-General of the … Continue reading[2]2006, Brewer’s Famous Quotations by Nigel Rees, Section: “JAMES II English King (1633-1701)”, Page 253, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London. (Verified on paper) [This valuable reference … Continue reading

… among divers Designs which have been presented to Us, We have particularly pitched upon one, as well because We found it very artificial, proper, and useful; as because it was so ordered that it might be built and finish’d by Parts: We do therefore by these Presents signify Our Royal Approbation of the said Design, hereunto annexed; and do will and require you forthwith to proceed according to the said Design, beginning with the East-end or Quire, and accomplishing the same with the present Stock of Money, and such Supplies as may probably accrue, according to the Tenor of the Commission to you directed; and for so doing this shall be your Warrant. Given at Our Court at Whitehall, the 14th Day of May, 1675, in the 27th Year of Our Reign.
By His Majesty’s command, HENRY COVENTRY.

The words of praise in the warrant were remembered, and in 1873 an article in Fraser’s magazine stated that the meaning of the word “artificial” had changed. The commentator also noted that Wren’s plans for the cathedral were considerably altered during its multi-decade construction:[3] 1873 September, Fraser’s Magazine, Volume 8, St. Paul’s Cathedral by C. L. Eastlake, Start Page 284, Quote Page 292, Longmans, Green, and Co., London. (Google Books full view) link

Even his last design, approved by the King and ordered to be carried out, is wonderfully unlike what was really executed. Luckily he had liberty in the prosecution of his work to make some variations; and if his Majesty had lived to see what those variations became he would certainly not have recognised the design which in the royal warrant had been described as being very artificial, proper, and useful! The word artificial, we need scarcely explain, then meant artistic.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “St Paul’s Cathedral Is Amusing, Awful, and Artificial”

References

References
↑1 1750, “Parentalia: Or, Memoirs of the Family of the Wrens; Viz. of Mathew Bishop of Ely, Christopher Dean of Windsor, &c. But Chiefly of Sir Christopher Wren, Late Surveyor-General of the Royal Buildings, President of the Royal Society, &c &c.”, Now published by his Grandson, Stephen Wren, Esq., Quote Page 281, Printed for T. Osborn, London. (Google Books full view) link
↑2 2006, Brewer’s Famous Quotations by Nigel Rees, Section: “JAMES II English King (1633-1701)”, Page 253, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London. (Verified on paper) [This valuable reference gave the wording of the phrase used in the royal warrant with a 1937 cite]
↑3 1873 September, Fraser’s Magazine, Volume 8, St. Paul’s Cathedral by C. L. Eastlake, Start Page 284, Quote Page 292, Longmans, Green, and Co., London. (Google Books full view) link

Today a Reader; Tomorrow a Leader

Margaret Fuller? W. Fusselman? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: There is a popular motivational quotation that is usually attributed to Margaret Fuller and is displayed on many educational websites:

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.

Wikiquote lists an extensive collection of quotations from Fuller, but I was unable to find this one. Fuller’s opus “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” is in the Google Books database, but I cannot find the quotation within it. Fuller died in 1850 and stylistically the quotation sounds anachronistic for her time period. What do you think?

Quote Investigator: QI was unable to find any substantive support for crediting Margaret Fuller with this motto. The earliest evidence appeared in 1926 in an intriguing report published in a journal called “The Library” from the Newark Public Library in New Jersey. The head of the library had received a collection of 43 slogans constructed by students, and that set included the statement under investigation. The creator of the slogan was a student named W. Fusselman. Here is an excerpt from the journal article: [1]1926 April, The Library, Volume 2, Number 4, Slogans for a Library, Page 56, Column 2,  Newark Public Library, Newark, New Jersey. (Verified with scans; Thanks to Dennis Lien and the University of … Continue reading

SLOGANS FOR A LIBRARY
Invented by Vocational School Boys

Max S. Henig, of the Essex County Vocational School for Boys, in Irvington, N.J., sends me a list of 43 “library slogans” and says “these slogans were written by the members of my classes at the West Orange Essex County Vocational School. They were originated and used as part of a campaign planned to arouse interest in the growth and use of a school library which some of the boys had created by generous donations of books.”

