1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy P. Wilson. Oh, Tracy. 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: How many times have we talked about the Voytage Manuscript? 5 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: So many? Kajillion? Is that a number it is today? Uh? 6 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: People often seem to think they have cracked it. That 7 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: happens pretty regularly. So in addition to the episodes specifically 8 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: about the Voytage Manuscript that we've done, Uh, it has 9 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: come up on Earth to many times, but of course 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: those have never turned out to actually be anyone decoding 11 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: the cipher. But the man for whom the manuscript is 12 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: named has his own fascinating story which I have always 13 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: been really into exploring and finally decided it was time. Uh. 14 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: And as you probably know, if you've listened to our 15 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: other episodes about the Voytage Manuscript or have studied it 16 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: even passing you're like read an article somewhere, you know 17 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: that it was named for the rare book dealer who 18 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: brought it into the public eye in the early nineteen hundreds, 19 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 1: and Voynage's pass to that career is pretty circuitous. It's 20 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 1: kind of interesting. Um, I wanted to talk about his 21 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: life because he was, in his own right a very 22 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: interesting person. But we're not going to talk about the 23 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: manuscript a whole lot today, just to give everyone a 24 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: level set. I don't want anyone to think that we're 25 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 1: gonna delve into the many attempts to decode it. Um. 26 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: It obviously comes up because it does become somewhat important 27 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: to his life story, but we've covered that elsewhere, so 28 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: today we are just talking about Wilfred Voynage's life. Voynage 29 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: was born Michael hob Dog and what is now tell 30 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: Shay Lithuania. He was born October thirty one, sixty five. 31 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: Voyage's family was Polish nobility according to his accounts, although 32 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: his father worked in a low level government job. And 33 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: this is a good time as I need to just 34 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: go ahead and get it out there that what we 35 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: know about Buenita's early life is largely unsubstantiated, which I 36 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: feel like it's kind of a theme recently. Uh. This 37 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: comes from his own accounts, which are really not consistent 38 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: if you compare what he told two different people. Yeah, 39 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: we've talked about that happening on the show. Before. That's 40 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: not necessarily a nefarious thing. People as their lives go on, 41 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: their stories may shift a little. They don't even realize 42 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: they're doing it. It's not a conscious effort to deceive um, 43 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 1: but it just happens. And some of this too, is 44 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: like what he told his wife later on and then 45 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:37,679 Speaker 1: she relates, So it's all pretty like we're third hand 46 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: at that point. But we do know that After attending 47 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: school in Savalki, Poland, his university studies were done in 48 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: a number of different places. He took college courses at 49 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,079 Speaker 1: universities in Warsaw, St. Petersburg and Moscow, and Moscow is 50 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: where he completed his schooling and he graduated with a 51 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: degree in chemistry. And while he became a licensed pharmacist 52 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: as a result of this, edgec Paian his real interest 53 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,959 Speaker 1: at this point in his life lay in politics. During 54 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 1: the last thirty years of the eighteenth century, Russia, Prussia, 55 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: and Austria had carved up what had been Poland into 56 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: territories that were governed by each of these countries. This 57 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: was called the Partitions of Poland. Poland as a self 58 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: governing state had ceased to exist during all of this. 59 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,799 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifteen Russians are Alexander the First expanded Russia's 60 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: footprint into what had been Poland, gaining more land than 61 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: had originally been apportioned uh taking control of that under 62 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: the control of the Czar. Polish resistance to Russian rule 63 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: had been happening in various forms throughout the nineteenth century. Yeah, 64 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: that is a whole story in and of itself that 65 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: would be cool to get into at one point. But 66 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 1: for Voi, when he was twenty, he moved back to 67 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: Warsaw and there he joined the Proletariat Party that had 68 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: been started by socialist revolutionary Ludwig Varinsky, who was imprisoned 69 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: at that point in awaiting trial. This was eight five 70 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: and early eighteen six. Socialist revolutionaries Peter Bardowski and Stanislav 71 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: Kuniki were awaiting execution at the Warsaw Citadel. This was 72 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: a prison complex that had been built by Zar Nicholas 73 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: the First in eighteen thirties. Voyage, along with other activists, 74 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: was part of a plan to try to free them 75 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: from that citadel. That effort was betrayed, though police had 76 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: placed a mole in the revolutionary group, and Voyage and 77 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: his co conspirators were arrested, Wilfred Voynage was incarcerated in 78 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: the citadel and placed in solitary confinement. His colleagues were 79 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: all executed over a period of time, and the story 80 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: goes that seeing one of his friends shot to death 81 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 1: motivated him to find a way out, and he did 82 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: manage to escape, although the details about that are a 83 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: little bit bare. It's possible as well that he may 84 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: have been saved from execution during this incarceration because of 85 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,679 Speaker 1: the high standing of his family, but that