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For Release:
9:00 p.m. EDT, November 29, 2008
Contact:
Dr. Stefani Koorey
PearTree Press
The Hatchet: Lizzie Borden’s Journal of Murder, Mystery & Victorian History
peartreepress@mac.com
407-761-2361
New Emma Borden Photograph Discovered
FALL RIVER, Massachusetts—Through our indefatigable focus on pioneering scholarship and cutting-edge investigations into the hitherto uncharted realms of the Borden murders of 1892, Fall River history, and Victorian America, The Hatchet has already unearthed a considerable amount of groundbreaking artifacts, ephemera, documents, photographs, and data.
From the previously unidentified portrait photographs of Andrew and Sarah Borden, found unceremoniously leaning against a wall under a dusty shelf in the book room at Luther’s Museum in Swansea, Massachusetts, to the substantial cache of Emma Borden owned books, mementos, scrapbooks, and photo albums, held unbeknownst to the curator by the Swansea Historical Society, to the significant discovery of the unknown image of Lizzie Borden as a child (found in collaboration with author Len Rebello), The Hatchet has endeavored to bring to light objects of historical importance and interest.
With luck, our quest will prove never-ending, as archives and family collections are located and opened for serious examination and study.
To that end, we are pleased to present to our readers, and the world, a new look at Lizzie Borden’s older sister—from a recently acquired image of Emma, recorded in the prime of her young life.
According to the photographer’s imprint on its reverse, the carte-de-visite (CDV) of Emma Borden was photographed at the Melville Sumner studio, when it was located at 5 S. Main Street, Fall River, Massachusetts.
A careful search of Fall River city directories shows that the Sumner studio was in operation at this address for only a short time, from 1874 to 1876. City directories were published the year following the data collection, so this span of years might include part of 1873 and 1877.
City directories were not published for Fall River in the years 1877 and 1879, but we know that by the 1878 listing the Sumner studio’s address had changed to 48 S. Main Street. A search of the 1880 directory confirms that Sumner was still at his new number.
This research would seem to indicate that the date of this new image is from 1873 to 1877, or when Emma, who was born in 1851, was twenty-two to twenty-six years old.
Sumner’s imprint contains several fancy fonts with a few curlicues in between, filling up a third of the back of the card in the center. This style of imprint dates the card from 1870 and later. The pastel pink color of the card stock on which the photo is affixed likewise dates the image to 1873-1910.
The only known image of Emma Borden as an adult comes to us from the collection of the Fall River Historical Society. It is undated and the photograph is archivally framed, so access to the reverse of the card, where the photographer’s name and address is located, is unavailable to us. Michael Martins, curator of the Fall River Historical Society, feels that the known image dates from the 1880s, but cannot state, for certain, the year of its creation.
The new image appears to be a more youthful Emma, to be sure, but just how much younger is open to conjecture. Is she as much as ten years younger? Or, can there be but a few years between the two images?
This new image is an albumen print, popular from 1855 until 1920. Albumen is the white of a hen’s egg and this binding agent was the most common form of print material in the 19th century. The image shows signs of fading and a yellowish-brown discoloration, both of which are hallmarks of the albumen print. Using 30X magnification, the paper fibers are visible through the binder in the highlights.
We are extremely lucky that both the known and new portraits were posed in the same manner and that the faces were turned in almost exactly the same direction. While we do not get to see Emma Borden full-faced, because of their similar pose, we are able to more accurately compare these two images and confirm their likeness using the standards of facial analysis, which compares distances between the ears and eyes, the nose and mouth, the chin and nose, and the eye to eye.
The Hatchet will premiere the picture in its November/December 2008 issue and include an article by Koorey on the discovery. Interested parties can view the image from the cover of the magazine at MondoLizzie.com, LizzieAndrewBorden.com, or HatchetOnline.com.
Stefani Koorey, who holds a Ph.D. in Theatre History and Dramatic Criticism from Penn State, is the webmaster of LizzieAndrewBorden.com, the preeminent Lizzie Borden web site, the administrator of the Lizzie Borden Society Forum, author of the blog MondoLizzie.com, and the editor and publisher of The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies.
