Civil War photo album by Navy captain

THIS JUST IN: Michael has returned from the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show with a most amazing Civil War photograph album. It was assembled by Captain Robert Townsend, who commanded the USS Essex, a 1,000-ton ironclad gunboat, in the attack on Port Hudson, Louisiana, in September 1862 and the Red River Campaign in March-May 1864. Watch Mike tell about this fascinating item and an accompanying vintage letter. To purchase this item, please call (727) 822-3278.

A dozen new Florida maps are in now

THIS JUST IN: We've just received a dozen new Florida maps. Included in the collection is this interesting piece. This print of a 17th century French map depicts Florida as it was known to Europeans, with the lower part shown as islands. This also may be the first time buffalo were represented in European maps. There also is an illustration of Niagara Falls, which had been seen by French explorers as early as 1604. Click on the image to see an enlargement.

Happy birthday, composer Virgil Thomson

It is the birthday of composer Virgil Thomson (1896), who won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for music, the only such award ever presented. Thomson received the award for his film score for Louisiana Story, a 1948 documentary directed by Robert J. Flaherty, who produced the first commercially successful documentary, Nanook of the North (1922). Thomson borrowed themes from Cajun folk music for part of the Louisiana Story score. Here is a selection of Thomson's Acadian Songs and Dances.

John H. Griffin wrote Black Like Me

John Howard Griffin

It is the birthday of writer John Howard Griffin, whose best-selling book Black Like Me (1961) chronicled his experiences in the Deep South in 1959 passing as a black man after darkening his skin. He wrote of the discrimination he received from both whites and blacks as he traveled through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Louisiana. He used a series of prescription drugs, skin creams and sunlamp treatments to change his appearance. He also shaved his head so his straight hair wouldn't show. He traveled from town to town hitchhiking or riding the bus. He told of the struggle to find food, shelter, and toilet facilities. Bus drivers, shop clerks, ticket sellers, and others displayed hatred toward him. He was surprised some white men were curious about his sex life. James Whitmore starred in a 1964 film adaptation of the book. Griffin produced about a dozen books, including some photography volumes. He did research for a biography on his friend, American Trappist monk Thomas Merton, but didn't finish it before his death in 1980. His book Follow the Ecstasy: Thomas Merton, the Hermitage years 1965-1968 was published in 1993.