The above picture is what Natchez, Mississippi, looked like in 1852 when Louis Lum Smith was born there. His family, in the 1850 census, was one of few people listed with real estate of much value. His father, William, was a construction carpenter.
William Smith had moved from Virginia, to Natchez in the 1830s. In 1840 thirty-two year old William married sixteen year old Jane Elizabeth Lum. The Lums had been in Natchez for a couple generations also and were generally well to do.
The year after Louis was born tragedy struck the family twice. First, his maternal grandfather, Lewis Lum, was murdered on his plantation in Texas by one of his slaves. Several of his slaves wanted to return to Mississippi and talked another one into killing Mr. Lum in hope of making the family leave Texas. The plot failed. Then shortly after that Louis's father died, leaving his widow with five children under the age of 9 to raise.
Natchez's early planter elite built numerous antebellum mansions and estates in town. Many owned plantations in Louisiana but chose to locate their homes on higher ground across the river in Mississippi. Prior to the Civil War more millionaires lived there than any other city in the United States. Natchez had the most active slave trading market in Mississippi which also stimulated the city's wealth.
Even though Louis's father died without leaving a Will in 1853 the 1860 the census shows his widow as having triple the wealth the family had in 1850. She had no occupation listed, the children all attend school and there is no record of them being slave owners. Mr. Smith must have left a very good estate.
(Note: Louis later in life mentions they did have slaves at one time that they freed.)
Soon the Civil War would caused many changes in Natchez. As a major cotton exporter and river port, it became the center of the Confederate war effort in Southwest Mississippi. The slaves whose labor on the cotton plantations was the backbone of the local economy proved not to be as enthusiastic about the Confederacy as even the most disenchanted of unionists. Beginning in 1862, slaves continually took advantage of Union military operations up and down the Mississippi River to run away from the plantations and take their freedom. By July, 1863, the social and commercial institutions of Natchez and the surrounding countryside were mobilized for war under the state and Confederate governments. As part of this mobilization, the people of the county raised and sent to war thirteen volunteer companies. These companies suffered 510 wounded and dead of wounds and illness.
The fall of Natchez to the Union in July, 1863 changed the city yet again. Natchez went from a center of transportation and production for the Confederate war effort to a Union military outpost under the control of a military government. The Federals, in attempting to govern their new conquest, created institutions which laid the groundwork for Reconstruction. The opening of the Mississippi River to commerce with the North allowed old Natchez merchants and new merchants who came down from the North to revive the local economy which had suffered from the blockade. The over 1,000 Federal troops who occupied Natchez throughout the Civil War and afterwards provided a tremendous customer base.
During the war Louis's aunt and uncle lived in Vicksburg about 70 miles from Natchez. During the siege there Union General Ulysses S. Grant took over their mansion for his headquarters. Because of its large size the general asked the Lum family to stay. It turned out to be a lifetime friendship with the Lums. You can read about it below....
William Smith had moved from Virginia, to Natchez in the 1830s. In 1840 thirty-two year old William married sixteen year old Jane Elizabeth Lum. The Lums had been in Natchez for a couple generations also and were generally well to do.
The year after Louis was born tragedy struck the family twice. First, his maternal grandfather, Lewis Lum, was murdered on his plantation in Texas by one of his slaves. Several of his slaves wanted to return to Mississippi and talked another one into killing Mr. Lum in hope of making the family leave Texas. The plot failed. Then shortly after that Louis's father died, leaving his widow with five children under the age of 9 to raise.
Natchez's early planter elite built numerous antebellum mansions and estates in town. Many owned plantations in Louisiana but chose to locate their homes on higher ground across the river in Mississippi. Prior to the Civil War more millionaires lived there than any other city in the United States. Natchez had the most active slave trading market in Mississippi which also stimulated the city's wealth.
Even though Louis's father died without leaving a Will in 1853 the 1860 the census shows his widow as having triple the wealth the family had in 1850. She had no occupation listed, the children all attend school and there is no record of them being slave owners. Mr. Smith must have left a very good estate.
(Note: Louis later in life mentions they did have slaves at one time that they freed.)
Soon the Civil War would caused many changes in Natchez. As a major cotton exporter and river port, it became the center of the Confederate war effort in Southwest Mississippi. The slaves whose labor on the cotton plantations was the backbone of the local economy proved not to be as enthusiastic about the Confederacy as even the most disenchanted of unionists. Beginning in 1862, slaves continually took advantage of Union military operations up and down the Mississippi River to run away from the plantations and take their freedom. By July, 1863, the social and commercial institutions of Natchez and the surrounding countryside were mobilized for war under the state and Confederate governments. As part of this mobilization, the people of the county raised and sent to war thirteen volunteer companies. These companies suffered 510 wounded and dead of wounds and illness.