also is unclear, 86 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,479 Speaker 1: whether he was no ability or not. He did get 87 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: tuberculosis while he was in prison and became quite ill. 88 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,720 Speaker 1: That affected his health and his posture, specifically, for the 89 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: rest of his life. It prevented him from ever standing 90 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: up straight. After he got out of the Warsaw Citadel, 91 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: Voynage didn't flee the country. Instead, he kept working with 92 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: revolutionary groups to fight against Russian rule of Poland. This 93 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: resulted in another arrest, and this time after another eighteen 94 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: months in the citadel, he was sent to Siberia to 95 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: work in assault mine as his sentence. While he was 96 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: in Siberia, he met a family by the name of 97 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: Karlov who were sympathetic to the revolutionary cause, and the 98 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: Karlov's encouraged Voynage to escape and to get away from 99 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: Russia entirely. The advice they gave him was to go 100 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: to London. At that point, the revolutionary Sergius Stepniak had 101 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: already fled to England, and they gave Voynage his address, 102 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: as well as the name of another contact in London, 103 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,559 Speaker 1: Lily Boole whether A s that he contact Miss Boule 104 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: and relay their regards to her. Voyage took this urging 105 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: to heart. He had tried to escape the salt mine 106 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: twice without being successful. On his third attempt, though, he 107 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:16,679 Speaker 1: was successful, and he escaped on June twelfth. Several months later, 108 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: on October five, he was in London, and to get 109 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: there he had first moved west until he got to Hamburg, Germany. 110 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: He had gone under disguise. As he went. In Hamburg, 111 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 1: he had sold what little he had, which included his 112 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: coat and his glasses, to get enough money for food 113 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: and a ticket on a cargo ship that was headed 114 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: to England. There is another version of this story that 115 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: is hilarious and has since been discounted, where he goes 116 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: the opposite direction and ends up on this wild adventure 117 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: for a long time. Um, but it's really pretty straightforward. 118 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: He just tried to take the shortest route possible to London, 119 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: but even once he got to London, things were kind 120 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: of rough going. He was pretty gifted at picking up languages, 121 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: but he did not speak in Lish yet at this point. 122 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: He also had no money. He was malnourished. He had 123 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: been on a boat at this point for a while. 124 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: He had a piece of paper with an address on it, 125 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: but he didn't know the city at all to find 126 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: that address, so he just started showing that piece of 127 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: paper with the address to people on the street, and 128 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: eventually he had the good fortune to show it to 129 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: a student who spoke a little bit of Russian, and 130 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: that young man helped him find his way to Surgius 131 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: Stepniak's residence. According to Stepniak's account, he opened his door 132 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: to find this young man who looked just awful. He 133 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: was grimy and exhausted. Voynage explained that he was a 134 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: pole who had fled Siberia and in connecting with Stepniak, 135 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: Voyage was joining an already established group of expatriates in 136 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: London who had all left Russian ruled Poland. Voyage didn't 137 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: use his real name when he first got to London. Instead, 138 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: he went by Ivan Klasky. This name change was not 139 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: so much to protect himself, but actually to protect his family. 140 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: His parents and his sister still lived back home, and 141 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: when Wilfrid had escaped, it was during a prisoner transfer, 142 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: and he had been confused with another prisoner who had 143 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: gotten killed while he was also trying to escape. So 144 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: Voynage was reported as being dead, which kind of made 145 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: things very smooth for him to be able to vanish 146 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: from the country. But if word got out that he 147 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: was in fact alive and had joined up with revolutionaries 148 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: in England, his family back home would have been endangered. 149 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: Along with Stepniak and his circle, Voyage continued his dedication 150 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: to the cause immediately. The day after he got to London, 151 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 1: Voynage is said to have been handing out anti Czarist 152 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: literature in the city. Stepniak circle of friends, including Voyage, 153 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: set up the Society of Friends of Russian Freedom and 154 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,959 Speaker 1: under that umbrella the Russian Free Press Fund in eight 155 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: This is an initiative that paid for translation and distribution 156 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: of propaganda back in Russia as well as a monthly 157 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: newsletter titled Free Russia and England. And it's left the 158 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: project several years later because he wanted to have a 159 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: greater say and influence and the revolutionary message that they 160 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,679 Speaker 1: were promoting, but he didn't get it. He started his 161 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,439 Speaker 1: own version of the group, which was the Bookseller's Union, 162 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: shortly thereafter, but that really never got off the ground. 163 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: And we're going to talk about that woman that was 164 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: mentioned to Voyage when he was still in Siberia, Lily Boule. 