Issue 78, Fall 2005

The image you’ve uploaded appears to be the cover of a magazine titled “ALABAMA HERITAGE.” Let’s break down the details: Title and Issue Information: The title “ALABAMA HERITAGE” is prominently displayed at the top of the cover. The issue number and date are indicated in the top right corner: “NUMBER 78, FALL 2005.” Visual Elements: The cover features a painting of an individual seen from behind, gazing out over a landscape. The person’s face is obscured by a pixelated block, preventing identification. The individual is dressed in a red vest over a blue shirt with rolled-up sleeves. They are holding something (though it’s not visible due to the angle). Text Details: In the bottom section of the cover, there’s additional text: “PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AND THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY.” The price is noted in the upper left corner: “.00 DOLLARS.”

Issue 78, Fall 2005

On the cover: Georgia Mountaineer, oil painting by Martha Anderson, hangs in the Georgia Museum of Art. [Courtesy Georgia Museum, University of Georgia]

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Features

The image you uploaded is a colorful political cartoon titled “OSCAR THE APOSTLE.” It features Oscar Wilde, the central figure, depicted with exaggerated proportions, holding a sunflower. Surrounding him are caricatures of men in various poses, some mimicking Wilde’s posture, while others react negatively. The artwork satirizes Wilde and the aesthetic movement, using sunflowers as a symbol for beauty and art for art’s sake. There are small captions within the image related to the characters’ attitudes towards aestheticism.
This 1882 cartoon parodies Wilde’s attempts to introduce Aestheticism to America. [Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division]

The Wilde Alabama Lecture Circuit

By William Warren Rogers, Dorothy McLeod MacInerney, and Robert David Ward

Throughout the winter and spring of 1882, the Irish-born poet, playwright, and novelist Oscar Wilde conducted a lecture tour of the United States. Wilde’s speeches coincided with performances of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience—a comic opera that parodied the excesses and eccentricities of the Aesthetic Movement. Many American audiences viewed Wilde as the embodiment of this controversial “Art for Art’s Sake” philosophy, and nowhere in the country did he face more skepticism than in the post-Reconstruction South. Despite scathing criticism from more than a few journalists, Wilde won over his Alabamian public and left with a special fondness for the state and its people.

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An Artistic Blend: Frank and Martha Anderson 

By Lynn Barstis Williams

Photographs by Birmingham photographer Lacy Robinson

During their marriage, architect Frank Hartley Anderson and artist Martha Fannin Fort not only produced a sizable body of art (both collaborative and individual), but also worked tirelessly to support Alabama’s artistic community. The Andersons, whose various mediums included woodcuts, etchings, portraits, and paintings, created artwork that toured the country, and even the world. Participants in several New Deal Art Programs, the Andersons’ many projects included large educational murals for schools and post offices. By teaching art classes, producing affordable art prints, and undertaking public art projects, the Andersons sought to bring art to all levels of society. Founders of Anderson Galleries and the Southern Printmakers Society, the Andersons ultimately raised national awareness of southern artists.

The image depicts an interior wall of a room. A large mural painting adorns the wall, portraying several figures engaged in activities like working on bicycles. There are two bulletin boards—one labeled “POSTMASTER” and the other displaying pamphlets. A counter holds envelopes, boxes, and postal supplies. The combination of art and functionality in this space is intriguing.
The Andersons’ mural, Spirit of Steel, depicts the entire steel manufacturing process. Frank and Martha Anderson spent hours sketching in mines and steel mills to prepare for the project. [Lacy Kerr Robinson]
The image appears to be a color illustration divided into multiple panels, each depicting different scenes. In the central panel, a group of men is in a room with money scattered on the floor, and one man is sweeping it toward an open sewer grate. The text above this scene reads “HUSH MONEY—OR—NOT FOR THE SEWER.” Surrounding panels show various characters and settings: a man at a podium labeled “THE JUDGE,” an office scene with signs reading “TRADE DOLLAR,” another office scene with papers labeled “JOINT,” an interior of a “CONCERT SALOON,” and two men outside in front of posters that read “THE JUDGE.” The theme seems to revolve around corruption or bribery.
A nineteenth-century cartoon depicts the practices involved in obtaining police protection. [Library of Congress]

Louise Wooster, Birmingham’s Magdalen 

By James L. Baggett

The most celebrated and philanthropic of Birmingham’s madams, Lou Wooster was a kind and maternal caregiver who also possessed the gifts of storytelling and self-promotion. Born in Tuscaloosa and raised in Mobile, she fell on hard times after her parents’ deaths. She became, at the hands of her gentleman rescuers, first a ward, then a mistress, and “fell, step by step, until at last I was beyond redemption.” Her travels, as recorded in her autobiography, take her from the stage in New Orleans to the brothels of Montgomery and Birmingham. She also claimed to have had a liaison with John Wilkes Booth that provided much fodder for the journalists of her time. Wooster became famous not only for her high-class brothels but also for her humanity, her charity, and her kindness.