The fall of Natchez to the Union in July, 1863 changed the city yet again. Natchez went from a center of transportation and production for the Confederate war effort to a Union military outpost under the control of a military government. The Federals, in attempting to govern their new conquest, created institutions which laid the groundwork for Reconstruction. The opening of the Mississippi River to commerce with the North allowed old Natchez merchants and new merchants who came down from the North to revive the local economy which had suffered from the blockade. The over 1,000 Federal troops who occupied Natchez throughout the Civil War and afterwards provided a tremendous customer base.
During the war Louis's aunt and uncle lived in Vicksburg about 70 miles from Natchez. During the siege there Union General Ulysses S. Grant took over their mansion for his headquarters. Because of its large size the general asked the Lum family to stay. It turned out to be a lifetime friendship with the Lums. You can read about it below....
Apparently Louis was a very good artist and in his late teens traveled the South doing artwork. He also learned how to do stained glass work. About 1870, at age 18, he took a riverboat north to St. Louis to find work. Louis learned quickly about the world of sales and advertising. At 19 he had started a business selling pantographs.
Pantographs had been first mentioned by the ancient Greek engineer Hero of Alexandria in his work Mechanics. And in 1603 Christoph Scheiner used a pantograph to copy and scale diagrams, and wrote about the invention in 1630 in his book "Pantographice".
One arm of the pantograph contained a small pointer, while the other held a drawing implement, and by moving the pointer over a diagram, a copy of the diagram was drawn on another piece of paper. By changing the positions of the arms in the linkage between the pointer arm and drawing arm, the scale of the image produced can be changed. In the 1800s it was used in machine work and engraving.
Louis created a version he named "Smithography" and used it as a drawing tool for the average person. It immediately caught on around St. Louis and he quickly started the Smithograph Manufacturing Company. To grow his company he did something that was not done at the time. He immediately poured his profits into advertising in newspapers and trade magazines all across the country. His business quickly grew. This allowed him to cut his production costs in half and make even more money. He had a winner.
Louis created a version he named "Smithography" and used it as a drawing tool for the average person. It immediately caught on around St. Louis and he quickly started the Smithograph Manufacturing Company. To grow his company he did something that was not done at the time. He immediately poured his profits into advertising in newspapers and trade magazines all across the country. His business quickly grew. This allowed him to cut his production costs in half and make even more money. He had a winner.
Embossed on one of his business envelopes Louis left us with the only known likeness of him.
In 1876 he headed to Philadelphia to prepare for the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine. Otherwise known as the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 for America's 100th birthday.
In Philadelphia, he set up shop on Cherry Street and hired four workers to prepare the Smithography for sale at the Centennial Exhibit. He had 2 special machines made and hired 13 people. He had also again was able to reduce his cost in making each item. Lum, as he was now being called, was producing 3,000 Smithographs a day. He also spent $6,000 ($160,000 today) in advertising in 3,000 newspapers and magazines in preparation.
Lum then opened a vendor's booth on the main street of the Centennial Exhibit grounds. The effort paid off. During the first 4 months of the Centennial he sold over 100,000 Smithographs. At the $1.25 each he was selling them for that would net him over $3 million dollars today. During that summer one of his jobbers even sold over $5,000 ($130,000 today) worth. He soon had to move to a bigger space on Chestnut Street and hire 4 clerks to handle the orders.
Lum then opened a vendor's booth on the main street of the Centennial Exhibit grounds. The effort paid off. During the first 4 months of the Centennial he sold over 100,000 Smithographs. At the $1.25 each he was selling them for that would net him over $3 million dollars today. During that summer one of his jobbers even sold over $5,000 ($130,000 today) worth. He soon had to move to a bigger space on Chestnut Street and hire 4 clerks to handle the orders.
One of Lum's Advertisement Cards
At age 24 Lum had become a success. To advertise even more he came up with another novel way. He now also began publishing a newspaper called The Agents' Herald. In lieu of payment for postage he offered post office seals that were provided to fourth class post offices as a kind of gimmick to encourage subscriptions to Smith’s newspaper. One of the marketing strategies for publishers at this time was to give fourth-class postmasters a fairly substantial discount on multiple subscription orders for their publications. If the postmaster could then find local subscribers at the "list" price, he could pocket the difference between his discounted cost and the published price as he placed individual copies in the subscriber's boxes.
This practice was not limited to second-tier periodicals. Many national publishers, such as The Atlantic Monthly, Lippincott's, and Harper's Magazine, all offered such discounts. The United States Mail targeted postmasters of fourth-class post offices for offering such discounts. Lum was pressured into stopping this practice.
This practice was not limited to second-tier periodicals. Many national publishers, such as The Atlantic Monthly, Lippincott's, and Harper's Magazine, all offered such discounts. The United States Mail targeted postmasters of fourth-class post offices for offering such discounts. Lum was pressured into stopping this practice.
Lum's Stamp For The Postmaster of Hamburgh, California.