165 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 1: We're gonna do that just a moment, but first we're 166 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: going to pause for a sponsor break. So in stepanie 167 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: xt circle of friends in London was the young woman 168 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: Voyage had been asked to look up when he got there, 169 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: Lily Bool. Lily's full name was Ethel Lillian Boule. She 170 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: was born in Ireland to English parents. As a consequence, 171 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: you will sometimes see her listed as Irish and sometimes 172 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: listed as English. Um. There is also a really fun 173 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 1: connection here with Ethel Bool for any mass buffs in 174 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: the crowd. Her father was George Boole, for whom Bouley 175 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: and Algebra is named. Ethel's father died when she was 176 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: still a baby, and her childhood was not especially pleasant. 177 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: Her mother had to raise Ethel and her sister on 178 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: a really tiny pension. Then she got a bacterial skin 179 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 1: infection and had to go live with her older brother 180 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: on the coast for the sake of her health. She 181 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: was really miserable there. When she turned eight teens, she 182 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: gained access to her inheritance and in the process also 183 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: gained the freedom to do as she pleased. And Ethel 184 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: first met up with Russian revolutionaries when she was studying 185 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: music in Germany, and she was drawn to their cause. 186 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: So when she got home to London, she wanted to 187 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:38,679 Speaker 1: learn Russian and her tutor was exiled Pole Sergius Stepniak, 188 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: and he encouraged her to spend some time in Russia 189 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 1: and learn about it, which she did. She stayed with 190 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: Stepniak's sister while she was there, and that is how 191 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,440 Speaker 1: she came to be connected to this whole group that 192 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,960 Speaker 1: Voyinage had also joined up with. Ethel was multi lingual, 193 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: and she actually translated a lot of Stepniak's writing into 194 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: English for distribution in England. The story goes that when 195 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: aage first saw Ethel, he asked her if she had 196 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:07,079 Speaker 1: been in Warsaw in eight seven, which she had to 197 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: visit the citadel is part of an effort on her 198 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 1: part to learn about what was going on in Warsaw 199 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:17,200 Speaker 1: under Russian rule. Voynage said that he had been incarcerated 200 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: at the time and had seen her outside that day 201 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: from a window. That may have been true, maybe not, 202 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: either way, very romantic idea. It is one thing that 203 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: always comes up when you read descriptions of Wilfred Voyage 204 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: is that he was incredibly um, charming and sort of 205 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 1: magnetic and could really connect with people. And I love 206 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:39,720 Speaker 1: the fact that he would have at this point still 207 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: been kind of a mess. He had just arrived in London, 208 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: yet he saw this young woman that he thought was 209 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: pretty and managed to turn on the charm instantly. It's 210 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,959 Speaker 1: like I haven't eaten a good meal in weeks, but hi, 211 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: were you in Warsaw. Um. By the time Voyage left 212 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: the Russian Free Press Fund and the rest of Stepniac circle, 213 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: he Lily had actually become a couple. They were living 214 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: his husband and wife. As early as eight two. He 215 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: had actually written to a friend in New York to 216 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: tell him that he was married. Lily had started to 217 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,959 Speaker 1: go by the initials E. L V and correspondence, having 218 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,959 Speaker 1: taken the name Voyage. Although the two of them were 219 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: not legally married at the time, they were married by 220 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: deed pole sort of a unilaterally binding agreement. It's not 221 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 1: an actual marriage certificate. Yeah, it's kind of a workaround. Yeah. 222 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 1: Ethel simply changed her name to make it less stigmatized 223 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:40,959 Speaker 1: for the two of them to be living together. They 224 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 1: lived with Ethel's mother for several years, and a few 225 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: years into the relationship, their involvement with the revolutionary cause 226 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: came to a close after Sergius Stepniak was struck by 227 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: a train and killed. There was during this time a 228 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: romantic rival in the picture, though. The Voyages met a 229 00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,320 Speaker 1: man in the eighteen nineties who at the time was 230 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 1: going by the name Sigismund rosen Bloom. He would later 231 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,839 Speaker 1: become more well known as Sydney Rileane, and for more 232 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: than a century there was this rumor that Ethel and 233 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: Sydney began an affair and traveled to Italy together, where 234 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: he eventually left her in Florence. The story from Ethel's 235 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 1: side was that she had gone to Italy to write, 236 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: and she did indeed turn out a novel titled The 237 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: Gadfly in based on the work she had done there. 238 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: That became a very very popular novel and eventually also 239 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,960 Speaker 1: a film and a stage play. Riley later claimed that 240 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: The Gadfly was based on his life and that he 241 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: had told Ethel his life story during their time together 242 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: in Italy. This rumor gained a level of substantiation in 243 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:42,680 Speaker 1: recent years when a book about the Bull family written 244 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,960 Speaker 1: by Jerry Kennedy included information that the affair was corroborated 245 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: that happening by two members of British intelligence, George Hill 246 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: and Sir Paul Dukes. The reason British intelligence agents were 247 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: the ones who could confirm it was that Sydney Riley 248 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,240 Speaker 1: was a double a who came to be known as 249 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: the Ace of Spies. So yes, that could be a 250 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: whole other episode. Whether he had purposely initiated his relationship 251 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 1: with Ethel to see what political efforts she and her 252 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:17,439 Speaker 1: husband might be involved in, or if their affair was incidental, 253 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: that's really unclear. Yeah, he he at one point I 254 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: believe had mentioned like having starting this affair when he 255 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: was in London and then them meeting up in Italy, 256 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: but he was kind of bored by that point, But 257 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: I don't It's unclear whether or not that was because 258 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: he had realized they were not involved in any revolutionary 259 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: cause anymore, or if he had just legitimately been romantically 260 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 1: interested in her and then kind of was not anymore. 