Norton Biographer Allen Stanley Lane’s Presentation Copy Twofer
In February 1939, Lane Gave Parents His New Book on a Red-Letter Date for Them and Emperor Norton, Both
Last week, I acquired a very special presentation copy of Allen Stanley Lane’s 1939 biography of Emperor Norton. In fact, it’s the copy that Lane gifted to his parents on their anniversary, when the book was published.
Information in the inscription prompted me to do some digging into Lane’s story — something that long has been something of a mystery in Norton circles. What I discovered will be new, I think, to those who know Lane only as a Norton biographer.
Read on, and we’ll circle back to back Lane’s inscription — and the second part of the twofer — when we arrive at that part of the story.
On 25 February 1885, George Napoleon Lane (1864–1955) and Laura Pearl Brown (1868–1952) were married in Jacksonville, Texas. George’s father, George Washington Lane, was the postmaster in Cherokee, and George was assistant postmaster.
The following year, George and Pearl moved to San Diego, Calif., where George took up a new assistant postmaster assignment. In quick succession, the Lanes had three children: Florance, in 1887; Violet, in 1890; and, in between, Allen in 1889.
In 1905, the Lane family moved north to Santa Rosa, Calif. George would serve as assistant postmaster here, too, until his retirement in 1932.
Students of Emperor Norton know Allen Stanley Lane as the author of Emperor Norton: Mad Monarch of America (The Caxton Printers), published in February 1939 — and the first of only two book-length biographies of the Emperor to be produced.
But, for nearly two decade’s before that, Lane’s primary vocation was as a musician.
The review of Lane’s Norton biography that appeared in the Sacramento Bee on 11 February 1939 features what may be the best biographical summary of Lane’s life before the publication of the book. The reviewer notes that Lane
went to San Francisco as a youth to study piano and organ. To pay his way he played ragtime on the Barbary Coast and Bach fugues in the cathedral, and when the motion picture houses installed organs for background music he was one of the young men who extemporized or played from memory suitable theme music for the hero, the heroine, the villain, the chase, the sylvan idyl and the tragic parting. And sometimes he would be featured in a special solo number, while the spotlight played on him from the front of the balcony.
“Sacramento Author Writes Delightful Biography of Norton, ‘Emperor of U.S.’,” review of Allen Stanley Lane’s Emperor Norton: Mad Monarch of America, Sacramento Bee, 11 February 1939, p.17. Source: Newspapers.com
In fact, the U.S. Census for 1910, when Allen would have been about 21, show him still living at home in Santa Rosa with his parents and siblings but already working as a “Professor” of music. In 1910 and 1911, local news items show him as the organist at the Episcopal church and much in demand as a musician for theatrical productions and social/club gatherings.
On 6 September 1911, the Santa Rosa Republican noted Allen’s move to “the metropolis”:
“Allen Lane Goes to the Metropolis,” Santa Rosa Republican, 6 September 1911, p.3. Source: Newspapers.com
Newspaper notices and movie theater advertisements from the period confirm that Allen was in San Francisco a few years later and that, from the mid 1910s to the late 1920s, “Allen Lane,” as he was billed, developed a reputation as a theater and concert organist of some note. He had a series of engagements as a contract organist at some of the most prominent movie theaters on the West Coast — notably, at the Tivoli in San Francisco (documented 1916–19); at Grauman’s Rialto in Los Angeles (1920–21); and at the Senator in Sacramento (1924–28).
One thread from this period that remains to be untangled is Lane’s marriage.
On Lane’s 1917 draft registration card, he lists a “wife” and cites her dependent status as one of the reasons why he should be excused from the draft:
Draft registration card for Allen Lane, 5 June 1917. Source: Ancestry.com
In the U.S. Census of 1920, we learn that Lane’s wife was Edith; that she was 25 (to Lane’s 30); born in Washington state; and had no occupation. (Click to enlarge.)
Listings for Allen Lane and Edith Lane in U.S. Census of 1920. Source: Ancestry.com
On 31 October 1928, the following divorce notice appeared on the front page of the Marysville Appeal–Democrat:
Divorce notice for Edith Lane and Allen S. Lane, Marysville Appeal–Democrat, 31 October 1938, p. 1. Source: Newspapers.com
Two months earlier, on 1 September 1928, the Sacramento Bee had carried the following notice about a new theater gig.