The Hatchet is an online quarterly journal devoted to the examination and investigation of the Borden Murders of 1892, the history of Fall River, Massachusetts, and Victorian America. Written for both the novice and seasoned Lizzie Borden enthusiast, The Hatchet takes a literate and entertaining approach through wide-ranging feature essays, reviews and criticism, interviews, fiction, art, poetry, and humor. Fact-filled, The Hatchet contains contributions by Lizzie Borden scholars and historians worldwide. Submissions are open and all authors and artists will receive monetary compensation for their work.
Koorey, an international speaker on all things Borden, recently appeared as an expert on the case on the Discovery Channel’s documentary Lizzie Borden Had An Axe (2004). She also served as a consultant on the project and worked closely with producer Tim Evans of Morningstar Entertainment on locating other experts on the case and even advised former detective Tom Lange (of OJ Simpson fame) on where best to conduct the luminal test of the house.
For information, please contact Stefani Koorey at peartreepress@mac.com or at 407-761-2361 for further information.
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For Release:
9 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2008
Contact:
Stefani Koorey
PearTree Press
peartreepress@mac.com
407-761-2361
PearTree Press Announces Release of New Lizzie Borden Book
https://www.createspace.com/3354462
FALL RIVER: MA—PearTree Press (http://peartree-press.com/) announces the release of a new Lizzie Borden book: Do Come In and Other Lizzie Borden Poems by Larry W. Allen.
For some, the name Lizzie Borden conjures an innocent young woman who bravely faced her trial with strength and fortitude. To others, she has become the icon of all things gruesome because of the bloody nature of the crimes for which she was charged. Yet, others see Lizzie Borden as a woman who got away with murder.
In Do Come In, Larry W. Allen offers up 50 poems that trace the life of this enigmatic woman—from the 19th through the 20th century. We meet her as a young adult and watch her develop into an old woman living alone on “the Hill.”
Says editor and publisher Stefan Koorey, “Do Come In and Other Lizzie Borden Poems is a remarkable collection of poems entirely devoted to the Lizzie Borden story. It is the first book of its kind. Most poets who use Lizzie Borden in their titles only have one poem in their collection about the case or the woman. Larry’s work is entirely about Lizzie Borden. The poems range from the humorous to the horrific.”
The cover art for Do Come In and Other Lizzie Borden Poems was created by famed graphic novelist Rick Geary. Geary is the author of The Borden Tragedy, a breakthrough interpretation of the Borden murders of 1892 in an all-graphic format.
“We are honored to have Geary’s new sketch of Lizzie Borden grace our cover,” says Koorey. “Rick Geary is not only a great artist, but his book, The Borden Tragedy, really gets the story right. And as the first all-illustrated telling of the Borden tale, it made it possible for all of us to see the case in 3-D—an important new angle to view the facts from.”
Do Come In and Other Lizzie Borden Poems can be purchased through CreateSpace.com at (https://www.createspace.com/3354462), and soon also through Amazon.com. It has a list price of $14.00. Book details: ISBN/EAN13 0981904300 / 9780981904306, 106 pages, B&W interior, color cover.
Author Larry W. Allen is the past president of The Columbia Chapter of The Missouri Writer's Guild. He has had poems published in Fine Arts Discovery Magazine, The Mid America Poetry Review, Well Versed, and The Hatchet: Lizzie Borden’s Journal of Murder, Mystery & Victorian History. Larry is a probation and parole officer for the State of Missouri.
Cover artist Rick Geary has been working in comic industry since 1977. He was a contributor to the “Funny Pages” of National Lampoon for thirteen years. Geary’s comic stories were published in Heavy Metal, Dark Horse Comics, and the DC Comics/Paradox Press Big Books. His illustrations have appeared in MAD, Spy, Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, and American Libraries. Geary’s graphic novels include the continuing series A Treasury of Victorian Murder. Geary is the recipient of the Inkspot Award from the San Diego Comic Convention and the Book and Magazine Illustration Award from the National Cartoonists Society. Read more about Rick Geary at http://rickgeary.com.
Editor and Publisher Stefani Koorey, who holds a Ph.D. in Theatre History and Dramatic Criticism from Penn State, is the webmaster of LizzieAndrewBorden.com, the preeminent Lizzie Borden web site, the administrator of the Lizzie Borden Society Forum, author of the blog MondoLizzie.com, and the editor and publisher of The Hatchet: Lizzie Borden’s Journal of Murder, Mystery & Victorian History (http://hatchetonline.com).