261 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: But while they were living in London, Voyage had also 262 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,240 Speaker 1: become friends with a man named Richard Garnett, who worked 263 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: at the British Museum Library as the keeper of printed books. 264 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: Garnett had suggested that a career in antiquarian books would 265 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: be a perfect path for Voinage, advising him that he 266 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: just needed to travel in a wire such volumes and 267 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: then return home and sell them to buyers in London, 268 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 1: and Voyage actually found this to be a pretty appealing idea. 269 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: The first rare book catalog the Voydage produced along with 270 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: a partner named Charles Edgel, came out in eight and 271 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: this contained a fair number of incannabula. These are books 272 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: that were printed before fift hundred, and it also made 273 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: use of Procter numbers, which had just been introduced to 274 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: that year in the book Index to the Early Printed 275 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: Books in the British Museum from the invention of printing 276 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: to the year m d with notes to those in 277 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: the Bodleian Library. So Procter numbers were created by bibliographer 278 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,800 Speaker 1: and author of the book we just mentioned, Robert Procter, working, 279 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: as the title says, with the collection of the British Museum. 280 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: And this cataloging system is pretty interesting because it classifies 281 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,680 Speaker 1: pre fIF hundred books by the printer that printed them, 282 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 1: as well as the physical location of their printing and 283 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: the countries where printing had been established. So this creates 284 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 1: this really unique chronological history of printing and its spread, 285 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: as well as notating the specific title at hand. This 286 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: kind of became the gold standard for identifying incnnabula and 287 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: embracing the system. Voynage was establishing himself as someone who 288 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: didn't just sell rare books, but really cared about their 289 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: providence and their place in publishing history. The next step 290 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: in Voynage's rare books career was the opening of his 291 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: shop in Soho Square. More carefully annotated catalogs followed, and 292 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: Voynage started including a section for books that were quote unknown, lost, 293 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: or undescribed. What he meant was books that weren't in 294 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: any known bibliography and had no record of having been 295 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: part of any librari's collection. And since Voyage was urged 296 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,120 Speaker 1: into this career by Richard Garnett, it is probably no 297 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: surprise that one of his primary clients was the British Museum. 298 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: Over the years, the British Museum bought thirty eight hundred 299 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 1: books from Wilfred Voynage, and he was able to make 300 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,159 Speaker 1: a pretty nice living traveling around Europe, particularly to convents 301 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:09,159 Speaker 1: and monasteries, and acquiring valuable pieces from their collection and 302 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:11,879 Speaker 1: then selling them to not just the British Museum but 303 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: other museums and occasional private collectors in London. He was not, 304 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: by most accounts, entirely fair when he made some of 305 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: these business deals. He was often trading modern books of 306 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 1: little to no value in exchange for books that he 307 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:29,159 Speaker 1: knew were valuable because of their age, condition and rarity. 308 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: In some cases, though, I think it's worth noting that 309 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: these were in collections where he was like, I know 310 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,679 Speaker 1: you're not comfortable handling this book because it is old. 311 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 1: I will give you a copy that is essentially the 312 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: same content that you can just thumb through whenever it 313 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: is a little more sturdy in an exchange, you give 314 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: me the rare, beautiful one. They were getting a useful book, 315 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: but it wasn't valuable. That's better than how I had 316 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: interpreted this was, which was that he was just sort 317 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 1: of a weasel, bilking people of the books with inferior substitutes. Uh, 318 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:08,880 Speaker 1: there are depending on what account you read, you will 319 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 1: get everywhere on the spectrum and every flavor of nuance 320 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: regarding people's assessment of those deals. So these unknown, lost 321 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:22,119 Speaker 1: or undescribed books became very popular with these buyers, so 322 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,879 Speaker 1: much so that when he produced the eighth Catalog in 323 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:28,959 Speaker 1: June of nineteen o two, this consisted only of unknown books. 