The final portrait of Abraham Lincoln
In June 1861, a young artist named George Henry Story was invited to observe and make sketches of President Abraham Lincoln for a...
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The Black Swans of Stevens
In his book, The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb reveals how rare, and inevitable, events are often ignored and, when understood, may...
Everyone should own a Stevens Decoy
It seems only fair that every man, woman, and child ought to own a Stevens Decoy. If not for liberal entitlement, then, at least, to...
Flipping Jefferson's desk
I've been fascinated with Thomas Jefferson's revolving desk for a very long time. The arrangement is always the same with three elements:...
Luxury, Idleness, and Industry
Essay by Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Recently published in WISDOM MAGAZINE, March 1958 It is WONDERFUL how preposterously the affairs of this...
Hillsdale College Online Courses
I think Hillsdale College offers the best, and most important, online courses in America - and they're free! Even more astonishing is...
Notes from reading Branson
Notes from reading "Let's do it". (edited title) 33% New Ventures, 33% promoting, and 33% fighting fires (Taking care of business, a.k.a...
Meet Dr. Franklin
SOURCE: WISDOM MAGAZINE, March 1958 Dr. Carl Van Doren FRANKLIN HAD, I think, the most eminent mind that has ever I existed in America....
What's my Stevens worth?
Every so often I'm asked to value a Stevens Decoy. Determining how much a buyer is willing to pay and a seller willing to accept is...
On creativity and motivation
I wrote this letter to my daughter, Nicole, upon her college graduation in 2012. I recommended she read Art & Fear by David Bayles and...
Maxims on bravery and death
A small collection. "A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most...
A miscellany of maxims; Part III
Continued from Part II To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to...
A miscellany of maxims; Part II
Continued from Part I Leadership is never inherited; sometimes learned , always earned. Simplicity is not an action plan; it's a state of...
A miscellany of maxims; Part I
I frequently take notes while reading. My note taking is an imperfect system but useful enough for me to have employed it for many years....
The History List
History is back in "cool" at The History List. Founder, Lee Wright, delivers this great resources for us "history nerds". This is the...
The Art of Manilness
I've been following Brett McKay's site The Art of Manliness since he launched it back in 2008. The site is very robust. It's absolutely...
The History Place
No fanfare, no self-promotion, no political agenda - just the raw pursuits of truth and happiness. I only recently discovered this great...
Those are mallards, by George...
One of the more interesting and useful areas of Stevens study is comparing decoys made by Harvey to those made by George. George wasn’t...
Getting downright Darwinian
Anas platyrhynchos lignum (Mallard duck in wood) Let's explore the evolution of a Stevens Decoy in the manner of Charles Darwin. In order...
Who Made that Sleeper?
Guest essay by Travis Bryant There has always been a layer of uncertainty when determining who made any specific Stevens Sleeper Decoy. ...
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