The article noted that the books were lent for four days with a fee of one cent. The expressions were created as part of a classroom exercise, and the journal editors were impressed enough that they reprinted eight of them. Here are the first four together with the names of the students who crafted them:

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.  W. Fusselman.
A library is an education on a shelf.  H. Ohlandt.
If you read to learn you’re bound to earn.  M. Tremper.
A good book read puts you ahead.  Howard Fraebel.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Today a Reader; Tomorrow a Leader”

References

References
↑1 1926 April, The Library, Volume 2, Number 4, Slogans for a Library, Page 56, Column 2,  Newark Public Library, Newark, New Jersey. (Verified with scans; Thanks to Dennis Lien and the University of Minnesota library system)

It Has Become Appallingly Obvious That Our Technology Has Exceeded Our Humanity

Albert Einstein? Victor Salva? Sean Patrick Flanery? Jeff Goldblum? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: There’s a quote attributed to Albert Einstein which I like a lot, but I’m not sure if it’s really his:

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.

Can you please tell me if it was said or written by him?

Quote Investigator: There is no substantive evidence that Einstein made this statement. It does not appear in the comprehensive collection of quotations “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein” from Princeton University Press. [1] 2010, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, Edited by Alice Calaprice, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. (Verified on paper)

The earliest evidence of a closely matching quotation known to QI was in a 1995 movie called “Powder” which was written and directed by Victor Salva and starred Sean Patrick Flanery as the main character whose strong paranormal powers drove the plot. Flanery played Jeremy Reed who had an albino-like appearance and was given the nickname Powder. Near the end of the film there was a dialog between Reed and a character named Donald Ripley, a physics teacher played by Jeff Goldblum. The quotation was delivered by Ripley and then Reed immediately ascribed it to Einstein: [2]YouTube video, Video excerpt from Powder (1995), [Powder: Production Company: Caravan Pictures], YouTube Title: “Powder (11/11)”, [Quote spoken at 5:13 of 10:00 minutes], Uploaded by … Continue reading

Donald Ripley: It’s become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity.
Jeremy Reed: Albert Einstein.
Donald Ripley: I look at you, and I, I think that someday our humanity might actually surpass our technology.

The statement in this dialog is not identical to the one given by the questioner. For example, Ripley’s remark used the words “clear” and “surpassed” while the questioner’s instance used the words “obvious” and “exceeded”. But semantically they are quite close.

This article concludes after the presentation of one more citation.

Continue reading “It Has Become Appallingly Obvious That Our Technology Has Exceeded Our Humanity”

References

References
↑1 2010, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, Edited by Alice Calaprice, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. (Verified on paper)
↑2 YouTube video, Video excerpt from Powder (1995), [Powder: Production Company: Caravan Pictures], YouTube Title: “Powder (11/11)”, [Quote spoken at 5:13 of 10:00 minutes], Uploaded by Magazine30 on September 13, 2009. (Accessed youtube.com on October 24, 2012) link

Quote Origin: Ancient Tablet: The World is Speedily Coming to an End. Everyone Wants to Write a Book

Ancient Assyrian tablet maker? Egyptian  priest? George T. W. Patrick? George S. Godard? Frederick C. Ferry? Cicero? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The world was supposed to end in 2012 according to many individuals. But the entity assigned the task may have been too busy destroying other worlds. The Smithsonian website posted an article titled: “Ten Notable Apocalypses That (Obviously) Didn’t Happen” which mentioned the following:1

An Assyrian clay tablet dating to around 2800 B.C. bears the inscription: “Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching.”

However, the reference work “Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations” published by the Library of Congress suggested that this story was spurious.2 Would you please examine this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This popular tale of a tablet listing eerily familiar societal criticisms has been in circulation for more than one-hundred years, and many versions of the supposed inscription have been described. The earliest instance known to QI of this prototypical claim was printed in the August 1908 issue of a periodical for bicyclists called “Bassett’s Scrap Book”. A short item contrasted the modern age to ancient times and presented a variation of the epigraph:3

The “good old times” seemed as bad to the “good-old-timers” as the present times seem to the modern man, as shown by the following translation on an inscription on a tablet in the Imperial Museum at Constantinople, Turkey:—

Naram Sin, 5000 B.C.
We have fallen upon evil times, the world has waxed old and wicked. Politics are very corrupt. Children are no longer respectful to their elders. Each man wants to make himself conspicuous and write a book.

There are multiple points of similarity with the version given on the Smithsonian website, but this does not end with the ominous claim that “the end of the world is evidently approaching.”