324 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: The British Museum made Voynage an offer to purchase the 325 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 1: entire catalog for the sum of eight hundred pounds. That 326 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: was a large offer, but Voynage wanted twice as much, 327 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,200 Speaker 1: but also he wanted the books to go to the museum. Yeah, 328 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: he did seem to have a vested interest in making 329 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: sure these books got put into museums so they would 330 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: be cared for. And this is where he pulled off 331 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:57,119 Speaker 1: what to me reads like a fairly epic business deal. Voynage, 332 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,679 Speaker 1: knowing the British Museum would not meet his quote. Reached 333 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:02,159 Speaker 1: out to a number of the private collectors that he 334 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,280 Speaker 1: did business with, and he made the suggestion to them 335 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: that they could purchase the books at his asking price, 336 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,640 Speaker 1: of course, and then donate them to the British Museum 337 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:15,679 Speaker 1: so they would be preserved and cared for. This completely worked, 338 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,640 Speaker 1: so the museum got their books, Voyage got the price 339 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: he wanted for them. These collectors got to feel like 340 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: they were contributing important things to the museum. Theoretically, everybody wins. 341 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: It's another one of those cases where there's a little 342 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 1: nuance in the mix about how much of this was 343 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 1: strictly for self benefit and how much of it was No, 344 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: this really is the best solution for all of us. 345 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 1: In two Voyage formally married Ethel Lillian Bull, although they 346 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 1: had been living as spouses for a decade at that point. 347 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 1: Ethel had changed her name, but they had never actually married. 348 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,040 Speaker 1: He had also been going by the anglicized version of 349 00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:55,879 Speaker 1: his name, Wilfrid Michael Voyage for years, but it didn't 350 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 1: legally become his name until two years later when he 351 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:00,640 Speaker 1: changed it. At the same time time as he became 352 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: a naturalized British subject. So we're gonna talk a little 353 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,919 Speaker 1: bit more about Voynage's rare book business in just a moment, 354 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 1: including when he finds the Voyage manuscript. But right now 355 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,120 Speaker 1: we're going to take a quick break in here from 356 00:20:13,119 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: the sponsors that keep stuff you missed in history class going. 357 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,440 Speaker 1: So in the early nine hundreds business was going really, 358 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 1: really well for Wilfrid Voynage, and in eight he expanded 359 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 1: his enterprise by acquiring an already established shop in Florence, 360 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:38,919 Speaker 1: known for its amazing collection of incannabula. He made a 361 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: catalog of the books available in the Florence location, titled 362 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,440 Speaker 1: a Catalog of Rare Books printed in the fifteen, sixteenth 363 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:49,680 Speaker 1: and seventeen centuries not to be found in the British Museum. 364 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: He also upgraded his London location at this time to 365 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,439 Speaker 1: a new shop on Shaftesbury Avenue. The end of the 366 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: first decade of the twentieth century marked a shift in 367 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: voyage Is focus as well, and a refinement of how 368 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,880 Speaker 1: he looked for interesting fines. He started to pursue and 369 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: sell illuminated manuscripts rather than just pieces that were produced 370 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,639 Speaker 1: on presses, and he started examining bindings of books to 371 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,680 Speaker 1: see if there were any treasures tucked inside, something we've 372 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,640 Speaker 1: mentioned happening on previous episodes of the show, particularly previous 373 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: installments of Unearthed. In Voyage sold an illuminated manuscript for Augustine, 374 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: City of God for twelve hundred pounds. This is a 375 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:35,920 Speaker 1: significant deal by modern estimates, which of course are always 376 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 1: a little bit wobbly when you're trying to do currency conversion. 377 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,240 Speaker 1: That would be about a hundred and thirty eight thousand 378 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 1: pounds today or a hundred and eighty three thousand dollars. 379 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: So he was starting to do some really substantial deals. 380 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: But Voyage was also not particularly liquid in his assets, 381 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: and as his interest had shifted to more and more 382 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,720 Speaker 1: valuable pieces, he was often making a lot of these 383 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: deals of acquiring them on credit, and he became a 384 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: little bit infamous for letting accounts lag for years sometimes. 385 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:10,400 Speaker 1: Nine twelve was an important year for Wilfred Vointage. That 386 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,800 Speaker 1: was the year he gained possession of the manuscript that 387 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 1: made his name famous. He wrote about this acquisition quote, 388 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:19,560 Speaker 1: During one of my periodic visits to the continent of Europe, 389 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 1: I came across a most remarkable collection of precious illuminated manuscripts. 390 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 1: For many decades. These volumes had laid buried in the 391 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 1: chest in which I found them in an ancient castle 392 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,040 Speaker 1: in southern Europe. While examining the manuscripts with a view 393 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 1: to the acquisition of at least part of the collection, 394 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,280 Speaker 1: my attention was especially drawn by one volume. It was 395 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 1: such an ugly duckling compared with the others that my 396 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,639 Speaker 1: interest was aroused at once I found that it was 397 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:53,520 Speaker 1: entirely written in cipher. Even a necessarily brief examination of 398 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: the vellum upon which it was written, the calligraphy, the 399 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,479 Speaker 1: drawings and the pigments suggested to me as the date 400 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: of its origin the latter part of the thirteenth century. 401 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:09,359 Speaker 1: That castle was Villa Mondragony for Scotty, which is not 402 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,159 Speaker 1: far from Rome, but that information did not come to 403 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: light for decades. No, he kept the location secret. Um 404 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 1: so did Ethel. Uh there were we should mention some 405 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: items and deals that Voyage was involved with when he 406 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: was still living in London that kind of went a 407 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: little bit fishy upon closer inspection. Uh, So we're backtracking 408 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: a little bit. But in NT five he acquired a 409 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: painted parchment from another dealer in England, and that English 410 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: dealer had said that the art painted on it depicted 411 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: Columbus arriving in the America's but there was a flag 412 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 1: in that painting that just didn't match up with the description. 