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Places in Peril 2005: Alabama’s Endangered Historic Landmarks

By Melanie Betz Gregory and Ellen Mertins

This annual collaboration between the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Preservation Alliance once again brings the state’s threatened landmarks to the forefront. This year’s list includes historic homes in Greenville, Selma, Tuskegee, Hartselle, and Eufaula, along with historic gas stations statewide. Alabama’s first public school building, Mobile’s Barton Academy, and one of its oldest cotton gin plants, Prattville’s Old Pratt Gin Factory, also found their way to the Places in Peril list. Homewood’s Rosedale Park Historic District, Clay’s Ware House and Barn, Oxford’s Davis farm complex, and Coatopa’s Christian Valley Baptist Church round out the list of endangered historic places for 2005.

The image depicts a dilapidated two-story building with a weathered exterior. The ground floor appears to be constructed of concrete or cinder blocks, showing significant wear and peeling paint. A metal staircase on the right side leads to the upper level, which features a balcony supported by columns. Unfortunately, parts of the balcony railing are missing, indicating decay and neglect. The surrounding lawn is overgrown with tall grass and weeds, suggesting that the property has been abandoned for some time. In the background, there are trees and a red brick wall, possibly belonging to another structure. The overall state of disrepair evokes thoughts about history, abandonment, or urban decay.
The Alabama Historical Commission, volunteers, and preservation groups of Selma have united to stabilize the historic Plattenburg House which, in 1842, was the center of Wesley Plattenburg’s twenty-two-hundred-acre plantation. [Robin McDonald]

Departments

Alabama Mysteries

Mobile’s Anastasia

By Pam Jones

When a royally attired young woman arrived in colonial Mobile claiming to be the Russian Princess Charlotte Christina Sophia of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, who was to doubt her? Many, as it turned out, and with good reason: The real Princess Charlotte had reportedly died in 1715 and was buried in a royal tomb in St. Petersburg. Charlotte’s “survival” story, wild as it was, included a fake funeral and flight from an abusive husband, culminating in a trans-Atlantic journey on a ship full of German immigrants. The deception survived until 1765, when her masquerade was exposed by Voltaire himself.

The image appears to be a black and white sketch depicting a historical scene of Mobile in 1711. In the foreground, there’s a body of water with several boats, including sailboats and rowboats. Moving toward the middle ground, we see a fortified structure with multiple buildings within its walls, suggesting a colonial or military installation. The background features an expanse of open land with scattered trees, and several birds are flying overhead. The overall scene conveys an impression of early settlement life.
Mobile, c. 1711. [University of South Alabama Archives]
The image depicts a large brick building with two prominent towers featuring arched windows and a peaked roof. The central part of the building has a large arched window and an entrance with stairs leading up to it. Trees partially obscure the view, and a clear sky stretches above. A solitary person walks in front of the building on what appears to be a sidewalk.
Plans to restore Birmingham’s historic 16th Street Baptist Church are already underway. [Photos by Robin McDonald]

Southern Architecture and Preservation 

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Gets a Lift

By Aaron Welborn

Most of us know about the tragic Sixteenth-Street Baptist Church bombing of 1963. But how many of us are aware of the second disaster that struck the historic building? Time. One of Birmingham’s most important civil rights landmarks was almost lost to mold, groundwater leakage, and the insidious spread of cracks through the exterior masonry. However, efforts are being made to reverse the damage. In conjunction with the feature story, Places in Peril, Alabama Heritage brings you a story of architectural success.

Nature Journal

Birding Dauphin Island

By L. J. Davenport

Spring migration to Dauphin Island is a pilgrimage for birdwatchers, as well as for the birds themselves. The island is one of the most heavily trafficked bird migration sites on the continent, bringing in more than 180 avian species during peak season, including the rare and illustrious painted bunting. Bird fanatics gather here in equal numbers, hoping for a glimpse of this rare, bright-feathered jewel.

The image depicts a close-up of a small bird with vibrant plumage. The bird’s head is a deep blue, transitioning to bright green on the neck and body, and then to a warm orange-red towards the tail. Its feathers appear smooth and well-defined, and its eye is visible as a small black dot surrounded by blue feathers.
A painted bunting. [W. Mike Howell]
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