Iron-Men Album Staff
(The following is a letter from an English gentle man read on,
you’ll see).
‘I have just received from you the March-April edition of
your wonderful journal, which as I have said before we have nothing
like it on this side of the ‘pond’. Long may you continue.
most of all is that you capture the atmosphere we all felt who
worked in the country throughout the year with threshing,
ploughing, tree hauling and sawing with our engines. Its all very
wonderful! Except perhaps that awful violet colour on your cover.
It should be the green of the fields, the woods, meadows and clover
leys. (Green is on May-June Sir).
I was tickled pink to find you had printed a picture of my model
threshing set I sent you last year, but puzzled by the legend under
it making no mention that it came from England, actually Bloxham
Steam Rally 1970. Worse still is the fact you stated Courtesy of
Virgil Jansen of Illinois. For the copyright of that picture is
mine, I hold the negative and I am at a loss how the above
gentleman came to have a copy of that picture as I have had no
correspondence with him, and you are the person I sent the picture
to last year with all the details. I hope it is all just one of
those errors which occur from time to time in the best of organized
printing houses, (IT IS) because infringement of copyright is a
serious offense over here. However, perhaps you could put the name
right in a future issue, or offer some explanation, because I am
really puzzled.
I pass on your journal to many of my old steam driver pals, who
although a little puzzled at first by the different names you have
for the same machinery as we used, soon get the hang of it and
eagerly await the next issue. I am sure Mr. R. L. Johnson wherever
he may be will never know how much my many old friends unable to
afford to buy your magazine out of their meager pension, appreciate
what his gift subscription means, not only to me, but many others
besides.
To show the lack of communication which exists over here because
we have nothing like Iron-Men, in a previous issue was a
fascinating account of Roth-well Fair, near Kettering, England sent
in by a certain Stanley White of Kettering. You may hardly believe
it but for eight years I lived at Banbury which is only twenty
miles from Kettering. I never knew of the quaint customs and
procedures of ushering in Rothwell Fair. It had to come via your
journal over a thousand miles away. Thus your fame spreads
afar.
With kindest regards and best wishes. ‘George W. Eves, 98
The Butts. ALTON Hampshire, ENGLAND.
(I wrote to Virgil Jansen, Sigel, Illinois to see if he could
help me straighten out this mess I made I don’t make many GREAT
BIG errors like this one but as you can see I had myself a
‘winner’ this time in boo-boos. Following is the letter
from Virgil Anna Mae.)
‘George W. Eves of Hampshire, England must be right about
the picture on page 6, Mar.-Apr. 71 issue of I.M.A. I certainly
have had no picture like that. Possibly you can show the picture
again and put his name on the courtesy line. I did notice it as
soon as I saw it, but failed to write to you to correct it.
I did have an article in the I.M.A. Nov.-Dec. 1970, page 49-you
can check that.
I would like very much to have George W. Eves get his full
credit since he was kind enough to send us a picture from England
of his very nice little engine and thresher. I hope that I was of
some assistance to you. Thanks for asking.’–Virgil Jansen,
Sigel, Illinois.
(Now see what happens when you make a BIG mistake? I don’t
believe I’ve ever had one this bad, concerning courtesy line. I
hope I’m forgiven and if I never have another this bad again it
will be too soon. And I keep saying I-because it really was my own
error. Sometimes I can say WE meaning the Iron-Man Magazine as a
whole or staff or etc. but not this time Funny thing though I’m
still just as puzzled as George was cause I still don’t know
how I did it. If the Boss doesn’t read this-maybe I’ll
escape my punishment -I think I’ve had enough just trying to
straighten this out–Anna Mae).