413 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 1: It was something that wouldn't have existed until later. And 414 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,479 Speaker 1: whether Voyage or someone who worked for him identified this 415 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,960 Speaker 1: out of time flag and this problem with the timeline, 416 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 1: we don't know, but they did still think it was 417 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 1: an old piece, and so using the info, they came 418 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 1: to the conclusion that it might be a painting of 419 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: Cortes arriving in Mexico. Voynage sold this parchment to the 420 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:12,119 Speaker 1: British Museum, apparently genuinely believing that it was legitimate, just misdated, 421 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:14,920 Speaker 1: But the museum asked for more details, and it could 422 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,399 Speaker 1: only be conclusively traced to the dealer who had sold 423 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,680 Speaker 1: it to the dealer that Voyage had bought it from. 424 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,199 Speaker 1: Years after Wilfrid Voyage died, it was determined to be 425 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: a forgery. That whole forgery story is also another potential 426 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,439 Speaker 1: story of its own. As the First World War was 427 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:38,080 Speaker 1: beginning in Europe, of course, Wilford Voyage stopped traveling and 428 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 1: he turned his attention from the European continent across the Atlantic. 429 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,199 Speaker 1: He made a trip to New York City sailing on 430 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,280 Speaker 1: the Lusitania in the fall of nineteen fourteen, and this 431 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: was the first of several trips because he had found 432 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: an entirely new group of buyers in the United States. 433 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 1: After initially working out of his hotels where he was staying, 434 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,320 Speaker 1: which was often um the Waldorf Store you, he finally 435 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:04,119 Speaker 1: set up an office for himself on West forty two Street, 436 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,399 Speaker 1: which is right across from Bryant Park. Starting in early 437 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,679 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen, Voyage had started moving a lot of his 438 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,720 Speaker 1: most valuable stock to New York and eventually North America 439 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 1: became home to his primary office. He hired a woman 440 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,919 Speaker 1: named Ann m Nill to serve as assistant and to 441 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 1: help manage his New York business. He kept the shop 442 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: in London, which was left in the care of Herbert 443 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:31,719 Speaker 1: Garland to manage. Ethel joined her husband permanently in New 444 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,920 Speaker 1: York in the early nineteen twenties. One of the new 445 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: business practices that Wilfred Voynage started in the US was 446 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 1: mounting exhibitions in various cities, so he would arrange to 447 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,520 Speaker 1: have some of his most striking illuminated manuscripts of the 448 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 1: collection displayed, and this was a way to drum up 449 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 1: interest and also make sales. He could, you know, how 450 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,760 Speaker 1: people come in. It was almost like a gallery, and 451 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,240 Speaker 1: he would do this at venues in Manhattan, as well 452 00:25:57,280 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: as at Princeton, at the Art Institute of Chicago, the 453 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: Diversity of Michigan, the University of Illinois, and in Buffalo 454 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:08,159 Speaker 1: at the Albright Gallery. Wilfred showed the Cipher manuscript at 455 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,159 Speaker 1: one of these exhibits, and he did want to sell it, 456 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: but was also just fascinated by it, like so many 457 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,359 Speaker 1: people are today. But that led to a little bit 458 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,919 Speaker 1: of a problem. Two different people reported Wilfred Voyage to 459 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,080 Speaker 1: the U. S. Bureau of Investigation is a possible enemy 460 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: working within the United States, citing the manuscript as possible evidence. This, 461 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,399 Speaker 1: of course, was the precursor to the FBI. The first 462 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,520 Speaker 1: man that reported him was W. S. Booth. He wrote 463 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,719 Speaker 1: a letter to the Department of Justice, which is kind 464 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: of wishy washy on whether he actually thinks Voynage maybe 465 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,919 Speaker 1: up to something. He opens his letter with, dear Sirs, 466 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:49,399 Speaker 1: I have no reason to suppose that Mr W. M. 467 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,840 Speaker 1: Voyage is not solely occupied with his book selling, but 468 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,520 Speaker 1: the enclosed letter from him to me may be worth 469 00:26:55,520 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: a moment's consideration in view of your reported difficulties with spies. 470 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,960 Speaker 1: So the enclosed letter was one that Voyage had written 471 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: to Booth, who he knew through his academic contacts, and 472 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,919 Speaker 1: he had sent copies of the manuscript too. In this letter, 473 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: Voynage mentioned the Bacon cipher. Vointage believed it to be 474 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,919 Speaker 1: the work of Franciscan Friar Roger Bacon, who lived in 475 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: the thirteenth century, and Voynage mentioned that the quote War 476 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,879 Speaker 1: Department is working on the subject, and I hope they 477 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,800 Speaker 1: will be able to transliterate it with the help of 478 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:34,280 Speaker 1: their expert readers. It is not clear exactly what this meant, 479 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:36,639 Speaker 1: but the Department of Justice did not seem to have 480 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 1: done much of anything with this information passed, sending a 481 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 1: reply acknowledging that they did get Mr Booth's correspondence. Yeah, 482 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,720 Speaker 1: we don't know why he thought the War Department was 483 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: working on the Voyage manuscript at this point. Remember, it 484 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: did not have the um the reputation that it does now. 485 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:58,959 Speaker 1: We don't know if he knew someone in the military 486 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,639 Speaker 1: who was like, oh, that's intry staying I would love 487 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:02,240 Speaker 1: to take a look at it, or if there was 488 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,200 Speaker 1: actually someone doing it, that's all a little bit curious. 