The Hatchet is an online quarterly journal devoted to the examination and investigation of murder, Victorian history, the Borden Murders of 1892, and the history of Fall River, Massachusetts. Written for both the novice and seasoned Lizzie Borden enthusiast, The Hatchet takes a literate and entertaining approach through wide-ranging feature essays, reviews and criticism, interviews, fiction, art, poetry, and humor. Fact-filled, The Hatchet contains contributions by authors, poets, non-fiction writers, Lizzie Borden scholars, and historians worldwide. Submissions are open and all authors and artists will receive monetary compensation for their work.
Koorey, an international speaker on all things Borden, recently appeared as an expert on the case on the Discovery Channel’s documentary Lizzie Borden Had An Axe (2004). She also served as a consultant on the project and worked closely with producer Tim Evans of Morningstar Entertainment on locating other experts on the case and even advised former detective Tom Lange (of OJ Simpson fame) on where best to conduct the luminal test of the house.
Media Contact for Larry W. Allen, Rick Geary (as the cover artist of Do Come In and Other Lizzie Borden Poems), or Stefani Koorey should be made through peartreepress@mac.com, or 407-761-2361.
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For Release:
9:00 p.m. EDT, February 4, 2008
Contact:
Dr. Stefani Koorey
PearTree Press
The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies
peartreepress@mac.com
407-761-2361
New Lizzie Andrew Borden Photograph Discovered
http://www.hatchetonline.com/HatchetOnline/index.htm
ORLANDO, Florida—A previously unseen image of Lizzie Andrew Borden, who was accused and acquitted of the hatchet murders of her father and stepmother, has been discovered. Stefani Koorey, Ph.D., editor and publisher of the online scholarly magazine The Hatchet: Lizzie Borden’s Journal of Murder, Mystery & Victorian History, found the photo recently as she was conducting research on the Borden murders of 1892 at a Massachusetts museum. Lizzie is perhaps 8 or 9 years old in the new image.
“I found it with Borden scholar and author Leonard Rebello, the author of Lizzie Borden: Past and Present,” says Koorey. “Between us we have fifty years of experience studying the Borden murder case, and we knew immediately what it was and who it was. Len and I are very excited by the find as there are only eight known images of Lizzie Borden, and none from this period in her life.”
“In August of last year,” said Koorey, “I found the Andrew Borden portrait at Luther’s Museum in Swansea, Massachusetts, just sitting there gathering dust and forgotten. The portrait was unmarked, and after some research it was determined that it was Andrew, Lizzie’s father. Because Len Rebello had some research to show that there was also a Sarah Borden portrait (Andrew’s first wife and mother to Lizzie and Emma), I went back with Len and Borden writer Michael Brimbau, and, with the help of the curator of the Swansea Historical Society, Carl Becker, found the Sarah in December, right before Christmas. Then this! It has been a tremendous year in Lizzie Borden studies!”
“But not only that,” said Koorey, “Len and I believe we also located a previously unidentified photograph of John Morse, Lizzie and Emma’s uncle, who was visiting 92 Second Street the day of the murders but was paying a call on a family member nearby on Weybosset Street. And if that were not enough, we think we also found an unknown Emma Borden as a child! We additionally identified a photo album that belonged to Lizzie and Emma Borden that was donated to the Swansea Historical Society by Orrin Gardner, Lizzie and Emma’s cousin, and good friend of Emma’s and legatee to many of Emma’s possessions when she died in 1927. Emma was waked in Orrin’s house in Touisset. The first two images in Lizzie and Emma’s family album are of Andrew and Sarah Borden, but many of the photos are unidentified.”
“They Borden sisters’ album even contains a cabinet photograph of Charles Stratton and family—otherwise known as Tom Thumb—who lived in Middleboro, Massachusetts. Apparently, it was not uncommon for folks to own these images as they were sold publicly for very little money.”