These Type of Stamps Are Very Collectible
These Type of Stamps Are Very Collectible
To help traveling salesmen increase their sales Smith next published a book called The Book Agent's Guide. It contained tips to help the new traveling salesman, or book agent. One idea was to get a room in the town and spend a couple days learning about it. He recommended finding the most intelligent townspeople and engaging in conversation to see what products might sell the best. Also recommended was to make friends with the local newspaper editor to get lower advertising rates. Be firm but not too forceful in a sale. Do not rush into town banging on doors and forcing your wares on people. Know your customer like a book. He also offered similar advice in his newspaper.
One New York newspaper writer considered these methods to be highly offensive and shady. He wrote "The paper professes to be edited by one L. Lum Smith. Of course, there can be no such person. There may be a Smith, but a Lum Smith and especially a L. Lum Smith, is simply unthinkable. The real editor is, probably, a hoary book agent who conceals his name, not from motives of modesty, but because a life spent in the profession has created a public thirst for his blood which compels him to remain in concealment." Lum was not one to "remain in concealment". One aim of his newspapers was to call out unscrupulous advertisers and liars.
Lum's first libel case against him was by a well known St. Louis publisher. After having "bad business relations" with him Lum published his opinions in his paper and the publisher took offense and sued him. In the end Lum's attorney advised him to just pay the $25 fine and let it go. He learned his lesson from this. During the next several years he was sued for libel 43 more times and won every time.
In 1881 Lum expands with a new literary magazine entitled "The Oriental Casket". It was edited by Emerson Bennett. He was an American author primarily known for his lively, romantic adventure tales depicting American frontier life. He was the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories. At one time, Bennett was one of the most popular authors in America. Even though Lum heavily advertised it, including even in The Beekeeper's Exchange magazine, it last less than a year.
His other idea were contests in his newspapers. One was called Lexiconic Orthography where a word was given and you had to find all the correctly spelled words that could be made by the letters. He offered a top prize of $500 ($13,000).
The other was to make an 8 lined poem, or acrostle, or the two combined, based on the last name of the recently assassinated President James A. Garfield that Lum greatly admired. Smith even offered for sale Owen's Wonderful Sore Wash and Eye Lotion for the "soreheads" to use that had voted for Major General Winfield Scott Hancock that Garfield had defeated in the presidential election.
And Smith was now selling kits to make paper stained glass windows that also became a popular.
With his business growing he moved a few blocks away to 912 Arch Street.
The next year he began giving lectures about newspaper frauds and also appeared before the Pennsylvania state legislators to speak.
In 1884 Lum changes his newspaper's name to The Public Herald and also began to study law.
One New York newspaper writer considered these methods to be highly offensive and shady. He wrote "The paper professes to be edited by one L. Lum Smith. Of course, there can be no such person. There may be a Smith, but a Lum Smith and especially a L. Lum Smith, is simply unthinkable. The real editor is, probably, a hoary book agent who conceals his name, not from motives of modesty, but because a life spent in the profession has created a public thirst for his blood which compels him to remain in concealment." Lum was not one to "remain in concealment". One aim of his newspapers was to call out unscrupulous advertisers and liars.
Lum's first libel case against him was by a well known St. Louis publisher. After having "bad business relations" with him Lum published his opinions in his paper and the publisher took offense and sued him. In the end Lum's attorney advised him to just pay the $25 fine and let it go. He learned his lesson from this. During the next several years he was sued for libel 43 more times and won every time.
In 1881 Lum expands with a new literary magazine entitled "The Oriental Casket". It was edited by Emerson Bennett. He was an American author primarily known for his lively, romantic adventure tales depicting American frontier life. He was the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories. At one time, Bennett was one of the most popular authors in America. Even though Lum heavily advertised it, including even in The Beekeeper's Exchange magazine, it last less than a year.
His other idea were contests in his newspapers. One was called Lexiconic Orthography where a word was given and you had to find all the correctly spelled words that could be made by the letters. He offered a top prize of $500 ($13,000).
The other was to make an 8 lined poem, or acrostle, or the two combined, based on the last name of the recently assassinated President James A. Garfield that Lum greatly admired. Smith even offered for sale Owen's Wonderful Sore Wash and Eye Lotion for the "soreheads" to use that had voted for Major General Winfield Scott Hancock that Garfield had defeated in the presidential election.
And Smith was now selling kits to make paper stained glass windows that also became a popular.
With his business growing he moved a few blocks away to 912 Arch Street.
The next year he began giving lectures about newspaper frauds and also appeared before the Pennsylvania state legislators to speak.
In 1884 Lum changes his newspaper's name to The Public Herald and also began to study law.
Also in 1884 Lum once again puts a twist on an old idea. He makes a new political card game played like euchre. It's aptly called "Political Euchre".
Let's start with the game's description found in The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards:
P20 POLITICAL EUCHRE, L. Lum Smith, c1880. There are two versions of this deck known which were likely issued in 1883 for the Cleveland and Blaine presidential campaign of 1883-84. This version is ‘patent pending’ while P20a is ‘patented’. On this deck the jacks are not named, but represent the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The Uncle Sam Joker is replaced on the second version by General Butler. The cards in this deck are of a higher quality and were perhaps made by Dougherty.
