INTRODUCTION

Hordes of collectors have trampled the grass flat in many fields of autograph collecting : but that does not appear to be true of the genre of early American environmentalists. With the increasing public interest in the earth's milieu, especially in the United States, this field is an interesting and challenging venue for the acquisitive autographist.

According to Edwin Black's book Internal Combustion one of man's first assault on his surroundings began as a resulted from the need to find sources of energy for industrialization in England in the mid-1800's. Wood and coal were the principal sources of power at that time and the need for both as energy sources led to rapine of both the land and forests. In addition, the mining of coal required a dangerous and unhealthy work environment for the miners and the byproducts of coal use in homes and factories produced a toxic atmosphere, especially for city dwellers. The growing threat to both the environment and to workers was addressed to some degree by numerous royal commissions as well as other concerned groups and thus began the modern environmental movement.

Several people have laid claim to the imprimatur of "father (mother) of the environmental movement in America"-- depending upon whose legacy or foundation (money, money) is being promoted. That appellation could be applied justifiably to any of the following individuals of the 19th or early 20th century: George P. Marsh, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Henry David Thoreau or John James Audubon. Rachel Carson and Marjory Stoneman Douglas were more contemporary figures but also very important environmentalists. Among public figures, "Teddy" Roosevelt is frequently touted as the first environmentalist president just like Buba is ,or was until the 2008 campaign, "the first Black President."

This article will present examples of the handwriting of five of the early members of our 'Green Team.' These autographs are part of a collection The History Buff, Inc. assembled for a leading environmentalist.

George P. Marsh (1801-1882) represented Vermont in the US Congress (1843-1849), until his appointment by President Taylor as Minister to Turkey. President Lincoln named him as the first US Minister to Italy in 1861, a post he held for over two decades until his death. He was multilingual and a prolific author. Perkins was one of the first to write about how human activity was reshaping the ecosystem, often with disastrous results. For example, he noted how deforestation was extending the Sahara. His classic work Man and Nature (1864) warned of environmental degradation and advocated reforestation, watershed management and conservation. A revised and expanded version of this treatise was later published as The Earth as Modified by Human Action. Signed material of his is scarce and expensive. Illustrated herein is Mash's signature and writing applied to a presentation copy of the aforementioned book.

John P. Muir ( 1858-1913). John Muir, a Scottish immigrant, is credited as being the " Father of the National Parks System" and he was the founder of the Sierra Club. His birthplace in Martinez, CA is a National Historic Site and is maintained by the National Parks Service. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, and wild life, especially in the Sierra Mountains were read by millions and are still popular today. His direct activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley and other wilderness areas. Shown here is an ALS from his home written one year before he died.

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948). He was a U.S. ecologist, forester and environmentalist. He was influential in the development of modern environmental ethics and in the movement for wilderness preservation. Aldo Leopold is considered to be the "father of wildlife management " in the United States and was a life-long fisherman and hunter. He had a home and farm in Baraboo, WI and that is where his very active foundation is based. He is most famous for his Sand Hill Almanac but that book was not published until several months after his death so there are no signed copies. His autograph is also scarce and pricey. His wife and members of his family have signed copies of Sand Hill Almanac on rare occasions. Aldo's handwriting and signature are shown on one of his first surveys which he did as a forester.

Rachel Carson (1907-1964). Although the international environmental movement may have slumbered for a number of years it was rudely awakened like Rip Van Winkle when Carson's book Silent Spring was published in 1962. She went on to write much more including the well known The Sea Around Us.
Carson brought to light the potential dangers of pesticides and the attendant publicity led to a world-wide ban on DDT. Nowhere, however, is there a better example of the downside of well- intentioned environmental activism than what happened as a result of her work since the banning of DDT has led to millions of deaths from malaria, especially in Africa. In fact, the growing threat of malaria has prompted several African governments to announce recently that they are going to re-institute the use of DDT in their countries. As a result, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have threatened to cut their dole if they start using DDT again. An unanticipated side effect of malaria is that, by lowering immune resistance, it facilitates infection by the AIDS virus and the converse is also true so that some of the AIDS-related mortality in these countries also is related to malaria.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998). This wonderful lady was very active in helping to preserve the Everglades. Signed copies of her classic book River of Grass are much sought after, especially by Florida collectors. She was adamant about saving the Everglades from drainage and over-development. In 1978 she founded the Friends of The Everglades Association. One of her autograph treasures is to find a signed copy of River of Grass as illustrated here.

So, the aforementioned individuals are considered to be among the founders of today's American environmental movement. They are delight to study and collect- in some instances, to quote Shakespeare's The Tempest, 'the journey not the arrival matters' simply because finding their autographs or manuscripts is, in most cases, quite difficult. One of the benefits of this hobby is that it often opens new, life-enriching interests which is exactly what happened to me as a result of building this collection. Many of these people have left us a priceless legacy, like the National Parks and The Everglades, so we are obligated to be good stewards of those gifts. The rub comes regarding how that stewardship should be accomplished. To this point, a recent United Nations study on the environment showed that the richer, more prosperous nations have cleaner air and water and better forestation. The real Inconvenient Truth, then. is that it is capital that pays for a cleaner environment not good intentions. Destroy a country's economy and pari pasu you destroy its environment.

El Fraley, The History Buff, Inc.