White River Mussels & the House of Light

Every so often, we get a glimpse of the magnificence that once existed.

       Recently, I had an opportunity to view small, yet wonderful, collection entitled Hugo and Gayne Preller’s House of Light on display at the Arkansas Historical Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. This exhibit will be on display through October, and I encourage you to get a glimpse of it while it is still available.  

Hugo Arthur Preller (1865–1950) traversed the White & Mississippi Rivers, while traveling in a floating photography studio between 1898 through 1910. Afterward, Hugo and Gayne, his wife, settled in Augusta, Arkansas, along the White river. Their studio business and continued Hugo passed away in 1950, and Gayne passed away in 1958. The Preller’s work not only documents life & times along these rivers, but their photographs show the character of the people who live along these weathered banks. The White River, known for its’ watery highway from the Ozark Highlands to the Arkansas Delta, held a vast harvest of freshwater mussels which many Arkansans clamored and dredged to find valuables pearls for market. After harvesting these jewels of the river, the shells were gathered and sold to button factories.

 

While in his nomadic ventures along the rivers, Hugo Preller used freshwater mussel shells as his canvas to portray his sights along his journey. Among the many family portraits he was paid to take, Hugo had a talent to paint. The following pictures show what can be done with discarded shells once their jewels were taken. As I was peering through the glass at the museum, the thought dropped into my heart of how many people only seek the pearls of life, while there is still beauty to be found in the remnants of our past & future. I believe this can be seen in Preller's House of Light.

Dear Reader:

The magnificence is not always in the history’s past because it could be in your very future. I hope you take the time to look beyond what you may perceive as a solitary pearl. There is a wonderful canvas surrounding you, and it’s awaiting for your hand, patience, and attention.

Enjoy your Ozarks’ History

Vincent

 

U.S. Snagboats Quartered at Devalls Bluff

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

1920

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: U.S. Snagboats Quapaw, Arkansas, and C. B. Reese Quartered at DeValls Bluff, Ark.

March 1920. Painted from Life./H. A. Preller

Loan courtesy of Melanie Alumbaugh and Sumer Clark

DeValls Bluff Button Factory.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

March 1920

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: Button Factory, DeValls Bluff, Ark. / March 1920. H. A. Peller

Loan courtesy of Lower White River Museum State Park

View on the White River.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

1916

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: View on the White River. / past Aberdeen, Ark.

Washboard Shell. H. A. Peller, 16”.

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

Court House and Ferry Landing, Dec Arc.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

Fall 1921

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: Court House and Ferry Landing, Dec Arc, Ark. Painted from Life. Fall 1921.

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

The Burning & Exploding of a Crude Oil Irrigation Plant.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

1917

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: The Burning & Exploding of a Crude Oil Irrigation Plant, Crockett’s Bluff, Ark., White River.

August 1917. Painted from Life./H. A. Preller

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

View in Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

December 1918

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: View in Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo.

December 1918. Looking East from Art Hill./H. A. Preller

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

Portrait of Gayne Preller.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

1918

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: H. A. Peller “18”

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

True Grit

In honor of “True Grit” month at the Springfield-Greene County Library, I will be at the Big Read Book Talk at Barnes & Noble in Springfield, MO.

I will be speaking at 7 pm & signing my book:

Bald Knobbers

 Chronicles of Vigilante Justice

Wednesday Night 7-9 p.m.

Barnes & Noble 

3055 S. Glenstone Ave.

Springfield, Mo.

Sometimes, You Can Take it with You.

     In doing research for Ozarks' History over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to scan some wonderful old documents, maps, and photographs found in archives, universities, and old shoe boxes. There have been many things I could not take home; and if I could, I wouldn't have the room to store them properly. Yet, in many of these endeavors, I have used a tool that has been indispensable. It is a mobile scanner called a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner.

     The map/plate below is something I hunted for years; and to my knowledge, there is only one in existence. The plate was originally published in 1888, and it measures about 24" x 16". Therefore, it was pretty much a given it would not be relinquished into my custody. I used my Flip-Pal scanner, and I ensured each scan overlapped the proceeding one. Scanning can be done at 300 dpi, which takes about 6 seconds, or 600 dpi, which takes about 11 seconds. I scanned this plate below at 600 dpi and made 42 scans.

Taber, H. S., James C. Long, Charles C. Taft. 1888. Map of the White River from Forsyth, Missouri, to the Mouth. (Little Rock, AR: Pantagraph & U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1888), p. 1.

     About 12 minutes later, I pulled out the SD card included in the scanner and placed it in my computer. This SD card has a program called the Flip-Pal Toolbox, which includes an EasyStitch software program. With this software, the puzzle has met its match.

     In a matter of 4 minutes, the EasyStitch  program found the 42 overlapping scans and created a beautiful reproduction. Additionally, the toolbox also has a program which will restore old & faded maps and pictures and bring them back to life.

This title plate ended up being 187 Megs. 

It prints out in beautiful resolution.

       Not only can this scanner be used for historical research, but it can be used in preserving personal and family history, detailed coins & medals, jewelry, hand drawn art, and other keepsakes.

1st page of the White River Map starting at mile marker 505, Forsyth, Missouri, in 1888. 

Taber, H. S., James C. Long, Charles C. Taft. 1888. Map of the White River from Forsyth, Missouri, to the Mouth. 

(Little Rock, AR: Pantagraph & U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1888), p. 2.

42 overlapping scans stitched back together of Forsyth, Missouri. 

This plate ended up being a 156 Megs

Close up detail of the White River passing through Forsyth, Missouri, scanned at 600 dpi.

Notice the engineers detailed the depth of the river channel about every 100 feet and 

the depth from each bank about every 0.33 miles.

     
     The picture below originally came out of a book from a nameless university library. I don't even think they know that maps like this exist in their collection. But, I had the opportunity to go there one day, inquire about a certain book, and then get a wonderful scan. A slightly faded, black & white facsimile can be found on a website called Hathi Trust Digital Library. By the way, Hathi Trust Digital Library is a wonderful tool for doing research without charge. A few months later, I found this map at an old book sale. It's amazing the treasures that still lay in U. S. Congressional House Documents / United States Congressional Serial Set, commonly referred to as the Serial Set. The publication of the Serial Set began  in 1817 with the 15th Congress. All Congressional Documents before 1817 can found in the American State Papers.

This map below required only 12 overlapping scans.

Royce, Charles C., 1897. “Map Showing Indian Cessions, Grants to Indians and Changes in Western Boundary of Arkansas.” In 18^th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, Part 2, House Documents, 56th United States Congress, Session 1. (Washington D. C.: United States Printing Office. 1903), pp. 689-692.

“Map Showing Area and Acreage of Portions of Arkansas Derived from Various Indian Treaties.” In Executive Documents of the Senate of the United States, 51st Congress, Session 1. (Washington D. C.: United States Printing Office. 1890), p. 6.

If you would like to take a closer look at this great research & preservation tool, click on the image below.

Enjoy Your Ozarks' History.