P20a POLITICAL EUCHRE, L. Lum Smith, c1883. This version with General Butler as the Joker was quite controversial and the General raised objections in a lawsuit about his treatment on this card. The cards in both decks are fascinating for the history they provide about the distribution of electoral votes, state populations and politics, etc. In this deck the four Jacks, the highest cards in Euchre, are the candidates for president and vice-president, Cleveland and Hendricks (Democrats) and Blaine and Logan (Republicans).
Except for the publication dates, which would be 1884 for both, the descriptions are true.
Let's start with the game's description found in The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards:
P20 POLITICAL EUCHRE, L. Lum Smith, c1880. There are two versions of this deck known which were likely issued in 1883 for the Cleveland and Blaine presidential campaign of 1883-84. This version is ‘patent pending’ while P20a is ‘patented’. On this deck the jacks are not named, but represent the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The Uncle Sam Joker is replaced on the second version by General Butler. The cards in this deck are of a higher quality and were perhaps made by Dougherty.
P20a POLITICAL EUCHRE, L. Lum Smith, c1883. This version with General Butler as the Joker was quite controversial and the General raised objections in a lawsuit about his treatment on this card. The cards in both decks are fascinating for the history they provide about the distribution of electoral votes, state populations and politics, etc. In this deck the four Jacks, the highest cards in Euchre, are the candidates for president and vice-president, Cleveland and Hendricks (Democrats) and Blaine and Logan (Republicans).
Except for the publication dates, which would be 1884 for both, the descriptions are true.
Lum had applied for a patent for a card back in March 1884 and it was accepted in May. (He did not patent the game) A newspaper announcement about the new card game in May says that it features the coming representatives of the two parties. (P20) The Democratic Party candidates were not decided until July and Republican representatives were in June. (P20a)
It is true that General Butler was upset about being shown on the Joker. Newspaper accounts have him threatening to sue Lum for several months, but there is no record he actually did.
The 10 United States Territories that had no electoral votes
Like the box states "Game of 48 Governors" there were 38 states and 10 territories at the time.
The deck is broken down as such;
38 States (20 Demo and 18 Rep)
10 Territories (4 Demo and 6 Rep)
4 Bowers (2 Demo. And 2 Rep.)
4 Jokers (2 Demo and 2 Rep)
To play you then discard 3 Jokers and 1 Territory, which leaves 53 cards. With 4 players each is dealt 13 cards and the remaining card decides the trump suit (Democrat or Republican). You play the game like euchre but try to capture the cards with the most electoral votes. At the end of the hand everyone adds up the votes they won. First one to reach 201 votes wins.
The deck is broken down as such;
38 States (20 Demo and 18 Rep)
10 Territories (4 Demo and 6 Rep)
4 Bowers (2 Demo. And 2 Rep.)
4 Jokers (2 Demo and 2 Rep)
To play you then discard 3 Jokers and 1 Territory, which leaves 53 cards. With 4 players each is dealt 13 cards and the remaining card decides the trump suit (Democrat or Republican). You play the game like euchre but try to capture the cards with the most electoral votes. At the end of the hand everyone adds up the votes they won. First one to reach 201 votes wins.
Who printed the cards for Smith? There are no clues on the cards or box. The Encyclopedia states that Andrew Dougherty of New York City may have. I have a another suggestion. I think that the fairly new Philadelphia card maker Perfection Playing Cards (PPC) may be the manufacturer. At the time PPC was at 819 Filbert Street (Black Arrow) and Lum was at 818 Arch Street (Yellow Arrow). Why travel to New York City when you have someone a block away that can do the job?
(NOTE: In October 2022 new information has come to light about who may have printed the cards. See this information at the end of the story)
(NOTE: In October 2022 new information has come to light about who may have printed the cards. See this information at the end of the story)
1885 Map of Philadelphia
Lum continued his accounts of fraudsters in his paper and in June of 1885 he received a small box at his office. The 5 inch by 3 inch box appeared very suspicious to him so he carefully pried the top open. In it he could see a small pistol with a string attached to the lid. Failing to go off, he found a note put together with letters cut from issues of his paper. The note said....
"If this fails, you won't escape necks time.
Yours truly,
Cheats & Frauds"
Yours truly,
Cheats & Frauds"
Lum turned it over to the local Postal Inspector to investigate. Nothing was found and he forgot about it. Then just before Christmas he was sitting in his second floor office when he heard a loud shot and a bullet whiz by his head and break a mirror behind him. Lum grabbed a pistol from his desk and pursued a short, stout man with side whiskers down the stairs and out onto the street. The would be assassin got away. Just another day in Lum's battle against fraudsters.
Smith now took on the bigger groups that he thought corrupt or fraudulent. In 1888 it was the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV or SSV) was an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public, founded in 1873. Its specific mission was to monitor compliance with state laws and work with the courts and district attorneys in bringing offenders to justice. It and its members also pushed for additional laws against perceived immoral conduct.