“Allen Lane Becomes Hippodrome Organist,” Sacramento Bee, 1 September 1928, p. A6. Source: Newspapers.com
Whether the chronology was quite this neat is hard to know. Certainly, Lane was at Grauman’s Rialto, not Grauman’s Metropolitan — the latter of which didn’t open until late January 1923; Lane had moved to Sacramento and taken up his post at the Senator the following year.
This much is clear, though: Ads for the Hippodrome Theater featuring Allen Lane at the organ appear to have lasted only a couple of months, until late October 1928.
After that, mentions of Lane as an organist become more scarce, trailing off after a notice for a Sacramento recital in May 1931.
As the Sacramento Bee reviewer noted in 1939: “the soundtrack replaced him in 1930.”
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SO, HOW DID Allen Stanley Lane reboot after theater organ work dried up?
The Sacramento Bee review identified him as “a proof reader in the state printing office.” A couple of weeks later, another item in the Bee had Lane as a “state printing plant foreman.”
Both of which are to say: By the time Lane published his book on Emperor Norton in February 1939 — just a few weeks ahead of his 50th birthday — he basically was an anonymous unknown.
That was about to change in a big way. The book was heavily promoted in the first half of 1939, with notices and reviews in papers large and small, including The New York Times and papers across the country. (This period saw the rise of a prominent film actor named Allan Lane. No doubt, this is what prompted Lane’s Idaho-based publisher, The Caxton Printers, to market the book with Lane’s full name — which he appears not to have used professionally before then.)
The timing couldn’t have been better. On 18 February 1939, the Golden Gate International Exposition opened on the newly created Treasure Island, adjacent to the existing Yerba Buena Island — in the middle of San Francisco Bay.
In large part, this world’s fair was conceived to celebrate the opening of the San Francisco—Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937.
Which meant that the opportunity was ripe to celebrate Emperor Norton, too, who had set out the original vision for the Bay Bridge in 1872.
The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus is a fraternity dedicated to preserving the heritage of Early California and the Old West — and that claims Emperor Norton as a patron saint.
On 25 February 1939, members of the Order — known as Clampers — gathered at the newly opened Transbay Terminal in San Francisco to dedicate a bronze plaque. The plaque, created by sculptor William Gordon Huff (1909–1993), invited every “Traveler” passing by to “Pause” and “Be Grateful” to Norton for his bridge vision.
Emperor Norton “Pause, Traveler” plaque, 1939, by William Gordon Huff (1903–1993). Commissioned by E Clampus Vitus to honor Emperor Norton for setting out the original vision for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Photograph © 2018 Kai Wada Roath
The next day, the San Francisco Chronicle noted that Allen Stanley Lane had been on hand at the dedication to read from his new book.
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THE PLAQUE has had a storied path.
After its auspicious dedication in 1939, the plaque wound up in storage for 16 years, until it initially was installed at the Cliff House in 1955. Thirty-one years later, the plaque finally was moved to the Transbay Terminal in 1986, in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Bay Bridge.
In 2010, the plaque was placed in storage again — when the old Terminal was demolished in preparation for construction of the new Transbay Transit Center. The plaque was installed at the Transit Center in 2019 but shortly was taken down after being vandalized. It is to be dedicated anew at Molloy’s Tavern, in Colma, Calif., in June 2021.
But, notice the date of the original dedication ceremony — the date that is embossed at the bottom of the plaque: “Feb. 25.”
Sound familiar? February 25th is the date when Allen Stanley Lane’s parents, George and Pearl, were married in 1885. And, 25 February 1939 was their 54th wedding anniversary.
Was it coincidence that the date memorialized on the plaque was Lane’s parents’ anniversary? Or was the plaque dedication date selected for that reason?
I couldn’t help but wonder about this last week, when I saw the photograph that Marie Bottini, an antiquarian bookseller in Cotati, Calif., sent me in response to my query about her listing of “a wonderful presentation copy” of Lane’s book “signed and inscribed by the author to his parents, including a pasted-in photo of himself.”
Here’s the inscription:
Allen Stanley Lane’s inscription to his parents in his 25 February 1939 presentation copy of his book Emperor Norton: Mad Monarch of America. Book in private collection of John Lumea.
Here’s the photograph of Lane on the dedication page:
Photograph of Allen Stanley Lane in Lane’s 25 February 1939 presentation copy, to his parents, of his book Emperor Norton: Mad Monarch of America. Book in private collection of John Lumea.
