Daniel Newcomb

Virginian, Hokie, academic advisor, World War 1 historian, traveler, bibliophile, wine and whiskey enthusiast.

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

UK/Ireland Day 1 (part 4):

-Obligatory photos with an iconic London phone booth

#vtrsap2023

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

UK/Ireland #vtrsap2023 Day 1 (part 1):

-Saw the London Eye
-Visited Boudica, Queen of the Iceni
-Heard Big Ben

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

UK/Ireland Day 1 (part 3):

-Spent time in Trafalgar Square
-Took in a rooftop view of London near St. Paul's Cathedral
-Walked along the south bank of the Thames

#vtrsap2023

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Sometime in the early 1880s, these two @virginia_tech cadets had their portraits taken by C. A. Pugh in Blacksburg. The uniform they wear was the dress uniform adopted by VPI in 1883, it was a copy of West Point's pattern gray coatee. It remained VPI's dress uniform until 1931.

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Remembering a moment in the life of Queen Elizabeth II:

In 2007 Queen Elizabeth visited Virginia for the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown. As she walked into the Virginia State Capitol cadets from VMI and @virginia_tech saluted her and Governor Tim Kaine upon their arrival.

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Happy first day of the Fall 2022 semester Hokies!

📷 Friends Robert Moore and R. G. Fields exploring @virginia_tech's campus in Fall 1920.

#virginiatech #hokies #firstdayofschool #oldschoolcool

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Dust jackets were plain and created for promotional rather than artistic effect. Later in the 1920s publishers shifted to producing fancier dust jackets rather than bindings to cut costs. 💰

Today, pre-1930s books with original dust jackets are sought after by collectors. (1/2)

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Did you know that dust jackets on books originated in the 1800s and were only used to protect the fine bindings and covers of books? 📚

Through the first two decades of the 1900s most dust jackets were discarded after purchase. (1/2)

[Doug @colour_history]

The 'Bermondsey B'hoys' from the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, inside their base at Wellington Barracks in Chelsea. Taken before they left for France in August 1914.
The view is seen from Birdcage Walk.
(Photograph taken by Christina Broom

[Doug @colour_history]

Belgian refugees being taken to the rear in British Army Service Corps horse-drawn wagons in Sint-Janstraat, Rollegem-Kapelle, near Ledegem, 20 October 1918.
Rollegem-Kapelle was entered by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 14th October. © IWM Q 11392

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Happily, in the course of my research I managed to locate descendants. After connecting with Mon's great-grandson I learned that the family had no images of their ancestor from his service in the war. Now the original image is now, rightfully, in the family's possession. (4/4)

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

This is Mon Spencer Owyang, a Chinese American doughboy who served in the US Army during the First World War. I purchased this photograph in March 2022 and was able to recently reunite this photograph with his family! (1/4)

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Fortunately only one Owyang in Locke served in the war and I discovered that it was Mon. I also found out that after the war he founded the first American Legion post for Chinese Americans in the United States and became Sacramento's first Chinese elected-official. (3/4)

[VPI in World War One @VPIWW1]

WW1 in the Headlines:

Last week firefighters in Slovenia were prevented from penetrating into a wildfire due to the fire setting off unexploded ordinance from the First World War.
https://t.co/ESjesPs1Mt

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

In it she tells the story of the medical personnel who cared for the causalities of WW1. Using first-hand accounts from wounded, stretcher-bearers, doctors, medical officers, nurses, & chaplains, she shows how a large medical apparatus grew and adjusted to the demands of war.

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Finished this incredible book tonight by Emily Mayhew - "Wounded: A New History of the Western Front in World War I."

A quick read that will give you a different view of the war and a glimpse of the heroism and tragedy within it.

[Daniel Newcomb @crossingdan]

Around 3 years ago I started collecting old #WW1 memoirs and unit histories. Many of these have been out of print since their publication.

Nothing provides a window into the Great War better than reading about the experiences of those who lived it.

[VPI in World War One @VPIWW1]

Once America entered the war the US Committee on Public Information worked with songwriters and publishers to produce and promote propagandistic songs to encourage support of the war effort among the American population. (3/3)