489 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: There's a scan of this document that is after um, 490 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,719 Speaker 1: after a copy of it has been sent to the 491 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:19,160 Speaker 1: US government, and someone circles that claim and just writes 492 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 1: why next year, which I found sort of charming. Um. 493 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 1: But because Voynage, who was a stylish and wealthy foreigner, 494 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 1: had this strange Cipher, rumors started to circulate that his 495 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,439 Speaker 1: book dealer facade was covering up the fact that he 496 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: actually had war Cipher's from the U. S Military and 497 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,320 Speaker 1: was possibly selling them to the Germans. This rumor got 498 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,360 Speaker 1: really spun up when Voyage had dinner with a German 499 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:50,320 Speaker 1: born naturalized US citizen named Walter Lichtenstein. The boring truth 500 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,560 Speaker 1: was that Lichtenstein was the head of the library at 501 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 1: Northwestern University. But word that Voyage had been discussing Cipher's 502 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: with Lichtenstein, who had been born in Germany, made it 503 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,479 Speaker 1: to the Bureau of Investigation, and they opened a formal 504 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:08,680 Speaker 1: file on the book dealer. The investigation was thorough. The 505 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: people who had rented Voyage his office space were questioned, 506 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,960 Speaker 1: his bank was visited by the authorities, his rooms were searched, 507 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,720 Speaker 1: and Voynage himself was questioned by an investigator named aw 508 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: will It. Voynage showed all of his documents, his passport, 509 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 1: his British citizenship papers, and even the Bacon Manuscript to 510 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: will It. Everyone who was asked about him described him 511 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: as a lovely gentleman of means. On December nineteen, Captain 512 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:41,360 Speaker 1: Manly of the Cipher Bureau wrote a report to Lieutenant Strauss, 513 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:44,080 Speaker 1: which was then relayed to the Bureau of Investigation, and 514 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 1: it made matters pretty clear and started with quote, there 515 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,560 Speaker 1: is no ground for suspicion in regard to Mr Voynage's 516 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:53,920 Speaker 1: Cipher manuscript. It was written in England over six hundred 517 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: years ago, and neither has nor can have the slightest 518 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,800 Speaker 1: bearing on the present situation. That rep goes on to 519 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: relay how Voyage was interviewed, how he was very clearly 520 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:07,480 Speaker 1: not pro German, and that the conclusion is that a 521 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: personal grudge must have led Voytage to be reported as 522 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: a possible insurgent. This file was maintained through nineteen twenty, 523 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,560 Speaker 1: with investigations kicking up any time he traveled or did 524 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: much of anything at all, really, but it never seems 525 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 1: to have resulted in finding anything except for a lot 526 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: of bureaucratic back and forth. The letters are really funny 527 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 1: to read, where it's like, didn't you question this voytage person, Yes, 528 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: it did. He's just an antiquarian book dealer, like he's um. 529 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,040 Speaker 1: It makes me laugh a little bit. So we mentioned 530 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:42,720 Speaker 1: earlier that Ethel did not move to the US until 531 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:45,640 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties. One of the reasons for this was 532 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 1: that during the war she adopted a child, although there 533 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 1: was never any legal paperwork or a formal adoption, but 534 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:56,120 Speaker 1: that girl, Winnifred Eisenhardt, was the daughter of a German 535 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: prisoner of war, and so Ethel for whatever and decided 536 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: that she would take care of her. Wilfred, we should 537 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:06,440 Speaker 1: be clear, was not really ever a father figure to Winnifred, 538 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:09,880 Speaker 1: though he wrote to a friend in ninety about her quote, 539 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,640 Speaker 1: I know her very little. I foot the bills, but 540 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: I am not taking part in her education or bringing 541 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:17,800 Speaker 1: her up. E l V loves her and that is 542 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: the end of it. Wilfred traveled to England on business 543 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,720 Speaker 1: in ninety nine, and he came down with pneumonia while 544 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: he was there. He was able to get back home 545 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,320 Speaker 1: to New York, but he never recovered. He had never 546 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: had great health since his time in prison, and he 547 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,080 Speaker 1: was also a lifelong smoker. Boy It died on March 548 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: nineteenth of nineteen thirty and at that point he had 549 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:43,280 Speaker 1: never sold the Bacon Cipher. No, he really did seem 550 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:46,120 Speaker 1: to want some academic to please please solve it, because 551 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 1: he was really into it at that point. And after 552 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:52,120 Speaker 1: Wilfred's death, Ethel and Anne, who remember he had hired 553 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 1: as kind of his assistant. She's often listed as a 554 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: secretary slash manager. Of course, has some outdated language, but um, 555 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,480 Speaker 1: the two women can and you'd the business together, and 556 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: they also became each other's closest companion. They lived together 557 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:07,440 Speaker 1: for the next thirty years. They first lived in Brooklyn 558 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:10,160 Speaker 1: and then they moved into Manhattan into an apartment, and 559 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:13,120 Speaker 1: they kept things running in the rare book trade that 560 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 1: Voyage had established, but neither of them was ever as 561 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,520 Speaker 1: gifted as Wilfred had been at cultivating relationships with buyers 562 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 1: and sellers. Wilfrid had left the famous Cipher