The Sarah Anthony Morse Borden image is a charcoal portrait, the type that was made by photographer’s studios in the 19th century, probably from a photograph, and a companion portrait to the previously discovered Andrew Borden image. Reports Koorey, “Popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, charcoal portraits were relatively inexpensive to produce. One technique was to overpaint enlarged photographs with charcoal and white pencil to enhance the original photo and retouch the image to produce a better-looking subject. Here, the human artist served the same function as Photoshop does today. Another charcoal portraiture technique was to enlarge the photograph and make the drawing from the image, but not on the image. It saved the subject from having to sit for hours for the likeness to be completed as the artist used the photograph, and not the actual human, as their guide. Apparently, photography studios routinely employed artists to make the portraits, sometimes charging as little as $2 for the process.”
The Hatchet will premiere the Lizzie, Sarah, John Morse, and Emma pictures in its February 2008 issue and include an article by Koorey on the discovery. Interested parties can view the image from the cover of the magazine at either http://MondoLizzie.com, http://LizzieAndrewBorden.com, or http://hatchetonline.com/HatchetOnline/index.htm.
Stefani Koorey, who holds a Ph.D. in Theatre History and Dramatic Criticism from Penn State, is the webmaster of LizzieAndrewBorden.com, the preeminent Lizzie Borden web site, the administrator of the Lizzie Borden Society Forum, author of the blog MondoLizzie.com, and the editor and publisher of The Hatchet: Lizzie Borden’s Journal of Murder, Mystery & Victorian History.
The Hatchet is an online quarterly journal devoted to the examination and investigation of murder, Victorian history, the Borden Murders of 1892, and the history of Fall River, Massachusetts. Written for both the novice and seasoned Lizzie Borden enthusiast, The Hatchet takes a literate and entertaining approach through wide-ranging feature essays, reviews and criticism, interviews, fiction, art, poetry, and humor. Fact-filled, The Hatchet contains contributions by authors, poets, non-fiction writers, Lizzie Borden scholars, and historians worldwide. Submissions are open and all authors and artists will receive monetary compensation for their work.
Koorey, an international speaker on all things Borden, recently appeared as an expert on the case on the Discovery Channel’s documentary Lizzie Borden Had An Axe (2004). She also served as a consultant on the project and worked closely with producer Tim Evans of Morningstar Entertainment on locating other experts on the case and even advised former detective Tom Lange (of OJ Simpson fame) on where best to conduct the luminal test of the house.
For information, please contact Stefani Koorey at peartreepress@mac.com or at 407-761-2361 for further information.
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For Release:
9:00 p.m. EDT, October 31, 2007
Contact:
Dr. Stefani Koorey
PearTree Press
The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies
peartreepress@mac.com
407-761-2361
New Andrew Jackson Borden Portrait Discovered
ORLANDO, Florida—A previously unseen image of Andrew Jackson Borden, father of accused and acquitted hatchet murderess Lizzie Borden, has been discovered. Stefani Koorey, Ph.D., editor and publisher of the online scholarly magazine The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies, found the portrait recently as she toured a Massachusetts museum.
“I found it amid the dust, sitting by itself under a window,” says Koorey. “After 25 years of studying the Borden murder case, I knew immediately what it was and who it was. I was very excited by the find as we only have a few images of Andrew Borden, and none from this period in his life.”
“The best thing about this picture is that we finally get to see a hopeful Andrew. Here is Andrew before his face went stern, before age and stress turned him into the icon for the emotionally remote father that was murdered on that fateful day in 1892. Andrew was born in 1822, and this discovery shows him as probably around 30-35 years of age. From what I know of the process and tradition of creating these charcoal portraits, and after examining the image carefully and comparing him to other known photographs, I would put the date of this portrait between 1852 and 1857, after daughter Emma was born in 1851, but before the birth of Lizzie in 1860.”
“I have shown my photographs of the man in the portrait to three different Borden scholars and to the curator and assistant curator of the Fall River Historical Society. The scholars are firm in their belief it is Andrew Borden. Michael Martins, curator of the Fall River Historical Society, is also of the opinion that this image is most probably Andrew. He was as excited by the image as I was,” said Koorey.
