MCCHARLES, Aneas

Bemocked of Destiny: The Actual Struggles and Experiences of a Canadian Pioneer, and the Recollections of a Lifetime

Toronto William Briggs 1908, 244 p. 20 cm. 2 b&w plates. First edition limited to 500 copies. Dark green cloth hardcover. A few minor mars to cover. Small chip in edge of front free endpaper. Published two years after the author's death, this text is rarely available for purchase, while generally found in institutional libraries. McCharles was well known in the worlds of mining and science, and made the acquaintance of "Thomas A. Edison...he hated snakes awfully" (108). He makes many references to Ontario places, such as Kincardine, Sudbury and Algoma. He also made a point of looking up Susanna Moodie in her later years, and "had several evening chats, and I now remember that one of them was on the very subject of unjust sneers at red hair" (231). An avid reader, his opinions of literature are included. The phrase "bemocked of destiny" originates in "Sartor Resartus" by Thomas Carlyle. An important work to Emerson and the transcendentalists, Dwight Eisenhower also kept the Carlyle title with him through WWII and noted, "It is a humble man who has read this masterpiece and hides it in his heart." Aeneas McCharles, writes about Carlyle (133) and refers to the specific work. He also borrows the title of one of Carlyle’s finest essays--as he calls it--for his own essay, "Signs of the Times." It is no wonder, with his literary ambitions, that McCharles would mandate the publication of his work in his will. His unusual will--found here as the last chapter--established the McCharles Prize at the University of Toronto. It was first given to Thomas Wilson in 1909. Other recipients include Selwyn G. Blaylock and Harold W. Price. For innovators of the Canadian mining industry, the McCharles Prize was a great signifier of contribution to the field. Still awarded today, it has been re-established as an award for exceptional performance and distinction in early career research on the part of a pre-tenure member of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, and is given out every three years. This collectible piece of Canadiana would be well suited to the library of one of the recipients of this prize. A personal note from the bookseller: McCharles mentions our hometown, when he "went in the course of a few weeks from Toronto the smaller but very pleasant city of London, Ontario." McCharles, we tip our hat to you.

• USD 300.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: 001577

• bookseller: Attic Books (CANADA)