The Odyssey of Thomas Condon: Irish Immigrant, Frontier Missionary, Oregon Geologist (Signed)
Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press, 1989.
First Edition. Hardcover.
Signed by the author on the title page. 8-1/2 x 11" sheet laid in announcing "An Evening with Thomas Condon", a program sponsored by the University of Oregon Museum of Natural History. The play, written by Dorothy Velasco, combines historical fact with dramatic monologues. In the program, Robert D. Clark presented a series of narrations that was interspersed throughout the dramatic sequence. Clark’s narration illuminated various aspects of Condon's life and work placing him in historical context and enabling the audience to understand him more fully as a person. The dramatic sequence:
“An old man comes on stage and greets the audience. He is Thomas Condon, a minister, pioneer geologist and a founding professor at the University of Oregon. The year is 1902. Condon is making a Chatauqua tour of Oregon, telling people about Oregon's fascinating prehistory, and at the same time revealing himself as a witty, caring humanitarian. We see the years quickly melt away as he re-enacts some of the dramatic and poignant events in his life - his discovery of important fossils in the John Day area, the fire that almost destroyed his priceless geological collection, the death of his son, his triumphs and conflicts. Condon dynamically illustrates his presentation with a "magic lantern" (slide projector)." This program is signed by Vernon Barkhurst (the actor who plays Thomas Condon), the narrator (Robert D. Clark), and Don L. Hunter (Projectionist).
Thomas Condon's remarkable intellectual journey and fascinating life are profiled, from his birth in Ireland in 1822, through his life as a young immigrant in America, his self-education and years as a Congregational missionary in Oregon, to his growth as a scientist, teacher, and educator, ultimately as a Professor of Geology at the University of Oregon (1876-1905).
Item #901929ISBN: 0875952003
6-1/4 x 9-1/4”, brown cloth, xv, 569pp, notes, index, illus.
Very good plus in spine-faded dust wrapper.
Price: $100.00