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Chronological Chart of Ancient, Modern, and Biblical History
Sebastian C Adams 1871
Six m. long folding chart.
www.oregon.gov
CONTACT: Jim
Scheppke, State Librarian
(503) 378-4367
Virginia Green, Salem Historian
(503) 581-3860
April 6, 2007
State Library
Exhibits Its Most Unusual Holding
Among the
hundreds of thousands of items in the collections of the Oregon State
Library, perhaps the most unusual is the work of an Oregon pioneer and
resident of Salem, Sebastian C.
Adams. His twenty-one foot scroll: A Chronological Chart of Ancient, Modern, and Biblical
History, a “best seller” of the 1870s, is today a treasure to
antiquarians but little known to the public.
An exact photo-replica of the first edition of the entire scroll
will be on display at the Oregon State Library, beginning on April 18, 2007. A second framed copy of a later edition of
the original scroll will also be exhibited. Local historian Virginia Green
researched what little has been written about Sebastian Adams, with
assistance from Adams’ great-great-great granddaughter Margo Cash who resides
in Salem and who has worked to preserve her family’s history. Silas Cook of Portland is the designer
and curator of the exhibit.
The Chronological Chart
presents the entire history of the world from its Biblical beginnings until
the mid-19th century when the chart was produced. Adams drew upon his
extensive knowledge of world history and Biblical history, “synchronizing”
the events in a richly illustrated timeline.
He worked with Strowbridge & Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, who illustrated
and produced the scroll in 1871. Adams traveled
throughout the country for six years to sell copies of the scroll to
libraries, schools, museums and individuals.
It appeared in several editions and today can be found in many library
collections. It was widely praised for
its scholarship. The English scholar
and politician, Sir Charles Reed, was quoted as saying about the Chart, “The author of this work does
not need a monument over his grave.”
Sebastian Adams was born in 1825 and survived an arduous journey
over the Oregon Trail in 1850 to settle
near his brother in Yamhill County. He married and
made his living as a teacher. He later
became a county clerk and a State Senator and was the pastor of the First
Christian Church in McMinnville. In the 1860’s he moved with his family to Salem and helped to
found the Salem Christian Church. At
the end of his life he became a successful businessman. His listing in the
1896 Salem City Directory, two years before his death, listed his profession
as “capitalist” and president of the State Insurance Company.
Throughout his life, Adams was a scholar and
lecturer on the subject of world history and religion. His knowledge is well illustrated in this
outstanding example of 19th century chromolithography which taught
colorful and dramatic lessons in history.
The Chronological Chart
is in the tradition of historical timelines that were very popular in the 18th
and 19th centuries. A Frenchman,
Jacques Barbeu-Dubourg, an associate of Benjamin
Franklin, is given credit for creating the first such timeline in 1753, a
fifty-four foot scroll which he called the Carte Chronologique. Similar to Adams’ scroll, it
resided in an iron case that enabled one to scroll the timeline forward and
back. Another famous 18th century timeline was the English
scientist Joseph Priestley’s Chart of
Biography, with the lifespans of 2,000
celebrated men from 1200 BC to 1750 AD.
Around the same time that Adams was selling his celebrated timeline,
the French philosopher Charles Renouvier created
his Uchronia, which depicted both the actual
course of history and various alternative paths that history might have taken
had certain events had not happened as they did.
The success of the Chronological
Chart is evidenced by the fact that it can still be found in many library
collections in the U.S. and
overseas. In the WorldCat
library catalog, which lists the holdings of major libraries worldwide, there
are 73 libraries that have copies of the Chart,
including the libraries at Yale, Harvard, Princeton, the New York Public
Library (four copies) and the University of Johannesburg. After it was first printed in 1871, the Chart was updated and reprinted twice,
in 1876 and 1878. There was also
another version printed in London in 1871 called Adams Illustrated Panorama of Universal
History.
The exhibit of Sebastian Adams’ Chronological Chart will be on view on the second floor State
Library through the end of the year.
The State Library is located at 250 Winter Street, across from
the State Capitol in Salem and is open
Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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