With the power of the internet it is no surprise that there lies a great deal of vintage pieces from days gone by. We recently began a search on Ebay for nostalgic Jekyll Island Club pieces to start a collection. Our first find was an article written in 1893 by Franklin Head. With curiosity setting in we quickly teamed up with John Hunter the Director of Historic Resources from the Jekyll Island Authority to see about our discovery. John tooks some time looking at the piece and gave us a short write up that we have shared with you below. We will be donating this piece to the Jekyll Island Museum to put in their collection. Be on the look out for future posts on our latest finds.
John Hunter Write Up
Sometimes history is not as it seems – and the whims of the past can be taken for fact. One such instance involves Jekyll Island. After the Jekyll Island Club was established, it quickly became a popular destination amongst the national elite – many of whom were from Chicago. Writer Franklin Head was a member of the Chicago Literary Club, and used Jekyll as an opportunity in 1892 to entertain his fellow members (which included Jekyll Island Club notables such as N.K. Fairbank) with a spoof of the history of this newly popular destination. He waxed poetically about the beauty of the island, and focused on the settlement of the island during the Colonial era. The inclusion of photographs of notables such as James Oglethorpe, and Rev. George Whitefield (portrayed by Fairbank) should have been a strong indication that the document was not a serious attempt at history.
The article became popular, and was republished several times at the turn of the 20th Century. Much like the internet today, something written in jest was taken as fact and took on a life of its own.
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