Also in 1908 the same story was printed in two medical journals: “The Cincinnati Lancet-Clinic”4 and “The Medical Fortnightly”5 together with a newspaper: “Lexington Herald” of Lexington, Kentucky.6

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Quote Origin: Ancient Tablet: The World is Speedily Coming to an End. Everyone Wants to Write a Book”

Folks Are Usually About as Happy as They Make Up Their Minds To Be

Abraham Lincoln? Frank Crane? Orison Swett Marden? Dale Carnegie? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: On twitter recently there was an exchange about a deeply insightful quotation credited to Abraham Lincoln:

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

I love this saying, and it helps me to reflect constructively on my own turbulent emotional life. Sometimes focusing on the positive enables one to feel happy instead of unhappy. Could you determine if Lincoln or someone else created this adage?

Quote Investigator: Expert Ralph Keyes examined a version of this saying in The Quote Verifier and expressed skepticism about the common ascription: [1] 2006, The Quote Verifier by Ralph Keyes, Page 129, St Martin’s Griffin, New York. (Verified on paper)

“People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
This popular Internet quotation is usually attributed to Lincoln. It doesn’t sound like him, however, and no evidence has been offered that he ever said or wrote this. It has appeared in unreliable collections of Lincolniana, and was attributed to Lincoln in the 1960 film Pollyanna.

The earliest evidence located by QI was printed in a newspaper article about New Year’s Resolutions on the first day of 1914 by the columnist Dr. Frank Crane: [2] 1914 January 01, Syracuse Herald, New Year’s Resolutions by Dr. Frank Crane, Unnumbered Page (NewsArch Page 16), Column 4, Syracuse, New York. (NewspaperArchive)

Determine this year to be master of self; that you will control your thoughts, regulate your passions, and guide your own deeds; that you will not let events lead you by the nose.

Resolve to be happy. Remember Lincoln’s saying that “folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Crane’s column about resolutions was printed in the Syracuse Herald of Syracuse, New York. It also appeared in other papers in 1914 such as: the Moberly Morning Monitor of Moberly, Missouri; [3] 1914 January 4, Moberly Morning Monitor, New Year’s Resolutions by Dr. Frank Crane, Page 2, Column 4, Moberly, Missouri. (NewspaperArchive) and the Grand Forks Herald of Grand Forks, North Dakota. [4]1914 January 15, Grand Forks Herald, Old-Fashioned Advice. Some Worth While Resolutions for the New Year, (Acknowledgement to Chicago News), Page 7, Column 6, Grand Forks, North Dakota. … Continue reading

In 1916 Crane invoked the adage again in his column titled “Plain Talk for Plain People”, but the phrasing he employed was somewhat different. The expression used “most people” instead of “folks” and included the phrase “in this world”: [5] 1916 July 23, Boston Globe, Plain Talk for Plain People by Dr. Frank Crane, Page 44, Column 8, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest)

Do you remember what Lincoln said? It was this:
“I have noticed that most people in this world are about as happy as they have made up their minds to be.”

Note that Crane placed the statement between quotation marks, and he credited Abraham Lincoln, but he was not certain how it was originally phrased. Indeed, as shown below, Crane gave a third version in 1920. Lincoln died in 1865 about fifty years before the earliest instance of the quote known to QI.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Folks Are Usually About as Happy as They Make Up Their Minds To Be”

References

References
↑1 2006, The Quote Verifier by Ralph Keyes, Page 129, St Martin’s Griffin, New York. (Verified on paper)
↑2 1914 January 01, Syracuse Herald, New Year’s Resolutions by Dr. Frank Crane, Unnumbered Page (NewsArch Page 16), Column 4, Syracuse, New York. (NewspaperArchive)
↑3 1914 January 4, Moberly Morning Monitor, New Year’s Resolutions by Dr. Frank Crane, Page 2, Column 4, Moberly, Missouri. (NewspaperArchive)
↑4 1914 January 15, Grand Forks Herald, Old-Fashioned Advice. Some Worth While Resolutions for the New Year, (Acknowledgement to Chicago News), Page 7, Column 6, Grand Forks, North Dakota. (GenealogyBank)
↑5 1916 July 23, Boston Globe, Plain Talk for Plain People by Dr. Frank Crane, Page 44, Column 8, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest)

The One Who Follows the Crowd Will Usually Go No Further Than the Crowd

Albert Einstein? Eda LeShan? Alan Ashley-Pitt? Francis Phillip Wernig? Oscar Wilde? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: The following quote has been credited to Albert Einstein and posted on Facebook and various websites:

The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. Those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before.

Here is an alternative version I have seen:

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.

Is this a sample of Einstein’s wisdom?