While the NYSSV is better remembered for its opposition to literary works, it also closely monitored the newsstands, commonly found on city sidewalks and in transportation terminals, which sold the popular newspapers and periodicals of the day.
The NYSSV was founded by Anthony Comstock and his supporters in the Young Men's Christian Association. It was chartered by the New York state legislature, which granted its agents powers of search, seizure and arrest, and awarded the society 50% of all fines levied in resulting cases. In 1947, the organization's name was changed to the Society to Maintain Public Decency. In 1950, the organization was dissolved.
The NYSSV was founded by Anthony Comstock and his supporters in the Young Men's Christian Association. It was chartered by the New York state legislature, which granted its agents powers of search, seizure and arrest, and awarded the society 50% of all fines levied in resulting cases. In 1947, the organization's name was changed to the Society to Maintain Public Decency. In 1950, the organization was dissolved.
Anthony Comstock was an anti-vice activist and United States Postal Inspector. He opposed obscene literature, abortion, contraception, gambling, prostitution, woman's suffrage and patent medicine. He was motivated by first-hand experiences with what he saw as a constant barrage of debauchery among fellow soldiers during the Civil War. When he gained power it was not long before Comstock aroused intense loathing from early civil liberties groups and gained strong support from church-based groups that were worried about public morals. Comstock was known as a the self-styled "weeder in God's garden". Through his various campaigns, he destroyed 15 tons of books, 284,000 pounds of plates for printing "objectionable" books, and nearly 4,000,000 pictures. He also imprisoned 3,697 people. He claimed that "books are feeders for brothels."
In early 1888 Lum started his campaign against Comstock by making speeches against his ideas. When Comstock was in Philadelphia to speak about "The Moral Purity of Our Children and Youth" Lum and a couple of his employees went there to pass out anti-Comstock flyers. Comstock supporters became angry and encircled Smith yelling dire phrases. It did not look good. Then the police in the crowd heard a loud voice yell out "Arrest that man!" so they grabbed Lum and dragged him off to jail.
Lum was arrested for inciting a riot. When he appeared before a Magistrate Smith decided to defend himself. The statement to arrest him had actually been yelled out by his old friend Thomas W. Price who was exiting the hall where Comstock was speaking and saw the commotion. To save his friend, he hollered out so the police would drag him out of there.
Also in the crowd was another man from Natchez named Edward Harrison Power. He followed the police to the jail and bailed out Lum as they were slamming the jail door shut on him. Lum was released on $800 bail. (Mr. Power has his own playing card story that will appear soon.)
When questioned by Lum in court Price said "I have been your friend a long time and have considered you insane." Price told the Magistrate that Comstock was doing "Grand and good work. It is charity that I consider my friend insane." Other witnesses testified about Smith and his circulars. Also that Mr. Comstock never mentioned Lum by name in the speech.
Some supportive newspapers claimed that Comstock's comments were obviously about his disagreements with Smith. He presently had four libel cases against him waiting for trial. These cases were convened in the next year and Lum would once again defend himself.
Also in the crowd was another man from Natchez named Edward Harrison Power. He followed the police to the jail and bailed out Lum as they were slamming the jail door shut on him. Lum was released on $800 bail. (Mr. Power has his own playing card story that will appear soon.)
When questioned by Lum in court Price said "I have been your friend a long time and have considered you insane." Price told the Magistrate that Comstock was doing "Grand and good work. It is charity that I consider my friend insane." Other witnesses testified about Smith and his circulars. Also that Mr. Comstock never mentioned Lum by name in the speech.
Some supportive newspapers claimed that Comstock's comments were obviously about his disagreements with Smith. He presently had four libel cases against him waiting for trial. These cases were convened in the next year and Lum would once again defend himself.
The basis of the libel suits was a claim by Lum that Comstock had blackmailed a doctor and had hired a man to kill Lum. Smith called Charles Barrett to the stand. Barrett said that Comstock told him "There is no use bringing libel suits against Lum Smith and the only thing to do was to take a club and beat his brains out!". To which Comstock, sitting in the courtroom, said loudly for everyone to hear "Quite right!".
Lum, starting out slowly, and breaking almost every rule of procedure finally got on a roll and produced a lot of circumstantial proof about Comstock's character. He took up most of the court's time and was still talking when the judge called it a day. In the end Comstock's experienced lawyer won the day and Lum lost. (Too many Comstock fans on the jury?)
At his sentencing his lawyer told the court that Lum had refused his advice to not represent himself. Standing before the judge for his punishment Lum stated "It is my individual conscience that speaks. I understand that a light sentence might be passed if I made a retraction, but I could not conscientiously do so." The judge said that he understood Smith could not pay the usual $1,000 ($30,000) fine, so he sentenced him to 4 months in prison.
After his release from prison Lum faced another trial. Between trials the previous year he had been at the post office and saw a man he greatly despised and spit at him. He missed and hit another man passing by. Greatly offended the man and Lum had words and came to blows. Two police officers nearby came running and arrested Lum. He now sued them for false arrest and lost.