manuscript jointly 563 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:28,160 Speaker 1: to Ethel and Anne. He included instructions in his will 564 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: that they could sell it, but it had to go 565 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: to a public institution, and the price was firmly set 566 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:37,960 Speaker 1: at a hundred thousand dollars. Ethel died in nineteen sixty 567 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:40,800 Speaker 1: and and became a sole owner. She's hold it to 568 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,280 Speaker 1: a private book dealer against those instructions and Wilfrid's will 569 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:48,280 Speaker 1: and then and died in nineteen sixty one. Today, voyage 570 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,120 Speaker 1: is catalogs of books are prizes collector's items, which probably 571 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,320 Speaker 1: would have tickled someone who looked for rare books for 572 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,200 Speaker 1: a living that his lists of rare books and became 573 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 1: considered rare books themselves. The Girl You're Club on East 574 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: sixty Story in Manhattan, which is a book lover Society, 575 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:08,440 Speaker 1: has a comprehensive voyage collection documenting the antiquarian bookseller's time 576 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 1: in New York from nineteen sixteen on, and they have 577 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:15,040 Speaker 1: a complete set of voytage catalogs. And now, of course 578 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 1: the legacy is that everyone is always trying to decode 579 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 1: that thing and sometimes saying they did it on their 580 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:32,120 Speaker 1: lunch break. That always tickles me. Um, yeah, Wilfred Voyage, 581 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:35,760 Speaker 1: He's an interesting creature. For sure. I will. I will 582 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:37,440 Speaker 1: talk in our behind the scenes about one of the 583 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 1: many reasons I love him in a strange way. It's 584 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:45,520 Speaker 1: my own, my own nostalgia. But first, I have completely 585 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: unrelated listener mail from our listener Shannon, who writes about 586 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: Tarot and cats. She writes, thank you for your awesome 587 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: episode on the history of Tarot. I took up Tarot 588 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:58,800 Speaker 1: as a moody teenager, UM, I recently divorced a mother 589 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:00,520 Speaker 1: took me to a new age books or what did 590 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: you expect? But my passion in it has skyrocketed during quarantine, 591 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,480 Speaker 1: both because I needed some sort of outside guidance in 592 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:09,239 Speaker 1: these times, and also because I'm helping play test a 593 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:13,279 Speaker 1: Tarot based RPG that sounds amazing. Having a community of 594 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,560 Speaker 1: other Tarot interested folks to talk over daily card pools, books, 595 00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:18,680 Speaker 1: and gush over beautiful Tarot decks has been one of 596 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 1: the highlights of my time at home in this crazy year. 597 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:23,719 Speaker 1: I'm attaching some pictures of some of my favorite decks 598 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,280 Speaker 1: for you to enjoy as well. I said on that episode, 599 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:28,239 Speaker 1: I will say it again. The art that goes into 600 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,160 Speaker 1: some of these decks is delicious. Um. Also, please add 601 00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:34,000 Speaker 1: me to the list of folks asking for an episode 602 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,680 Speaker 1: on Pamela Coleman Smith. She says, finally, thank you both 603 00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:38,440 Speaker 1: for all of your work. I started listening to you 604 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:41,640 Speaker 1: both as a history obsessed but theater studying college kid, 605 00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:43,560 Speaker 1: and ever since, your voices have been a source of 606 00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:46,399 Speaker 1: calm and joy no matter what is going on. Here 607 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,040 Speaker 1: are some pictures of my cats, Aria, Amy and Ico 608 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,120 Speaker 1: as an additional show of gratitude, hoping you're staying as 609 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:54,960 Speaker 1: well as can be expected. Shannon Shanna, thank you so much. 610 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:57,840 Speaker 1: Um again, Yes, kiddies always, but oh some of this 611 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,960 Speaker 1: tarot art that she sent is really beautiful and cool. 612 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:07,000 Speaker 1: I love it, um. I I have learned as a 613 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:09,040 Speaker 1: consequence of doing that episode, I have a number of 614 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:13,880 Speaker 1: friends who kind of similarly got more into taro during 615 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,879 Speaker 1: the pandemic, just as kind of a way for them 616 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:21,640 Speaker 1: to like learn a new thing that's small and does 617 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 1: not require a huge investment, and like they associate it, 618 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:27,799 Speaker 1: as we talked about on the episode, with like this 619 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,359 Speaker 1: is kind of my daily meditation. It's like a thing 620 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:32,600 Speaker 1: I think about and you know, it gives me a 621 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:37,080 Speaker 1: moment of focus. I love it. It's fascinating. I um. 622 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 1: Since we did that episode. The day that episode came out, 623 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:43,600 Speaker 1: my new Edgar Allan po Tarot debt came and then 624 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:45,759 Speaker 1: I have since acquired one that is based on the 625 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:50,240 Speaker 1: work of Gearmo del Toro, which is beautiful. I barely 626 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,319 Speaker 1: have opened either of them because I haven't had time, 627 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,000 Speaker 1: but look at that art. I love art, and the 628 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,719 Speaker 1: tiny art on cards is a fascinating and a special 629 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:00,719 Speaker 1: sort of skill to have of I think like the 630 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,319 Speaker 1: people that can convey the meanings of these cards in 631 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:07,000 Speaker 1: this smaller size. It's very cool. Anyway, that is the scoop. 632 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:08,440 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 633 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:11,160 Speaker 1: do so at History podcast at iHeart radio dot com. 634 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,080 Speaker 1: We are also everywhere on social media as Missed in History, 635 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:16,200 Speaker 1: And if you would like to subscribe to the podcast 636 00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:19,200 Speaker 1: and haven't already, it is easy enough to do so. 637 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 1: You can do that on the iHeart radio app, at 638 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:28,759 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever it is you listen. 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