Quote Investigator: Probably not. It does not appear in the comprehensive collection of quotations “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein” from Princeton University Press. [1] 2010, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, Edited by Alice Calaprice, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. (Verified on paper)

The earliest evidence of the saying that QI has located appeared in the 1970s. The 1973 self-help book “The Wonderful Crisis of Middle Age” by Eda LeShan contained a discussion about creativity that included a version of the saying, and the author did not attribute the words to Albert Einstein. She stated that the quotation was from a poster she had seen, and in a footnote she identified Alan Ashley-Pitt as the creator: [2] 1973, The Wonderful Crisis of Middle Age by Eda LeShan, Quote Page 304, [Copyright 1973; First Printing November 1974], Warner Books, New York. (Verified with scans)

The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before.

Creativity in living is not without its attendant difficulties, for peculiarity breeds contempt. And the unfortunate thing about being ahead of your time is that when people finally realize you were right, they’ll say it was obvious all along. You have two choices in your life; you can dissolve into the mainstream, or you can be distinct. To be distinct, you must be different. To be different, you must strive to be what no one else but you can be . . . *

* By Alan Ashley-Pitt (Aardvarque Enterprises, 116 W. Arrellaga Street, Santa Barbara, California 93104).

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “The One Who Follows the Crowd Will Usually Go No Further Than the Crowd”

References

References
↑1 2010, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, Edited by Alice Calaprice, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. (Verified on paper)
↑2 1973, The Wonderful Crisis of Middle Age by Eda LeShan, Quote Page 304, [Copyright 1973; First Printing November 1974], Warner Books, New York. (Verified with scans)

The Best Hospitals Are Not Those Which Merely Use Knowledge But Those Which Create It

George W. Pickering? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: A thoughtful quotation about the connection between medical research and medical care has been credited to Sir George W. Pickering:

Medicine is an advancing science and the best hospitals are not those which merely use knowledge but those which create it.

Pickering was a professor of medicine at Oxford University. I haven’t been able to find a solid citation online for this statement, and would be grateful if you would explore this.

Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence QI has found appeared in the 1964 book “The Advancement of Child Health” by Albert V. Neale. The text discussed the intellectual ferment of the seventeenth century and then stated: [1]1964, The Advancement of Child Health by A. V. Neale [Albert Victor Neale], Quote Page 35, University of London, Athlone Press, London. (Verified on paper; Great thanks to Skylar and the Florida … Continue reading

Sir George Pickering (1960), three centuries later, has an apt follow-up: ‘Medicine is an advancing science and the best hospitals in the world are not those which merely use new knowledge, but those which create it.’

This version of the quotation was a bit longer because it included the phrase “in the world” and the word “new”. The parenthetical date of 1960 suggested that the author planned to include a precise reference, but a careful examination of the book revealed no further information. The bibliography and notes sections contained no citations for Pickering in 1960.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “The Best Hospitals Are Not Those Which Merely Use Knowledge But Those Which Create It”

References

References
↑1 1964, The Advancement of Child Health by A. V. Neale [Albert Victor Neale], Quote Page 35, University of London, Athlone Press, London. (Verified on paper; Great thanks to Skylar and the Florida State University library)

“It Took Me Fifteen Years to Discover That I Had No Talent for Writing.” “Did You Quit?”

Robert Benchley? Mark Twain? Walter Winchell? Groucho Marx? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: One of the funniest quotations about writing is usually credited to the brilliant wit Robert Benchley:

It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.

I was very surprised to find the same joke attributed to Twain in the comprehensive collection “Everyone’s Mark Twain”:

After writing for fifteen years it struck me I had no talent for writing. I couldn’t give it up. By that time I was already famous!

Was this quip created by Robert Benchley, Mark Twain, or somebody else?

Quote Investigator: QI believes that this comical remark was crafted by neither Twain nor Benchley. The earliest version of the joke located by QI was about writing poetry. It was published in the humor magazine Puck in February 1912 under the title “COULDN’T AFFORD TO THEN”. The generic names SCRIBBLER and FRIEND were used to designate the speakers in a dialog: [1]1912 February 28, Puck, Volume 71, Couldn’t Afford To Then, Unnumbered Page [Page 5 by count], Column 3, Keppler & Schwarzmann, New York. (HathiTrust)

SCRIBBLER.—It took me nearly ten years to learn that I couldn’t write poetry.
FRIEND.—Gave it up then, did you?
SCRIBBLER.—Oh, no. By that time I had a reputation.