The past few years had been rough on L. Lum Smith. His wife of just a few years had divorced him and remarried. She and his two sons moved to Chicago, where she would soon die in childbirth. He also brought his widowed mother to Philadelphia from Natchez to live out her few remaining years. And with him having trouble to pay his bails and fines it appears his business may not have been doing well financially.
In 1894 he came up with another moneymaker. Recently stories about "Mexican Jumping Beans" had appeared in newspapers. Lum quickly copyrighted games called "The Little Racer", "Animated Fortune Teller", "The Animated Geographical Game" and "Jumping Euchre". But this good year was followed by another bad one.
In January 1895 Lum was charged by a local postal inspector for having obscene material in his latest issue of The Public Herald. The inspector had him destroy 8,000 issues, the printing plates for the issue and remove the material from 92,000 copies. Even after complying the inspector tacked on new charges and had him arrested. He had to pay a bail of $1,500 ($50,000) to get out of jail. There was no proof that Comstock was behind this, but he was the Special Agent of the United States Postal Service with wide powers.
Smith went to New York City to locate some more evidence against Comstock. He quickly noticed he was being followed by two men that eventually caught him as he fled. After being struck in the back of the head with a blackjack he was beaten severely while on his knees. After cursing him, they fled.
When Lum went to court, he lost and was fined and imprisoned for 3 months He was also fined $1,000 ($33,000) but stated he had proof he could not pay the fine and they let it go and gave him another month in prison. Also, they debarred Lum from using the postal service for ANY of his business concerns. They were listed as;
Lum Smith Publishing House
The Magic Key Company
The Foreign Trade Directory
Mammoth Publishing Company
Magic Metal Works
Big Mail Company
Gummed Address Company
Lum Smith Commission House
Gilt Edge Directory Company of Philadelphia
Lum, starting out slowly, and breaking almost every rule of procedure finally got on a roll and produced a lot of circumstantial proof about Comstock's character. He took up most of the court's time and was still talking when the judge called it a day. In the end Comstock's experienced lawyer won the day and Lum lost. (Too many Comstock fans on the jury?)
At his sentencing his lawyer told the court that Lum had refused his advice to not represent himself. Standing before the judge for his punishment Lum stated "It is my individual conscience that speaks. I understand that a light sentence might be passed if I made a retraction, but I could not conscientiously do so." The judge said that he understood Smith could not pay the usual $1,000 ($30,000) fine, so he sentenced him to 4 months in prison.
After his release from prison Lum faced another trial. Between trials the previous year he had been at the post office and saw a man he greatly despised and spit at him. He missed and hit another man passing by. Greatly offended the man and Lum had words and came to blows. Two police officers nearby came running and arrested Lum. He now sued them for false arrest and lost.
The past few years had been rough on L. Lum Smith. His wife of just a few years had divorced him and remarried. She and his two sons moved to Chicago, where she would soon die in childbirth. He also brought his widowed mother to Philadelphia from Natchez to live out her few remaining years. And with him having trouble to pay his bails and fines it appears his business may not have been doing well financially.
In 1894 he came up with another moneymaker. Recently stories about "Mexican Jumping Beans" had appeared in newspapers. Lum quickly copyrighted games called "The Little Racer", "Animated Fortune Teller", "The Animated Geographical Game" and "Jumping Euchre". But this good year was followed by another bad one.
In January 1895 Lum was charged by a local postal inspector for having obscene material in his latest issue of The Public Herald. The inspector had him destroy 8,000 issues, the printing plates for the issue and remove the material from 92,000 copies. Even after complying the inspector tacked on new charges and had him arrested. He had to pay a bail of $1,500 ($50,000) to get out of jail. There was no proof that Comstock was behind this, but he was the Special Agent of the United States Postal Service with wide powers.
Smith went to New York City to locate some more evidence against Comstock. He quickly noticed he was being followed by two men that eventually caught him as he fled. After being struck in the back of the head with a blackjack he was beaten severely while on his knees. After cursing him, they fled.
When Lum went to court, he lost and was fined and imprisoned for 3 months He was also fined $1,000 ($33,000) but stated he had proof he could not pay the fine and they let it go and gave him another month in prison. Also, they debarred Lum from using the postal service for ANY of his business concerns. They were listed as;
Lum Smith Publishing House
The Magic Key Company
The Foreign Trade Directory
Mammoth Publishing Company
Magic Metal Works
Big Mail Company
Gummed Address Company
Lum Smith Commission House
Gilt Edge Directory Company of Philadelphia
1893 Business Envelope
When he got out of prison Comstock hit him with three more libel suits. The District Attorney took the cases to a Grand Jury and this time they ruled in Lum's favor. Smith then got out of the newspaper business and Philadelphia. He headed to New York City to start over.
Once again, he comes up with a new idea. This time he created a whole new industry. He started buying up letters from big companies and then categorized them by what people were wanting to buy. His inventory grew to over 40,000,000 letters. He them "rented" thousands of these letters with peoples's addresses to any company looking for those people interested in their product. He called himself a "letter broker" and his new company was called "Men of Letters". And you probably thought companies doing this was a new idea.
