Bert Leston Taylor - Chronology of Work

Chronology of Work

Captain Kidd, Coin Collector (1894); Libretto by Bert Leston Taylor and music by Walter H. Lewis. Taylor and Lewis collaborated on three operas

A Political Soldier (1899); Bert Leston Taylor and Edward A. Morris A comedy in three acts.

Ponce de Leon, or the Fountain of Youth; Libretto by Bert Leston Taylor and music by Walter H. Lewis (1900) - Romantic opera comedy. The plot is based on Ponce de Leon and his legendary quest to search for the Fountain of Youth. Performed in Manchester, New Hampshire April 24 and 25, 1900, the opera contains twenty-seven musical numbers including solos, duets, and trios.

The Bilioustine: A Periodical of Knock; published by William S. Lord under the name “the Boy Grafters, at East Aurora, Illinois.” (1901) – The work parodied Elbert Green Hubbard’s Philistine: A Periodical of Protest independently published by his Roycrofters press of East Aurora, New York. Hubbard’s magazine was itself a collection of political satire and whimsy, and sold bound in brown butcher paper because the “meat” was inside." As editor, Taylor referred to himself as Fra McGinnis, a parody on another Hubbard publication, The Fra. The material from Taylor’s Bilioustine originally appeared in the “Line,” and was later published in booklet form. The booklets were also bound in bound in brown paper and twine after Hubbard’s Philistine, and they sold at various stores and markets throughout Chicago, Denver, and Buffalo.

The BOOK Booster: A Periodical of Puff; published by William S. Lord (1901) – A burlesque on the Bookman, which was a periodical promoting new books. Taylor parodied the sensationalizing techniques used by the publishing industry to attract prospective readers, regardless of the quality of the work. Taylor took the whimsical pseudonym “Mr. Criticus Flub-Dubbe ” as editor, and the book used the name “Josh. Gosh & Company” as publisher. Most of the material was originally published in the “Line.”

The Explorers; published by M. Witmark & Sons (1901) – Romantic and comical opera in two acts. Gustav Luders was originally contracted to compose the music to Taylor’s libretto but fell behind schedule due to an extensive honeymoon with his wife in Europe. Walter Lewis replaced Luders, and the opera opened June 30 at the Dearborn Theatre in Chicago on one of the hottest nights of the summer season – the inside temperatures were reported at being 100 degrees. The plot of the musical comedy concerns the misadventures of a German polar explorer, Professor S. Max Nix. The opera is in three parts; the first of which opens in Madagascar where Burdock Root, supplier of peroxide, meets explorer Max Nix. The latter descends in a balloon and explains that he’s on his way from the South Pole to the U.S., where he intends to lecture about it. Nix falls in love with a portrait of circus performer, Maizie Fields of Iowa, shown to him by Root. The act ends with Nix ascending back into his balloon in pursuit of her. The second act opens in a hotel in Chicago. Burdock Root is in financial distress and passes himself off as Max Nix, who is not exposed until the third act set in Chicago’s Lincoln Park during winter when the irate Nix unmasks Root. When the opera went on the road to other parts of the country (Boston, New York) there were some changes in names, plot, and location. For example, the last scene takes place on circus grounds instead of Lincoln Park.

Line-O’-Type Lyrics; published by William S. Lord (1902) – Humorous verse and parodies that has been compared with Bret Harte, Thomas Hood, and Charles Stuart Calverley. Taylor uses many formal styles of poetry including the ballade, sonnet, and rondeau.

Monsieur d’En Brochette, Being an Historical Account of Some of the Adventures of Huevos Pasada Par Agua, Marquis of Pollio Grille, Count of Pate de Foie Gras, and Much Else Besides; published by Keppler & Schwarzmann (1905) – Co-authored with Arthur Hamilton Folwell and John Kendrick Bangs, the latter being an editor for Puck. Illustrated by the Australian born painter Frank A. Nankivell. The book concerns itself with the comical misadventures of Robert Gaston.

The Log of the Water Wagon; Or, The Cruise of the Good Ship “Lithia”; published by H.M. Caldwell Company (1905) – Co-authored with William Curtis Gibson and with illustrations by L.M. Glackens. Humorous excerpts from the “Lithia’s” ship log depicting its intoxicating adventures. The book is full of jokes about drinking and pokes fun at temperance.

Extra Dry; Being Further Adventures of the Water Wagon; published by G.W. Dillingham Company (1906) – Co-authored with William Curtis Gibson and with illustrations by L.M. Glackens. Continuing amusements about drinking.

Cornucopia; (1907) – Bert Leston Taylor and Franklin P. Adams. A dramatic composition in two acts.

The Charlatans; published by The Bobbs-Merrill company (1906) – Romantic fiction with illustrations by George Brehm. The novel is a love story with a layering of satire against the background of musical education, and includes dark moments of betrayal and a tragic suicide. The plot concerns a Wisconsin farm girl, named Hope Winston, who possesses natural musical genius and comes to Chicago to perfect her craft. Taylor uses select Chicago celebrities and institutions (including the “Little Room”) as a backdrop, and these subjects are often the target of satire. Taylor’s satire is particularly harsh as it concentrates on the bogus methods of teaching music at some of the Chicago best-known schools. Taylor invents villain Rudolph Erdmann and his prestigious “Colossus Conservatory of Music,” where he dupes young, aspiring musicians, regardless of talent, solely for their money. However, it’s often much more than money that is lost – destroyed hopes and dreams are the greatest casualty.

A Line-O’-Verse or Two; published by Reilly & Britton Co. (1911) – Light verse. Originally published in the Chicago Tribune and Puck, this collection is considered to represent Taylor’s best from this period.

Campi golfarii Romae Antiqvae (The Links of Ancient Rome); published privately by the “Brothers of the Book Miscellanea” (1912) – Humorous verse about golf. Introduction and English verses written by Taylor, and Latin verses, notes, and title page written by Payson Sibley Wild. Edited by Lawrence Conger Woodworth. Payson Wild was a classical scholar and one of Taylor’s favorite contributors to the “Line.”

The Pipesmoke Carry; published by Reilly & Britton Co. (1912) – Decorations (illustrations) by C.B. Falls (Charles Buckles). Taylor’s twenty-two essays describe his love for the northern wilderness. Through vivid and simple prose, Taylor narrates a true sense of the woods, its tonic, and its poetry. The term “carry” from the title refers to portage, and “pipesmoke” is “a certain tobacco known by men of the forest, that when burned summons memories of days frantic of wind and rain, days of long excursions, filled with the odor of balsam and sun burned grass, little adventures, rare acquaintances made by chance.”