In March 1912 the same joke was reprinted in other periodicals with an acknowledgement to Puck, e.g., Springfield Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts, [2] 1912 March 02, Springfield Republican, Had a Reputation, [Acknowledgement to Puck], Page 17, Column 7, Springfield, Massachusetts. (GenealogyBank) Seattle Daily Times of Seattle, Washington, [3]1912 March 05, Seattle Daily Times, “Couldn’t Afford to Then”, [Acknowledgement to Puck], Page 7, Column 2, Seattle, Washington. (GenealogyBank)) and The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, New Jersey. [4]1912 March 23, Jersey Journal, “Scissorettes: Too Late.”, [Acknowledgement to Puck], Page 16, Column 4, Jersey City, New Jersey (GenealogyBank)

In September 1912 The Independent, a weekly magazine based in New York City, printed a variant that referred to writing stories instead of poetry: [5]1912 September 19, The Independent, [Weekly Magazine], Pebbles, [Acknowledgement to New York American], Page 679, Column 2, New York. (Google Books full view) link

“It took me nearly ten years to learn that I couldn’t write stories.”
“I suppose you gave it up, then?”
“No, no. By that time I had a reputation.”
—New York American.

The quip was retold, and the phrasing evolved for decades, but the creator was left unnamed. The earliest connection to Mark Twain located by QI appeared in the popular newspaper column of Walter Winchell in 1946. The first known attachment of the joke to Benchley occurred in an issue of Reader’s Digest in 1949. Also, Nathaniel Benchley, the son of Robert, attributed the joke to his father in a biography he wrote in 1955. The details are provided further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading ““It Took Me Fifteen Years to Discover That I Had No Talent for Writing.” “Did You Quit?””

References

References
↑1 1912 February 28, Puck, Volume 71, Couldn’t Afford To Then, Unnumbered Page [Page 5 by count], Column 3, Keppler & Schwarzmann, New York. (HathiTrust)
↑2 1912 March 02, Springfield Republican, Had a Reputation, [Acknowledgement to Puck], Page 17, Column 7, Springfield, Massachusetts. (GenealogyBank)
↑3 1912 March 05, Seattle Daily Times, “Couldn’t Afford to Then”, [Acknowledgement to Puck], Page 7, Column 2, Seattle, Washington. (GenealogyBank))
↑4 1912 March 23, Jersey Journal, “Scissorettes: Too Late.”, [Acknowledgement to Puck], Page 16, Column 4, Jersey City, New Jersey (GenealogyBank)
↑5 1912 September 19, The Independent, [Weekly Magazine], Pebbles, [Acknowledgement to New York American], Page 679, Column 2, New York. (Google Books full view) link

Quote Origin: “Do You Like Kipling?” “I Don’t Know; I’ve Never Kippled Before”

Donald McGill? James Kenneth Stephen? Philip K. Dick? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Graphic artist Donald McGill created one of the most popular postcards of the previous century. The card depicted a man and woman sitting beneath a tree with a book, and the caption said:

“Do you like Kipling?”
“I don’t know, you naughty boy, I’ve never kippled!”

The humor was based on wordplay using the surname of the prominent literary figure Rudyard Kipling. The Guinness Book of World Records stated that about 6,000,000 copies of the card were sold. McGill created many other postcards during his long career, but during the 1950s some of his works were banned because the double-entendres and innuendos were too saucy for the censorship-minded authorities in his locality of the United Kingdom.

Could you determine if McGill originated the wonderfully funny dialog on this seaside postcard?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence QI has located for a matching joke was printed in 1907. This version was considerably longer than the two dialog lines given above, but the core of the quip remained the same:1

At a dinner given in a home that was marked for the literary acquirements of its members the conversation naturally turned to books and their authors. This was not much to the liking of one young woman, who was more noted for her skill at golf and kindred sports than for her knowledge of romance and history. From time to time she attempted to start a discussion of outdoor games, but to no avail. At last her companion at the table turned to her with the inquiry:

“And do you not like Kipling?”

The fair young thing knitted her brows in thought for a moment, then answered blithely:

“Kipling? I don’t believe it has been introduced in our set yet. How do you kipple, anyway?”

By 1917 a concise version of the gag was published that was even closer to the modern version. The initials “s. y. t.” in the following excerpt correspond to “sweet young thing”:2

“Are you fond of Kipling?” queried a literary friend of ours of a sweet young thing he met at a party last week.
“I really don’t know,” blushed the s. y. t., “I never kippled.”—Book Notes.

Top quotation expert Nigel Rees writing in “Brewer’s Famous Quotations” noted that the postcard by Donald McGill was “undated, but possibly from the 1930s”.3

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Quote Origin: “Do You Like Kipling?” “I Don’t Know; I’ve Never Kippled Before””