For almost 10 years Lum avoided any major publicity and was leading a successful business life. Then in May 1903 he would become headline news for many months. As strange as the following story was then it is just as strange now.
In May 1903 a man named Count Charles Fritz de Morganstern from Diano Marina, Italy, showed up at Lum's doorstep with his 5 year old daughter. The Count, showing degrees from the University of Brussels and the University of Bonn, claimed to be an inventor with an amazing discovery. He claimed he had found a way to mix 1 part oil and 10 parts water and make it a useable fuel. It would sell at 1 cent per gallon. The oil companies would be devastated and people would have cheap fuel. Was he interested in investing?
Once again, he comes up with a new idea. This time he created a whole new industry. He started buying up letters from big companies and then categorized them by what people were wanting to buy. His inventory grew to over 40,000,000 letters. He them "rented" thousands of these letters with peoples's addresses to any company looking for those people interested in their product. He called himself a "letter broker" and his new company was called "Men of Letters". And you probably thought companies doing this was a new idea.
For almost 10 years Lum avoided any major publicity and was leading a successful business life. Then in May 1903 he would become headline news for many months. As strange as the following story was then it is just as strange now.
In May 1903 a man named Count Charles Fritz de Morganstern from Diano Marina, Italy, showed up at Lum's doorstep with his 5 year old daughter. The Count, showing degrees from the University of Brussels and the University of Bonn, claimed to be an inventor with an amazing discovery. He claimed he had found a way to mix 1 part oil and 10 parts water and make it a useable fuel. It would sell at 1 cent per gallon. The oil companies would be devastated and people would have cheap fuel. Was he interested in investing?
The next day they met at Lum's office. A man named Buchanan arrived and with him was Daniel O'Day of Standard Oil. He was one of northwestern Pennsylvania's earliest independent refiners to be brought into John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. He was about to take his father's place on the company board. O'Day had brought along a company chemist and after a demonstration by the Count he bought a 2 week option on the idea while they investigated it further.
Lum gave the Count $300 (Over $9,000) with a promise of another $1,000 ($32,000) for half interest in the idea. He then asked O'Day for an option to buy 365 million gallons of Standard Oil kerosene which was refused. O'Day left to ponder the deal.
The next day, June 3rd, Lum met the Count at his boarding house and gave him the $1,000. The next night, while strolling down Riverside Drive, he was jumped and beaten by two thugs. Was there some connection?
On the night of June 5th the Count alerted his boarding house owner that he had to leave. He was sure he was being followed and people were trying to steal his idea. He told her which dock to send his trunks and boarded a cab with his little girl never to be seen again. The next day Lum learned what had happened and contacted the police.
The police were not very concerned, but did a cursory look and found no Count Morganstern boarding any ship. Lum then approached the District Attorney that had the same attitude about it. So Lum wrote the President of the United States for help. No help from him either.
Smith was sure Standard Oil had sometime to do with this since the invention would wreak havoc for their business. O'Day would not answer any messages. And Lum was sure he was being followed and watched. He then hired men to wear sandwich boards around town blasting the press and police with failure to do anything.
The police were actually following him because they considered him a lunatic. And when he went to Hoboken, New Jersey, he was arrested. The charge was for being insane. After questioning him for an hour they took all the papers he was carrying and released him. Detective Sargeant Reilly from New York City was present during the interrogation. The NYPD had wondered if Lum had murdered the Count and his daughter.
The next day, June 3rd, Lum met the Count at his boarding house and gave him the $1,000. The next night, while strolling down Riverside Drive, he was jumped and beaten by two thugs. Was there some connection?
On the night of June 5th the Count alerted his boarding house owner that he had to leave. He was sure he was being followed and people were trying to steal his idea. He told her which dock to send his trunks and boarded a cab with his little girl never to be seen again. The next day Lum learned what had happened and contacted the police.
The police were not very concerned, but did a cursory look and found no Count Morganstern boarding any ship. Lum then approached the District Attorney that had the same attitude about it. So Lum wrote the President of the United States for help. No help from him either.
Smith was sure Standard Oil had sometime to do with this since the invention would wreak havoc for their business. O'Day would not answer any messages. And Lum was sure he was being followed and watched. He then hired men to wear sandwich boards around town blasting the press and police with failure to do anything.
The police were actually following him because they considered him a lunatic. And when he went to Hoboken, New Jersey, he was arrested. The charge was for being insane. After questioning him for an hour they took all the papers he was carrying and released him. Detective Sargeant Reilly from New York City was present during the interrogation. The NYPD had wondered if Lum had murdered the Count and his daughter.
Lum even showed them a letter of certification showing his sanity from Dr. Allan McLane Hamilton. Dr. Hamilton was a famous American alienist (psychiatrist), specializing in suicide and the impact of accidents and trauma upon mental health, and in criminal insanity, appearing at several trials. He was a founder of the New York Psychiatrical Society, a Professor of Psychiatry at Cornell Medical College in New York and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The police didn't care.