Copies of this book with surviving dust jackets are extremely rare. And, there are copies floating around with more pristine jackets than this one.
But, few of these were touched by Allen Stanley Lane himself. And, only one of these copies is the one that Lane inscribed, signed and gifted to his parents, with a photograph of himself pasted in.
A rare find, indeed.
Cover of Allen Stanley Lane’s 25 February 1939 presentation copy, to his parents, of his book Emperor Norton: Mad Monarch of America. Book in private collection of John Lumea.
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IT STANDS to reason that this copy remained on George Lane’s bookshelf until his death at 90 in 1955.
Allen had moved back to Santa Rosa from Sacramento sometime between 1947 and 1950 — presumably having retired from his state job and moving to Santa Rosa to help take care of his aging parents. His mother, Pearl, had died in 1952 just a couple of weeks shy of her 84th birthday.
Perhaps, when George died, his copy of Allen’s book went back to Allen’s house.
Allen remained in Santa Rosa until his death, in relative obscurity, in late May 1967. He’d been found dead at home, reportedly having died of natural causes. He was 78.
The death went unnoticed by the San Francisco Chronicle, even though 1967 was only a few years on the other side of the Norton craze of paper’s decade-long Emperor Norton Treasure Hunt of the 1950s and early ‘60s.
The only obituary that rises to the surface is the brief notice in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The obit reported that “private family services” were held in Santa Rosa the day after he was found — possibly a sign that his circle of family and friends was very small. The headline: “Allen Lane.”
So, what happened to the presentation copy after Lane’s death? Allan’s nearest surviving relatives — the ones most likely to have dealt with his estate and belongings — were three nephews and two nieces. It’s not difficult to imagine that, in the wake of Allen’s death, these family members going through his things might have spotted the book; recognized it as something they already had; and set it aside, without having the presence of mind to thumb the front endpapers to see that this actually was an heirloom worth keeping.
Or, perhaps the family knew the book was an heirloom and sold it to a dealer or collector anyway.
But, at some point before the 1995 shuttering of the Holmes Book Company’s legendary Oakland, Calif., shop specializing in rare books of Western Americana, this particular copy of Allen Stanley Lane’s book found its way to the market — as evidenced by the shop’s label on the back endpaper.
Label from Oakland, Calif., shop of The Holmes Book Company on back endpaper of Allen Stanley Lane’s 25 February 1939 presentation copy, to his parents, of his book Emperor Norton: Mad Monarch of America. Book in private collection of John Lumea.
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A DRAMATIC footnote to this story reveals how much Allen Stanley Lane loved the Emperor Norton story and how determined he was to tell it.
On 17 March 1937, a devastating fire at The Caxton Printers leveled the printing plant.
No one died or was injured. But, among the literary casualties was Lane’s manuscript — the only copy.
Lane had to reconstruct and rewrite the entire thing from his notes.
It’s hard to overestimate the amount of grit this must have taken.
There are plenty of flaws in Lane’s account of the Emperor. His book was a product of its time. Modern ideas of history and the role of the historian — ideas that we take for granted now — had yet to take root.
But, had Lane not muscled through, then the Emperor’s 1986 biographer, William Drury, might have had lower shoulders to stand on, and the state of “Norton studies” in 2021 might be in a different place.
That cuts two ways. In January 1939 — just a couple of weeks before The Caxton Printers published Lane’s book — David Warren Ryder self-published his own little booklet of undocumented tall tales about the Emperor, titled San Francisco’s Emperor Norton. This is the “work” that gave us an Emperor who penned an anti-”Frisco” decree; commanded a Christmas tree in San Francisco’s Union Square; and stopped an anti-Chinese riot by reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
Since Lane’s and Ryder’s accounts were published more or less simultaneously at the dawn of 1939, reviewers covered them as a kind of Emperor Norton 1-2.
But, what if the Caxton fire had not taken place? What it Lane’s book had been published a year earlier, in 1938?
Perhaps, Ryder’s booklet would have been judged — and judged more harshly — in light of Lane’s book.
Perhaps, Ryder’s hard-to-resist myths would have been…resisted, and would would have gained less of a toehold with the pop history crowd of tour guides and tour book writers.
Perhaps, Ryder would have been give less of a pass.
Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps.
What I know is that I have a new appreciation for Allen Stanley Lane.
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