The Andrew Borden image is a charcoal portrait, the type that was made by photographer’s studios in the 19th century, probably from a photograph. Reports Koorey, “Popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, charcoal portraits were relatively inexpensive to produce. One technique was to overpaint enlarged photographs with charcoal and white pencil to enhance the original photo and retouch the image to produce a better-looking subject. Here, the human artist served the same function as Photoshop does today. Another charcoal portraiture technique was to enlarge the photograph and make the drawing from the image, but not on the image. It saved the subject from having to sit for hours for the likeness to be completed as the artist used the photograph, and not the actual human, as their guide. Apparently, photography studios routinely employed artists to make the portraits, sometimes charging as little as $2 for the process.”
“It is possible,” hypothesized Koorey, “that this image was made to commemorate an event, like the 10th anniversary of Andrew’s wedding, as Andrew married Sarah Morse when he was 23 in 1845. If so, there might be a charcoal of Sarah, Andrew’s first wife, and mother of his children, out there somewhere also. Unfortunately, the place where I found the Andrew image didn’t have any other Borden family photos or portraits. Believe me, I checked!”
The Hatchet will premiere the picture in its November issue and include an article by Koorey on the discovery. Until the publication of the journal on November 5th, interested parties can view the image from the cover of the magazine at either
http://MondoLizzie.com, http://LizzieAndrewBorden.com, or http://hatchetonline.com/HatchetOnline/index.htm.
Stefani Koorey, who holds a Ph.D. in Theatre History and Dramatic Criticism from Penn State, is the webmaster of LizzieAndrewBorden.com, the preeminent Lizzie Borden web site, the administrator of the Lizzie Borden Society Forum, author of the blog MondoLizzie.com, and the editor and publisher of The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies.
The Hatchet is an online quarterly journal devoted to the examination and investigation of the Borden Murders of 1892, the history of Fall River, Massachusetts, and Victorian America. Written for both the novice and seasoned Lizzie Borden enthusiast, The Hatchet takes a literate and entertaining approach through wide-ranging feature essays, reviews and criticism, interviews, fiction, art, poetry, and humor. Fact-filled, The Hatchet contains contributions by Lizzie Borden scholars and historians worldwide. Submissions are open and all authors and artists will receive monetary compensation for their work.
Koorey, an international speaker on all things Borden, recently appeared as an expert on the case on the Discovery Channel’s documentary Lizzie Borden Had An Axe (2004). She also served as a consultant on the project and worked closely with producer Tim Evans of Morningstar Entertainment on locating other experts on the case and even advised former detective Tom Lange (of OJ Simpson fame) on where best to conduct the luminal test of the house.
For information, please contact Stefani Koorey at peartreepress@mac.com or at 407-761-2361 for further information.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
PEARTREE PRESS LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO LIZZIE BORDEN
Orlando, FL, September 4, 2003—PearTree Press is pleased to announce the publication of The Hatchet, an online bi-monthly journal devoted to the examination and investigation of the Borden Murders of 1892. Written for both the novice and seasoned Lizzie Borden enthusiast, The Hatchet takes a literate and entertaining approach through wide-ranging feature essays, reviews and criticism, interviews, fiction, art, poetry, and humor. Fact-filled, The Hatchet contains contributions by Lizzie Borden scholars worldwide. Submissions are open and all authors and artists will receive monetary compensation for their work.
“ I think the time is right for a completely online Lizzie Borden experience,” says Stefani Koorey, creator and webmaster of the acclaimed LizzieAndrewBorden .com. “We already have the web site, which has had over 5.5 million hits in a little over two years, plus the Lizzie Borden Society Forum, which gives people who are interested in the case an outlet to discuss their theories and ideas with others similarly involved. We have also been publishing a web-based newsletter for over a year with almost 200 subscribers. A more substantial online journal was the next logical step.”
The premiere issue will be published online on February 4, 2004.
For more information on subscriptions, submission policies, and compensation plans, please visit http://www.hatchetonline.com.
About PearTree Press
PearTree Press publishes, manufactures, distributes, and markets material and merchandise related to the Borden Murders of 1892, including, but not limited to, magazines and newsletters, books, reprints of original works, and essays. PearTree Press’ catalog includes all primary source material on the case and is in development to add additional peripheral sources in CD-ROM format. For more information on PearTree Press, please visit http://www.peartree-press.com
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