Smith them stepped up his concerns. He went on a letter writing campaign to the Mayor of New York City, the city District Attorney and the Commissioner. These people soon got tired of the campaign and dragged Lum into court for threatening letters. They put him in front of Justice McCall, who immediately declared him insane and taken to Bellevue Mental Hospital. Other the next two months Lum was cycled through four different mental institutions. He was still sure Standard Oil was behind all of this.
Finally, in January 1904 Lum got a trial with the New York Supreme Court to plead his case of sanity. The doctors at Bellevue claimed "he was full of insane delusions." But, Lum brought in a lot of big names in his defense. A number of local well known business people talked about how smart and business savy he was. They had never seen any sign of insanity.
Then Clark Bell was called to testify. Bell was the president of The New York Medico-Legal Society. They worked to legitimating the union of law and psychiatry. They and the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology's Committee on Law and Insanity were guiding forces in fostering interprofessional cooperation with the police. L. Lum Smith was a member in good standing.
Then Clark Bell was called to testify. Bell was the president of The New York Medico-Legal Society. They worked to legitimating the union of law and psychiatry. They and the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology's Committee on Law and Insanity were guiding forces in fostering interprofessional cooperation with the police. L. Lum Smith was a member in good standing.
After all the testimony the jury went to deliberate. Ten minutes later they returned with the verdict that Lum was sane and he was released.
The New York Medico-Legal Society then held a banquet in Smith's honor and then he sued the city of New York for $1,000,000. Unfortunately, he loses that case.
In March he returned to Natchez to tell his story and continue the idea of the Count's invention.
1904 Lecture
Between 1903 and 1905 he came up with some of his own inventions which he patented.
Lum spent a lot of time going back and forth between Natchez and New York City. By 1908 he was back home and managing a theatre in Natchez. One day the projector and film caught fire and he dashed into the room to put it out. In doing so, he received really bad burns that caused him medical issues for a number of years.
In 1925 Lum passed away in his home town.
In 1925 Lum passed away in his home town.
NEW INFORMATION ON THE CARD MANUFACTURER
At the 2022 52+Joker Convention in Pittsburgh charter member Toby Edwards was the highest bidder on one of these decks. Here are his expert observations on several versions of this deck......
Good afternoon, Dave!
Having won the Lum Smith Political Euchre deck in the live club auction at the convention as well as purchasing another of the same deck, but with a different back design from the same consignor and having had time to look at them carefully, I have come to the conclusion that the deck listed as Hochman P20 in the encyclopedia was not manufactured by either Dougherty or Perfection but, instead, by R&M. (Russell & Morgan) Although your reasoning behind the supposition that Perfection might have made this deck is sound, I believe these two different back designs confirm my belief that R&M is the manufacturer. The two different backs both appear under the Sportsman No. 202 brand by R&M, the first (red fish) being their earliest design of the back entitled "Fish" and the second (brown pheasant, originally entitled "Pheasant Cock" then changed to just "Pheasant" according to later USPC sample books) being confirmed by my sample card for this back and brand dated July, 1883 which coincides nicely with the date of manufacture for this deck. It would also help to explain why these cards "are of a higher quality" than the later version, Hoch P20a. I cannot say whether or not R&M also made the card game "Political Euchre" with the Ben Butler joker as that back design is unique to Mr. Smith nor can I identify who made the lower quality Hochman P20a deck. If you think this is enough information to confirm the maker for this first deck, then you may wish to update your Political Euchre page on the Forgotten People of Playing Card Games website. Thanks for your consideration.
Regards,
Toby
Good afternoon, Dave!
Having won the Lum Smith Political Euchre deck in the live club auction at the convention as well as purchasing another of the same deck, but with a different back design from the same consignor and having had time to look at them carefully, I have come to the conclusion that the deck listed as Hochman P20 in the encyclopedia was not manufactured by either Dougherty or Perfection but, instead, by R&M. (Russell & Morgan) Although your reasoning behind the supposition that Perfection might have made this deck is sound, I believe these two different back designs confirm my belief that R&M is the manufacturer. The two different backs both appear under the Sportsman No. 202 brand by R&M, the first (red fish) being their earliest design of the back entitled "Fish" and the second (brown pheasant, originally entitled "Pheasant Cock" then changed to just "Pheasant" according to later USPC sample books) being confirmed by my sample card for this back and brand dated July, 1883 which coincides nicely with the date of manufacture for this deck. It would also help to explain why these cards "are of a higher quality" than the later version, Hoch P20a. I cannot say whether or not R&M also made the card game "Political Euchre" with the Ben Butler joker as that back design is unique to Mr. Smith nor can I identify who made the lower quality Hochman P20a deck. If you think this is enough information to confirm the maker for this first deck, then you may wish to update your Political Euchre page on the Forgotten People of Playing Card Games website. Thanks for your consideration.
Regards,
Toby
The cards referenced by Toby are listed under US2a thru US2e in the Hochman.